I am so excited to share a Black Friday deal with you. BLACKFRIDAY13 for 20% off total purchase of $40 or more over at the shop!

And guess what, the discount code is available now thru 11.29.2013 until midnight EST.

So head on over to the shop and shop! Enter BLACKFRIDAY13 for the discount.

This is applicable to what is in the shop and can not be applied to custom orders.

Shop link: https://www.etsy.com/shop/lilalicesews

6 weeks.....left in 2013!

You are welcome!

But seriously, for the past week I have been reflecting back on the year. What has lil' alice accomplished this year? What really started the reflection was 2014 goals coming to mind + needing to write them down.

I really dreaded writing the goals down a year ago. If I wrote it, it meant I had to do it and I saw it as a hard thing to do.

I took my time and wrote down my goals as they came to me. I challenged myself in ways I didn't know if it would be attainable.

One of my goals for 2013 was to give Etsy another chance. When I first opened up Etsyin 2010, I didn't try hard enough. I didn't know I had to though. I thought Etsy was too big and lil' alice would never be found. That was my excuse.

In 2013 I decided to stop making excuses and start making my goal a reality. I am happy to report I gained sales thru Etsy, which makes my really challenge that number for 2014. Etsy isn't my only source of sales. I have a lot of face to face sales, shows, open houses etc.

I'm looking forward to writing down my 2014 goals. I think I am more competitive than I would ever like to admit + I am more competitive with myself.

Please share what goals you reached for 2013?

Who on your list is going to have their name on one of these beauties!

And I must admit that this fabric is fun + I don't stop smiling as I'm constructing them.

I always had a camera on hand when the boys were little (before smart phones had cameras). Usually on the kitchen counter top. It was easily accessible in case a memorable moment occurred.

This was one of those moment.

Zakkery was waiting for the bus to kindergarten. Jeremiah loved when the bus pulled up because he enjoyed waving to the other kids, but he didn't like the fact that his brother had to get in the bus.

His play buddy was gone.

In this picture Zak has his oversized backpack for school. And Jeremiah ha on his Hero Cape.

2 year old had asked for a cape. I'm not sure why but we made a trip to Joann's To buy cape fabric. It was solid red pajama fabric.

I cut it to size and it was ready to go. No sewing necessary.

Daily I had to pin the cape to his shirt with safety pins. Once the weather warmed up I tied them around his tank tops straps.

That tells you how long he wore this cape.

9 years have past and I still have that tiny piece of fabric. The boys are older now. Tween + Teen now reside here and I love these ages too. But these days too will be a sweet memory.

I'm in the final hours of preparing for a show. I have all the sewing finished, I think, I have them grouped all together, I have the table lay out designed in my head.

But there's one thing I struggle with at every single show.

Its how to display the pricing. I'm always disappointed in it not being cute enough, stable enough, clear enough etc.

But I may have cracked the key to cute, clear + creative display of pricing.

I have several vintage patterns and what good are they just sitting in the paper envelope. So I used them.

I had a set of brand new black frames of various sizes. I cut a pattern to the size if each frame. Placed it in the frame. With a dry erase marker, I write the price on the glass before heading to the show.

I think this will work for shows to come. I'm really excited how simple and cute this is.

No I didn't get the idea off of Pinterest, I did it the old fashion way + used my brain.

Vintage! What comes to mind when you see that word? A picture of days gone by? The olden days? Before you were born?

Actually, I am vintage according to the standards + I'm not even 40 yet. But I digress!

I like old things. I love vintage items that give a story of the past. What it may have been like before my time.

I enjoy going into Antique Shops + looking for old sewing patterns + wooden spools of thread.

I inherited the above patterns + a few more from a family member. A couple of the patterns were a monthly subscription! The patterns are not written on. They are simply marked with numbers. The directions are simple. Not complicated at all.

A picture of days gone by!

It true! The date on my iPhone is not incorrect after all.

The calendar page turns to November + if you want to be real, Thanksgiving + Christmas are coming quickly!

I tend to wait on buying Christmas gifts. I'm not sure why, but this year I am in the mood already. Amongst my big box store purchases, I will buy handmade too.

Who is on your list of friends + family that you can buy handmade for? I know it's impossible to buy all handmade for everyone on your Christmas list. But I encourage you to buy handmade for a couple people on your list this holiday season.

There are plenty of places to get handmade items. Craft shows are all around this time of year. Etsy is an online site that has high quality handmade items by so many artists, including lil' alice.

Anyone can buy a gift card, but put a little thought into Your gifts this year and support a local artist. They will thank you and appreciate your business!

Fall weather is perfect weather for wearing scarves and saying good-bye to Summer a little bit easier.

The infinity scarves are listed in the Etsy Shop. Quantities + styles are limited.

All have a lil' alice tag that is at the seams. The infinity scarf doesn't have any exposed seams or stitches! I'm very funny about exposed seams if they need to be.

• It's true I don't need 16 sewing machines.  My Mom gets one as her parting gift!  
  
• I have gone thru each machine individually + cleaned it out, taken screws off the bottom plate + washed it + fetched out every needle + straight pin possible!  
  
• I am keeping 5 machines for classes.
  
• I have 2 that are frozen + I used for various small parts to put on another machine.
  
• I took one to my usual sewing repair man.  He tuned it + fixed it + when I picked it up, he told me it was a gem + that these are really good machines.  There are some plastic pieces on it, but a lot of metal parts too.  In comparison to machines that are sold now, they are all plastic parts!  They are considered disposable.  
  
• The one in the picture is For Sale!  It is the one that was professionally tuned + cleaned + fixed!  She's a gem!
  
• I have the manual on PDF file + each buyer will get an emailed copy plus 3 bobbins.