Designs by Jessie

Just a quick coupon

noreply@blogger.com (Designs by Jessie) — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 21:31:00 +0000

I just wanted to post a quick coupon for my blog followers! Its for 15% off Designs by Jessie!

Lots of new products have been added this week!

Camera Strap Cover Tutorials

noreply@blogger.com (Designs by Jessie) — Tue, 18 May 2010 19:43:00 +0000

Remember how a while back I mentioned that I was getting out of the Camera Strap Cover business? I'm finally starting to take that plunge. As much as I love the covers, I am ready to put on my big girl panties and start making the real deal!

You can find all of these and many more at Designs by Jessie Measurements:
•Length of strap - 45 inches
•Nylon Strap Length - 6 inches
•Width of fabric strap - 2 inches
•Width of Nylon strap - 1/2 inch

I understand that not everyone is going to want a longer strap, so I do have an alteration option. For only 5 dollars you can opt to have your camera strap altered. Length, width, extra padding etc.

I will also soon have options on the site to build your own strap. You will be able to choose, your length, padding amount, width, fabric, minky, and regular or quick connect ends.

There are several of these loaded in the shop right now, and will be more to come!

So now after you have seen the new item, its a little understandable on why I'm going to give out the secret to the other product. Lets face it. Its not much of a secret. All you have to do is google camera strap cover tutorial, and you will get pages and pages of tutorials. I have decided to narrow that down for you. These are some of my favorite.

Priddy Creations has an awesome tutorial, and what is unique about hers is she also shows you how to line it for a very clean finish. Tutorial~Picture is from Priddy Creations Blog~

This tutorial just came out a bit ago, but its so cute. I found this one on Moda Bake Shop Blog, Its by Brassy Apple. It uses charm packs from Moda. Tutorial ~Picture is from Moda Bake Shop Blog~Ohhh I love this next one. Make It and Love It is one of my favorite blogs for all kinds of sewing inspiration. She is the place I go and think.. I wanna be just like her when I grow up!!! Tutorial ~Picture is from Make it and love it blog~

The Design Sponge uses a handy dandy looping tool. Goodness .. 1000 covers later I wish I had bought one of those!!! Tutorial ~Picture is from design sponge website~

I do still have some camera strap covers available in the store I will be slashing their prices this week to get the last of them gone!

New Fabric!

noreply@blogger.com (Designs by Jessie) — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 16:14:00 +0000

There is nothing like the feel of products getting ready for shipment! Its a great feeling of accomplishment to see these items bundled up and ready to be mailed. This weekend for the first time in a long time I was completely caught up! What I mean by completely is orders more than 4 days old were packaged and ready to ship!

For me, I'm happy to see these gems on their way to their new home. Sometimes it sad if its a fabric line that I really love and its the end of it, like those brown green and blue dots. I love that fabric!!! It really gives me a feeling of accomplishment and a burst of energy to put my thinking hat on and start coming up with other fabric combinations and new ideas!

It also gives me an excuse to go shopping!!!

I love to shop for fabric. It IS the main reason why I sew. Yes true, I love the things that I make, but I love LOVE the fabric. I love touching it, smelling it. It is truly a love affair.

I will shop anywhere for fabric. Hobby Lobby, Michaels, JoAnnes

I have picked up fabric at local quilt shopsGarage sales and swap meets.

I have even gone so far as to buy an XXXL shirt in a fabric that I adored because I couldn't find the actual fabric.

So stay tuned, as this fabric will be turned shortly into Designs by Jessie products.

Do you have something that you compulsively shop for? Something that you can linger over in the store for hours over?

Im really tired of being fat.

noreply@blogger.com (Designs by Jessie) — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 15:07:00 +0000

Seriously, No joke. I am so over being fat!

My clothes from last year don't fit right, I have chins where chins shouldn't be! I am not fat enough for surgery, but fat enough that I cant shop in normal shops anymore.

So I'm over it. Something has to give. Jack wants to take everyone to gulf shores for a holiday this summer, and to be honest .. I don't want to fit my flabby abs in a swimming suit. I would even volunteer to go back to the most miserable place on earth before I subjected my excessive flesh to the sun of Florida!

So this week I decided to do a little something about it. In the past I have tried diets, extreme exercising. They didn't work. I'm sure they are all great programs.. but they also have issues..

Extreme exercising .. well after 3 days you are so sore, you have to take a day off.. then it turns into 2.. and before you know it.. you went 3 days and took off a week, and spent all that money for a fantastic gym membership for a 3 day stint!

I have tried Weight Watchers, Nutri System etc.. but lets be honest .. I'm fat because I LIKE FOOD! I like wine, cold beer and fried fish! These diet programs don't work for me, well because I would rather starve then eat the nasty Nutri System food! I am a food snob!

But like all things .. The food solution is easy... What is it they say? You have to eat to loose weight? I'm sure they don't mean a big Denny's fry up for breakfast. I believe they were talking about a cup of granola, a cup of yogurt and probably some fruit or something.

So this week... I will be taking charge.. I going to figure out the food thing. There has to be something somewhere on the "healthy" list that I will like.

So In the mean time I wanted to get down to exercising. I used to be a runner, In a long ago far away dream, I used to be a very good long distance runner. yes I know .. now I cant even run two houses down.. but I did used to run, and I want to get back to it.

So fortified with my new knee braces, lots of antiflamatories I am starting the couch to 10 K program. I have to take the damn dog out to walk anyway.. this program is designed for big fat couch potatoes.. ok .. you can be a skinny couch potato.. It gets you slowly into shape to be able to run 10 K

You can listen to you own music while you keep track of your workout.

It prompts you when to walk and when to jog.

This is an app for my IPhone. You don't have to have an app. You can find this program everywhere online. The App was 3 dollars, so much less of an investment then Nutri System! You can find the App here

Or you can find more information about the program and how to keep track of it here.

Every monday I will update my progress. Hopefully I can loose some weight to get rid of an extra chin! Then I will be able to participate in Krystyns Mommy and Me project!!!

A COUPON!!

noreply@blogger.com (Designs by Jessie) — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 22:58:00 +0000

Just because its Friday, and well I have neglected my blog..

I did get so much done today.. Orders out.. emails answered.. my friend came over and helped me clean my house..

