And the winners are...

Since the comments didn't work the way I expected, I took Blog Comments, FB Comments and Likes for the Give-Away.  They were each written on post-its and stuck closed... then for my RANDOM machine I put them in a laundry basket and shook it around till two popped out from the open sides of the basket... don't you just love the "originality" of that? Ha. The winners are in the order the names came out:

1. Kristina Mills
2. Erin Callahan

YAY!! Congrats and I'll contact you about sending your designer fabric button push-pins.

Thanks for those of you who participated and keep your eyes peeled after the new year for more!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours.

xxoo,
Melissa

Happy Holidays and a Give-Away!

I'm starting to feel a little better, cruddy winter cold...

While my older daughter is icing her sugar cookies (she's humming Christmas tunes as she works) I decided to update and wish Merry upon you!

Some have noticed that the website has not been updated... Eeek! I mentioned in probably the last post that I was re-organizing... So, while you can still order from the site, I have the re-launch planned for the first week of 2011.

These past few months have been an exciting adventure for me as I officially launched my business and become my own boss, all while being a full-time Mommy and wife.  It has not been easy, but thoroughly enjoyable!  Thank you so much to everyone who has been so supportive of me and this venture... I have met some wonderful folks so far and can't wait to meet more!

Here are some recent custom orders and holiday bags:

*Love the Vintage Embroidered Front Panel on this bag?? Yes, I did that ;-)

So, what does 2011 hold for SoChick?!

First, we'll kick off the New Year with a fresh and user friendly website. (For you and I *wink*).  Then, the Spring 2011 line of bags and accessories will launch come mid-February along with Fabric by the yard and handy bag making notions shortly thereafter in March.  Look for fun and fresh embroidered items for the kitchen and home as well!

Subscribe to this blog so that you can get the juicy det's on upcoming Sales and Give-Aways!

Did someone say Give-Away?!

...Yup!  Since I'm planning on spending little time blogging over the next two weeks so that I may enjoy the Holidays with my family, I figured I could leave you with a sweet little something...

I am giving away TWO sets of designer fabric button push-pins.  Yes, that means there will be TWO winners... Woot!

These will pretty up any cork-board and are totally unique... meaning your envious friends can't run out to [large-super-store-type-place-where-everyone-seems-to-run-for-everything, GAH!] and get them!  And when you tell your envious friends, colleagues, whomever, where you got them... they can come order their own. ;-)  Which still wont be just like yours...ha!

Each set comes with four push-pins.  The first shown is a girly-punk print from Kokka Japan.  The second is the ever popular, yet no longer printed, Regent Skulls from Alexander Henry Fabrics.

How do I win this Give-Away you ask?! Easy as leaving a comment! Comment on this blog post with anything short and sweet between now and Sunday at 9pm EST.  At that time, the Give-Away will close and I will randomly draw TWO winners, whom I will announce Monday morning on this blog.

So comment away and win something unique!

Thank you again for everything!

I hope you all have a Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

xxoo,
Melissa

P.S. My daughter has long since finished her cookies and they look delightful!

P.P.S- I've asked santa for a new camera for Christmas... BB camera pictures are so unprofesh, I know... Please, Santa, please, please bring me a new camera!

Icky Sicky

Well, i've got a nasty winter cold... icky!  That coupled with rain and cold weather made for a pretty uneventful weekend.  My oldest daughter had a few birthday parties on Saturday, social butterfly she is, and Girl Scouts today.  The little one ran around playing with Daddy all day today whilst I sat at the computer re-organizing my website so that I can be more efficient at updating it and adding new items... yay new items!

If you know me, or have noticed from previous posts/FB updates, I am not a computer person.  You see, the computer and I have a love-hate relationship.  I understand that computers are useful and make things easier... but I don't speak computer and I don't read computer... and for some reason whenever I do learn how to do/fix something, I can hardly remember enough to rinse and repeat if necessary...

... probably because most of what I do is trial and error... and hopefully not too big of an error.. ha...

 ... could be why I have taken so long to organize my site.  I know it was in good working order initially, but I plan to get much more up there come the beginning of twenty-eleven  and I often put off updating b/c I loathe that it sucks so much time away from my day.. I mean, I could be SEWING with all that time!  But that isn't good for business either (putting off computer-y stuff, not sewing, of course), ha, so that's why I sucked it up today... sometimes you gotta do wha'cha gotta do.

