Witch Costume invented by a 3 year old.....

I try to be a good Mom every day of my life......most of the time I fall short! But the ONE thing that I am always good at (although I wish it was keeping my temper under control) is letting my children be creative. Since creativity is so near and dear to my heart- it is crucial for me to let them to experience that freedom.

That all brings me to Laci's costume for Halloween this year. I let both of my oldest children decide what they want to be and pick everything that goes into it as well as help me tweak patterns for them (we draw it out together). They are fully involved in the project and they love every second of it, except for the waiting since it takes me an eternity to finish anything for them :).

Laci has known since last year that she wanted to be a witch and she has stuck with it. We have been collecting fabric for the much anticipated witch costume as she has been shopping with me at fabric stores roughly three times a week this entire year-she knows her fabric!! Whenever she was absolutely in love with a fabric- we bought it and put it in a special spot. Typically, brown, sparkly gold, black and purple would not be a color choice that I would run with but it was what she wanted and honestly- she has a pretty good eye for color even at 3.

Laci wanted it to be tight (whoa- I'm scared for the teenage years!) and her sleeves to be long and see through.....she also wanted tons and tons and tons of sparkle. She gets very bossy during this process and she barks orders at me like I am her full time seamstress. I already have a laundry list of how exactly her purse that will match to carry her candy in should look!

I have to admit- looking at our finished product that we worked on so hard together seriously makes me melt. She is getting so old so quickly- always vying for attention and there never be enough of me to go around......so, as silly as a Halloween costume is to carve out time for just me and my daughter, it is my heaven on earth!!! And does she look just precious in it or what????!

All of that being said- I will only be able to take a few more Halloween orders because of being so full already. The cost of costumes will range depending on how in depth they are and how much fabric they require. I will give you a quote or you can tell me the range that you can spend and I will work around it from there.

Just FYI

I DO make costumes for boys (will post my own son's costume shortly)-

I DO make costumes for all ages-

I am open to working from a pattern, a picture and custom designing something-

I am 100% open to you asking your child what they want to be and keeping them part of the process like I do for my own ;)- just ask and you shall receive! A costume certainly doesn't have to be a "character" or even "something". My son wanted to be a TV one year with the Backyardigans playing.....I made it but he change his mind the day before Halloween. Laci wanted to use feathers last year but knew nothing else so we made her a mask out of feathers and turned it into a fall fairy kind of thing.....if your daughter loves pink and wants to be something pink then we can create anything from there! Just use their loves as a starting point. Email me with any questions or for ideas.

Xoxo,

Holly

The Christiane Tote

Don't have much time to write tonight- my husband has been really sick for the past several days (is FINALLY on the mend) and I have realized that me teaching, sewing, raising three kids and keeping us all functioning is NOT something that I can do on my own for very long! My hubby is SUPER helpful and this has been a little smack in the face that I need to recognize that more ;).

So, as always- I'm playing catch up right now.

My sweetheart of a girlfriend who I could not live without just had her birthday on Tuesday. I remember when I first met her at church a few years back it was just a month or two before her birthday. By the time her birthday came that year I was already glued to her and I love her more every day! God bless her, she STILL carries around that old beat up purse that I made her the first year of our friendship!

Christiane is the friend who will seriously move mountains if you need her- she is comfort personified. When I made this for her I got really sappy thinking about her qualities.....as my 5 year old describes tie dyed Silly Bandz.....this one is really RARE.

I start looking months in advance for fabric when I am making a birthday gift- my jaw hit the ground when I stumbled onto this one because it is SO "Christiane"!! I wanted to do something new for her so I played around with the edging structure, I ruched the handle casing and I braided that gorgeous handle because I knew she would eat it up! Christiane is knock out and is super model tall. Making purses for her is a sewing lover's dream because she makes everything she wears look incredible (yes, I am selfishly using her for advertising as well- I can't help it!) and I certainly wasn't let down when she threw this one over her shoulder. I love you so much honey!!! Happy, happy birthday!

This tote is roomy, sturdy and sleek all in one. I lined Christiane's inside with one large pocket on one side and a line of three smaller pockets on the other side but they can be customized to your needs, as always. Christiane loves a long handle but it can be made shorter or longer as well.

My goodness, I write much longer than I intended- I'm off to sew!

The Christiane Tote is $58

Jen A.'s Toiletry travel bag

I'm making my sweet friend Jen A. a new purse tonight and it is making me think about how much I like her! I really adore working with her and it got me thinking about her toiletry bag that I made for her ski trip months ago. It lands in a long list of things that I still need to post about/offer for sale but keep getting put off because time is never on my side (hello, my baby just turned 16 months old and it doesn't seem possible that time has gone by that quickly). It's a shame that I haven't posted about this bag before because it is seriously cute!