So after a terrible week fighting this flue, and ending it on a high note with a super productive day I'm giving out this coupon to all Designs by Jessie customers!!

Enjoy 20% off at Designs by Jessie
Now until Midnight Sunday night!

Use Coupon code HAPPYFRIDAY20DBJ

to take 20% off your total order at checkout!

Happy Friday!

Big News!

noreply@blogger.com (Designs by Jessie) — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 14:14:00 +0000

The cat is out of the bag. I am a Soccer Mom. For everyone that didn't know, they now know. Yes I am that rabid mom on the side line screaming at my child to run and suck it up! Yes that is me.

So recently G had the opportunity to try out for the ODP, The Olympic Development Program. The ODP is a fantastic program for the kids to compete on a national level. They have the state teams, regional teams, then finally the national team. Each state holds their own tryout. There were over a 1000 kids from Elite brackets all over Texas who came for a shot to make the Texas pool. They managed to wheedle the kids down to 56 after a grueling 3 day tryout. They then held 3 more training/tryout events all over Texas and narrowed it down to the final 32.

I am so pleased to say that HE MADE THE 32!!!! He made the Texas State Olympic Development team!

So whats next? Next he is off to camp in Alabama for a week, with a chance to be held over for the regional team. The regional team is made up of southern states.. South of North Carolina, East of Texas. So we are very excited about this, and truly soccer mad here in the house right now!!!

WELL DONE G!!!!

WE WILL BE SUPPORTING YOU ALL THE WAY!!!!
to read more about the Olympic Development Program click here

Fabric Label Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (Designs by Jessie) — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 14:56:00 +0000

I'm feeling pretty sick today, and not wanting to snot on any ones order, I decided to work on the computer instead. I want to share the love, but not the deep and meaningful love if you get what I mean!!!

This is a tutorial that I have wanted to write for a while now. You can be a quilter, knitter, etc.. and this will come in handy. No matter what it is that you make in life, you will always want to label it, to make sure future generations know that it came from you. In my case, as my handmade one of a kind items are shipped out to the masses, I want to make sure to have my brand on them!

When I first started out, This was a big conundrum for me. Where to buy labels! So I searched and searched. You can find cheap ones, expensive ones, sew in, iron on, some with premade designs etc. After I ordered several different labels, I really wasn't satisfied with what I was getting.

A. Some reason my brand always looked a little skewered ..

B. The wait time was forever. I'm talking 2 to 3 mos for a pack of 36 labels!

C. The expense. I remember paying 35 dollars for a pack of 36 labels. That is a dollar a label folks.

As a small start up, I really didn't want to have to wait, or pay those huge costs, so I set out to learn how to do this myself!

Things you will need:

1 pack of Ink Jet Colorfast fabric sheets. You can find these everywhere, Hobby Lobby, Michaels, JoAnnes, Hancocks. They are a little pricey. For a pack of 10 it is around 25 dollars, so I always make sure to take a coupon with me. All the stores above usually have a 40% to 50% off coupon in the Sunday paper

A Printer with Ink. You may chuckle at that, but the first time I attempted this I had NO ink!

An Iron

And some sort of scissor or rotary cutter. Step 1. I actually used PSE to do this. But any program really will work. I opened up a 8x10 piece of paper (that is how big your fabric sheet is) design your label, then just copy and paste, copy and paste copy and past until you have filled your whole screen.

As I designed my own logo I had it on hand.

Once your satisfied with what you have, print out a test sheet on regular paper. You want to make sure your font is easy to ready and your spacing is on target.

These are from my old label..

Once you have printed out your labels on fabric paper, let them dry for 30 min. Then run them under cold water.

Lay carefully of paper towels and blot dry
Once they are blotted dry take them over to your ironing board and Iron them dry to set the ink.
Take a rotary cutter, or scissors and cut them out!

After your all cut you should have many labels!!! I usually do a pack of 10, I can get 25 labels on a sheet. That is 250 Labels for less than 20 dollars!!! Compare that to 36 labels @ 35 dollars? That is a big savings!

My new labels are fold. I think they look pretty professional, but I am also able to put my website on the back side

Buy 1 Get 1 Free

noreply@blogger.com (Designs by Jessie) — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 21:08:00 +0000

Well I hinted at his a while back

It wasn't that I forgot about it, I just couldn't figure out how to do it in the store to get the discount to automatically come off!

Jane worked tirelessly today and came to my rescue. So the Buy 1 Get 1 Free sale is on!!!

Here is how it workes

You go to my store and you put a camera strap cover in your cart, add another to the cart, and then when you get to the checkout, the price of one of the camera straps will be deducted from your total!

There are terms and conditions.... well of course there are!

1. You cannot purchase a CD Visor and get a free Camera Strap .. This sale is only for the straps! But you CAN purchase a CD Visor and a Camera Strap and get another Camera Strap absolutly free:)

2. This sale will end April 5th

3. Custom orders are not included

Goodbye Granny...

noreply@blogger.com (Designs by Jessie) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 13:38:00 +0000

This past weekend my Granny passed away. She lived a full life, just the way she wanted. Some of the happiest memories of my childhood were at my Granny's house. My Granny taught me many things that still stay true to this day...White Gravy taste best made in a cast iron skillet made from sausage grease.

If you pan fry a steak in butter and worshisire sauce, before a night of drinking, you won't puke

A fly swatter hurts the ass as much as the fly

Frozen burritos and ketchup is a meal replacement

Bread should always be soft, if you cant afford Wonder don't bother

Sarcasm only sharpens as you get older

Slippers are acceptable footwear for ALL occasions

Keep a nice pair of PJ's as backup, you never know who you will meet in Reno

Yahtzee is timeless, and anyone who sits at your kitchen table will enjoy a game

Laughter cures most everything. If you cant laugh at them, smack em!

Really? Seriously?

noreply@blogger.com (Designs by Jessie) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:48:00 +0000

There are many tools out there to get the word out about your business. Honestly you can get lost in the blogs, forums, sites. Online networking is a must for anyone to get the word out about your business. Beware, people won't follow you if you only say "come buy my crap"!

You can tweet, facebook, do giveaways, list your products on multiple selling sites (ie ebay, etsy, big cartel) It is all what works for you.

I do some giveaways mostly, and buy some ad space. I do twitter and try and not sound like a twit. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't.

