Organized!

First off... I'm not dead.

While working on bags & wallets for the Big Crafty, I realized that my space was far from efficient. In fact, it was chaos.
I took a few weeks off after the show to relax, but since then I've been taking apart and reorganizing my crafty space.

So I've spent the last month re-doing it all.

And I'm almost ready for the big reveal. I'm gonna finish some stuff up this weekend and SHAZAM! All done!

This is all I'm revealing for now, but I would like to share a link I found while organizing... it's a beautiful to-do list! There is so much going on in this prinitable list... I don't know how someone COULDN'T use it to organize.

Good luck with the list and I will see you soon!

What's Up Wednesdays :: The Takeover

Recently I rearranged my room. The last time, I was just in one corner and I expanded to half the room. This time I concurred the entire room!

And I had to... the half of the room I was using became messier as m. ranae got busier.

I added another table to lay things out. The two tables were centered in the room and I spaced everything else around them.



I added two shelves I bought from Ikea (I HEART IKEA!). I used these to sort my fabrics... I finally have enough of a fabric stash to sort them by color.



I also scored some great deals at Goodwill, Dollar Tree and Dollar General for bins, drawers & baskets.



I keep all "office" related stuff on one side of the room and supplies & such on the other side.

I am still having trouble finding where I put everything, but it's so much roomier and I'm able to spread out and work more efficiently.

So now that I've taken over most of the east wing of my house, I need to start planning how I'm gonna take over the world (one handmade bag at a time).

Back to Normal

Whew!

I've been working on a few large projects.

One was that crazy magnet order... 320 magnets. They were being used as wedding favors. It took a few weeks, but with my husband & mother's help we pulled it all together.

Then I accepted a quest to make 5 foam bags for a piece of medical equipment. I finally finished the demo bag (just to make sure everything was the correct size) and I've got the official order to make 5.
That is a continuous thing I will work on, but the demo was the main hurdle to get over.



Now I'm trying to get back to normal.

I finished an actual m. ranae designs bag yesterday (the first in a month) and I'm looking into some craft shows for this year (I believe I have a November one set up already).

Hopefully, in the next few weeks I will meet with the Asheville Etsy Street Team group to plan our own show.

On top of all this, I've decided to start selling AVON. That I decided because I was having a hard time keeping an AVON Lady and I love, love, love AVON. All but one item in my makeup bag is AVON and I really like their jewelry. So... if you're in the area and want to look at a brochure HIT ME UP! I'm doing this to support my habit, but it can't hurt to sell some stuff to others.

That's the plan for now... to keep on working.

Oh! I am working so hard that it's time to hire a bookkeeper and possibly an Intern. More on that to come...

Damn it!

Maybe I saw it coming... maybe I didn't.
Maybe I could've done something to prevent all this pain.
Nonetheless, my sewing machine has kicked the bucket.

A couple weeks ago it jammed. I took the back off and inspected it and with my husband's help we got it going again. Then it was acting funky... I rebobbined (if that's a word) and rethreaded it and it worked for a little while. Then the other day, it jammed again. And I can't get it going.

I read online for info (since my book doesn't troubleshoot this issue) and I never really found anything. And I looked online for a Singer rep in this area, but there isn't one. So I'm stuck.

I'm gonna buy a special type of wax and try to grease the motor, but if that doesn't work then the next step is... oh dear... buying a new one.

So I'm sad and mad and I just want answers. Or a solution.

Until then, I will have to find something else to fill my time. I do other crafts, but my first love is sewing. I guess it's time to dust off my glue & paper.

I'm gonna ramble a little okay.

So this is my periodical blog about how I am horrible at blogging regularly.
And honestly, I just get busy. Or lazy. Depends on the day.

But I do care about m. ranae designs and think about it all the time. I just have a hard time sitting at the computer to tell everyone about that.

So here's whats new:
I figured up a prototype for a mini bag. My inspiration was this. I will post pics of it today!
I joined Twitter! My hopes is to help my fans keep up with what I'm doing. Follow me!
I am gearing up for making lots & lots of stuff. I haven't sold a thing on Etsy since Februray, so I'm planning on gathering & selling on the streets. I haven't figured where yet, but that is the plan.
Plus, once I get some more zippers in, I'm working on a new design for a makeup bag.

That's a decent update if I say so myself!

Finally! My etsy.com shop is up & running!

I didn't do anything today except work on my etsy. com shop

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade mranaedesigns.etsy.com

Everything looks great! I'm so excited!
Please check it out, buy something, just leave comments!

Really, beyond this, I haven't been doing a lot and my lame-ass excuse is my personal stuff I've been dealing with. It's not serious stuff, but it's still consuming at times.

Okay, so enough bull-s***, I'm gonna start posting more. At least once a week, because I have lots to say and hopefully, I can get more readers.

So check out my etsy and I will see you soon!

Updated Site & New Stuff

I've been working hard lately trying to fill my website with stuff to sell & impress. 

This picture is of me & trusty "Singer" sewing up one of my Patchwork notecards. They're very fun & colorful. I've got many more to work on, but at least one set is up on the site now.

I've got so, so many things in the queue. I'm gonna get my hands on some oilcloth to make baby bibs & lunchbags (woo hoo) and there is a great tote I'm working on.

Slowly & surely I'll get a good stock of stuff to sell at Smilies. 

Oooh! I also got my Wearables tags in the mail today and they're awesome. I'm so excited.

So check out the site and see what I've been doing with my time!