A new spot on Facebook

I think I finally found the correct spot on Facebook for my business to be listed! Facebook doesn't make it easy to navigate around for the average user trying to create business page. With any luck, this is the correct place and hopefully I filled out the applications correctly to have the blog feed directly there. To go directly to the page, click the photo below. If you are a member on facebook, you can click "become a fan" and you'll be all set. Thank you so much to those who have clicked, others have found me as a result and it's pretty exciting.

I've got new fabrics coming in and hoping to piece together new ideas in the coming weeks!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

We are so blessed that we now live in Texas where it's possible to celebrate Thanksgiving with both sides of our family all at one time. Tomorrow, all of the hungry mouths will be coming to our house to give thanks. We are thrilled we can open up our home, have all of our family here with us, and I'm knee deep in preparation for tomorrow. I'm no floral designer but I wanted to try my hand at a centerpiece for the dining room. I played around with this for a while, shifting things around til I found something I was happy with and Voila! The table is set, we've pulled out the china and are looking forward to filling our bellies! I wish everyone a Wonderful Thanksgiving this year.

I can't believe I'm starting to pull these out

Yep, I've started putting away my Fall/Winter fabrics and replacing those fabric bins with the ones that hold the bright and fresh colored fabric for Spring. I'm not really ready for it but we're heading into the cold weather and sewing is a great activity to do during those indoor days. My 2 best assistants are home from school so why not tap into their brains and see what combinations catch their eye. Here's just a quick glimpse of what my all-purpose sewing room even looks like. Isn't the creative process grand? I have no real method to my madness except dumping it all out, seeing what I still have that I've forgotten about and trying to pull some ideas together with the new fabrics I've got coming in. Anyone feel like playing U Design it? Peek through my photo which is just a small display of possible fabrics! Matt thought he'd join me in my room and try to put together an apron skirt for me and quickly learned that it's not as easy as it looks. If you go the matchy route, it follows a pretty simple formula, if you decide to take the "pair random fabric collections and patterns together" it's not as random as you might think but very thought out. He rearranged things and piled different patterns on top of each other in a variety of ways and I still don't know if he settled on what will go where. We'll debut his first piece soon :) I think that's the start of it in the lower right corner of this photo.

Getting reacquainted with a favorite pastime craft!!!

A friend of mine is wonderfully inventive at keeping her kids entertained by scouring the Family Fun magazine and the local stores for activities that register high on the fun factor scale. She tasked all of the girls in our troop to make swaps for our recent camping trip and we did SHRINKY DINKS! Oh did this take me back to being a kid and the magic of this activity hasn't lessened. My kids had so much fun and T had equal amounts of fun at the tender age of the 3 as the girls did. We are often in Hobby Lobby so bought a package of the Shrinky Dink paper and went to town. I honestly didn't know this stuff still existed! We cut a variety of shapes out, decorated them with phrases and pictures and the real fun is had watching them while in the oven shrink, curl up at the edges, then flatten back out to their final size and shape. I forgot how much fun this was and after a few more ideas thrown at us by our troop leader Mrs J, we're going to make some charms for necklaces, ornaments for the tree and whatever else they dream up. So if you find yourself heading into the holidays wondering what list of activities to do with the kids while they're home from school, we can offer unanimous feedback from our house. Shrinkydinks are BIG fun! Biggest hurdle is fighting for a good spot at the oven window. Get a pack of paper and then some fine tip sharpies and you're on your way. If you want to make ornaments, make sure to get a hole punch and punch a hole in them before you shrink them so that little wire will have a spot to be fed through.

A camping we will go...

or I suppose it should say we went! I've been out of pocket since I went with my oldest daughters girl scout troop camping. It was a nice change of pace even though I freely admit, I enjoy bathtubs, my Sealy mattress along with central air and heat. As far as camping is concerned, this is my dream, log cabins not tents!!! They were great accomodations with lots of memories and fun had by everyone. We're all home, back to the daily routine of life and I'm really thinking about the holidays now. I'm taking just a quick short break from "sewing for hire" so that my kids might have a few things themselves. They often wonder why the kids of a mom who sews don't have of the clothes she makes! That's a hard one to argue so we're going to get some things done for them this next week or so.

A new Holiday twirl

Added something on ebay tonight in some more traditional Christmas colors. You can find the listing HERE. Fun, Festive and lots of twirl!

Oldie but Goodie one last time

added on Etsy. Cheeky Santa is back one more time. He is just adorable! I know I'm biased, sort of like a mom about her own kids :) You know you want it for your trip to Santa! My brain is shifting to some new fabrics this week since this week is a bit more normal paced so hopefully I'll be able to post some new sneak peeks. Looking forward to the monotony of routine. I'm like a toddler, I crave a bit of routine paired with a little one on one time with my Bernina machine.