When you do a giveaway usually there are chances for multiple entry's. Follow on facebook, follow on twitter, RT about the giveaway, Go to said shop and tell about your favorite thing etc. I like to opt for the most exposure so I always encourage the blog that is holding the giveaway to give extra entry's to following my blog, and me on twitter.

This helps in several ways. I can put on my twitter about a new product and people who follow me will get that in their stream. It also means that ... *shock* ... potential or actual customers are reading about what I write on twitter! You can follow people to see what they are doing, or they can follow you. I have been known to tweet about a great bottle of wine, a fantastic giveaway, or how my dog will sit around and fart. It all depends.

The one thing that gets my back up is when other small business tweet about their customers. About problems, payment, emails etc. Do you not get that your customers are reading your tweets? Don't call them names, don't tweet about how "difficult" they are. And please don't tweet about how stressed you are about customer demands when you spend all day tweeting. They see this, and wonder if you have so much time to spend your day on twitter, how come you don't have time to process my purchase. Twitter is a valuable tool for networking, but not used correctly can come back and bite you in the butt. Just saying!

Recently I have been asked to sponsor a few giveaways. Sponsor meaning I donate the Item versus Host meaning I will hold it on my blog. So yes I have sponsored a few.

Right now there is a Giveaway going on the Make Me a Blessing Blog. Courtney the owner is awesome, and did a great job with organizing this. She is so great to work with! The Giveaway is for a 20$ Gift certificate to my store. You can find the post here. This Giveaway is running until March 13th.

The Second Giveaway is on Loving my life reviews blog. Sarah was actually a winner of a giveaway that I did. She won multiple camera strap covers and decided to give one of them away on her blog. You can find the entry here. This entry ends today March 10th at 9pm.
On to some new products..

I have some new products listed in the shop.

Some New CD Visors

I also brought the Iphone Ipod covers back. Was having way to many emails about whether or not I was still carrying them. Before Christmas I couldn't give them away, now they are moving!!!

Remember all New Products are marked down 15% until the Monday after they are listed! All camera strap covers are on sale 30% off until they are gone!

Woulda Coulda Shoulda

noreply@blogger.com (Designs by Jessie) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:04:00 +0000

There are so many things that I Shouda Couda Wouda done differently. Starting a business is full of pitfalls, many wrong turns, and several sharp corners. How much is my own fault?

Today I was talking to Jane, Jane does my website for me, she is an HTML guru. She is also my friend. We have known each other 4+ years. She is the one that I discuss all my big ideas with. My cohort in crime if you will say.

Today Jane and I were discussing all the things that we shouda couda wouda did differently if only we had known better. I know you have alot of those.

Its been a year now since I have decided to sell my one of kind hand crafted items to the mass market, and to be honest there are alot of things that I would have done differently, so many balls that I let fall, and just so much that I should have followed through on.

One of the things is Marketing. Gosh I HATE marketing. I hate going from place to place telling people to come buy my one of a kind hand crafted items. I despise talking about myself, promoting myself etc. Sure I have no problem telling my husband how brilliant I am, or my sister, but telling the world? Its pretty hard.

You can find yourself in a endless blog/site circle trying to promote, looking for new ways to promote, and just generally getting the word out there about yourself. I have easily spent full days going from blog to blog to site to forum.. hoping that possibly I might get a view or two.

*note to self.. People won't come and buy your crap .. handmade genuine one of a kind item.. if they CANT FIND IT*

Its an easy enough thing to say, but its another thing to fully understand. Its a dilemma I struggle with most days. Yes just because someone has bought my crap.. handcrafted one of a kind item.. doesn't mean the populace of the world is going to know about it.

Camera straps, were my bread and butter for a long time. I started making them for various reasons, but lets be honest.. I get email updates.. I'm not a fool .. there are 101 tutorials out there on how to make them now, and about 40 different people selling them on etsy.

So a year ago I was selling 6 to 7 of these a day, now maybe Im lucky if Im selling 5 or 6 of these a month. Part of that is its becoming a pretty over saturated market, but part of it is my own lack of marketing. Others are beating me out because they are more visible!

So I have made a few decisions. I am going to stop making these. I have a shelf full of precut fabric, and when its gone, its gone. I don't enjoy making them anymore, and if its not fun, well then its time to move on.

I have these in my store on sale, for 30% off right now. Maybe next week they will be buy one get one free. Once the fabric is gone, its gone. If you order you might just get an extra one to boot. I am getting out of the camera strap cover making business.

This camera strap is done in a cute Amy Butler print, with coordinating dotty back. There are 3 with lens pockets and 4 without.

I also have some new CD visors in the shop. I am loving these. I know you have tons of cd's laying around your car! I have one of these on my visor, for my music CD's, and another one on the other visor for the kids movies. All at my fingertips.

Online Drama

noreply@blogger.com (Designs by Jessie) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 14:37:00 +0000

One of the reasons that I love sewing so much is its a solitary hobby. Sure you can go to groups and guilds and talk about your hobby, but for the most part it is just you, your machine and some beautiful fabric.

I knew when I made the decision to sell some of my wares that I was opening myself up to criticism, comments, stress.

A year ago Jan 09, when I decided to sell my camera strap covers, It wasn't that I wanted to corner the camera strap cover industry. I made one for myself, a friend wanted another, and I thought .. well crap I know alot of photographers and scrapbookers.. I can probably sell these things.

I did a small amount of research in it, and noticed there were 2 or 3 people making them also. I also noticed that people were buying them. I looked at there stock and noticed that our fabric taste was very different, meaning we didn't use the same fabric. So I put my big girl panties on and put a few up for sale. Low and behold they sold. It was pretty awesome. That is how Designs by Jessie got started.

Occasionally I would get email inquires about lens pockets. They saw a pocket on someone elses camera strap cover and would ask me if I could make one also. I had a fabric they loved and they wanted a pocket. Fair enough. So after a few of those, I started to add them into my shop. To my surprise I received an email from another woman who makes camera strap covers also. Basically what it said was , oh your pockets are cute, but they look so familiar!

I hemmed and hawed about answering back to her. I decided to respond with a simple... Thank you very much. I see what you are getting at. We attach our pockets differently, and I was having so many requests that I decided to offer them.

