StudioKat Designs January 09 Newsletter

Crawford Designs Special-
use coupon code, cd103 to buy the
Vintage Handbag book, sale price= $10.00
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Offer expires 1/31/09

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GREEN Cleaning Made Easy

January 2009

The StudioKat Designs Newsletter
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

HELLO and Welcome!-This is one of my favorite times of the year. The holidays are over, and while some find that sad, I'm always secretly relieved to have them behind me so I can settle back into a comfortable routine again. I know the weather's nasty outside, but it's perfect for holing up guilt-free in a warm corner, & getting some serious sewing done! So in celebration of all that, I'm really excited to be able to finally say, "We're releasing the "Boho Baguette" today". So come on, let's get started, and don't forget to...
Visit the websites of our wonderful advertisers! (located on left)
Also, especially for the convenience of our friends at Pattern Review & AOL, all of the hotlinks are listed in order at the bottom of this letter, and as always, if you prefer, you can go to www.studiokatdesigns.com/jan09.htm to see the online version of the newsletter.

Feline Quote for January-
"It has been suggested to me that I am a bit of a snob. How true! I prefer to be." Raymond Chandler- from "A Siamese Cat of imperfect blood line."

New on my Website!-
Patti McDonald of Georgetown, IL sent me a very cute video involving a cat and a printer. An instant recipe for fun!

This adorable video about a pair of Sneakers is currently one of my favorites. It was sent in by Peg Rice of Westport Island, ME.

Pat Winship of Mt. Tabor, NJ was trying to get some pictures of the purses she's made, but some other folks kept getting into the act. Here are the "boyz", Erich, & Bertie showing off with "their" Bellagio Bag.

"Handbag of the Month" Gallery-
I love seeing the beautiful handbags you all are creating, and I'll bet you do too! It seems everyone is enjoying the Handbag of the Month contest, so jump right in & check out these pics, all received this month, & then cast a vote for your favorite. The owner of the handbag receiving the most votes at the end of the month wins a $10.00 SKD gift certificate. Ruta Lietuvninkas our lucky winner in the December Handbag Contest. Click here to see her winning Gadabout, which has also won a permanent place of honor on our website!

And now...Here's this month's entries (and they are FABULOUS!):
My testers have all been whipping up Boho Baguettes while testing the new design.
Arlene Stream of Loveland, CO whipped up this gorgeous little Boho that would make a lovely spring bag.

Lori Gates of West Henrietta, NY made two Bohos while doing her critique. Her first was made in a fun, purple leopard print, and the second is a vision in denim.

Former winner, Judi Graf made up two Boho's as well. Her first is a perfect little Christmas bag, and the second is fabulous in black pleather! Lucky for everyone else, Judi's not eligible to win again for a few months, but I knew you'd love to see these bags anyway!

This bright, bold Boho was fashioned by Peg Rice of Westport Island, ME, and is very typical of the fun exteriors she likes to create! Aren't I lucky to have such creative testers?

Renee Gutyan of British Columbia is still sewing up a storm, and here are two of her latest, a December AbracaNiche, and also a whimsical Harmony Handbag that can take her into spring. She fashioned it with TWO interior pouches and it's just fabulous!

Melody Teel of Renton, WA, says she's going to have to quit showing her cute little PortaPockets Inserts to folks, because everyone who sees them, wants her to make one for them!

Dody Wilhelm, of Highland beach, FL, says that her fashionista granddaughter will flip for this stylish Kizmet Klutch, and I can see why!

And last, but certainly not least, here is Stephanie Loller's "fully-loaded" PortaPockets Insert. She added a few extra pockets to make room for all of her stuff. Stephanie says that she loves to switch purses to match her outfits, and now it's EASY! Here's a closeup peek at her "suped-up" interior!

OK, ready to vote now? Just click on the link below to cast your vote.
Only one vote per day, per email address is allowed.

Cast Your Vote HERE!

Come back next month to see who the winner is... or better still...

Click here to join studiokatdesigns

Click to join the StudioKatDesigns Chat Group!

Join the StudioKat Designs Chat Group at Yahoo! Are you up for a new experience? Our new chat group has over 160 members now & I am finding that I like having this fun group of gals to bounce new ideas off of. Come ON! Join us TODAY by clicking here!

New at StudioKat Designs- The Boho Baguette"
It's finally HERE! Today is the official release day for my new pattern, the Boho Baguette. It's a hobo style bag with a beautiful ruffled top, large enough to accomodate either size PortaPockets Insert. It makes up beautifully in a wide variety of fabrics, like lightweight denim, or moleskin, (this sample had a Faux leather finish), and of course cotton, with which you can utilize many wonderful embellishment techniques. (See the Website Spotlight (below) for a very SPECIAL embellishment design) And don't forget to use the discount code, bohogirl to get $2.00 off the retail price of $12.00, when you buy your Boho Baguette pattern.
Offer expires on 1/31/09.

