As many know, shopping and I do not get along.  But I was in the part of town for a meeting this morning that also included Joann's and Staples on the way back home.  AND I had a 50% off coupon, which I always save to use on the outrageously expensive Peltex that's used on just about every sewn item that's done in this house.  How do people buy it without a coupon?  Anyway..... here's the mother load from my shopping trip this morning.  

My Staples trip was well worth it as they had a 3-Ring Binder sale going on.  Buy 3 and get one free!  Well, Katie bar the door and sign me up!  The little books weren't on sale, but that's okay as they are a great price to begin with.

BUT....  the Staples customer service was over the top wonderful!  And I told them that while I was there.  Since I'm sort of in that same line of work, I truly appreciate GOOD customer service - and they have it rocking and rolling at our local store.  Oh, to be able to run into that kind of service more often.... it would make shopping so much easier for those of us who hate it!  Thank you, Harrison, for your greeting, your smile, your helpfulness AND conversation!!!  You totally made my day.

....... and I couldn't be happier about it.  I challenged myself to get down in the trenches and be creative.  I stepped outside the normal realm last night and tried working the kitchen scene.  *Failure*  It is abundantly obvious that I am the daughter of a full blooded Swede who didn't enjoy cooking herself.  So as far as being creative outside the sewing room or off the knitting couch, it just isn't going to happen.  Now to climb out of that depressing hole.....

......... needed to share with you the Little Golden Books fabric and Bill and I think would make into great carry-along art books for kids.  This just brings back such wonderful memories of my own childhood and to find this famous artwork in fabric form was a joy.

And of course, there's the Poky Little Puppy.  One of my favorite childhood stories.  

To find such nostalgic children's fabric was exciting and we both decided that these needed to go into the line up for product.


If anyone out there has other resources for this type of fabric (nostalgic) please let me know.  Bill and I are always on the lookout for fun and different designs.

After struggling with the mini file folder idea made out of paper, it hit me tonight what I could try.  So Bill shooo-ed me off to the sewing room to see if the concept would work, and here I am showing the prototype of what could actually WORK!  Now mind you all, I am a 3X5 card nut and think everyone should have them in their purse.  I do, and it's saved me on numerous occasions from being without information I needed.  So let me know what you think, what you think could be tweaked or improved on.  

Elastic, baby!  All it took was elastic and I can leave the cardstock and folding for something else.  And it opens up and down instead of side to side.  Just had to fix my thinking is all.  Ahhhhhhhhh, sleep will be good tonight for sure.

Weird day.... PetSmart for a new fish (yes, Michael Jackson the 2nd needed to be replaced by MJ #3), to Bed Bath & Beyond because whoever waited on my husband yesterday thought they could get by NOT using his 20% off coupon he handed them, and to Walmart just for the fun of it.  Yeah, the last part of that sentence was a joke - who goes to Walmart for FUN?  Yikes.  

Anyway, wanted to throw out the two planners I finished up today.  It was my PINK day, I guess.  Just because I'm not a fan of pink, doesn't mean others aren't.  And one of the planners is for a good cause, and would make a terrific gift for a survivor.

It's time to pick up a book - or some knitting.  I hear golf on TV so we all know it's Sunday afternoon for sure.

Be CREATIVE and let's have a wonderful week together!

I totally give up on trying to produce a Vera Bradley knock-off.  This was another stab at it, but it's awful and will probably end up in the trash.  There is just about nothing that attracts me to this design any longer............  Had a thought that kicking up the folder part with different color dividers would help.  But, nah, it's just not the type of quality I want or am looking for, and would be embarrassed to even try and sell these.  I had to try, though, right?

So out of the duds and frustration came a whirlwind of new ideas the minute I woke up this morning.  The realization that paper is unforgiving in certain areas, and that I need to keep the paper part of my life to scrapbooking (once that all comes in from the garage that is) where creativity comes more in to play.  The perfection in these paper folders has to be precise and afraid the old girl isn't a machine to do that!  HA!

So the designs from now on should keep along the same lines as before.  Softer and non-tearing.  And I'm excited to try the softer side of what you're seeing above.

You can just FEEL spring in the air with these colors, can't you?  This is some of the 'new arrivals' advertised on Fabric.com and they are simply wonderful!  Click the pic and it will take you to all those gorgeous arrivals - there's tons!  I learned that Ty Pennington has a line of fabrics out now, too.  His are a little abstract for what I like, but they are pretty - you should check them out.

Spring is in the AIR!  And don't forget to spring those clocks forward tonight for daylight savings time.  

After working for two hours on trying to get the marketing up on Ravelry this morning, my eyes and my brain are dazed and confused.  Now how hard is it to make a 210X100 pxl banner?  Well, it must be tougher than I thought and I give up for right now.  I put together at least 10 ideas and each time I submitted them, Ravelry said they weren't the right size.  So what's a gal to do?  I know!  Take a break, that's what!  Enough of THAT madness!  HA

I was able to find a good 20 icons though for Ravelry so all was not lost.  This one is my favorite.

So it's time for a break from this computer and get busy creating some things because the weekend has just begun and the projects are ready to get worked on!!!  Coffee time..........

TygerLily t-shirts are getting ordered today!  I am super excited to share some with my family and see where the rest end up.  But you see my little white tiger and orange lily picture up at the top?  that's what's going to show up on these t-shirts - in full blown COLOR!  So keep your eyes peeled for the unveiling.  And if you want to purchase one, you just let me know and we'll work something out.  

Just another venue as to how to get my little company name out there in the world.

Happy creating, everyone!

My big March Madness today was setting up my patterns to be sold on Ravelry.com!  I was excited to see they have upgraded their site to allow more people to sell their designs right then and there when you're looking at it.  So if you'd like check out the TygerLily on Ravelry!  There is a LOT to see on their site - it's worth signing up - and membership to the site is free.

PLEASE follow the link when you click on the sew-a-long picture.  Even if you can make ONE little girl clothed - it's worth a million.