A few months ago, It was decided by the powers that be that I must twitter. To tell you the truth its pretty fun, especially after a few glasses of wine. I have always felt pretty uncomfortable "tweeting" come and buy my crap! But after a few glasses of Merlot I feel I can tweet with complete strangers comfortably!

Shortly after joining twitter I get an other email from this woman via twitter about the description in my store. Apparently it was familiar to hers! I thought to myself .. Seriously how many ways can I say this thing is 21" long? And it fits over your existing camera strap! So I labored for days writing a new description.

So last night, someone that I follow, because I like her designs, came out with a new design. Its for a composition book cover. Yes I sell them also. I'm not bothered by that, she made a beautiful product. I sent her a message via twitter.. @Store owner name here love your notebook covers! They are so easy to make. Love the ruffle accessory! And I did/do. They are unique, I love how she applied her ruffle, they are fun and eye catching. Silly me thinking to offer compliments to other handmade artists.

So this morning I wake up to @designsbyjessie They may be easy to make, but no one makes them better than @Store owner name here! The tweet was made my this woman who sent the previous emails. I thought to my self WOW. I really had to go back and check to see what I wrote. I was 99% sure what I said was supportive and didn't infer anything. So to get something like that back from a completely separate person .. well to be honest .. I was at a loss.. I was/am frustrated, my feelings were a tad bit hurt and I really felt this was a dig at me.

I'm not going to have a poor me moment, I love the things I make, and I make way to much of it. So its either give it away, or sell it. I'm sure there are always going to be snotty people out there, and there isn't anything I can do about it.

So after today's events, I think I'm going to read a few of the blogs that I enjoy and try and finish up this quilt top. I have about 8 flowers on it left to applique and its been sitting in the "to be completed" bin for over a year. So today I'm going to take some solitary time for myself, and remember that I LOVE TO SEW, it makes me HAPPY!

Quilt Binding Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (Designs by Jessie) — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 15:33:00 +0000

Binding my quilt was something I was really afraid to do. You have just picked up your quilt from the quilters, they quilted this beautiful intricate design. You sweated, and bleed over your quilt top. Now you have to finish it. And you might hesitate a bit, at this final stage you really don't want to muck it up! You can also pay your local quilt shop between $50 - $75 to put the binding on for you. But why bother? That is money that can go for another quilt top!

So I have come up with a little tutorial to get you thru this.

Things you need:
1. Your rotary cutter
2. Your binding fabric (this could be special fabric you bought, or just scrap) I like to use the scrap fabric from my backing.
3. A walking foot
4. quilting pins

Instructions:

cut your fabric into 2 1/2 inch strips. You can cut these on the bias, but I tend to only cut my binding on the bias if I'm binding a scallop edge. But enough strips that It will make it 1 1.4 way around your quilt. Sew the ends together so you get one continuous 2 1/2 inch strip. This strip should go around your quilt 1 1/4 times.

Iron your strips in half long ways. One one end fold over the edge so it gives it a finished look. That end I will refer to as your tail end.

Take your binding strip. With the tail section in your hand Place it on the top of your quilt raw edge of binding facing out. Leave about 4 inches of your tail free and then pin the rest down to the quilts corner.

Sew a 1/4 inch seam to the corner of the quilt stopping a 1/4 inch from the corner

Back stitch to secure it.

Fold your loose binding to the right, creating a L

Fold the binding back over and align raw edge of binding with quilt top again and pin to secure.

Start in the corner, and sew 1/4 inch seam to next corner and repeat for all your corners. Stop sewing once get 6" from where you started

Once you get all around your going to come back to your tail section. Remember that you kept this loose? Measure your binding until it overlaps your tail section.

Encase the binding strips raw edge inside your tail section and finish sewing to your starting point.

Turn the binding over the edge to the back.

Making sure to hide the stitching lines, hand stitch around.

Stitch all the way around. Yes it takes some time, and its a bit awkward in the beginning. You will get your rhythm soon enough. Just put a fabulous movies in, or some great music and you will be finished in no time!
Binding with perfect Mitered corners!

When it Rains...

noreply@blogger.com (Designs by Jessie) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 14:32:00 +0000

It really pours in our house.

My husband travels (working outside of the US) , not alot anymore, but still enough to notice. It never fails though, whenever he has a trip, there is a minor/major emergency here. Sick kids, ear infections, once I chopped off the tip of my finger. We lock ourselves out of the house, we lock keys in the car etc. We do this when he leaves. Maybe self consciously we are trying to make him feel like he is important, who knows.

So 6 days into my husbands latest trip disaster strikes again.

I got a call yesterday from J's school. Apparently he collided with a kid during basketball and it knocked him out cold. J's got a hard head, so he must have gotten hit pretty hard. I seriously thought It was no big deal, as they were calling me instead of an ambulance. When I went down to the school basically J couldn't even walk. He was so out of it. Not the ... I forgot to take my ADD drugs this morning out of it, but I sneaked a pint of wild turkey out of it. Immediately alarm bells start going off in my head!

So I drive at break neck speed down the road to get him to the doctors. His Pediatrician is so awesome, she got us right in! Several min wait and we were down for xrays only to discover he had a hairline fracture on his nose. Well crap! But ohhhh no .. it doesn't end there...

She is so concerned, we are now wisked off to the hospital for a head ct! Did I say I was panicked yet? My husband is in freaking Africa, my kindergartner is getting out of school soon, my middle schooler an hour after that. I have no friends here, and the one "family" friend we do have is in England for the week! Crap Crap Crap!!!! Thank goodness my neighbor needed something one day and I saved her number. After securing pickup for the children I was able to take care of business at hand! They run the tests, coordination, questions etc.. He couldn't remember the date, didn't know where he was, really had no sense on what was happening .. Did I already say crap? They run him thru the CT and then we wait. The pediatrician is going on about transferring him to Texas Children's .. and I'm just going crap crap crap. Now normally I would be on the phone with Dr. Debbie (my sister, not really a doctor) but my phone was on 5% power so I was going to have to fly solo for this little medical emergency.

Finally after just a little while, the doctor comes back with a big smile on her face, He has no bleed! She wanted to keep him there for 6 hours to make sure, but it looks like a concussion and a fractured nose. Lets face it, that was enough for us!!!

When it Rains... It really does pour in this house!

Just a reminder!

