Grand Opening!!!!!

I am so excited to say that I am going to open up shop on Etsy in May! I don't want to open up with just a few things, so I am going to be working my booty off the next couple of weeks, so that I can stock my store with lots of goodies!!!!! So, be on the lookout in the next couple of weeks for sneak previews!

Here is my first little preview! My very own clothing tag!!!! YAY!!!! I love it!

Drooling

No, I am not literally drooling on myself! While rocking Gracie for a nap, I started online "window" shopping for sewing machines, and I found one I LOVE! I am not sure why I torture myself, because, I know I can't get it! I am starting to outgrow mine, and would really love one that does decorative stitching. Maybe someday soon.

Anyway, here is a link to my dream machine!

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_02019233000P?keyword=all+kenmore+sewing+machines

Bows, bows, and more bows

I have a huge headache, and I stayed up late (making bows, of course). Anyway, I am so tired, so I am not going to bore you with a bunch of verbage. LOL! I will write some interesting stuff sometime soon. I promise!


First are some bows I made to take to the booth I have set up at a children's resale boutique in town. Most of these are just simple little bows.


This is a bow I made Grace to go with a little $5 dress from Walmart. It has stripes in these colors.


And this bow looks crazy, I know, but the outfit has all these colors in it! How could I pick just one of those colors to make a bow with? LOL


And here is the very colorful outfit the bow was made for.

Train Ride

Believe it or not, I don't just sew and make bows and tutus. On Sunday, which was a beautiful day, we took the kids to the park. At the park, is a mini train, and G loves to ride the train. Too bad it isn't free. So, the first thing we did when we got there was ride the train. After the train ride, we walked up to the paddle boat area and decided to let the kids ride the paddle boat. We let the older three go alone, while S and I took one out with G. She hadn't had a nap all day, and she was doing great at first. She loved the water and the geese, but once we caught up to her brother and sisters, she had a major meltdown! She wanted in the paddle boat with them. So, there S and I are trying to calm her down, keep her in the paddleboat and paddle back to the dock. Whew! It was a workout for me. The older kids had a blast with minimal arguing. Over all, it was a nice afternoon at the park. At least we survived G's meltdown!

On the train (before the meltdown)

Tutu Night

I have a little booth in a childrens' store where I sell bows, tutus, and wipe cases. I went in to check and see if I needed to do some stocking, and I had a special request for a pink and white tutu. So, I made it tonight, and thought I would share it. I love tutus. I just wish G would put them on for me every now and then, but it is WWIII if we try to slip one on her.

Anyway, here is my special request tutu. (Sorry. The picture quality kind of stinks. It is late, and the lighting is too dark.)

T-shirt to Infant Gown

I ran across this tutorial with a pattern on turning t-shirts into infant gowns. Of course, it could be used on material, too. However, upcycling your t-shirts is so frugal and cool at the same time. The directions were very easy to follow, and the gown took me about half an hour start to finish. I think it turned out pretty good. Although, I think I would prefer the neckline to be serged instead of zig zagged. I can't wait to do more!

Here is a link to the pattern and tutorial:
http://thismamamakesstuff.com/2008/08/tutorial-t-shirt-to-newborn-gown/

And here is my first t-shirt turned gown. *Note - I used a women's large shirt, and there wasn't enough material for the sleeves. I had to cut into another shirt for the sleeves. So, I think to make it with all of the material the same, you definitely need to use a Men's large.*

Stacked Easter Bow

My quick project for today was making an Easter bow to go with G's easter shirt. It is a middle spike 5 inch stacked bow. I am not posting a complete tutorial on it, but I will post a picture of each individual bow, and how they are layered. These are my favorite bows!

Ok, here is the shirt that NEEDED a matching bow! ;)


I started with my base (bottom and top) bows. I made two twisted boutique bows in 7/8 in. ribbon


Then, I made the surrounding loops.


After the surrounding loops, I made the spikes


When, the layers were all done, I sprayed them with starch and baked them at 225 degrees for 15 minutes. Starching and baking helps them keep their shape for a really long time.


While they were baking, I whipped a quick little bow for another shirt that NEEDED a bow, too! I had to utilize the 15 minutes anyway!


Ok, so back to the original bow. After it was done baking, I attached each layer to the other starting with the pink twisted bow as the bottom base, then, the spikes. After the spikes, I attached the surrounding loops. On top, I attached the yellow twisted boutique bow.



Then, I lined a single prong alligator clip, glue gunned the bow to the clip, and attached the center ( a cute little orange easter egg)


All Done!!!!!


and a closer view