More Christmas...

Do you want more Christmas pictures? Here are some from the Ebert Christmas! It was a little crazy, as usual, but the kids really had fun and there weren't too many melt downs.

Peasant dress!

Yes, I know I am supposed to be writing about and putting up more pictures from Christmas, but right now I want to show you the new dress I just finished. This is a peasant dress, made from fabric I bought in Maui, and I really love how it turned out. However, I fought with my sewing machine for awhile until I could get it to shir correctly. Has anyone out there shirred before? I tried it first with my mother-in-law's machine, and it did not work. I worked at it for a long time before giving up and using my own method of sewing with the elastic and then pulling it so the fabric would gather. Same results but took a lot longer than shirring. With my new machine, I discovered that it can shir! However, the thread kept breaking and getting stuck every 2 seconds and I was getting very frustrated. Finally, I took a break. When I came back to my machine, I adjusted the tension again, and it went smoothly. So a lot of work went into this dress, but it was worth it. I at least know that next time it shouldn't take nearly as long.

Anyway, so here is the dress. I have it in my shop has a 2T ready to ship, but I can definitely make it in any size...I just don't have enough of the same fabric for anything bigger than 12-18 months, and can't find the exact fabric online. Oh, well!

I'm back!

And although it's not the New Year yet, I am ready to begin my new line of spring clothing. For Christmas, my mom got me some new patterns and fabric...and I am very excited to do something new! I also plan to add more knot dresses, since those are my favorite :). For now, I will show you a series of Christmas pictures from the last week or so...starting with our own Christmas, which we did before we left. The kids didn't get much, but it was fun to see their excitement! Over the next week, I'll show you the rest, including our trip. Thanks for looking! In the meantime, I'll be sewing every day...

Countdown to Christmas...

So, in the spirit of facebook, here is my current "status" in the countdown to my favorite holiday (besides Easter), Christmas. Most gifts bought, probably shopping today, completed making many gifts, house semi-decorated, Christmas cards ordered (but not sent out), have a custom order to work on and hopefully finish next week, and just sold a ready to ship item today :). Oh and we did our Christmas bake the other day. No pictures, because I of course forgot my family. Maybe if I had a decent camera, I'd remember it more! Another thing is that I should be putting up a few ready to ship pants in the next few days, so someone can buy them in time for me to ship them before I leave. One of them is a pair of red ruffled pants with polka dots in size 6-12 months (above). And they will be on sale as I want to move them quickly!

Also, for your viewing pleasure, our Christmas picture this year. Not ideal, but it turned out pretty good and I am loving Ally's dress (which sounds conceited since I made it, but I do really love it!). Merry Christmas everyone!

A new skirt :)

I made another apron skirt. I love these skirts, and I especially LOVE this fabric! It is by Patty Young. I made these for two special little girls, and I can't wait for them to get them! I also listed them in the shop, and have sold two already. Things have been busy, which is great, but a part of me keeps getting discouraged and thinking the sales will stop. I hope not- I hope things keep going steadily as they have been, as we can really use the extra income!

I have also enjoyed purchasing some gifts on etsy. So excited about these! A certain ebay commercial says "No one wants handmade for the holidays." I find that rude, insulting...and not true! I love handmade things (like last year's "bacon bowl" from my brother Andre) and I think the people I made or bought them for will love them, too.

Maui :)

We had a wonderful time in Maui! I really enjoyed spending both my birthday and Thanksgiving there. Many of you know that I don't really like Thanksgiving...it's not relaxing, and there's too much cooking involved for food that I don't like that much. So, we ate at a Mexican restaurant. Ha! We also snorkeled (great snorkeling in front of our condo- we saw a few sea turtles, many fish, and a baby octopus). We also did the Road to Hana, swam under waterfalls, and drove to the top of the Haleakala crater (a volcano). A lot of fun stuff and good memories. But I really missed my babies. They were happy to see us when we got back! I also managed to sneak in a trip to the fabric store, so you might see some Hawaiian print dresses in the near future...

Almost vacation...

Allison in her new bow from Marie D's bows on etsy.

Odin "helping" me bake pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.

Ally in a lovely outfit from her Grandma G.

Wow, I have been busy! I don't actually have anything new for the shop, but I have been making some dresses and pants for customers. It's really wonderful that I've already made several sales, with a few others here and there expressing interest and/or asking for future custom orders. I am very excited about this, and hoping/praying God will continue to show me if this is what I should be doing. If it's not, I am perfectly content! On Saturday we leave for Hawaii, and I am really excited for a break. I am going to miss the kids a lot, though, especially since we have never left them for more than just a night. But they will be in good hands with my parents! Now, I'll attach a few recent photos as well as my new business card design.

Christmas dress

I made a Christmas dress for Ally, which is also in the shop. It turned out exactly as I envisioned and I got to use some cute Michael Miller Christmas fabric. I also made my first dress sale on etsy, so that was exciting! Another new item is the peasant top, which is also available as a dress. I am wanting to keep everything for Ally, but I need to make some sales, too!

