Lovies for my Babies

New batch of customized lovies...

2011-10-05T10:56:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share some lovies that are a bit different from the usual....

Abstract-like fabric

2011-09-12T21:22:00.000-07:00

Some possible accent fabric choices for an abstract lover.

I heart Fifi Lapin

2011-08-15T17:06:00.000-07:00

I just picked up a fif lapin lesportsac bag...couldn't resist...I've loved her for as long as I can remember!

I think she's my favorite fashionista :) if you haven't checked out her site, click here

here she is wearing Vivienne Westwood...so adorable!!

pics from her site

I just might have to sew a loviesformybabies fashionista version some day :)

lovies update!

2011-07-16T20:38:00.000-07:00

whew! its been a while and time for an update of recent lovies :)

Here's a special custom Green Bay Packers fan set with sequined cape and all! (I kinda got in trouble with my 6 year old son who claims we have to be Steelers fans and cannot take orders for Green Bay Packers. lol gotta love his passion for sports!)

And here is a new one of a lovie donning an apron, real pocket and all! I thought the pocket would be perfect for future tooth fairy visits! my daughter can't wait til her first tooth comes out just to put it in here :)

some superheros...

some pigtailed girly girls (with flat bibs)...

some bunnies...

some lovie blankies...

a monkey...

some more pigtailed lovies (with ruffled bibs)...

and a bear...

Thanks for visiting!

freezer paper stenciling

2011-04-06T22:49:00.000-07:00

I've been having some fun lately with the stencils found at this site

Here's an image of an old truck:

Stencil found Here And the Beatles

stencil found Here

one of these days I hope to progress to the more complicated images.

Happy Stenciling! :)

kids say the cutest things

2011-02-21T20:11:00.000-08:00

I never really mention my kids on this blog since I just like posting mostly about my sewing projects but tonight at bedtime, reading about the sun, my conversation with my 5 yr old son went like this:

mom: the sun is 14,000 degrees Fahrenheit, do you know how hot that is?
son: no
mom: our bodies are usually about 97 degrees
son: okay
mom: but sometimes when you get really sick and get a fever your body can go over 101 degrees, do you remember how hot that felt?
son: I think so
mom: well the sun is 14,000 degrees, isn't that so hot?
son: then the sun must be REALLY sick!

so cute :)

First Wholesale Order

2011-02-03T20:12:00.000-08:00

I am a full time mom so I consider my etsy shop my side hobby which to my amazement turned into a semi real custom doll shop. so when I was asked if I did wholesale orders, I was really intimidated and never ventured into it. But recently, I somehow got the guts to agree to do one on account of the dolls being either a bear, puppy or gumdrop suited lovie since they were my simplest pattern to make.
So here are some pics of my first order of which all are bears and I was lucky enough to be given free reign with lots of color combos. So I had to take pics of all the colors. Here's what my corner workshop looked like for a while as a one woman bear making factory. :)

Hope they do well in her boutique!

Thanks for stopping by!

boy lovies

2011-01-25T20:38:00.000-08:00

I was trying to describe the variety of boy lovies that I could offer to a customer but then realized it would be easier to just post pics of some that I've done. so here is a gallery of boy lovies I've done in the past. :)

baby clothes to doll clothes

2010-12-27T01:24:00.001-08:00

After watching my daughter make doll clothes out of the Styrofoam sheets that came in the box holding her Christmas gifts plus some tape, I felt kind of ashamed that I hadn't already sewn her some doll clothes after claiming myself a sewist.
so, I went to the awesomeness of the Internet and all the sewing blogs in existence and searched for some inspiration for doll clothes.
I found this sweet blog with a tutorial of turning baby clothes to doll clothes and went to work.
I did a combination of using this tutorial for the top part and this other tutorial from the same blog for the bottom part using three old onesies. oh, and then used this tutorial for the matching hats by this cool blog. There are so many great blogs for sewing, I just love them and could spend too many hours exploring them. *sigh*
Well here are my results...

Think my daughter will have some fun with these. I'm so bad at before and after photos. wish I took one of the Styrofoam get up too LOL!

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

wow time flies - time to share pics

2010-11-20T00:35:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's been over two months since my last post. My thought was to post at least once a month but life kinda took over. Meanwhile, I've still been making dolls so here are some to share. They all turn out so different in my opinion. it's kinda cool how my mood at the moment makes each one turn out in it's unique way. These are just some of my pigtailed girls. I'll have to do another post just on my suited lovies another day.

Happy Thanksgiving! :)

special lovies

2010-09-01T16:32:00.000-07:00

I've been getting some really cute orders in but these two were a bit more special and so I thought I'd try them out as listings on my shop.
My very first Jesus Lovie ready for your precious one to cuddle with. How sweet for your lil one to attach him/herself to our Saviour right?

then I got a request to do a Super Lovie as a girl and thought it was definitely cuter than the boy version. As always, girls are just easier to cute up.

these two are now up at the shop.

thanks for visiting :)

bubble skirt and some buttons

2010-08-08T16:20:00.000-07:00

I too often find myself buying simple shirts or tanks off the sale rack because 1. they are so inexpensive and 2. I always think I can make it into something cuter. more often then not, they end up on my pile of clothes to refashion pile and next thing you know my kids have outgrown the size. well, the other day I finally decided to add some buttons to these shirts since it's easy and fast to remove some pieces from that pile. I made some fabric buttons, think these are size 20 which I made with a fabric button kit I bought off etsy a long long time ago and some Japanese fabric with adorable animals on them. Gotta love the drawings on Japanese fabric, they are just to cute.

Then I made a bubble skirt using an orange/red knit cotton. the fabric is like a jersey knit, really soft. again, a purchase I made off the clearance section on fabric.com sometimes, when I restock my minky fabric needs, I surf off to the clearance section and find such great deals but really I find this a bad habit more than a good buy. I'm sure there are others out there that go through the same thing. I searched through some tutorials online using "bubble skirt tutorial" as key words. and took ideas from here and there and came up with this:

then I added the fabric flower with the fabric button center after thinking it was just a bit plain. Addy seemed to like the little added details as well. :)

BRAINIAC in spectacular spectacles

2010-08-04T16:35:00.000-07:00

so my ADD ON specs item from my etsy shop was included in the above mentioned title, which is an etsy treasury created by Schneider Gallery who herself has an etsy shop of beautiful unique jewelry.

my lovie dolls have been a part of other adorable treasuries on etsy but this is the first one that wasn't a "softies" themed set so I wanted to share.

