http://www.cabinfevershow.com

Oh yes, Friends, Oh yes. I applied and The Sweet Strap was accepted to be one of the 80 vendors at the Cabin Fever Show on February 13, 2011.

I'm going to be veeeeeeeeery busy in the next few weeks sewing and figuring out how best to utilize a 7'x7' space!

Wish me luck, and those of you in the Boston area- I hope you'll come by and visit! I need all the positive vibes I can get!!

Happy Black Friday to You!

I checked my website traffic this morning and was super exited to see a huge jump in views- one of my camera strap covers was featured on the elusive front page of Etsy!

It's the first time in almost a year that anything of mine (Sweet Strap or Aidan's Attic) hit the front page, and I'm super excited!!

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving- I ate way too much turkey, but am looking forward to a delicious sandwich in a couple hours with the leftovers!

The Chronic Catnip Company

Got my first delivery of the Chronic today. It was a huge hit. Aidan was crying for me to get my rear in gear opening up the package, and tried pulling the toy I made for him and Grace out of the sewing machine before it was done.

The last few seconds of the video are my favorite.

I'll be making catnip toys with the Crippler Custom Blend- kick sticks - for sale in the Aidan's Attic shop on Etsy and Artfire, but mostly they'll be available at Meade Insurance on Wescott Road, Danielson, CT or when I do craft fairs. These toys are a huge hit with my cats, and my mother's dog is smitten with them too. Go figure!

Twitter Giveaway

I'm doing it- so tweet all about it- a re-tweeterist will be RANDOMLY selected to win a camera strap cover of their choice (and I'll ship worldwide for free as well) once it hits 365 re-tweets! Maybe I'll pick two! The winners will be announced here too. It could be tomorrow, it could be next year. Who knows! It's an experiment for sure! =]

Click here to check out the camera strap cover selection (more to follow- I'm re-doing photography this week- pretty psyched about it!)

Happy October!

Who is the Pumpkin King?

Curated By: TheSweetStrap

ArtFire.com

Busy!

I've neglected the blog- I just realized I had comments on posts that I was never alerted about, so now I look like a jerk too. I'm so sorry!

I've been super busy this summer, and my biggest task is separating out Aidan's Attic, which will feature only dog collars, leashes and such from The Sweet Strap, which will have all my camera accessories (and some other stuff- coming soon!!). It's much harder managing two stores- but not only that, I'm selling on a lot of different sites now too.

ArtFire: Aidan's Attic

The Sweet Strap

Cargoh: The Sweet Strap

plus my Etsy and Zibbet storefronts. Doing some custom orders and new product development- so seriously, check back often- there will likely be something new!

Christmas in July

There will be a site wide promotion on Etsy of their annual Christmas in July event. The official dates of the event are July 15-31st, but some sellers have started early, so I highly suggest searching for "CIJ" or "ChristmasinJuly" and then narrowing your search down.

Aidan's Attic is one of the stores that started early- offering free shipping world wide. NEW holiday theme collars are being made and will be listed in the next day or so, before the sale starts and deeper discounts will be announced through the month, so stay tuned!!

Become a fan on Facebook to get the sale announcements as they happen!

Featured Zibbeter- ME!

Check it out- My first interview!

I'm this week's Featured Zibbeter on Zibbet. I like Zibbet. Please check it out!

Tax Day!

I've always been excited to do my taxes- this year was the exception. It was not a good year for me. Next year will be better!

Just a reminder, today is the last day for the Grand Opening Sale at Zibbet- 20% off your purchase with the code P51WYM at check out. I've added a couple new strap slipcovers- these are new prints and a new design, and also less expensive. They're not padded so they're not as gushy against your neck as my other camera strap covers, but are gorgeous and I loves them. I'll be adding the padded versions of these in my Etsy and Zibbet stores soon. I listed one this morning on Zibbet and it sold before I could finish listing the third! I thought I had made a mistake with my listings! ha! Off it goes to Canada!

Oh, and I got some terrible news yesterday. My doctor lady told me I should cut down on my coffee intake. Ugh. This is while she's telling me how much she loves coffee and the benefits of caffeine. Rub it in! So... needless to say, I'm enjoying a cup right now. I might cut down, but not today!

A couple pics of the new slipcovers:

Happy Birthday to my Mum!

Big year for her!

We went to the Still River Cafe for dinner last night- I wish I had ordered the beef entrée rather than the lobster (especially since my mom ended up getting the lobster as well so we didn't have much variety), but it was a beautiful location, the service was lovely and I wouldn't say no if somebody really wanted to take me some time. Connecticut magazine called it the best overall restaurant in the state for 2010, but I'd prefer Bella's or 85 Main any day. The balsamic vinegar at Bella's is out of this world delicious (I have a bottle of it in the cabinet downstairs that I treasure), and I have intense cravings for the wild mushroom ravioli at 85 Main.

I made a citrus bundt cake for Thanksgiving last year that went over real well, and that's what my mom wanted for a birthday cake this year. Ask and ye shall receive! I plan on making a kahlua mocha cake later in the month too. Just because it's the birthday month and a good excuse to try something new!

P.S. I haven't done any tweeking on the full SLR camera straps yet, but did make a wrist strap for point and shoot cameras for my Etsy shop. I like it. I think I might be tweeking that too, but we'll see! That's the update.

