A fun tote.

This tote was ordered for a Christmas gift and we added the receiver's initials by the pocket. This is a Martha Pullen pattern (mom is licensed with her) and we made some modifications to change up the original idea. We added an outside pocket, coordinating outside strip and pleats all around the top. Who doesn't love polka dots?






Hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

Getting Creative.

It is so nice for me to have my sister Paula living with us right now. Though I love getting creative with fabric and other various materials, I often forget the simplicity of creating with paper while having the kids participate.

Cue Auntie Paula and her love of paper, patience with the kids and creating an environment for them to express their thankfulness.

Ashlynn and Ryder spent most of the day last week working with her on decorations for Thanksgiving, here is a little sample of something Ashlynn came up with:



How do you get creative with the kids in your life?

A New Fall Blouse & Skirt.

Last winter I picked up this silky print for a dollar a yard! All year I waited with anticipation to make a blouse from it for this fall. To accompany the top, I put together a chocolate brown corduroy skirt with some gold topstitching. Here is the finished product:






Can't wait to see what I find on clearance this winter!

Shawnee Holiday Show 2010

Thanks to all who stopped by and visited our booth last weekend! Paula, Ashlynn & I enjoyed meeting new faces. Ashlynn made an especially lovely assistant and relished choosing which bag went best with the flower clips, she put in a hard days work for us! Here are a few shots of our booth:










Thanks to Noodlehead for the original pattern of the clutch you see on our mannequin!

Signed, Sealed and Delivered...or at least on their way!

Here are the newest round of stockings I sent out today. These are a great example of bringing your own personal style into the stockings, what fun!!

Easter, revisted.

This was such a fun top and skirt to make for Ashlynn! She loved that she could twirl in the skirt and the giant bow at her waist was a big plus.

Felt Headband!

Here is one of the felt headbands I've made for Addie. They are son fun to make and make the best gifts! And they're not jsut for kids, I have a collection for grown-up girls too :-)!

I love how "free" the felt petals are, they flow naturally and always look awesome!

Perfect for her fine, baby hair that shouts "I'm a girl!"

They range from $12.00-$15.00, email for more info!

Some bright ruffles!

Here is a dress I made last year for Easter. All I could think about were ruffles and gathers, I wanted layers of ruffles....and with the help of my Grams, we made it happen. She is always so encouraging for me to "step out of the boat" and take risks in my sewing. Sometimes just getting the courage to make that first cut on a beautiful piece of fabric takes confidence (and not just your own!) in the vision! Thanks for being in my corner Grams, that side zipper was an adventure!!

In-House Stocking Fabrics

Choose fabric from my studio supply and receive 20% of the basic stocking price ($9.00)! Here is some of what is available, I've also paired them with some fun trims:

These are five different Christmas fabrics we ordered from NYC, the two on the end are vintage ornaments and dots-so cute!

Here is some tone on tone black and white, you can choose any thread color for the name to add a splash of color!

A cute pink floral with white for the contrast.

Some creams, purples and greens...pom-poms make everything fun!

These bright polka dots would be great for a patchwork stocking.

Stripes and polka dots make this black/multi-colored stocking retro fun!

Chocolate brown, red and green with flowers.

A New Look!

As someone who design and creates items for mostly others, I often don't have much time left over for personal projects. It's sort of like the plumber with the leaky faucet or the contractor that needs a new roof. Our family owned a hardware store and lumberyard when I was growing up and we always had needed repairs around our house. It was never a question of having a capable hand or the right materials....just the time!

Time is a precious commodity in all of our lives, so after having this fabric for over a year, I was glad to finally hang these curtains in my family room.

Now, if I can just find the time to finish the coordinating pillows for the sofa....



About 16" from the bottom, I added some red ribbon....accessorizing the curtains is always fun :-).


I like having a little "ruffle" at the top!

Aiden's Stocking

Randy has had the privelge of working with some great people at the fire department and four of them have welcomed new babies to their families within the last four months! One in particular has just been promoted to captain (he had a great captain to train under :-)!) and he and his wife are huge KU fans. We decided to add to their family collection of Jayhawk treasures with a stocking for their first baby.

Ofcourse, I wanted to add blue pom poms for the trim, but Randy suggested the ribbon instead....maybe they will have a girl next, bring on the pom poms!