Have a Tissue, Please

Somewhere, I heard that people need to see a name at least three times before they’ll remember it, so the key to name recognition is to make sure people see your name. With that in mind, I’m always looking for little things to give away. I know authors who spend big bucks on giveaway items like pens, magnets and other cool items to keep their names out there. My advertising budget isn’t so big – but I have a huge fabric stash, so when my scrapbooking friend Katie showed me a little tissue pack that she made out of scrap fabric I was thrilled! It just takes five little pieces of material and a few minutes of cutting, pinning and sewing. My only “cost” was for the labels I had printed up from StickerYou.com and a little time.

These are so simple and quick to make! Here’s what you need:

Fabric:

Three pieces cut 4” by 5-3/4”

Two pieces cut 4” by 4”

Normally I wouldn't select five different colors or prints, but I thought it might be easier to see the process with different colors.

Place one of the rectangle pieces FACE UP. This is your base.

Fold one of your other rectangle pieces in half the long way, RIGHT SIDE OUT. Pin it to a long edge of the base with all three cut sides together.

Fold one of the square pieces in half RIGHT SIDE OUT and pin it to a short edge of the base. Again, put all cut edges together.

Repeat with the last rectangle piece,

And again with the last square piece. Tuck one end of the last square piece under the first rectangle. I didn't like how the black square looked against the dark green, so I cut another square out of the flower print.

Sew around all edges. The sewing machine would work just fine, but my serger was all set up - plus it's faster and leaves neater seams on the inside.

Turn the entire case right side out.

Fill with a travel size tissue pack. It works better if you take the tissues out of the plastic pack, but for giveaways I keep them in so folks know that I haven’t handled the tissues.

For marketing purposes I iron on a name label with my website on it. That way, readers can see my name every time they open their purses!

I love the fact that I can use leftover scraps for this project. I’m always sewing, so I always have scraps. Sometimes I feel like matching, sometimes I want to coordinate – and sometimes I just feel crazy! I’ve given away a lot of these, so I really need to get to work making more.

Got Some Paper Handy?

Authors need to be creative, and when it comes to promoting our work we need to turn up our creativity in order to stand out among millions of other authors writing the same kinds of books. Joselyn Vaughn is an author who, like me, loves to sew. When we appeared at a book event a few years ago I noticed she had a pile of cute handmade notebooks. She let me copy her idea and I’ve made several to give away as thank yous to readers and winners of my contests. I asked her to share her instructions for making them, and she referred me to her blog post, which I’ve copied here:

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My swag pile was depleted so I needed to make some more notebooks to give away. I feared that this would require a trip to Wal-mart with all three kids on a snow day. (Our last trip to the store required everyone to sit in timeout when we got home. I probably needed it the most. yikes. So I was not looking forward to another trip.) So you can imagine my excitement and relief when I discovered the paper I thought I had used up was not gone. Whew!

I thought I’d share the instructions for making these little notebooks because they are fun, easy, and cute.

What you’ll need:
Fun paper
5 sheets of plain white paper
Cutting device (paper cutter, rotary cutter, or scissors, if you are awesome.)
Sewing machine with a leather or denim needle.


1. Cut the fun paper into a rectangle – 5 5/8″ x 8 5/8″. Fold in half.

2. Cut the white paper in half. 8 1/2″ x 5 1/2″. Put half sheets in one pile. Fold in half.

3. Insert white paper inside fun paper.

4. Sew down the fold. Refold the notebook and Tada! a notebook.

For promotional purposes, I put a sticker on the front with my name, website, and tagline on it. I figure this is something that people will keep around for a little while.

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Aren't these clever? Joselyn's list of books can be found on her Amazon author page. You can also find Joselyn on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. She's also getting ready to release her brand new novella, Seeing You Again! Here's the awesome cover, and we hear the book will be available for pre-order sometime this month!