I have always loved the look (and emotional feel) of spectacles. oddly, I don't wear any. I had lasik done over 10 years ago but I'm tempted to get a pair as my eyes aren't as perfect as they used to be.

well, hope you enjoy :) click HERE

my new favorite lovie

2010-07-20T14:09:00.000-07:00

once in a while I'll get an order that is "new" to me. a first.

this one was requested to have a "mischevious" expression, with eyes looking out the corners of her eyes and here's how she turned out.

think she's my new favorite and will have to add her as a new listing. :)

thanks Sadie's mommy for the new look :)

CHRISTMAS IN JULY SALE

2010-07-15T16:32:00.000-07:00

I have decided to participate in Etsy's Christmas in July sale.

all listings are included in this sale in which I will discount 20% off the item(s) total. Once you decide on which doll with or without any ADD ONS to get, just convo me at my shop and I will place a reserved listing just for you.

don't wait, this sale will only go on until the end of August 2010.

Ruffled bibs

2010-07-10T14:25:00.000-07:00

Here are some ruffled bibs that I've done in the past. the photos are not the best quality but hope you enjoy either way. :)

daddy's shirt to shirtdress

2010-06-22T02:02:00.000-07:00

I finally made a dress out of one of my husband's work shirts headed for Goodwill. I've been wanting to make one for quite some time esp. after seeing all the adorable ones from Dana's site Made. so I put together this strappy version from this:

to this:

think both the hubby and my lil girl were happy with the results. :)

some clothes for Addy and Mama birdie update

2010-06-07T20:22:00.000-07:00

an applique of something Strawberry Shortcake-ish

A new halter with fabric from the Momo Wonderland series ready for summer

Some older brother pants turned capri pants with patches out of Japanese fabric

and here's Mama birdie and baby birdies. They've hatched and are doing really well! it's been so much fun peeping through our window to see this miracle occur. I believe this is a weeping willow bird...the two babies are so quiet and furry (not what I expected at all) and Mama birdie continues to be very protective over them. In order to not stress them out too much, I could only take pics through the window hence, the slightly foggy view.

I'll be posting on their growth as it happens :) so to be continued....

super lovie

2010-06-01T22:54:00.000-07:00

Here's a new lovie for all those lil superheros in our lives.
a mask, lil cape and an emblem with personalized initial.
another excuse to get a lovie doll or *ehem* soft action figure for our boys
but wouldn't this super look adorable with pink mask and lashes for our super girl??
girls get all the fun :)

you can find this lovie now at the shop.
thanks for visiting :)

Mama birdie

2010-05-24T23:53:00.000-07:00

this is what my kids are calling our new visitor who has made home with its two eggs on our front porch.

I have never heard of a bird nesting so low to the ground but that's fine with me because now we have an incredible view of nature's awesome cycle of life. You couldn't get a better view. My kids are getting such a great experience watching this literally on the other side of our front window!

(I just hope the baby birds stay alive...I dread having to deal with lifeless birdies esp. if my kids have to see them...)

will keep you posted. :)

woodlands theme - favorite children's theme

2010-05-02T16:24:00.000-07:00

so Dawn had asked me about some accents fabric patterns for a lovie she'd like and said her daughter's nursery was in a woodlands type theme and I have to admit I turned into the geeky crafting, sewing person that I am because it has always been a favorite for me. There are just too many for me to be able to sent her so I am listing them here for everyone to see :) one of these days, I will sit down and collage all the fabric themes and colors I own for all lovies lovers to choose from... one of these days ... :)

Lovies lovies lovies

2010-04-30T23:53:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a month so I thought I'd just post some pics of lovies that I've done recently. Hope you like them :)

freezer paper stenciling

2010-03-30T10:59:00.000-07:00

yes, I am now officially addicted. Didn't take long...just the first one. It's just such a great instant gratification project. Here's a couple I did for my kids.For my daughter's ballerina shirt, I sewed on sequins on the tutu area since she is very much into "shiny" clothing at the moment. and yes, I sewed each sequin on one by one. It didn't take too long though and it is actually therapeutic for me. She absolutely loves it.
I got the stencils free from this site. You can print straight on to the freezer paper from the site.
I've got lots more in mind to make. I'd love to do the more complicated ones but it takes so much patience and I'm very lacking in that area. :P
there are tons of freezer paper stenciling tutorials out there like this one or this one.
Hope you have fun freezer paper stenciling!

Liberty of London for Target

2010-03-18T19:51:00.000-07:00

Wow do they go fast!! but I'm kinda obsessed at the moment with the Liberty of London for Target Spring line and trying to resist going to the other Target on the other side of town to see what they have from the line. I saw on a blog I frequently visit that they debuted a line at target on Monday and had to go and see and Sheesh they were almost out of sizes for my lil girl. I was only able to grab two spring pieces. But I also scored a couple of little cute frames and my favorite, pop up basket which I think was originally intended for the garden but I am using for laundry.
wish I had picked up a couple more for toys. such a generous size for its price and so dang pretty! I thought obviously I could order more online but all sold out! my goodness...I guess good things go quick so if you have a Target nearby, go quick before they're all gone!

Bunny Love

2010-03-17T17:46:00.000-07:00

Just wanting to share some newer bunny lovies hopefully bringing more security into the lives of lil ones out there. :)

looking forward to Easter and egg hunting days!

3 year old's nail biting fix?

2010-03-09T06:15:00.000-08:00

before I tell you the frustration of trying to nip this bad habit in the bud,

I should also tell you that I lost my mom to cancer 2 months before my daughter was born and the first thing I noticed about her when she was born were her hands because she took them straight from my mom.

My mom had the most pretty feminine hands. you know the ones where the nails just curve beautifully naturally and without any polishing just looked so pretty.

okay so when she started biting them and it became a regular awful habit, it just broke my heart. well after weeks and weeks of nagging and yelling, I had the idea of prettying them up in hopes that she would stop.

and so far it's working...yay! crossing my fingers...
we went and bought more color to keep up with the excitement so think I'll have to work on keeping the excitement going but I'm hoping that after a week or so the habit will have been gone by then.

I didn't think my tomboy had this girly side to her but it's was fun to see her girly side :)

messy crafter = easy frustration

2010-03-03T06:18:00.000-08:00

so I am the first to admit that I am not the most organized person.
I try I really do but maybe it's not in my blood! lol!!

my husband, would be between the two of us, the organized one and he calls me the piler since I make piles around the house and the problem is I don't even realize it.

