Bon Jour! Welcome to Cajun Stitchery’s weekly email and welcome to our family.
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Don’t forget to visit our blog at www.cajunstitchery.blogspot.com, catalog at www.companycasuals.com/cajunstitchery and www.cajunstitchery.etsy.com often. We are also on Twitter and Facebook.
Hope all of the dads out there had a wonderful Father’s Day. Next holiday is going to be the 4th of July. We’re back to the red, white and blue and there are several patriotic items in our Etsy store. Drop by for a visit.
I was pleased to find out this week that Paradise Bar & Grill is listed in the top 10 bars in Florida. A hardy congratulation goes to Fred and Rene and the gang! The official ceremony is going to be this Sunday. I think it’s at 4:00 but you better double check. Fred is asking everyone to please attend to congratulate Rene and staff.
I may have mentioned this before but I read an article not long ago about dog collars. The article said that it is very important that your cats and dogs have collars with their names and telephone numbers. This is true especially for disaster purposes. The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina was devastating on pets and their owners. Most were never reunited. My cats do not have collars because they are strictly indoor cats. They have had their front claws removed. After reading that article, I plan on making collars for the cats today and will embroider their name and my phone number on the collars. You don’t know what is going to happen at any given time. Another point is that even if your animal has an identification chip embedded, most people don’t think to take the cute little animal to the vet to check for ID. Nothing against ID chips; they are valuable. Also, if a pet finds itself misplaced, it is probably quite stressed. To see the animal’s name and be able to call him/her by name would be comforting and calming to the pet.
Needless to say this article touched my heart. So, this week Cajun Stitchery has purchased the necessary items to make pet collars. Our very first commercial collar was made this week for Daisy. Miss Daisy’s collar was picked up today. I urge everyone with cats and/or dogs to please get identification collars whether from Cajun Stitchery or elsewhere. We feed our pets healthy, nutritious food. We take them to the veterinarian. We train them. We care for them. We love them. Please also keep them safe with identification.
About last November, I received a call from a lady saying that she had an advertising company out of her home where she did advertising on local restaurant menus. The deal was that she provided the restaurant with free menus paid for by the companies advertising on the menu. For the advertising companies, we would get our business card size advertisement on a menu in a popular restaurant for 12 months at a very reasonable cost. In addition, once you lock into a particular cost for advertisement in one menu, you could advertise on any menu that she does for the same amount whether it is today, tomorrow or in 10 years, you would have the same rate. It seemed like a great deal that I could afford with a very small business. In addition, the restaurant would be Native Café on the beach, which has a special place in my heart. I agreed. The lady, in fact it was two ladies, came to my home and showed me the proof for my ad. We discussed changes and ideas. The menu was to come out in January. It was November at the time. I paid her. I signed her paperwork. And I counted the days to see our ad at Native Café. When January arrived, George and I went to Native Café for breakfast and there were no ads on the menu at all. I inquired about the ad with our waitress and she told me that the new menu would be coming out shortly. I called the advertising lady when I got home and she explained that there was a delay and the menus would be out in a couple of weeks. I finally made it back to Native Café last month. Still no ad. The owner came out and told me that there are lots of angry advertisers and he is not happy, either. The lady, who appeared so professional to me, never came through with the menus. In fact, she cashed the checks and no one can find her. She put everyone off long enough so that the bank cannot do anything about the checks. It is really a very sad situation because the idea is brilliant. It is a win-win situation for everyone involved. Haven’t we all seen menus like this with the advertising? Well, I learned my lesson.
People like this make reputable companies look bad. There are reputable companies out there because we have all seen this type of menu. I say this because a friend of mine has a company, Menu-tizing, that does exactly this. She is reputable but I didn’t know about her last November. In fact, Cajun Stitchery will be embroidering her companny shirts soon.
Speaking of shirts for Menu-tizing, our new digitizer is digitizing the embroidery design for Menu-tizing today. This digitizing company has won many awards for their digitizing and I’m looking forward to seeing their work up close and personal. I think this will become a really nice relationship. They told me that all of their digitizing is $30 per design. Of course, lettering and words, unless they are a logo or something that requires digitizing, can be done in-house without a digitizing charge. Same is true for stock designs. Since I have to pay the digitizer upon receipt of the digitizing, the $30 digitizing fee will be required up front.
SALE: Right now I am overloaded with stock, especially cloth napkins. These are the 20 inch square, restaurant quality napkins with hemmed edges. The colors that we have in stock are:
1. Rust
2. Purple
3. Natural
4. Lavender
5. Blue
6. Royal Blue
7. White
8. Burgundy
9. Teal
10. Brown
11. Sea Foam Green
I’m selling these (in-stock) napkins at $2 each; first come, first served.
