Keep Your Fingers (and Toes) Crossed!

Recently I ran across the "Martha Stewart Presents American Made Awards."  At my sister's urging, I submitted an entry for Kathy's Cozies.

This is my "American Made Story."  (in 1500 characters or less!)

In November 2009, my husband & I traveled to his parents' house in NJ for Thanksgiving. While there, my mother-in-law showed me her new die cutting machine, a Cricut Expression, which she covered with an old towel when not in use. We played with her Cricut all weekend & I was hooked. By Christmas I had one of my own, & as a way of thanking my mother-in-law for her inspiration, I decided to make a decorative dust cover for her Cricut Expression to replace the ugly old towel. Utilizing another of my passions, quilting, I made the first Kathy’s Cozy. I enjoyed making it so much, I decided to make more cozies to sell on Ebay. Successful Ebay sales prompted me to open my own Etsy shop & Facebook page, & Kathy’s Cozies has grown from 1 thank-you gift to my mother-in-law to a home business that employs 3 people, ships internationally, & offers over 38 different cozies, totes, & craft room accessories. Each cozy features coordinating fabrics that have been machine-quilted over a layer of batting & muslin lining. All seams are finished & the binding is hand-basted. A button, bow, or applique embellishment adds a delightful finishing touch, & a quilted heart is featured on each cozy to make sure there’s “a little love sewn into every cozy.” Customers especially enjoy choosing from over 400 available fabrics to customize cozy sets for all of their crafting machines. With a growing product line & increasing demand, my goal is to continue offering quality products & have fun doing it.

Finalists will be announced on Friday, September 7th.  Keep your fingers crossed and say a prayer for Kathy's Cozies!

You can see my whole entry here.  Stop by and leave a comment for me.  :)

Hugs,

Kathy