President Obama Visits Pensacola

A few weeks ago George and I both emailed President Obama stating that it seemed to us that whoever is in charge of this oil spill clean up is making all of the wrong choices.  That we had heard of so many different ways to clean up using environmentally safe methods.  We asked for an explanation of why those methods are not being used.  A day or two after our emails, we heard the President cancelled his trip to Australia and was coming to Pensacola.  Wow!  We felt good about ourselves.  Obviously, it was not our emails that did the trick but an onslaught of similar emails from people on the Gulf Coast wondering the same thing.

President Obama arrived in Alabama on Monday, spent the night in Pensacola, then Tuesday went to Pensacola Beach and then NAS.  The traffic issues were a nightmare while he was here.  Nearly closed down all of Pensacola, Gulf Breeze and Pensacola Beach.  But what do you expect when the leader of the free world comes to town?  There will always be the complainers.  I was just so happy that he came and saw.  Now I hope he does something.  It was funny because it seemed as though as soon as he said he was coming to the Gulf Coast, BP started looking into Kevin Costner's contraption, as well as other ideas. 

Everything is back to normal now.  We'll see what happens.

Since we couldn't leave our house most of yesterday morning, I allowed myself to sleep late.  Sweet!  Then my usual stuff on the computer.  I've signed up for Google Analytics to see who visits our Etsy site, how they get to the shop, what pages they look at, how long they are on the site, and if they are repeat visitors.  I'm just learning how to decipher all of the information and try to put some logic to it.  I read on an Etsy Forum that there is a website that shows you how many visitors you've had on your Etsy site, whether they are unique, how many times pages are opened, who hearts your shop or your item, and several things.  I joined.  The site connects to your Google Analytic (with your permission, of course).  The site is http://www.craftopolis.com/.  It appears that the people who visit Cajun Stitchery's Store on Etsy come via other venues, such as this blog, Facebook, Kaboodle, Twitter, Tumblr, search engines, etc.  The best I can figure is that no one finds me in searches on Etsy.  I'm trying to figure that one out.  There is another site that I learned about via the Etsy forums called PickClick.  The PickClick site randomly shows items for sale on Etsy.

Insofar as those other sites, Facebook, Kaboodle, Twitter, Tumblr, etc., yes, I joined all of them.  We need name recognition and we need people to visit and purchase from the Etsy site or custom stuff from emailing us.  The Tumblr site is interesting because it's another blog.  I use that one almost like Twitter, a little blurb here and there throughout the day.  It's very easy to maneuver through.  Very user friendly.

Of course, that's not all that we've been doing.  We haven't had many napkin sales lately and we have a surplus of napkins.  When I purchase napkins there is a 5 dozen minimum.  We have a napkin order for black napkins.  We don't have any black napkins in stock, so I ordered a dozen black napkins and 4 dozen other colors.  I think I'm going to embroider on some of the napkins that we do have and put them on Etsy.  Since they will not be custom embroidered, I think I'll charge $5 per napkins, a set of 4 for $20.  There are some cute beachy designs that I've wanted to stitch out for awhile.  Perhaps we'll do that.

The patriotic visor with the blue band and stars on the band have been selling lately.  In fact, we only have two of those left.  We still have plenty of the patriotic visors with the red band, flag on the bill with a yellow stripe down it to show your support for our troops and a US flag on the velcro.  They are still $5 each, without embroidery.  Embroidered names/initials are usually $5. 

Of course, we have dozens of ponytail caps as well and can get just about any kind of cap you like.  Get a cap for the summer and keep the sun from frying the top of your head, not to mention they keep the sun out of your eyes and help reduce the strain to your eyes.

I had an odd thing occur with one of our items on Etsy.  I made a really beautiful Kloth Koozie out of a deep purple spandex fabric and put an embroidered birdhouse on it.  I almost kept that one for myself:.  Anyway, I went to take pictures of the koozie and the photographs kept showing it as a dark blue, rather than purple.  The really odd thing was the birdhouse had all of the correct colors.  A friend of mine who is a photographer suggested changing background and some other stuff.  That didn't work.  After reading the manual, I finally ended up putting the photographs in an editing program and changing the blue to purple that way.  Even looking through the view finder, the koozie looked blue.  It's the darndest thing.  I think it probably has to do with the fabric being so shiny, but I've taken pictures of shiny things before without this problem.  Perplexing.

