The actual “sale” began today (Thursday) at 10:00 for those people who wanted to get in early and pay $1.00 entrance fee (the $1.00 was for a particular charity).  I was there at 9:30 just to see how many people were in line already waiting to get in —- here’s a picture of part of the line:

At 9:30 there were approximately 87 people already in line waiting for the doors to open at 10:00!  I’d driven by the fairgrounds a little after 9 heading for the Post Office, and there were already probably a dozen people standing around the door at that time.

Why would sewers and crafters go to a kids’ resale consignment affair?  This is where I get LOTS of great deals on clothing items that I can make into craft items for craft fairs, bazaars, etc.  You can find jeans for those jean purses for about a buck a pair, plus blouses, shorts and other items that can be made into craft items.  I also look for sheets and pillow cases, as the fabric from the sheets/pillow cases can be used for dozens of things.   At a previous kids consignment sale I found a really nice girls skort – had pink checked shorts under a khaki skirt, that I’m using for a project tutorial for this blog in a few days.  I’ve even found small bags of jewelry findings that I’ve re-used for various projects.

Check around in your local areas for consignment sales such as this – I guarantee that you’ll find many things CHEAP that you can use for your own sewing/crafting projects without spending big dollars at the fabric stores.  You’ll be helping the consignors make a few dollars in addition to saving yourself some money.

Get TWO FREE Halloween Crafts eBooks:

• Easy Halloween Crafts 2010 Edition 2010 eBook features 7 easy Halloween crafts to wear, decorate or give away, including the Pirate Pumpkin (pg. 5) and the DIY Spider Webs (pg. 17).
• Homemade Halloween Decorations 2010 Edition eBook features 7 homemade Halloween decorations to decorate the home without spending a bundle, including the Haunted Ghost Globes (pg. 11) and the Halloween Candy Dish (pg. 16).

The suggestion was made that, instead of trying to “add an hour”, why not simply make a goal to get one item off the “to-do” list.

I’m probably the biggest list maker in the world, and if I didn’t have my list handy of things I’m working on, important things other than work related that really must be done and including items to do before company comes, etc, I’d be pretty lost.

While discussing the “add an extra hour each day” compared to “get one thing off the to-do list” theory, I’ll have to admit I really like the “cross an item off the to-do list” idea a LOT!  This means that those days when there seems to be not even five minutes to be found, perhaps one of those to-do list items might just fill the bill.  Many of my to-do list things can take only 10 minutes – it’s just finding those 10 minute time periods that’s the issue.

Lately I’ve been glancing over my to-do list for my “one item crossed off per day”, and I’ve been very surprised at the number of things that are being crossed off.  Some things may take half an hour, some maybe longer, but there are still some that don’t take very much time at all, and it’s very encouraging just to see some things getting marked off.  Actually, just getting to mark something off can get me started on “one more thing”, so some of my extra busy days I can even get a couple things done and crossed off.

Give the “cross one thing off my to-do list” each day a try and I’m willing to bet that you’ll also be encouraged to stick with this and be able to get more done this summer than you thought you would be able to do.  Let me know how this works for you!

I’ve already come across a few of those situations!  Grandchildren come to stay a few days, son and family coming in from Korea for a couple of weeks, and my garden REALLY needs some attention.

OK, now what do we do about this?  I’ve made a goal to do a minimum of 1 hour of sewing EVERY day, regardless of who is here or what else needs to be done.  Sometimes I stay up a little later, sometimes I get up a little earlier in the morning and sometimes I work in the sewing while the grandchildren are taking a nap.   Some days I can get in a couple hours of sewing, and of course I still have a FEW days that I can work my full schedule of sewing.

I refuse to let summertime give me excuse after excuse to fall down on my work schedule – after all, I still have customers waiting on work to be done, and I’m still making things for our festivals, so there’s no way to be able to take the summer off.  Neither do I want to feel stressed to the max all summer because I can see those piles of sewing out of the corner of my eye every time I pass my sewing room!

I’ve found that it does take a little bit of extra scheduling time to be able to do just a little bit of sewing every day, but it certainly helps take the stress off when I can feel good about the “hour” of sewing I’ve been able to accomplish each day.

I’d like to find out how many of you manage to keep up the sewing for your alteration business, sewing business or craft business during the summer interruptions.  I’m sure that you all are like me and just can’t “close down” the sewing room for the summer.

