New Project ~ Travel Bag

Here it is! My son's travel bag. It's amazing how doing a project teaches you what you do differently next time. For example, I used the same stitch around the travel bag letters that I normally use around my name pillows, and found that the stitch seemed to large (to me). Next time I will use a skinnier stitch, so the letters stand out more on their own. And I also want to figure out a different way to attach the straps. But overall, for a first try, I thought it turned out really well.

Lining of the bag....I loved this green stripe!

The travel bag actually traveling :o)

I'm going to do another one, and then these will be listed in my Etsy shop!

What happens when you stay up too late

What happens when you start craving a cup of coffee at about 11 at night? And then you drink said cup of coffee and suddenly start feeling crafty? What happens is that you end up staying awake till 2:30 AM working on a new project. Then when you realize how absolutely dog tired you are and you finally drag yourself to bed, all you can think about is your new project and how giddy you are to actually finish it!!

So the next day I finished my project, which is a travel bag for my son. Today I'm going to be working on one for my daughter and then I'll take pictures of both and share with you. I used my serger to make my son's bag, and WOW. I mean that thing is AWESOME. Literally it securely sewed the seems for my son's bag in a fraction of the time I would normally spend sewing a straight stitch and then finishing it with a zig zag stitch. It was incredible!! By the way, in case your interested this is the serger my Nana purchased for me. (Merry Christmas to me)

Pictures of my new project coming soon! If I don't blog beforehand, then Merry Christmas to everyone!!

Exciting Times

Some very exciting things are happening for me right now. First of all, I got a serger for Christmas! I am so excited to try it out, and I'm sure I'll post pics of my first serger project on here.

Secondly, I've been thinking about SweetSamantha....what I want to do with it....where I want it to go, and with the new year almost upon us it's a good time for goal setting....don't you think?

Oh, I'm getting tickled thinking about it all!! I can't wait to see what 2010 brings!

The Newest Creation ~ Savannah Safari

Created for a pre-teen who has a thing for zebra print, and is getting her room made over in zebra print for Christmas! Her mom has said she'll take pictures of the pillow in her room after it's all put together. I can't wait to see it!

Starting Off

As far as a "business blog" goes, I'm still really getting started. Oh, I've done the blogger thing and still do the blogger thing on my other blog.... NewsomeNotes.blogspot.com. BUT that blog is easy b/c it's mostly about my kids and my family and not much else. I had included some things from my business over there, but my family is really more interested in the kids than in my creations. (If you have kids, you are probably nodding right now in complete understanding). So, doing a blog that's for me, by me, about me is .....well....different for me.

So, starting off I guess I should share a little bit about me.....

My name is Michelle, I am the wife of Andy, and the mom of two precious children. Prior to having children, I taught school. I loved being a teacher, but I loved being home with my kids more.

Then came the point that I needed something "to do". I didn't want "a job"...I just wanted something that was my own. Something that spaghetti stained fingers and a sports crazy husband were not apart of.....I mean they cheer me on from the sidelines, but they're not helping with projects or anything :o).

As I said in the previous post, I have always been a crafter of some sort. I have taught myself how to make hair bows and how to crochet. I have learned how to make wreathes and how to fancy up a plain clipboard. I have taken my turn at scrapbooking and photo journaling (which may or may not be the same thing). Then, I learned how to sew, and I fell in love. And in fact SweetSamantha happened completely by accident. I simply started posting pictures of my creations on facebook, and suddenly family, friends, and friends of friends started asking me to make things for them. With that I discovered something else, I love making things for people. I love it when someone says, "it's perfect", "it's just what I was looking for", "it's so stinkin cute."

So, here I am. Making simply sweet creations for others and telling about it here. I want this blog to be an outlet for my creative process. To be able to share what's new, what flopped, and what's next. So hopefully, you'll come on this journey with me and maybe it'll inspire you to make something crafty of your own.

My Etsy Shop is OPEN!

I fell in LOVE with Etsy about a year ago, and after buying possibly....maybe....a few too many things....I decided to open my own shop! Hey....I gotta feed my shopping habit with something, right?

So, that is how SweetSamantha got started. My daughter has a lot to do with my inspiration. She inspired me to start sewing and she's inspired me to try new things. BUT I have ALWAYS had a love for all things crafty. And for as long as I can remember I have looked at things, and thought, "I could make that..." And so I do!

Come check out my Etsy site and tell me what you think! I'd LOVE your feedback!

SweetSamantha