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!!

Diaper bag for the cutest mom in the universe made with stunning fabric by Iman

I bought this fabric (designed by Iman, her work is amazing!!) from a Calico Corners store that was going out of business over a year ago. Usually this stuff is so expensive that I would never think about buying it but the going out of business sale was HEAVEN!! I bought as much as my minivan could carry ;).

Naturally, I've been hoarding this fabric because I couldn't bear to use it on just anything. But when a friend of mine needed a new bag for the arrival of her darling little girl (her 4th child!) I was hoping it would be a great fit for her. My own bag is made out of the same line of fabric and it is STURDY so I know it will hold up to 4 kids and it is so unique!

You are so cute "A"! I know you will make this bag look fabulous....as you do everything that you wear!
xoxo,
holly

The Aubrey dress

We are visiting my sister and brother in my old hometown, San Antonio,Texas and I have a few minutes to catch up on blog posts. My kids are so tired after our long days that bedtime is easy since they pass out in the car. It gives me more time to paint, hang out with my husband and work on the computer at night which is always welcome! These past few days here have been a dream.....I'm definitely not ready to come home.....

Laci has been begging for long dresses so the past few that I have made are well past her knee. I fell head over heels for a top that I bought recently for myself that has three quarter sleeves so I've been playing around with those for her as well. She thinks the sleeves and length make her look more like a "princess" so they have been quite hard to pull off of her. This one is her current favorite and she looks so precious in it that I wanted to share it. I'm working on versions for myself as well ;)- so cute!!!

Ok- tomorrow I'm off for more tamales, margaritas and family! Yum, yum!

xo,
holly

The Autumn Handbag

Whew! Finally Halloween costumes are over and I can post handbags again!!!

I designed this pattern several months ago for my girlfriend but I don't know if I ever took pictures of it before I gave it to her. Hers was in earthy grey fabric that reminded me so much of her ;).

I made a few things to donate to my school's fall festival as well as a couple of other schools that I donate to. I got in a zone pouring over my fabric and I made this one even though I didn't need to make anything else ;). There is a pocket that snaps closed on the outside as well as pockets on each wall of the inside. I don't know if I can part with this one......I'm crazy in love with it!!

Mr. Mint!!

SO....my children decided on their own that they all wanted to be Candyland characters and I have to admit that my husband tried to steer our 6 year old away from Mr. Mint over to Lord Licorice ;). But he wasn't about to be swayed! Mr. Mint was sticking. I smoothed my husband over with the work gloves and axe and I am SOOOO glad that it came to fruition because I will always remember these days of his newly toothless grin and the red and white stripes.

I swear this boy gets bigger every time I look at him. He is the sweetest, cutest, Mr. Mint on the planet!!

Princess Frostine costume

Princess Frostine was a HUGE hit in our house- in fact, I'm pretty much sick of looking at this costume because Laci puts in on every day and waltzes around the house, bossing around her brothers like she is the queen she thinks she is in her mind ;). I'm just happy she liked it!
xoxo-
holly

King Kandy costume from the Candyland game

For Halloween my kids chose to be Candyland characters. I'm so happy that I got them done in time for all of our Halloween events that started this weekend and that they love dressing up in them (I was worried one of them would change their mind at the last minute!). This King Kandy is for my 2 year old and the look on his face as he pats his "big belly" (I sewed in stuffing) is worth all of the effort I put in ;).

Pink Fairy Costume

This is the other costume that I made to go with the pink clown costume- they are sisters and they are PRECIOUS!! When their mom emailed me their wish list of details for the costumes I received this list for the fairy..............

1-lots of different color pinks

2-sparkly

3-rainbow belt

:)

I hope she loves it!! These were SO much fun to make-
xo,,
holly

The mermaid costume that I made in it's full glory!! ;)

Just a little peek at one of the sweetest girls in the world wearing the mermaid costume I made for her complete with the crown that I decorated for her- seriously, with her mermaid doll-----it melts my heart!! :) :) :) Can you get any cuter???

Candy Corn dress

A new friend of mine from school had a super cute idea to make a candy corn dress so she ordered one for her daughter. As common as they probably are, I have never thought about making one before and I became so enamored with the idea that I made one for my daughter as well and yet another one for my new 1 month old niece ;). Thanks for the idea "A"!!!
xo-
holly

Diaper bag for my little sister....

I hope you are not sick of this fabric yet since this is the third post with it. I have been saving the last of it to make my little sister a new diaper bag for the arrival of her second child- a baby girl named after me ;) ;) :). My sister lives in Texas so unfortunately I haven't been able to hold baby Holly yet but we leave in November to visit for a week. She was a fabulous 10 lbs 3 ounces and looks strikingly like my sister. My mind is preoccupied with thinking about her often- I cannot wait to finally meet her!! In the meantime, I'm going to keep on sewing for her ;).

xo,

Holly

Clown costume

This was ordered by one of my favorite students of all time! Her sister ordered a fairy costume that I'll post soon. Their mom was great because when I asked her what the girls "wish list" was she emailed me their lists verbatim- which is ALWAYS the best because then the child knows their input and requests were important! I hope that the final product was what she envisioned in her head. I'm really into her choice of dark pink with black!!

xoxo "S"- you are such a sweet little girl!!

Mermaid Costume with seashell bag for yummy candy!

I didn't accept many costumes this year- in general my sewing time has shriveled because of my new teaching job at the charter school my 1st grader goes to (fabulous school- we are so happy there!!) but I did take on a few orders and I've been able to throw myself completely into them with very little stress or rush. The experience has been wonderful!!

This is the first mermaid costume I have ever made and I loved every minute of making it.....especially because it was for my BFF, little "M". I've blogged about her several times before. She is precious!

It's a very comfortable dress that has a zipper in the back so it is easy to take on and off. She also requested a seashell bag to carry her candy around so I made it ample enough for lots of trick or treating and made her promise to give me half of her candy.

There is a lot of hand sewn items on this that I added more for love than for money. Much of the seashell bag is hand sewn as well but overall it's a pretty easy bag to make. I'm working on a tutorial for it but I'm sure it will take me months to get it posted. If you are interested in making one of your own send me an email and I'll send you a rough version of the tutorial.

I'll keep my blog posted on the Candyland characters I'm making for my own 3 kids ;)- my 2 year old is King Kandy and I'm going to eat him alive in the costume!

Happy October everybody!

xoxo-

holly

Erika Messenger preview for "J"!

"J"- I loved making this for you! You are such a sweetheart!!!

Love,

holly