The Design Group I belong to is giving away a Petti!

I'm a member of a sewing design group, The Girlfriends Manor, and we're giving one of these away!
If you've never had one, they are ridiculously fun for photo shoots! We had them last year for our X-mas photos and just loved them. If you've ever wanted to take some photos you'll cherish for a lifetime that have a special punch of fun, these are perfect to wear. I've seen so many gorgeous photos of girls on the beach in the white ones, the red ones during the holidays or at Valentines or just any fun occasion! You can check out some of the professional photos at Oopsy Daisy's site. All you need to do is go to The Girlfriends Manor Blog to leave a comment and you also need to be an active subscriber to the mailing list! Once that's done, you're entered to win, good luck!

Happiness from Hong Kong

My post office is a long enough trek to get that it's annoying to have to make a special trip. Apparently I had something that needed a signature on it and since I wasn't home the first time they attempted to deliver, they sent it back to the Post Office who was ready to send it back to my friends in Hong Kong. Yep, I took the plunge, I got labels!! I feel a little more official. I know, small thrills in life but that was about it for tonight. Pretty soon my customs will be going out tagged and labeled. These aren't your grandmothers homemade clothes :)

Okay, so I couldn't wait, pulled out some of the samples that we keep in our own closets and added the first label.

Polka Dots.......more of them!

and I think I'm starting to see spots! We're in the South, so it takes a while for our cool weather to finally hit where we then officially retire the shorts and tees. We're getting some blasts of chilly Fall here and there so we're putting the warmer clothing into the closets, trying things on, and seeing what we've got that needs a mate! This tee from Mini Boden this year asked for something other than jeans so here we are! We just added this new one to Etsy today and relisted the brown one. I'm all caught up on the orders from that style and offering it one more time :) These are custom orders to get a perfect fit for your little one! M wanted to put her pink lo-top Converse with this but since I'm talking cold weather (even though it's 80 here as I type) we photo'd with some fun, furry boots.

I met McDreamy last night....

...isn't he sweet? Ever since I gained my married last name, I've heard the phrase, "Dr Livingston I presume" and my kids do too. T decided he was going to be a doctor this Halloween and I think he makes a fine physician. After watching Grey's Anatomy last night, I've decided the real McDreamy is under my own roof. We're allowed to be smitten with our own kids right? Well watch out if you see us Halloween night, he's giving everyone flu shots and has a very large syringe :) We had delusions of all these cool costumes made by mom but when we visited the store, the kids had too much fun picking out their own. I guess it's the American way, why wait for something when you can have it right now and my kids are no different. More pics to follow as we finish off Batgirl's costume and our very own Hannah Montana.

Polka Dots - It's my love language

Yes, I just never tire of them and M let me snap a few photos today. This is a new twirl skirt and has been added to my Etsy store as of today and it matches to everything. Brown is for kids like black is for adults! Available in custom size 2-8 yrs. We paired it for photos with a few of our Mini Boden tees that we had on hand and really liked these combos. My 2 young assistants both gave it the thumbs up so I know it's passed the most critical test in my house :) Happy Hump Day!

M2M Gymboree Sweeter than Chocolate Twirl Skirt

Here's the tiered twirly skirt that matches to so much you probably already have in her closet! So simple, yet so versatile. I saw the new Gymboree Line, Sweeter than Chocolate come out, and I knew I wanted to make something to match. This skirt matches to so many of the tee's from this line as well as some of the Mini Boden tees from the Fall/Winter lines this year. I can't wait to get a few modeled photos but for now, since it's late night and my model is getting some shuteye, these will suffice. The horse tee is from Mini Boden this year. They've also got a large flower tee as well that this would look fabulous. Add some fun tall boots and she's set for Winter! This will be sent to Etsy soon!

Ruffles on etsy

I had some fabric gone missing which required me to dump out every bin of fabric I owned in search of it. It never turned up but the outcome of this was me getting reacquainted with some old loves. I found the remains of some chocolate brown cord with pink polka dots and had enough to make a single pair of ruffles. They are on Etsy as we speak and this will be the only pair offered as this project saw the end of this fabric. Perfect to wear with a simple brown top like we picked, or layered underneath a knot or tunic top. Of course in our house, we make most things work as an everyday item and dress it casual with a little denim thrown in. Thank you M for obliging and taking a photo for me! Elastic waist for easy on comfort!

Holiday Peppermint Treats Sneek Peaks

Have a little something for the younger girls. I've been forbidden in my house to try things on my son to check fit anymore so I'm gonna have to wait til I can find a warm little body to try this on! T, you've officially been released of any modeling responsibilities!

Ready to ship Holiday Skirt on Etsy Sz 7/8

Just click on the photo and it should take you directly to the link. I'm working in the background trying to add things each week so keep checking back for more listings.