Etsy for Christmas

Shopping seems to be on my mind today.  I just relisted a bag in my Etsy shop, and noticed that the views are really low for these weeks leading in to the biggest shopping time of year.  I was hoping to see more traffic through the online storefront, and wondering if more people are shopping in retail locations vs. online.  I hope though they will be checking out Etsy for unique presents.  Reusable coffee sleeves and reusable bags are the perfect gifts for your office secret santa, or if you need something special to wrap up that unique gift you just purchased, try a reusable bag to make your gift giving a little more green.
Mostly have fun, and don't forget to check out Threadbeaur for some great gifts.

To match or not to match

I just listed some great items in the shop.  A shoulder bag which is good for all your shopping needs, or great for a purse.  Also in the same fabric I have a reusable coffee sleeve.  They would be the perfect gift for that special someone.  If you don't like the match, you can always go for one of the other items in the shop.
There are so many reasons to buy during August.  Get your holiday shopping done early, but lets not forget the fun days in August.
August 12- Sewing Machine Day
August 12 - Vinyl Record Day
August 15 - Best Friends Day
August 17 - National Thrift Shop Day

Just to name a few.
Make your shopping more green all year long, check out Threadbeaur for all your gift giving needs.

One man's Trash...

Is another man's treasure.   As the saying goes, it applies to Threadbeaur, and recycling in general.  The best recycling program may in fact be the antique business.  Treasures are purchased that someone else was getting rid of.  We, as a society need to get away from the one time use mind set and move forward to the reusable mindset, or adopt the everything old is new again slogan.  When I am out shopping for fabric for my reusable shopping bags I find all sorts of fabric that has been discarded, and with a few snips makes wonderful bags.  Giving this fabric a second life is my way of keeping it out of the landfills, and making something useful.  Don't wait another year to go by before you make the switch to cloth reusable bags.  Get a bag that is as unique as you are.  When you get a bag from Threadbeaur you won't want to leave home with out it.  The best way to lead is by example, if you are carrying a great cloth bag, others will follow they will want their own cloth bags, and soon we can stop the plastic bag from littering our land.

Is timing Everything?

When it comes to listing your items on Etsy do you think time of day has anything to do with it?  This has been discussed over and over in many forums, blogs and chat rooms, but have we come up with any conclusions?  At the end of this month I will have been a member of etsy for 3 years (wow, time flies).
It has been educational, fun, exciting, and sometimes slow.  I have not figured out the magical hour, but what I do know is the more you post, the more people see you.  Pictures are also a key to selling, better  pictures + more people viewing your post...equals more sales.   There was a time when I was posting everyday, staying at the top of the category, and really promoting my shop.  Bags were selling, and people were visiting my online storefront.  After a while, I got behind, then I was in a lull.  It is time for Threadbeaur to make a come back.  I am revamping my photos, and increasing my inventory.
Going into the 4th year, I am going to try to keep my shop up to date, and keep it full of glorious eco friendly shopping bags and reusable coffee sleeves.  Tell me about your Etsy experiences.  We all learn from each other and I would love to hear your story.

More new Items

After being out of touch for over 11 days I am back.  I am going to be posting to the shop more often, and hopefully increasing the inventory.  Be on the look out for new grocery bags, and a few shoulder bags.  

I will be bulking up my coffee sleeve production, and posting a few bulk listings as well as a few singles.  If you have any special requests for a certain number of coffee sleeves let me know.  Save money with the bulk listings, and multiple custom orders.  Let me know what you need.  Here is my newest coffee accessory, perfect for any flamingo and coffee lover.  Check out Threadbeaur for all your eco-friendly gift giving needs!

New items

I just got around to putting a new item in my Etsy shop!  Since it is one of the best places to sell your goods, I figured I needed to update Threadbeaur's store.  Today I posted a great new shopping bag.  Check it out, make grocery shopping a fashion statement with a great cloth bag that screams "GREEN" in a fashionable way.  When you love your cloth bag, you will never leave home with out it.

Fabric

So M just brought a bag home from work that was filled to the brim with fabric.  As he plopped it down on the floor he commented "I didn't know they made bags this big".  It is so big that I could probably fit into it, yes, that big.  Anyway a co-worker is a garage sale guru, big time, and she is always on the look out for something good.  We have sort of a deal where she gets fabric, I make her coffee cozies or bags in exchange.  Pretty good deal for me, because One I get free fabric, Two, she uses and gives my coffee sleeves out to friends.  Free advertising!!!  WIN ... WIN!!!
Be on the look out for some new bags, and coffee sleeves at my Threadbeaur Etsy shop.

