Summer Schedule

Hey guys!

This last weekend, I closed up the shop and we went camping!  It was nice to get away, but it also reminded me that school is winding down and pretty soon I will have all my girls at home, ALL day, or be running them around town for all their different activities!

Instead of closing up shop to spend the summer with them like I've done in the past, I'm going to try something new.

First:  This will be the last week to custom order anything.  So if you want something, get it or send me a message and lets get it made!

Second:  Starting June 1, the shop will only contain items that are ready to ship.  Ready to ship items will ship within 48 hours, or Monday morning if you order over the weekend.

 I will continue sewing during the summer, but I won't have a regular schedule.  There will be regular shop updates.  Any time I add or update, I'll post it on facebook.

Third:  I will post each week, on facebook, what I'm working on.  Example:  June 1-7, I will work on superhero capes.  Once I post that, you can put in a request and I will reserve that listing for you.  I will not take requests outside of what I'm sewing for that week (example would be requesting a lunch kid while I"m sewing capes) and I don't yet have a lists of when and what I will be sewing through the summer, yet.  There are entire weeks that we will be gone or have company and I won't sew at all.

I will start out with popular items in the beginning of the summer and then move to the back to school items towards the end.

Shop will open up as usual in August when the girls are back in school.  I may open earlier if I feel like I can handle the load with the girls home:)

So place your summer orders and get out and enjoy the sunshine!

May Napkin of the Month

There are so many things that I love about my best friend....

 Her love and her smile and her laughter are infectious!  You just can't be grumpy around her!

She sends virtual coffee from MN to TX.  How cool is that!  Sometimes we each sit with our coffee in the morning and chat...with screaming kids in the background!

{her crew of 7}

Oh yeah....she has 5 kids just like me and we can sympathize with each other when our days are crazy and our lives feel messy and out of sync.  She gets it....and she understands.  And since she loves a good surprise in the mailbox....she is always willing to wait for her napkins.

I had so hoped that each month her napkins would arrive on the 1st and there would be such fun in waiting for that.  But sometimes that doesn't happen....most months that doesn't happen:(  And that's ok.  She gets it and I love that about her.  She knows that customer orders and school costumes and family come first for me and THEN her beloved napkins:)

{my crew of 7}

And these napkins are ALWAYS worth the wait:)

I bet you all thought that since April showers, or umbrellas, would be followed by May flowers.  But May flowers just aren't MANLY.  And I try to be fair to the men in their house, so this month is dedicated to Noah and his Dad, who put up with 5 other girls every day!

{tell us how you REALLY feel about having so many sister, Noah!}

 Mustaches and Dark Blue!  Very boy if you ask me and it totally fits the craze of mustaches that is going around.  I know that they love the stache at their house, so this should make dinner super fun!

I love that each napkin has so many different staches.  I was looking for the repeats in the fabric to keep it mixed and there hardly is any!

When I think of a mustache, I like these two above.  Simple and clean!

 The top one here reminds me of the Lorax and the bottom one....do mustaches actually scallop?

No way could I like someone who had these!

Hoping I get a thumbs up from Noah this month!  I can just hear Brenna at dinner tonight,

AND....because I was on such a roll with her napkins the other day, I also made her JUNE set!

They'll have to wait, but I stuck it in the mail with May and they can leave it on the counter and anticipate the reveal:)

National Zipper Day!

Apparently April 29th was National Zipper Day!  Who knew?!?!?!?  I look to Hallmark for all my "holiday" notifications, so I was surprised when such a great day snuck up on me:)

I had this project looming and was just waiting on zippers.  So yesterday, I took a break from orders to sew with a ZIPPER!

I'm sort of floating in between carrying a diaper bag and getting to JUST carry a purse for the first time in 11 years!  This Fold Over Clutch is my answer.

Most of the time, I just toss my wallet and essentials in the diaper bag.  But, there are some rare days when I get out by myself and don't need or want to lug the diaper bag around. I needed a fun little purse to just carry my phone, keys and a few things.  I wanted it to be small enough for me to just toss in the diaper bag if necessary, but I also wanted it to be big enough to carry all of my essential items, when there is no longer a diaper bag hanging on my shoulder.

The corner suede patches are from an old jacket that was in my husbands donate pile.  SCORE!  I love upcycling!  And who doesn't love the big bright chevrons.  The red has sort of a "worn" look to it.  

Inside:  some chocolaty brown polka dots:)  I should show you my fabric cupboard some time.  I have almost as many polka dot fabrics as I do others!  It's an addiction and I can't say I'm sorry.  They are happy and fun and I love them:)

 I'm itching to get some use out of my new clutch.  Anyone want to grab some coffee or catch a movie?

Shock!!!

Imagine my shock a couple weeks ago, when I saw this photo come across my facebook feed!

My sister and brother in law took Jack to Disney for the first time.  Adam works there, so I knew that they would take him to see the place and show him off.  NO shock there.  BUT....Jack had his FIRST visit to Disney.....and he wore THAT!

No worries, Jack!  Auntie Rachel is on it and your Mickey shirt is in the mail!  Make sure they put you in it next time and tell them to take your Mickey burpie too so that you keep Mickey clean for the photo op!

 

Wonder Wear

Most of the things I sew for the shop, start out as necessity items at home....and this item is no different!  You may think it started with necessity and need, but you would be wrong.  It started with the fabric and a mistake!

