Take Me Out to the Ball Park

It's no accident that I planned my shop opening to coincide with the Mets' Opening Day. In honor of the beginning of the season, I've added a variety of baseball themed pieces to my SewAmazin ArtFire Studio that should appeal to fans of the Mets and lots of other major and minor league teams.

I'm slightly obsessed with in-the-hoop machine embroidery designs - these are projects that are embroidered and sewn completely in the hoop by the machine, even zippers! The designs I'm using are all available from Embroidery Garden. I've made up samples of each design in a variety of baseball fabrics in red, cream and navy color ways that would be suitable as gifts for fans of a number of American and National League teams - Red Sox, Yankees, Phillies, Nationals, Braves, Reds, Cardinals, Angels - just to name a few.

ETA:  I've upgraded to a Pro ArtFire Studio - all of my baseball themed items can now be found in the Studio Section 'For Baseball Fans'.

Batting lead-off, we have these ID Zip & Go Cases (listed on ArtFire as ID Wallets). These handy little zipper cases are divided inside - the front section can hold a photo or student ID or business cards that will show through the clear vinyl window, and your money, credit cards and other small items go in the back section. The inside is lined and  raw edges are neatly finished with overlock stitching by serger. The finished size is about 5" wide by 3.5" high.

Each wallet has a split ring key ring so you can attach your keys or use a carabiner clip to attach it to a backpack, handbag or briefcase.

Of course, I had to make up a few special wallets using the Mets colors (left). The blue and orange version is made with blue marbled fabric on the outside and lining and orange marbled fabric for the divider. The zipper is orange and the topstitching is done in orange thread.

The second blue and orange wallet is done in baseball print on a bright blue background and also has an orange zipper and topstitching. (These are listed in my studio section 'For Mets Fans')




Batting second, we have Key Ring Holders:

These key fobs have a coordinating color snap closure and can hold a lipstick or lip balm, USB drive, pack of gum and other small objects. A friend suggested that a bluetooth earpiece fit inside. The finished size of each fob is 1.75" wide by 3.75" tall when closed. [I think the Navy version with the red snap would be great for Brooklyn Cyclones fans!]

Batting third are these handy Key Fobs - they coordinate with the ID wallets.  These can be monogrammed with an initial if desired - I made these samples up as blanks. They coordinate well with the 4x4 zipper cases below.

Batting clean-up are these 4x4 Zipper cases. (I've listed similar zipper cases as Coin Purses with Westie embroidery on them). The front is quilted and the back is padded; these are made using the blank version, but a monogram can be added if desired.

These are done with coordinating zipper and thread colors and in some cases, color matched carabiner clips and split rings. The finished size is 3.5" wide by 3.75" tall and the zipper opens 3" across.

Each zipper case can hold money, ID, hand wipes or hand sanitizer, bluetooth device and ear buds and lots of other small items.

In the bullpen are these Key Chain Card Holders:

These are yet another keyring item that can have a monogram added and could be used as a sporty way to present a gift card - or can be used to carry ID or frequent shopper cards, business cards, etc. on a key ring. (The red version is not shown.)

If you'd like to see more photos of these and other items I plan to add to my shop, visit my ArtFire Samples Flickr Set.

Counting Down to Opening Day

There are just a few more days until my official Grand Opening in April, so I thought I'd share a few posts about the handmade items I've already listed and preview some of the others that will be added soon.

When I began thinking about selling things that I make, one of the first that came to mind was Reusable Grocery Bags. I first wrote about making them way back in September 2007! I've made quite a few of these bags since then and they've always been well received.

So when I decided to have a Giveaway last month, it was an easy decision to make more grocery bags and jazz them up a little. I gave away two sets of bags earlier this month, but I saved a pair of bags to sell on ArtFire as part of my Grand Opening. This Reusable Grocery Bag/Shopping Tote is currently available in my ArtFire studio:

I really like the way these turned out, and not just because these are some of my favorite colors! The floral design is a home decor cotton fabric remnant that was in my stash for about a year. I knew as soon as I brought it home it was going to be a bag, but a single yard was not enough to make even one complete grocery bag. There was just enough of that fabric to make the handles and add an accent strip to the turquoise base fabric.

I've incorporated a few improvements to my original design - the handles are padded with batting and are attached securely. Another new feature - each bag can be folded up and fastened into a tidy little package to keep in your car or handbag. The snap closure can be removed entirely if desired; the snap on the outside of the bag won't snag on other fabrics or objects like velcro or a button might. Folding instructions are included.

These shopping bags are very sturdy; the seams are all reinforced, with no raw edges showing. Each bag is about 13" tall by 12" wide by 8" deep and will accommodate large cereal boxes as well as several half-gallon cartons of milk. There is no seam on the bottom, so they can be filled with a heavy load of groceries and there's no worrying about losing the contents.

And they're machine-washable - in fact, the fabrics were washed and dried once before construction and the finished bags have been through a wash and dry, so there should not be any shrinkage.

In addition to groceries, these can be used as book bags or as a gift bag for a large item, instead of a paper gift bag.

I've listed these bags separately in my ArtFire studio, partly because I don't have a Pro selling account yet and I can only list items in quantities of 1. You can purchase just one bag or if you'd like the pair, be sure to add both to your cart before checking out.

Breaking in to Sew Biz!

Yes, it's true, I'm officially open for business, a little earlier than I originally planned. If you've followed me over on Facebook, you know that I started selling a few items in my SewAmazin ArtFire studio a few weeks ago. Call it 'Spring Training' - by the time April 1 rolls around, I should have most of the wrinkles ironed out and everything will be ready for my Grand Opening!

I'll still be using my SewAmazin blog to show and tell my own personal sewing projects, but I'll also be posting about the items available for sale. In addition to adding the Facebook page links (are you a Fan yet?), I've made a few other changes to the blog to make it easy for visitors to shop in my SewAmazin ArtFire Studio. 

On the sidebar you'll find an ArtFire RapidCart widget showing a random selection of 2 of my listed items. I've also added a My ArtFire page with a larger RapidCart (see the tab at the top right of the blog). If you see something you like, you can click and buy it right here from the blog!  Just click on the image in the RapidCart and you'll be directed to a Checkout page - or you can click on links that will take you to my storefront where you can browse for other items or contact me. You don't need an ArtFire account to make a purchase and you don't need a PayPal account to pay for your selections; you can use a credit card to make a payment through the PayPal payment processing system.

I'll be taking some requests, so if you've seen something on the blog or on Flickr in the past that you thought you'd like to have for yourself, send me an email or visit my shop and click on the Contact This Artisan link. You can also visit my Flickr set - ArtFire Samples - to see some of the items I  plan to sell in my shop to get started. Some are already listed, others are still in progress; I plan to add new items weekly.


The countdown to my Grand Opening begins today! Only 10 days left!

Quick Update: My First Giveaway

Thank you everyone who participated in my first blog Giveaway!

I used random.org's Random Sequence Generator to select the winning entries.

The first name selected was from the blog comments and the second name was from the Facebook fans.I've sent email notifications to both winners and am waiting for them to confirm their mailing addresses. I've already heard back from one of the winners - if I don't receive confirmation from the other by Saturday, I'll use the next name on the randomized list.

Congratulations to Pam R., who commented on the blog and is the winner of the Turquoise & Watercolor Reusable Grocery/Shopping Tote Bags and to Will R., who is one of the first 29 Facebook fans and is the winner of the Black & White bags.


FYI - I've closed and hidden the comments on the original Giveaway blog entry.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Good news - if you missed out on the Giveaway, you can buy similar Reusable Grocery Bags very soon in my SewAmazin ArtFire Studio!