Fall 'O9......The Olivia Collection Remake

One of my personal favorites last Spring/Summer was the Olivia dress. It was inspired by my friend's daughter who is all things sweet, girly and tough all wrapped up in one little body. Upon arriving in Texas, she immediately got her cowgirl boots. The dress was a popular one for me and a great reflection of my world. It showcases my Texas roots with the southern touch in the cowhide print so plan to see many renditions of this re-done as the seasons change and the years come and go. Here's a look at the new Olivia collection for Fall '09. These new designs will be hitting my Etsy store soon in July. This time, the dress has a mate. If you have girls you love to coordinate or you just have a little lady who loves wearing skirts, this time you've got another choice. I love the photo we captured here. I had the pleasure of working with Michelle of Michelle Nicoloff photography. She lent her talent and did these amazing photos for me. Thank you Michelle and we wish you well on your journey back west to California!!

A peek at Fall........the Bella Collection

It might be 110 with the heat index here in Texas but my brave little soldiers went out there and took photos for me like pros. Here's one of my favorite shots of the girls wearing pieces from the soon to be listed Bella line. I've long since been a fan of Jennifer Paganelli from Sis Boom. She always comes out with the most gorgeous and feminine fabrics. I loved this black patterned fabic with the ice blue background and knew it'd be a part of my Fall line. This will be part of my lineup for the Austin Fashion Week that will be coming up in 3 weeks here in the Capital of Texas! Stay tuned, I'll be posting more sneak peeks!

They're giving away a design rising star award as well, so if you feel inclined, click HERE and vote :-)

Happy Birthday to my little guy!

Had to take some time out to celebrate with the family for my youngest one's birthday today. Not long ago he was just telling me, "Mommy, I'm never gonna get 4" I was secretly praying, he'd stay 3 forever! Well, it finally got here. He woke me up bright and early and just had a happy day with his family. Schedules have been a bit off so we're waiting til July to do an official celebration but that's the beauty of this age, he was truly happy in the moment. What a great day!

Late Summer Arrival.....Butterfly Garden

I've had this fabric forever and just finally got around to cutting into it and think this would be a lovely addition to the Summer wardrobe. I love halters, love seeing their sweet little shoulders and backs. I just sent this one over to Etsy today. Thank you Hannah for obliging and taking a few photos for me. Such a sweet face! I was so glad when you flew into town you happened to have packed some pink Butterfly embellished crocs. I guess this photo was meant to be :-)

Brand new Strength set on Etsy

I had so much fun making this set and doing something a bit different adding a screen printed tee to go with this full twirly skirt. As the mother of young girls, I hope that I do a great job teaching them strength in their younger years before I send them out into this big crazy world. Strength of the mind, body and soul! This seemed like the appropriate compliment to these fun karate girls on this fabric. You can find this on Etsy now. Tank is a soft pink color and the skirt has lots of bright jewel tones to the fabric. Just click on the picture if you'd like to see it enlarged.

Getting closer to ready!!!

Hard to believe as the temps are getting in the 90's that one could possibly be thinking about Fall/Winter but that's how it works in the clothing world. As I get closer to the date that photos are due for Austin Fashion Week, I thought I'd just throw out a quick peek at some pieces that I hope to be able to share photos of very soon! As timelines were shrunk, I wasn't sure we'd get to this point but I think we'll pull it off. It's taken a village and I am so fortunate to have a village full of wonderful folks that helped me along the way. Thank you to all the wonderful people who have helped me to pull this off!

:-)

Austin Fashion Week

Yep, I've entered as an Independent Designer! 10 designs need to be submitted and then go to the jury through their selection process. Time to hunker down, work on some new creations to submit, say some prayers and cross my fingers! Exciting and nervewracking all at the same time :-)

Jenean Morrison sneak peeks Picnic Parade from Free Spirit

A few months back, I had the pleasure of crossing paths on this great information highway with Jenean Morrison. She is one of Free Spirit's ever so talented fabric designers and is about ready to launch her 2nd line of fabric, Picnic Parade. I was asked to make some sample pieces for her to take to quilt market that is coming up in PA where she'll be decorating her booth with all kinds of fun things made by various people with her new bright and vibrant line of fabrics. The fabric is coming out soon, here's just a few sneak peeks and she'll unveil the rest on her own blog and at quilt market! Best of luck Jenean, you've been very inspiring to work with and wishing much success for your fabrics!

April Showers....that's what we've got in Texas

We try our best to work around Mother Nature and squeaked out a small parcel of time where it wasn't raining although the winds have been relentless here. The show must go on though right? Thank goodness for resilient little girls who don't seem to be too bothered by it. They must subscribe to the tenant in life that you get what you get and you don't throw a fit :-) We got some pics and added just a few more Summer pieces to my etsy store this morning. Lots of fun color to give them a little pep in their step.