Now since sewing and crafting is my way of releasing stress and enjoying alone time, it is a big part of my world but have you ever met a crafter who is not a Neat Freak?? um....that would be me.....I sometimes have the studio envy flickr group from etsy on slide show mode while I work so I can brainwash myself bits of neatness into my brain. I so envy those neat studios (although my studio is a borrowed section of my kids' playroom, sorry kids)

small steps I tell myself, small steps :)

so let me show you a before and after of an improvement. I made the mistake of allowing my kids to post their artwork wherever they wanted on my studio wall and after it got out of hand, I showed them a new idea. and even kids liked neat order!

happy neat crafting everyone!

vicariously through my kids

2010-02-18T06:49:00.001-08:00

Before I became a mom, I truly enjoyed clothes. my closet contains a collection of patterned, textured skirts that is now collecting dust but once made me quite happy. Everyday I chose an outfit that started off my day and I really felt good once a cute one was put together.
Once I had my kids, that love was shifted to my kids and I realized the other day that now I do it for my children. It's been over 4 years since I've gone shopping for myself and now I only enjoy browsing through the children's section. I guess my love for fabric was always there since I now sew and have a fabric collection I don't really need (you sewers know what I mean) but seeing those outfits on my lil girl and boy brings that smile I once had with my own outfits.
I hope they don't look back at their pictures and say "mom, I can't believe you dressed me like that!" lol!!

monkies and froggies and fuzzheads(??) oh my!

2010-02-10T17:29:00.001-08:00

just a cheeeezy title and some pics of new lovies friends at the shop :)

hope everyone's having a great week!

I heart IRMI

2010-02-04T06:17:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting an Irmi lamp for a long time now. I found one at the Rose Bowl Flea Market here in Los Angeles, CA once of a sweet mother and baby in a carriage in a really beat up condition and the guy was asking $15 which I'm sure I could have asked for less but for some reason I passed it up. I think I didn't want to deal with fixing it up and what not. Well, for the next couple of days, I was kicking myself because I couldn't stop thing of it. I'm usually not someone that values material things and I try not to get into collecting antiques because I think I could get out of hand but these sweet Irmi characters are really irresistible.

So check out what I found the other day at my local second hand store for 3.99!! what sweetheart!. a handle from the paint can is chipped off but I don't care. the music box still works and I was so excited to have found him!

My kids saw it and immediately said is that mine? and I said nope Mommy's! and put it on the highest shelf in my office :)

Back in Business

2010-02-01T08:40:00.000-08:00

Come see what's new in the Lovies Shop:

wearable blanket and coloring shirt

2010-01-27T10:47:00.000-08:00

My daughter is oh should I say "colorful and very active". She is one of those awesomely entertaining girls who cannot focus more than maybe 10 seconds before she moves on to the next thing that catches her attention. I just love her to bits. okay with this said, her personality doesn't allow her to stay still while asleep either. So, ever since she was an infant, I have been putting her to bed with a wearable blanket. Now I know this is quite common among babies but once the toddler reaches a certain height, not many are available for sale and usually only found in fleece. Anyway, why should I spend so much buying one when I can make one. So here is my lil girl's new blanket made from an old quilted women's robe. All I did was:
1. cut off the sleeves
2. sew down the collar
3. sew on a zipper (this one was 22")
4. sew closed the bottom, leaving two holes for her two feet
5. and add a loop and button on the front
after test run #1, I found her in bed the next morning with the wearable blanket off, pj's off and her with nothing on but a diaper. Not good esp. in this weather.
so my next move is to place another button higher up so she won't be able to open it. and I also realized that I should have placed the zipper upside down so she couldn't find it. Phew, using my mommy noodles is quite a task! :)

Then, here is a fun shirt I found at a local discount dept store (can't remember if Ross or Marshall's). it's by Ben Sherman (who knew?). An awesome screen print of a double decker bus (a favorite of my 4 1/2 year old son's) color by number shirt that comes with three permanent markers. My son is the opposite of my daughter, he is a perfectionist and since before he walked, he was able to focus and put together puzzles with ease. coloring within the lines came quite naturally to him so I knew he'd really enjoy this.

He was so proud of his coloring and once I wash it, I'm sure he'll be proud to wear it too. Not bad for a 4 year old huh? :)Can't help be a proud mommy.

gifts for friends

2010-01-23T20:35:00.000-08:00

It's been almost one year since I started the lovies shop and I've started getting complaints from family and friends for not making them any so I've started making ones for the lil loves in my life. Here's one I made for a friend's baby girl:

I embroidered with a bit more cursive script

then came up with this dress with three different fabric prints, the elephant for fun, the blue double gauze for the skirt and a brown gingham for put them together visually.

two pink buttons on the front and one on the back with an elastic loop for easier wear.

more gifts to come! come back and visit! :)

Framed print and gift for Grandma

2010-01-20T11:17:00.000-08:00

So here's the frame all done and framed with the print for the hubby, a golf lover. :) I found the print on etsy where this type of poster is all over the site.

But of course, nothing beats handmade birthday cards from the little ones. Just priceless.

then, here are some pouches I made for my mother in law who shares her birthday with her son, my hubby. He always says, the "best birthday present she every got"! These were a personalized touch that went along with a nice store bought cardigan, since my sewing doesn't extend to adult clothing but I will get there as my skills advance! :)

you can find tutorials for these types of boxy pouches all over the net like this one by three bears but I first wanted to make them because of the ones I saw on this site by very purple person. Just love her sewing creations, one of my favorite sites for inspiration.

Stay tuned for new suited lovie dolls I'll be adding to my shop in February when I reopen.

Thanks for looking!

Birthday gift for the hubby

2010-01-13T21:26:00.000-08:00

so I saw this DIY freehand embroidery video sometime ago with girlpopcorn.com a while ago and have been wanting to try it ever since.

I put my shop on vacation needing some time to catch up on gifts to be made and decided to use this awesome technique for a gift for my husband's birthday.

I did a search online for German cars which he is a fan of and found this really cool retro image of a vintage Mercedes and decided to use that. Below are pics through the process:

It was my first try and I think it came out okay but next time, I'll have to make the image bigger to match the size of the shirt. I guess I've been so used to toddler sizes, I just didn't even realize how much bigger men's sizes were.

my second b-day project is a print in a frame. I like to collect frames from secondhand stores and usually spray paint them black. older frames do have more beauty in them so it is very worth it to collect them. you can really get out of hand if you don't constrain yourself though. Fortunately, a can of spray paint can really make all the hoarding worthwhile. :)

so here's my pic of my garage/studio where paint is still wet:

I'm a big fan of merging the old with the new and this another example of that. an old (previously golden) frame with old world charming carvings painted with a sleek contemporary black is really attractive in my opinion. It doesn't look so hot on top of dirty concrete and cardboard but once it dries, I'll update with an image of the print inside. :)

Happy crafting :)

baby shower gift

2010-01-09T15:08:00.000-08:00

Wow! has it been over a month? times flies.

my lil etsy shop kept me so busy I was happily but unexpectedly busy sewing away lovies. It was a great first year at etsy and now I know what to expect next Christmas :).

in the meantime, my family and friends have not seen anything from me and I finally put the shop on vacation and made a lil blankie for a baby boy to come in early February.