Tomorrow is my son's 42nd birthday.  It's hard to believe that I have a son who is 42 years old.  He said that his birthday is going to begin this weekend when his wife throws him a birthday party on Friday.  It makes me happy to know that they have been married, I guess, about 13 years now and still going strong.  I'm so proud of both of them.  Happy Birthday Hank!

This coming Sunday is Father's Day.  I need to do something for George.  I think I'll take him to the beach and spend a tranquil day watching the water.  He loves doing that.

C'est tout, mes amis.

This Was a Great Weekend

It's been a fun and exciting weekend.  Friday night was our Nereid's monthly meeting at Deb's new condo.  The balcony overlooks the Gulf of Mexico and it was such a beautiful and calming vision.  We celebrated Marilyn's birthday.  She loved the pillowcases that I embroidered for her.  We talked and dined.  Deb always has such a special array of food.  We had a crab meat salad, oysters rockafeller, cheese and meat wrap, french bread, tomato salad, fruit salad, and two cakes and a pie.  Wow!  After dining we talked some more.  Then we celebrated Marilyn's birthday and then talked some more.  No one wanted to get off the balcony.  I left around 10:30 but most of the girls were spending the night.

On Saturday, George took me to Peg Leg Pete's for lunch.  Peg Leg is a really good restaurant on the beach and we hadn't been there in quite some time.  It was nice to get out just the two of us.  After lunch we went riding down to Ft. Pickens.  George was going to get his annual pass and took out a $20 bill.  The ranger asked if he was 62 or older.  Why, yes he is.  He got a lifetime pass to all federal parks for $10.  What a deal!  What a wonderful surprise!  We road through Ft. Pickens on this lovely Saturday.  We didn't even get out of the car.  Just rode around.  It was peaceful and beautiful.

Sunday was the birthday brunch for my friend and fellow mermaid, Sharon, at the Hilton Inn on the beach.  I had never been to the Hilton Inn on the beach before so this was a real treat for me.  I guess about 15 of us rowdy girls showed up for the brunch.  The service was wonderful.  The food was okay.  The companionship was out of this world.  About half way through my friend DJ was complaining that her face and jaw were aching from laughing so much.  That's a complaint we should all have.  We talked and ate, talked and drank, talked and opened presents, and talked some more.  Everyone loved Sharon's pillowcases that I embroidered for her and I even took more orders for caps.

Today is back to work.  While on Facebook last night a friend messaged that she needs some napkins for a bridal shower.  We are working out the colors now.  I had 2 orders for a cap and a visor from yesterday's brunch and this morning received another order.

Precious DJ had ordered a cell phone holder.  I told her that handmade items from Cajun Stitchery must be purchased on Etsy.  At that point began the Cajun Stitchery Mermaid Line of cell phone pouches.  I made some prototypes and brought one yesterday to make sure her "droid" fit.  Last night I made a beautiful cell phone case for her.  We put it on Etsy this morning and she bought 2 of the cell phone cases.  She tickled me.  I asked her what she was going to do with 2 cell phone cases and she replied that she would color coordinate with her outfits to show off her wealth and taste.  lol  That girl is just adorable.

Back to work for me. 

C'est tout, mes amis.

Cajun Corner - Vol. 2, No. 23

Cajun Corner – Vol. 2, No. 23 – June 11, 2010


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 and www.cajunstitchery.etsy.com often.

Tar balls are on the beach but that hasn’t stopped or even closed down the beach. I read one article that said the tourists are taking their little sand buckets out and picking up tar balls, too.

Wednesday night we attended the Fiesta Ball. And we had a ball. There are pictures taken by our wonderful photographer, DJ, on the web. If you are on Facebook, go to the Krewe of Wrecks page to see the great pictures. This year the Fiesta Ball was at the Corrine Jones Center on Johnson’s Beach. I hadn’t been to Johnson’s Beach since before Hurricane Ivan. What a difference a hurricane makes. The apartments and condos are all gone. Corrine Jones Center is now a beautiful, large center with picture windows overlooking the bay. It is simply beautiful. The Ball tickets were sold out weeks ago. The only down side to the ball was that everyone who wanted to attend, couldn’t. We were lucky and had our names on a waiting list. We got the call a week ago that there was a cancellation and we did get tickets. I wore my green Mardi Gras costume and George wore the matching bowtie that I made.

