Summer Sun Dress Design

 

Aimee of Jade Gaia and I decided to put together another set of clothing to sell online. I am going to sew a summer sun dress and she is going to knit a diaper cover, also called a soaker. Aimee gave me a strand of the handpainted yarn that she wants to use for the soaker so I can find some fabric to match. My first thought was Asian inspired. I couldn't find anything that I absolutely loved at the first local fabric store that I visited. The second farbic store I visited specializes in Amy Butler prints. I had to give the strand of yarn to a lady who worked there to try and find matches for me because my almost 2 year old son was throwing a huge fit. She remarked that I was the first person to ever bring in yarn to match fabric with. She pulled a few different bolts to look at. I was immediately drawn to this print, so I went ahead and bought it for the sun dress. If you look closely, you can see the yarn strand on top of the fabric.

The next step is for me to draft a pattern for the sun dress. I'll post pictures of that project next!

Swiffer Me Happy - A New Sewing Pattern Design

I really enjoy desiging sewing patterns! It seems like I don't get to spend as much time as I would like to on design though. Today was the exception! I have a Swiffer wet jet and a dirty kitchen floor. The problem was, I had no more cleaning pads for the Swiffer. I had been meaning to design a way to use a microfiber towel as a reusable cloth for the Swiffer. And, since I detest having to cut microfiber (it snows microfiber when you cut it) I really wanted a "no cut" pattern. Well, I came up with one! Now, I haven't searched the internet for reusable Swiffer patterns, so I'm sure there are better ones than mine out there. But, mine works great! My 7 year old don even wanted to help mop with the Swiffer and was able to make it work. He said it was a little harder to push it than with the disposable pads, but I couldn't tell the difference. I am converted to microfiber for my Swiffer! It took me maybe 5 minutes to sew and fasten it to my Swiffer. And, it will take probably 30 seconds to secure it in the future.

Now, my next step it to write it up as a free pattern. And, it will be completed before the end of April because that is when I will need to send copies in to The Spotted Box as my "sample"! I'm sure I'll post it here too!

Joyful Baby Cloth Diapers on Sale!

 

To finish up my "sheep" purchase, I decided to dedicate the sales of these cloth diapers to the sheep purchase fund. I discounted them to a great price, so hopefully they will be sold soon and I will have enough to buy the sheep!

These are all solid PUL cloth diapers. The PUL outer layer is waterproof, which means that you don't need a cover with these diapers. The inner layer is a soft and plush microfleece which will keep the baby's bum dry. The hidden layers are super-absorbant microfiber. The diapers close with snaps. If you are interested in purchasing one of these diapers, you can at Diaperswappers

Butterfly Spring Twirl Dress

This is my latest custom order for a twirl dress. The client picked the fabric and trim from pictures I took of choices at my local fabric store. The butterflies and glitter are perfect for a little girl! I hope she likes it! The proceeds from this dress are getting added to my "buy a sheep" fund. So, I am almost halfway to sheep ownership!

Sew Joyful Living Explained

This fun spring twirl shirt was made to match knitted wool capris made by Aimee at Jade Gaia. The fabrics are designed by Sandi Henderson as part of her Farmers Market series, sold by Michael Miller. The shirt is a size 12 month. I love this design as it has a more fitted bodice and lots of twirl!

It was actually this item that inspired me to create Sew Joyful Living. The week before this item went live, my bible study on finances challenged me to "Look for an opportunity to meet someone's needs this week as a way of sharing Christ's love." The whole study is centered around how we use money. My WAHM income from Joyful Baby is the only income that I really have that is "mine", so I decided that the money I made from the sale of this item would be the dedicated to "something" special, but I didn't know what at the time.

Today, I decided the "something" special would be to "buy" a sheep through World Vision. This is the description from their Gift Catalog, Item #0117 Warmest Wool, cost $105: "Send a sheep to keep cold children cozy. For impoverished families, a sheep's wool can yield soft, warm, long-lasting clothes. Sheep often give birth to twins or triplets, which can be sold at the market. And, sheep's milk is up to twice as rich as cow's milk in nutrients like protein, calcium, and B vitamins that growing kids need." What a perfect gift considering how valuable my fellow WAHM's and I find wool!

Now, the sale of that one item did not give me the full $105 to "buy" a sheep. I am going to designate some other items that I have for sale. And, those all of those proceeds will add to the start that I have right now. Come back to check on the progress!

Pink Butterflies Meet Leopard Skin Sophistication

This is one of my more recent creations that went on sale on March 15th at Naturally Nested. I love it because it is different than most of what I see out there. This dress is a girls size 7, so I love the blend of child and adult in this dress. The butterflies and rick rack say child to me, while the leopard skin and halter top say "I'm growing up"! The dress is constructed of 100% cotton knit for easy care. What a perfect non-traditional Easter or spring dress.