The "rainbow-mermaid-fairy-princess" costume

 I let my kids pick what they want to be every Halloween and then we make it- usually together if at all possible. Even though my little girl is strong and opinionated ;)- she can be indecisive at times. So when she told me last spring that she was going to be a "rainbow, mermaid, fairy, princess" for Halloween, I wasn't surprised! Shopping with her takes forEVER!

So this is what we created! First I made her mermaid skirt out of super stretchy knit- like a T-shirt. It's crazy comfy and light. Then I cut out the scallops and sewed them on. Laci actually did her bodice (except straps and elastic) on her own. She cut rainbows out and appliqued them on. Her sewing skills have really taken off lately. I don't have to thread the needle for her and she doesn't jam my machine anymore- it's incredible!! And she LOVES it. For her princess crown she used Elmer's paint pens on shells that we collected on a vacation and I glued them on with Gorilla Glue (good stuff!).

I made her seashell bag super big because last year we were running out of room (ugh....too much candy).

I hope you all enjoy getting your own kids dressed up for Halloween!! I'll post my boys soon.....
xo,
holly

Handmade infant Easter dress for Baby Holly!!

Having a niece (even though she lives far away) is a super wonderful blessing!! I couldn't let her first Easter go by without making her something......I know the day will come soon enough when she dreads Aunt Holly's homemade gifts ;) so I'll make the most of my time now.

The shape of the dress is simple and will grow with her for quite a while since the shoulder straps tie. The labor of love was all of the stuff that I appliqued on. I can't wait to get my hands on her when we go on our girl's weekend soon!!

Hand embroidered spring dress

When I scheduled photos with Courtney Vickers (see the right of my blog for examples of her work!) I started making Laci a dress right away. I've been so involved with adding my hand embroidered pieces to my handbags that I was anxious to see how it looked on a dress. I stitched it onto the bust portion of the dress......now I'm working on embroidering a much larger section for her next dress because I enjoy it so much. If you are interested in embroidery check out fabric designer goddess Anna Maria Horner's blog (http://annamariahorner.blogspot.com/) and search through her posts for her incredibly gorgeous work!!!

Scalloped Easter dress

Laci and I had several conversations on how her Easter dress would look this year ;). We compromised on this one- I picked the shape of the top and the scalloped edge (super fun to sew by the way!) and she got "twirly and very long". She also chose her fabrics which is something I just love to see her decide on. I have another Easter dress for her that I'm almost done with....don't know why she would ever need two but I got too engrossed in the idea so I made it anyways ;). Hope you all enjoy your Easter!! I have a bunny bag tutorial that I'll post this weekend that combines your sewing with your child's cute drawing.
xo,
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

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

Fourth of July Dress!!

I looked around to see if I could find any cute outfits for 4th of July but I came up with nothing that I loved....but also completely inspired because I have a zillion ideas for one that I can make (and sell) myself! I get really into holidays and costumes because the rules get blurred!!

As always I worked hand in hand with my 4 year old and we came up with a bustle of ruffles, lots of mixing fabric patterns and a way to incorporate jeweled stars- woo hoo! Laci thinks this is her "4th of July princess" dress and I'm all about letting her bask in her glory. We talked about finding red cowgirl boots but then we decided she will make her own flip flops to match- her creativity rivals my own so I'm looking forward to seeing what she comes up with.

I will also be posting similar 4th of July tutu skirts ($32), headbands ($12) and I can't wait to post my Flag Bags for boys and girls (that we will take to our local Fourth of July parade to catch candy in- it's one of the highlights of our year because we always go with our close friends and have a blast!!). Stay tuned for those.

Any order that you need completed by the 4th of July must be in to me by June 15th- thanks!

Fourth of July dresses are $56

Hand printed fabric summer dress

While in a fabric store the other day my 6 year old asked me "Mom, why do you love fabric so much?" (he also asked me the other week if God made himself so he has hit me with some whammy questions lately!).

