I’m Retiring

Not completely, but I’m definately down-sizing. I won’t be taking custom orders for bags and purses for the forseeable future. I thought I would recover quickly after the Christmas Crazies, but I’m finding my little family is needing more of me these days. A 2-year-old needs to be potty-encouraged, a 5-year-old needs to play school and then there’s that mountain of laundry that keeps mocking me. Oh yeah, I also happen to have a WONDERFUL, patient husband that I enjoy sitting on the couch with from time to time instead of sewing until midnight…..but, enough about my exciting life!

I’m going to focus on the accessories side (vs. the bag side) of the business. Cell phone bags, camera straps (many new ideas here), headbands and baby gifts. I’ve adjusted the Prices Page to reflect what I’ll be doing. I’m also going to try to update the blog regularly and keep the ETSY Shop full….you gotta have goals. I may even throw a tutorial or two up here for fun. I’m wild…what can I say?!?!?

Also, if we have talked (or emailed) about a bag, I’m ABSOLUTELY going to do it for you. Give me a call or an email and I’ll let you know where I am.

Thank you again for your support, and thank you in advance for your understanding. I’m still loving this adventure, it’s just taking a slightly different path for a while! Come back soon and see what we’re up to!

I think I can, I think I can…

That’s been my mantra for the past 4 months! It reminds me of another little blue engine I loved as a child. I finished the last two Christmas orders last night, and the family celebrated with a Papa John’s pizza…courtesy of I Believe Designs, thankyouverymuch. What an amazing response we had this year from the locals, Etsy traffic, and loyal friends that have been there since the beginning. Thank you all!

I’m taking a little time off from custom orders for the next few weeks. If you have something in the system for January, it will absolutely be taken care of. I need a little R&R with my peeps, and I also want to create some fun new things for the spring.

I’ll leave you with a new design I just came up with this morning. Clearly, I’ve missed my calling working with all this fabric. Burlington Northern, feel free to contact me at your convenience.

Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope you have an un-BELIEVE-able CHRISTmas season!

Time’s Up!

We’re at November 2, and I’m all booked up! Thank you all for your orders. I’m so amazed at how far I Believe Designs has come in one year….and it’s all because of you!

In order to take care of my family and the orders that have been placed already, I’m going to cease to take custom orders at this time. I had said I would take headbands and coloring book bags for a few more weeks, but I’m afraid my docket is full. I will be making some additional items (headbands, camera straps, bags, key fobs, etc.) and posting them in my ETSY SHOP. Also, GIFT CERTIFICATES are always available!

Happy Fall!

Let’s Talk About Camera Straps

I want to feature some of I Believe’s products individually. So….let’s talk about Sassy Camera Straps!

With the popularity of scrapbooking and digital photography, it seems you see cameras everywhere these days. But, the black strap is kind of dull, so why not make a fashion statement while you capture those memories? These strong nylon straps are covered with fun, feminine fabrics. The sliding bars make them completely adjustable. They have two black hooks and two small rings for attaching it to you camera (see pictures).

Length (adjustable): 50″ -29″ long (adjustable), 1/2″ wide

Let’s Talk About Headbands

Headbands are reversible, so you can choose two different fabrics for each one. I embroider them before making them, so they are still reversible even with a name or monogram. I do suggest embroidering on the solid fabrics, but I am happy to embroider on the prints, as well. The names of the fabrics are as follows. Please feel free to refer to them by number or name when ordering. Also, please specify youth, teen/petite or adult.

Here’s the newest update on headband fabric choices:

1. red stripe
2. green stripe
3. lime ultrasuede
4. pumpkins and candycorn
5. Halloween stripes
6. denim
7. flower confetti
8. pink minki (not embroidable)
9. aqua dots
10. leaves brown ultrasuede
11. chocolate buble burst
12. brown canvas
13. snapdragon
14. black canvas
15. red canvas

The Winners ARE…..(for real this time)

Dee Long—Cell Phone Bag
Deb Ambrosi—Embroidered Headband
Tonya Nelson—Camera Strap

Thank you so much four playing! As you can see, I’m giving away all three items. The weird thing is, my little boy pulled 3 slips of paper out, one at a time, and they were for the 3 different items. My friend Kristi had just dropped in for a minute, so she was our witness. She’s a lawyer, y’all, so it was legit!