Coffee Sleeves Can Save

Think of your daily coffee as a way to be more green.  Say no thanks to that cardboard sleeve to protect your fingers from the heat.  Instead, tell the barista that you have your own unique coffee sleeve.  One that it recycled fabric, in a print that is uniquely you!  When you are not sipping java, store your sleeve on your wrist for easy removal when the caffeine bug bites!

Thinking Green For Summer

So I am ready for a few trips to the beach.  We take a ton of stuff with us now, because of baby Lincoln.  We have his glasses, hat, sunscreen, towels, and the all important umbrella for shade.
I use my great reusable cloth bags for all the little things.  They make a great place to throw the sunscreen in.  I use a separate one for a snack bag.  After all, who doesn't like a snack when you are at the beach.
This weekend we are headed to Fort Pickens for a little fun.  I will be toting my reusable bags for our day trip there.
Get your bags for the summer.  They are great for the beach or library or your Saturday farmers market trip!

Nickel Back

On our most recent trip to Target I had a great surprise. We wandered the store picking up the essentials and once our basket was full we went to check out. I, of course, had my reusable cloth shopping bags with me. The girl at the register was very friendly, and chatty. Which is nice, it was like she was enjoying her job. As the transaction was finishing she said "OH yeah, you get a nickel back for using your own bags" I thought this was great. Target has started giving you five cents back when you use your cloth bags. It is nice to see more and more stores doing this to discourage the use of plastic. I guess it is positive reinforcement. I use my back and get a nickel off my bill. I will have my bags handy every time I go shopping for sure! Go to Threadbeaur's Etsy shop and see what sort of bag fits your style. Save the planet in style with a fashionable cloth bag by Threadbeaur.

Reusable gift bag

I had to give a few gifts out over the weekend, and I choose the green way. I picked a few of Threadbeaur's grocery totes, and stuffed them with two bottles of wine. The packages were topped off with a little ribbon to keep them closed during transport, and to add a little extra flair.
These happy packages are two gifts in one. The wine of course and the bag can be used over and over for all sorts of things. From grocery shopping to a trip to the market, or a visit to the beach. The reusable gift bag is a perfect green way to wrap up your presents this year.
Check out the varieties at Threadbeaur's Etsy shop. Here is what the finished project looked like. Pretty little packages all in a row, ready for a party, or where ever they may go.

Your daily Grind - More Green

Coffee sleeves are routinely used at coffee shops, you know the ones they are cardboard, dull and brown. Every time we go we say no to the coffee cozy that the barista is slipping over the cup. The other day we were grabbing a cup of joe at Starbucks and I asked the girl to leave off the sleeve, and she looked at me as if I were crazy. Then she asked if I would like a double cup instead. So I handed her the cloth reusable coffee sleeve and she effortlessly slipped it on to the cup. She said she loved the cloth sleeve, and could not believe that I made it.
I have a ton of these coffee sleeves in all sorts of recycled fabrics. They make great gifts for the office, or an addition to a gift basket or a little extra in the form of a tie on for the top of a pretty package. If you know a daily coffee drinker, and I know you do, this might just tickle their fancy. Many of the sleeves are just tossed out with the trash, despite the fact that they could be recycled. Why not just skip the trash and use your fashionable cloth coffee sleeve. Keep your eye on Threadbeaur I will be stocking the shop with new bags, and coffee sleeves all week. Of course, if you are looking for a bunch of the coffee sleeves email with the details.

PhunFest is upon us.

The car is packed with my table, two chairs, tent, and my inventory for the craft show. They are expecting to have 2,000 visitors to the show on Saturday September 26th. My inventory includes a ton of reusable bags and some coffee sleeves. I am sure I will have enough, and the ones that don't find new homes during the PhunFest will come home with me and find their way up to my shop on etsy. The weather man says that the rain should hold off until later in the afternoon, so we are hoping he is right for a change.

With only a few last minute things to do like fill the cooler with some water, ice and a few snacks, we are ready to go. I hope that it is as busy as they think it will be. I have been told there will be some great music, and other great vendors at Navarre Beach. So if you are out that way, stop by and say hello!

Becoming a Bag

In a few short days this will be my newest bag for the shop. This great old blackeye pea sack has been revamped into a shopping tote. This I think would be great for the market. Of course, nobody will have one just like it! The printing on the bag is still sharp, and dark. It would make a perfect gift for your California friends! Watch for it in the threadbeaur shop, or if you just have to have it, let me know, and I can list it just for you! For the strap, which I will be putting on this afternoon, I will use a khaki colored fabric, and the recycled red sheet. What a great way to re purpose items headed for the dump, now this has a second chance as a unique fashion friendly shopping bag.