Stitching a Story

This week is spring break for the university where I teach. I decided to take a break from my other part time job as well so I could indulge in some of my hobbies and get some things done. So yesterday I spent the morning with the quilting group at church and for the rest of this week I am in a very quiet room on campus, along with a dozen other professors, writing. The university regularly sponsors writing retreats for faculty members, providing us with food, beverages and a distraction-free environment. I have two WIPs to work on, including my Winter NaNo project, and some guest blog posts to finish.  The director told us this morning we were to report at the end of the week how many words we wrote in three days. I'm hoping my numbers will be near the top!

Yesterday, as I was sewing quilts, I thought about the stories I'm trying to write (yeah, I tend to try and do several things at the same time—once a mom, always a mom) so that I would be able to get more writing done today. I'm planning a series of stories about a group of women with the same passion for creating beautiful quilts. Each story will be tied to a quilt pattern. So I've got five plots in various stages of planning. I need to come up with names, character sketches and conflicts for each woman in the group. And I need to find a way to tie all the stories together. It's quite a task. Hope I'm up to it!

I just have to make sure that each story is unique, like the quilts our group sews. Each one is different, even when we use the same pattern, because the choice of fabrics affects the overall look. Each quilt is going to a different home, for a different reason. Some are given to people who have lost a loved one and are grieving. Some are given to people who are very ill and need comfort. And some are simply lonely. In the same way, the stories I write may affect different people in different ways. But since the type of stories I write always end with a "happily ever after," my aim is to provide a pleasant time reading.

I guess I'd better get to work. Here is a picture of the quilts our group got done this week.

Just Get it Done!

I've mentioned the piles of unfinished projects that lurk in every corner of my house. Two of them are quilts I should have finished years ago for my daughters. I kept t-shirts from their childhood (t-ball, choir, band, sports, etc) and planned to make a quilt from the fronts of the shirts. I've had all the materials for the quilts and started the process, but never got them done. My older daughter graduated from high school in 2002 and her sister graduated in 2005. But the quilts kept getting set aside for other projects.

A couple of weeks ago the younger daughter decided she'd had enough. In very strong language she announced she wanted her quilt done and said she would find a way to finish it if I didn't have it done by February. I knew it wouldn't take long so I said okay. But then last weekend she decided the time was NOW and I needed to drop everything and finish it. Of course that was when another family crisis popped up. My mom needed some legal forms filled out this week and I had to chase them down and help her fill them out.

My point is that with two family members breathing down my neck I had to plan my time very wisely this week. I still had to show up at both jobs, grade papers, and pay attention to my husband and grandkids. So I had to make adjustments. I skimmed through emails, deleting most and answering only the most pressing. I've spent a lot less time on facebook, although I discovered I'm supposed to create something called a blog button (anybody know anything about these?) for a promotional opportunity. But that can be relegated to the "to be done" pile, like the quilts were.

Anyway, the quilt is out and on its way to being finished. As you can see from the picture, the squares are cut and arranged. I hope to have it done this weekend. I am very tired and will probably fall asleep at my granddaughter's first birthday party this weekend, but I won't have the quilt hanging over my head any more. The shirts would probably still be in the box if she hadn't made an issue of it. It was annoying, but I can't stay annoyed with her for pushing me to finish what should have been done a long time ago.

I think I'm making progress. One project at a time. Now if I can get her to nag me to finish the novel, the papers to be graded, the housework...

Waiting Patiently

Patience has never been my strong suit. I like things to happen right away. I wanted to grow up and be an adult, and then I wanted to be a mom, and then I wanted to retire and travel. So now I've done all those things and I want to have my stories published.

I've had two novellas published now, and after hearing about how long other people have to wait to see their books available, even in ebook form, I've been blown away by how quickly my novellas were put out. So it's been a puzzle as to why my third novella is taking so much longer.

I submitted the story in September and it was accepted right away. But I didn't get a cover design until December, and then the content edits finally arrived just before Christmas. I sent my revisions in a week ago, and am back to waiting. My head knows that this is not an unreasonable time line, but I'm still checking my email to see when the story is going to be finalized. My bookmarks and magnets have been ordered and I want to start handing them out!

