Halloween Costumes

My cousin needed my help with a Halloween costume for her daughter and I owe her so I was happy to help her out. Her kids wanted to be the Super Mario brothers and wanted the "baby" to be Toad. She had the hat under control but the vest she needed some help with so I asked for a shirt that would fit the baby and then made the vest out of felt and ribbon.

This is a picture that she emailed me of a Toad costume and from this I knew that I could help her. I think she said she was going to make the hat out of a shower cap and red felt.
And here is what I came up with.

Originally I was going to sew the felt vest to the shirt that she sent me but it ended up being easy to make with out sewing it to the shirt and I thought she might like to use the shirt again or use the vest with another shirt.

You have seen an onesie just like this here but this one was an order from etsy that I mailed to another state. I think that it shipped just in time for the party that this baby was going to with its parents. This one you might notice looks a bit more yellow in the design and that is because I waited for the white to dry before I put the glow in the dark ink over the white. So it should glow a bit more than my try #1.

Well here you have what I was working on for Halloween! Happy Halloween

New Fabric/New Find Friday #89

I was waiting to show these two fabrics until after Homecoming and for some reason I forgot about this fabric last Friday. I found these two fabrics while shopping a month ago and I just had to get them. I know they are nothing new and maybe you have seen them before but I guess because I was in a nostaglic mood last month I was excited to pick these up.

You saw the top fabric that I used for a burp cloth here and I really like the way it turned out. It can not only be a burp cloth but also a rally towel, right!? :) The bottom fabric looks more like the new MU logos, a bit more updated. I have something planned for this fabric that I hope to show you next month.

Black and gold fabric. Go Mizzou. Is this fabric fun or cheesy?

Come, Rest, Shop

Being a first time Mom I am learning so much about what it takes to be a Mom....a lot of hard work! I have also learned that it is also one of life's greatest blessings! If you stay at home, work part time, or work full time you probably do not have any "time off" from your job as a mom. We all need a moment to ourselves once in a while, take an hour or two or three away from the kids and come join us for commodore, get in the Christmas spirit, and maybe even scratch some gifts off of that gift giving list. You would be supporting three moms with babies under one who do what they love in their spare moments.

It is only one week away! 

First Etsy Sale

 Finally after about six months of having items on Etsy I received an order! I was so excited to finally have a sale. This set of baby leggings and personalized onesie turned out pretty great! The leggings are an orange and red wide stripe and I think that color combination is great. The fabric that I paired it with is a sweet little random dot pattern, red background with multicolored dots. I think it is fun and youthful and I used it again for two other items that you will see in a few weeks.

A fun punch of color on a white onesie. Since this order I have had a few more Etsy orders, some from people that I know and others from new clients. I am so glad to meet new people even though an order. I hope they are just as happy with the finished product as I was making it for them.

I am working hard to create more things for the Etsy site and I hope to post them in November after the Boutique November 5th.

Who Wants To Win?

Well this seems crazy but I have another giveaway to tell you about this week...and maybe even another one next week. I was asked to sponsor a 1k Facebook fans giveaway with a breastfeeding cover. I made this cover just for this occasion and there are a lot of other great items up for grabs.

To win go Brandy Louise Photography's Facebook page and "like" her page. When she hits 1K fans she will randomly draw the giveaway winners. The items up for grabs are listed here on her blog. There are some very cute things that I would certainly be glad to win.

Good Luck!

Fresh Poetry Ink.

You first heard about them in this post and now I am back to show you the new tablecloth that I made for them! I was asked to make a tablecloth with their name and website on it for when they are out on the town writing poems. I thought it would be a fun challenge to work on something like this and said yes! The font I used resembled a typewriter font and the typewriters on either side I thought would add a nice touch and frame the wording.

After pricing out the fabric I decided it would be more cost effective to just buy an already made tablecloth and screen print on that. I found this light grey Ralph Lauren table cloth that was large enough for their folding table and went to town designing the font and images. We worked on sizing and made it a bit bigger than I thought in the beginning to be sure that it can be seen from across a street.

I finally finished and gave it to the owner a few weeks ago and he seemed to like it and even said it was better than he expected it to be! I hope that he still feels that way and that this ends up being a great way to attract people to his table.

As I said before you can also have them create a poem for you via their website. Check them out! http://www.freshpoetrystl.org/ 

New Fabric/New Find Friday #88

Everyone needs a few black accessories in their home and wardrobe. It seems to go with everything and I think these two fabrics are going to be a great addition to my growing fabric stash.

The top fabric is a gathered gauzy fabric that was very difficult to photograph. It screams scarf to me and I have already made a few scarves out of it. I am not sure if I am going to sell them on etsy or not...still deciding.