I had a couple of visor and cap deliveries to make Wednesday and it just happened that the customers were going to be at the Ball. Yep, we brought the orders to the ball and one customer wore her hat the entire evening. Great PR for Cajun Stitchery, don’t you think?

Needless to say, Thursday morning arrived much too soon. It was slow moving Thursday morning. The infamous DJ started posting Ball photos and there is a good photo of George and me. Later in the day she posted, with my permission, the cutest picture of me dancing with a nice, young Marine (cigarettes and drink in hand). Oh yes, and a cute little sailor taught me to moon walk. My heart just melts over a man in a uniform. I took my sailor home with me about 40 years ago.

The wholesale company where we buy our hats has a monthly sale. We have been able to take advantage of their monthly sales since we began embroidering ball caps and we are able to pass those savings along. The patriotic visors are an example of one of their sales. The normal ball cap or visor would sell for about $10 but we are finding that we can sell the ones on sale for $5. Good deal for everyone. Of course, when the sale is over we can still get the caps or visors but at a higher price for us, and hence, a higher price for our customers. So, take advantage of those sales. We still have a few of the patriotic visors remaining. Don’t forget Flag Day is June 14th and the 4th of July is just around the corner. This week we have the $5 sale on a couple of colors of the ponytail caps: the burgandy cap and one with a green bill and khaki crown. The $5 sale, of course, is without embroidery. We’ll be glad to embroider on it, but that is an additional charge.

The garden just gets prettier and prettier. We have been harvesting tomatoes every day this week.

I’m still working on Etsy. I’ve rearranged our store on Etsy several times. I’m trying to get a new item on their everyday, although some days I don’t. Now I’m reading the forums and participating in that way. Etsy says that by participating in the forums you get your name out to other Etsiers and that’s a good thing.

I do have a special order for a “droid” holder. She wants a mermaid. I made one prototype that is for sale on Etsy now. I have other ideas. Please visit our Etsy shop.

Today we have to fill some more cap/visor orders and I’m finishing up some pillowcases. Hope I don’t forget to take pictures.

We still haven’t decided what plants to put in Mama’s Garden outside the embroidery room. We’ll get it done eventually. At least the hydrangea is out there and has lovely blue flowers.

Our monthly Nereid meeting is tonight and I’ve embroidered a beautiful set of pillowcases for one of the girls whose birthday was a week ago. Sunday we are having a birthday brunch for another Nereid. Next Thursday is my son’s 42nd birthday. And in a couple of weeks is another birthday. On top of everything else, I’m busy making birthday presents.

I better get back to work. Have a wonderful week, everyone.

Always remember that we are just a call or email away at cajunstitchery@yahoo.com or 850-261-2462 and place your order.

ΘΘΘΘΘ

One day Boudreaux saw Thibodeaux and asked him why he was so bruised up. Thibodeaux replied that he had been riding a bull, and his foot got stuck when he fell off. The bull kept dragging him around until the Wal-Mart manager came and unplugged it.

ΘΘΘΘΘ

French phrase of the week: Marie s'a engagée à nous trouver une place pour rester. (Marie took on the responsibility of finding us a place to stay.)

ΘΘΘΘΘ

From: http://www.dailyecotips.com/

Here are just some of the ways to do eco-friendly Spring cleaning.

• Garage sales: Instead of just throwing things away, hold a garage sale. If you don’t want to hold one on your own, then see if there are people in the neighborhood that want to have a garage sale with you.

• Donate: You can use Freecycle or donate your used items to your local church. This can include household items, computer equipment, cell phone and even building materials.

• Sell Items: If you have items that you don’t want to just give away, use eBay to sell your items. You can also use Craigslist or some local second hand shops buy used items.

• Reuse those Ziploc bags by washing them out and letting them dry.

• Use the library where you will find books, movies and cds available for borrowing.

• Set up a neighborhood share program that allows you to share items like lawn mowers and ladders.

• When cleaning up dust in the house use plant based cleaner to make them better for the environment and the health of your family.

Please let me know if there is something that you would like to see in the weekly email. You may always call me at (850) 261-2462 or email me at cajunstitchery@yahoo.com.

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.

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.

SALE OF THE WEEK (Good through Thursday, June 17, 2010)

PONYTAIL CAP SALE!!!

