Free Sewing Pattern and Market News

{Sewing Pattern/ Bag Making Kit Sale}

Now through the end of June, receive a free PDF Download* of the SoChick Market Tote Sewing Pattern when you purchase a kit from the SoChick Shop.

SoChick Bag Making Kits include everything you need to sew your SoChick Market Tote... The designer cotton prints (from Amy Butler's Soul Blossom line), interfacing/interlining and hardware... you provide the thread and sewing machine!  This tote is super awesome for summer as it holds lots and lots... makes a great Market Tote, of course, or a beach bag!

*The PDF will be emailed to you within 24hrs of purchase.  Because the Sewing Pattern is emailed as a PDF file, for free with purchase, there are no refunds for kits purchased during this sale.


{Market News}
I will not be at the New Bern Farmer's Market this weekend as planned... I will return on Saturday July 7th.  In the meantime, I will be holding an Instagram or Facebook sale this weekend!  Be sure to "Like" SoChick Handbags on Facebook to get the latest info on the sale!  (You can also follow me on Instagram @TheSoChickChick).


When I return to the Market in July, I hope to have sewing patterns and kits available for purchase at my booth!


Have a great weekend!


XxOo~ Melissa

InstaFriday {Sewing, My Pups and Winners}

This week went by so quickly.. I guess that's what happens when Monday is a Holiday!

Here's the rundown of my week via Instagram, I'm linking up with Jeannett!  You can follow me on Instagram (thesochickchick).

Always nice to start the week with a Twitter Swap... Kristen from kd-quilts stitched this quilted pouch for me, I love the fabrics!  She also stuffed it with lots-o-scraps, all of which I'm itching to use!

Tropical whatever-it-was Beryl came through on Wed., So I took the time to cut and prep some items for this weekend's Farmer's Market.

I love my poodle boy, Conrad, with a clean shaven face and ears... apparently he thinks that being fresh from the groomer means he can lounge on the couch.  Although, my youngest chickie doesn't help with the confusion when she calls him to lay with her... ha.

A little of what will be at the Market this weekend.

Marilyn, our Boston Terrier, rules the roost... Conrad thinks she shouldn't be on the couch, well.. at least not in his spot!

I'll be at the New Bern Farmer's Market tomorrow, June 9th and June 16th... so I'll be sewing lots in between... if you're in the area, come by for a visit!!

* * *

GiveAway Winner Info:

 This sale has ended, and while I didn't meet my goal to kick-off the GiveAway, I did e-mail something special to those who participated!  Thank you! 

The Advocare Spark Energy Giveaway had two participants... lucky for them, because they are each getting a prize!  Thanks for entering!

Have a fabulous weekend!

XxOo~ Melissa

Weekend Wrap-Up {Flowers, Fabric, & Mother's Day}

Good Morning!  Monday morning means time for another Weekend Wrap-Up post... these posts are my way of sharing life behind the biz with you... though now that I'm back at the Farmer's Market regularly, I guess a little bit of biz will sometimes be thrown in the mix. 

On Friday I planted some flowers in a hanging basket on the front porch.  I love the color combo and that Vinca Vine (the green plant on the right) came from another in my back yard that decided to grow extras! Yay for extras!

A blooming yard means I get to bring pretty flowers inside, too.  Here, I put a fresh hydrangea bloom in a glass jar with some Stella D'Oro Daylily cuttings... love! 

Saturday was spent at the New Bern Farmer's Market, I was so happy to bring these Fat Quarter cuts of the Amy Butler Soul Blossoms fabric that was listed in the SoChick Shop last week!  I was even more thrilled to find so many sewists who were happy to see, and buy, this pretty fabric... totally what makes me love what I do, seeing others who get just as excited over beautiful fabric!

I picked up these pretty earrings, from Twisted Wire, at the Market this weekend... I was fortunate to have a booth next to her and they were my Mother's Day gift to myself... that's okay, right? Of course it is!!

