SoChick Embroidery {Put a Monogram on It!}

If you are following me on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter... chances are you know what I've been up to.  And if not, I'm about to tell ya!

We'll have been in Western North Carolina for a year now at the end of this month.  When we moved I decided it was time to bring SoChick! Handbags & Embroidery back to where we started, with personalized embroidered gifts.  While I have been making a few bags here and there, I am very excited with where machine embroidery is taking this little business of mine and look forward to growing in our new location.

When you visit our website, www.sochickhandbags.com, you will find that it's been updated with a shopping cart, the ability to create an account and track your orders, as well as complete ease in ordering products with lots of options for personalization!

Here are our newest items:

Ladies Monogrammed Basic Tee... a great gift idea for Bridal Parties!

Monogrammed Caps.. for beach, pool, golf, ... or bad hair days.

Lots of Monogram Styles to choose from...

... and lots of colors, too!

Our most popular item is our Anchor Monogram Tee...

with three shirt colors and two monogram styles (circle or fancy) to choose from!

I invite you to visit our online shop to place your order today!  Our ladies items are on SALE through May 20th!

See you soon!

 *** Don't forget that we also offer local monogramming services as well as personalized embroidered baby gifts!

XxOo~ Melissa

Back 2 School {A Coupon for Free Shipping!}

Free Domestic Shipping when you spend $25 or more, use coupon BACK2SCHOOL at checkout in the SoChick Fabric Shoppe.

So, you're either dreading the "end" of summer, or doing a little happy dance that the kiddos are headed back to school, but either way, it's happening... the new School year... time to get back into the "groove"!

Naturally, I looked at the calendar and thought... "I need to make/buy/sew this or that for the girls before school starts!".  So, if you're like me, you'll be happy with today's coupon for Free Shipping on Domestic Orders of $25 or more with coupon code BACK2SCHOOL at checkout!

You can either:

A. Stock up on fabric for Back to School sewing projects for the kids.

or

B. Stock up on fabric for Back to School = more-time-for-Mom projects. *wink*

Either way. hurry while it lasts... this coupon will expire next Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Happy Shopping!

XxOo~ Melissa

{A Great Deal (SALE)} Shelburne Falls: New Charm Rolls

Before we moved, I planned to add some new charm rolls to the SoChick Fabric Shoppe... but then the computer crashed, and I've closed my shop while we're in temporary living arrangements.  Needless to say, I have these gorgeous 10in Charm Rolls, from Denyse Schmidt's Shelburne Falls collection, staring at me and need to sell them.  In this case, my loss will be your gain!

The charm rolls feature one 10in sqaure of each of the prints in the Shelburne Falls collection.  There is a Free Quilt Pattern, Square Dance, on Denyse's website which calls for one charm roll and solids.  A simple and modern quilt... fun to stitch with a folksy, yet, modern vibe. Check it out here: 

{Square Dance via dsquilts.com}

Head on over to the SoChick Facebook Page to snatch up a Shelburne Falls charm roll at a great price, which includes shipping!  

How it works:

Simply comment on the facebook post with your paypal email address.  You will receive an invoice within 24 hrs and must pay it within 24 hrs of receipt; your fabric will ship upon receipt of payment.

There are only FIVE rolls available... hurry!

XxOo~ Melissa

♥ Happy Valentines Day ♥ {A Coupon For You!}

Treat yourself to some yummy fabric for Valentines day!  Visit the SoChick Fabric Shoppe on Etsy and use this coupon code to save 20%:

Simply enter the coupon code "LOVE2SEW" at checkout to save 20% on your total purchase.  And, because I heart each and every one of you, this coupon doesn't expire until 7:00am EST on Monday, Feb 18th! *Happy Dance*  Enjoy!

Happy Valentine's Day!

XxOo~ Melissa

Holiday Shopping with SoChick! {Last Chance Deals, Personalized Gift Sets}

Final inventory for 2012 is now listed in the SoChick Handbags & Accessories Shop.  Now is a great time to get your hands on handmade gifts for the Holidays... Most Items in the Shop are *LAST CHANCE* and One-of-a-kind deals:

SoChick Sling and Pleated Pouch Set in Aqua Spring

Limestone Wallet with Genuine Leather Tab

 Also, you'll find some Personalized Sets which are perfect for Holiday Gifting:

Limited Edition Personalized Gift Set

Fun & Festive Personalized Handtowel Sets

Head on over to Shop SoChick! Handbags now, the last day to shop is December 14th, when the SoChick Handbags & Accessories shop closes for the rest of 2012!

** GIVEAWAY: I'm celebrating 500 fans on Facebook with a Giveaway of one Pink & Green Gift Set (pictured above)... to enter, visit the SoChick! Handbags Facebook page and Click on the Blue "Giveaway" tab!**

XxOo~ Melissa

{SALE Announcement} SoChick Fabric Shoppe

Happy Friday!  If you are signed up for the SoChick! Newsletter, you know that I need to make room in my studio for new fabric... to help with that I'm having a SALE in my Fabric Shoppe on Etsy!!