38 day countdown

I found the first craft fair that I will participate in here in Florida. The 3rd Annual Panhandle PhunFest! I have been in the sewing room all day, thank goodness for a little rainy weather. Cutting, sewing and ironing describes the activties for today. With only 38 days until the festival I have to get busy and make as many of my eco friendly items as I possibly can. This festival supports a good cause, the Fisher House on Eglin Air Force Base. It is a place where family members can stay when they have a loved one recovering in the hospital.
If you are in the area on September 26th go to Navarre, and stop by the Phunfest! Looks like they will have a ton of craft vendors, and some good music. I hope to see you there!

Inspiration

As I was wrapping M's sandwich in my reusable sandwich wrap that I got from IreneDesigns. I realized that I needed to have a snack bag too! So I went to the pantry grabbed a plastic sandwich bag from a dusty box way in the bag of the shelf, and went to the sewing room. I picked some fabric from the scrap bin and started measuring and cutting and within a few minutes the snack bag started to take shape. This one is two apples high, perfect for going on a picnic, or just your regular lunch. No more plastic snack bags, and the best part about it is you can wash it and either machine dry it or just hang it up to dry naturally. This does not have any Velcro to get tangled up in the wash, it is just the fold style that I remember using all through school.
I am thinking of making more for my etsy shop, but for now, I have something to pack a few snacks in for M's lunch so that he gets more than just a sandwich.

If anyone has any comments, or suggestions on the snack bag, please let me know! Of course, these are all handmade with recycled or vintage material. Just one more way to keep more out of the landfill. Thanks.

Java Junkies!

Do you get your fix of coffee everyday? You need to get the ultimate in eco-friendly fashion. The remarkable, reusable coffee sleeve. Check out Threadbeaur for great coffee sleeves made from salvaged fabric. Fabric with a history, and trying to avoid the landfill, given a second life as an everyday useful item. Green fashion is everywhere you look, from reusable shopping bags, to the ability to buy offsets for your carbon footprint. Why not just reduce your carbon footprint on your own. There are small things that we can do everyday to reduce our waste. Just like getting a reusable coffee cozy instead of the cardboard offered in the local coffee shop. If everyone did this think of all the room we have saved in our landfills! It adds up.

Inventory Rising

I have been sewing on the machine, working on increasing the inventory for Threadbeaur.
I just posted one of my favorite bags in a vintage fabric. The vintage linen tree fabric was found at an estate sale up in Illinois. I had about 8 yards of it, and now the stash is dwindling. I bought it still wrapped on the bolt, and the tag still intact read 1980. When did the 80's become vintage? I am always on the look out for great estate sales, and thrift stores to find fabric. I hope that I can find some good places to shop around here in Florida.

Earth Day Sale

It is Earth Day and the weather is beautiful here. I will be celebrating by picking up trash on my walk today. I also wanted to celebrate by offering a SALE in my Etsy Shop. Threadbeaur will offer 10% off today Wednesday April 22, 2009 Through Saturday April 25, 2009. This 4 day sale is to raise awareness about the use of reusable shopping bags, and the impact that it can make. Get your reusable shopping bags when they are on sale. I also have great coffee sleeves for the Eco-Friendly Coffee drinking friends.

Come on over to Threadbeaur and check out my eco friendly items today!

It adds up.

Do you have a daily coffee from your local shop? A paper cup with a cardboard sleeve snuggled around the middle?
Here is a number from your daily cup of joe wrapped in a cardboard sleeve.
Daily coffee = 365 cardboard sleeves a year.

That is only one person, think of the millions of coffee drinkers around the globe and multiple.
One cloth reusable coffee sleeve could save the landfills from the 365 yearly cardboards sleeves per person.
That can really add up.

I just finished a custom order for a bakery in Chicago. They are holding an Earth Day Celebration, not just for one day, they have extended for the entire week. While I was up in the sewing room, I thought of all the cardboard sleeves that this order could save. For the earth day celebration I made 25 coffee sleeves, and that could reduce the total number of cardboard sleeves headed to the land fill by 9,125 (in one year).


Again, this is a miniscule amount compared to the daily use of cardboard sleeves, but we can start here, and spread the word. With coffee shops on every corner, the numbers add up. Make your daily grind a little greener, get a reusable coffee sleeve today.