Mother's Day was spent eating pancakes in the morning, made by my hubby & enjoyed by all; gardening, relaxing at home, and ending with dinner at my Dad's place.  Dinner was delish, my lovely Stepmom pulled fresh veggies from the garden for us to enjoy and we finished it off with Strawberry Shortcake dessert... Yum!!!

(With my littlest Chickie while big sister was relaxing with Daddy.) 

Here is the square foot veggie garden we planted... still a few spots to fill with plants, but its looking good so far.  Yes, we used pink Twine to section it off. (From The Twinery, of course!!)

How was your weekend? Did you have pretty weather?  How did you celebrate Mother's Day?

Don't forget about the SoChick Sewing Pattern SALE & GiveAway that's going on... I'd love to reach my goal of 25 patterns sold by Memorial Day so I can give away a pretty bag making kit!  See all of the info, HERE.

Have a great Monday!

XxOo~ Melissa

My Life in Photos {Fabric, Sewing, Kids and Retail Therapy}

Heyyy... so, it's been a while.

  

I'm here; working hard at being a Mommy, Wife, and indie business owner... it's quite the juggling act, I tell ya!  This week I am photographing pretty fabric so I can re-open the Shop and you can buy it up.  You will LOVE it, I'm sure!  I'll go into a post later this week about what you can expect from SoChick! Handbags ~ The Shop, the shop is in maintenance mode right now as I fill it with fabric fabulous-ness.  

For now, grab a cup of coffee and check out what I've been up to:

I love sending out pretty fabric packages and i'm looking forward to doing it much more often.

These Sunglasses Cases were sent as Swag for the Fairly Fabulous Crafting Slumber Party... I'm making more to add to the shop, using the new fabrics... yay!  I love these because they fit the big shades us Chicks like to wear *wink*; their soft structure allows them to form with any pair of sunglasses and the little magnetic tab keeps them secure... I LOVE THEM.

Some more Sunglasses Cases, at the Farmer's Market, featuring Art Gallery Fabrics. (Shown with the Mini-Tote I made a little while back.)

 I made some of these little zippy cases for the Farmer's Market, using some of the Soul Blossom fabric that'll be in the shop... great for pens/pencils, makeup brushes, travel, etc.

Pearls and a Tee with Jeans was the outfit when a spur-of-the-moment trip to the Apple store at the mall in Raleigh, NC was in order this past weekend. My husband's iPad crashed and I needed to have the camera fixed in my iPhone.  We were happy to have both fixed under warranty. Whew! (This means no more white dot in all of my iPhone photos!!!)

 What's a trip to the mall without some retail therapy?! I am SO happy to have walked past Lush Cosmetics... the lovely sales gal gave me a demo and I needed this cream, I love it!  Thanks to Reggie who packaged it in April of this year... his photo is on the side of the container. 

For Mother's Day, I've discounted my SoChick! Market Tote sewing pattern to $6.00 (from $9.50).  You can visit my Craftsy Pattern Shop to purchase the PDF download.  This pattern has full color photos, printable pattern pieces (which are easy to put together and shouldn't require resizing), and extra tips to encourage you to be creative.  I'm working on getting a button up over here on the blog to make Pattern shopping much easier. 

 Yesterday afternoon was spent in the doctor's office checking on my almost-9-year-old's ears, which were fine... she got a day off from school, but had to miss out on gymnastics practice and outside time with her friends... becuase if you are too "sick" to stay in school, you shouldn't be outside playing, right? Right!

Exciting news for my oldest Daughter, though: She has been invited to join the Compulsory Gymnastics Team at her gym... this means 12.5 hrs of practice weekly, and eventually competing in meets.  We are SO proud!!!!!!  Of course this means more juggling for me, but I'm glad to do it, she loves gymnastics... probably as much as I love fabric. Almost.


How do you juggle blogging/business/work/family?  Any tips?  Are you looking forward to shopping fabric from SoChick?  Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts!

