Huddle Up.

I'd be struck dead by lightning if I told you fine people that I am a big football fan.  I generally consider myself fortunate to know in which direction everyone is supposed to be running.  And even then they change that up on me in the middle of the game.

Rude.

Even tailgating - which one would assume I would be a master at given my propensity to plan parties, bake too many baked goods and drink - is only fun for me in small doses...those doses being between October 1st and November 14 - so that I neither have to be too hot or too cold - and only if I'm close by to a really for real potty - because I really, really, really hate port-a-potties.

But I do love the idea of football.

I think for me the big problem was that my love of high school football games - the socializing, the cheese nachos, knowing people on the team in real life - didn't translate when I went to college.  I mean, when I went to college, I knew a couple of people in the band and I knew everyone was very excited about football games, but I just never...got into it.  I tried.  But I didn't understand.  I never really learned the rules or nuances of the sport.  The crowds were intimidating...I could go on, but I'll spare you.  Plus, I didn't grow up in a sports-watching household.  I mean, not sports that use balls as the main form of entertainment.  There was plenty of Roland Martin's Outdoors on Saturdays, but that was about it for sporting.

I think I'm more excited about football now because I have a daughter, and I want her to be well-rounded.  Her dad loves college football and I want her to share that with him.  I want her to learn to make awesome tailgate foods and dress in team-appropriate colors and know far more about what's going on in the game than I ever have.  *Not that it's too late to learn my own self, I just have to find someone who is willing to field my endless questions about the action on the field.*  But mostly I think having a child changes things because I can dress her in game day appropriate clothing and it's cute, not cliche.

Things like this:

Now, these little dresses are to celebrate some tigers around these parts, but I have ideas for so many other schools with which I am locally and personally affiliated!  Imagine a purple gingham with purple border, monogram or name on the chest and this guy on the hem for Furman:

Or how about a black gingham dress with garnet border and "Go Cocks!" embroidered on the hem for Carolina fans?

Or, my personal favorite (which Lilah will soon enough be sporting):  Black and white houndstooth with crimson border and an elephant on the hem for my own alma mater, The University of Alabama!!!

The best thing about this style of dress is that you order one for your little one now and she can wear it for YEARS.  She can wear it as is in the heat of the first games and over a long-sleeve turtleneck or t-shirt with a cute pair of leggings, it's perfect when the autumn chill sets in.

And some of these ideas can be translated into little boy's wear, too!

How about a football alphabet t-shirt for your pint-sized quarterback?

Or a regular football with the battle cry of your favorite team!

The possibilities are endless.

So get ready for kick-off by visiting the etsy shop for your football fashions!  Got a special request, or want something for yourself?  Shoot me an email and let's make something fun happen!

These are a few of my favorite things

So, I'm sure you'd never guess that as a child I ADORED back to school shopping because it meant supplies.  Papers, pens, folders, notebooks, crayons, backpacks...I think if someone had just locked me up in an Office Depot, I'd have been happy for years.

Who am I kidding, that is still true.

Plus, "back to school" meant shopping for new clothes (whether you actually needed them or not) and so it was always nice to get a few new, "special" pieces to wear when the school year started.  Now, these were almost always Fall or Winter items, because as you know, "back to school" traditionally started after Labor Day and they didn't really ever change that when "back to school" started happening earlier and earlier, seeing children bounce off in the un-airconditioned yellow school busses when it was still hitting 100 most days of the week.

Did that stop me from wearing my new, "special" pieces to school?

No.

I was the damn fool walking around in a SUPERCUTE sweater and jeans when it was still heatstroke degrees outside.

*sigh*

So imagine my glee when my favorite applique shop put up some of their new "back to school" designs this week and I saw things like this:

And this:

You can WEAR your dang school supplies!!!!

I know school starts soon for most of y'all, but if you're looking for something cute for your little ones to start the year, let me know!   We can even do short sleeves so that your kids don't have to suffer the heatstroke that I did when I was stupid young.

Lilah's not in school proper, but I think she NEEDS a crayon shirt with matching ruffly skirt.

Don't you?

Fast-Forward

Maybe it's just the 100+ degree days, but something lately has me daydreaming about fall.  The smell of mums that remind me of homecoming and snuggling under blankets with 15 of your closest friends to keep from freezing at the football game.  Opening the door and getting a crisp reception from the air rather than the too-friendly greetings of humid summer.  Marshmallows cooked to just almost burnt over a pit fire.  Rusts and golds and fire reds decorating the trees that signal the growing season has come to a close.

Ah, Fall.

I thought of all those things today as I made this little pillowcase dress for Lilah.

I know that butterflies are typically associated with summer, but the colors of this fabric absolutely beg for fall complements, so when I chose the thread for her monogram, the idea of this being something she could wear into Fall became set.