Through Thursday, November 15th, save 30% at checkout with coupon code ETSY30.  That means you can score Amy Butler prints for as low as $6.30/yard and cotton laminate for less than $12/yd!

It's a great time to grab up fabric and try any of these free projects that Amy shares on her website.  

Source: amybutlerdesign.com via Melissa on Pinterest

You can make beautiful gifts for giving over the Holidays or save it for stitching on a cold winter day, nothing beats the winter blues quite like beautiful fabric!


Enjoy and have a great weekend!


XxOo~ Melissa

We Survived Back-to-School Week {& A Labor Day Fabric Coupon}

I'm happy to announce that I have we have survived the first week back-to-school!  It was like any other school week, except this year my oldest chickie is in 12.5 hrs of Gymnastics Practice and my hubs was away for work as Crisis Response for Hurricane Isaac... good times.

Because Chickie #1 has practice three days during the week, we started prepairing a week in advance with early bed times and wake-up.  I am super proud of myself for keeping to our schedule and staying organized.  While I let the blog slip a little, I was still able to stay on top of some orders and make a plan for this coming week.

Happily, I will be adding new items to both SoChick! shops this week... yep, there are two now!  You can visit SoChick! Handbags for Handmade Handbags & Accessories, here; or, find pretty Fabric in my SoChick Fabric Shoppe on Etsy, here.

You'll also notice that I've created two new ads for each shop over to the right:

I'll share my reasoning for two platforms in another post... for now, though, I'm leaving you with a coupon code for the Etsy shop... to save 20% on your entire purchase use Code LABORDAY20!  Sale ends Wednesday, Sept 5, at Noon EST.

Now, here are some pictures from our back-to-school week:

We're doing Bento style lunches and my 4th grader is loving them!  I use the same idea for little chickie's lunches at home:

 I scored this cute little pail from Target's dollar bin, I love that the chalkboard paint was already on it; more on this project in the coming week!

Nothing like coming home to a delivery of beautiful Fabric to brighten a rainy day, you'll be seeing more of these, too... yep, three of these are Laminates.... Eeeep!

Finally,this Saturday was the first Game Day of College Football season; you will notice that I tweet about the game like it's cool... wait, it is cool!  Here, my littlest chickie is wearing her UGA Cheerleader Uniform, a hand-me-down from big sister.

Plus, I have to share the fun with my friend Meagan of Fairly Fabulous, because she's a Dawg fan, too!

Have a fabulous Labor Day, don't forget to use the 20% off coupon mentioned above, and check back during the week as I'll be celebrating my Shop's 2 yr Anniversary and my Birthday... yay!

XxOo~ Melissa

Summer Sale and Restocked Items

August Already?  That means that SoChick Handbags will officially be 2 years old on one month!  I can't believe that two years ago I left my full-time, out-of-the-house, job to stay home with my chicks and run SoChick! full-time.... awesome! While I plan to celebrate the excitement in September, for now let's have a Summer Sale... 

Save 25% on ANY purchase in the Shop by entering code SUMMER25 at checkout.  


That's a pretty great savings on Amy Butler Fabrics, Handbags, Accessories and Bag Making Kits! (Unfortunately, this does not include PDF sewing patterns)


Also, newly restocked in time for this sale are the popular Julie Wristlets (shown in the above picture).  And, for a limited time I've added the option of ordering custom Julie Wristlets and Savannah Totes...  basically, you can choose from any of the available fabrics in the shop to make your own color combo for these hot items!  This sale is a perfect time to take advantage of this Limited Time Option.

(Act fast... this Summer Sale ends on Monday, August 13th @ 11:59PM EST)


XxOo~ Melissa

FABRIC SALE {Free Shipping Code}

We are back from vacation and while we are getting back into the swing of things, my littlest chickie said we should try to sell some fabric, so here's a FREE SHIPPING offer for you:

Enter code NAT25 at checkout and receive FREE SHIPPING when you spend at least $25 in the SoChick shop.

This is a great way to stock up on some Amy Butler Soul Blossom fabric, or to finally get that SoChick Market Tote Kit you've been eyeing!

XxOo~ Melissa

Busy Times Ahead {Gymnastics, a Birthday, Fabric, Shopping}

I really need to get back into the blogging groove...


My biggest little chick is turning 9 years old tomorrow (May 18th).  We have a busy weekend planned with the school's spring fest, her Gymnastics showcase, and Shopping at "The Big Mall" for her birthday... whew!


I can not believe it's been 9 years since our chick-a-dee came into our lives, five and a half weeks before her due date, our little 4lb 14 oz burrito.  Always the little one, always big on personality... Seriously, the tears well up when I think about it... ugh, she's in double digits next year... holy crap!

From our trip to the UGA Gym Dogs meet (Vs. NCState) in March
Um, ya don't go to Athens without eating at the Varsity.