Come soon....some Summer Pieces

Putting the finishing touches on a few Summer pieces that with any luck I'll have some photos of real soon! These pieces are all about fresh Spring & Summer colors. I have a dress coming as well as a coordinating tank so hopefully a little something for everyone!

Sneak Peek....Miso Strong

Just love these little karate girls! If there is one thing I'm a fan of, it's a little girl power. Could this print be more awesome! I made a little halter out of it, here's a little sneak of it and hope to get some photos soon. TGIF!

And the winner is....

Betsy Martinez said...
What about Miso Pretty? or Miso Beautiful? Miso Playful?
You could do a lot of things with the word miso. Contact me, we'll get your shipping info and get all kinds of fun stuff from Carolina Pad on it's way to you. I love that they're launching an Asian themed line too. So anxious to see it.

The voting was from a very small group but it was unanimous! I love the simple play on words. More than anything, it is so much fun to see the creative brains out there and some of your mad skills. I was literally hitting a brick wall and Betsy's suggestion felt completely right! I love simple twists on words and I think we might use all of her suggestions with Miso being the common theme and using the add on word that seems to fit best. Thank you for the wonderful ideas and I'm sending this little dress to my Etsy store today.

A little naming help in exchange for some goodies!

Well, I was able to track down the always adorable Mimi and take a few pictures today but I need a little help! I am having a fantastic time working with an entirely new set of prints, all with an Asian influence. I tend to gravitate towards shabby florals with too much predictability these days so I'm pushing outside my normal zone. I've got more I hope to piece together and I'm stuck naming the collection. Do they really need a name? Nope, but it's fun! I'm aiming for 3-4 pieces all with a different look and the various Asian style prints being the common theme. Well, I've got this awesome stash of stuff from Carolina Pad (see earlier post) that someone is going to win for free. I thought maybe I could make my question be, "What in the world should I name this Asian group of pieces?" I know it might help to see the rest of the pieces but I'm just not that far along yet, they still remain as uncut yardage just waiting to be used :) So I'll just do what I tell my toddler "use my words" The to be seen pieces will include blacks and pinks, fans and adorable little girls. Is that enough to go on? If throwing in a name for a collection has you stumped like me, then maybe you can leave a comment on what cultures and/or trends are catching your attention these days. Just click on the comments section below this entry, leave one and we'll pick a winner! Join my mailing list and check back to the blog to see if you are the lucky winner.

Thinking about a giveaway...

We've been quiet here on the Western front. Have had so many things going on with life, with kids, with activities and such that we just had to put a lot of things on hold including my Etsy store which I hope to open back up soon! Ever felt like someone turned on a firehose full blast and then was told to take a drink??? okay, so no one asked me that but we all know that sensation of getting knocked over with a zillion things to do.

Lots of great stuff though and I'll get back to blogging about fun new pieces soon. (after all, that's my real purpose for being here on the net and hopefully one of the big reasons you show up to read!) For now, I just wanted to post a little teaser about a giveaway I'll be doing soon. I have this amazing friend April. She's all kinds of bubbly and made up of inspiring pieces of AWESOME inside of one body. She works for this great company, Carolina Pad. They're even so hip they have their own Facebook page! She sent me a big box of all this fab stuff and we're giving some away to a lucky person. These are absolute must have's for me. The covers of their stuff always spark and awaken the creative side in me. Beware only if you suffer from fun color and pattern sensory overload :) kidding, we're women, we love stuff like this right???? In the day and age of computers, I STILL can't get enough paper products. love 'em. They're packed with punch! I love bright colors, dots, stripes, damask patterns and all that they have. Anyhoo, that's it for now but I'll post more soon!

Daddy and the Girls

This weekend was the annual Daddy/Daughter dance so I couldn't resist showing the family! The girls had so much fun, even kept their dresses secret from Daddy until they walked down that night. It was absolutely priceless to see them drive away for their special night. Tyler kept asking me why Moms and brothers weren't invited and really wasn't satisfied with my response that it was only for girl scouts and their fathers. One day he'll get it! For now, he gets to stay home with me, fold towels & mountains of laundry, play monopoly and read books. Stellar evening for all right!

Soire'e Bouquet Twirly Skirts....just in time for Summer!

Both of my girls have very strong preferences towards color. I do my best when I carve out time to make things for them to create pieces that reflect their own personal tastes. Over Spring Break, we head out to visit Grandma & Grandpa at the lake for some lazy time in the sun and I actually packed my sewing machine and some fabric! Some people like to bring a book when they get a little break, I bring a sewing machine :) I had been wanting to do something coordinated for my girls and gave them the chance to pick their own color palette. I'll be offering just a few of these in my Etsy shop soon. I love how they turned out, very bright, Summery and girly. You can find them in my store now.