Doesn't that orange just make you want to go sit at a high school football game with a styrofoam cup of crappy concession stand hot chocolate?

It's perfect for now to wear alone, but paired with a long-sleeved golden shirt in the fall, she's all set to get her burnt marshmallow on.

And if daydreaming of Fall sounds pretty good to you right now as you swelter in the 90+ degrees at 9:30PM weather, you're in luck:  I've got just enough of this awesome butterfly print left for one. more. dress.

Cost is $30 and includes a monogram or name of your choice.

UPDATE:

Congratulations, Emily, on scoring the butterfly dress :-D

This is si-wii-us.

We're not much into superheroes at our house.  We tend to run more on the Fairy/Princess side of pretend than the Super/Bat/Spiderman side.  Not that Lilah isn't exposed to those things...her father is the youngest of three boys, so he makes sure that she's well versed in all the things little boys would like, too *so that he has an excuse to buy new toys to play with* And actually, she is so good at playing with boy stuff that all the little boys at daycare are in love with her because she is the only girl who will go play cars with them - or so her teacher says.

That makes me proud.

And a little bit nervous.

Anyway, in the midst of the playing princess/doctor/mommy, we sometimes have to stop for a wild game of the best little superheroes I know:  The Wonder Pets.

Or, as Lilah calls them, "The Wunner Pets."

There's Lenny.  He's a "winnypig."  There's Tuck.  He's a turtle.  And there's Ming Ming.  She's a duckling - with a speech impediment.

They go on adventures in their "Fly Boat" to save baby animals, extolling the virtue of team work.

And they wear capes.

So guess who wanted one?

Yep.

And guess who made it?

Yep.

Y'all are so smart!

I freehanded everything about the design, so I'm not totally pleased with the size.  It's too wide, in my opinion.  But I got lucky finding the right colors of fabric; I just went and picked out some costume satin at Wal-Mart (Oh Happy Day - they are leaving the full fabric department in my closest Wal-Mart, according to the lady who cut this fabric for me!) and got to work trying to recreate Lenny the "Winnypig's" blue cape, because she needed that one first.

Needed.  First.

So one down, two to go.

Hmm...maybe now is a good time to really start talking about the difference between "Want" and "Need."

Beauty Rest

When I returned to work last month, Lilah started a new chapter in her life as well:  Life in daycare.  I feel absolutely blessed to be working at a job that not only is in my field of interest, but that also has an on-site daycare (take that, Google!) which just happened to have an available spot for Lilah in her age group.

I fully admit to not knowing anything about daycare.  When Lilah was born, my intention was to stay home with her until she started Kindergarten, and I even vaguely entertained thoughts of homeschooling her myself (I figured my math ability would run out about the second grade level, so it wouldn't be a long-term thing by any means).  So I felt a little lost as I gathered the supplies she needed to take with her the first day.   A cubby box.  Diapers and wipes and a set of extra clothes.  And of course, a nap mat.

The term "nap mat" conjures up my own time in Kindergarten, where we had to lay on these little red and blue bricks for an eternity each day.  God, I hated nap time.  I had stuff to do.  Drawings to draw.  People to talk to.  Rocks to pick out of the heels of my jelly shoes.  You know, Bidness.

And I guess that there just hasn't been a lot of advancements made in nap mat technology since 1983, because those horrid little things are still available at the start of every school year.  But some folks finally realized that maybe kids deserve to have a comfy surface upon which to sleep each day, and so the daycare at my employer offered a much cushier, home-made version of a nap mat for the low, low price of $25.

$25?  That is why I have sewing machine and stash of random fabrics.

So I scoured the internet, looking at nap mats here and there and piecing together my own measurements and plans  until I came up with this:

It rolls up nicely and neatly, ties closed with this fun ribbon which doubles as a carrying strap.

Of course one of the best reasons to take on your own project is so you can personalize it.  I love this font; it reminds me of old Vegas for some reason.  It stitches out great in this large size.

One feature I liked about some of the mats I found online was this attached blanket.  The child can either sleep on top of it for an extra plush surface or snuggle beneath it in the cooler months for a little extra warmth.  I used a leftover piece of fleece for the blanket so I wouldn't have to finish the edges, but I think I'd like to go back and add a blanket stitch in a contrasting color all the way around for a more polished look.

The work I did on it over the long weekend was to go back and lightly quilt it so that the stuffing would stay put when I wash it each weekend.

The pillow took two bags of stuffing and I used a piece of 1/2 inch padding plus a full-size quilt batting for the interior.  Those were the only purchases I made since I had all the fabric and the ribbon at home.

The plaid fabric I found at the Goodwill "by the pound" store about 4 years ago.  At the time I bought it, it was $0.99 a pound and there was a good 5+ yards of this 60" wide decorator fabric; I probably paid $5 for it all.  Even thought it was meant for pillows and curtains, this fabric has a very nice, soft finish while still being durable, so I was pleased to have enough to create such a big piece.  And it is big.

