Coupon Code

 

able mabel recently turned 5 years old!

Yay!!

It's been an awesome 5 years!

 

 

 

 

That means it's time for a coupon code!

I couldn't decide if I should offer a % off your order or free shipping.

So I'll offer both and let you decide which you'd rather.

 

For the next week...

 

 you can take 25% off your total purchase.

Use coupon code "5year25" at checkout.

 

Or...



 

choose free shipping on your order instead.

Use coupon code "freeship25" at checkout.

 

Click here to shop at able mabel.

 

*You must choose between the discount or free shipping. You can't use both. Sorry.

*Ends January 20th.

*Open to everyone worldwide.

*Feel free to share this blog post with whoever you'd like to share it with.

 

 

Photos

On of the biggest challenges of selling online is trying to get good photographs.

It was one of the main reasons I signed up for the photography class I'm taking.

I have wanted to retake the pictures I have of my bibs forever,

but struggled with exactly how to do it.

I wanted to make them stand out from the crowd but still be clear, sharp and not cluttered.

When I was out garage sale-ing one Saturday (the one time a year I go),

I picked up this frame that I thought would be perfect.

I'm not sure I like it.

For sure the white fabric background has got to go.

I've always used white tagboard but I didn't have enough on hand for a full background.

This is what I've had before.

While I loved having a baby pose for me, it is about impossible to get my toddler to cooperate.

As you can see, my coloring is slightly off here.

As soon as I get my act together, I'm going to send some bibs down to a friend of mine.

I'm going to have her take some stock photos to use as the last picture in all the bib listings.

I like being able to show what they look like when worn.

After a few hours of trying different photos, this is what I ended up using.

Not my fav, but it'll do the trick until I figure something else out.

Some day, I'll get it right.

Life

 

 Stack of packages ready to bring to the post office.

My 22 month old and my baby have been tag-teaming each other since last Friday.

When one goes down for a nap, the other wakes up and is "needy".

I feel like all I've accomplished in the last few days is to hold babies.

It's not necessarily a bad thing, I just fell behind in the other areas of life.

I had this afternoon all to myself and was able to get somewhat caught up on orders.

It feels wonderful.

 Look what the UPS man delivered today.

An improved product is in the works.

I won't tell you what it is in case it's a flop.

If it is a flop, it won't be an expensive flop. :)

On Saturday, I took advantage of the arms of my oldest daughter and

snuck outside for a bit to start on my veggie garden.

This side of our house has always been pretty ugly.

Just a hose reel that is never rolled up, two window wells and rocks.

Blah.

I was going to build raised beds on the other side of the house,

but my husband suggested using this area.

Great idea! Less work for both of us!

There is also a circular bed in the middle of the yard that we are using as well.

The space between the window wells and the edging was just enough for a row of beets.

Yum.

I ran out of dirt after I got both wells planted.

I picked up more today so we'll see when I get the middle part done. 

So par for me to underestimate how much I need. :)

Where's Waldo?

I always feel so lucky when able mabel is featured in a treasury.

Can you find me in each of the following? :)

Friday I'm in love

Feeling Green

Citrus Kitchen

With a shirt this cool, who needs pants?

What I've been working on

Way back in 2009, I started a pillow cover that I never finished.

It has sat in a tote since then.

Every once in a while, I pull it out and think I should finish it but I never do.

Last week, I turned it into a baby blanket and gave it as a gift.

It sat in it's tote with just the flower tops sewed on. Nothing else.

I kept getting stumped at what to use for the stems.

Ric rac didn't quite have the right feel or look, so back in the tote it went.

Obviously I didn't try very hard to finish it and by the able mabel didn't sell pillows anymore.

Yet, I didn't want to throw it away.

 After I had my baby, I decided to turn it into a blanket for her.

I got as far as to sew on brown satin ribbon for the stems

and to figure out the border.

But then it sat on my "good intentions" list.

A step from the tote. :)

As I fell farther and farther behind on baby gifts, I decided to finally finish it

and give it away. I spent a good part of one afternoon plugging away on it.

It was fun to do something different and a bit more creative.

 I used iron on paper to attach the leaves and then sewed in the "veins" (whatever they're called) to make them look a bit more realistic.

I used a coordinating charm pack (pieces of fabric already cut into squares) for the border.

Using the same technique as the light weight blankets I backed it all with a pink polka dot print.

Who knows, maybe someday I'll make some for the shop. :)

Oldies but Goodies

Every sale I make on Etsy is exciting. However, there are those what get an extra fist pump.

I made this blanket using one of my favorite fabric lines. Every blanket I made with this fabric sold quickly.  As I was organizing my fabric scraps one day, I came across a few more charms (already cut squares) and just enough other pieces to make one more blanket.

I was all excited as I listed it thinking it would sell as quickly as the ones in the past had. But there it sat. and sat. and sat. Talk about a head scratcher. I can't remember how long I had it listed, it was months if not a year or more.

Then this past Friday, it sold! Double fist pump!! It's currently on it's way to Singapore.