 The second fabric is a black with white polka-dots. You can never go wrong having black and white fabrics. I think this will be used for an apron but I have yet to cut into it.

Man this post seems so boring with no color, maybe that is just because I am so excited about the Cardinal's being in the World Series that I just can not be excited about black fabric.

Bloomers

Yes the title is so original, but I just can not think of anything original today. I embroidered this set of bloomers as a gift for a new baby. This was done in the same colors as the "Poppy" bloomers from here. I like this thread color, it is pink with some coral in it making it not as bubble gum pink as you see for most baby girl items. It has some punch to it and stands out against the white bottom.

I am realizing how different my laptop screen is from my desktop screen. When loading this on my laptop the color looked fine but now as I go to post this on my desktop (without the original file) I realize how discolored the image is. I hope that you just get the idea of what these look like and look back to the "Poppy" post for a better idea of color.

I have posted these bloomers on Etsy and would be happy to work with you to create a custom item. I can do a name like shown above, an initial embroidered, an initial appliqued in fabric, or even a shape like a heart or shamrock or something like that. Please email or convo me on Etsy so we can talk about what I can create for your little girl.

Professional Student

GO MIZZOU! Homecoming was this past weekend and not only did our family enjoy time in Columbia but the Tigers crushed Iowa State! How fitting that right after this Homecoming weekend I have a Mizzou item to show you. I found this Mizzou fabric (and one other) and was so excited to make a burp cloth with it for a friend whom I met at Mizzou and is having her first baby in a month or so. Now she has a burp cloth to use with this new baby while watching football...ok or just to remember the fun times at Mizzou. I haven't actually made a burp cloth in a while so it was actually fun to do that again.

They found out that they were having a boy and did not have a name picked out so I thought it would be cute to make an oneise with a tie on it. I made the tie out of an old tie from my Father-in-law that has been sitting around the house waiting for me to make something. I made the tie short so that this onesie could be worn with pants and you can still see the bottom of the tie.

I really like the way this turned out and am all ready to make more of these onesies with the other old ties that I have. I will be posting a listing on Etsy for these very soon, a lot of the ties that I have, have a very vintage feel to them and I think it is going to be so much fun to make these. I also have a lot of different fabrics ready to go to make more burp cloths, maybe these will be part of my 30 day challenge nights- burp cloths and tie onesies. We will see. 

New Fabric/New Find Friday #87

This is a cotton print that I found on sale a few months ago and this picture does not do it justice. It is a pretty pink color with a stylized paisley in grey with areas colored in blues and light orange-yellow. I hope to show you a better picture later when I finish the project I have in mind.

 First I was thinking that I would use it for a scarf but then I realized that with a distinct pattern on the front and a solid back it might not work well for a scarf. I then saw this (see image below) and thought that is what I will do with it!! I will make a dress out of an old shirt and this fabric for the skirt and make it so that it can be also used as a maternity dress. I remember while being pregnant and right after having bee that dresses and skirts were my go to clothes because they fit so much better than anything else.

I have everything ready now I just need to figure out how to put it together. I have only made one piece of clothing for myself and that was in 8th grade and it was in a class-this should be interesting. I will not be able to work on it until after the first of the year but I will be sure to show you how it turned out when I do.

A Gift To Help Mommies

I was laying in bed last night at midnight when I realized that it was Wednesday and that I missed this post! Opps. My days are all messed up and it still feels like Wednesday today but the best news of all is that it is almost Friday!

Well there have been a lot of exciting posts this week with the Christmas Boutique info, giveaway, and now a special gift for a charity is close to my heart. Every year the local Natural Family Planning office holds a trivia night to raise money for women with infertility to help pay for adoption. Having many friends with infertility whether for a short time or on going and experiencing it a bit myself I feel for couples who want children so badly but can not have one of their own. They asked me to donate some items for the silent auction and I was happy to do so. I gave this gift basket the first year and attended the trivia night the first year. This year I can not attend but did donate these items below.

I did not have time to make as many items as I did the first year so instead I made two burp cloths, a pair of baby leggings, and a cute oneise with a cat on the front. This picture does not do them justice but they all have yellow and orange in them and they all coordinate with out matching too closely. I think this set is perfect for a boy or girl. I hope that the person that get this really enjoys it!

Here is a closer picture of the cat. I had this blue fabric with the cat already appliqued on it and I thought how cute and perfect for the oneise. I just stitched it to the onesie and I like how bold the cat is and how whimsical. 

The event is this Saturday evening and if you would still like to attend I am sure they would love to have you. You can find out more information here.

HUGE Giveaway

Fresh Art Photography, who you heard me talk about here, is doing a HUGE giveaway-32 items over the next day.