Don't forget All new items in my SHOP are 15% off till Sunday at midnight!

Discoverd the Library

noreply@blogger.com (Designs by Jessie) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 14:41:00 +0000

Well not for the first time! I used to spend alot of time there in High School and College. Once I had a job though, I usually just bought my books. I could get them hot off the pressess so to speak. This really agrivates my husband though. I would spend 7 or 8 dollars on a book and finish it by the end of the day. It then would go and take up space on a shelf, until a garage sale where It would only be resold for maybe .25.

One of the things that I got into when I learned to sew was the audio book. Anytime I can multi task I jump on it. There are a few problems with audio books though.

1. Don't try and think while listening. Cleaning house, driving cars, sewing in straight lines.. perfect audiobook listining times. Surfing internet, cutting fabric, or thinking with more than 3 cells, listening to the books doesn't work to well.

2. Audio books are expensive. You could pay upwards of 24.00 dollars for a book from Itunes. You can get your self a subscription to audible, and then pay 14 dollars a month and get a book.

Or you can rediscover your Library.

Most public library's are online now. They have a great section where you can actually "download" books. Not just 5 or 10 books, but they have thousands, and usually a good amount of new releases. So much money saved from just a little trip to the Library.

One of the other things that the Library does now is you can reserve your books online. I'm not just meaning one book, but most library's will let you reserve up to 20 books at a time. Now seriously, your probably not going to read 20. You can reserve your book, It tells you what your wait is, and they email you when its in.

My Library actually pools from 15 Library's in our area. Just because the book isn't in "my" library, doesn't necessarily mean its not in the county. They will transport my selection to the library of my choice. Pretty cool eh?

So in my glee of "free" books I have been reading quiet a bit. With all the vampire stuff going on, I have been reading more into some super natural kind of books.

Laurell K Hamilton writes a series of books about Vampire bounty hunter Anita Blake. She also has this series about faerie princess Merry Gentry

Meredith NicEssus is a faerie princess turned private investigator in a world where faeries are not only known to the general public, but are also fashionable. She takes on the pseudonym "Meredith Gentry" to hide from her family and her past while hiding out in Los Angeles, California as a private investigator at Grey's Detective Agency. Merry, the only Sidhe (pronounced "shee") royal to be born on American soil, fearing the continuous assassination attempts on her life thinly disguised as duels, flees the Unseelie Court in a final act of self-preservation. Her glamour (the art of magical disguise through illusion) is nearly unrivaled at court, and she is able to pass herself off as a human with fey blood.

Also one of my greatest reading pleasures this year was The Black Dagger Brotherhood books. Yup more vampires!

A little bit about the brothers....

Wrath is the King of the vampires and is the last pureblood vampire in existence. He is almost blind, and is the leader who was not willing to ascend the throne. He falls in love with Beth, the half-breed daughter of his Brother, Darius. His father's name is also Wrath. His story is told in Dark Lover.

Rhage is the strongest and most beautiful of the Brothers. Cursed by The Scribe Virgin, he is possessed with a dark side that is a danger to everyone. His story is told in Lover Eternal He falls in love with a human named Mary and wishes to take her as his Shellan. His father's name is Tohrture.

Zsadist is the scarred, menacing Brother. Taken as an infant from his family, he's forced into blood slavery until his twin, Phury, rescues him. His story with the beautiful aristocratic vampire Bella tells the softening of this tortured warrior's heart in Lover Awakened.

Butch/Dhestroyer is the only human to be allowed within the Brotherhood, and is decended from Wrath. This connection to him allows him to be "turned" and he is initiated in the BDB. He lives at the "Pit", a two bedroom gate-house connected to the mansion where the King and other Brothers reside, with Vishous and he is a friend to all the warriors. An ex-homicide detective, he was lovingly given the nickname "Cop" by the vampires. He is the object of an ancient Lesser Prophecy, and has the ability to sense them wherever they are and can absorb them into himself. His story and his love for the vampire Marissa is told in Lover Revealed.

Vishous is the most intelligent and the one who is specially gifted. His curse is his ability to prognosticate: he sees the future, though not the 'when' of events so he is tortured by his inability to save those he loves from danger. Tattooed on his face, his genitals, - which are scarred since his father tried to castrate him - and his entire hand, he has the ability of psychometry. All of this was inherited from his mother The Scribe Virgin. He falls in love with a human surgeon, Dr. Jane Whitcomb. His story is told in Lover Unbound.

Phury is Zsadist's twin brother and a celibate who cannot truly live because of everything his biological brother has lost. Phury is incredibly loyal to his brother, even shooting off his own leg to save his twin. His noble nature went so far as to help release Vishous from being "Primale" to the Chosen. He eventually falls in love with the Chosen, Cormia, his first mate. His story is told in Lover Enshrined.

Rehvenge is brother-in-law to Zsadist, half symphath, and owner of a local club called ZeroSum. He is also a member of the vampire aristocracy and the "Princeps Leahdyre" of its council. He hides the fact that he is half "symphath" even from his own sister, Bella. His story is told in Lover Avenged.

Right now I'm reading ..

Ethan Wate is struggling to hide his apathy for his high school "in" crowd in small town Gatlin, South Carolina, until he meets the determinedly "out" Lena Duchannes, the girl of his dreams (literally--she has been in his nightmares for months). What follows is a smart, modern fantasy--a tale of star-crossed lovers and a dark, dangerous secret. Beautiful Creatures is a delicious southern Gothic that charms you from the first page, drawing you into a dark world of magic and mystery until you emerge gasping and blinking, wondering what happened to the last few hours (and how many more you're willing to give up). To tell too much of the plot would spoil the thrill of discovery, and believe me, you will want to uncover the secrets of this richly imagined dark fantasy on your own. --Daphne Durham

And of course I have some Nora on the Ipod (downloaded from the library of course). This series of books I read 10-12 years ago. Its great to go back and listen to it again.

My sister is a big reader also, and will spend ours on the phone discussing our latest reads. I guess we are our very own book club! Its not heavy reading, It doesn't necessarily make you go hmmmmmm. It is what it is, a fascinating form of entertainment to indulge in.