Lesson learned: Never give up on "old" product. You never know when the right buyer will come along.

In the near future

I will be working on an order of 96 key fobs.

They will be given to teachers as a thank you gift from that school's PTA.

The woman who placed the order is a member of the PTA and has placed several orders for key fobs from able mabel in the past.

The two orders I remember off the top of my head were a set of 15 for Christmas gifts and then another set of 24 for gifts she'd need for a vacation she was taking (hostess gifts, gifts for nieces, etc.).

It's awesome to hear stories and feedback from my customers! Totally makes my day!

The story behind

Wow! 2 days in a row, I am on roll! Actually I will post as often as I have time or have something somewhat interesting to say.

Sometimes I have a product that has a short and sweet story behind it. A story that it too long for a Facebook post. I thought it would be fun to share them here on the blog.

Today in my shop, I listed this bib and burp cloth set.

The fabric I used for this set is from Michael Miller's French Journal collection.  Last fall, I ordered a full bolt of it (15 yards). It was a pure impulse purchase.  It arrived on my door step one Friday afternoon.  I took one look at it and gave myself the "what were you thinking?" lecture.

Yes, it's darling. Yes, it would make a non traditional baby blanket.  But for some reason, it overwhelmed me.  It had so many prints and patterns on it that I wasn't sure where to start breaking it up. I decided to list in for sale by the yard in the fabric section of my shop.

Within an hour of listing it, I received a message from a customer in Australian wanting to buy 10 yards of it. She was in love with it! Gone was my overwhelmed feeling and I skipped to my craft room to get her package ready to ship.

That evening, another Australian customer wanted 4.5 yards of it. Sold!

Just like that I was left with1/2 a yard. It was enough to make this set and I have just enough left over for one bib. (which will look nothing like the bib or burp cloth shown here.)

"Problem" solved and everyone was happy!

In the midst of the Holiday Rush

I managed to find time to add two new products to the shop.

With cold season upon us, it's time to start carrying tissues.  Why not dress them up/hide/camoflauge them with a tissue cover?  

Tissue covers aren't just for grandmas anymore (as one person told me recently).  They help keep your tissue clean and all in one piece.  They are small enough to keep in your purse, backpack, pocket, in your car or wherever you may need to blow your nose.  They are cheap enough to give one to everyone in your family! 

I also added some diaper pouches with a zipper.  I love these things!!  As with the tissue covers, these keep the diapers in my purse free of "gunk and grime". 

Talk about fun and functional!!

Patchwork Blanket

I was going on evening # 8 of being a single mother.  My nerves were fraying quickly.  A teething 15 month old, a cranky 5 yr old, a glum 10 yr old and everyone else in between.  Sensing we needed a distraction, we walked down to the neighborhood park to burn off some energy.  It had been a week of late nights and early mornings, so I tucked the kids in early.

Now what to do with myself?  Sit online browsing aimlessly?  Read my scary books and dream scary dreams?  Work in my craftroom?  I was feeling pretty lazy and a bit glum myself, but not yet ready to go to bed.

A few years back I had bought a bunch of already cut squares from an Etsy seller but never did much with them.  Earlier in the day, I had started sewing strips of fabric squares together, but was interrupted by boogers being smeared across my pant leg.

I looked at those strips that were already sewn, while it looked a bit overwhelming, I knew if I didn't do something with them right then, they'd sit for a few more years.

I started in on the rest of the stack, not bothering to see which squares I was sewing together.  Once I got started, it was so much fun.  Mindless, easy sewing.  The only thought involved was making sure the seams were sewn right.  In the back of my mind, I was remembering a quilt Kim had done.

Once the strips were done, I cut some strips of white cotton and sewed them between the printed fabric.

It helped the colors stand out.  I then zig zagged some of the strips, leaving some to do when the minky was attached.  All that zig zagging may have been overkill but sometimes overkill is a good thing.

At this point I debated between a border or no border.  I was worried a border would make it look too busy, plus it was extra time and fabric and I wanted to keep the price down.

The no border thinking won and I grabbed the nearest pink minky, which happened to be hot pink.

Those who have worked with minky know it can be finicky to work with.  As I was topstitching, I was worried I would have ripples on the backside, which is pretty common no matter how much you pin and how careful you are.

I was pretty impressed, I ended up with one little ripple.  Hardly noticeable.

The final product.  As I was sewing the squares together, part of me was wondering why I was even bothering to do it.  It seemed like it would be pretty ugly because some of the fabrics were not my style.  I do have to say, I like how it turned out.  If it doesn't sell in 4 months, I am keeping it.  Someone, somewhere will have a baby girl. :)

The listing can be found here.

Another view.

If I think of the time that went into this blanket, it was not "worth my time".  However, for how much fun it was and how it filled my evening it was worth every minute.  Sometimes I need that sort of project.  Who knows if/when I'll do more of these, although I do have some charm packs (bigger fabric squares) waiting to be used. :)

Fun with Zipper Pouches

I hate to admit this but in all the years that I've been sewing (which isn't that many), I've never taken the time to figure out how to do a zipper.

