i’m not sure how long this line of fabrics has been out, but i found these on one of my recent trips to Jo-anns. i’ve been trying to only shop at specialty shops, but with the holidays around the corner, spending as much as i do on a weekly basis on fabrics can be alarming if i’m only shopping at places where fabric never goes on sale!

surprisingly, the red print that i made the laptop sleeve out of, i had a TON of inquiries about the fabric!! i was quite shocked that people liked it so much! and unfortunately for some of you, that sleeve finally sold!! BUT, on another note, i had already made a bag out of it, so, there’s now a pleated hobo bag in the shop!

and if you’re not really a red kinda gal, there’s a black one to match in the shop!

Just wanted to thank everyone of you who have become Crafty Natalie Fans on Facebook! I’ve had a tremendous amount of traffic on my site the last several days, as well as inquiries, and overall kind words, so it truly means a lot to me! Why I didn’t think of this marketing technique sooner is beyond me! Again, please remember that my Facebook page is simply just a gallery of products that I’ve made in the past, so if you’d like to order something, you can check out my Etsy Shop, or email me directly at natalie@craftynatalie.com.

For those of you who have joined and have only just heard of Crafty Natalie, I thought I’d write a little background for you!

After nearly ten years in the early childhood industry, I was fortunate enough to quit my job almost two years ago. (I was only supposed to take a few months off to find greener pastures, and the path was one that I never expected to take!) More than anything I LOVED working with kids. But when it came down to managing a school of 300+ kids and nearly 100 employees and a being part of a management team of 4, my passion for kids was no longer a passion, but an actual job. (if you truly, truly love what you do, going in everyday is never meant to feel like work…and that stopped being true for me long before I took the plunge to quit!) I ended up watching my nephews for the summer and searched for what was supposed to be a new calling. Except, nothing called out to me, and at times even questioned if I had made the right choice. My husband got me a sewing machine last year for Christmas (mainly because I always complained about having to get my pants tailored when I knew it was something I could essentially do myself!) and thus began a new path. I was addicted to all things fabric. Discovered Amy Butler and everything changed! Found more and more craft blogs and Google Reader became my new best friend!

I soon realized how much fun I was having making purses-if you know me, you know that I like to accessorize, and since I was no longer working in the corporate world, my days of splurging on Coach bags were sadly over! But, being able to sew my own bags meant, I really could have a bag for every outfit! More and more of my family and friends were having babies, and it always amazed me at how expensive children’s clothes and toys were. There are so many great patterns and simple ways to make your own children’s accessories that I quickly added children’s gifts as another fun project to tackle! Soon I  was making more than I could give away (or even store in my own closets!) and quickly discovered Etsy. Once I gained the confidence in myself in sewing, I decided to open up my shop since I was always getting positive feedback from the gifts that I had given away. Selling my items on Etsy has allowed me to further my fabric addiction (which I’m not actually sure if that’s a good thing!), it allows me to be creative, and furthermore, provide, fun and unique items at an affordable price!

It’s funny looking back now because my husband was the one that encouraged me to start a blog. He’s the one that thought of the name (he was so pleased with himself, but really, I couldn’t come up with anything clever!) I remember when he suggested it, I looked at him like he was nuts thinking, what the heck would I write on a blog?! Who would even read it besides family! Funny how it’s not even family that are my loyal readers!

i didn’t realize that Alexander Henry made home decorator fabric! my sister found the Leo collection at the local quilt shop and picked some up, along with his Soho fabric. since i’ve had so many inquiries about these blocks, i decided to make a set for the shop! i think these are super cute, and was glad i was able to get the lion and birdie on a panel for each block! i decided to use different forms of chenille or minky to give the blocks more variety. one block has the traditional chenille, while another has the soft minky dots, and the last one has the soft minky stripes! this set makes a great sensory gift for kids!

get it while you can in the shop! ONLY ONE SET UP FOR GRABS!

since i’ve had some inquiries about more gift sets for infants, i just added this Mocca gift set that includes a long sleeved appliqued onesie, a chenille bib, and a coordinating burp cloth. you can find it in the shop now!

i got this fabric from Artful Quilter a few months back and have held on to it because i liked it so much! i haven’t been to the shop recently, but now that i’ve used the fabric up, i’m itching to go back! i hadn’t heard of the collection before, but it comes from Art Gallery Fabrics and is part of the Asian Market Collection. There’s a new collection called Botanica coming out in January 2009 that i’m DEFINITELY going to have to invest in!

i wasn’t really sure which purse to make out of it, so i decided to go with my tried and true, basic tote that i’ve made so many times before!

UPDATE: this bag is now in the shop!

i’m so glad i have my husband to do all my technical stuff for me! i decided to make a Facebook page for Crafty Natalie but could not for the life of me get the banner to look right on the fan page! in comes hubby and about 15 minutes later i have a new image!

since i’m trying to build more of a clientele and also promote my etsy shop, i figured Facebook could help me out! so, if you’d like to become a fan, click here and if that doesn’t work, search for Crafty Natalie once you’ve logged into Facebook- and don’t forget, you have to be a member of Facebook to be a fan!

i had an order about a month ago for a baby sling that i was kind of excited to work on! i know about 5 people right now who are expecting babies so i thought this was a great new project for me to take on because it was something i could add to their gift baskets!

i ordered enough of the fabric that i ended up making a sling for myself too because the size that was ordered was much larger than what i’d use, and i like to be able to test a product out for myself before i send it off! unfortunately, i didn’t have a baby small enough to put in the sling (my niece is now almost 10 months old and was not cooperating when i tried gettin her in that thing!) i reinforced the sling in several areas and also double edge stitched the finished product so i think it looks a bit nicer with the clean looking hemlines.