Fabric as Far as the Eye Can See. . . . .

Alas, I have left the city for the summer and I find myself back in my hometown for a short time. Before the semester gets too crazy, manic and hectic, I’m spending a few days with mi familia!

My mother and I planned to hunt for new fabrics for my shop and try out a few new patterns while I was here during the week. I kid you not, less than 24hrs after my arrival, we found ourselves elbow deep in yards upon yards of remnant fabrics and linen prints.

It's a bit ridiculous, but my mother and I are somewhat like two children in a candy store when we step foot into a fabric store. . . . .Look at this one! Wow, check out this one! OH MY GOODNESS! LOOK AT THIS FABRIC! I MUST HAVE IT!

We have too much fun in a fabric store. (our bills and receipts are proof!) When I got home, all the fun managed to spill out onto our living room floor and engulf a large portion of it. Later in the evening my mother and I paired all the fabrics together and determined which tote or clutch the fabrics would soon become.

At this moment, there are THIRTY potential bags nestled together on my living room floor. I counted and recounted, and I still counted THIRTY bags! I will be a busy, busy bee the next week turning out all THIRTY bags – Keep an eye out for them!

Goodness, time has flown by so fast! Once again, I’m a bit behind on my blog updates. . .

So last week was exhausting! I drove late Monday night to San Antonio to welcome home one of my friends who has been in Italy for the summer. My boss was cool cool cool and gave me the next day off so I could actually sleep a bit then drive back to Austin whenever. My visit with him and our other friends was awesome! The only downside of the trip was that I discovered I am WICKED allergic to his loveable cat, Pumpkin. I seriously could not breathe when I woke the next morning!

Even though I felt awful, nothing was going to stop me from attending my last crafty business class for the summer! Jennifer wrapped up our last class on Tuesday with tons of helpful information about really taking your business to the next level. I’m so hooked on the idea of really pursuing my own business – I hope I can keep up with everything once the semester begins!

It literally took me until today to recoup from last week – after Tuesday my week consisted of more workouts, late nights sewing, and more travel! Sunday I drove to College Station to have a meeting with my campus organization advisors. After the three hour meeting (crazy!), I visited a few friends who successfully convinced me to stay in CS that night and drive back the next day for work.

I don’t know about you, but I have never considered myself a ‘normal college student.’ Unfortunately, I do not possess the ability to stay up til 3 in the morning, then roll out of bed the next morning early and actually function the rest of the day. I need AT LEAST 8 hours of sleep every night. Last week, that did not happen. That’s why it’s literally taken me a week to get back to feeling normal!

Now that I’m well rested, I’m ready to finish out my last week of my internship in Austin. After Monday, I’m headed back to my hometown for a few days then back again to College Station for the fall semester.

The summer has gone by too fast. . . .

Blah, Blah, Blah. . .

Okay, so I’m way behind on updating my blog – so many exciting things have happened since my last post!

Here goes. . .

-I made my fifth sale last week – Whoop! (ps. I’m an Aggie. . . )

-I had my first photo shoot! Check out the photos here: www.flickr.com/photos/leahface

-I finally received my new shipment of fabrics, magnetic snaps, rings, etc.

-My roommate and I snuck into a Holiday Inn to go swimming – I know, we’re rebels.

-I had my second business class with Jennifer Perkins !!!!!!!!! www.naughtysecretaryclub.com/shop

-I received my first order of business cards – now I’m professional :)

-I started week two of a nine week running program - come September, I'm entering a 5k marathon!

-I saw the movie Wanted.

-I introduced two new patterns to my shop!

-I watched the entire set of The Cosby Show - Season 1 while I worked on Bonnie clutches and Annie totes. Tons of laughter, smiles, and warm, fuzzy feelings went into each item produced during the viewing of those episodes :)

And to start this week right, I’m driving to San Antonio today to pick up one of my closest guy friends from the airport. He’s been in Italy for a little over a month now, and I’m dying to see him!

Life, is good ;)

Don’t forget to check out my new items, as well as my new photos! (I’m wearing Olivia Newton John-ish pants from the last number in Grease – you know you want to check it out!)

http://www.austinnicole.etsy.com/

www.flickr.com/photos/leahface

celebrate!

Last week was nothing short of amazing.

I not only opened my online shop – I sold three items total! In addition to celebrating the success of my shop, I was able to celebrate the 4^th of July with new friends. My roommate and I found ourselves at the outlet mall, a barbeque, and a beautiful fireworks show with some of the most wonderful people you could meet.

My weekend ended with a bit of down time and time spent at the cutting table (aka. my bedroom floor) I created a brand new clutch pattern this weekend and I cannot WAIT to post new items. In addition, I also have a new tote pattern – so cute!

Oh! I almost forgot! In the midst of all the excitement last week, my lovely roommate decided to email some of her friends who publish a popular fashion blog about my work. When I woke Thursday morning, I found my sunshine yellow Ruby clutch on their July 3rd post!

Be sure to check out their site at www.loveitalot.com

A red letter day

What could possibly make my amazing week even MORE amazing?

A second sale!!!

Today I sold my second item on Etsy - the Ruby clutch made from beautiful Amy Butler fabric :)

While at work today, I opened my inbox to find the best email an Etsy seller could get – ‘Congratulations! You’ve made a sale!’ I nearly fell out of my chair when I read those words! Once I recovered, I had to stifle the high pitch girlie squeal that was creeping up from my lungs and convince myself that the office was not an appropriate place for cheesy, celebratory dance moves.

I immediately ran out of the office to call the one person who I wanted to share my news with the most – my mama! My mother has always been an incredible supporter of every crazy craft venture I have decided to follow. An insanely crafty woman herself, my mother’s style has always been an inspiration for my work – clean, simple, elegant, classy.

Speaking of classy looks – I just purchased yards and yards of beautiful new fabrics from some of my favorite designers today! If you love deep, rich hues of plum, olive, blue, and orange, you’ll love the new prints I have!

That's all for now - keep viewing my Etsy website for new items soon!

first sale!

Guess who’s having the best week ever?!

A little after 24hrs of opening my shop and posting my first items, I made my first sale!!!! I sold my cherry red Marie tote :) Yeah!

I also had my first business class last night – and not your ordinary business class, but one specifically for independent, crafty, indie business owners! Taught by my new found idol, Jennifer Perkins, I learned tons of stuff about starting a business, marketing my products, etc! It was so overwhelmingly wonderful – I left and my head was swimming with new ideas!

I’m having an amazing week – and its only Wednesday! :)

I hope to have new bags made by the beginning of next week – be on the lookout! www.austinnicole.etsy.com