We have one dozen of each of the burgundy and green bill with khaki crown ponytail cap styles in the photographs. This sale is for these 2 dozen visors. First come, first serve.

The ponytail caps have a brass slide closure.

Sale: one ponytail cap without embroidery is $5.00 plus tax/shipping. We will be glad to embroider on the cap, upon request. Most embroidered names or initials are only $5.00.

(Note: We still have a few of the patriotic visors for $5 each, first come, first serve, until the are gone.)

See attached photograph.

Cinderella Is Going To The Ball

Tonight is the Fiesta of Five Flags Ball.  Fiesta had sold out on their tickets, which has never happened before, but their office recently called me and had a cancellation and we were able to get tickets.  So, Cinderella is going to the ball after all. 

We've had more patriotic visor sales and I'm hoping to sell all 2 dozen of them.  Don't forget they are $5 each, without embroidery.  A name or initials are usually another $5.  $10 is not bad for a specialty visor like these.

Now we are into the ponytail caps.  We have 3 dozen of them.  They are going for $5 each, without embroidery.  $5 for most names and initials.  Another really good deal on a specialty cap.

We try to keep the prices as low as possible on our items but we do not try to compete with the Wal-Marts of the world because we are usually purchasing items one a time for custom orders, rather than thousands and millions like the super stores do. 

Another thing about the ball caps is that we have decided that ball caps are the exception to the rule that customers can bring in their own and we will embroider on it.  If anyone wants a ball cap from us, we will have to purchase it.  Turns out that some caps fit different hoops better than others.  We don't want to sell some ugly, funky looking embroidery, which is exactly what happens when the ball cap doesn't fit the hoop.

Etsy has taken up a lot of time this week because I'm trying to learn more about selling online and getting our store in order.  The articles that I've read suggest 60-100 items in an Etsy store is optimal.  We have something like 26 items in there now.  I'm trying to put a new item for sale each day until we reach 100 items.  Hope it works.  And I think my handcrafted items are looking better and better.  Practice makes perfect, you know.

Then there is the Google Analytics.  One of the Etsy articles said to sign up for Google Analytics to see what we are doing right and what we are doing wrong.  That's all fine and good if I could figure out what all of these numbers mean.  I'm getting there, though.  I have learned the SEO means "search engine optimization" and OOAK means "one of a kind".  "Bounce" is when someone clicks on a page in the store and then bounces or clicks right off.  You want a low bounce percentage.  It is interesting to see the items that people view.  Out of 26 items, visitors were only viewing 11 of the items in the store.  Interesting information, now I need to follow the hints accordingly.

Last night George and I were thinking about going to Bands on the Beach but opted for a quiet evening at home with Chinese take-out.  One of our neighbors called around 8 p.m. from Bands on the Beach saying he has never seen the placed so packed with people.  Good Morning America was there with all of the journalists and celebrities looking at our tar balls on the beach.  I didn't see GMA this morning but assume it was from Pensacola Beach.  We do need the business and we do need the awareness.

George has been outside washing and waxing the car.  He keeps coming in because it is so hot out there.  At least now he has the car under the oak tree so he can have some shade while waxing.

I need to get upstairs and back to my sewing machine.

C'est tout, mes amis.

Unisex and Playing With Words

As you know, I've been diligently reading everything I can get my hands on about retail sales and owning a business.  I read an article recently that said to follow the trends on the internet.  Search and find the most popular words that people are using in their searches.  Then, use one or more of those words in your tags so that when people search that word, your site pops up.  Turns out that the word "sex" is the most searched for word on the internet -- at least, when I was looking it was.  Hmmm, how to incorporate the word "sex" into Cajun Stitchery.  Now, I love embroidering beautiful designs and we will embroider on just about anything that can be embroidered upon but sex is not a word that I would use to describe Cajun Stitchery.  Beautiful, fine, heirloom, fun, quality, are some words that would denote Cajun Stitchery to me.  Anyway, I was at a women's business luncheon last Friday and we were discussing how the word "sex" could be used for Cajun Stitchery.  There were a lot of funny comments.  Later that day I was reading another article about now is the time to sell Father's Day gifts and the article said one of your tags could be "unisex."  Ah ha, that's how we are going to get "sex" in there.  And that is how I tagged my item on Etsy -- unisex.