Let me think here a minute — how many days left until school starts??????  Just kidding!

Find crafts, fun and friends at the Craft Forum, and it’s FREE!  Check it out and sign up today.

A few years ago we sent out “gift certificates” in the amount of $5.00 or $10.00 good on the customers’ next purchase from our catalog, or listing of books in the back cover of a book they’d just purchased.  It was surprising how many of those “gift certificates” would come back to us in the weeks or months after the sale to be used on the next order.

With the economy as it is, a “gift certificate” or “15% off your next order” just doesn’t quite sound as good to customers as giving a “$5.00 off coupon” or $10.00 off coupon” to the customer.  Of course, as with all coupons that you can get online or in Sunday Newspapers, you have to name the limits of the coupons.  You can give the $5.00 coupon with the comment readily visible “good on your next $25.00 order”, or have the statement on the $10.00 coupon “good on orders over $50.00″.

Think about it – that $10 “coupon” which is good on the customers’ next order over $50.00, actually makes that order $40, a savings of $10.00 in their pocket – AND a great sale for you.  You may not realize how many people will “find” an extra item or two to order to reach that $50.00 amount so they can use the coupon.

If you’re in the alteration business a simple coupon giving the customer “50 cents off your next hemming job” or if you can do “75 cents off your next hemming job”, you may get business that would have gone to the dry cleaners down the street.  Make up some of the coupons and give them out to people at work, friends to pass out or tack some of them up at the post office or fabric shop.

Think of any way that you can be giving out a coupon for dollars off or cents off a particular item or money off a certain dollar amount they spend, then watch the extra dollars come in.  There are many coupon “clubs” in our area that are teaching people to shop with those that give coupons, so this is the time to get in on the coupon activity to increase your profits.

A few years ago my daughter put together a newsletter article for my SewWithSarah website regarding quick and easy ways to store cookies.  I’ve dug out the information and want to give it to you here — perhaps that will help all of us retain some sanity this Christmas season AND get the sewing and baking done!

Quick And Easy Ways To Store Cookies

By S. Denise Hoyle

Whether baking cookies for the Holidays, family reunions, or for bake sales, it is sometimes more convenient to “bake ahead” rather than feel the stress and pressure of trying to get it all done the day before the big event. We will give you a variety of ways you can get all your cookies made stress-free!!

When cookies are stored, make sure soft cookies remain soft, crisp cookies keep crisp. The two types cannot be stored together!

Store soft cookies in a container with a tight cover. Bar cookies may be stored right in the baking pan, tightly covered. Tuck in an apple wedge if they begin drying out.

Crisp cookies should be stored in a container with a loose-fitting cover. If they soften – as they tend to do in humid weather, pop them in a pre-heated 300 degree over for five minutes before serving.

Most cookies freeze well, either baked or unbaked, but freezing the dough is considered simpler and requires less freezer space. You can get more cookies “made” if you just make the cookie dough for several different kinds of cookies today and stick them in the freezer. You can then more easily bring out one batch at a time to bake while you’re doing other household chores.

BAKED COOKIES: Bake as usual, cool quickly and freeze before packaging. Pack in frozen food containers, separating layers with a double thickness of freezer paper, overwrap the container;label and freeze. To serve, thaw cookies at room temperature 10 to 15 minutes.

ROLLED COOKIE DOUGH: Roll out and cut the dough into shapes. Stack the cut-outs in cartons with a double thickness of freezer paper between the layers. Over-wrap the carton, label and freeze. Bake without thawing.

UNROLLED COOKIE DOUGH: Form the dough into long rolls, wrap in freezer paper and freeze. Thaw just enough to be able to cut into thin slices. Bake on greased baking pan.

DROP COOKIE DOUGH: Drop dough on baking sheet as if you were going to bake the cookies. Freeze the cookies on the sheet, then pack the frozen drops of dough in cartons with a double thickness of freezer paper between the layers. To bake, place the frozen drops on greased baking sheets and bake without thawing.

BAR COOKIES: Freeze dough in baking pan. Go straight from the freezer to the oven, without thawing, and bake as usual.

MOLDED OR PRESSED COOKIES: Freeze the dough in an airtight container after labeling. When ready to bake, thaw dough until it is soft enough to form the cookies.

