Catching Up and Making Changes

Wow....what a month it has been! I don't know about anyone else but it seemed to drag by over here that's for sure and I have never been so eager for one to pass. Between a virus that knocked me out for almost 2 weeks, then morning sickness and severe exhaustion hitting right after it's been tough trying to get much of anything done.

So with that I first want to say I am so so so thankful to everyone who has been understanding and patient during this time. Many of you I have done orders with before so maybe that helped but I will always be thankful. I think I've turned my machines on 3 times in the last month which is way out of character for me. However after spending 12 hours with my daycare kids, taking care of my own family and such....I was just too exhausted to work some more.

It seems as though things are finally getting back to normal. Mainly I'm not feeling so sick anymore. I still have a few moments here and there, especially if I wait to long to eat, but for the most part it's passed. The exhaustion is still tough but it's letting up a bit too. Or at least I can stay awake till at least 9pm where before I was lucky to make it past dinner at 5:30pm.

With that being said I'm looking forward to using this weekend to get things jump started again. I've got orders that need to be done up and I'm going to prioritize based on a few things. First anything Halloween related will be done so it can go out Monday at the latest. I know we are getting closet o the holiday so if your waiting on a tote or outfit you should have it middle/end of next week. The rest I will need to sort through and just get them pushed out. I'll be doing updates on your website accounts so please keep an eye out for those. You should get an email letting you know if an update is done, if you don't see it you can log in to your account and see if it was updated or not. All of them should show updated or have a message sent out no later than Sunday night. If you can give me through then to get that done we should be good to go. There is only I think 8 or 9 of you waiting so it should be no problem to get most if not all of you done this weekend.

Now, for the changes. And I promise it isn't all bad! Having been so sick lately it's given me some time to think about things and also try to figure out solutions. When baby #4 comes I have no way of knowing how long it will be after birth before I start working on projects again. Plus, going up till then there are going to be times I'm super tired or honestly....just don't feel like working on something. I want to make sure though that I'm not getting orders that people are waiting on to be made though and have them get delayed for what ever reason. to avoid that we are going to move in the direction of doing more selling of already made, ready to ship items and fewer customs.

This change will mainly apply to clothing items such as dresses, pants, skirts, etc. T-shirts with applique/embroidered designs can still be custom ordered if you would like a name on them. I'll be putting up some ready made ones with cute designs though for those who are interested and want to get it quick after purchase. Anything that is on the website as of Monday will be items already made and ready to ship and will go out on the next drop at the post office. I think this will work out best for myself and for my customers to make sure they are getting their items as quickly as possible.

Finally for shipping. With my daycare it is near impossible for me to go to the post office more than twice week so we are going to set up specific dates for shipping. Those shipping dates will be Tuesday and Saturday each week. If either day is a holiday it will go out on the next business day available. Any orders placed and paid for by 6pm EST the day prior to a shipping day will be sent out. For example if you order at 2pm on Monday it will be sent on Tuesday. If you order at 8pm on Monday it will go out on the following Saturday.

With shipping we will be also offering a free shipping option. You will now be able to select delivery via 1st class mail for free. First class mail will NOT include delivery confirmation/tracking and may day a few days longer to arrive. Those who chose priority mail for shipping will still receive the delivery confirmation/tracking information.

So I think that's about it for now. We have kind of a crazy day today since the kids have a 1/2 day of school but I will be around tonight. I'm anxious to get back in the game and have some fun. We'll be looking to do lots of networking, games, some auctions again (remember the big shirt auction last year for Christmas??) and more. I want to have fun with this and get the momentum back that I lost from the last month.

Better than the Buddies!

If your a parent you have more than likely come acrost these little guys at some point. We love them because the kids can grip the soap between their little fingers and they don't smell half bad either. But what about those parents with kids who can't use that brand due to sensitive skin? Or maybe they just don't like the smell of it?

We are now introducing our personalized soap covers!! These 2 I made for my daughter. They are completely customizable with either a single letter or spelling out the childs name. You can also pick from a variety of thread colors.

The soap is inserted on the reverse side via a pocket. Here you can see the soap sticking out of one part of the pocket. The other side of the pocket would just be pulled over to completely conceal the soap.

I couldn't forget my son either so I made some blue ones for him!!

On the reverse side here you can see the soap completely inside but the pocket is pulled up just a bit for a peak.

