Apron Knot Dress & Lollipop

Below is Macy Moo modeling a dress that I made for a customer/old friend from high school. Words cannot accurately express how much I enjoyed this creation! I just love the fabrics. I'm truly addicted to fabric. I could shop fabrics all day long. This was my first attempt at making this style of dress, and I'm in love. This dress is actually a size 3T, so it fits a little big on Macy (she's a big girl!), but it works. The customer ordered the dress and coordinating shorts for her son in the same green/white stripe seersucker fabric. My kids will soon have very similar coordinating outfits. :) If I can get it made it time, it might just be what Macy and Tucker wear for Easter!

Macy was not in the mood for modeling (imagine that!) so I bribed her with a lollipop. She was all good, as long as I didn't touch her "lol'POP!" I just love this little girl to pieces!

Now give me back my lollipop!

Wordless Wednesday: Lovin' these new fabrics!

Crafty

Tucker's "bestest friend" has a birthday party tomorrow and we thought it was a good idea to make her an outfit. As I sewed and sewed, Tucker kept checking in on me to make sure everything was coming along okay. It was important to him that this was the perfect outfit for his dear friend Alexandra. I couldn't get over how serious he was about the whole thing!

Guess who my fit model was??? I know I'm cruel, but he really does serve a purpose. ;) This isn't the first time he has done this for me, and his daddy doesn't like it one bit! LOL. As Richard was putting Macy to sleep, I borrowed Tucker for his modeling duties. He said, "Well, alright, but I don't think my daddy will like this very much." I quickly snapped a few headless photos before his daddy even knew what had happened. We had to see if Alexandra's outfit looked alright on! Sorry, Richard!

St. Patrick's Day Cutie

The Pierce family celebrates big on St. Patrick's Day because it's also Richard's birthday! So I just couldn't resist making Miss Macy Moo an outfit to help celebrate that special day, and I have hopes to make Tucker a shamrock guitar shirt (poor Tuck, he always get left out when it comes to my sewing)!

Aggies Outfit

Crafty Updates

A few people have been asking if I'm still sewing and selling. After the huge rush in October, I decided to take a much needed break. I do have some really cute designer Christmas fabrics so I am open to a few custom orders. I've taken down all items in my Etsy shop though, and probably won't be listing anything new for the holiday season. If you're interested, email me directly. I hope to make Macy another Christmassy outfit, a swing top and ruffle leggings, which I will likely post to the other blog. Thanks for all of you who keep checking in on me!

I'm currently working on an adult Texas A&M tee for the A&M vs Texas game on Thanksgiving, and an A&M shirt and tutu for the person's 3 year old daughter. I'm having so much fun creating these...think school colors with some funky zebra print thrown in! I've been wanting to create A&M shirts for my own kiddos for quite some time. My plan was to design a shirt for Tucker to wear on college school day, but I ran out of time and ended up buying an A&M shirt (gasp)!

Macy's Holiday Dress

Today we have family portraits with Stefani Marcus Photography. Here is a sneak peek of what Macy Moo will be wearing. I've been wanting to make a petticoat skirt for some time now, and I'm pretty happy with how it looks under her Christmassy dress. Richard says I just love dressing up my little doll. I guess he's right. ;)

Gobble Gobble Macy Moo

Crazy for Turkeys

I have been so extremely busy with my All Tuckered Out Boutique business. TOO busy. :) I'm grateful for the interest in my items, but I don't so much enjoy the feeling of having this huge mountain to climb without enough hours in the day to climb. I have to keep reminding myself that I started this all because I enjoy it, not because of the money. If I were to calculate how much I'm making per hour it would be way less than minimum wage, I'm sure of that! I actually love the creating. The sewing part can get quite tedious, and cutting the fabric is, well, dreadful. I've actually enlisted my mother as my assistant. She's been cutting out all of the turkey wings and other applique designs! What a great mom, huh?!

People are going crazy over the turkey. I will agree, the turkey is pretty darn cute, but he is a handful to make! The prep of cutting out all the pieces, ironing him on, stitching (switching out thread colors), and then sewing on the button eyes and little polka dot bow...whew, it's a task!

I've received business from friends, (thanks to all of you who have ordered from me!), referrals, and regular Etsy customers, but my most recent rush has been from "advertising." Last week I took part in "What Do You Make" on Kelly's Korner blog. http://www.kellyskornerblog.com/2009/10/show-us-how-your-life-what-do-you-make.html
Yes, I knew that this particular blog gets gazoodles of hits a day, but I never imagined it would lead to so much business. Within a hour of posting my link, I had people placing orders left and right. I went to the state fair the following day, and when I checked my email at noon, there were another 8 orders sitting in my inbox. As the day went on, more came in. I was freaking out. Within 24 hours, I had 38 new orders. That's when I decided to take a break from my Etsy shop and took down my items. I've still continued to get daily emails from people interested in ordering. I'm thrilled that people are interested, but I just don't have the time! I've had to explain that I'm a mom of two toddlers, and I teach part-time, in addition to the clothing business. Once I get all caught up, I do plan to get back at it, but only after I have a little break. I'm looking forward to a week or so without feeling so overwhelmed, and actually getting to do fun things with my kiddos, family, and friends once again.