The next few weeks are going to be spent doing the holiday thing.  I'll be doing a bit of embroidery on some towels for a Holiday Craft Fair at Carteret General Hospital on Dec 17th, then baking cookies and ready-ing my house for Christmas. (Note: house is already decorated... woot!)  After that it's back to the grind, my idea book is just busting with new goodies for me to make and get posted for sale... the Spring will be good for SoChick, just you wait and see!

xxoo,
Melissa

The Not-So-Last-Minute Sale...

Yup... SoChick's first EVER sale! Woot! 

Now through Dec 10th save 20% on all travel tumblers.  There is even a new holiday design for sale... a festive letter wearing a super cute Santa hat in a coastal theme of palms and flamingos... check it out under the Embroidery page on the site!

www.sochickhandbags.com/Embroidery

Isn't there someone on your list who needs a unique personalized gift?!  They don't even have to be a coffee drinker... use it for tea (iced or hot), water, juice... whateva!

Enjoy!

xxoo,
M

Note: The discount will be shown when item is added to your cart when you click "add to cart" button that corresponds with the tumbler you are ordering.

The Holidays are upon us!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!  Now, with all of the Black Friday, Small Business SSaturday and Cyber Monday festivities past us, we are truly in the midst of the Holiday season.  Psst... I am going to let you in on a little secret, we don't have a single Christmas decoration up in our house... EEK! Seriously, though, we have planned for Friday to be our "decorating day", it seems that it may have been the same last year as well. 

This Friday kicks everything into high gear for my family... with Girl Scout events, Christmas Floatillas, Christmas Parades, Breakfast with Santa, Toys for Tots presentations, and Christmas orders to fulfill (lets not forget that I have a business to run as well *wink*) the time sure can fly by!

Wait...you didn't think I sat at my sewing machine all day... did you?!

If you notice to the right I have added a little slide show, this seems to be the best way to get my "portfolio" out to you, lets you see what I've been up to.  I have pictures from custom orders, current items listed for sale, and just a bunch of this 'n' that.

Here are some aprons I recently did as a custom order.. they are super cute and practical, I was happy when my customer approached me about making them, they were lots of fun:

Next up:

I also did some custom holiday hand towels with machine embroidery...

(this one is from last Christmas)

I just LOVE seasonal hand towels, whether they are guest towels, kitchen towels, bath towels, they are just so stinkin' cute and festive! Yay, Christmas!

On my trip to do some Christmas shopping today I did manage to take care of business... by picking up some super fab fabric that I am going to use to make some dahlin' market totes and wristlets... I can't wait!

Hello... My Name is Melissa and I'm a Fabricaholic...

These birdies and zig-zags are going to be adorable and the patchwork with the suzani-esque print will make a super tote for any Saturday farmers market... without looking like you're headed to the farm... Ha!

Last but not least, remember to subscribe to the blog to get all the updates and to stay current with whats going on... feel free to comment, I want to know what you think!

P.S. I have a surprise in store for tomorrow evening, check back to see what it is... *HINT* isn't there someone on your list that you missed during the Black, Small, Cyber shopping extravaganza?!

xxoo,

~Me

Me

Oh Fabric, How I LOVE You!

Listening to Pandora, doing some more embroidered towels for the Scroogefest and reading fabric blogs. My fav is http://www.trueup.net/ and right now she's blogging about Quilt Market 2010 which just finished up in Houston, TX. (And where I'll be headed next fall... WOOT!!) One of her recent posts was on Michael Miller Fabrics, Inc... of which I am a big fan. There are some cute retro prints.. my fav so far being the 60's inspired prints starting at the third picture on this post http://www.trueup.net/quilt-market/fall-quilt-market-2010-michael-miller-clubhouse-and-more/ . Maybe I'll get my hands on some of these and make some ridiculously cute bags, and such for spring!!

More and more I'm wanting to jump right in and open a bricks & mortar shop like, NOW. Unfortunately, though, that is not in the works at the moment and I'll be sticking to the Internet for a bit. Carrying fabric and handbag accessories could be in the future for SoChick... with Handbags and Embroidery always being at the forefront of the business. :-) Just thinking out loud for now.

... break for thread change...

...break for dancing around the kitchen with my little chickies (Pandora's playing good stuff today)...

I also like the tattoo prints from Michael Miller which are at the bottom of the above mentioned post... oh and the sugar skulls... all of which have the wheels in my brain in motion.

...skipping the Britney song on Pandora...

I think its safe to say I love most everything Michael Miller.

Heading to lunch in a bit with my kids, Dad and stepmom, for Veteran's Day, so I'm going to get back to work now!