The kids love these since they make it easy to lather up. Once the soap is inside you just put it in the water and rub like you would a normal wash cloth. I love it because I can fit any normal size bar of soap into it instead of having to buy special ones for the kids. Also, when they are done I can just remove the soap, rinse a little and throw it in the wash!

These would also make great gifts!! Fancy monograms paired with a nice hand towel would make great housewarming gifts. Or just have a couple made up to add to your baby shower gift. Something any new parent would appreciate.

Bags and Totes!!!

New to Daffe Designs are bags and totes!!! These bags are large enough to be diaper bags, beach bags, or even just a large purse! They are cute, trendy, and colorful!! All of them also come with a matching coin purse. There are a variety of colors and prints to choose from. Like the large polka dot with a bow in the corner. Or how about some damask??
Ohhhhhh............zebra print!!! All bags can be monogrammed with your choice of letter and name. The larger letter can be an applique or all embroidery and YOU pick the color??

I couldn't resist making monogramming one for myself with the business name on it!

For more information or to place an order check us out on Facebook or send us an email at daffedesigns@gmail.com.

Something for Girls AND Boys

I get a lot of comments that most of my items are for girls. I apologize....it's so hard to think of things for the little boys!! However, I came across this nifty little item and thought ahaha!! Something I can offer for BOTH!

What is it???? Hard to tell when it's all rolled up like that huh???

Well maybe this will give you a hint???

Yes my friends....it is a hooded towel. You know just like those ones we loved to use when our babies were...well babies. Except this one fits them as a big kid.

My 7yr old is modeling this one so you can see it's a fairly large size towel. This one is actually a gift for a friends little girl. I hope she likes it!!

Getting Organized

My room where I do all my sewing has been a complete and utter mess for weeks now. I had a table piled so high with random fabrics and items that I couldn't find what I was looking for or it took forever to find something. I was buying extras of stuff like elastic and buttons because I thought I was out. Boy was I wrong on that!

For awhile now my husband has said he would put up this peg board on the wall for me so that I could keep some things up and out of the way when not in use as well as not take up valuable shelf space. This morning I convinced him it HAD to be done so...it got done.


So pretty isn't it??? Well if you ignore that horrible wall paper that we still haven't taken down from when we bought our house. I have both machine's hoops and grid things hung up. The iron, scissors, etc. Even a few rods to hang up clothing items that are completed and ready to shipping or pick up. Only thing missing on that wall now is my thread holder. I want to hang it directly to the left of the peg board but we need to make sure all the parts on it are secure due to the weight of the thread. Some of them have been trying to pop off so for now it's still on my desk.

Now we have my lovely work area. We brought in a 6ft table so I could put my serger on the end instead of having 3 machines on the 1 desk. Then it gives me plenty of space for cutting fabrics and patterns with out having to spread out on the floor.



Last but not least we have my new shelving and storage bins. The shelf has actually been in a closet for awhile now with random stuff thrown all over it. I actually took the time to fold up fabric and items waiting to be embroidered and stack it all neat. So top shelf is like burp cloths, shirts, bibs, blankets, etc. 2nd shelf is fabric, and trust me thats not all of it. But the closet that has 6 shelves of fabric packed in is way to messy to photograph right now. The 3rd shelf is bins of like buttons, elastic, bias tape, trim, and other misc items. Bottom is just spare stuff. Big bin has all my instruction manuals and USB cords. Shipping boxes, etc.
The bin to the right of the shelf has all my ribbon crammed into it. Yes 3 drawers of ribbon all just stuffed in there. One day i want to have dowel rods hung up so I can just slide the spools on and they are ready to go. Maybe that will be my next project.

Cameron Auction: $25 Daffe Designs Gift Certificate

$25 gift certificate redeemable at Daffe Designs. Redeemable effective May 1, 2011 - no expiration. If total of order plus shipping exeeds value, buyer will be responsible for difference.

Donated by: Crystal @ Daffe Designs

www.facebook.com/daffedesigns

Starting bid: $12

To place your bid please leave a comment with your bid amount and email address. All bids should be placed at a minimum of $1 increments.

Cameron Auction: Party Ring

Sterling Silver party ring with Marcasite and opalescent beads, band is engraved with swirl pattern. Size 6. Hand made by Elizabeth Chandler. Value $50

Donated by: Elizabeth Chandler

Starting bid: $25

To place your bid please leave a comment with your bid amount and email address. All bids should be placed at with a minimum of $1 increments.