my idea of a perfect shower gift = something personal like this blankie + a gift certificate (who doesn't want money to spend right?) so that is my way to go. :)

in shop news, I am a person that easily bores and all this lovies sewing has been wonderfully fun but I would love to make new things some cute ideas I have in mind:

an owl suited lovie (this one's gonna be adorable)

a quilted mini blankie security blanket lovie (like shown)
a mini (even smaller) sized alien/robot/ninja lovie

a mobile of my own :)

Crayon aprons(for the girls)/Belts (for the boys)

hope to get these out sooner than later but you know how that goes. plus I have some new nieces/nephews waiting for sewn gifts from their aunt and I can't let them down :)

Happy new Year!

no pics :( no blogging

2009-11-28T01:01:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays everyone!
Thanksgiving official kicked it off, the season of holidays. I've been just overwhelmed with doll orders and on top of that, my hard drive that holds all of my photos, including those of my sewing is out of order!!
I'm sure my data is in there but I haven't had time to figure out why my computer cannot pick up it's contents.
If by any chance, I lose my photos on there, my worst nightmare will come true, the one thing of material that I treasure will be lost, my photos. My precious photos of my children from birth to present and precious photos of my family. I thought if I got a separate hard drive to hold all of my most valuable possessions, I'd be safe in case of a fire or earthquake, I could just grab it and not worry but what do you know...nothing stands safe in the world of technology.
well...I think my fear is delaying my taking it to a better qualified person to fix this problem so I'm just sewing away for now.
Hope every one's having a great beginning of 2009's holiday season!

sewing for my kids

2009-10-27T19:43:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to turning the faux jeans I previously blogged about into these croppedish pants with a little mushroom sewn on. It was the 5T (my daughter fits a 3T) and I cut in the waist about an inch, cut off about 6 inches off the bottom, scrunched the bottom of the cut end like if I were to make a ruffle with a single thread sewn through, then finally finished it off by sewing on biased tape made from scraps of Japanese fabric. One leg came out wider than the other but guess I should've expected that for the first try.

Then, I've been wanting to try the knee pad I saw on Dana's blog Made so I finally made a go at it with these really soft and comfy but plain sweats for my son. I didn't use Dana's tutorial, just did what I thought made sense. using again scraps from Japanese fabric, sewing right sides together, flipping out then sewing on zig zag on the knee area. Think I have to sew some lines through the patch though. It just doesn't look finished enough. I also had to make the sweats low riders, my son hates putting his pants above his belly button but being so tall and skinny, I have to buy one size bigger. so I usually end up doing this:

turning the waist down, sewing (where I plan to cut) off about 2 inches and then cutting off the excess fabric. It's not the cleanest method but it does it's job. :)

My son is always happy to pose for pics since his mom usually sews projects for his sister. I try but sewing for girls is so much more precious and fun. What can I say?? :)back to sewing lovies. my little break is over. :)

Free (adorable) Doll and Toy Downloads

2009-10-24T16:04:00.000-07:00

I've recently been discovering adorable toys or patterns available for free so I thought I'd share three of the most adorable ones with you.

*at http://www.penguin.com/ , you can find an adorable print you can download, print onto printable fabric or what the directions on the site says and just sew and stuff. very cute!

*at http://weewonderfuls.typepad.com/wee_wonderfuls/store/downloads.html , there are lots and lots of freebies of embroidery patterns, sewing patterns, paper dolls to print, crochet patterns of just the most adorable images! gotta check them out

*at http://myfantastictoys.com/freebies.html more adorable adorable paper dolls, paper toys, patterns and cute cute mobile.

these are just three of so many out there. what a generous crafty world right? :)

Happy crafting!

101 sales!

2009-10-19T19:17:00.000-07:00

Wow wow wow! as wubbzy would say:) I can't believe I have reached over 100 sales! Here are some of my favorites I've done over the months.

As a SAHM, etsy has truly been a great creative outlet and have given me a way to enjoy me and not get lost in my mommy world (which I love, don't get me wrong) but sometimes we all need a break even from something as beatiful as motherhood :)

25% OFF SALE at the shop

2009-10-12T16:35:00.000-07:00

I have some lovies that have been sitting around waiting to be shipped so I am offering a 25% off sale for anyone who is interested. Come check them out at the shop. :)

Gracie and the Lil Man and matching onesies

2009-10-06T11:42:00.000-07:00

My latest additions to my lovies shop are finally here for viewing.

I tend to make lovies out of children in my life which seems like something many crafting mothers do. It's a sweet process. :)

Gracie is the sweetest girl and the daughter of one of my friends. She has the most awesome personality which is why she is requested for play dates quite often. When she was a baby, she used to get into so many accidents causing her to go to the ER more than any of her siblings. well turned out that her eye sight was the cause of those accidents so at such a young age she had to start wearing glasses. She was so self conscious of them even though she chose her cute pink frames but soon as everyone kept complimenting them, she grew out of that insecurity and is doing beautifully with them.

Then, I was going through my son's old clothes and found all these cute ties that I loved putting on him at weddings or at church. I loved making him my little man so I created one to last forever.

Then, I finally got to doing matching onesies that I've been wanting to make for the longest time. I'll probably list them as a gift set and not as individual item but of course I'm open to that as well. These items will soon be in the shop (probably by tonight or tomorrow). Just ready for the holidays.

PS. for those of you that have been waiting for this, so sorry for the delay.

Thanks for looking!!

lovies :)

Preview: lil man lovie

2009-09-24T14:42:00.001-07:00

I've been working on a new lovie for boys and since the Dino suited lovie seems like a "Boys" lovie, I felt it more suiting to call this one the "Lil Man's" lovie because all moms at some point or another has seen the lil man in them and it's just so precious.

Here's a peek at one of the details the lil man will wear:

There will also be matching onesies for your real lil man to wear with his lovey!

Thanks for looking!

an awesome find from Walmart of all places!

2009-09-16T20:25:00.000-07:00

I L-O-V-E jeans.

I can pair any kind of top with jeans and I love it. Whenever I get a really over embellished top or too cutesy top for my daughter, nothing looks better with it than a pair of cute jeans.

BUT I am big on comfort for my kids as well and jeans are really not very comfortable on kids. so when I found these soft knit faux jeans for girls at Walmart, I was thrilled. They were only $4 even, just icing on the cake.

They're just like knit elastic pants with all the cuteness of jeans. I had some faux jeans like these when my kids were infants and had always hoped to find some for them as toddlers. Never did I think I'd find them at Walmart. but How cute are these right? I love how these folded bottoms give that 50's look. I wish I took a pic of her with her sneakers and cardigan...so 50's adorable!

I bought like 6 pairs from size 3T - 5T. the 3T is like skinny jeans on her but hella comfortable and I plan on turning the bigger ones into knicker, clam diggers or capris.

