Happy Holidays

Wishing you a blessed holiday season!! Enjoy the time with family and friends!

Embellish an Apron Tutorial

Either aprons are making a comeback or I'm just starting to notice them for some reason. When I'm out shopping, it seems I see the most amazing aprons being made with lots of ruffles, fabrics being combined in interesting ways and a variety of embellishments. Recently I was in Anthropologie and really got inspired by all the lovelies I saw. Heck, it might entice this non-cooker to do some cooking! It was just prior to Thanksgiving and I decided that our hostess with the mostest (aka Mom) needed a little gift as a thank you for continually opening up her home and hosting all the kids and grandkids. If you are heading to someone's home this holiday season, this would be a super easy and fun project to take on. I did this with my kids!

1. First we found an already assembled apron from Hobby Lobby. We loved the Zebra print
2. Next we had to decide how we were going to embellish it. Since I was doing this with my kids, we figured we'd just keep it fairly simple. We went over to the trim section and grabbed some hot pink ruffle trim.
3. All we did was put our machine on straight stitch and added it along the top. (hard huh?)
4. Then I wanted to add a fabric rosette and some bling. These roses are so fun to make. Grab your glue gun and go to it! I wanted to use all the colors so I combined a black and white print along with the berry colored fabric and then added a big rhinestone to the center. I just pinned this on since presumably this will need to be washed! Don't want to make your own fabric rose embellishment? Just grab a pre-made one and hot glue a bit of bling to the center. You can find these at Hobby Lobby, Joann's, Michael's etc.
5. Not quite done because I wanted a little more color. One of my girls said, let's add an L. Laverne and Shirley popped into my head with that big cursive L. A regular print L just wasn't going to have enough ummpff so cursive it was. Laverne, we are bringing your big cursive L back! We created our template, added that L and that's it, we were done!

Pretty cute cook huh?

Hope your Thanksgiving was a blessed one and don't forget to kiss the cook!

Handmade Coaster Tutorial - Fun one with the kids!!

I'm getting a headstart this year on doing some gifts! I shouldn't post to the blog, going to be a bit of a spoiler for some of you in my life, but oh well, here goes! We did these yesterday and I really loved how they turned out so wanted to share how to create these coasters. If you are on a budget this year this is a great thing to try! Better yet, if you like making something where your kids can lend a hand as well, this is the perfect project.

***click on any photo to see them enlarged***



Here's what you'll need

* a set of 4" tiles - I grabbed a pack of the tumbled tiles from Home Depot - I prefer the look of the tumbled ones
* Staz on Ink Pad - whatever colors you like
* Rubber Stamps
* Clear Satin enamel spray to seal (not shown in this pic, you'll see what can I used later in this tutorial)
* Felt or cork stick on surface guards (i used 3/8") (photo'd and shown later in this tutorial)




First start by just wiping the tiles clean with a damp cloth so they are ready for you to put your design on. I experimented with what I wanted to put on my tiles on a piece of paper. For this particular set, I have a friend who is a HUGE New Orleans Saints fan, hmmm, these might be perfect in her house! There are so many fun rubber stamps out there for you to be creative with. For my set I chose a swirly pattern for a background and then overlayed it with my fleur de lis stamp. You could choose a smaller print and just do a repeated stamp across the tile. Place the stamp randomly where sometimes only half of it is seen along the sides or corners, it looks pretty! Another idea might be to put some words or an initial in the center and then stamp the 4 corners with something giving it a border. Just use your imagination and experiment on a piece of paper before the tile so you can see what direction you want to go. If you were more ambitious, you could also get stencils for a pretty pattern and just use a block rubber stamp to fill in the design with the ink.

My son is 5 (there he is pictured above in action) and he helped me with these so even the young ones can get in on the fun of being creative!


Using the Staz On Ink, apply whatever design you like to your tile. Be sure to press firmly with your stamp and then let dry.



Once your design is dry we need to spray a sealant on the tile. We don't want your ink to bleed so it needs a sealant. Use what brand you like, I've used a can of the Valspar clear satin spray that you can pick up at Home Depot or Walmart. Find a piece of cardboard or better yet a box and spray a coat onto the tile. Do this outside in a ventilated area. A box is best if your day is a little breezy. Now let this coat dry.


Now that they are dry, stick on your cork or felt guards to the bottom so they won't scratch the surface that they sit on.





That's it, you are done! Put them out on your side tables to use or stack them and tie up with a pretty piece of ribbon for a gift. Hope you had fun flexing those creative muscles!