XxOo~ Melissa

Weekend Wrap-Up [Back to Market and a Diaper Tote]

This past weekend I went back to the New Bern Farmer's Market, here in NC.  I attended the Market at the end of last year and decided to take time off through the winter.  Now that my business is preparing to expand, carrying my sewing patterns and premium cotton fabrics from today's designers, I felt it was a good time to start back at the market again... not to mention, I love the socialization and everyone is so nice and kind.


Mostly I will be carrying smaller accessories and embroidered items while I'm there, leaving larger bags to be ordered in my shop.  What excites me most about this arrangement is being able to get into embroidery more often... I love embroidering fun and whimsical designs, it's exciting to see what my machine can do!


Here is my set-up from this past weekend at the market:

This weekend was Spring Fest at the Market and there were a lot of folks out and about.  I enjoyed my neighbors, meeting new people and catching up with familiar faces!


Next up, I want to share a recent custom bag that I made for a great friend of mine.  She and her husband recently welcomed their third child into the world and she and I chatted about a diaper tote that she could use past the baby years... She picked the Laura Gunn Poppy fabric for the front of the bag and said she wanted "organizational features"... here's what I came up with:

This bag is a slightly larger version of the Savannah Tote found in my Shop, the brown fabric is organic cotton twill and it is lined in 100% cotton from Michael Miller Fabrics.  The overall colors are Turquoise, Aqua and Brown with the pops of red and green in the poppy print.

 Inside, I included a removable base insert (which is found in most SoChick! handbags with a boxy base!), 5 elastic-topped pockets (three on one side, two larger ones on the other), a small pacefier/lipgloss pocket toward the top of the lining and a hook for keys.


I love how this bag turned out, I don't think it looks like a diaper bag and all of the pockets will keep it super functional beyond diapers and bottles.  I'm happy to tell you that my friend said she loves it, too!  Hearing that is why I love what I do!!


* * *
Pssst~ Have you been to the SoChick Handbags Facebook page? I am seriously ONE 'like' away from 400 and I would LOVE to give something away when we hit that milestone... 


and P.S.~ Thank you for reading and following along with me here, on facebook and on Twitter.  You are all such a huge part of SoChick! and why I love and continue to do what I do! XxOo~ M


XxOo~ Melissa

Give SoChick! for Christmas [& Small Business Saturday, Can I Promote You?]

Today is the last day to order the made-to-order SoChick Sling and Dahlia Tote bags... but there is still plenty of time to order any of the smaller ready-to-ship accessories at SoChick!The Shop!!


Here are some of my Favorite Items... Notice that they are all $20 or less (!)


~The Perfectly Pleated Pouch


~Organic Cotton Ruffle Scarf


~SoChick Wristlet

I'm sure you can find some stocking stuffers for the Everyday Chick on your shopping list! Pssst~ It's perfectly acceptable to gift yourself some SoChick!, too!


* * *
Saturday, November 26th is Small Business Saturday.  This is the day after Black Friday Madness, where you are encouraged to get out and support your local small businesses by shopping small.


Read more about Small Business Saturday Here.


Here is what SoChick! will be up to: 


I will be attending the New Bern Farmer's Market, which will be open for extended hours (8am-4pm) for their Christmas Carol Craft Sale.  I will have a table there and would love for you stop by to see me and the other local artists if you are in the area!


Here is what I want to do for you, if you're a Small Business Owner:


I'd love to share your Shop/Small Business with my readers, Tweeps, and Facebook Followers, to encourage them to shop Small for SBS!  I'm putting together a Small Business Guide that I will post Wed and it will remain up through the Holiday till Saturday Evening.


What you can do to participate.. it's easy... e-mail me with your 200x200 Shop Button, that's it!


Your button should link directly to your Shop/Small Business; be sure to get it to me by 8pm EST, Tuesday Nov. 22nd (that's tomorrow evening)!