Website Spotlight- SusaGlennDesigns.Com
Embroidery is an excellent way to create stunning & unique purse exteriors, & the Boho is a perfect palette for your imagination. Check out this stunning Boho, fashioned in collaboration with Susa Glenn Designs, using her Bodacious Sunflowers embroidery CD. Just click here to see how beautiful & realistic the center of this sunflower looks!You can also get a layout schematic for this bag by clicking here. Susa did a great job creating this design. I think it looks SUPER! She also has a 2nd design that works beautifully for the Trifecta, featuring leaves & a luna moth. You can see it here.

A Cool Place to Shop!- The Contented Cat
If you've ever had difficulty finding the right cat fabric for your project, (and who hasn't!?!?), then you need to check out The Contented Cat. You will be shocked by what is argueably the most comprehensive collection of cat-themed fabrics anywhere! Just need paw prints? Gosh, there's a whole page of those as well! And here's a cute little "cat" cell phone pattern that that my daughter would've flipped for a few years back... come to think of it, she might still like to carry it! Enjoy!

Quotation of the Month-
"The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot." Michael Althsuler

Your cat might own you if... you scoop out the litter box after each use... or worse, if you wait at the box with the scoop in hand!

Surf HERE for Neat INFO!- LapTop Screening at Airports
This site highlights the Transportaion Security Administration's (TSA) new checkpoint friendly laptop bag procedures. The updated process enables you to keep your laptop in its bag during screening if a clear x-ray image of the laptop can be obtained. Manufacturers have stepped up to the challenge of designing appropriate bags, & the site features photos of both "OK" & "not OK" styles. Click here to visit this site to learn more about the do's & don'ts of streamlined screening.

New Word of the Month- McFinch (mik-finch)
(n.) A small bird whose natural habitat is in the parking lot of a fast food restaurant, and does not seem to exist in any other part of the world.

Cats in the News- Keebler, the Surrogate Mom
Tired of reading & hearing about the gloomy economic forecasts every where you turn? Then click here for a lovely story about chihuahua with a heart of gold.

Love Handbags?- DondaDesigns.Com
All of the bags at DondaDesigns.Com are made from premium silk and polyester ties. There are several designs to choose from, my favorite being Donda's Original Shoulder Bag . What I like best on this site is probably the bouquet of tie roses. They're original and quite terrific looking!

Sewing Tip of the Month-
Use a fabric glue stick to temporarily hold fabric together before sewing. This works great for holding pockets or buttons in place before sewing.

Did You Know?- a snowflake can take up to an hour to fall from the clouds to the surface of the Earth?

A cool Internet Activity- Good Reads
Ready to reach for that next book, but finding your bedside table bare? No worries! Just type the name of the last book you read into this site, (assuming of course that you liked it), & get a list of great recommendations for what to read next. It's like browsing the shelves of thousands of friends all at once. Or maybe you got a book, CD, or DVD for Christmas that you really don't care for? Click here, to try a FREE service where you can trade unwanted cd's, films and books for those things you REALLY want!

Laugh Lines-
Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me, I want people to know WHY I look this way. I've traveled a long way and some of the roads weren't paved.

"Catsite" of the Month- KatBird.Com
KatBird.Com features cute and classy gifts for cat lovers and everyone else. Besides luggage & totes, you'll find fun earrings, beautiful notecards, & an excellent selection of puzzles, all with Laurel Burch-style cats. And as an added benefit, there's FREE Shipping within the contiguous U.S.

Surf HERE for FUN!- Browse the Best Beaches
Are you dreaming of a beach vacation? Who isn't this time of year? Let the experts at the Travel Channel guide you to the best beaches in the world. They've grouped them by type of vacation, as well as season of the year. So put on your flip flops and stroll through this long stretch of beaches that are guaranteed to provide fun in the sun!

Monthly Trivia-
We all know that person. The one who seems to know everything about everything. The person who reigns at trivia games and questions. Well, to add insult to injury, did you know that today, January 4th, has been set aside to observe and honor trivia, as if to throw our ignorance right back into our own faces. So, how did this day come about? The exact origin of Trivia Day is not known, (Ah... an interesting answer to a trivia question, indeed), but January 4th is also the birthday of physicist & mathemetician, Sir Isaac Newton, born in London, England in 1727. He shares his day with Louis Braille, the inventor of the widely used touch system of reading & writing for the blind. And if today is also your birthday, here's a great, big "Happy Birthday to YOU", from StudioKat Designs. And if today is not your birthday, you might celebrate the day anyway by hosting a little party for your friends, complete with a lively game of Trivial Pursuit, but if you're like me, that might only serve to demonstrate how pitifully little you know about trivia. So instead, why not send an email to your friends in honor of Trivia Day, complete with some useless facts that are sure to impress them... like the following;

A cockroach can live several weeks with its head cut off!..... TERRIFYING!

There is a city called Rome on every continent.

Right handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people...(OK, maybe not send this one to your left-handed friends.)

Coca-Cola would be green if coloring weren't added to it.

Months that begin on a Sunday will always have a "Friday the 13th."

Well, that's it for now, so until next month, remember!
Sewing Forever, Housework Whenever!

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