When I meet people and friends face-to-face, I never have a hard time selling my wares.  In fact, I never need to sell anything.  I simply show what I've done and the sales fall in line.  We do some pretty cool stuff over here.  But how to sell online?  That's what I'm trying to learn.  To have something that looks professionally made, professionally done, with a price that not too low and not too high.  One thing is that the pictures need to be good.  I'm learning not to just put the item on a table and take some pictures of it.  Instead, I need to drape a solid colored cloth and then put the item, standing up, if possible, on the fabric, and then take the picture.  And I need to take at least 5 good, clear pictures of each item, from all angles, including close up for details.  Luckily, my little digital camera can take some nice quality photographs.  It's the photographer who has the problem, not the camera. 

Another thing is content.  What do I say about the product?  I give dimensions.  State the materials used to create the item.  But what do you say that entices someone you don't know to purchase this item, rather than the millions and billions of other items on the market?  Again, I'm trying to learn this.  I know that you refrain from using I, me, mine, my and instead, use you, your, your's.  Does the product have a  purpose?  Describe the purpose and any way you can think to use the item in a practical manner.  Is the product unique?  Is it eco-friendly?  Describe the uniqueness of the item and how that would benefit the buyer.

It goes without saying that service is the key element, but to get the people to that point, even just inquiring, is what I'm working on right now.  You have to work the shop.  Always changing things.  Always putting new things out, while being careful not to flood the market.  One new thing a day is fine.  What I do know is that there are no plateaus in life.  You are either going uphill or downhill.  If you feel you are on a plateau, then you are headed downhill.  A friend of mine told me that years ago.

Well, I've carried on about sales probably more than I should have.  I do hope you like the new Etsy photos and the way I've changed the blog around.

I better get back to work.  We have ballcaps to embroider.  I have a special cell phone holder order to make and three sets of pillowcases to embroider. 

C'est tout mes amis.

Cajun Corner Vol. 2, No. 22

Cajun Corner – Vol. 2, No. 22 – June 4, 2010


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

ΘΘΘΘΘ

Don’t forget to visit http://www.cajunstitchery.etsy.com/ often.

I wanted to tell you that the good news is that so far the oil has still not landed on the shores of Florida. However, I heard this morning that tar balls have been found this morning on our beautiful Ft. Pickens beach. The oil is still flowing. I would much rather expend my energy on finding a solution and looking at the positive side of things than simply hating BP. There are, common sense, eco-friendly solutions to this oil spill dilemma, i.e., hay, hair, fur, oil eating bacteria. These have been proffered to the proper authorities by many people much smarter than me. We have been told that those methods will not be used. No explanation was given. Instead they are using toxic dispersants and ineffective booms. George and I have sent a message to President Obama asking simply for a reason the eco-friendly methods are not being used. It’s sad and I’m trying to find something positive about the whole thing. I hope that the positive side of this is a wake up call about our delicate environment and that we need to be good stewards.

This week has been a short week and full of ball caps. We have an order from a lady with the Krewe of Junkanoos for some ponytail ball caps. We have been working diligently to get their logo to stitch out well on ball caps. Digitizing for ball caps is very different from other digitizing. We have been reading every article we can get, as well as, watching every video we can find. The rule of thumb is to digitize/stitch center out, top to bottom. The design must be 2” or less in height. That is very small and causes the stitches to be small and small stitches can cause problems. We had ordered some practice caps and have used them up. Most of them turned out fine, only George and I know what is wrong. One of the Junkanoo ladies stopped by to drop off a jacket the other day. I was wearing the white cap that we practiced on and she bought it off my head. They look good. We have had to tweak the design to stitch out better but I think we have it down now. I wore another of the practice caps to my Wednesday night with the girls’ event and another Junkanoo bought it off of my head. Now we need to do the ponytail caps to fill the order. I think George is doing that today.

We still have some of the visors that were on sale last week. I’ll leave them on sale for this week, too. Flag Day is June 14th and the 4th of July is right around the corner. We have embroidered on a few of them without a problem. Names and initials usually are simple to embroider. These are really nice visors. We can now get just about any color visor or ball cap that you could want, structured or unstructured, long bill or short bill. We can even get bucket hats. We are definitely your place to purchase hats/caps.

The garden has been so much fun this week. We are now picking tomatoes and bell peppers. The chili peppers and cherry tomatoes are not ready yet. George made the most scrumptious stuffed bell peppers last night with bell peppers, onions and carrots from our garden. Also, I’ve learned to make iced tea with the stevia and it tastes great.