As soon as I get addresses from the winners, I’ll ship them out. Please email me at ibelievedesigns@gmail.com

This was so much fun, I will be having another soon. Check back often.

Have a great weekend!

And the WINNERS ARE…..

I really wanted to do the drawing this morning before Miss M went to Kindergarten, but I re-read the contest rules below and realized I said the drawing would be at 3:00 today. Since I’m afraid there might be some Secret Undercover Bloggy Police (S.U.B.P) out there, I must adhere to my own rules! I’m printing the comments, will cut them into strips and have Miss M pull the winner out of the hat AFTER Kindergarten. I’ll post the winner’s comment, and that person will email me to claim their prize and let me know where to ship it to.

Also, there will be TWO winners since we had so many comments! I’m all atwitter!

atwitter: adj. Being in a state of nervous excitement; twittering….

See, this blog really will enrich your lives and vocabulary!

Have a great day, and check back to see if/what you won!

I’m Blushing….

I am seriously speechless (and if you know me personally, you know that’s truly RARE!). I was hoping for more than 10 comments, and I am amazed to see 37 there right now. I can’t wait for Friday to come, so we can do the drawing! If I get more than 50 comments, I might have two drawings and send out a little more “I Believe” love!

I’ll be sewing all week. I’ve got some orders to finish up from the April’s Angels event, and I have some new designs I’m working on.

Isn’t this fun?!?!?!

Time for a GIVEAWAY!!!

OK, go ahead and exhale. I know it’s been a long time comin’, but I’m going to do my very first ever giveaway. Oh my goodness, I hope I get more than 4 comments!

Since I can’t decide WHAT to give away this time, I’m going to let YOU THE READER decide.

Here are the rules:
*Take a look at the 3 Possible Giveaway Items below.
* Leave a comment naming at least one item you’d pick if you won (don’t worry, you can change your mind if you actually do win!)
* This giveaway is open to residents of the U.S. only.
* I’ll throw the names in a hat and draw out the winner.
* No duplicate comments, please! (each name entered only once)
*The comments will be closed next Friday, September 21, at 3:00pm.

**IMPORTANT UPDATE**
I’m learning here, so bear with with me. Please leave your name (example: Stacy D, DeeDee in Texas, etc.) so I’ll know who to list as the winner!

Tell your friends and family! Let the contest begin!

Sassy Camera Strap in Lime Swirls (valued at $25).

Cell Phone Bag (also great for mp3 players) in Pink & Green Stripes (valued at $15).

One embroidered headband with flower confetti on the flip side (valued at $12).

Great Night for a Great Cause

I’m really late in sharing this, but it’s better late than never. Back in August, a really good friend of mine, Kristi, held an open house in her home. She invited several mompreneurs to share their talents and crafts to benefit an awesome local organiztion called April’s Angels. It was above and beyond anything I imagined. April’s Angels is doing great things for many kids. You will be blessed by clicking on the link above to see more.

You will also find links to several of the other incredible women from that night on my sidebar, so please go check them out. Tell ’em I sent ya 🙂

Here are some photos from the evening:

Fabric, fabric everywhere!

Here are some of the new items I’ll be posting in the etsy shop. These are ponytail holders. They come in 2 sizes, medium and large. The prices are: 2 medium-$5, 1 large-$4, 1 large embroidered w/ 1 letter-$7.

Some of the new Sassy Camera Straps.

Bella Bellu Custom Jewelry is AWESOME! Their items are beautiful and so easy to wear.

Prepare to be blown away by Missy at The Tasteful Shopper. You have to go to her site to see everything she has to offer.

Happy Shopping!