Cajun Corner - Vol. 4, No. 48

Cajun Corner – Vol. 4, No. 48 – December 16, 2012

 

Bon Jour!  Welcome to Cajun Stitchery’s weekly email and welcome to our family.

 

ΘΘΘΘΘ

Don’t forget to visit us at www.cajunstitchery.com, www.flickr.com/photos/cajunstitchery, and, www.cajunstitchery.etsy.com often.   We are also on Twitter and Facebook. 

Visit our on-line catalogs at:

http://www.imprintit.biz/cgi-bin/cobrand/site.w?location=olc/catalog-home.w&top=catalog&frasmes=no&target=main&sponsor=000699

and www.companycasuals.com/cajunstitchery.

The other day a lady sent me an email telling me she thought my orange mermaid towel for sale in our Etsy Store is beautiful.  One thing led to another and we are now friends.  She lives in Fairbanks, Alaska and does embroidery out of her home.  She sells her embroidery on EBay and Etsy.   It has been nice this weekend sharing embroidery stories with someone else in the profession.   She says the temperature up there was -47 degrees.  I told her that our temperature at the time was +47 degrees.   I really don’t think I could survive that kind of cold.  Burrrr!

We have been busy, busy, busy over here at Santa’s Little Workshop.  George is such a trooper and is helping me out with lots of the embroidery on tee shirts, towels and such.  I guess I should give him a Christmas bonus or, at least, a Christmas party.  Instead, we’ve been watching Christmas movies every night.

After Christmas there are more orders coming into the shop.  One is a fairly large ball cap order that we’ve been working with the gentleman on designing and quotes for about three months.  He is trying to get his fraternity brothers coordinated to purchase the ball caps.  This is not an easy job for him or anyone. 

Last night I went to a friend’s home for a little Christmas party with several girl friends.  While there, I discovered that there are more towel and tee shirt orders headed our way around the first of next year and into Mardi Gras.  I also discovered last night that I have been working so hard that I did not realize how much I needed to get out of the house.  It was a delightful break.  All work and no play, you know?  Several of the girls recently returned home from a trip to New York City where they had a wonderful time.  They even had dinner with Al Pacino.  Oooooo!

Things have been selling on Etsy.  Last week we sold our last Union Thug can wrap.  The other day I received an email from my friend in Abbeville telling me that there is a Facebook page for Union Thug items.  She went to our Etsy store but could not find the can wrap.  I looked on Facebook and there seem to be several Union Thug pages.  I put a picture of the can wrap on one of the pages. 

Remember the little purse that I made in-the-hoop a couple of weeks ago.  It sold tonight.

Talk about ADD!  I went into the studio tonight fully intending to make more Union Thug can wraps and little purses.  I ended up going through a box full of can wraps – none were Union Thug – and talked on the phone for awhile.  When I got off the phone, I took pictures of several of the can wraps and put those in the Etsy store and left the studio.   Uh oh, guess what I forgot to do. lol

Mardi Gras is just around the corner.  Our beach parade is Sunday, February 10^th.  Here we go again, the most wonderful, crazy time of the year.   Speaking of Mardi Gras, please visit www.pensacolabeachmardigras.com often.  Learn about our beach krewes.  Look at photographs.  And don’t miss Cajun Stitchery’s ad.

The shooting at the elementary school in Connecticut this past week took the breath right out of me, as I know it did so many others.  Having lost a child ourselves, George and I are praying for the living victims.  May God send his angels to hold these people together when they feel as though their insides are crumbling into dust?

Have a Wonderful Week.

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. 

 

No time to read Cajun Corner?  Visit our blog at www.cajunstitchery.blogspot.com and click the Odiogo button to hear the computer read the blog.

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Found the following at http://www.funfunnyfacts.com/

 

23% of all photocopier faults worldwide are caused by people sitting on them and photocopying their butts.

 

A lot of lovemaking can unblock a stuffy nose. Sex is a natural antihistamine. It can help combat asthma and hay fever.

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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.

Cajun Corner - Vol. 3, No. 34

Cajun Corner – Vol. 3, No. 34 – August 25, 2011

Bon Jour!  Welcome to Cajun Stitchery’s weekly email and welcome to our family.

 

ΘΘΘΘΘ

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. 

Visit our new on-line catalog at:

http://www.imprintit.biz/cgi-bin/cobrand/site.w?location=olc/catalog-home.w&top=catalog&frames=no&target=main&sponsor=000699

Cajun Stitchery is registered with many wholesalers for many types of items but there is one wholesaler where we regularly get a variety of items.   This wholesaler has provided an on-line catalog for Cajun Stitchery.  The web address is very long (see above).  All of the items listed are maintained by the wholesaler and you can even see what they have in stock.  I’m really excited about this.  The other wholesaler where we have an on-line catalog is good but a little more difficult to work through that catalog.  At least I think so.  Nevertheless, the prices in the catalogs are my actual customer prices.   You can order, I believe, through the Company Casuals catalog but the order will come to me.  I don’t believe that you can order through the new catalog.  It’s more that you can see what is available and the prices.  You can tell me the item number, color(s), and size(s) and I can order it for you.  Of course, there will be a shipping charge. 