In the meantime, I should be working on new projects. If I could get immersed in something else I wouldn't be obsessing over how long this other project is taking, right? Plus I'd have something else to submit. After three short stories, I should be polishing off my full-length novel. I should have an outline fleshed out for my local writing group's winter writing challenge. I should...well, you get the picture.

My point is the story will come out eventually. The bookmarks and magnets will keep until it's time to pass them out. I can't let the worry keep me from being productive. It's just not going to do me any good.

But I can't stop checking my email, just in case.

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My daughter and my mom love to wear scarves. I found some filmy scarf-like fabric in my stash that I originally planned to make some skirts out of. But I don't wear skirts that often, and I have trouble finding patterns for skirts that don't make me look like I'm as wide as I am tall. So I decided to cut the fabric into long scarves. All I had to do was stitch around the edges and I now have a set of three scarves for each of them! I'm thinking they'll make nice Mother's Day gifts. If I wrap them up now, hopefully I won't forget about them in May.

Today I'm participating in a Friday the 13th Blog Hop! There are prizes at each stop, and the prize for going through all the blogs is a brand new Kindle! Begin the hop by clicking here:

Senior Road Trip

Summer Time is for road trips. I suppose when you’re retired, anytime is good for a road trip, but they’re much more enjoyable when you don’t have to worry about getting stuck in a blizzard, or agonizing about how many coats to bring. I’ve gone on trips with my parents, with my husband, and with my kids and grandkids. I haven’t gone on a road trip with women my age and above until last week.

I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I am aging. Having seven children who call me “grandma” tends to do that. Having doctors who weren’t born when I graduated from college does that, too. But they say you’re as young (or old) as you feel, so I prefer to think of myself as “well seasoned.”

Anyway, one of the things separating me from my progeny is what I consider to be fun. I’ve heard terms like “I’ve been to the Promised Land”, “Hog Heaven” and “Like a kid in a candy store” but other than the thrill of actually BEING in a candy store, I haven’t had the euphoric feeling those phrases imply until early this week. There’s nothing more exciting to a crafter than being in a warehouse FULL of supplies, and for me the supply of choice is fabric.

Twice a month, I work with a group making fleece hats, which are donated to various charities. Fleece is fun to work with, but it’s not cheap, and donations don’t come readily. So this week, the group decided to go to a fabric warehouse in Chicago. We piled into Jackie’s van, followed the directions provided by Marcia’s GPS, pooled our gas money, and away we went. Diane and I both brought our knitting, and I managed to finish two dish cloths on the way there. The time always goes faster when your hands are busy!

We arrived at the Troy Corporation without any problems (okay, there was one wrong turn, but the Garmin got us there anyway). We were introduced to a friendly young man named Derrick, whom Diane had contacted previously by phone. He led us through the warehouse to the area where the polar fleece was stored. I left the price negotiations to the experts and wandered through the warehouse.

It’s dangerous for me to go into a regular fabric store. The yards and yards of colorful designs cry out to me, begging me to take them home and put them into a project. My mind nearly exploded with the possibilities this place offered. I imagined outfits, quilts, handbags, curtains, and more. It was enough to make Marcia hyperventilate. I briefly considered getting an extra shopping cart in case we had to wheel her out.

After leaving the warehouse, we ate lunch at a lovely place called the Jolly Inn (great food, wonderful ethnic atmosphere) and then we headed home. There was barely enough room in the full size van for the six of us and all the fabric! I was home in time for supper. My children were appalled that we hadn’t stayed for some entertainment, or shopping in some of the fabulous shops, or knowing my interest in just about anything, gone to a museum. A few years ago I would have agreed – a trip to the Windy City deserves more than a visit to one place and a meal. But I guess I’ll save that stuff for when I’m with them!

I’m finally starting to complete some of the projects I’ve been writing about. Next time I’ll put up some pictures.