Finding Us

It has been a crazy year...

We've received many phone calls and emails asking:

WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR SITE?????

The answer is...

ToteAndBrag.com the domain name was stolen from us.

Actually, someone bought out the domain name the second it became available.

Apparently, we were doing well building our business. We spent many hours and many sleepless nights researching and building www.ToteandBrag.com. We attended several conventions to obtain great products. We had several great people preparing newsletters. We were not a large company, but we had lots of heart and took pride in our company. We offered personalized service. Although we had a web presence, we really enjoyed working directly with clients from children to the elderly.

Although we lost our web presence, we are still here! We have great merchandise and hope to rebuild our web store soon!

Back to Basics

Times are tough. The economy is weak. Yet, we still need things. We still want to enjoy our lives and our families. We want to give gifts that are meaningful. We want to be able to teach or learn new crafts. It's time to simplify our lives and enjoy what really means the most to us.
That's what www.ToteandBrag.com is all about.
De-clutter your space:
Go through your closets, drawers, kitchen, garage, etc. Separate out things to donate, throw out and keep. What's left needs to be organized. Have you ever looked at the ComEd workers or plumbers? They carry totebags similar to what we have at www.ToteandBrag.com. OK, it's true. I haven't seen any men carrying pink totebags, however, the design is similar. I have even noticed that carpenters are using tools that are very similar to the tools that I have in my craft totebag. I use a punch to make holes in paper, felt, cardstock...Carpenters now have a tool that punches a hole in wood so that the carpenter can use this to start the screw. My point is that all of their necessary tools are located in one space- their dedicated totebag. They grab the totebag and go. Use the totebag to carry all of your haircare products or skincare products. Use another one and fill it with cleaning products. I have one that is filled with all of my cake and cookie decorating necessities. I had taken a Wilton cake decorating class and now I make all of the desserts and goodies for all kinds of events. I am a big hit at my daughter's preschool because of the wonderful cupcakes and cookies that I bring to her school. I have all sorts of sprinkles, food colorings, bakings tools, fondant tools, spatulas, and cookie cutters all in one totebag. Before I organized all of my baking needs were just scattered on the shelf. I had to take everything out just to find one small bottle of almond extract.
I really like the metro keepsake box because I put all of my girls hair accessories in one easy to use and store container. The keepsake box is filled with various sizes of smaller boxes. What we have done is used individual boxes and filled them with similar items: hair clips in one, rubber bands in another, ribbons in another, and so on. I have used my label maker to label the individual boxes. I have used this opportunity to start teaching my girls how to read. Plus, using this method, my girls are learning to be organized at an early age. It really makes mommy's life so much easier than running around looking for just the right bow to match the outfit.
I have noticed that hair bows can be really expensive. Especially, if there is a family of all girls. I have started making my own hair bows. I purchase various ribbons and packages of hairclips. Using a glue gun and thread or wire I have made some really cool hair bows. But the ribbon was starting to unroll off the spool and the drawer was getting too messy. My littlest one got into the drawer and ribbons were everywhere. I have since organized the spools of ribbon and placed them into various ribbon boxes. Wow, does that look better. Plus, I can now utilize the empty drawer for other things.
My favorite idea is the memory book. I too have fallen into the trap of taking tons of pictures in hopes of having everything miraculously put together into a fabulous memory book. Let's be real. I have pictures and picture CD's everywhere. From now on, every time I develop some pictures or save them on a disc, I immediately place them into a photo box. I am taking the time to label each box. Whenever possible, I also add some journal blocks to help me remember certain quotes, people or places. Face it. Our memory isn't as great as we think it is. At least mine isn't. I have vowed to take time at least one day a month (although I'm hoping for once a week) to work on my memory book. My goal is to have a book for each year of my children's life. I have at times pulled a picture or two and used it for gift cards. A really cute one I made for my mother's birthday had pictures of her grandchildren and a pretty little bow that I had made. For mother's day, my girls and I plan on making coasters for grandma using pictures of the girls and jar lids.
Basically, what I'm getting at is if your home is organized it helps your imagination and ideas flow. For a small amount of money you can have a real big impact.

UPDATE:

Advantus, the company that owns AMM (All My Memories) has decided to stop caryying the Vituri Urban Line. This is puzzling. I know that they had some manufacturing problems with the line, but it always sold well. The Vituri Urban purses were very popular. This was my personal favorite. I always had pictures of my children on hand and the purse just had all the right pockets and loops for all my stuff. I didn't have to dig for anything. But I'm just one person...I can offer my opinion, but that's it.
It's really different with this company. My regular salesperson has left the company. Now I'm left to figure out stuff on my own. It's difficult when I don't get updates on merchandise new and discontinued. Advantus seems to be getting away from the handbags and camera bags all together. I do like that they do the various totes and storage, but the uniqueness seems to be gone.
I'm looking for other handbag options that our customers are looking for. I have many ideas of my own, however, I need to find a manufacturer to make a quality product at an affordable price. If anyone out there knows of someone who can manufacture handbags, I have the designs. Send me an email: toteandbrag@gmail.com.
I'm feeling cranky today, that's why I'm staying off facebook, so I think I'll stop now before I write something I shouldn't. Thanks for letting me vent a little.