Happy Veteran's Day!

~M

Rainy Day

I've gotten a lot done today so I'm taking a break to blog some pictures of what I've been up to while enjoying a nice cup of coffee.. yum... gotta have the caffiene fix to get me through another night of sewing. I have a feeling its going to be like this through Christmas! (Woo Hoo! Busy=Good for Business)


Here is the flag I did for my older daughter's Girl Scout troop. Basically I just added the lettering... it turned out so nice, i'm very pleased:

And here is just a sneak peek of the awesome hardware on a custom Diaper Bag I'm finishing up... I will post pictures of the actual bag after it is delivered.

These quick-release hooks on the bag straps allow this bag to be used as a messenger or as a back-pack. They are so great, I love them!

I really love adding hardware and such to bags, it gives them a polished and professional look and just brings the whole bag up a notch. A lot of the newer bags I will be putting on SoChick!'s website will feature metal hardware.

Thats about it for now... off to start dinner then back to the sewing table!

Happenings...

What a rainy day today is, hopefully these storms will blow out the humidity. Ick!


Since I was up early today with a certain little baby of mine I was able to finish up some work from last night and squeeze in a little picture uploading and blogging. So here we go...


Lots going on for SoChick in the next few months, i've been working on custom orders, preparing items for my first craft fair and mostly because it's Holiday Time!



REMINDER: Custom Holiday Orders need to be received by NOV 18th! This includes All custom bags, blankets, and large orders requiring personalization. This will ensure that your items are ready for delivery and/or shipping in time for Christmas! Individual Personalized Orders and Buy It Now items can be ordered through Dec 12th. for shipping in time for Christmas.



Moving on...



I recently had an order for custom children's blankets which got me thinking that maybe I should offer these on my site... what do you think?

These no-pill fleece blankets are trimmed with novelty cotton print and embroidered with child's name. They measure 36 x 36 inches, a perfect size for young children, but also just right for snuggling as they grow.

These two custom blankets were done in a Nautical theme with boat stripe fleece trimmed in SailBoat print cotton and OceanWaves cotton. These would make a wonderful gift, especially for the person who "has it all", as each blanket is completely unique.


Next up...


SoChick! is going to be at Scroogefest 2010 in Havelock, NC on Nov. 20th...

This will be the perfect place to do some holiday shopping for some really great gifts! SoChick will have a variety of Holiday Themed Tumblers, Hand-Towels, Totes AND Wristlets. So, plan on stopping by to check it out!!

I hope everyone has a fun and safe Halloween, we will be Trick-or-Treating Sunday, but watching the Georgia vs. Florida game on Saturday... GO DAWGS!

~Melissa

P.S.- My New HP Photosmart Printer JUST arrived via FedEx... Woot! Woot!

Have a great day!

I just finished up some new items for the site! A few simple yet chic totes and coordinating wristlets. I used up the rest of my Regent Skulls fabric by Alexander Henry for one tote and wristlet... I love, love, love it! I adore the colors and really this fabric takes you everywhere from feeling like royalty to living it up in Vegas, with crowns and suits of cards, and pretty places in between, with flowers and butterflies. Plus, the skulls are totally fitting for Halloween, right?

Don't worry, there is something for everyone... the second tote and wristlet feature a beautiful Gerbera Daisy print fabric in shades of red on a white background paired with black it makes for an eye catching combo!

Both totes have pretty pleats which give them a dress-like shape and are sized just right. So pretty, so perfect for everyday, so chic... SoChick!

They will be listed for sale tomorrow, be sure to check it out!

SNEAK PEEK:

What a quick week this has been, probably because I was stuck in Jury Duty on Monday! I did, however, manage to deliver some custom orders, get a few new totes made for the site (which I will be putting up mid-week) and to round it off I was able to sell a few Team Pink Awareness items!

Pink items will be available through the end of October with a percentage of the sales going to Susan G. Komen for a CURE. :-)

On another note, I can't believe Halloween is around the corner and i've yet to figure out costumes for my kids, eeek! Once Halloween is over its like the official whirlwind of the Holiday Season, starting to think about Holiday Items I will be carrying on the site... I will have a Holiday Line launched early November, so get your Christmas List ready!!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Melissa S.
SoChick!

Custom Order: Diabetic Handbag

Here is a custom order I just completed. My client wanted a stylish bag that allowed easy access to her diabetes testing supplies clutch.
The pocket for the clutch was the biggest challenge for this bag, but came out very nicely, allowing easy access to her supplies while blending seamlessly into the back of the purse.
I am very pleased with how this bag turned out, and hope my client loves it as much as I loved making it!