Headband Tutorial

I love making things for my girls to wear in their hair and this quick project is so fun and easy that I wanted to share with my own added notes on how to assemble. Try these with your kids too. This is the perfect little project where you can share in the fun and be done in 15 minutes. We've done our school colors here and have plans for some Christmas ones as well. What a great way to use up your scraps. Here's what you'll need

***click on any photo to see them enlarged***

*6 strips of fabric about 18-20" long by 1/2" wide, 3 for each band and you can mix up the colors how you like
*I rip mine along the grain to give it the shabby edges, this is just my preference* you can also just pull along the sides to fray the edges or just cut and leave them how they are
*Your sewing machine
*6 inch piece of elastic - I use 3/8" width

1. Cut your 6 pieces of fabric in whatever prints you plan to use


2. Layer them on top of each other and stitch together


3. You can place your pieces under anything heavy to hold in place or tape it down to your surface. I choose to put my needle in the "needle down" position to hold in place and turn the strips towards me to start braiding.



4. Braid the entire length. Try to keep the print side up when braiding so that you see the colors you want shown, not the reverse side of your print. You might want to play with it for a bit so you can see if you like a tighter or looser braid.



5. Stitch your ends together then repeat with the other strips of fabric. Trim off the excess fabric from each end.



6. I turned my 2 braided pieces at a slight angle to each other then straight stitched each side together.



7. Now stitch your elastic to each end of your headband that's forming. My measurements fit my daughters head (she has a big head :-), just cut your elastic longer or shorter as needed. Because these are braids, there is a bit of give through the braid. If you really like a neat finish, you can take some bias tape and wrap it around the exposed edges on either end covering the elastic and the end of the braid and stitch that down. It won't be seen but wanted to add that note if you like things nice and neat.




8. Voila, you are ready to wear it! Try these using ribbon or even bias tape for a faster project!

Holiday Collection 2010 is here

Whether you like reds and creams, maybe throw in some black or mix it up by adding a bit of non-traditional espresso brown, we have a fun range of new holiday pieces available on Etsy now. The Holiday Collection 2010 pieces are shipping fast so if you have a family photo date that you are trying to find clothing for, just shoot me a note and I'll see if we can meet that date. We've got something for everyone! Do you have a little guy you are trying to figure out how to coordinate with the girls? We can make him a custom tie in any of our fabric prints.

Christmas coming soon....hopefully :)

Blog has been slow...just not finding the time to write lengthy entries but my blog is the best place to find links to all the places you'll find me and my favorite creative people. Check them all out ------> Their links are all over on my side bar. In the meantime, please join Facebook and you'll be sure and get all kinds of up to date info.

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL??

Boy do I love it when I hear those familiar sounds on TV indicating that it's football season and I especially love COLLEGE football. This year I thought it'd be fun to try something with a twist blending Fall design with some collegiate tie ins. Kids are huge fans too, so why not grab something fun for them to wear! Here are a couple pieces for the Longhorn or the Aggie fan. I never thought I'd take time out of my day creating something for our friends over at Texas A&M but I checked my ego at the door and I have to say, this was a super fun shoot with the girls. To see all the photos is to know how many 100's of longhorns and/or gig 'em thumbs were thrown by both throughout these pictures. If you're not an Aggie fan, I even think that piece would coordinate perfect for you Oklahoma Sooners, the Alabama Crimson Tide and many other schools. This was loads of fun, who knows, maybe some more color themes will pop up for schools! The pieces will be added shortly to my Etsy store and can easily be worn throughout the Fall season whether you want pictures in the Autumn leaves or photos at Thanksgiving. We may have paired them with college tees in these pics but you can match them however you fancy. The colors truly represent the season right in front of us. Full album of pictures are being added today with the rest of the photos on Facebook.

The skirt with a dark cranberry center does have a coordinating knot dress that goes with it if you have sisters to match. Thank you to Kristen from Kristen Duke Photography for taking some gorgeous shots for me. I've had this lucky opportunity to continue to meet amazingly talented folks here in the Austin area. Love your work Kristin! Check out her daughter, isn't she precious?

I've been neglectful of the blog!

but I promise I'll be back :-) Just seem to have moved over to Facebook and have been using that tool more and more these days! When my kids are back in school and time allows it, I'll hop back over here on a more regular basis. Fall collections are in the works, lots of stuff will be coming along and I'm sure I'll have plenty to write. In the meantime, I'm slowly sharing some sneak peeks of some Fall pieces I'll be releasing late July. Full photo reveals to come soon :)

Auctions for Susana

Another online fundraiser to help a little girl who's fighting the good fight each and every day. All across the country, I know people are praying her name. Susana is a precious 4-year-old girl who was diagnosed with neuroblastoma on April 21, 2010, which is an aggressive cancer that has already spread to her bones, liver, chest and spine. Many people in the indie design community have all donated to help this family as they charge forward through this. I've started following her families journies, their entries on Susana and their missionary efforts. I'm humbled and inspired by these amazing and faithful people. You can find a list of items being donated here and they will go live tonight on ebay for 10 days. I've donated my Summer Bloom knot dress shown in todays blog entry. When the links are all active, I'll link them on facebook :-)

It's Good to Give

My Mom and Dad taught us that from a young age, it's good to give! From as early as I can remember, they got us those little envelopes from the church and made us kids give a portion of our allowance to the poor each week at church. Oh it was agonizing as a kid to turn over what little we had to people we didn't even know. Fast forward 40 years later, I'm grateful those lessons were taught to me. I received an email from Heather from Fabulous Fun Finds who I became acquainted with a while back when she and I did a review and giveaway for my store. The unimaginable has happened to her sisters family, they lost their sweet baby Hailey to SIDS.


