Featured ETSY Store & Mary Jo's Cloth...

Several weeks ago we asked you to send in your ETSY Storefronts. Boy, did you. We are loving the diverse products you are all creating. Truly wonderful. We think you have a fine passion for things made  of cloth and are experts and perfectionists when it comes to the finished product!
As promised we are featuring one of the many ETSY Shops that were submitted. We will continue to feature these lovely and inspired ETSY Storefronts from time to time in future articles. We love to go to one of your ETSY Shops and click on the icon of the store owner and read all about you, what you have done, what you are doing and what inspires YOU. You are a talented bunch of folks and we know that you have a choice and we just have to give you a BIG thank-you for shopping maryjos.com.
Send in your Etsy link or your Online Store or your Website/Blog that features your products that are made using Mary Jo's Cloth. You may be the next featured article.

Featured Esty Store: JPATPURSES:  

Janese is a BIG Seller on ETSY, she is the kind of gal that will inspire you. Janese proves that ETSY can be a great source of income and a wonderful outlet to market the ARTY projects you are passionate about. She has done just that!

Tell us about yourself. Hi, my name is Jenese Patanella, therefore explaining my shop name JPATPURSES. I am a wife and mother of two teenage daughters and a wonderful Corgi dog named Ginger. I have lived in many regions of the United States but have spent the last 20 years in the Southeast. My Bachelors degree is in Accounting, about as far away from creating handbags and accessories as you can get. After over 25 years in the corporate world it was time to explore my more creative side.

Apart from creating things, what do you do? I spend a great deal of time just in survival mode. I think that in today’s world that is not too uncommon. I love to garden, walk my dog, and spend tons of time with my family. I am also an avid reader and must always have a book to wind down with at the end of each day.  

How do you promote your work? My first year here on Etsy, I was on the forums almost every day. The SNS thread in the forums is a great way to get to know other Etsy sellers and really helped me get established. I have a blog and flickr accounts. Joined all the groups and even did my own paid outside advertising. Now, with word of mouth and repeat customers I am able to focus more on new designs, sewing, and less on promoting.  

What first made you want to become an artist? If you had told me as little as two years ago I would have been creating and selling my items online I would have laughed. I always enjoyed doing crafts. As a little girl my spending money would always go either to buying books or my latest craft project. So I guess it was well hidden until I was old enough to realize how much I really loved it! When I was a teenager I had a part-time job in a store that had a fabric department. It was then when I started buying and collecting fabrics. I still have some of those fabrics but still don’t have the heart to cut into them!!!

The opportunity to sale online presented itself quite by accident one afternoon when my daughters mentioned that they would like to have the most recent brand name handbags that were a big hit among their friends. I told them that I would be more than happy to try to make them each one myself. So I pulled out the sewing machine from the back of the closet and went to work. It felt good to be sewing again. Several of their friends at school inquired as to where they got their new purses and were surprised to hear that their mother was the creator. It was this positive feedback that initially inspired me to consider the prospect of sewing handbags and selling them online.

Please describe your creative process how, when, materials, etc. My process is very sporadic. I wake up each morning and after everybody is out the door, I try to do as much sewing as possible but rarely sit down and sew for more then 10 minutes at a time. I get most of my inspiration from trying to create the most functional and efficient items as possible. I love trying to make items that make life more organized. One of the reasons I developed my special bat quilt interfacing technique is because I wanted structure and form to my creations, thus making them easier to use. 

Thanks Janese, wow you are an ETSY star! Keep up the great work. 

Do you have an ETSY Shop? Send us the link today!
A reminder: It is that time of year already, Halloween.
Start sending us photos of your costumes made with Mary Jo's Cloth. We will feature the top submissions and a slide show of the contenders? Feeling lucky? Send in your costume pic today!

A Quilting Inspiration & Mary Jo's Batik Collection......

We have a customer who is a "Quilt Artist" and "paints" with our line of Batik Fabric. In April of 2011 we featured her work in an all around general article on quilting styles. Today, it is all about the Batik Collection. Jean lives in South Carolina and is a passionate quilter. She is married to an Artist, Serge, and they share a sweet website, showcasing the fruits of their creative works. Jean Loussarian is dedicated and talented.

We particularly love how she uses the different shades of similar Batiks to create, light shadow and depth. Using fabric to "paint" with is no easy feat, but Jean excels at this difficult endeavor. Her work is nature based, Birds and Flowers mostly. Batik Fabric lends itself to this dreamy watercolor-like look that Jean is able to achieve. 
This is the note Jean recently sent our way...
"I saw on Facebook where you were asking for a photo of a quilt from fabric from Mary Jo's.  I buy all of my fabric from Mary Jo's.  I usually go twice a year because of the distance to purchase everything I need without ever having to go to another fabric store.  The selection is the very best is the primary reason for traveling two and a half hours one way.  It is definitely worth the trip and something to always look forward to.  I will attach a picture of the latest wall hanging that I have made. The size is 26 X 40 inches.   My web site loussarian.com 
My name is Jean Loussarian of Westminster, SC."          

