I finally had a chance to catch up with some sewing just for my home yesterday. Normally I am sewing for income and my own little projects get put on hold. My bathroom needed a makeover. Not a drastic one mind you but new window treatments and a splash of color. The old window covering were venetian blinds and they came with the house when we bought it. The problem with venetian blinds is the fact they attract dust and mold and I prefer something easier to keep clean.

When I first decided to put up a new window covering I explored my options first. I first looked at the local Walmart to see what they had and the selection was awful, all dark colors and mostly drapes for other rooms in the house. Not something that left any desire for me to buy from them. Next I looked around online and found The Shade Store which offers "solar shades". They are a pull down window shade that offers energy savings. If you stop at their website you get free shipping and 15% off if you use this code - IZEA01

So far I had found nothing that I would like on my 2 large bathroom windows, so off to Jo-Ann's I went for fabric. At Jo-Ann's it took me about 50 minutes before I found something that was suitable. It was not because they had so much to choose from but a lack of large print fabrics. Most of what they had catered to quilting and the prints were on the small side which does not make good curtains.

Measuring and sewing my bathroom curtains only took 2 hours with interruptions but they are finally up. Next project is reorganizing the home office.

How is this for a neat idea to recycle those old jeans? Placemats for your dinning table. I love the idea of reusing the pockets as holders for silverware and the napkin. If you get real inventive you can even design your own napkins to go with the placemats. The full instructions on how to make these are here.

Start thinking of lace and green shamrocks. In fact the photo above is a free embroidery design you can get HERE. Lots of other free machine embroidery designs and patterns on that same page. There is a rangy looking black cat that I might grab as well as a Leprechaun under a rainbow.

Barbie is celebrating 50 years of popularity. Fashion designers have made millions just putting together clothes for that doll. Now those fashions have made it to the human catwalk. Watch the video below that proves that humans should not be wearing clothing designed for a doll.

Here is a huge selection of products that would help you organize that sewing room into a productive area of your home.

I am experimenting with new blog layouts. I am still trying to tweek some HTML codes to see which one will work best.

You just can't find it in yourself to throw out even the tiniest scrap of cloth. You buy fabric on sale because you might use it "someday". You buy fabric because you like that pattern but you have no clue what you might make with it. You have a closet full of unused fabric that you bought at least 1 year ago.

You my friend are a fabric hoarder. Fabric and other textiles will decompose or fade with age. Add to it the fabric might get attacked by moths or other insects.

The fact of the matter is, you can't make money off of fabric that just sits in your closet or storage bins. Get you butt in gear and make something out of that fabric. Quit being a fabric hoarder.

"Money is tight right now", there is no mistaking that phase at all. If you are trying to sell something either in person or via the internet you have noticed a drop in sales. People in general are just holding on to their money right now. If the item you are selling is over $50 then you might see a drop in sales. I have personally noticed a drop in sales for anything priced over $60. The $39 and under items still are selling but not as fast as they use to.

Here is a tip that might help you sell more. Run a raffle for your more expensive items. Use the raffle as a promotion. If you are trying to sell a bed quilt for over $100 then selling raffle tickets for that item for a dollar a ticket might get you more money in the long run.