I did go on another internet spending binge this week. I needed to make George a bowtie for an upcoming ball we are attending. I want his bowtie to match my outfit. Out came my bowtie pattern. Then I realized that I don’t have the bowtie hardware. I can make a bowtie that you tie around your neck but most guys prefer the bowtie that hooks in the back. That way they don’t have to fool with tying the bow. Off to the internet I went searching for the bowtie hardware. The first one used regular hooks and eyes and a snap but that just looked too homemade. Truthfully, I never could find the slide and hook, but I noticed that other people are making them with small clasps. Not long ago I had run across a website that had a lot of sewing hardware. I think the website is really intended for making dog and cat collars, leashes, horse blankets, and so forth. I clicked on the clasps and ordered those and then clicked on continue shopping. That was my downfall. There were hooks that I could use on my cell phone pouches. Had to have that. Well, maybe this other hook would be better. Had to buy both kinds to know which is better. I bet I could use this or that. Oh well, I don’t even remember all of the stuff that I bought but it has been shipped and should arrive in the next few days.

George is building a wall of plants in Mama’s Garden outside the embroidery room. He has put up wires and hopefully it will be our version of the hanging gardens. Hope it works.

I have learned that I need to put one new thing on Etsy every day or two so visitors can expect and get something new to see when they visit. I haven’t put anything on there in a week. Last night I made two more cell phone holders and I hope to put those on today and tomorrow and get back to making things. I think I was in a creative slump.

George is stitching out our oil spill design on a napkin right now. I’m going to a meeting at 11:30 this morning and I want to wear that design. We just haven’t figured out where to put the design, so we went with a napkin. The design is about 5” square and all of my tee shirts have the Cajun Stitchery logo. I was thinking about the right side of a tee shirt, now I’m considering the back.

Always remember that we are just a call or email away at cajunstitchery@yahoo.com or 850-261-2462 and place your order.

ΘΘΘΘΘ

A long time ago, Boudreaux, believe it or not, was known among his friends to be very brief an to the point - he really never said too much. One day, an Avon lady knocked his door and asked to see his wife, so Boudreaux told her that Marie wasn't home. "Well," the woman said, "could I please wait for her?" Boudreaux directed her to the kitchen and left her sitting there for more than three hours. Starting to worry, she called out for him an asked, "May I ask where your wife is?" "She went to the cemetery," Boudreaux replied. "And when is she coming back?" "Mais, I really don't know," he said. "She's been der eleven years now!"

ΘΘΘΘΘ

French phrase of the week: Monsieur Aldus Hébert? Tu parles d'un drole de coco! (Mr. Aldus Hebert? You talk about a strange bird!)

ΘΘΘΘΘ

From: http://www.dailyecotips.com/

Over the past year I have tried to research some simple things that I could do in the kitchen, where I spend 90% of my day, to make it more of a green environment. I know that using washable dish rags, using dish towels instead of paper towels where something I could do but I wasn’t sure what else could be done. Well I did some research and found some great things that can everyone can do to make a more green environment for your kitchen.

Bamboo Cutting Board- Bamboo is harder than most wood that is used in cutting board and much safer than using the plastic ones.

Using Organic Products- I have started to use more organic spices and coco powders when I cook or bake.

Buy Manual Kitchen Products- This wasn’t too hard for me since I don’t have a food processor or stand mixer, simply have always done the chopping or mixing by hand. But you can also by manual egg beater, can openers and other items that many people use electric.

Buy Green Smart Cookware- Many big name companies are making more green smart cookware. This is often cookware that is made from petroleum free ceramics and other chemical free while staying non-stick.

Bamboo Bowls- Bamboo not only looks nice but they are natural products and a great solution to having plastic mixing and serving bowls.

Coffee Press- There are tons of coffee drinkers but think about going non-electric for coffee time by purchasing a coffee press.

Please let me know if there is something that you would like to see in the weekly email. You may always call me at (850) 261-2462 or email me at cajunstitchery@yahoo.com.

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.

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.

SALE OF THE WEEK (Good through Thursday, June 10, 2010)

WE CAN EMBROIDER ON BALL CAPS SALE!!!!

We have one dozen of each of the patriotic visor styles in the photographs. This sale is for these 2 dozen visors. First come, first serve.