I will list the guide on Wed. Nov 23rd with the Buttons and promote via all my Social Media outlets (Twitter, Facebook, Blogs)  I'm happy for you to share the direct link to that  post as well!
I think this will be an Awesome way to share Small Businesses and connect readers to other Small Businesses and Shops they may not know about!  You may find a small business in your area, too!


Have a great Monday!!


XxOo~ Melissa

Weekend Wrap-Up {Halloween Fun & Random Acts of Kindness}

I hope you all had a safe and fun Halloween!  

Yesterday was a busy day, as was this past weekend, which explains for my lack of anything blog related!

I'll wrap-up my weekend with pictures and share something fun to boot!

For starters, we celebrated Halloween at the New Bern Farmer's Market on Saturday by dressing up and handing out candy....

to get in to the spirit, I made up these cute little ghost squishies for the kids:

 Here I am dressed as a Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) painted face girl.  This Mexican Holiday is actually celebrated Nov 2nd and 3rd.

 Here is a close up of my make-up, which was fun to do:

On Sunday, the hubs and I put in our new wood laminate flooring... We. Love. It! 

Note: My knees are killing me and I've been taking motrin since... yikes!

 Finally, Here are my little chicks all ready for trick-or-treating:

Rapunzel and Day of the Dead girl. :-)

I made Rapunzel's hair, via Pinterest inspiration, 

using yellow yarn and ribbon.. no sew, no glue.  *Woot!*

For the Dia De Los Muertos headpiece, 

I used a thin headband, black netting, some BHG flowers and a hot glue gun. *Wink*

* * * 

This week I am also linking with Alyson over at Eisley Rae for Random Acts of *Holiday* Kindness.

Basically, it's sharing what we have done, or plan to do in my case today, to pay it forward and bring happiness to someone else with a Random Act of Kindness.

I had intended to do this yesterday, but WILL do it this week.

I'm going to make a sour cream coffee cake for "Granny".  She is my friend's Mom, but also helped out by sitting for Trista for almost 5 years that I worked at the Animal Hospital.

Always there if we needed her, even keeping T when she was sent home sick from school if I needed to be at work... really such a lifesaver and sweet lady... and awesome cook!

I haven't been by to visit with the little chicks in a while; we went over yesterday for trick-or-treating and I decided I would make a plan to visit with her more often...  

so, for starters I'll bring a cake. Yum.

Source: americastestkitchen.com

You should link up, too!  It always makes us feel good to make someone else happy!

P.S.~ Are you ready for the start of the Holiday Season?!

XxOo~ Melissa

Weekend Wrap-Up [MUMFest at the Farmer's Market]

What a great weekend it has been and what a breath of fresh air today is!

I spent Saturday and Sunday at the New Bern Farmer's Market during MUMFest in Downtown, New Bern, NC.

Here's my set-up... I was very happy with how it turned out:

Me! The SoChick Chick

I loved, LOVED, chatting with everyone and meeting new people... also seeing and catching up with friends was fabulous!

Now that this festival has passed I can catch up on all of the tasks I've been pushing aside, haha. 

What were you up to this weekend? Did you have nice weather? Were you at MUMFest? I'd love to hear all about it!  Leave a Comment below *wink*

* * *

SoChick!'s Fall Products started listing last night with the 'Made to Order' SoChick! Sling

More new items will list later today!

Have a great Monday!

XxOo~ Melissa

Staying Busy [Festival Prep & Product Launch]

{MumFest at New Bern Farmer's Market}

I have been sewing like crazy getting product ready for Mum Fest this weekend in New Bern, NC as well as prepping SoChick's new Fall items, which will start launching this weekend, too!!

{via}

SoChick! will have a booth at the New Bern Farmer's Market for the two days of Mum Fest!! We will be there Saturday, from 8am-6:30pm, and Sunday, from 10:30am - 5pm... whoa, two long days of festival fun!

I am so excited to have some new Fall bags and accessories at the festival... if you are in the New Bern, NC area this weekend, be sure to visit MumFest downtown and come by the New Bern Farmer's Market, on S. Front Street, to say "Hi!".