Go here to enter to win the giveaways (specify which number you would like to win if you have one in mind). Go here to view the item that I donated to the giveaway. Good luck.
Here it is...

Let me know if you win something...there are some REALLY great items.

Christmas Boutique

Please mark your Calendars for the first annual Christmas Boutique. Come join me and some friends and cross some gifts off your gift giving list.

New Fabric/New Find Friday #86

These two fabrics are a bit of a random paring. The top fabric is a leftover Christmas fabric that I found on sale a while back but I think it could go Holiday or if you love green and red together it can be used for something else. It sort of looks like bulls eyes doesn't it? Not sure yet what it will be used for but I am sure I will find something.

The bottom fabric is a fun plaid fabric that I bought so I can make it into a bow tie for my husband. I would like to try to make it for Christmas as a present but we will see if that happens. I have not made a bow tie before so this would be an interesting experiment.

I really like the plaid fabric a lot and it sounds like plaids are coming back in style...or were they in style and now they are going out?

Well tonight is day 4 of my 30 and so far I have been doing well. I have finished three items and went to bed before midnight one day...not too bad if you ask me. I hope to have more info on the Holiday Boutique posted tomorrow. Have a GREAT weekend.

A Cute Baby Set and An Announcement

Yet another friend of mine had a baby a few months ago and she is precious. It is sad to say but I do not remember bee being that small and it wasn't that long ago. I made this special little girl an initial onesie and a silky blanket with her name on it. I think they are pretty cute, I especially love the blanket! Every girl needs a little leopard in her life, a little something soft and smooth to cuddle with in bed (when she gets older and is allowed to have toys in bed with her).

The E on the oneise is done in a chocolate fabric with pink polka-dots, I played with a new font and like the feminine curves it has to it. The leopard blanket has brown flannel on the back so one side will feel warm and one side will feel cool, it will be great when she starts exploring textures. I have one more of these blankets available and will post on Etsy this week.

The announcement is that I am hosting a Holiday Boutique one month from today with two friends! I will have my items as well as two other lady friends and their items (Jewelry and Soap/lip balm/lotion bars). I will have more info in a few days and will do an entire post about it then. Please mark your calendar for Saturday November 5th, and come anytime between 10am and 2pm to do some pre-holiday shopping!

Now you know why I have to kick it into high gear and get my sewing machine buzzing! One night down 29 more to go! Oh and I also watched the new Jane Eyre movie...now to read the book. I loved it.

30 Day Challenge

I have a lot of things I want to sew and make and I seem to fiddle around on the internet at night and don't get any sewing done. Now mostly I am spending time uploading pictures and starting blog posts but I always feel like I have done nothing at the end of the night, especially when I had plans to sew after I uploaded those 10 pictures. It is all very necessary but no one tells you that uploading pictures and writing posts, that are somewhat interesting (I hope) and free of errors, takes time...time that I don't have a lot of these days.
I am always trying to balance my time and I need to do that more now with bee. I am a night owl and when I get going I get jazzed instead of tired. So I am going to set my bedtime to midnight no matter what, and earlier is always better, so that when bee wakes up in the morning I am not a grouch.

So what about the challenge you ask? Well I have a lot of things half finished and ideas I want to move on so I am going to challenge myself to make one thing a night for 30 days. Now the hard part will be finishing something before the clock strikes midnight. I have my list and I am ready to get started!!
I will of course blog about it but not until December, I have a few other posts waiting patiently in the wings and I would like to feature those first. I will also be posting new items on Etsy, as I have been working on those for a few days. So not only will I be doing the 30 day challenge of sewing every night but I will be posting to Etsy, the blog and of course Facebook.

Wish me luck!!

Candy Stripe Apron

My mother-in-law loves to support all of her children and step children, so every once in a while she will order something from me. This is the second apron that she has ordered and I always love making something for her. I don't know if you remember but I have told you before that she is a woman after my own heart having BINS AND BINS of fabric in her sewing area.
She wanted me to make an apron for a woman that she sponsors in South America. They have the same birth month and so she likes to send her a little something to celebrate her birthday. She gave me a picture of her and told me to pick fabric that I thought would look nice on her. In the picture she was wearing a teal dress and her skin was a beautiful deep tan color. I thought that this brown and blue strip apron would be something that she would like to wear and would look nice on her. It sounds like she wears an apron all day long while she is doing her chores.

Here is my sister-in-law modeling the apron for me before I gave it to my mother-in-law. This time instead of using two different fabrics I wanted to try using the same but changing the orientation of the pattern to give the contrast. I hope that her friend enjoys it. How fun to have someone like that from far away sending you items once a year. It is like having a long distance pen pal something that I always loved to have as a child.

I will be sewing a few more aprons this week, I hope to make one a night so be on the look out next month for new aprons.