Two new items from AbbyChase!

As promised, here are two of the newest items that I have been working on.

I have been working on these cute little seat belt covers for a while now. Since I don’t have any babies anymore, I have to wait until I see my sister and her baby to try them out. So I finally got everything worked out perfectly and they turned out adorable. There are two in the set and they fit perfectly on each of the straps in the car seat. My niece loves hers. Earlier this summer we made a long trip to Washington since my niece had some neck problems, her physical therapist had my sister keep props in her car seat that would position her correctly so she could keep her neck straight and that made those seat belts rub on her neck even more. So I made her a set of these little cuties for the long trip and it made a world of difference for her. I started thinking about how many babies get their neck rubbed on those pesky seat belts and realized that I should make them for sale. That was how they got their start:) I wish I had thought of this when my kids were babies.

Speaking of that long trip….. We took our kids on this long trip too and my kids started complaining about the seat belt rubbing on their neck, so I gave them two of my seat belt covers and they told me I should make them some too.  When we got back, I started working on some smaller “kid size” seat belt covers for them. Of course I was thinking of you when kids tested them and loved them. I am sure my kids aren’t the only ones that need cushies for their seat belts too. 

Both of these items would make wonderful Christmas gifts this year. You can even custom order a whole set for the family in coordinating fabrics! Just convo me in my Etsy Store and we can work out the details.

Well it’s back to the sewing machine for me now. I have some fun stuff for mom in the works. So stay tuned.

Get the baby seat belt covers here.

Get the kiddo seat belt covers here.

Are you listless?

As a business owner, designer, mother of 5, wife, and student; lists are an important part of my day…Let me rephrase that. Lists are the only thing that makes sense of my day and they are critical to my sanity!

Sometimes I will sit down the night before and make out my list of To Do’s for the next day and sometimes I will sit down first thing in the morning while drinking some tea and make my list for the day. I have lists of all types. For example, I have my To Do list, my short term goals, long term goals, bills, books to read, movies to watch, places to see, and on and on. I guess you could say I am a list junkie:) Without my list, I aimlessly bounce from one task to another, but at the end of the day I start to remember the important things that I should have done that day, but forgot because I hadn’t written them down.

With that said, lists are extremely important to me, but equally important is keeping my list manageable. There have been many times when I have so much that I want to do and I will write it on my To Do list. Pretty soon, my list is two pages long and totally impossible to get finished in one day. I work on a few things and the list eventually ends up mixed up with some papers in my inbox. I later find it (usually when I’m filing) and can cross off a couple of items, but nowhere near enough to call it complete. This gives me a sense of failure, because I cannot complete the list, it frustrates me and causes me to feel unnecessary stress. So my solution to that problem was the “long term” and “short term” goals list. That is where I write down the things I want to get done, but they are not pressing at the present time. The other solution to the problem is to make much smaller To Do lists. The To Do list is for stuff I need to get done TODAY only and stuff that I know I can actually accomplish in one day. This way I can check them all off, complete them all in one day and not feel overwhelmed. Looking at a much shorter list in the morning gives me confidence that I can actually complete it and it also gives me ambition to get started on it.

That’s another thing…. It’s much easier to accomplish a lot of things in a day if you start with the first thing. If I grab my list and go over it while sipping my tea first thing in the morning, I find myself accomplishing most of my list before the kids even get home from school!

If you want to print a copy of the list shown above for your personal use, feel free to print it from my Flickr photos.

Fall… Winter… Holidays… Already??

As I stood outside today, waiting for the bus to pick up my Kindergartner, I looked up on the hill behind my house and realized that the entire mountainside has changed. Fall is here! I can’t deny it any longer, FALL IS HERE!

Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Fall, but it never lasts long enough here in Idaho. Before we know it, there will be snow on the ground and it will be freezing.

So I always enter Fall with a little apprehension, but the time has come, Fall is in full swing and it’s time to embrace it!

With that said…. The Holiday Season is quickly approaching and I am working on some really awesome stuff for you guys!

The past 3 weeks, I have been working hard to get some new things ready for your Holiday Gift Giving season and I am pleased to say that I have another eBook pattern that will release later this week. I also have some new items that I will be listing in my Etsy Store that will be perfect for gift giving and I am trying to narrow down a couple Create-a-Long projects that I can post here on my blog.

So, as I hurry through my never ending To-Do list trying to get lots of things ready the holidays, I am open for ideas and suggestion on what you would like to see from AbbyChase  this holiday season. Do you want more eBook patterns, so you can make things yourself? Or would you rather I make some things that are ready-to-ship for the holidays?

With all this talk about holidays and giving, it puts me in the mood to give:)

So leave me a comment and tell me what you want to see from AbbyChase this holiday season and I will pick one random comment to receive my newest eBook pattern FREE!

The secret is out………….

As promised……… The latest eBook pattern in the AbbyChase line is finished!

 

Ok, so it’s not actually available yet, but it’s ready for testing. I am looking for one or two more testers at this point. Just leave me a comment if you want to test it:)

I need it tested this week and tester spots go quick, so sign up fast!

 

Thanks,

Mandy

User Reviews….

I had the pleasure of reading a user review of my Incognito Wallet eBook

on the Above All Fabric blog. Ashlee from Tweet Baby Designs had so many nice things to say about the pattern. I was actually blushing a little;)

If you were wondering whether to buy the Incognito Wallet eBook, be sure to stop over and check it out. There are some great photos of the wallet she created too!

 

And if you are looking to make a bag to match, check out this one.

 

Oh, and before I go…. I have a little secret to tell you.

I can’t say a lot, but I have another eBook almost finished. I hope to have it finished this weekend. So keep your eyes peeled. I will be looking for one or two more testers.

Great news for mommies and photographers!

The kids are back in school now, which leaves me some free time to blog and get some loose ends tied up. I have been working on some new patterns and eBooks, but with the kids all running around, I never found enough minutes in the day to finish them up.

Now with all this time on my hands, I have managed to finish up the eBook I was working on over the summer and get another one started!

It all started with me…. I needed a new bag that was cute and resembled my style, so I started working on a new camera bag for me. One that would have pockets inside and a padded divider for my lenses. I loved it and used it all the time. Then I had a request for a diaper bag just like my camera bag. So I made another bag like mine in a cutesy baby print for the new mommy to be. After that, I have had several requests for more diaper bags.

So this brings me to my latest eBook:) I know there are many many mommies and photographers out there who can sew and would rather make their own, so I created the new Camera/Diaper Bag eBook. The testers loved it and it is now available in my etsy shop!

Wait, it gets better…

For a short time, I am offering it at a super introductory price. So all you DIYers get over there and get your copy.  You could even make it to match your Incognito Wallet!

Well, it’s off to getting things finished up for me. Hope your day is sew great!