Dresses for sale...

Well, I decided to do it. A lot of people have asked if I sell the clothes I make...at first I was just doing it for fun, but I enjoy it so much I thought I would try to sell some. "Try" being the operative word here. Sometimes I feel I am taking too much on- MOPS, playgroup, writing, my cards, and now sewing. Not to mention raising two kids, being a wife, spending time with God...you get the picture. So is it too much? Not sure. In fact, I might eventually stop doing the cards (except for friends and family who ask) and just focus on other things. To be honest, designing cards is not going well. I suppose I could put more effort into advertising- but who has time for that? This clothing venture might turn out the same way, and I'm ok with that. If God puts the breaks on it, I'll continue sewing just for fun. And all those clothes in my shop? Stuff for Ally and gifts for friends :). I'll stick to my writing though...that is something I feel I really SHOULD be doing, and maybe the other stuff is just for me. As far as playgroup and MOPS, those are important for my sanity and for my kids to make some friends until they begin school. They always have their cousins, of course, but it's good to make other friends too.

Anyway, thanks for listening to my honesty. This is where I am right now. Life is good, and I have learned recently that I don't need to do everything- not supposed to! I should be focusing on whatever God wants me to do. Now, here are some pics of clothes I am planning to sell- the skirt is a personal favorite and will probably remain in Ally's closet :D.

Fire Station Fun

A couple weeks ago we toured a local fire station with our playgroup. Odin LOVED it. Being the wimp he is, I thought he'd be scared of the big trucks, but he wanted turn after turn "riding" them. He even got to spray the fire hose! It was a lot of fun, and we didn't have to bring Ally because Adam worked from home that day. Even though she is a delight, it wouldn't have been a fun place to bring her!

Cute bows!

My friend Natalie pointed me to her friend who makes bows, Marie D. And you know how I love bows on Ally! These are by Marie D, her shop is: http://maried.etsy.com . Her blog is: http://marieds.blogspot.com/ . Happy bow shopping :)

More Cards...

I have been trying to put more cards in my shop, so customers have a lot to choose from, and therefore I have a few new designs to show you! For now I am going to attach just one...you can see my shop for more. I am also considering starting to sell handmade dresses, etc. Such as the one I recently made for Ally. Not sure if this is a good idea considering how busy I've been- let me know what you think of that!

And coming soon...our day at the firestation, just me and Odin (and our playgroup).

New stuff- cards and a dress!

So I have been diligently working on my shop lately, finally. I am gearing up for the Christmas season and hoping I get as many sales as last year...Most of them are off-etsy, but it definitely helps! Recently I made an invitation for Chana's reception in Indiana, as well as many new designs for the shop! I'll show you one here. Also, I made a fall dress for Ally! I will be making more of these knot dresses :) I have sooo much sewing to do before Christmas...

Growing Up...

Allison just had her half birthday. My baby girl is 6 months old! At 6 months, she can...

1. Sit up all wobbly and fall down after a minute or so.

2. Scoot around because she is determined to get something but can't quite crawl.

3. Get on hands and knees.

4. Eat baby food, and like it.

5. Be cute.

Yeah, that last one was because I can't think of anything else. She LOVES her big brother and he likes to make faces at her so she laughs. They are so cute together! We are very blessed with a sweet baby who sleeps 12 hours a night and takes 3 naps a day. But like I said, she is very determined to get what she wants, thankfully she usually wants sleep or food!

Her stats:

15 lbs 4 oz (25%) and 27.5 inches (97%).

A doctor and a ballerina...

These are going to be Odin and Allie's Halloween costumes. I am NOT a fan of Halloween, it's not a real holiday, and I won't get into the evil associations...however, I do enjoy dressing my kids in fun costumes. I made their costumes because I am not spending a ton of money on something they will wear once, and let's face it, I like to make stuff. So here are the finished products. I also threw in some cute pictures I took of the kids outside today. It has been gorgeous here-75-80 degrees. Now you wish you lived here.

Skirt and Purse..

My two most recent sewing projects were a purse (as I haven't purchased a new one in years!) and a skirt. I found instructions for the purse on a blog called Made by Rae, and the skirt was from a blog called Amazing Mae. I have found so many free tutorials and patterns through other people's blogs :) I really like the purse, but I wish it had more structure to it. And the skirt took me longer to make than I thought it would...but I plan to make another one! Up next are a skirt and knot dress for Ally, and some other projects. Also, check out my shop for new Christmas card designs coming up!

My brother is married!

Yay! Chet got married Friday, one day before our anniversary (5 years!). We are so excited for him and Dana. We had a great time in Colorado with my family- Odin still says, "Come on Andre!" or "Come on Madi!" and is talking about his grandparents. :) Here are some pictures from the weekend.