This mat should last her through her whole daycare career!  At just about 5' long, it can even go on to serve as a bedroll for spend-the-night parties later on.  It's not too baby-ish, and I'm just super pleased with the results.

I think someone else is pleased, too.

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I could get used to this...

Pictures of little ones in my creations keep me so motivated!

I mean, come on - How cute is Miss Seanna?

My sister-in-law commissioned this little toddler apron for her friend Miss Seanna's 2nd birthday.  Seems that Chef Seanna was getting her very own kitchen for her big day, and she needed a few accessories!  The only requests were that it not be overly girly or pink.

I think I managed to meet the criteria with this fun royal blue butterfly print!  The orange swirl worked perfectly as the bib top solid so that the apron could have the chef's name monogrammed on it.  I added some coordinating ribbon ties and voila!  An apron fit for a tiny chef.

I don't know about you, but if she's not careful, that chef is gonna become dinner, 'cause I could just eat her up!!

Do you have a tiny chef in your house who needs an apron?  Or maybe you know someone who is getting a kitchen for a special holiday gift this year?  I can create a personalized apron just for your special little one for just $17.00 (incl. tax) and $3.00 shipping!

Color Requests

T-Shirt Weather

I love living in the South because you never know what season it's going to be unless it's August.  In August, you are assured it is summer because it is always 9 billion degrees outside.  But outside of August, the weather can go from sunny and 79 one day - like yesterday - to drizzly and 55 - like today.  But it is technically spring and so I can TECHNICALLY talk about it being t-shirt weather and I will do that because I have a LOT of t-shirts to share!

First I want to show you a trio of shirts I did for my friend Whitney's girls and niece.  She requested something summery and I immediately had in mind this great little flip-flop applique.

 

For three little girls who spend a lot of time at the beach, I think these are perfect.

 

 

And Whitney was kind enough to grab one of these cute little tops for Lilah so that I could make her a summery appliqued top, too!  Although the flip flops turned out amazing, I had just gotten a new applique the night before and couldn't resist the opportunity to try it out, and I have to say I am pretty pleased with the results!

This very traditional looking monogram is so cute in applique - I imagine it would be perfect on a baby's bag or done smaller on a burp cloth.  Or how about wrapping a bride's shower gift in a bag that has her new married monogram already appliqued on it?  Great idea for a honeymoon shower, for sure!

Whitney's daughters scored a couple more t's, but these were just straight on monogram jobs.  This one I had to create myself, because I didn't have a pattern and Whitney wanted it to match a shirt her niece has.  Every time I see it, I can't help but think of Dotted Swiss.  I know it doesn't look a thing like Dotted Swiss, but I immediately click to a sense memory of feeling those little knobby bunches of fabric on a dress I wore as a kid.  To this day, I can't pass by a piece of Dotted Swiss fabric without running my fingers across it like a Braille text.

 

This little piece of precious is a onesie for baby sis, to replace one I gifted her when she was born and has already grown out of.  The previous onesie featured a very traditional, script monogram, so for this one I kind of wanted to do something a little more fun and modern.  This font is called "Sparkly," and I just love it.  It's a little "wacky 60's sitcom" to me, and since I feel like my life is a bit of a wacky sitcom most days, expect to see me find an excuse for it on other things soon.

This is far from all the T's I've been working on lately.  As a matter of fact, I have some VERY special T-shirts to which I want to devote an entire post - I just have to find all my pictures first!

The Dark Side has swag!

I am very lucky to have some pretty rad relations in the form of two nephews and a niece.  The older of my nephews recently won his school spelling bee, a feat which I thought deserved a little bit of swag.  This nephew is a pretty big Star Wars fan (come by honestly via his dad and fed heartily by at least one of his uncles), so I decided to whip up a little tote bag for him to use at the library or book store or just to hold some Star Wars paraphenalia.

 

Love, love, love this bag - it's nice and deep and also will sit on the ground and hold your stuff because it's not just two pieces sewn together, it's actually got a notched bottom that makes that great space for things.

Here is a closeup of the man himself.  LEGO Darth...he's a touch less scary than regular Darth.  Loved that there was a Darth quote that was so appropriate for my nephew's accomplishment.

This project was a super quick, last minute kind of thing that I love being able to do.  Darth is appliqued using black corduroy and the bag itself is made of tan canvas with a red canvas handle.  I busted out the serger for this project.  I was a little scared, but it made the inside edges so much nicer!  I have made these bags before and lined them, but I thought for a little guy, maybe a lined tote was too purse-y. 

I got a super sweet and to the point thank-you note from him today in which he declares it "cool," so I hope he's enjoying it for whatever use he is employing it!