Diaper bag for K

This one is for my little sister's friend, K ;). I love her color combination!

Mermaid party for my 5 year old

I just wanted to share some photos from her party last month. I kept it super small- the big gift was that my parents were in town from Kentucky ;). Because I wasn't crazy making hand made things for tons of little girls like I have been at prior parties- I was able to spend some time making her a little doll, a painting (well, more an illustration) and her and her two little friends mermaid skirts. I found these amazing charms on Etsy...we had mermaids, shells and seahorses, as well as skulls and octopuses for the boys....they were adorable! The kids made necklaces as we had our picnic.

It was such a sweet day....I loved not being hectic.....I loved my family there and friends who may as well be family ;). It was perfect, except for the part that my little girl is 5! Yikes! Time flies........

Another diaper bag!

I realize that when I find the time to post I've been posting diaper bags....which isn't a bad thing because babies are awesome! This one is for my friend "S". She has always been a good muse for bag making. She seriously has a bag for everything. I remember when we had our first kids and her husband bought her the most gigantic Kate Spade diaper bag I had ever seen. It had so much room in it and "S" was a walking baby station....she is always prepared ;).

It's kinda hard to make a bag for the girl who has 200 bags but I told myself she could surely find use for just ONE more.

What I'm really dying to do is let "S" design her own super-duper-diaper bag and me just make it for her....but little boy #3 is coming soon so it will have to be after his arrival.

I sure love you "S"!! Your friendship means so much to me!

xoxo-
holly

Handmade teacher gifts for Christmas ;)

Mmmmm- my first grade son's teacher is phenomenal. I couldn't be more grateful for her and how much she does for him!! When I thought about a teacher gift I knew I had to make her something special. She carries a pretty cute Vera Bradley bag so I was able to get a little insight on the colors she likes and what her needs would be in a bag by checking out what she already uses ;). I decided on this Bonnie Bag style that I designed for Blossom and Poppy last summer. I hope she gets lots of good use out of it but even if she doesn't, I sure hope she knows how much I adore her!!

New cupcake purse added to the shop as well

If you can't tell- I got a glorious new camera for my birthday/anniversary present and there are no words to describe how much I love it!!!! Even for a photography-challenged girl like myself- this thing takes mighty pretty pictures!!

The Cupcake Purse

It's a little ridiculous how many purses and bags my 4 year old has but I seem to always come up with another reason that she needs just ONE more!

Because I'm a huge proponent of including her ideas in things that I make for her, I asked what kind of bag she had in mind and "cupcake" is what popped out of her mouth. I have to admit it was a pretty fun idea to design.

She uses this bag for her water bottle and snack on some days and then to pack all of her art supplies to take on the road on other days. It is a good size for her- about 12 inches high and 9 inches wide. The bottom is slightly mitered which gives it a small, flat bottom so it holds books nicely too. The little cherry on top closes with an elastic loop that is easy to close with her tiny fingers. It's also super easy to throw in the wash!

The Cupcake Purse is $35

Making fabric out of your children's drawings-

I've been obsessed with Spoonflower (www.spoonflower.com) since Jen A. sent the link to me about a year ago. It's a site that allows you to upload your image and then they print it as fabric. They offer different ways to repeat the pattern on the fabric and you can play around and customize it from there. The instructions are amazingly detailed and well written and helpful- it's incredible. At $18 a year for cotton (they offer many fabric types) it's also quite a steal.

Since that first realization that I have the option of making my own fabric I've been working on sketches and ideas as often as time allows. But better yet, I realized that I can use my kids drawings as well and THEY can make their own fabric and that got my heart racing.

So after fiddling around with a line tracer program and my 4 year old and I laboring over colors-here is what she came up with! I'll post what we make for her out of it after it's completed. She is fascinated that it will come in the mail just like mommy's fabric does ;).

If I had the money I would do this with every student in my class!! If you are interested in making an item out of your own child's drawings (I thought backpacks would be super cool for boys!) then email me (lacijean@yahoo.com) and I'll tell you how to send me a drawing and I'll take it from there!

Laci Dance Purse

I hope you didn't skip over these pictures without acknowledging how darn cute my little guy's tummy is poking out of his shirt while he is "working" with mommy. That's good stuff! ;)

I realized as I updated my blog how I only post such a tiny slice of the items that I really make. A big part of what is missing is a huge part of my business- gifts! I'm so thankful to my clients who look to me to make gifts for their friends and loved ones and I hope that part of my business keeps growing.

This purse style is what I made my daughter for her dance class- it fits her tap shoes, ballet shoes, her leotard and tights and enough tiny toys to keep her little brother entertained while he waits for her class to be over.

It has outside pockets on the front and each side and closes with a Velcro flap. It's roughly 12 inches wide and 10 inches high.

We use it as a dance bag but it can certainly be a girl purse for any use or just for play! I sell a ton of them for birthday gifts and if I have time I usually hand make a tag for the birthday girl.

I'll be posting more of my best selling gift items when I can!

Dance purses are $35

xoxo-

holly