Its already February

noreply@blogger.com (Designs by Jessie) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 21:10:00 +0000

I'm not exactly sure where January went to. Is it possible to loose a month? At the end of the year I had so many plans, and they have pretty much gone to the wayside with real life getting in the way. So here I am in February trying to play catch up and struggling. Its almost like starting over again. Yikes! Promotion Promotion Promotion! So where to start.

One of the places I know I can start is updating this darned blog. Its a very valuable tool, but there is a trick to it. You have to post to it, and you have to tell people that you have posted to it! Its seriously not rocket science, but sometimes it is a mental struggle.

There are so many things I want to offer on my blog this year. New tutorials, new items, business "non" strategy. How not to do what Jessie does. Seriously, i can probably save you loads of time by just telling you what has backfired for me. One of the places I know I can start is with my shop. I did a complete inventory clean out, and decided to change my way of listing products. Where most items were created on demand, I have now gone to a complete ready made system. Yes I still do custom orders, but going ready made makes it easier to keep up with orders. So instead of the customer waiting on me to get it made, now whatever is in my shop can be shipped within 2 days. Most customers don't care if my dog gets sick, or my kids need some mommy time, they really just want their items. So by going ready made, Its already created, and the postman can pick it up!

I have also initiated a small shipping charge. I used to do free shipping and hoped that my orders got to where they were supposed to go. That kind of backfired. Sometimes orders don't get to where they need to go, and then there are a few people out there that will say they never received their item. It is the way of the world. By having a small shipping fee I am able to do delivery confirmation. It is protection for the buyer and for myself. Lets face it, Paypal really doesn't care how many times I say I shipped it. They want a numeric code as proof, and proof is what paypal will have!
I have also added some new Items to my shop. I have ventured out from my simple camera straps. I know offer a range of items. There are Composition book covers, Thread Catchers, CD Visors, etc. I want to eventually add some baby items, and some kitchen wares.
I am now offering a new product sale. I have decided to load new products into the store on Friday, and offer them at a 15% discount for the weekend.
I'm really excited about these new changes, and cant wait to get this rolling along again. Its going to be a bit uphill for a while, I know that the next month will be insane trying to drive in business. You only get out of this what you put into it. isn't that what they say? And lets be honest, I have the sewing part down already, Its the part where I have to tell people about it that is going to be the uphill battle!

Something to remember. people cant use ESP to realize that they cant live without one of my handmade, one of a kind items!

New Design

noreply@blogger.com (Designs by Jessie) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 02:16:00 +0000

Drumroll please!!! And the Winner is!

Sarah Halstead said...
I am following you and I tweeted about your giveaway @sarahmhalstead. Sarah, I will contact you today to get your details.

Now on to the Good Stuff!!!!

I used to make purses, seriously. The only problem was 1 bag would take all day long and nobody wanted to pay more then 40 dollars for one. So not only was I losing a day but I was also losing money as It cost more than 40 dollars to make one of these. So I put the purse thing aside but never really forgot about it.

OLD STYLE!

I personally don't carry a purse. I don't for many reasons but the main one is I will have an ADD moment and leave it behind. Its a tried and true tested fact about myself, I am not a good "carrier of things". So for the last few months I have been toying with making different bags. I really love the messenger style of bags, but they were way to big for me. Although they do come in handy at the post office when I need to put my envelopes somewhere.

For me the BIG problem with bags is... The bigger they are, the more crap you can put in them. Seriously do you really need all that crap? I can look right now in my last purse and there is still probably 100 receipts, 20 misc pens that I couldn't ever find, a few GI Joes, 3 or 4 Nintendo DS stylus, unwrapped gum (hopefully not chewed), loose change, fabric swatches, etc.. you really get the point.

Every time I have to travel, I just get a new bag that Is fresh and clean for my trip, because when I do travel, I do need a bag .. and start collecting crap all over again.

When you think about it, when you are traveling.. what do you need? Tickets.. ID.. a Book.. passport etc. You also need both your hands free to carry on your luggage, because I'm sure you are all the ones that take up the overhead compartments with the really not carry on luggage but hopefully will get away with it bags. So I set out to design a bag that I can travel with, that will fit all my "need" crap and leave my hands free.

This bag is in a messenger style. Its 9 inches wide and 12 inches long. It has a long across chest shoulder strap and will sit comfortably on your hip. Its lightly padded so It will protect your cell phone and small camera. It has a Velcro closure, and the magnet ones may cause issues with credit cards. There is also a matching passport cover that goes with it. You don't' have to put a passport in it, It will hold business cards, ID's etc.

This is a new Item that will be added to my shop after I come back from the holiday. It will retail at $35, and come in a variety of prints and patterns. And today IM GIVING IT AWAY!!!!

Ok .. So to Enter..

Leave me a comment. Tell me the worst Christmas gift you ever received. Mine was a hideous pink watch that looked like it came from Hannah Montana..and it was broken.. ummm last year... I'm sure you received something that really just made you think.. Does *add gift givers name here* know me at all?? Tell me all about it!

You can follow me on Twitter, if you already do, you can Tweet this giveaway for an entry
(over on the right there is a twitter update widget, and under recent tweets, it says follow me, Just click it!)

You can follow my blog if you don't already.

Leave a separate comment for each entry, So I can count them up accurately

Also, If your commenting, And this is very important!!! Please leave me your email if you don't have a blogger account.. I need to be able to tell you that you are a WINNER!

Don't forget, The last day to Order any products at Designs by Jessie is the 20th. There is a 30% off Sale going on right now, and All orders this week will be entered to win my fabulous (pat myself on my back) American Jane Quilt.

Gift Giving Love

noreply@blogger.com (Designs by Jessie) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:20:00 +0000

EDITED

I Havn't forgotten about this, Its not to late! Im going to keep it going until 8 am Thursday Morning. Im having to update from my IPhone.. Gotta Love it!

First off.. The winner from yesterday is Number 49

MIchelle said...
Gorgeous straps! Fave holiday drink is Baileys Irish cream with milk and ice.

December 14, 2009 7:23 PM

Now of course MIchelle did not leave an email, or respond on a blogger account. So Michelle, If your coming back to check Please email me at jessie@designsbyjessie.com So I can get your details and get this in the mail for you.

On to today!

This is a new fabric selection that I have just picked up. Its also a sneak peak of some of the additions I'm going to put in my store come January.