Something like this

this or this

these are images from http://www.littlefashiongallery.com/ , one of my favorite places to browse.

also, I found this site called skip to my lou, gifts you can sew where there are lots and lots of sewing tutorials (am I one of the last people to find this site?) and this

image of leather baby shoes is just crying out for me to make it. How adorable are these?? from While they sleep's blog. so cute!

I've been so consumed in my lovies shop lately but I plan on getting back to making things for my lil ones so hopefully soon. :)

Happy sewing everyone!

For the boys (& girls) - Dino Suited lovie

2009-09-14T03:43:00.000-07:00

Wow, I have been so excited at the response I've been getting with my latest lovies. I've been a lovie making machine lately and just loving it! well you'd think that would slow me down but actually I've been dreaming up more ideas/designs for more lovies nonstop! so here's a new one. since I don't have much for the boys, I decided to make a Dinosaur Suited Lovie but still couldn't resist it's feminine version...sorry boys. :)

I just LOVE how those cute lil spikes turned out on that dino tail!

Can't wait to sew up my next idea. :)

Happy Lovies!

Made by Rae Jackpack Backpack GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-09-10T00:17:00.000-07:00

Made by Rae Jackpack Backpack GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!
I really wanted to make this for my two toddlers who started school this week. They would've been the talk of the school and the envy of all moms!
on another note, I've been so busy making lovies these days, I neglected this blog so sorry if I've been mia.
Happy giveaway!

suited lovies, my new series

2009-09-04T03:13:00.000-07:00

Here they are:

and of course a close up of the face

in time for Halloween, a bear and a puppy and a simple and gumdrop suited lovies. More minkie fabric for all that sweet softness from head to toe.

with this series, I'm basically allowing a custom item by asking you to choose:

1. minkie color which I've listed here

2. hair color which can by any that you wish

3. expression: either the smiling eyes or sleeping eyes

4. skin color: light or dark

I've listed a couple of ADD ONS as well,

first the option to change the suited lovie's minkie hands to stuffed cotton hands that moms like for teething and

second, the option to personalize by embroidering a name or initials

Since starting this shop, I've been learning non stop trying to make the shop better and continuously coming up with new ideas. If I had more time, I'd create them faster but of course being a mom is my first priority.

I've decided to close the kids clothing shop (since everything I make, I just want to put on my daughter anyway) and just concentrate on the lovies.

I'm excited to see some response to the suited lovies. I've been so thrilled with the response I've gotten for the Bibs and collars lovies, it energized me to create more! Thanks for all the love!! Etsians are such supportive peeps. love them :)

Happy suiting!

New Lovie: Brianna

2009-09-02T21:50:00.001-07:00

I think she's my current favorite. I just love these colors. They're not very girly but so refreshing.
Brianna's ready to be taken home from the shop.

She also has a different part on her bangs. I haven't been happy with the bangs on the lovies and have been experimenting with new ways to clean it up. This is what I currently like the most.
Don't forget to check back for the new set of lovies, I'm calling them the suited lovies and a couple are just in time for Halloween! :)

Minkie colors

2009-08-31T09:55:00.000-07:00

Here are minkie fabric I currently have in my stash available for any lovie in my shop:
lilac/aqua polka dot smooth minky
pink/brownhounds tooth smooth minky
green(more olive green than pic)/white polka dotsmooth minky
aqua/white polka dot minky
orange/pink polka dot minky(only one left for onedoll, not blankie)
pink/orange polka dot minky

red/pink polka dotminky

poodle minky in navy blue

poodle minky in fuchsia

kelly green

Olive green

Mint green
Dark lime

smooth Green

Ivory
Smooth Black
Raspberry

Lilac

Violet

Purple

Smooth purple
Tiffany blue

turquoise

dark turquoise

Silver

electric blue

Navy Blue

light Blue

Red

watermelontomatoe

Orange

Pale pink

blush

paris pink

fuchsia

Hot pink

Coral

Yellow

Canary Yellow

Chocolate Brown

Mocha Brown

Caramel Brown
Mocha Brown Swirl

Happy Lovies for my Babies! :) Thanks for looking.

lots of refashioning for my lil girl

2009-08-27T20:11:00.000-07:00

I am improving my sewing skills but I wish I could make edges more clean and crisp. guess that takes time and more experience. well, there were several things that I was nervous to try and one of them was adding sleeves. I don't know why I was put back by it but I just kept wanting to avoid it. well, even though today was over 100 degrees here in Southern CA, I wanted to get ready for fall, my favorite season so I finally sewed my daughter a dress with sleeves.

My Mother in law gave me this linen shirt for a re-do so I made a dress out of it. I'm a big fan of linen so I was happy to take it in.

I don't know if you can tell, but this dress had faux sleeves, not a separate piece sewn on. :P

Here's another linen that my mother in law gave me. I'm not a fan of the patterns/designs she chooses but the quality of the fabric is fabulous so I can't resist. Here are the sleeves I finally did. Think it turned out cute like cap sleeves I had envisioned.

This was my favorite refashion. It was originally a women's night shirt/lingerie shirt. The quality of the fabric is awesome, a sheer light fabric perfect for summer and the collarless top is one of my favorite looks for girls and boys. I think I'll have to check more women's sleepwear for refashioning in the future.

This was a cute women's summer top. I only had to bring in the sides a little and shorten the straps. I criss-crossed them as well because one of my pet peeves is when the straps keep falling down so I either do criss-crossing or halter style for all her summer tops.

pls ignore wrinkles :)

I would still love to tackle the button presser foot and the elastic thread! One step at a time right? :)

craft hope project #4 part II

2009-08-21T01:25:00.001-07:00

Meet miss sock monkey, the girly counterpart to my mr sock monkey :) I don't know how or why I ended up putting a pink striped fitted dress like this on her...I was watching reruns of Project Runway so hmmm maybe I was influenced?? Either way, I'm glad she's finished so I can ship them out where they await their new owner friends.

I ended up embroidering her eyes because of the sock monkey eye discussion about safety which of course is important...I just didn't realized that there were going to be such young kids participating.

I'm glad I decided to join this project. Not only can I now say I made a sock monkey once, but it feels nice knowing I had participated in such a sweet event.

Thanks craft hope and happy sock monkey making!

craft hope project #4

2009-08-17T03:29:00.000-07:00

wow! I can't believe I made one!

when I read that the latest Craft hope project was Sock Monkeys, I initially decided to skip this one because I had never made one before and for some reason, even though I like trying new things, I didn't feel confident enough to take go.

Then I don't know why, but for some reason today, I felt like I needed to shop for socks and then I thought of the project and I couldn't let myself stay away from such a wonderful opportunity to be part of something so beautiful. I mean can you imagine all of those kids' faces light up when they see all of those monkeys? just awesome!