The visor with the red, white, blue, and yellow bill has a red band and the Velcro closure on the back is an American flag.

Sale: one patriotic visor without embroidery is $5.00 plus tax/shipping. We will be glad to embroider on the band, upon request. Most embroidered names or initials are only $5.00.

Tomatoes, Bell Peppers, Bowties and Ball Caps

We had planned a Memorial Day neighborhood get together but Monday morning was raining cats and dogs.  So, we cancelled.  By afternoon the sun was out and it turned out to be a beautiful day.  We should never have cancelled the get together.  However, all was not lost because I either visited or was visited by all of our neighbors, one at a time, on Monday. 

The oil spill is getting closer and closer to Pensacola and we are just holding our breath.  I really try to think of something positive about everything.  This one has been hard.  I just hope that this spill opens the eyes about our environmental issues and how delicate our environment really is.  I hope this spill stops any more oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico -- forever.

I learned how to boil peanuts this past week.  I've never been a big fan of boiled peanuts.  However, George loves them.  But I must admit they were simple to boil and they did taste good.  Of course, since our Memorial Day get together was cancelled, we have a bunch of boiled peanuts in our frig. 

The other thing is that we grow the stevia.  You know, the plant from Paraguay that has 300 times the sweetness of processed sugar.  It is prolific at my house.  I was reading about how to actually use it.  My first attempt was in iced tea.  I boiled 3 sprigs of the stevia with the tea and it tasted really good.  It could have been sweeter.  The next batch was boiled with 4 sprigs of stevia -- perfect.  You strain out the leaves, along with the tea bags.  Who knows.  I may even include the lemon balm in the next batch.  Lemon balm is supposed to make a really good tea.

The garden is beautiful.  We picked our first tomatoes and bell peppers.  Yummy.  These are our first normal sized tomatoes.  We've only been able to grow the cherry tomatoes before.  There really isn't a lot to plant in the summer except for okra and eggplant.  We planted some eggplant seeds but the rest of the garden is now planted in flowers -- at least, until August when we plant the fall garden.

Those ball caps are something else.  George has the ball cap attachment down pat on the embroidery machine.  We embroidered my Cajun Stitchery cap and then we had to learn a few things.  Good hooping is going to take a lot of practice.  The designs are digitized differently than designs for flat goods.  Plus the designs are small, no more than 2 inches tall.  Wide is okay but height is no more than 2 inches.  As they say, practice makes perfect, and the credit really goes to George, who has worked with this thing.  There was a hooping dilemma.  I think George has figured that out.  We are working together on digitizing designs that work on the ball cap apparatus.  So far, so good.  George embroidered some really nice visors today. 

Funny story about the Junkanoo ball caps.  We knew we needed to get that design cap friendly.  We messed up on the first few and just kept tweaking.  We did a white ball cap with the Junkanoo design but the "Krewe of" at the very top was not as bold as it should be.  Then we fixed that and in the end we had several Junkanoo caps tossed to the side as experiments.  Several weren't really bad but we could see it and knew what the problem was.  Yesterday, one of the Junkanoo ladies dropped a jacket off and I had the white Junkanoo hat on.  She bought the hat right off of my head -- literally.  haha  Wish I had take a picture of the white Junkanoo ball cap. 

I'm still working with the Etsy store.  I've been reading a lot of articles and trying to do what they say.  I need to put something new in the Etsy store every day or so.  I don't want to make the same thing all of the time.  I decided to make a bow tie.  I have to make a bow tie for George to wear to the upcoming Fiesta Ball anyway.  I made one and it turned out so nice but I don't have the hardware for it.  All I have are hooks and eyes and snaps or velcro.  I looked all over the internet for the slide and hook for a bowtie.  I can't find them.  I noticed one lady on Etsy selling bowties and she had a clasp.  I went looking for the clasp.  In usual Peggy fashion, I found the clasp and bought a bunch of stuff that I'm sure I don't even need.  So, I'm at a standstill until the hardware arrives.  Last night I made a bowtie that doesn't use the hardware.  The problem is that so few men or women know how to tie a bowtie, hence the hardware.  I guess I could sell the bowtie and give instructions on how to tie it, but even George kind of frowns on that one.  Anyway, to my surprise browsing around Etsy, girls wear bowties, guys were bowties, little boys wear bowties, and even dogs wear bowties.  I might try one or two on Etsy and see how it goes.