Front pocket flap secured with magnetic snap closure.


Diabetic Clutch pocket (and YES that's an adjustable strap!)

Clutch pocket opened. Pocket is 10.25L x 6.5H x 1.5D (measurements in inches)

Top zippered closure.

Final bag measurements: 11"L x 8"H x 3.5"D

ALSO...

TEAM PINK items are now available on the website http://www.sochickhandbags.com/ A percentage of the proceeds from the sale of these products will go to Susan G. Komen for a Cure at the end of October!

October Already?

Yep, its right around the corner! SoChick Awareness items will be available starting Friday October 1st. These Pink and Pink Ribbon themed items will help to spread words of support and encouragement for Breast Cancer Awareness month. A percentage of the proceeds from the sale of these items will be donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure at the end of October. Check out my website on Friday for the line of Totes, Travel Tumblers, and Accessories to help support the cause!

I WILL have a diaper bag on the site tonight or tomorrow; it all depends on my little baby, Natalie, really... she calls the shots. However, the wait will be worth it, it won't disappoint... a very pretty, feminine bag with loads of room. Can you tell I'm super excited about it!?

I typically like to post every Friday on my blog to wrap up the week and let you know whats in store for the following week... guess time slipped away last Friday... so there will be two posts this week. Hope the rest of your week is So Chick! See you Friday!

~Melissa

New Items

This week I launched SoChick's "Grab It!" line, which are ready-to-ship bags and accessories that I have made. Currently a few options are available and more inventory will be added weekly. The Perfectly Pleated Pouch has been a big seller!! This week I have SOLD OUT of the Pink/White Floral, which is wonderful! I still have a Pink/White color option available as well as Black/White and the Blue Blossom.

I also have two Daisy Bags for sale, both in the Blue Daisy patterned fabric, a favorite of mine, more colors will be available in the coming weeks.

On a final note, I WILL have a Diaper Bag photo on the site by the end of next week, I've been getting a lot of e-mails about it, sorry it has taken so long! :-)

Thanks for everyone's support!!

Have a wonderfully SoChick weekend!

~Melissa

Fall Fine Arts Festival in Oriental, NC

I will be at the Fall Fine Arts Festival in Oriental, NC on Saturday Sept. 11th. I will be helping out a friend and will not be selling products at the show, but I will be showcasing a Tote Bag and a NEW Accessory, a cute little Pleated Pouch. This Pouch will be the first addition to my Buy-It-Now line that I will be launching next week! Stay tuned!

Pictures will be posted after the festival!

GRAND OPENING Week and Such.

So far so good... the Website ( www.sochickhandbags.com ) had its Grand Opening on Wed Sept 1st. I am also on facebook. I'm very happy with the feedback so far and have some orders rolling in. "Like" the Facebook page to get updates on giveaways and new Buy It Now items as they become available. Also, be first to know when new fabrics are coming. I dont anticipate changing fabrics for the first few weeks until I see how inventory flows.

I will update this blog weekly as well, so feel free to comment or follow it to stay in-the-know!

Thanks to everyone that has helped promote SoChick on their facebook and word of mouth. Keep it up, I appreciate it!!!

Hope everyone enjoys their Labor Day weekend!

Melissa S., SoChick!

www.sochickhandbags.com...

is up! I'm still working on it, but you can actually go to the web address and see something other than "Coming soon" :-) www.sochickhandbags.com

This next week is going to be spent getting content up on the website. Next week I'll be away in Fripp Island, SC but will complete set-up of the site and will officially accept orders starting Monday, August 23rd.

Thanks for hanging in there with me. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions! owner@sochickhandbags.com

Almost Up and Running!

Exciting News!
I am now working So Chick! Full-Time. I am going to try to have my website up and running in the next week (I'm not super web-savvy so this is taking longer than I expected). Aside from that, licensing is complete and So Chick! is ready to go. I will post with official web launch info ASAP and am planning for a "Grand Opening" September 1st!

So Chick! Handbags & Embroidery offers quality handmade (by me) handbags, totes and diaper bags as well as Embroidered Gifts (i.e.: personalized travel mugs, koozies, baby items.) All items are high quality with affordability in mind. "So Chick... its the everyday chic."

As of now feel free to e-mail me: owner@sochickhandbags.com
If you have ordering questions: sales@sochickhandbags.com