Often customers will come to me and say something like, “I want a blue tee shirt.”  As you can see in the catalog, there are lots of blue tee shirts.  By allowing the customer to view the catalog, you can purchase exactly what you want and I know that you and I are on the same page.  Anyway, please browse through the on-line catalog.  There is so much more than just tee shirts available.  Even if you don’t want embroidery but just like the item, I’ll be glad to get it for you.  Of course, I always want everyone covered in embroidery.  But that’s just me.

For all of those who are in the Pensacola area, the Mystic Krewe of Nereids will be hosting our annual SPLASH Party this Sunday at Paradise Bar & Grill on beautiful Pensacola Beach.  The party begins at 2:00 p.m.  This party is family oriented, so feel free to bring the kids.  We will have games and prizes, a dunking booth, raffle, 50/50, various items for sale – ask Kathi about her Fascinators.  Music is provided by Vincent Wainwright and Boogie, Inc.  Come one, come all but be prepared to be soaked.  Bring your squirt guns, water blasters, and other water weapons.  There is a rumor that if we have enough people attending in mermaid costumes (other than Nereids, of course), then we will have a best mermaid contest. 

Next Friday is our Pensacola WBL (Women’s Business Luncheon) meeting.  At each meeting a business card is drawn out of a basket.  That business is offered the opportunity of giving a 5 minute commercial, in person, in front of all those women at the next meeting.  It is an opportunity to let those women know more about your business.  You guessed it; Cajun Stitchery is going to have its 5 minutes of fame next Friday.  I have an outline done to help me along with the who, what, when, where, how and why.  That is probably all I will be able to do in 5 minutes.  One of my WBL friends suggested handing out flyers, which I am seriously considering.  I think I’m going to talk on the topic of how to order embroidery.  That may sound simple but it is surprising how many people don’t know the 3 steps to ordering embroidery:  (1) graphic design, (2) digitizing, and (3) embroidering.  If you think of me next Friday morning – say a prayer, please.

George and I were talking about my 5 minute commercial and decided that people, like me, in the South should get 10 minutes because we talk slower than Northern people. 

Our Etsy Store sold another Proud to be a Union Thug can wrap this morning.  The customer was so excited.  He said he was going to use the can wrap over the Labor Day weekend and expects to have a lot of fun with it.  I hadn’t even thought about it, but that is such a cute idea, and appropriate.

This week has been busy with towel orders and luggage grips.  I’m kicking myself because although I did take pictures of the completed towel order; I forgot to take pictures of the luggage grip order.

Have you heard of Google+?  One of my nieces got me on Google+, trial version.  I think it is Google’s answer to Facebook.  I had a time figuring out how to add people to my circles.  Then one day I added my friend, Jennifer, and ever since when I go to Google+, it opens at Jennifer’s page, and just blinks off and on.  Right now I am not impressed with Google+ at all.

I am playing around with HootSuite, though.  Still trying to figure it out.  Apparently, you can connect all of your networking media to one place, HootSuite, and if you want to send out a message, you type it once and HootSuite sends it to all of your networks at once.  Pretty cool.  Now I need to learn how to make it do this.

This past Wednesday I brought out all of our wares to the kitchen and set it up like a store.  I am so glad that I went through this exercise.  I realized that it is no fun going to a store and looking at a bunch of stuff lying on a table.  We need to have all like items together and in some sort of display container.  We need different eye levels of merchandise.  I was arranging and rearranging the items for hours.  I will probably do this again and again before we get to the Arts & Wine Festival in October.  If anyone out there wants to make an appointment to see all of our items, now is definitely the time.  Just sit at the kitchen table.  I’ll provide coffee, water, milk, tea, whatever, and you can just shop around.  It would enable me to see how customers go through all of the stuff so that I can present our items better.

I would be remiss if I didn’t throw in a paragraph about the garden.  We are eating well this year.  We have green beans, tomatoes and about every kind of pepper than you can imagine.  There are a few watermelon plants growing but I haven’t seen any watermelons.  We have picked a few pods of okra and the eggplant is blooming.  We didn’t plant as much okra and eggplant as we have in the past.  The herbs are outstanding.  We have stevia, oregano, parsley, purple basil, rosemary, and mint.  I love my garden.

SALE:  G12900 Gildan Fleece Stadium Blanket

• 9.3 oz. 50% cotton/50% polyester
• Double needle hem
• 50" X 60"

$15.00 without embroidery (normally $17.72)

$20.00 with name or initials embroidered

CHRISTMAS is around the corner.  Unbelievable, I know.  Get that Christmas shopping done now and enjoy the holidays.

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. 

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Thanks to Marshall Larrivere for the following:

Boudreaux goes to Europe

Boudreaux, a furniture dealer from downtown New Iberia, La decided to expand the line of furniture in his store, so he decided to go to Europe to see what he could find.

He arrived in Paris in early morning, but had an afternoon appointment with the furniture maker, so he decided to visit a small bistro during his wait. As he sat enjoying his wine, he noticed that the small place was quite crowded, and that the other chair at his table was the only vacant seat in the house.