Its a cover for a composition book, you know the ones that are .50 around back to school time? I pick up tons of them as all my kids use them. I use them as Idea books, note books, book keeping, and I keep a special one for the holidays to jot down idea, recipes, addresses and really anything holiday related. I have a scrapbooking one that I can jot down sketches, websites, lists of things I want to buy, and they are slim enough to fit in most purses.

So this giveaway is for One Composition cover, and 2 Camera Strap covers in the same fabric. $45 dollar in value.

oh oh oh ... wait for it.... I will put the name of your choice on it also!

Pretty cool eh?

Ok .. So to Enter..

Comment, Tell me what your secretly hoping Santa is going to bring you for Christmas, Link it up, describe it .. etc.. And How much trouble will "Santa" be in if its not under your tree Christmas morning?

You can follow me on Twitter, if you already do, you can Tweet this giveaway for an entry

(over on the right there is a twitter update widget, and under recent tweets, it says follow me, Just click it!)

You can follow my blog if you don't already.

Leave a separate comment for each entry, So I can count them up accurately

Also, If your commenting, And this is very important!!! Please leave me your email if you don't have a blogger account.. I need to be able to tell you that you are a WINNER!

Several People asked when was the last day to purchase from DesignsbyJessie. I'm Shutting my Shop at Midnight on the 20th. The trickling orders will go out the 21st. There is a 30% Sale going on, and I am usually getting orders out 2 to 3 days after. If you order before the 20th Deadline your order will leave my house no later then the 21st! Don't Forget!! Every purchase at Designs by Jessie will enter you to win my American Jane Quilt

Also, I thought I would leave a little sneak peak at tomorrows giveaway.. Think Travel!

Now I must go think .. Cake Balls, Laundry, and vacuuming... You ladies get better thoughts!

Giveaway Monday

noreply@blogger.com (Designs by Jessie) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:02:00 +0000

CLOSED! WINNER ANNOUNCED ABOVE!

I decided that before I shut down my shop for the holiday, I would do a week of gift giving. Im always so grateful of every customer that purchases from me. I never would have dreamed a year ago that anyone would want to purchase anything that I made.

All Items that are being given away will also be avalable for purchase after the holidays.

First up is 3 Camera Strap Covers. It's my Black and White Collection. Each strap cover is 21 inches long, minky backed and has a built in lens pocket.

There is 3 ways to Enter..

Leave a comment. Tell me what is your FAVORITE Holiday Drink

Follow me on Twitter

or you can follow me on my blog.

This giveaway is not restricted to the US. I mail to EVERYWHERE!
This giveaway will last until my next post tomorrow Morning, when I will announce the winner and List my Tuesday giveaway!

Also don't forget about my quilt giveaway. You can find that post HERE

Im Giving it Away!

noreply@blogger.com (Designs by Jessie) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 22:55:00 +0000

My American Jane Quilt that is.

With the Store shutting down for the holiday, Im also clearing out some inventory, so all next week I will be having some giveaways.

This is a big giveaway and will last until December 20th. There will be some more inbetween. (some camera strap bundles, and other things under the sewing machine)

This American Jane Quilt, was created using a turning 20 pattern and Recess by American Jane by Moda. Its 60" x 68" , and made with 100% cotton. The batting is Premium Warm & Natural. This has been machine quilted, and the binding was hand stitched.

To win this American Jane quilt, I will be taking the Invoice numbers from Designs by Jessie from Today Dec 11th to Dec 20th and randomly drawing a name.

Your purchase has to be more than 5.00.

Im just saying as Im sure there will be someone who would go in and buy 50 lobster claw clips on single purchases.

Purchase is Necessary to win this.

Cake Balls!

noreply@blogger.com (Designs by Jessie) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:19:00 +0000

I have a pretty big love hate relationship with Cake Balls. These things seem to get more popular every year about Christmas time, and well.. .every year I attempt to make them, and every year they are a failure. So I tried again this year with a few new strategies .. and guess what! They worked!!! whooohoooo. So I put together a little tutorial to help the other cake ball challenged people out there.

All you need Is a boxed cake mix, a can of frosting, some chocolate bark and some perseverance and determination. I also got a jar of Christmas sprinkles, trying to be festive and all that!

Ok. So you make up your cake like normal. Bake it, let it cool but not completely. While its slightly warm start breaking it up and using a fork, or a handy dandy little tool start crumbling it into fine crumbs.
Add one whole can of frosting. As I used red velvet cake, I chose the cream cheese frosting.
Mix it completely until it looks like this. I know not nice. This is where I usually gave up as I thought I messed the whole thing up by this point.

Ok.. so here is the thing.. I went out and bought a fancy dancy little scooper thing because after repeated failures I had already learned rolling these suckers in your hands is messy. And you start to doubt if you had done it correctly. And then you have to wash your hands every 4th one .. blah blah blah.. so I bit the bullet and spent 6 dollars and got this little scooper. Worked like a charm.

See... All even!

Big TIP: Put them in the freezer for 20 min!! It will so help you handle them better during the coating process

Melt up your bark.

Hint: Everywhere says you only need one package of bark, but honestly I think you need 1 and a half.

Thought: Think about this.... If you are dipping red into white what is really going to happen? You should be thinking about these things about now.
Ok, yes I'm a finger girl. busted!

Dip the bottoms of your balls in the chocolate. With chocolate side down put them on some wax paper to cool. Once I filled up the tray I actually put them back in the freezer.

Then grab those little suckers by the bottom and dip the tops. I tried rolling the whole thing around in the chocolate and it just didn't work for me. They ended up with a huge covering of chocolate and looked all lumpy and stuff. While the chocolate is still soft add your sprinkles.
All Pretty and finished up!

Now to be honest, things weren't all hunky Dorey like the pictures may suggest. Although I did make it past the texture issue of past attempts the melted chocolate caused me alot of problems.

If I ever decided to do the red/white combo again I will have to revise a few things. The red cake DOES bleed into the white chocolate and in the end you end up with pink chocolate.

So I would do the bottoms the same, dip and then let dry. but at that point I think I would thin out the chocolate a little bit, place the cake balls on a cooling rack and probably pour the chocolate over them, it would give it a more even look I think, and Prevent the red bleeding issues from dipping.

I'm interested in trying some German Chocolate Cake with some coconut shavings. Or a little bit of triple chocolate that I can add some whiskey to.. The possibilities!