{Fall Products & New Ordering Info}
  This weekend I will also begin listing SoChick's Fall Products!  Due to popular demand and customer feedback, I am excited to announce that SoChick! Handbags is introducing "Made to Order" items as a way to improve your buying experience and to ensure that everyone has a shot at the original SoChick! Handbag or Accessory that they love!

{What is "Made to Order"}
  Now, when you purchase a SoChick! Handbag or Accessory that is listed as "Made to Order", your bag will be cut and sewn as your order is received.  Your bag or accessory will then ship within 15 business days from date of purchase, fresh off the sewing machine!

{Why?!}
  I have come to realize that many SoChick! styles and fabric combinations that are very popular with my customers, and when the original sells out, you are left wanting more.  With "Made to Order" I can ensure everyone gets the SoChick! Handbag or Accessory that they love, while maintaining quality (as each is still individually cut and sewn by me) and uniqueness (fabric placement varies by cutting, thus giving each item a unique quality).  This also allows a more "customozed" SoChick! shopping experience as you will also be able to choose from a few color selections for many "Made to Order" products! How awesome, right?!?


{What about One Of A Kind bags?!}
  Because the placement of fabric patterns will vary due to cutting, each SoChick! Handbag will remain unique... However... I am bound to come across small cuts of fabric that I can't possibly pass up (you do know I have a slight addiction to fabric, right?)... So, there will be bags and accessories here and there that are truly One Of A Kind, meaning: it will not be duplicated, there is one an only of that item, once it's sold... it's sold.  These One Of A Kind aka OOAK items will be listed as such in the Shop.

I really think this will help to streamline workflow while maintaining a better inventory to allow everyone to be "Everyday Chic, Everyday Chicks!"


XxOo~ Melissa

Prepping for Fall & Weekend Wrap-up

My weekend started with the Art Walk in Downtown New Bern on Friday... I did have a new sling bag, I sold it... working on more!

Saturday morning I was at the New Bern Farmer's Market... I now have a space inside, which is fabulous!  I always enjoy meeting the other vendors and new people... and I'm starting to recognize some market regulars whom I look forward to seeing when I am there!

The market went well this weekend... I will be posting a Calendar for when I am there.  I'm learning that I won't be able to make it there every weekend because I need time to build up my inventory... which is a good thing for me, not so much for customers who want to get their hands on some SoChick goodness... which brings me to my next topic....

{Prepping for Fall}

I've already gone over Pantone's colors for fall but I always over think myself, then end up stumped when it comes to actually ordering all of my material for new products. (Don't panic, I do have some new fabrics... *wink*)

I pride myself and SoChick on offering fun and fresh fabrics and styles... I am really loving the nougats, caramels and grays that are big for fall, but I also am all about pops of color... good thing that fall/winter 2011 is all about color... I would love for you to take this quick survey to help make up my mind so I can get started with SoChick's Fall/Winter 2011 Collection!!


I ♥ you for taking the time to fill out my survey and I will post the answers next week on my weekend wrap-up post!


XxOo~ Melissa

Weekend Wrap-Up [My Booth Set-Up and New Products]

I had a lot of fun at the New Bern Farmer's Market this weekend.  I've been there several times as a shopper, but this was my first as a vendor.  I met some super nice people, learned that you can find me via Google (Yippie!), saw lots of sweet pups (note to self: bring doggie treats), and, since this was first time as a Vendor I just learned a lot for next time as well.

Here's my Farmer's Market Booth Set-Up:

I was going for a Boutique feel with my set-up and think I may have pulled it off... maybe?

 Notice that I was down to 1 biz card?! I kept putting them out, which is great!

 I'm thinking that next weekend I'll fill this table with some embroidered items... I ordered some new designs yesterday, and yes, I said next weekend! Eeeep! 

New Products:

Yep, there are some new items in The Shop, so head on over to check it out!  