I am so overwhelmingly proud of my little girl.  She is an excellent student, a Girl Scout and a gymnast... her most recent accomplishment is being invited to join the Compulsory team at her gym.  I'm becoming a Gymnastics Mom.  At her request. Because she loves it. So, the 12.5hr/week practice starts on Memorial Day. A new adventure on the road of life.


To celebrate, I'm giving away a free Fat Quarter with every Fabric purchase of $25 or more, May 18th - May 20th.  All US orders over $10 ship via USPS Priority for $5, always!

Simply leave a "Note to Seller" at checkout telling me which fabric you'd like a FQ of, and I'll include it in your qualifying purchase.


Also, don't forget about this Sewing Pattern Sale/GiveAway opportunity which is going on through Memorial Day... only 20 Patterns to go!  Will I meet my goal of 25 sold by Memorial Day? Will you help me?


Have a super wonderful weekend!


P.S.- In between birthday festivities, you can find me catching up on Spring Quilt Market via twitter... you can follow along, too, with hash tag #quiltmarket... woot!
XxOo~ Melissa

It's Fabric Time! {Shop's Open, a Sale and a GiveAway!}

I am SO excited to tell you that the SoChick! Shop is up and running, with lots of pretty fabric!

When I started my little handbag business back in 2010, I knew that one day I wanted to sell the beautifully-fresh, and modern, premium quilting fabrics that got me hooked on bag making and sewing... I also knew that I wanted to one day put my designs into sewing patterns to encourage and show others that you can create beautiful, professional-looking items in your own home, with your own two hands... and sewing machine. *wink*


I happened upon Amy Butler's beautiful fabrics when I started my addiction in 2008.  Since her fabric, and fabrics similar to her's, are not available in my area, I took to ordering online.  Over time I learned what fabric I loved and couldn't be without.  While Wildflowers in Navy, from Amy's Daisy Chain collection, is my all-time favorite print, I knew when her Soul Blossoms Collection was released that I was hooked for serious! 

So, it's not really a surprise that, when the opportunity arose, I choose some of my favorite prints from Soul Blossoms to start my fabric shop journey.  I love the pinks and oranges, and the greens and aquas, found in these prints.  Plus, their versatility is where it's at... I believe Amy calls the colorways of Soul Blossoms a "Treasure box palette", because all of the colorways work so well together!

In my SoChick! Shop you will find fabric, fat quarter pairings and bag making kits (for my sewing patterns).  My Sewing Patterns are available in my Craftsy Pattern Shop, as PDF downloads... don't worry, I was sure to offer the link to my pattern shop under "Sewing Patterns":

There are several more fabric collections that I hope to add to the shop in the future, but this is where my fabric-loving-heart told me to start...  I hope you will love these fabrics as much as I do and see that you, "Everyday chicks", can create beautiful "Everyday Chic" items in your home, too!




Okay, okay, ready for this Sale/GiveAway?!


The Sale:
You may already know that my first Sewing Pattern: The SoChick! Market Tote is on Sale for $6... and if you don't know, now you know. *grin*.


Because I know you will love sewing this bag, and that you will come away from this pattern with new skills & inspiration, I am going to keep this pattern at the $6.00 Sale Price through Memorial Day!  A super great deal for a Sewing Pattern that you can download instantly, as a PDF file, has full-sized pattern pieces, full-color photos and extra tips & tricks to encourage your creativity!


You can purchase the SoChick! Market Tote Sewing Pattern HERE


The GiveAway:
I would love for you to help spread the word about my Sewing Patterns!  My goal is to sell 25 of my SoChick! Market Tote Sewing Pattern by Memorial Day... remember, it's on SALE.  Once this pattern's sales reach twenty-five, everyone who has purchased a pattern from 1-25, and beyond (though Memorial Day), will be entered into a random drawing to WIN a FREE SoChick! Market Tote Bag Making Kit.


My Bag Making Kits include all of the yardage, interlinings and hardware needed to complete the corresponding pattern.  The winner will have their pick from the Blush Blossom or Azure Kits.


I think that's a pretty great deal, don't you: Buy the pattern on sale, get a chance to win a free kit?! 


As a bonus, if you or your friends purchase the SoChick! Market Tote Sewing Pattern, leave a comment on SoChick's Facebook page telling me that you bought it, and have your friends tag you if they bought it from your recommendation... I may be inclined to do something super nice for my top sewing pattern referrer.


This journey gets better and better, thank you for joining me!  My heart is SO freaking happy!!! XxOo.


*GiveAway Deets: The GiveAway will become active once Twenty Five (25) SoChick! Market Tote Patterns are sold in my Craftsy Shop.  Sales beyond the initial twenty five will be included in the giveaway; all sales will be numbered in the order received.


Sale and GiveAway will run through Memorial Day, ending at 3:00AM EST on May 29th (this gives the west-coast gals a chance to get in on it till midnight their time.. *wink*).  


I will enter the total number of sales into a Random number generator and announce the winner here on the blog no later than June 1st!  I will also contact the winner via their PayPal email address used to purchase the Sewing Pattern.  For everyone's protection, your email address will not be shared. 
XxOo~ Melissa