First, I decided to just use white winter socks since I couldn't find one like the classic sock monkeys that fit within my budget and also because I had a pack of these white ones in my drawer unopened. Then, when I finished the doll, it looked so naked! so funny but I was embarrassed for the poor guy so I put together a simple jumper from a flannel that had some fire trucks on them and it ended up being perfect since the back straps of the jumper fit perfectly around it's tail. Think I need to add a pocket on the front though.

and since this ended up a boy, I'll have to do another one as a girl. Come back to see the girl version!

I used http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Sock-Monkey for directions but instead of using the toe part of the sock for legs, I flipped it around and used it for the head so I could use the toe part as it's hat. I also used the toe part for the arms so I could match the colors of the back of the arms to the monkey's back. I guess my sock's design kind of directed where I would cut what. Hope that made sense :) Happy Sock monkey making!

Tiny dolls for tiny furniture

2009-08-16T22:55:00.000-07:00

I went to the Rose Bowl Flea Market for the first time this month, a once a month event, that I've been wanting to go to since forever and I've been living in California for nearly 30 years now and it was so much fun despite the terrible heat.
My poor daughter was dragged along booth after booth, sweating in her stroller but luckily she's becoming a shopper like me and didn't mind so much.
among other finds, was a really old set of plastic doll house furniture that seemed the perfect size for my daughter's doll house so I bargained with the lovely lady and snatched it at a great price. But when we got home, we realized that we didn't have any dolls to fit these tiny things.
so I remembered this cute fabric I got on sale from Superbuzzywith cute little girls on them and just whipped up some tiny stuffed wannabe dolls (sewing the girl images wrong side up against some fleece leaving space for stuffing, flipping over, stuffing with polyester and sewing up the hole) for them to play with.
My 4 year old son soon saw what was happening and joined in. it took less then 20 min to make and they played my favorite child's play, creative role playing, for over an hour! I love my sewing machine!

There were so many things I wanted at the flea market that I still have in my head. Among other things, a really old Irmi lamp of a mom and baby in crib that needed refurbishing but I thought I didn't need it and now it's haunting me. :) Now I have to go to next month's market to track it down. :)

Bibs and Collars Lovies

2009-08-13T17:07:00.001-07:00

Here are the lovies from the new bibs and collars series. They all wear onesies made of minky fabric with cute accents on the bib. tuxedo bib, white collars, tiny buttons, just cute. I can't resist a bib with three buttons so I had to include buttons but for those that have infants where buttons are not appropriate, I am giving the option to change the buttons to a bow.

Hope you like these new cuties. I've given each one a name and are up and ready to be taken home at the shop.

thinking alike?

2009-08-11T12:41:00.000-07:00

I just saw that Dana from Made is also a fan of jumpers or as she likes to call them shorties. She did a yellow version and it is quite adorable. check it out here. I think she might beat me to a tutorial though since she probably has much more experience than me at making them. this was my first attempt at it and juggling motherhood of two toddlers just doesn't give me enough time for speedy delivery so if anyone was looking forward to my tutorial I apologize ahead of time. :) thanks for looking.

work station

2009-08-11T12:25:00.000-07:00

my new series of lovies is almost ready to be listed. I'm really excited to show them to everyone. check out my doll factory.

of course Java need be included!lovies hands waiting to be stuffed and sewn.

thanks for looking and check back soon for the finished products!

my headless dolls await

2009-08-07T17:04:00.001-07:00

my excitement with making children's clothing has put my lovies on the back burner. After putting ready made lovies on a 10 dollar clearance, my shop is looking quite empty and lonely so I'm planning doing a new series of lovies made of minkie fabric accented with cute bibs, tuxedo bibs and collars. I sure am taking a long time getting to it though. here's another preview of the new series. hope you like it.

jumpers for girls, my new fav

2009-08-07T01:40:00.000-07:00

I've really taken a liking to jumpers lately. I think it's because my daughter is such a tomboy and just refuses to wear skirts.

they are pretty easy to make. I started out doing a refashion of this XL women's camisole that I got on clearance thinking I'd use it for a sewing project and it turned out pretty good:

now mind you, I'm a beginner sewist only sewing for about half a year and self taught through brain power and the web of course. so I was quite bold when I decided to use this awesome Japanese double gauze fabric to make a jumper from scratch. I have to say I'm really happy with it's result and am even working on a tutorial for it. check it out:

I can't wait for Addy to wear it tomorrow! I'm so in love with this fabric right now. it's amazingly soft and light. If only I can get them at a better price!

solution for shoe laces hassle?

2009-08-03T11:27:00.000-07:00

if you're a mom, you'll know what a hassle shoe laces are. that's why for a long time I only purchased shoes with Velcro. but I do like the classic look of laces so I found a solution which seems to be working so far.
just purchase elastic chords and replace the laces. at the top, I just tied the elastic into a knot and hid it behind the shoe tongue. now I just stretch the shoe open and do a side to side motion while pushing them in and no shoe lace hassle!

Lexi

2009-07-30T15:02:00.001-07:00

blue eyes and freckles, you can't get more darling than that!

New batch of lovies

2009-07-26T19:03:00.000-07:00

I'm working on a custom lovey and also ideas for a new batch. I love collars, bib, tuxedo bibs...things around the neck line so I decided to do my next batch look something like this:

kinda creepy headless but wanted to show you a preview.

booties for craft hope

2009-07-25T23:00:00.000-07:00

unfortunately I didn't make it for project #3. I only got around to making six booties but thought they were better than nothing but by the time I got in touch with craft hope, it was too late. I'm sending them anyway since they will be in need of them in the fall. I was dreaming of a cute lil girl in India wearing one of the booties but oh well, hope I get a chance again in the future :)

craft hope: I can't believe I missed it!

2009-07-15T16:45:00.000-07:00

what an awesome organization that I just found out about on Made. it's called craft hope and they collect crafted items for donating all around the world. the project that I missed was a collection of handmade dolls and check out this photo from their site! over 400 dolls!! wow!

I would've loved to have sent a bunch of my lovies!
well the current project is to make beanies, booties, blankets, pillowcases, and hankies and they are sending them to India. and deadline is July25th. for more info check out http://www.crafthope.com/. I hope I can get to this and send something out!
thanks craft hope for your goodness and actually doing something to help others!

miscellaneous sewing,refashioning and lots of it

2009-07-15T15:22:00.000-07:00

It seemed as though I'd been MIA on the sewing front but actually I've been having a jolly ole time sewing just really simple things for my kids and maybe some skirts for Addy's shop.

I finally made something for my son and he was so happy to model them for me. First I refashioned an old pair of cut offs of mine into some comfortable lounge jeans for him. then I made some pj bottoms from some fabric of rockets and stuff that he liked.