It always a treat to see what folks are up to with Mary Jo's Cloth.
So let's talk about our Batik Collection for a moment. We have 588 Batik choices available on the website. Yes you read that correctly! Most are from the Hoffman California Collection and we also carry some by Island Batik. The colors are magical and the painterly quality is unmatched. Did you know that the typical price for this beautiful cloth is only 7.99 per yard. An absolute bargain. Log onto maryjos.com, in the top right corner of the page, type "Batik Fabric", into the search bar and peruse our collection, you will not be disappointed, we promise. There are also some new pins on Pinterest if you want to check some out what we have featured as an "Inspiration Board" to this Blog Article.

Thanks so much to all of our customers, who took the time to send us an email sharing their ETSY Storefronts, Websites and Blogs. What a talented bunch, all of you! If you haven't sent us an email sharing your handiwork, now is the time. Send us an email today. We will be featuring these submissions over the next few months and you could be one of them!                                                             

Paisleys, The Holidays, & ETSY...

We have been busy gearing up for the upcoming Halloween and Holiday season. Time sure flies!
So the news, we have been stocking all of those Autumn colored and patterned collections of fabrics that have been your favorites for many years. We also have new lines of fun and quirky fabric that is just right for Curtains, Bags, Dresses, Tablecloths and anything else you can imagine. We know alot of you are purchasing our fabrics and creating beautiful items and selling them on ETSY.
Are you one of the folks who are selling on ETSY? Do you have Autumn and Holiday themed items?

If you do, send us your ETSY link and a brief description of your product, you may be included in an upcoming featured article, here on our blog. Did you know that thousands of folks read our blog every week? This could be a great opportunity to showcase your work. We look forward to seeing your beautiful projects, please send us an email today.

The weather is getting a bit cooler and the days a bit shorter. Soon enough it will be time to sit by a cozy fire and think about what you are going to create for.the holidays. Why wait? Are you a Quilter, Pillow Maker, Seamstress or a Crafter?

Today we are featuring some different styles of Paisley. This is a classic print that is beautiful when used to make a Quilt, Tablecloth, Curtains, Duvet or Large Pillows. The heavier weighted paisley is wonderful paired with some soft classic velvet in earthy colors, try it, we think you will be delighted. For all of you who are costume and clothes makers, we have noticed that Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger are using Paisleys and Plaids mixed with Corduroys and Velvets in their current Fall Collections. How fun would it be to make your own perfectly tailored versions of these top designer styles.
Click to see the many pinned Paisleys we have in stock on Pinterest.  If you have not signed up for Pinterest, you should consider it.

You will never have to look for bookmarks or pages of your favorite items on the Internet, you simply "Pin" them to your board. Easy, Breezy. If you are on Pinterest you can follow the "Boards" that interest you. We hope our "Mary Jo Fabric Blog Board" filled with pins of inspiring fabric and fabric that has been featured in our articles, is a board you will follow!
Thanks, enjoy this beautiful day.

Wine Corks and A Bulletin Board...

My oh my, do we have a project for you! One of the gals here at Mary Jo's Cloth Store, Betty, was kind enough to share her instructions along with photos of the finished project! Have fun. Remember you can choose from a nice selection of heavy weight Tapestry style fabrics. We have colors to suit every decor. Log onto Maryjos.com for to check out your full range of possibilities.

 
















Wine Cork and Yardstick Bulletin Board
1 1/4 yard jute webbing
1 Yardstick
2 Tassels
1 Button
1/3 yard Ribbon
Fabric Tac Glue
Wine Corks

Turn ends of jute webbing under and glue down. Hold with clothespins or clamps.

Put wax paper underneath jute to protect surface of table. Glue yardstick down.
Glue may go through jute webbing if you use too much.

Glue wine corks to yardstick.

Fold ribbon in half, sew to webbing to make hanger. Sew tassel to fold in ribbon.

Sew button to bottom, sew tassel to to bottom.

Pictured on regal Tapestry - pattern Bordeaux - color Jewel - $12.98 per yard!

Refer to the photos if you are unclear about the simple steps to create this project.
Have fun.

Oh, hey, did we mention that we will be offering FREE Shipping again during the months of December and part of January? We also will be launching the new website in the early part of 2013.
We promise it will be easier to navigate and also much easier place to purchase fabrics, for years to come! We have listened to your wonderful suggestions and are now integrating them into the new webdesign! We cannot thank-you enough for  sharing your thoughts, ideas and tips on building a much more user-friendly website. We hope you will be happy web-customers and share www.maryjos.com with your friends.
Do you have a project you would like to share or maybe even be one of our featured articles on the Mary Jo Home and Design Blog? Now is the time, send us an email, with a few photos and links to your ETSY, Blog Website or Facebook page. We are looking forward to hearing from you.
Click here to check out our Pinterest Board, you will be inspired!