Before long, a very beautiful young Parisian girl came to his table; asked him something in German (which Boudreaux couldn't understand); so he motioned to the vacant chair and invited her to sit down.

He tried to speak to her in English, but she did not speak his language. After a couple of minutes of trying to communicate with her, he took a napkin and drew a picture of a wine glass and showed it to her. She nodded, so he ordered a glass of wine for her.

After sitting together at the table for a while, he took another napkin, and drew a picture of a plate with food on it, and she nodded. They left the bistro and found a quiet cafe near-by that featured a small group playing romantic music. They ordered lunch.....after which he took another napkin and drew a picture of a couple dancing. She nodded, and they got up to dance.
Boudreaux never had so much fun!

Back at their table, the young lady took a napkin and drew a picture of a four-poster bed, which reminded Boudreaux of his appointment so he abruptly left.

To this day, Boudreaux still has no idea how she figured out he was in the furniture business.

Cajun French Phrase of the Week:

C'est la vie=That's life
Comme ci, comme ca= So So
Fais-do-do= kind of street dance

Taken from:  http://www.acadian-roots.com/cajun-names.html

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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.

Lagniappe means a little something extra

I still can't get over how popular the Union Thug can wraps are.  We mailed the first order out today.  The customer is a postal worker and had us make a Union Thug patch with a red, white and blue mailbox.  The patch is going to be a gift.  Of course, Cajun Stitchery includes a lagniappe with each order.  This customer is going to be surprised and delighted to see her lagniappe.  I had to stitchout a sample of the patch design on fabric, so I turned it into a can wrap.  Turned out cute, don't you think?

I finished an order for an even dozen of the can wraps this morning and as soon as I get the address, that order will be mailed.  The customer is a very dear friend of our's and I'm trying to decide on "the perfect" lagniappe for his order.

Sometime ago, when I was originally making can wraps, a friend of mine told me that she didn't like them because they weren't adjustable.  She drinks bottled beer.  The can wraps fit a regular soda or beer can.  Today I took a little time out to design an adjustable can wrap.  George loves it.  They are all done in-the-hoop.  I put eyelits in the design so that a string or shoelace or whatever can be threaded to keep the wrap snug at the size required.  I did one with elastic but the can slips out of the wrap easily.  We had other ideas but those were way too much work and we'd have to charge more than anyone would pay.

My next step with the can wraps is to do the new version with the Proud to be a Union Thug design and see if this speeds up the process any.

C'est tout, mes amis:>)

Embroidery Thugs

My cousin is visiting from California.  We were going to Louisiana to visit relatives but there's a flood in our way.  Truth is that we probably could still go and return and be safe, but you never know.  I cannot risk getting to southwest Louisiana and finding I cannot get back for a few days.  We are going to Baton Rouge on Thursday, though.  That will be a fun trip, I'm sure.

In the meantime, all of the zebra print items arrived and have been embroidered and today we personally delivered the items to our customer.  She was tickled pink.  She owns a hair salon and all of the girls at the salon were google eyed at all of the zebra print items.  I made them smile and they made me smile.  It was a delightful time.  They are getting ready to go to a hair show and just know they will be the talk of the show with the zebra print bags. 

A big thanks goes to my cousin Kim for coming up with the idea of luggage grips.  You know, those things that go around the handle of your luggage and secure with Velcro.  Some of the zebra print items could not be embroidered and some the customer didn't want embroidered; so, we made a couple of luggage grips.  They are as good as the luggage tags but much more functional.  Again, thanks to cousin Kim because embroidery, even in hot pink, really doesn't show up well on zebra, or any other kind of, print.  It's just too busy.  Kim suggested doing applique with a black or white background and the embroidery on the applique piece.  Sheer genius!  It matches and is readable.

Luggage grips are going to definitely become a part of our growing list of items that we sell.  In fact, the luggage grips can be done completely in-the-hoop, except for the Velcro.  Easy as pie.  Since I purchased 4 bolts of Velcro awhile back, then wondered "what in the world am I going to do with all of this?" I now have a use for the Velcro.  Woohoo!  Kim suggested that I do some with the word "MINE" on the grip.  I like it.  Yep, we can make the luggage grips for $7 each.  Email if you want to purchase one or more.

This past weekend I was working on can wraps for a postal friend.  Ooooh, there is an issue going on in Wisconsin.  Apparently the Wisconsin government has passed a law that government workers cannot have unions or something to that effect -- do not quote me on this.  Nevertheless, my friend asked me to make can wraps that say "Proud to be a Union Thug."  At first, I was a bit concerned about doing embroidery to celebrate thugness.  After I looked into it, it appears that Sarah Palin must have used the word "thug" in a speech and it caught on.  I noticed on the internet that there are places selling promotional type items with the "Proud to be a Union Thug" screen printed.  Anyway, the can wraps turned out adorable in red, white and blue.  Another design was created using one of our stock designs of a mailbox and the "Union Thug" embroidered across the pole.

C'est tout, mes amis:>)