The bag has 3 zippered pockets for all of your beauty items and rolls up nice and tidy so you can stay organized and stylish while on your trip. I need to make one for myself for my paintbrushes....note to self.

My favorite part about making this bag was when Jen sent me a text message photo of it while on it's travel escapades! I EAT it up when clients share that with me- thank you so much for those of you who have sent me photos before- it makes my day!!

My next project for Jen A.'s travel line is a weekender bag, yummy.......I can't wait to hammer out the details of the design.

I love you Jen! Will send you a preview of your new purse tomorrow- xoxo, holly

Jen A.'s toiletry travel bag is $50

Gifts for sweet baby "C"

My husband has a good friend of his that he has known since elementary school- his name is "T" and he is married to a very sweet girl named "K". They welcomed their first child, a baby boy named "C" a few weeks ago. I have been working on things for mommy and baby for the past month or so and had a very enjoyable time making it all. I stuffed her bag full of clothes and things that my husband picked out for the baby and this little owl that I made that will match baby C's room.

I head over heels LOVE making things for babies and moms! If a friend of mine has a baby I spend an insane amount of time thinking about all of the things that I can make for him or her. My friend Karen is due with her son soon and I'm ready to throw my other responsibilities to the wind so I can make at least one hundred things for him!

So, if you would like anything made that goes along with a nursery theme or want to stuff a hand made diaper bag with wonderfully cute burp cloths, bibs or a nursing cover that are all made JUST for mommy and baby just let me know! I will offer a discount if you buy an expecting mom more than two items.

Congrats again "T" and "K"- we think about you all of the time!! xo- holly

Diaper bags are $65

Stuffed animals are $25

Preview for "J"!! and gushing about Rainbow's End Quilt Shoppe

Forgive me for these dark photos- the sky has been grey here all day!

The Yvette New York sling is hot, hot, hot for me right now! I'm super in love with this one- made for "J" who I found out happens to live right next to the owners of my FAVORITE fabric store, Rainbow's End in Dunedin! They just launched a new, stunningly gorgeous website and you can even order online now (http://rainbowsendquiltshoppe.com/). As beautiful as the website is- there is nothing for fabric addicts like walking through their store......so, so pretty, well placed and organized but still totally appealing to creative people who need all of the aesthetic bells and whistles and huge punch of color to get us inspired. I could blog about Rainbows End for a long time- it's amazing! I told "J" that my hubby takes the debit card from me when I visit because once I walk through those doors....I'm done. Please open a store in Tampa Rainbow's End owners!! I promise I will spend my kids college fund in there each month!!

I just got this sling out in the mail to "J" this afternoon (hopefully no one I knew spotted me in the post office because I was not happy with how my kids were behaving ;)) but I wanted to post a preview for her. She has been a great client and was adorable as she decided what fabric to go with. She is getting ready to go on a vacation soon and I hope this sling carries everything for her nicely.

Remember that the sling has a front panel of pockets and a little hidden cell phone pocket inside one of them. You can see all of the specs on the Yvette New York sling post.

Hope you love it "J"!!

Yvette New York Slings are $55

The Sharon shoulder bag

Sharon is a really special lady who attends the same bible study that I go to. She has a very comforting vibe and I always enjoy being around her. She was in my "group" when I first got pregnant with my youngest (16 months old now- mmmmmm, turning into a toddler no longer a baby.....it goes by too fast). I got pregnant just a few weeks after the year started.

I went from feeling great one day and then about 4 days after I got pregnant I plummeted fast into throw up hell (forgive me for my language but there is no other way to describe it). I still pulled myself off of my floor every Thursday to get to bible study- no doubt more for my children than for me because their children's program rocks (!!) and I had a hard time staying focused since I only wanted to puke the entire time. I went on medicine.....it made me sleepy and I did keep food down but it didn't touch the nausea. I'm telling you all of this because I was a MESS at bible study. If you met me that year, I probably didn't seem like that cool of a person.....boring, miserable, complaining, I have asthma and was wheezing all of the time, falling asleep during the lecture because I was so drugged up on top of being pregnant- pretty much a loser. But Sharon didn't care! She always asked me how I was. Always smiled at me and made me feel good. I could tell she didn't judge me in the slightest even though I was totally not myself......and my heart will be soft for Sharon forever because of that!

I was thrilled when she asked me to make a purse for her and more thrilled when she picked out these great, lively fabrics.

The Sharon shoulder bag is an average size, not bulky but not small. It is very sturdy and closes with a zipper. The reason that I'm so in love with it is because you can mix fabrics like crazy on it to make something really unique!!

Super, super cute- just like Sharon!!

xo,

Holly

Sharon shoulder bag is $52