As I sit here late this Friday evening, I still have 13 orders to fulfill. Hey, that's better than 38!

Tuckerman and Gobble Gobble

My silly little man, so full of life and energy, what a unique child of God. He keeps us on our toes and laughing out loud on a daily basis. Everyday is a new exciting adventure.

Tucker's silly hat that he has been wearing around the house lately. :)

Macy is sick with what the doctor assumes is the flu. She started running fever late yesterday afternoon, and has been wanting nothing but to be held by her mommy. Poor baby girl. I am loving all the holding and snuggling.

GOBBLE GOBBLE! Click here to see my newest fall inspired designs.

Busy Busy

What have I been up to lately?

SEWING. Nothing but sewing! Shabby Chic Halloween dresses and Crazy About Fall ruffle pants, to be exact. I can't complain though, as I'm so very grateful the interest in my items. It's funny how all of the orders seem to come all at once. I will go several days without anything, then bam (!) three orders in one day. Since I do have a real job M-T or W, my sewing is limited to Th-Sun. That means I'm trying to sneak it in any chance I can get. I've already decided that the kids need a toy sewing machine for Christmas. :)

And for any of you that sew, please be aware that the popular Portabellopixie ruffle pants pattern runs really small. It took me 2 total mess ups to realize that. How frustrating it is to spend all that time only to realize that what you've made is WAY too small!

Happy weekend to all! You know what I'll be busy doing!

Crazy About Fall Ruffle Pants

My newest project...and I'm working on some Halloween and Thanksgiving tops to go with these pants. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE fall??!!?!

Some Updates

Since starting back to work a few weeks ago, I feel like I've been doing nothing but playing catch up on life! I keep telling myself that it's only a matter of time until I'm back in the swing of things, but I definitely feel 'out of sorts.'


Tucker:

2 day a week preschool started up this week. He was a little disappointed that none of the kids from his class last year are in his new class. He was the oldest in his class last year, so I'm guessing he was bumped up with 3 year olds more his age for this school year. Tucker is very average size for his age, and some of the kids in his class seem huge, so much taller than he is! Even he referred to them as "those big kids." Tucker's friend and neighbor, Grant, is in his class, so that's exciting for him. I was a little worried about how he'd do with going potty at school, but he is doing great! No accidents so far. I'm so relieved that he got the hang of potty training just before school started back up. I was really starting to worry about having to send him to school in diapers, when I had a feeling that most of the kids would already be potty trained. Funny how things work out just in the nick of time!


Macy:

• wears 12-18 month clothing currently, but will very soon advance to 18-24 month. She still has those chunky thighs and booty, which means tight fitting pants! She is wearing size 5 shoe. I'm curious to see what her growth measurements are at her 15 month appointment in a couple of weeks.



• says a few words, and repeats what others say, but mostly babbles sentences. Of course she knows what she's talking about, I just wish the rest of us did!



• is pacifier addicted. I'm trying to limit her paci use, but she must have it to sleep or while in the car. I'm sure I will need some pointers when we do try to break of her that habit!



• loves swimming pools and taking baths.



• doesn't like wearing hair bows. :(



• takes two naps, goes to bed between 8-9pm and wakes up around 8am.



• loves to eat!



• has 5 teeth.
  

Macy, Macy, Macy...my sweet little girl is a MESS! She isn't shy about letting everyone know about her frustrations. When she doesn't get her way, she throws herself on the floor with her booty in the air and screams. She loves getting into everything. One of her mischievous acts is climbing on the couch only to throw the pillows on the floor (all while laughing hysterically, of course). Wonder who she learned that from??? At least she is a great napper, nighttime sleeper, and does really well in the stroller. And she does give the best snuggle hugs. :)

Leave that bow in, sister!

And onto my newest project, the ever so popular pillowcase dress. These dresses are so great because you can pair them with leggings and a long-sleeved shirt for the colder months. My original thought was to make this into a Halloween outfit for Macy, with a pumpkin applique on the front, but I'm actually loving this fabric by itself. I may opt to add orange ribbon instead of the black and call it a "Halloween" outfit! Or maybe I will decide to add to that pumpkin after all. Hmm...

My Current Project...More Football T's

Did somebody say football?

I'm knee deep creating these football tee's for four little girls to wear to the Baylor University homecoming game!

Assembly line? Check.
Several large cups of coffee? Check.

I wouldn't normally suggest putting a name on the shirt (time consuming!) but this customer was willing to pay a little extra for the names instead of just an initial. Good choice, as I'm really pleased with how they are turning out.