As my piles of fabric scraps grows, I knew I needed to figure it out.  So following an easy tutorial over at Skip to My Lou, I did it!  I had ordered up a set of 25 multicolored pack of zippers from zipit and had a blast digging thru my scraps.  Talk about addicting!! 

I did them all different sizes; from coin purse/credit card size up to a small cosmetic bag size.  It all depended on the size of the scrap and zipper.

These will all go into our church craft sale.  I do plan to add some to able mabel but am going to change up the design a bit. (tease, tease)  I am still waiting for the supplies I need to arrive.

In the meantime, I will keep working on the ones for the church sale since I know once my supplies come, it'll be hard to focus on the church ones.  (sad, but true. shame on me.)

The best part?!  My pile of scraps is still huge!!  I can a whole lot more zipper pouches! :)

Tic Toc

In 2 more days our friends from AZ will be rolling into town.  My house is in less than steller shape, no surprise there.  But instead of cleaning and sorting piles, what did I do this morning?

I played in my craft room.  It was way more fun!!! 
I had forgotten about these fabrics until I started sorting my fabric bin.  All good intentions flew out the window as I started cutting into it. :)

Remember that saying that goes, "If it weren't for the last minute, how would I get anything done?"  That's me.  I still have 2 days.

This listing can be found here.

Repeat Customers

As a seller of primarily baby items, it can be tough to have repeat customers.  Mostly because as babies grow older they need bibs and blankets less and less.  Therefore, I try to get those customers who are always on the look out for baby gifts.  I worked on a blanket this morning for one such customer.

This is the 6th blanket I've done for her.  The first two she ordered, back in 2009, were for her boys and now she comes back whenever she needs another baby gift.  How cool is that?!

{is it just me or does that pacifier clip look like a dog's tongue?  How appropriate considering the fabric is a dog print. ;)}

Summer Vacation

Why is it that when summer comes, it so hard to find time to work in my craft room?

 Between camping and hiking,

 Hanging out with good friends,

 Swim lessons and the beach,

and Sprinkler Parks, it sure is hard to carve out work time. :)

I've been (making an attempt) waking up at 6 am so I have a few hours of quiet time in my day.  It's amazing how much I can accomplish when no one is around to "pester" me.  Then when the kids wake up, I'm back in full "Mom" mode.

Speaking of kids and summer, I am putting able mabel on vacation mode tomorrow morning so I can spend some quality time with my family.  Any orders placed today will be shipped out tomorrow morning.  The shop will be open again on July 4th.  Watch for aprons to be restocked!!

Deal of the Week

How about free shipping on any able mabel order? Enter "midfeb2011" at checkout.

Happy shopping!!

Oh what a view!!

While I'm turning a blanket right side out or threading elastic thru a bag holder, I can look out my craft room window in one direction and see this. Then I look the other direction

to view this. Unbelievable!

I am one lucky dog!

Deal of the Week

How about a discount to able mabel for this week's Deal of the Week? A discount of 25% for my lovely blog readers. Take a peek at the key fobs.

Looking for a baby gift? Buzz over to the Lovies and Security Blankets section.

Or add a pop of color to your organization with a plastic grocery bag holder.

For the real bargain seekers, check out the Deal of the Week section of the shop.

To receive your discount, you must enter "BLOG012011" at checkout. The 25% will automatically be deducted from your purchase. This code will be good for only one week.

A little iffy

I got slammed with orders, both on and off Etsy, this week. I didn't see it coming so I haven't had a chance to schedule posts for this week. I apologize. I do have a lot to blog about, including a birthday surprise, but it'll have to wait a week or two.

Had I been on the ball, I would have scheduled all my posts ahead of time. But alas, I didn't. We'll see how the rest of the week goes. We have out of town guests coming today so they do take priority.


Today is the last day to enter the CSN Giveaway. Click here to enter. I haven't been very good about marketing it so you have a great chance of winning. :)

A better way to toss

Poor fabric scraps, threads, label stickers and other able mabel trash. They are sad because they are being tossed carelessly into an ice cream bucket. I mean, they have rights too, don't they? They'd be so much happier if they were being tossed into more "dignified" trash can.

I turned to the world wide web to look for ideas (for a quick 10 minutes this morning). By Googling "modern trash cans", here's what I found...

How about one that leave no doubt what it's for? Just look at the picture on the outside. Duh. ;)

Sleek, shiny and pretty cheap.

I love this idea. Just add a plastic grocery bag.

This one is such a fun modern shape. It makes me smile. I found it at stylehive.

I did find a few at Target that I also liked but I couldn't post the pictures. It didn't work to do it my usual way because they have the magnifying feature on the picture. Oh well.

Now the hard part will be trying to decide which one to get. Maybe I should ask the scraps. ;)

Deal of the Week

Like this bag holder? There is a minor fabric flaw on it's backside, close to the back seam.

Most people probably wouldn't notice but I don't feel comfortable selling it for full price. It can be yours for $9 instead of $11. Nothing else is wrong with the bag holder.

Find it here. (click on the word "here")