HSM and Hannah Montana

Who hasn't heard of the Disney Channel and:
High School Musical and Hannah Montana!
PLAID has come out with clear stamps featuring HSM characters and Hannah Montana housed in a CD case. I was so excited when I saw these clear stamps at the CHA convention. My daughters enjoy watching these Disney shows. What's so fabulous is that we can make our own crafts now using these stamps.
All the characters from High School Musical are featured: Troy Bolton, Gabriella, Sharpay, Wildcats, and the catch phrases they used.
Hannah Montana stamps show Miley Cyrus in various poses along with catch phrases and guitars.
Both sets are great for all ages. My little ones just giggle making their own scenes and putting the phrases onto their back backs. My older girl (she's 14) is too cool for HSM and Hannah Montana (although she does watch the shows), she got into the guitars and other phrases. We used fabric paints and permanent ink to stamp her school bag. She just started high school and she wanted to wait until school started to see what everyone else is wearing before she'd buy anything new. Personally, that concerned me and disappointed me. I know that it's important to fit in, but it's a shame that she feels that she needs to "blend in". After a few days of high school, she said that most people are quite boring. The only people that stand out, really stand out: multi-colored spiked hair, piercings, etc. This weekend we bought several t-shirts and some new jeans. We are decorating them using the Disney stamps pads. She's really into guitars so we are using silver, gold and bronze fabric paints and we are stamping the shirts and jeans. I am so happy that she is getting more creative and trying to show her personality. We will not go over board, she is a teenager and still trying to find her identity, but she does like to get compliments.
What's also great is that these clear stamps come in a CD case. Besides being easy to carry and organize, you can use the CD case as the stamping block. Just pull out some markers, pull off the clear stamp you'd like to use and place it onto the CD case and stamp on anything! What can be easier? Wipe it clean with a wet paper towel. These stamps do not take up much space. Use them anywhere. I've added a few of the Disney Clear stamp CD cases to my Tote-Ally Cool Shoulder Bag. I've talked about this shoulder bag before. It's fabulous with the removable mesh pockets. I keep it filled with various supplies. Having two little girls, I need to keep them entertained. So now I keep the following items inside: snacks (lately it's Yogos), kleenex, lipgloss, crayons and markers, blank paper and coloring books, books, and 4 clear stamp CD cases, and clay or Play Doh. Wherever I go, I take this tote-ally cool shoulder bag. It zippers close, it's trendy and I am always ready. Maybe some of you have small children that sit still for a long time; I don't.

Latest News

Here's the latest from Advantus the company that makes all the AMM products.
They are eliminating camera bags. I was really shocked by this news. The camera bags have been great sellers. They are really cute and functional. At www.toteandbrag.com we'll have to find a different vendor. So basically, whatever is currently in stock is all that there is.
The blue tote-ally cool 3 bags are also being eliminated. The pink is being produced.
Vituri Lifestyles will only be available in the oatmeal color both regular size and demi. We currently have all the colors in stock with matching wallets but once they are sold out we will not be able to replenish any of the colors except for oatmeal (which is really cute).
The Tote lite collection will be shipped out in September. Tote lite is made from a different material, nylon instead of the canvas.
For a limited time only, AMM is coming out with some really hip handbags: Vituri Urban in Patent leather. They are hot! Available in black patent leather and red patent leather. They will be available for the holidays. Matching wallets will be sold as a set. Did I mention they are really hot?
Check back for more updates.

Product Updates

I attended the first day of CHA (Craft and Hobby Association). My first stop was with my suppliers: Advantus, Provo Craft and Notions.
Here's the latest news:
AMM is selling off all the camera bags. They are not planning on carring camera bags any longer. I told them that they have been quite popular with our store. They may revisit the idea next year. I have ordered what I could, however, once they sell out that's it!
AMM is coming out with a limited edition patent leather bag available in black and red for the holidays. I'll post more about this later.
The new AMM Tote Lite collection is scheduled to arrive September 1st. The tote lite collection includes a lighter tote available in two popular colors: raspberry and black. The tote is made of a nylon material instead of the canvas. It cleans up nicely. Also, it is slightly shorter than its predeccessors Tote-Ally Cool and Tote-Ally Cool 2. There is no carousel hence making the tote lighter. The other two new items are fabulous. They are both available in black with an accent of color. Both are made out of the nylon material. The shoulder tote has ample storage space and pockets for larger tools. The folio is great. It has a side that opens up for easy access to materials when you're sitting at a table. Set the folio on the table and access items from the top or open the front which lays flat to access the entire folio.
Lastly, AMM will only be producing the Vituri Lifestyles Handbags in Oatmeal. They are selling out the other colors: sage, blush, brown and black. They say that AMM has other items in the works but they have not released that information.

BACK TO SCHOOL

LOOK COOL GOING BACK TO SCHOOL!

We have added some really cool bags at www.ToteandBrag.com. Skull Messenger Bags, Animal print messenger bags and backpacks and a fun zipper purse.

No matter what your age there is a messenger bag or backpack to fit your style. The skull messenger bag is a favorite of both boys and girls. Someone I know embellished the bag with glue-on rhinestones to add her own flair. It really looks great.

Animal prints are in style. The pink leapord backpack is a favorite of the "Cheetah Girls" fans. If you really want to get noticed then the tiger print backpack is for you.

A really neat bag is the zipper bag. It's a small bag until you need something larger. Unzip the zipper and the bag transforms into a shoulder tote. This is a must have! Great for travel too. How many times have you gone on vacation and purchased too many souvenirs? Or gone out with your kids and somehow accumulated more things than you left with? Now you can just unzip the zipper bag and you have a great handy tote. It's also great to take to the market. The zipper bag makes for a great gift too.