The market baskets are just adorable and very functional. I have one for myself with the Cajun Stitchery logo embroidered. These market baskets are canvas and really nice. Perhaps it’s because no one else seems to be using market baskets for advertising purposes, but people really do stop to look at them. They have stopped me.
Right now, in stock, we have black, red, purple, navy blue, hot pink, and black with white polka dots. These are all regular size market baskets and the price, without embroidery, ranges from $22 (for solid colors) to $28 (polka dot), each. A name or initials would be $5. Of course, the more embroidery you want on the basket, the more the cost.
I think the purple would be great for Mardi Gras Krewes. Krewes are always lugging around stuff from food, to costumes, to items to create a float. Put your krewe logo on the side of a purple market basket.
We also have a black laptop case($24), a black with white polka dot carryall($14), some blue and white striped canvas purses ($8 each), hot pink purses($8 each), hot pink mini purses($6 each), and a brown purse($8 each). I’ll embroider a monogram (name or initials) for $5.00.
The market baskets have a bunch of uses.
• One customer said they are perfect for a beach tote.
• They make great personalized gifts or gift baskets.
• With your logo embroidered, they are a wonderful advertising tool. If you are like me and always seem to carry a bag with my wares, picking up or delivering items, your logo embroidered on the basket is ideal and unique. It’s an eye catcher.
• Recent embroidery on a market tote was done by embroidering the outline of the word “Mine” and then filling the word with rhinestones. It turned out beautifully. The same technique can be used for any word.
• They also make great picnic baskets. Include a set of matching cloth napkins, a tablecloth, some personalized can wraps, and an assortment of picnic items and you have a great gift. These totes have two mesh pockets on either end on the inside of the basket, as well as plastic feet and a luggage grip. A red market basket with blue or white embroidery, filled with red, white and blue napkins, tablecloth, can wraps, and other picnic items for your 4th of July picnic would be very patriotic.
• Another really great idea is a wedding gift with the names of the bride and groom and the date of the wedding embroidered on the basket. Fill it with household items, linens, or picnic items.
• And don’t forget that this makes a great diaper bag for mom. Embroider the baby’s name on the side. Fill it with diapers, blankets, bottles, and an assortment of baby items. Pink for girls; blue for boys. In fact, today someone came to me at the WBL meeting saying that she thought I brought a baby.
• Fill it with your cleaning items and take it from room to room as you clean the house.
• Same with gardening items. Don’t forget to include a pretty little apron.
• The possibilities are endless.
The 4th of July is next weekend. We now have the red, white and blue stripe, and the blue, white and red stripe webbing, 1.25” wide. There are more rhinestone flag buckles. If you are interested in a pretty terrific gift or patriotic attire for the 4th of July, George will make the patriotic belt for $10 each. Just let us know the waist size. About 6 inches are added to the waist size for proper adjustment of the belt.
I can’t believe that no one won last week’s contest. My very first job in Pensacola was my job for 14/15 years. I worked at the Levin Papantonio law firm as a paralegal.
CONTEST: First person to answer correctly is the winner. Which one of my pets, Stinky, Evie, Sylvester, Tigger, or Poly is the oldest? The winner will receive a set of 4 cloth napkins, restaurant quality, and 20” x 20” with your initials/monogram. (Color choice depends on what is in stock.)
If you are not a subscriber and would like to receive Cajun Corner weekly, please email cajunstitchery@yahoo.com and let me know to put you on our email list.
Thank you Kim von Aspern-Parker for sending the following joke:
The Louisiana State Police had received numerous reports of illegal cockfights being held in the area around Abbeville and had sent their famous Detective Boudreaux from Thibodeaux to investigate.
Boudreaux promptly began his investigation and then reported to his Commander the next morning.
"Dey is tree main groups involve in dis rooster Fightin", he began. "Good work! Who are they?" the Commander asked.
Boudreaux replied confidently, "De Texas Aggies, de local Cajuns, and de Mafia from N'awlins".
Puzzled, the Commander asked, "Now Boudreaux, how did you find all that out > in one night?"
"Well," he replied, "I went down and done seen dat rooster fight in person. And I knowed immedjiately dat dem Aggies was involved when a Duck was entered in the fight."
The Commander nodded, "I'll buy that. But what about the others?"
Boudreaux nodded knowingly, "Well, I knowed de Cajuns was involved when sum_body bet on de duck!" "Ah, I see, I see....." sighed the sergeant,
"And how did you figure the Mafia was involved?" "De duck won."
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French Phrase of the Week: éclairs de chaleur (summer lightning)
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C’est tout, mes amis
Peggy Henshall
Cajun Stitchery
(850) 261-2462
cajunstitchery@yahoo.com
P.S. You are always welcome to stop by and look at all of the catalogs and pass some time with me, cher.
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