When I read the story, like any mother, the tears appeared instantly. My thoughts went to my own children, how precious the time with them is. Heather asked if I'd be willing to donate an item to the Hailey Angel Project and of course my response was yes. The readers voted and selected what out of my store we are putting in the auction and we are auctioning off the Bella Skirt/Sash and Rhinestone slide.
These 3 pieces have a retail value of $48. It might be nearing 100 degrees in your part of the country but it's a super cute skirt that my own daughter has been known to wear year round opting for a tank in the Summer. The Bella Collection was my best selling collection last Fall.

I'm happy to be apart of this auction as her sister and her husband start this new journey rebuilding her life alongside her husband and raising money for unexpected bills, SIDS research and other families who grieve from the loss of a child. Heather has built quite a fanbase because she has great taste and able to find those neat pieces out on the internet. So many of her past vendors have also stepped up to help her with this fundraiser. Lots of items to suit anyones tastes so take a looksie and know that you are helping out someone truly in need. Blessings :-)

Proud to be an American!

Yep, just like the title reads, I am so proud to be an American! Unless it's football season and the Longhorns are in it to win it, these are colors we'd choose to wear year round and without a doubt come on full tilt this time of year. It's the season of parades and picnics, swimming and watermelon seed spitting contests and of course celebrating the independence of this wonderful country and the freedoms that we have. I'm a child to the military (nope not a military brat, I don't like that phrase, why the word brat someone tell me?) We moved a lot growing up and I know first hand the sacrifices our military men and women as well as their families make for us. I tip my hat to those folks that have the courage to enlist and protect our freedoms. It's a household deal, I know that! I'm grateful for the spouses who stoically keep the family trekking along. Even in lifes best case scenario, we know that just ain't easy!

This set is available for purchase in my Etsy store but I am kicking things off by giving the complete set away for free. (photo'd with a pettiskirt underneath to show fullness, sorry that's not included) Do you know a little girl that would be perfect for this? Send her my way and share the love! It's easy, all you need to do is become a fan of La*tee*da*kids on Facebook and leave a comment under this post on the facebook page. If you don't have Facebook, do you Twitter? Twitter this post for a chance. If you don't have either of these, then simply leave a comment here on the blog in the comments section. I will randomly pick a winner in a week from the random # generator. Sizes offered will be 2-8. This giveaway is available to US residents only and of course any military personnel with an APO address.

Huge thank you to Holly and Peyton for photos.

Want to Pay it Forward? Read on about Beyond the Lights

On Friday May 14, 2010, Brad Leland and Kyle Chandler, stars from the television series Friday Night Lights, will be hosting the Third Annual Beyond The Lights Golf Classic being held at Wolfdancer Golf Club at the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa . Team Steiner (yep, that's us) shown in the photo has stepped up to volunteer for the weekend. Proceeds from this tournament go to benefit two charities, Gridiron Heroes Spinal Cord Injury Foundation and the Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis.

I am super excited to be a part of this local event being put on right here in Austin, TX. It's the annual Beyond The Lights Celebrity Golf Classic. My husband is going to be golfing (didn't take too much twisting of his arm since he eats, sleeps and breathes the sport :) and I will be donating a gift certificate for my store to be part of the silent auction the night of the big party. I've seen a list of some of the items to be donated, looks like it's going to be a FUN night with all kinds of items to bid on both in a silent and live auction format with the proceeds going to charity. If you are a local business or organization and are interested in sponsoring a hole, donating a gift certificate or an item? It's not too late! If you want to sign up to golf, they have some spots open. Along with the popular Friday Nights Lights guys, they have verbal commitments from both Tony Romo and Roy Williams to come out and swing their clubs and Mack Brown to attend the pairings party.

The success of the tournament relies on the generosity of community leaders, businesses and caring individuals. Without the assistance of Gridiron Heroes and the Buoniconti Fund, many of those paralyzed would have little hope. Do you Twitter or have a Facebook business page? Please share the information so we can make this years tournament a huge success!

For additional information, please feel free to visit the website, you can email me at lateedakids@gmail.com or call 512-266-0643 and find out how you can help. Let's Pay it Forward and have some fun while we're at it! If you've never been to the Hyatt Lost Pines Resort, this would be a great time to check it out. They will have plenty to do for the entire family. Bring them all!