They're coming...

Soon! Couple tweeks and they'll be good to go!

Spring Has Sprung!

It's so nice to be sewing with the windows open. The magnolia tree outside is about to bloom and we have a bunch of beautiful spring flowers around the yard... I love this time of year. It's not too hot, it's not too cold- It's Goldilocks weather!

This little guy popped up where a pot was placed last year- what a resilient little fellow!

20% Off Sale at Zibbet

It's my grand opening sale at my Zibbet branch of Aidan's Attic- click the link to see the store and enter P51WYM at checkout for 20% off your purchase now through April 15th! Enjoy and tell your friends!

March Update

Hello Hello!

I'm in the process of stocking up a new online store at www.zibbet.com

Become a fan of Aidan's Attic on Facebook for exclusive coupon codes for the Zibbet grand opening! The code will be released soon, and will be good through the end of April 2010.

I was able to donate a little chunk of change (about $42) to the Black Cat Rescue for December, January and February, and am hoping to be on par for March. They're having a silent auction in April, when that goes live, I'll be posting the link so you can check that out and see if there's something you might be interested in!

Gotta run! Much love to you all!

Time is flying

Today, I mean... well, January is too...

January is 3/4 over, and it's already 2pm today. I don't even know how this happens to me.

Yesterday, I started up a shop at www.1000markets.com, which is an interesting site- very different than Etsy. First of all, it's juried- which gave me a little anxiety. Would they like me? Would they really like me??

Yes, apparently they do. "We like your shop!" was the beginning of the email I got back from them. Well- thanks!

So to the right is a link to my shop on 1000Markets.

I'm working on setting up a shop on ArtFire too. I mean- it can't hurt to be exposed to different markets right?

Etsy accepts PayPal. 1000Markets accepts AmazonPayments. ArtFire accepts both. It'd be sweet if I could just consolidate this process- but what are you going to do?

Happy New Year!

I'm very busy. Very busy indeed!

I've been slacking off on getting the dog and cat collars posted on Etsy, but I just built a fabulous light box, and there are no more excuses!

I'm working on re-doing my photography and making a bunch of "springy" collars today- I'm already sick of winter. I always look forward to it, but after driving in the mess yesterday- I'm ready for dry roads (or a Subaru!)

So Happy New Year to you all- I hope it is a great year!

Cheers!

Top 10 Reasons to Adopt a Black Cat

10. You'll save money on their Halloween costumes.

9. You can always find them in the snow.

8. Holding a black cat is very slimming.

7. Black cats will match any decor.

6. A lint brush isn't required for a black-tie affair.

5. When you love a black cat, luck is on your side.

4. Black cats are like onyx, a beautiful gem.

3. Hey, they don't care what color you are!

2. Love knows no color.

and the number one reason to adopt a black cat....

1. They are the least likely to be adopted.

I didn't come up with this list, I found it here, but there are tons of variations all over the webernets.

All the news...

It has been a good month! The Aidan's Attic store is up and stocked on Etsy, and I've made a few sales!

Today I got some really fun news- an organization I came across a couple weeks ago - Black Cat Rescue - has agreed to partner with Aidan's Attic. This is awesome. Those who know me personally (or read the previous post), know I have a beautiful black cat, Aidan. Aidan was adopted a little over five years ago, and it was then I was told that black cats are at a marked disadvantage for being adopted out for a variety of reasons- all of them ridiculous. It doesn't help that most shelters won't adopt out black cats during October, because of the novelty factor and the risk of physical/ emotional damage to the black cats.

Black Cat Rescue is a no-kill rescue organization in Boston, MA. Their all-volunteer network of foster homes in the Greater Boston area is dedicated to saving the lives of homeless black cats and kittens by providing foster care while actively seeking loving, permanent adoptive homes.

I will be donating 10% of all sales of pet "stuff" (collars, leashes, toys etc...) from my Etsy store and whatever craft shows I end up doing on a monthly basis and documenting that here for you skeptics.

That is all for now- it's not too late to order for Christmas delivery! Anything that is ordered this weekend earns free Priority Mail shipping and will go out first thing Monday morning. Packages should be delivered on 12/24!

We've got a heck of a storm coming our way... it should start snowing soon, and isn't predicted to stop for a good 24 hours. I intend on sewing and drinking coffee and cuddling with Aidan. He needs lots of warm hugs throughout the day.

Hello!

I know it's just driving you nuts... how did she come up with such a creative name for her store?

That's Aidan. I started sewing catnip toys for him with my sewing machine propped up on a plastic tote bin in the corner of my room by the door to the attic.

And so Aidan's Attic was born.

I've since graduated to the sewing room, as it has been called for the last twenty years... no more sewing on the floor, and now produce dog and cat collars, leashes, and really snazzy camera strap covers. It has been a bit of a process, figuring out how to make products that I am happy with, but really fun! I love creating "things" and I have really high hopes for this endeavor and the places it will take me and the people I will meet. I have plans for expanding the product line, but gradually. Maybe wrist straps for point and shoot cameras, maybe guitar straps... who knows? I'm just going to enjoy the ride, and I hope you enjoy it too!

Thank you so much for visiting, and stop by often for updates and promotions!

Much love,

Liz and Aidan