I refashioned a jacadi dress that was out of fashion into some flare legged jumpers. just cut off the sleeves and turned the dress into pants.

Here's another jacadi dress turned shorts. these are so cute on my daughter with a simple white tank. love it for summer!

three more skirts. the giraffe one has a slit like thing going on on the sides for more freedom in movement...very important for toddlers on the run!

then this dress was re-done. if you follow this blog, you'd remember it was this one from a previous post. it was just wrong when I put it on Addy so I re-haltered it. think she likes it better this way.

I've been so lazy about adding items to the shops. don't' know why. but if any of you would like to take any of these home, don't hesitate to leave me a comment or email me.

Hope everyone is enjoying the sun lately, it's been hitting the 90's here so I'm done with summer already! I'd love some winter so I can get back doing layers, my favorite way of dressing.

ladybug halter and patterns (my first ever purchased)

2009-07-09T02:20:00.000-07:00

Another halter made from a kitchen towel purchased at Anthropologie. It has adorable embroidery of bugs that even girls can appreciate.

I've been going through kind of a weird phase just bored with my usual sewing. I'm such a beginner sewer that I haven't yet explored using patterns but the styles of today's patterns are really not very inviting in my taste. so of course I explored etsy and it's vintage patterns. I found that I favored 50's and 60's styles for children and ended up purchasing these from http://www.MyraMelinda.etsy.com pics also from her shop:

I can't wait to learn from these but reading patterns is definitely something new for me and will require lots of trial and error.

Wish me luck!

10 DOLLAR CLEARANCE SALE

2009-07-07T19:33:00.000-07:00

http://www.loviesformybabies.etsy.com/

I'm trying to clear out some ready to ship items so all of the dolls on my loviesformybabies shop will be on sale for $10 for a limited time.

Thanks for looking!

matching doll

2009-07-07T01:47:00.001-07:00

Here's the doll I made to match the girly pink dress from my previous post. I was going back and forth as to how I wanted her curly hair to turn out. I tried yarn and other materials but at the end I went back to my original way of making a head of hair, except this time it has some waves to simulate curls. I guess my preference is always simple and clean over anything else. Here she is miss girly girl. These pics turned her hair almost black but it's actually like a dark chestnut brown. I also decided to do a toddler doll as opposed to my usual lovey doll with onsie since this set is for a 4 year old.

Think this set will be a new custom addition to my etsy shop. :)

I've got other sewing project pics all ready to be posted but lazy me...I keep choosing sleep over blogging these days...

sew i do: Reversible bags giveaway!

2009-06-29T16:16:00.000-07:00

sew i do: Reversible bags giveaway!

this is one of my favorite blogs. she sews adorable boy clothes...something very hard to find. check it out.

pink halter as girly as can be

2009-06-27T23:11:00.000-07:00

Just finished this cute halter dress for a fellow mommy at my kids' preschool. She has a gorgeous daughter with the most gorgeous brown curls and she favors anything pink and girly. I tried to make this halter as girly as I could in my mind without exploding in laces and pink so this is what came out. just a dash of cream lace, two pink buttons and one more to hold up the halter neck in the sweetest pink shade and a slightly laced trim to finish it off. oh, and of course my fabric of choice, Daisy Chain by none other than Amy Butler. Her color combinations are always just right.

This is a size 5 so it's obviously big on my daughter who's a size three.

Next is to create a matching doll. Can't wait to get started once my kids allow it. I'm surprised Addy even modeled this for me. I think she liked this dress so I may have to make one for her too. :)

I want to make a doll with a head of curls like this gorgeous girl has so that is my current crafting dilemma since all the dolls' hairs I've done so far don't really resemble curls. hmmm....it'll probably end up with some type of yarn I'm thinking. any suggestions out there??

well, you'll see what I come with on new posting. wish me luck and happy weekend everyone! :)

New halter dresses

2009-06-23T04:04:00.000-07:00

These are some halter dresses that I finished. I obviously love halters. I think they just are so cute on lil girls. I love them on my daughter.

This melon colored one I finish off with a really cute Asian screen print. I'm not sure if I like the different fabric together. I imagined the finished product to be more flowy but I lined the lightweight cotton with a muslin which made it heavier and the melon jersey cotton being so stretchy didn't flow as I hoped. guess it's something new learned for a new sewer. All in all, it's pretty cute.

This purple halter is originally a woman's top. I love this dotted summer fabric. I played around with what I wanted and added the two fabric covered buttons for something extra. It was just too plain without them.

This was a originally a women's ribbed tank that I changed to a halter and then embellished. I actually got my daughter to model it for me. This is what her idea of poses are. She is so entertaining. I just adore that girl. I realized after that her satin bloomers underneath were making the cotton look bumpy but oh well, I wasn't about to try and have her model more...one session was enough energy used for me.

This tank dress was a hollister brand that I thrifted. I love striped tanks. When I was working on the bib though, I wasn't in that sewing mode I'm usually in but I pushed myself to sew anyhow since I actually had the time (do you know what I mean?) and it turned out slightly crooked and took a lot longer than I ever imagined. Amazing how powerful your mind is huh? I think I need to add some buttons though and since it came out slightly crooked, can't put it on addy's closet shop....it'll just be another one of Addy's to keep. :)

again, those satin bloomers are making this tank dress look crumbly (is that even a word?).

lovie with big bow hair band

2009-06-23T03:39:00.000-07:00

My girlfriend asked me if I could do a lovie with one of those big bow baby hair bands for one of her nieces because her mom just loves them and she has one in every color to match all her outfits. I'm sure you've seen them around...very popular, something like this

(photo image and product by etsy seller http://www.tosweetpeafromme.etsy.com/ )

so this is what I came up with:

unfortunately, I didn't have time to take a good picture so this pic is from a last minute pic from my phone.

I copied the bow off a picture she showed me of her niece. I wish I had the pic to post because it just came out identical so we couldn't help but laugh about it.
I love it so much I had to add it to my custom lovie posting on my shop . too bad the pic came out so bad.

One Lovely Blog Award

2009-06-16T21:08:00.000-07:00

Wow...I'm speechless to have received my first blog award. Thanks so much Elizabeth of Yellow Finch Designs! She creates sweet feminine jewelry for her etsy shop at http://www.yellowfinchdesigns.etsy.com/ .

By accepting this award, I am happily posting the Rules of Blog Award Acceptance:

1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.
2. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you've newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

I first discovered etsy through the Martha Stewart Show which I normally don't watch only because my toddlers don't allow me a regular schedule to watch (plus when the T.V. is on I usually don't fight them from watching Dora or Calliou) but to continue on, :) I discovered a whole new world of happiness and soon became an addict following such talented creative artists out there. I was just amazed at how many talents existed in this world. So, I do have a long list of blogs of creative individuals I truly admire and 15 sounded like a lot but it was hard for me to pic out as well. So here they are(in no special order):

Connecting the dots...