{Bicycles by Michael Miller PUL}

I meant to order this as a laminated fabric...think raincoats.  I wanted it for another project I have coming in the wings:)  It came as PUL, which looking back at the invoice is what I ordered...by mistake.  I use PUL to line my wet bags.  Mine is just white on white.  This fabric is white on the back and printed on the outside.  I could use for wet bags, but you wouldn't see the bicycles, the way I would use it in the wet bag.

So what to do?

NEW PROJECT!

We are in the thick of it potty training here at our house....so keep wet from getting out....I got it!

This is my 4th daughter, Aubrey.  She is 4.5 years old.  She also has Down syndrome.  Some things in life have challanged her and some haven't.  Potty training has challanged us BOTH.  It isn't a matter of a couple days or a week of training to help her get the idea.  It has been MONTHS of trying to help her get the hang of it.

Her teacher was the brave one that said, "Let's do this!  Just send a lot of clothes with her."  GREAT!  But with a class of 10, and carpet in the classroom, she doesn't have time for constant puddles.  And with such a busy and large family, I don't have time for lots of puddle clean up all the time, either.

These WONDER WEAR undies have been a life/time saver for her teacher and us.

Made using Gerber underwear, these undies have an extra lining of flannel on the inside and the "waterproof" PUL on the outside.

The inside flannel provides extra absorbancy.  Edges are serged to prevent fraying when washed.

**Please note that these are not diapers/cloth diapers.  They do not prevent all leakage.  They are to prevent   constant puddle clean up.  I like to think of them as a cross between undies and pull ups.  We can easily help her pull up and down to use the potty with ease.  I hate messing with diapers when they are in the early stages of sitting and trying.  But less mess than real/regular undies.

Girls got skinny legs and these 2T undies are still a bit big for her, so she sometimes leaks down her pant legs, but it is rare that I have to even wash her shoes and I've never cleaned up a  puddle when she had the undies and pants on!  I don't mind laundry, but I hate constantly cleaning and sanitizing the floors.

We have 15 pairs of these at home right now!  It means I don't have to do laundry EVERY day.  Four weeks ago, on her first day at school potty training, she went through all 6 outfits I sent. This week, she has only had 2 accidents!  YEAH!

The tag in the back means she can easily learn how to put them on herself as well.

While potty training has not been easy, breezy, it has certainly been less messy this time around.  So glad that I have theses WONDER WEAR and my WET BAGS to keep us moving along in the right direction.

Right now, we still use diapers at night, but these are going to be wonderful when we are ready to ditch diapers forever.  A little extra protection for her sheets and bed at night, but giving her the "big girl" feel of panties.  Will be using these for long car rides as well.  Nothing worse than washing your carseat:(

Soon, very soon Aubrey, you will be a FULL time UNDIE wearing BIG GIRL!

On a side note:  All kids wear their rain coats inside while potty training too, right?!?!?!?!?

And now I offer them to you!  For right now, the WONDER WEAR will only be available in these two patterns.  If there is enough interest, I will purchase the PUL in other patterns.  

Questions for you:  How do you want them listed?  As a single pair?  As a set of 2 or 3?  What sizes?  Thinking just 2T and 3T.   Would love to have your imput as I get ready to list these.

Happy Friday!  May your weekend be WONDERful and DRY!

4th Month of Christmas-April

I'm late posting....and so are the napkins (sorry B, they are in the mail), but I'm here today on a cold and rainy Texas morning to share the April Napkin of the Month Gift I'm doing for my besty and her family!

April showers, May flowers is the way it goes and if it's going to rain, you are going to need UMBRELLAS!

And with a family of SEVEN, they need a lot of umbrellas!  But moms with kids need to multi task and they need products that multi task.  These umbrellas not only clear up grey skies, but they clean messy faces:)

 Dad and Mom Napkins.

And the 5 kids!  

Hoping that these napkins brighten their April days and chase away the rain...or snow...as I heard today:(

On the 4th Month of Christmas

My seamstress sent to me,

Colorful Umbrellas,

3 green leafed clovers,

2 hearts on fire,

And a cold penguin family!

Hoping your day isn't cold and rainy like ours:)

3rd Month of Christmas

It's March!  And that means another package of Napkins is on the way to my Bestie!

 This is the first time I have asked her for an idea.  With two holidays in one month (St. Patrick's Day AND Easter), I wanted to be sure that she got the holiday that she wanted.

She chose the Luck of the Irish!  I didn't want something too corney and I thought these fit the bill.

Unfortunately, this fabric did not lend itself to each child having their OWN color/napkin:)  So everybody got green on the back.

Hoping that there isn't too much fighting over the napkins, B!

"On the 3rd month of Christmas, my seamstress sent to me....
3 - Green leafed clovers,
2- Hearts on fire,
And a cold penguin family!"

*(please note:  I am a seamstress and NOT a poet.  It's simply all in the fun!)

I'll admit to having a problem throwing my scraps away.  I have three boxes of odd pieces of lots of fabrics.  "Someday, I'll need this."

I had a couple odd strips of shamrocks left over.  And I'd seen this "STAY PUT" Towel in a store.  GENIUS if you've got little ones pulling your kitchen towels off all day!

  So I used the leftover shamrocks to whip up this STAY PUT towel to go along with her napkins.

When her little one pulls down, the towel will stay put!  Finally, one less thing for my Bestie to have to pick up:)

Happy March!  Happy Friday!  Happy Shamrock Day!