Good morning to all you wonderful people! Wonderful, in that you manage to follow my blog, even though I neglect it terribly! I just can't seem to come up with anything creative to say! I'm not a writer, so I struggle with feeling like I need to keep your interest! But if you have time, and can manage the slightest interest in what my world is like, then continue on!

Have you heard the statement, "necessity is the mother of invention"? Well, because of the economy fallout, our construction business, of 22 years, has gone into the drink. Not ONE call since last Oct. '08. Ah, necessity! We still found it necessary to eat, to pay for our dwelling,...etc. Our lack of income did not change that very simple fact!

So, my mind has been wheeling, my thoughts have been churning! What can "I" do to help with this grave situation? I have always been creative, (a God thing I think) and throughout the years I have been drawn to color, whether in the form of custom art, painting, interior house design,...whatever...now, more recently, with textile. Oh, I LOVE textile!! This has sparked something in me, that I am now thinking, what can I do with textile that could possibly turn into being a viable contributing factor in our finances?

My invention? I developed these "Lucy" Bands, I call them. Headbands that are encased with wire, so you can twist them on, kinda like what Lucille Ball wore back in her day. So, they are a little retro in style, while using coordinating fabrics for a reversible feature. I'm not sure that I am the originator of the idea, but I certainly have not seen them anywhere else.






You can wear them twisted up at the top of your head for the full "Lucy" look. Or you can twist them at the base of your head and conceal the twist tie, for a more modern, sophisticated look. Either way, they are super comfortable, and add style to your wardrobe!




The look? Fun or Sophisticated!

I'm really hoping this idea will take off, and many people will find this little invention something they must have! "Necessary", if you will! Sold for $10, they are quite a deal! Being reversible, it's like having two headbands in one!

Check out my store on Etsy for more fabric choices! Don't forget, I can custom make them with ANY fabric choice. Just let me know!
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6874586

Yes, I have been busy yet again, sewing some cute novelty aprons! Sometimes I can't stop myself! I get so excited about the possibilities when I first see the fabric in the store, I have to buy it, and get home and make it right away! Nothing stops me until I have it in my etsy store. Someday, I'm gonna chronicle my adventures, and show pics of the process! I'm pretty sure you will feel the same excitement that I feel after you see how it all goes down! ;) In the meantime, here are my newest aprons! Check out my store for more from annabelsaprons@etsy.com

Vintage Christmas fabric, with checked pockets and lining

Chicken and egg fabric

Fall Charlie Brown fabric

Beautiful multi colored circle fabric
with black and white accent color

New Items and Some Custom work

Hey there! Wow! I have made ANOTHER entry in my bloggie! I'm so proud of myself.

It seems as of late, I am making quite a few custom orders! YEAH! I wanted to show you what I have been doing...

This apron is for a very petite woman looking for a classic style. She loves black and white, with a splash of red. I felt I needed to stay with the black and white fabric, while adding red buttons, giving it just enough accent. I think it turned out pretty nice!

I thought this was the cutest.... A customer had bought the little girl's chef's apron for her daughter for Christmas, and was wondering if I could make a matching apron for her American Girl doll. I was so happy to find I had just enough of the fabric in my own stash to make it. They no longer make the fabric anymore. So here is the cutest matching apron set in the WORLD! Hahah..ok..I'm not sure about that...but in MY world it is! :D




Here is my model in the new hostess apron. I think she fills it out well! It is now listed on Etsy. Take a look!

I have also been making some sweet headbands. The very popular twist tie headband in some new fabric choices...

Custom Orders

My new hostess apron! Could this be my new signature apron?

Ok, so I have been making some more custom aprons! It's been very fun picking out fabric based on what people are looking for! Here are some things that I have been doing:

This apron was made a few months back and I was getting concerned it wouldn't find a home, even though it had many hits and quite a few hearts. So, along comes a potential buyer who had asked if she could get pockets on it, and walla, my sweet apron was sold.



Another Custom for Cootiepants. She wanted one to match her store banner, consisting of these colors, and stripes and polkadots.

This one was made for a teacher who wanted something fun to wear during school! I think it fit the bill.

Expanding the business

Wow! I have been busy lately! I participated in the Valparaiso Popcorn Festival last weekend in IN! It was my first fair ever for Annabel's Aprons! It was really fun! I sold a handful of aprons and a lot of headbands! I passed out a lot of biz cards, and just made some great connections. We shall see what happens with all that! I sold my icon apron there, the big flowered batik hostess apron!

I was kinda sad to see it go! Now I have to come up with another signature apron. I got home from the weekend very tired, but the following week I had more sales than ever on my Etsy store. Almost all of them were customs..whoot! Here are some pics of some customs I have made for people that don't always make it to Etsy!


I think I'm gonna do a little research on making skirts now! What do ya think?

These his and hers matching aprons made it to the Etsy Gift Guide and sold as customs with monogramming on the pockets! whoo hoo!

Update!

Oh wow!! Please don't look at how long it's been since I made an entry! Ok, now I guess you're gonna, because you're too curious!....human nature! :)

Well I will try to make this worth your while!

So, the last time I posted an entry, I told you that we were moving to TX. Well, if you want to hear a little drama, I will tell you what happened! My husband got a job offer there as a video producer/editor of a weekly TV program for a prominent personality. At the same time there was a "slightly" less secure position in WI that was offered to develop a horse ranch at a very pristine horse ranch. Since the latter seemed to be somewhat risky, we decided to go with the TX offer. So, hubby went down there for 2 months and started his new job. My daughter and I were wrapping up loose ends here and would join him as soon as we found a place down there. However, through a course of events, it turned out that TX wasn't all that it was cracked up to be, and the offer here in WI became more solid. So, the week that we were to move to TX, WE DIDN'T, and since have decided that WI is our home and that's where we need to be. The company in TX has decided that my husband can work remotely, so he will still be doing that, but just in a different, more efficient way. So, the best of both worlds comes together for us, and I couldn't be more happier!!
I'm so glad the indecision and the upheaval is over! And we can have somewhat of a settled life for a change! :D

On the business side of life, I have been sewing up a storm, building my inventory, getting ready for a big show in IN, which promises a lot of foot traffic. Here is some of my work:



Smock Tank Tops

His and Hers Chef's Aprons

Half Aprons

Batik Headbands

Vendor Aprons


Check out my shop for more!!