This method of making your family favorites ahead of time on a day that you have a little extra time, will certainly be worth the extra effort. Not only during Holidays or big events, these “made ahead” cookies are great for desserts for drop-in company, treats for the children after school, etc

Denise is also author of the “Busy Person’s Cookbook”, which gives so many great quick and easy recipes for those of us who have so little time for cooking and baking.

Whew, I feel better already, and am gonna get a start on the Christmas baking knowing that I WILL have time to do that and my sewing/crafting as well!

Have I kept you in suspense long enough?  As you know on any giveaway the use of a “random number generator” is used to select the winner, and of the 86 comments we had, here is a picture of the randomly selected number:

DRUM ROLL PLEASE!!  And the WINNER is……….

Jenny at http://cutsewironrepeat.blogspot.com – and her comment is:  ”I love making fabric covered button magnets…this year my daughter and I are making a pair for everyone we know!”

Way to go Jenny — getting your daughter involved!!!

My daughter, and business partner, Denise, has been sewing since a very young age, and has always been right on top of things for trying new crafts, sometimes “re-inventing the wheel” to make new things, and helped put herself through college by writing and promoting her best selling book – 101 Ways To Tie A Scarf”.   She is also getting her children involved in crafting now, and for all of you with children — get them involved in sewing and crafting!

We would like to thank each and every one of you who have participated in this Holiday giveaway — we’d like to invite you to check back with us or bookmark us, as this was so much fun we’re planning on other giveaways in the very near future!

WINDOWS:  For greasy windows, inside or out, add ammonia to the water.  If the glass is extremely dirty use a little dishwasher detergent in the water, because it’s not too sudsy.

MIRRORS:  Add vinegar to the water to loosen and break up dirt.  The same vinegar solution is also good for cleaning sink fixtures.

MOLD AND MILDEW:  Don’t buy expensive commercial products – simply use a diluted laundry bleach.  Wipe it on the surface with a paint brush, leave it on and most of the mildew will disappear.

BATHROOM TILES:  Use baking soda for bathroom tiles and walls.  It disinfects, gives the bathroom a clean smell and makes the tiles sparkle.  It removes soap and scum from the shower as well.

CARPET ODORS:  Simply sprinkle baking soda over the offending area, leave it there for a couple of hours and vacuum.  The baking soda will help to neutralize the odor.

FLOORS:  To make your floors sparkle without scrubbing, use a wet mop rather than a damp mop.  Use a commercial floor cleaning product or add half a cup of bleach to detergent and water.  Swish the mop around the floor a few times and leave for a few minutes to give the cleaner a chance to absorb the dirt.  You’ll be surprised how clean the floor will be when you use the damp mop to clean up the water/cleaner you’ve left on the floor.

WALLS:  When washing walls you should work from the bottom up, my professional house cleaning friend says, that way you’ll avoid streaking the walls.  When water runs down onto a dirty wall, the streak becomes a stain and is hard to remove; BUT if you wash from the bottom up, the water will run down onto a clean surface and can easily be wiped away.  Use a little liquid dishwashing detergent and a very damp sponge to clean walls, she added.

There you go — get the house cleaned in a jiffy and get back to the sewing and crafting projects!

What type of “niche” could you categorize for your sewing or crafting?  Do you make purses that people would die for?  Do you have a knack for putting together the coolest baby / toddler “tag” toys that everybody raves about and requests when it’s gift time?  Is your designer apron portfolio the best in the whole county?  Think about what you love to do and the little “corner” of a specific market you could fit in — that will be your “niche”.

What do you do with your little corner once you’ve identified your niche?  You blog about it, you make a big deal about it on your website, you write informational articles about your niche that you can publish, or put on your blog or website, and in general you want to let everybody know about your little niche.

For example, we put flyers in all of our mail out packages about our Plus Size Childrens patterns and pattern making classes, AND we have a small label (2×4 in size) that we stick on the OUTSIDE of every package we mail.  We figure that those folks working the mail throughout the country’s Post Offices, may just have plus size children themselves and when they see the label they may make a mental note of the website or grab a pen and write it on their hand to remember it.  Another thing we do is make those same 2×4 labels out of regular typing paper, cut them apart and stick them inside every bill we pay – those clerks in the payment offices must surely get bored, so our little advertising label is something I’m sure they’d pick up and read!

Think about YOUR niche and how you can get your items out to the public.