I am constantly intrigued by how my art making evolved. I jump between my worlds of domesticity and my yearning to keep making paintings and how I can merge both of them. I look back through my sketchbooks and I see my obsession, even in college, with pattern and it seems natural that I adore fabric. So my simple answer to him was "Pattern! I love it!"

That being said- I'm craving making my own fabric (unless I'm looking at Anna Maria Horner fabric and then I know there is nothing I could make that rivals the gorgeousness of her fabrics!!). I've been working on designs that I can get printed on www.Spoonflower.com for several months now so I'm hoping to have bags made out of it in the next month or so.

In the meantime I sketched and carved some blocks that I can print on fabric and this dress is one of the first that I have incorporated it in. The dress is silky and light- Laci absolutely loved wearing it. The waist is elastic and it ties on one shoulder like the Brooklyn dress- it is truly perfect for summer!

Xoxo!

holly

Block printed Sundress is $58 and can be made in other color schemes- please email me at lacijean@yahoo.com for a custom order dress form

The Laci Shift Dress (knit)

There are a few goals that I had for myself before the summer hit and here is one of them-

I wanted to design an easy summer dress that I could keep super reasonably priced-($27)

I wanted it to be in knit so it is stretchy and light and breathable for summer-

I wanted it to look kind of dressy AND kind of casual but still feel like a tshirt-

I wanted it to be adorable!!

I can't claim that a shift dress is an ingenious design on may part since it has been a classic style for ages but I jazz it up a bit with the ruffled knit on the bottom. I have a few color combinations that I have been playing with other than this one and I'll post those shortly.

I couldn't resist adding braids to the finishing on this one for my daughter but if you want braided finishes on yours it will cost an extra $8 since handmade, hand sewn braids take an awful lot of time to add.

I can make them in any size but I'll ask for measurements to make sure it fits nicely!

The Brooklyn Dress (side tie)

Mmmmm- Easter just around the corner and my fingers have been dress-making-maniacs.

I don't have much time to write but there are two things that made this order incredibly fun for me....1- when the mom (who is so insanely stylish there is no way to put it into words!) mentioned a dress that only tied on one side, it hit me that I have never thought of that before. I am hooked!! 2- I had the pleasure of making matching ties for her two brothers and I cannot describe the cuteness!!

I'll post again when I get a picture of the entire family. Until then my buddy "J" was a fantastic model!! Thank you "J"!!

xoxo-

holly

The Meghan Summer Halter dress

My biggest fan is a beautiful 2 year old with super cute blonde hair and enough personality for 10 people to share. She is AWESOME and her excitement when she gets something from me leaves me grinning all day! I am so inspired by her and I have many things that I have made for her this past year that I can't wait to post. This is her most recent summer purchase- a halter dress that I designed for her that would stand up to our hot, humid, Florida summers, super comfy and still leave her feeling dressed up and special!

I have a good friend whose quilts always take my breath away. Her sense of color and her craftsmanship is out-of-control amazing. She passes my daughter down her scraps to make her own little quilts and own appliques for the clothing that I make her. Needless to say I steal some of the scraps from my daughter because I covet them so much! I mixed them into the top of this halter for an extra punch of glorious summer color- so pretty!!!

The Meghan Halter dress is available in size 2t-8 and costs $40

xo!

holly

Preview for "L"

I've been meaning to post this preview for a while now while I have been working on another dress for "L"'s younger daughter (finally finished hers tonight!). She has two absolutely beautiful little girls and I had the chance to make them both dresses but with totally different colors and fabrics.

I'll try to post the smaller dress soon! "L", I hope your girls love them and feel great in them!!

xo,

holly

The Apron Dress

I have a crazy obsession with ruffles and apron dresses! Something about the combination of ease, utility and frilly layers is totally enticing to me. Just throw this dress on, tie it up in the back and run around without a care!! Comfy and adorable all in one.

Apron dresses start at $50 and go up to $73- one just like this is $68