Pssst... The SoChick Sling has received great feedback... it wont be in the shop for long... And, all of these are OOAK!

Off to gymnastics now with my little ones, this week starts a super busy season for us! 

Did You Know:

You can Network with SoChick?! From Button Swaps (aka Advertising!), to Feature Posts and GiveAways... I'd love to work with you. Check it out, Here!

Have a wonderful Monday!

XxOo~ Melissa

This Chick is Going to Market [Farmer's Market Vendor]

Well, I'm off to attend my first Farmer's Market (as a Vendor), Yippie!  I've been working hard to get new products ready and I will be debuting them at the New Bern Farmer's Market on Saturday. (Downtown, New Bern, NC.) There's a sneak peek, HERE

Source: enchanteddreamweddings.com via Melissa on Pinterest

Okay, so I'm not going to be selling produce at the Market, but doesn't this sign make you giggle?  I love it, ha!

Source: oliverandlillys.blogspot.com via Melissa on Pinterest

I am going to put my Big Cartel shop into maintenance mode since I'll be bringing my inventory with me;  The Shop will be down until Sunday evening while I update it with new items. *wink*

Source: tracys-trinkets-treasures.blogspot.com via Melissa on Pinterest

If you are in the area, please stop by and say "Hi!".  I hope you have a wonderful weekend and I can't wait to share my Farmer's Market Vendor experience with you next week! 

XxOo~ Melissa

Pinterest & Fall '11 Color Inspiration

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  I'm kind-of sort-of ready for this busy week month.  I can't believe we're a week into August already?! Whaaaat?!

Lots going on in my world...
School starts back on or around the 25th, with my daughter going into 3rd grade. *sigh* They grow so fast! With that comes Gymnastics and Girl Scouts.  I'm also planning to attend the local farmer's market in two weeks; I'll be working like crazy for that, as well as trying to get some fall product up in the shop!

Needless to say, my To-Do List doesn't look like this:

Source: whereisthecool.blogspot.com via Christian on Pinterest

(10 points if you know who's list this is... hint: He's a Pink Starfish and his BFF is a fry-cook)

Fall is what I'm trying to plan for, mostly.  This is a big deal for me, it still being summer time and all... I'm big on Summer, I love the heat, the sunshine, the beach, shorts, skirts, flipflops, long days... you get the idea... I tend to not even think of fall until it's actually here, well, that's not going to work for productivity, now is it? *wink*


Enter: Pinterest
I know I've mentioned this site in the past, but if you're still not sure what it is, here's the scoop:

Pinterest is a 'virtual pinboard' where you can pin images, ideas and such from the web into one place, share your ideas/inspiration with others, use it to plan, organize or just keep track of stuff you like.

Here's their About Page

If you want an Invite, I have a few... just ask *wink*


This is what I saw this morning when I went to my Pinterest page:

Lots of pretty and inspiring stuff, right? Right!

...Get on with it, Melissa...

Okay, so I'm using Pinterest to organize my fall color inspiration... 

First, by pinning Pantone's Fall 2011 color pallete:

Source: indieprettyprojects.com via Melissa on Pinterest

(Soooo fabulous!)


Once I knew where things were going with color I started pinning some inspirational photos, so I can plan my fabric choices and designs from there.
NOTE: I am still very driven by my own, personal, style toward fabrics, design and color and will deviate from trends when I see something I like and feel other's will appreciate as well.. this is strictly a jumping-off point for me.


Here's my fall color inspiration:

♥ Bamboo

Source: etsy.com via Melissa on Pinterest

♥ Honeysuckle

Source: etsy.com via Melissa on Pinterest

♥ Phlox

Source: etsy.com via Melissa on Pinterest

♥ Deep Teal

Source: etsy.com via Melissa on Pinterest

♥ Coffee and Nougat

Source: etsy.com via Melissa on Pinterest

Off to tackle that To Do list... Have a great Monday!!

XxOo~ Melissa