And the winner is IrishMama7 who said:
So cute thanks for your finds!
Congratulations!! I'll be in touch shortly!
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Good Monday morning, friends! So happy to start this week with a sweet giveaway from one of my April sponsors, Gathered & Sown. I asked shop owner, Angie to share a little bit about herself and her shop. More info about the giveaway at the end of this post.
If we could all have friends like Angie's, who leave bags of vintage fabric hanging on her front door….
What inspired you to start Gathered & Sown?
Gathered & Sown was more or less started by accident. My friend and I made bags for ourselves, and before we knew it we had people asking if we could make some for them, and it snowballed. When I really started to think of this as a business, I was inspired that I could do something I love, while contibuting to my family's income. I love sitting down with a new idea and just the process of putting it together. I design my own products from start to finish, so when I hold a completed product in my hands, it inspires me to do it again!
How do you find time to balance it all–your business, your family…?
It can be difficult at times, but I have found a few things that work for me. Most people think that since I work from home, I have a lot of "free" time. So I have had to learn to tell people that I am working. I have set myself regular work hours, and I try to schedule appointments, and even fun things around my work schedule. In that schedule, I allow myself one hour in the morning, after my daughters are off to school to get my house in order. (I hate coming up after working all day to a crazy, messy house!) I usually work until my kids get home. I also try really hard to adhere to "off" hours. When my whole family is home, I limit my computer time, my sewing time, even my phone time. I try to be as available to my family as I can. This allows me a balance of being Gathered & Sown by day, Mom and wife by night.
What is inspiring you right now?
I love the thrill of the hunt… looking for fabrics! My friends and I enjoy those fun, vintage finds while we are scouring garage and estate sales. And those out of the box ideas, like taking a beautiful vintage curtain and seeing it as a large piece of fabric! And I am so blessed to have a group of friends who loves finding things for me, so it's not uncommon for me to find a bag hanging on my front door with "inspiration" in it!
My design ideas are usually inspired by the fabrics I find, but it can also be the other way around. When I found this funky blue and orange vintage plaid fabric, I knew when I saw it that pleats would be perfect for it, so I designed the pleated tote around that particular piece of fabric. Another time, I had a friend tell me she was looking for a tote bag that could be converted to a backpack. I had no idea how to do this, but once I figured it out, and showed her the sample, she excitedly called me to tell me she found the PERFECT fabric for that bag. And this is how I work. So you could say I am inspired by life. People tell me an idea they had, and I challenge myself to create it. Or I can come home from an afternoon with my friends with a literal a pile of "inspiration" to turn into beautiful things!
Gathered & Sown is giving away this cute red print vintage-inspired wristlet (pictured below) from her shop to one lucky MommyCoddle reader. Simply enter a comment on this post to be entered. The winner will be randomly chosen and announced on Thursday.
When you only need the basics, you are all set to go with our wristlet. This popular bag works as a wallet, holding all of your nescessities, but giving you the option of pulling it out of your purse and using it as a purse on it's own. The clasp on the strap gives you the freedom to secure the wristlet wherever you need it. On your stroller, diaper bag, purse strap, belt loop, shopping cart, you name it!
Inside you will find two built in credit card pockets. The strap is 8 1/2 inches long when open. The wristlet measures approx. 7 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches.
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And also welcome to new April sponsor OhPlah! (On a personal note, I have one of these teething cuffs and I LOVE it! If you are having a baby or needing a great little baby/shower gift, definitely check out this sponsor. I think I might just need to freshen up with a new color for spring.)
And WELCOME BACK to our sponsors:
Very purty.
I love learning about new shops like this one!
Beautiful and creative bags. I would love to own one!
love it.
Love red!! Need this bag….
I enjoy your blog and am impressed by the people who I meet through it. What an inspirational idea, curtains into a bag. Reminds me of sound of music.
Beautiful! Love hand-crafted lovelies.
I also work from home, although not in a creative endeavor. I think I need to put some of Angie’s work/life rules in play. Thanks for the thoughts and the chance to win a cute prize!
Love the fabric choices!
I have just recently discovered your lovely blog. What a nice give away!
Consider me interested in this bag!
That bag is adorable! I also love the one at the top. I used to have a bag made from that fabric, but I used it so much it started to fall apart!
All the bags are fun, but that little wristlet is just perfect! Love it!
WOW- these are beautiful bags.Thanks for the giveaway- I am going to check out the other bags now!
cute stuff.
Ooo….a bag like that would mean I would need to go out on a date since I wouldn’t be able to fit a diaper, snack or toys in it! Love it!
I love little bags like that! They are perfect for quick trips.
I absolutely LOVE the green bag with the vintage looking flower fabric-so great!Please enter me in the drawing for the little wristlet!
Love the wristlet! That would come in handy many days.
Love the wristlet, it would fit perfectly into my diaper bag! And it would match too… ;o)
Beautiful, I love the vintage flower patterns and would love to win this giveaway!
LOVE the floral bag with green trim!
Great bag! Also, thanks for the interview. It was fun reading about how you got started!
Yeah! Fun giveaway:) I love all her bags!
just gorgeous!!
Welcome to the flock Gathered and Sown, I am in love with your beautiful eye for fabrics and colours already!
I love the fabrics!
Beautiful bags! I would love to own one!
Very cute bags! I love that they are all so unique!
Doesn’t every girl need a new spring bag? Love them!
I like that each one is individually and you’re not going to see someone with the same bag!
I love the fabric on these bags! So cute. And it’s awesome that you’re able to do what you love and help provide for your family. My dream is to be a homemade apron maker
Such cute bags! I love them all!
What a talent you have! Thanks for sharing.
Love that bag!
I love that Gathered and Sown is local to my area! Love supporting local Mama’s and Artist’s
Love the bag and your blog. Thanks for the giveaway!
So cute thanks for you finds!
Love this!! I’ve tried with some Knoll fabric and it doesn’t look this good. Thx for sharing.
This would be perfect for when I go out without the child in need of diapers and epi-pens…I love all of the bags!
So pretty and useful! Thanks for the give-away!
So pretty, would you send it all the way to New Zealand?