I love organization...especially when it's cute!

First off, I should start by saying someone ought to begin by monitoring my trips to Target! Wow, I can't seem to get out of that store without dropping a lot of $$. Today's trip was actually for a bottle of Motrin for one of my sick ones home with me today. I should know, a trip into Target is never just for the single item I walked in for :-) Spring is definitely in the air as I was admiring all the fun things they are lining the shelves with. I love all the bright colors that remind you that poolside parties are just around the corner. I saw these fun utensil caddies in all different colors. I grabbed my favorite color red already knowing exactly what mine was going to be used for. My sewing room can be quite a disaster zone at times. I've got things stored all over the place and have collected quite the number of tools(yes, we females have tools) attachments, fabric pens, rulers and more. I thought this would be the perfect way to store them. I loved that it had some height to it so my scissors didn't go toppling over and the individual compartments made space for lots of things. I grabbed one of my stickers designed and made by my good friend Cathy and added it to the front to personalize it. So, if you are in the same mood to Spring Clean and brighten things up in your own design center, these silverware caddies are great. Now my girls want one for their room for all their art gear.

Photo Shoot with Vodka...

I guess that title might need a little explaining! I am fresh off of a wonderful Spring Break vacation and ready to get back to things. I've had this one piece done forever and have never gotten around to getting it photographed. Since we're still off from school, I grabbed my kids and announce we needed to grab a few pics. Their reward? I'll let them download a few more games on my iPhone. It seems that little device holds a lot of power in the house these days and minimizes their complaints when promised a few more 99 cent apps. I've found a little spot that has the color siding that I absolutely love. It happens to be a drive thru liquor store. Well, one can't be picky with locations :-) It happens to be the color I love. I park, ask the guy if we can do some photos and he tells us an unenthusiastic "sure." While we're doing our pics, what looks like a wolf walks our way. He's no doubt the guard dog and definitely a scary looking fellow. One husky blue eye, one hazel colored eye. My daughter is tensing up and I yell to the attendant is the dog friendly and what is his name hoping he'll call him away. He grumbles that his name is "VODKA" Well how appropriate! He watched over us the rest of our stay. He may have looked like a wolf, turns out he's sweet as sugar. We got our photos with my favorite red background and made a new friend in Vodka the dog. You can find these double ruffle capris on Etsy now.

Brand new eBook...Ruffle Pants

Big ruffle capri pants were some of my favorite things to put on my girls when they were little. Easy to move around and play in, perfect for them to get up and down all on their own. We all know the importance of wearing something that has your little one saying "I do myself!" Whether she's getting dressed, heading to playgroup or potty training, these capris are the perfect choice. I've written an eBook that is a step by step tutorial on how to make them complete with lots of color photographs. You can find this currently in my Etsy Store. The basic tutorial is for single ruffle capris but I have also included some additional notes on how to make double ruffles. Double ruffles are fun to make when you want to add just a bit more color, another layer or play up the colors of a holiday like Christmas, July 4th and more. The options are endless for what you can make for you little one.

I've confirmed it....40's are fabulous!!

Wow, what a busy start to 2010 it's been and so far all indicators point to a really great year! Last weekend I celebrated a milestone, I joined the 40 year old club. Boy, that snuck up fast!! My dear hubby started planning a surprise party months ago with the help of my sister and a few sly friends of mine. We enjoyed a super night of music, food, drinks and a whole lot of dancing! Several days later, I think my legs might finally feel normal again. Here's me and the man behind the scenes who supports the constant chaos in our house. The late nights, the bolts of fabric all over the place, bins stored here and there full of blank t-shirts, the last minute requests to watch one of the kids while I run out for a photo shoot that needed to get done yesterday. Sometimes it's not pretty and I can feel the age of my brain with a ton of pots on the burner but I love what I do and better yet, love who's by my side. I feel blessed to have this guy who is my biggest supporter out there!

Spring Collections are here

We've hit our record lows here in Texas but I've got my sights set on things that say Spring and warmer temps! One of my favorite guys (the UPS man) finally delivered a whole bunch of my favorite new fabrics and I am all set. The EVA Collection has been listed and I was so thrilled to see the new pieces come to life as we worked with a few new models in the area to get the photos done with Scott. This little girl is the sweetest, the kind you just want to take a bite out of! I have more plans for this fabric so there will be more pieces coming.

I have had an inquiry about substituting the pony print on the skirt or dress from this collection for something else. I welcome emails like this and happy to offer ideas. I have many prints and colors on hand if you'd like to keep the romantic feel but not finish it off with the pony print. Simply send me a note directly or through my STORE and that's how we start. It's the fun of custom clothing!