Lorax costume with Trufulla Tree candy bag!

Ha ha....my son is 7 and he is all about being funny ;). If it is goofy, whacky, silly....he's on board. Getting him to stay still so I could take a picture of him-----he wasn't on board with that!

 He was DYING to be the Lorax this year but it was so much harder to find good fur than I thought! He wanted to be a "neon" Lorax since he loves neon colors (if you know him- see his Nikes ;)). Thankfully I found this luxury orange fur off Fabric.com and the yellow fur off Amazon. Both are actually super soft and easy to slide into. Fur is tricky to sew though!

To make the eyes I wrapped fabric over Styrofoam balls and then painted the eyes. I sewed the eyelid and then glued it on and hand stitched the yellow fur for the eyebrow. I did the same thing for the nose (used a teeny weeny Styrofoam ball) and stitched the mustache onto elastic that he can pull over his head.

We thought it would be cool to do a Trufulla Tree candy  bag so I actually painted that onto canvas and then put the bag together.

He also has a book report/character development project due so he did it on the Lorax as well. Here is his stuffed Lorax animal that he made for it. First he made a drawing then I cut a pattern for him using the drawing. There were several parts where I had to take over the machine for him since the fur is so tough to sew but he did most of it on his own. Stuffing those teeny legs and arms was difficult but he figured it out eventually! It turned out so darn cute!!

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

Owl Diaper bag preview for K

"K"- you were such a patient client- I can't thank you enough!!! I just love how your choices turned out! I'm so glad that you ran with this gorgeous pattern and the pink. Looking at it makes me want to have another baby girl!! I painted the little owl feathers on your owl and he can be removed whenever you like. Your bag is loaded with pockets for all of your baby luggage- I hope it's useful and unique!! Thank you again!!
;) holly

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 Patti Ann Purse

Mmmmmmm- my sister, I love that girl so much. Through thick and thin she is always my closest friend. Her birthday came and went in July and of course, I wasn't completely done with her gift. I finally sent this one to her this afternoon. I can only hope that she is not sick of getting purses for every occasion!! She is 4 years younger than me, much more composed ;) and is the kindest person on the face of the earth. She lives far away from me and there are certain days that my stomach hurts because I'm missing my nephew's life. The Lord knows I would smother him if I lived near him!!!

My nephew is now a toddler and my sister no longer needs a diaper bag so I brought the size down a bit from what she is used to. She wasn't too concerned with lots of outside pockets and her only request was that it zipped shut- so toddler nephew could be kept out of her stuff ;). There are two tiny pockets on each end of the bag to shove her keys in if she needs to grab them quickly.

Since my sis knows me well- being smothered in paint most of my waking moments- I knew she would be adventurous enough to handle me adding my hand painted fabric to her bag. I snuck it in on the tiny end pockets and I had glorious time working it in her scheme. I hope she remembers how crazy I am about her every time she uses it!!

Patti, I love you so much sweetheart- if I was half the person you are then I would be satisfied!! You are an angel. xoxo-

Holly

The Patti Ann Purse is $48.....if you would flatter me enough to ask me to hand paint fabric for you as well it would be an additional $8.