A Short One

This is going to be a fairly short post. I have a lot of things in the works right now, and I need a day or two to complete them, but I'm super impatient and want to post something right NOW so I have one thing finished and it's already on it's way to Virginia with this cute little number and I just wanted to show it off.

So there you go.

Please enjoy the following 2 pictures ('cause it's all you get today):

... and a view of the back:

I don't know where you guys live, but it's supposed to be, like, 75 degrees here tomorrow, so...yeah.

Orders, Orders Everywhere!

These Claire dresses are a hit... let me tell you. I'm getting orders from all over the place; people I know (thank you loved ones) and even people I don't know (thanks to you too!). It gives me a good warm feeling inside. And I love doing this. My Etsy shop is also going nuts right now! I LOVE this job :) (that's right, I'm calling it a job. It's work, people.) I'm just pumping out new creations left and right, so if you like something you see drop me a line! willowbeanmama@gmail.com

This one is on it's way to my (Aunt) Nancy in Virginia... thank you! I hope you love it!

Here's the back:

And these are the (unfinished) coordinating overalls that will be sent with the dress. These pieces are for twins... isn't that so cute?

Go do something you're passionate about! Make the time!

Just Another Manic Monday...

Yep... I've been making more dresses. And, yep, I still love 'em. Aren't they just too darn cute?

I mean, come ON, even the back is adorable!

Willow thinks it's the coolest, twirliest, prettiest dress ever. AND she can run in it... her favorite thing to do!

See:

I was making some little itty bitty pinwheels thanks to Dana over at Old Red Barn Co., but I ran out of my little leftover 5" squares that I was using (I thought I had a LOT more) so I just finished up what I had and made a perfectly sized quilt for my lovey.

It's a little wrinkly still, it needs to go through a wash/dry cycle to get all warm and cozy... but I used a single pinwheel square to add to the solid pink back of the quilt and then labeled it with a fine point Sharpie marker.

It says, "2: Willow, Love: Mommy, 3/2010, Just Because I Love You".

So far she couldn't care less :)

Go create something beautiful!

Materialgirlshoppe.com!

So... Material Girl Shoppe has it's own website now! And I believe Kerith is offering 20% off through April 1st for her Grand Opening! Head on over to materialgirlshoppe.com and pick up some great designer fabric!!! Who can resist 20% off? Not me! Hurry, you don't want me to get there first :)

To Julie in Maryland... with Love

I finished up one of my commission projects, a beautiful Amy Butler nursery set and sent it off to Julie in Maryland.

(She purchased a custom set from my etsy shop)

Here's a little glimpse:

pins curved and straight, but i like the curved ones better :)

most of all I love that dish from my momma

she bought it just for my pins

i love her

ready to get quilted

the best helper in the whole world

there is none better

The finished product. I forgot to take measurements, dang! I just realized this. Crap. Oh well, it's a little bit bigger than a crib size, more like a quilt for a toddler bed, big enough to look nice. Small enough to snuggle a baby. There. How's that for a measurement.

Here's the back:

Here's the whole set: quilt, fitted sheet, dust ruffle, reversible bumper

(I have no idea why this is underlined and can't figure out how to fix it. I tried)

Have a good weekend!

I'm addicted...

I made another one. I did. It only takes me one hour and ten minutes to make this dress. I know. How awesome is that?! I can't stop. I'm making one for every little girl I know. This one is for my niece Peyton. Her mom is gonna freak...

Here are the girls' dresses side by side: Peyton's has a slightly smaller trim band at the bottom and I added some ric-rac to the apron.

Here's the back view:

Once again, I used the Sandi Henderson's Claire pattern for Portabellopixie (The Petal Knot Dress). I buy all my patterns and most of my fabric from Material Girl Shoppe on Etsy.

I've also managed to put these blocks together while the hubby was working out.

They turned out very nice and I really like them. I think I'm going to squish them all together instead of using sashing. It will make a smaller quilt, but I'm ok with that. No sashing for two reasons: 1) I'm sick of finding and cutting fabric into strips and 2) I just want to get this thing done. It's been a WIP forEVER and I'm over it. There. I said it.

I hope you are being creative!!!

New Dress for My Lovey!

I made a dress for my little one today... isn't it cute? I used some Amy Butler, Heather Bailey, and even some fabrics from JoAnn's (the lime green floral and the pink polka dot). I absolutely LOVE this dress, and I think it's only the second piece of clothing I've actually finished for Willow...

I used the Claire pattern from Portabellopixie (Sandi Henderson) that I got in the mail the other day. Yippee.

I also found these for a very cheap price and I would like to do something with them, but don't know what. I think they need to be jazzed up and painted, but I'm kind of liking where they are situated on the fireplace mantle. Hmm. We'll see.

I also made this salad which was so pretty and delicious I just had to take a picture. Most simple and best salad EVER. Romaine, dried cranberries, feta cheese, balsamic vinaigrette. Mix and eat. Seriously... it's so good.

And I just had to throw this pic in here because Willow managed to take off her pants, put on one (too big) hot pink rain boot, completely trash her room and rip out her hairdo in the time it took me to put a new trash bag in the trash can (about 20 seconds) Really... but oh do I love that little nugget!

Mail Time! ... (it makes me wanna wag my tail!)

I've obviously been watching too much Nick Jr. for an adult.... anywho. The mail came today (woohoo) and this is what was in it:

Some Heather Ross, Amy Butler, and Heather Bailey fabrics as well as my Claire dress pattern by Sandi Henderson for Portabellopixie! (double woohoo) I can't wait to get started on a bajillion dresses for my little munchkin. I've been putting together color combos and fabric choices for DAYS! and now I finally get to make them a reality :)

I'm almost finished with my studio/office-renovation/clean-up-organize/putstuffaway deal. This is what I have so far. And I must also say that I love power tools. I am a magician with the electric drill.... just sayin'.

Thanks to Jo's Place for suggesting the sticky stuff to put on the back of my picture frames so they stay put... much appreciated.

I just hung up some white panel curtains that I am either going to paint to match the rug on the floor or drape with a fabric chain that I saw at Film in the Fridge. Ashley even gives a tutorial, how sweet... I also hung those shelves. Don't worry, the blank canvas just chillin' next to the flowers will be stretched with fabric and painted... I was just getting a visual :) And I added some little flowery wall decals for some color...

These canvases will also be fancied up... don't worry. There's not enough color in this room, YET... I hung that pretty little IKEA shelf all by myself, and I put together that IKEA table all by myself, and I put together that IKEA lamp, and hung the curtains ALL BY MY SELF! I was pretty impressed, and so was the hubby :) (always a good thing, right?)

And the last wall (the one with all my sewing stuff) isn't actually finished yet, so you will have to wait until later for that... sorry. BUT, I did organize my big scraps and fat quarters into a pretty little (big) basket...

Enjoy the Springy weather and go create something!

Starting to feel like Spring...

In the spirit of Spring I have been:

Just playing around with fabrics....

Working on some commission stuff... (more to come later)

and trying to figure out a way to better organize my (teensy-weensy) creative space (obviously very much needed) and wondering about how to keep those dang frames straight. Little Miss Jumps-A-Lot isn't helping much in that department...

I'm thisclose to duck-taping them to the wall!