New Items

noreply@blogger.com (Designs by Jessie) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:07:00 +0000

Being uploaded as we speak! You can find all of these in the Fully Loaded area of the Shop.

Say goodbye to that raw neck - this strap slip cover will be so much more comfortable and unique! This strap slip cover is -removable- and is machine washable! Buy a couple and switch them out!!

It is designed to fit over your SLR or DSLR camera strap. It is 21 inches long and 2 3/4" wide; I have purchased some at 2 1/2 inches and they are hard to get on, so I make mine a little wider. It will fit most standard camera straps.

To enhance durability and prevent slipping, the camera strap cover is lined with fleece interfacing, which also adds some padding for comfort.

This strap also has the most useful accessory you need: the lens pocket!. It is the perfect gift for any photographer, including yourself!

This Strap Cover is backed with Minky Fabric

Minky is an incredibly soft and plush "micro-fiber" fabric. These "melt-in-your-hand" fabric styles are great for baby blankets, baby clothes, pillows, robes -- anything that should be -- or needs to be -- soft!!

Shipping is always FREE! International Included

Getting Back on Track

noreply@blogger.com (Designs by Jessie) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:31:00 +0000

OMG, we are supposed to have snow today! In Houston! What a topsy turvy world we live in. Hurricanes in the Summer and now snow in the winter!

Correction.. It IS Snowing outside, RIGHT NOW! Now on to the actual post...

The last 6 mos have been crazy, just insanely so. Big plans, and even bigger ideas. Some have panned out, and others not so. Sometimes Big plans and big ideas just stayed that .. ideas. So after careful reflection of this year I'm setting out to make some changes. For Designs by Jessie to be successful, things cant keep going the way they are going. I'm always behind, always struggling to keep up. I'm living in a tornado of chaos and crazy. I miss creating new things, working on new ideas, and designing for the joy of it.

So in saying all of that.... I will be closing my shop on December 18th. It won't be closing for good, but I will be restructuring it, adding new sections and new products, expanding, and decreasing. The virtual doors will reopen on January 15th with a new structure, ready to ship items, and a new line for ...... Well you have to wait until the 15th!

For the next few days I will be adding some ready made, ready to ship items. These are all fully loaded either with minky and a pocket, or just a pocket. Of course all strap covers are padded and Shipping is FREE!

All Products will be shipped out next day until the end of the sale on the 18th.

Thanksgiving is over

noreply@blogger.com (Designs by Jessie) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:32:00 +0000

And I am just a wee bit sad.

Having family around really drives home the fact that you don't have alot of family near by. As much as the week was chaotic, insane, busy, and a blur.. I can really put it in my list of all time best Thanksgivings ever. As we were together for the first time in a long time we decided we would do some of our Christmas Traditions at Thanksgiving, knowing we wouldn't be together for the next holiday.

In our houses, every Christmas morning we have a Cinnamon dish and champagne. We have done this for years.. It started on way back when we were little and there wasn't anything to eat or drink Christmas morning. I cant remember if our mother was there or not, because lets me honest, some mornings she wasn't there. There were some stale cinnamon roles and a left over bottle of Cold Duck left over from some party or another that our mother went to. We got the bottle open, and that is what we had for our breakfast. The next year, I do believe my mother was home and she asked us what we wanted for breakfast. Ummm the same thing as last year??? Duh! What 8 year old wouldn't want to get tanked on Christmas morning.. and so then It began.. every year since.. This year I made monkey bread, its delish, and great for kids to help with. I personally don't like my kids to help with it, its part of my OCD, but well lots of other people love to cook with their kids. Her kids made a comment as we kept checking the oven...

Hunter: Ummm mom its not done yet

Debbie: Yes it is

Hunter: Ummm no its not, It still looks raw

Debbie: That is because we burn ours every year, it really is only supposed to be Golden not dark brown like we make it at our house!

It was finally time to get to work! We put the Mulled Wine in the crock pot...

My husband took Frank the turkey out of the brine and gave it a bath.. I think there were a few more pictures, but as the photo editor I am allowed to delete the ones that are not pleasing to the eye...

So after 2 bottles of champagne and much wine and beer, the camera was forgotten, and thanksgiving was a BLAST!!

The last day she was there, I remembered that I had wanted to make a soccer tie blanket for her daughter. 3 Stores later on black Friday, I finally found some cute soccer fleece. Of course I didn't photograph it, that would have been .. ummm smart? I also found some great flannel.. so On the very last day I strapped my self to the sewing machine and set out to make a rag quilt for one of my other nieces. Even my sister and her friend Nancy joined in. I never thought I would see the day that my sister would take scissors to fabric.. But I have proof now. And will be using this as leverage!

Just a few more pictures of the kids on the last night

It was a great time, I was sorry to say goodbye. I wish she lived down the road, but that really isn't reality is it?

To much to do and another recipe!

noreply@blogger.com (Designs by Jessie) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:14:00 +0000

Do you ever get that feeling that you are running around like a chicken with your head cut off and constantly on the go but still not getting anything accomplished? I am feeling like that. I really need to manage my time better. I really just gotta get crap done!!! So I made a list! I also have the last of my Thanksgiving recipes to post.

Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole

Its not the traditional with Velveeta, Velveeta has been banned in our house once we figured out that real cheese tastes so much better.. so this is what you need.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup fine bread crumbs

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese divided

2 Tbls butter melted

1 1/2 tsp Italian herb seasoning

1 pkg frozen broccoli

1 pkg frozen cauliflower

2 Tbls butter

1 large yellow onion chopped

2 Tbls flour

1 tsp garlic salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 1/4 cup milk

6 oz cream cheese

Directions:

Mix Topping... bread crumbs, 1/8 cup of the Parmesan, the melted butter.

For the Casserole.. Mix butter in skillet, add onion and cook until soft. Stir in the flour and Italian seasoning. Add milk and cream cheese and the rest of the Parmesan. Mix. Add the Veggies and coat. Put in a baking pan, put on the topping and bake for 40 min.

I'm pretty liberal with the Parmesan, and also sometimes like to add a bit of Gouda in there to. But It depends if I'm in a cheesy kind of mood.

This was the last of the recipes for Thanksgiving. I hope you enjoy them all as much as my family does.