Katie did

Made

Tollipop

Made by Rae

On Hand Modern

clevergirl.org

Color by Number

Artfulife

Mama4Earth

Life, craftiness and everything else

Colby Lane Designs

memory collector

la petite vie

firedaughter clothing

Thanks everyone for such inspiring blogs!

New stuff

2009-06-10T03:11:00.000-07:00

Here are some completed work...slowly but surely I'm creating again :)

a custom order lovey boy...it's my first sold boy! I almost gave up on them...

and a sweet skirt for a sweet girl

I'm planning on adding this skirt to my etsy shop Addy's Closet once I get more done so I can add them all at once. Hope I can get to them soon.

Father's Day Gifts

2009-06-08T00:22:00.000-07:00

For the past couple of weeks, I've been doing a lot of cutting and preparing of new dolls, halters and skirts but haven't done any completing thus leaving this blog abandoned so I wanted to share a project my kids just did at Home Depot.

Home Depot has a kids program that occurs every first Saturday of the month. It's really great. This was my first time taking my kids and they enjoyed it so much. They got to make Father's Day gifts (a tool/nail sorter). Home Depot provided them with aprons and a pin with a picture of what they made that day. I noticed other kids with aprons filled with pins of what they completed. I'm already excited about adding another pin to my kids' aprons! :)

if you're interested, here's a link to the kids program of Home Depot. It says the program was designed for kids ages 5-12 but my kids are 2 and 4 and they did fine with me doing most of the nailing. :)

Hope to get some sewing done soon. I've cut out about 15 patterns for skirts so I'm excited to see what they turn out like.

Have a great week!

a lil recycled bunny and a new halter dress for the shop

2009-05-27T02:00:00.000-07:00

I found this bunny stuffed doll at my local thrift store. It didn't have a face (I took this pic after embroidering her face...wish I had taken what it originally looked like) and wore a faded blue and cream plaided shirt and pants - very not so cute country. The hands were also glued together probably to hold something that was no longer there. Anyhow, I knew I wanted to take it home and cute it up. so here's what she looks like now.

I'm calling her Cal because that striped beanie reminds me of my days at UC Berkeley which is AKA Cal. I've been having fun embroidering faces on my dolls lately so I took a stab at embroidering her beanie hat. Guess it's not so bad for my first embroidery of something other than a face.

And here's a pic of a cotton halter dress I also finished. It's bib is of cream laces and cute lady bug fabric covered buttons I got at this etsy store. Another lady bug button is at the the neck closure. I'd like to post to Addy's Closet Shop but I realized that only my daughter will do as my model. Funny but when I used the stuffed bear as my model, the clothes were viewed less and when modeled on my daughter, they were view a lot more. so posting will have to wait til the crazy girl will allow me to put it on her. :)

Hope everyone's having a great week so far.

new sheets and duvet cover

2009-05-27T01:41:00.000-07:00

Whenever I buy a sheet set, I usually turn the flat sheet that comes with the set into a duvet cover by simply sewing another piece of fabric the same size (usually another flat sheet stored in the linen closet). It's the easiest sewing project. Just three straight lines and a few buttons or snaps at the last side to close.

I never end up using the flat sheet since it just gets all pushed around into the corner, leaving an uncomfortable hassle. Do you know what I mean?

But there are always cuter and cheaper sheets to choose from when you buy them in a set right?

Well, although the weather here in SoCal has been just unpredictable, I had been meaning to change my son's winter flannel sheets to some cooler cotton ones. Plus these sheets were on sale at Target so I couldn't resist. I love how they have shabby chic and now dwell...

four sweet lovies, Pipi and a grey bubble dress

2009-05-17T02:42:00.000-07:00

I finished my latest lovies and I am really in love with them. It's so fun seeing each doll's expression come alive and I just love how their faces come from my subconscious love for my kids. What I mean by that is - I must subconsciously picture my kids when I make each lovey because they all end up resembling them one way or another. I'm sure you artist moms out there understand what I'm talking about.

This one I'm naming Carmen because she reminds me of the musical with her red and the hair bows look like hoop earrings that Carmen would wear.

and this one I'm calling Precious because she reminds of those Precious Moments characters.

This one is Pipi because she reminds of Pipi Longstocking, my Heroine from childhood (although I later found out the actor playing her part was really a boy and was devastated!). While all the girls were playing with their barbies or Cabbage Patch Kids, I adored Pipi and wanted to be her. That red hair with pink bows alongside a onesie of skull/guitar is so Pipi right? Any other Pipi Longstocking lovers out there?

and here is another bubble halter dress I finished. I don't think the pictures do them justice. I think with cotton, you really need to feel them to appreciate them. The cotton on these bubble skirts are so soft, excellent quality. I adore bibs on dresses but still appreciate simple design so I tried to keep it mellow with the three rows of ruffle from a floral linen fabric which texture I think contrasted well with the casual, soft cotton.

Hopefully my daughter will help me out and model this one for my etsy photo but I should be so lucky....

My to do box of sewing is filling up faster than I'm creating. Wish I had more time to just sit and sew. While I think this, I also crave another baby...gosh I'm quite the greedy mom. My hubby doesn't seem too thrilled with this idea so I guess my love for sewing will continue.

Happy Monday!

New stuff

2009-05-16T00:12:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of new dolls I'm working on:

These don't have the hands that little teethers would love due to time constraints.

I don't know why but I decided to embroider open eyes...guess it was the mood I was in. I finished this Samantha doll and her expression turn out quite mischievous. She looks like she's about to do something naughty:

And I finished this green bubble dress. Just a simple, comfy and cute item. Addy's a size 3T and this dress is a 4T so it's a bit big on her but she enjoyed modeling it for me either way.

It's up and ready to be shipped on addysclosetshop.

Happy Friday! :)

Sewing, my gift from my mom....Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-11T23:01:00.001-07:00

Mother's day is probably the second to the worst time during the year for me next to Thanksgiving day ever since my mom passed away on Thanksgiving day over two years ago. She battled cancer for almost two years and decided she didn't want to fight anymore. I really think a person's determination is what brings results which in my mom's case was to let life go. I guess on a positive note though, my mom was the most God-loving, God-fearing person I've ever known and therefore, there was no doubt in any one's mind that she was looking forward to her place in Heaven. It was the day she left us that for the first time, I could look forward to my time because then I could see her again.
well, for some reason, today, my in laws and other family members were constantly talking about my gift for sewing and making things...and I was reminded that it was my mom who somehow, through genes, through just being around her, passed this gift to me. My mom was a crafter's genius and loved to crochet, sew, create, she could sew with her eyes closed... and I am so thankful for her gift because this hobby is the one thing I have for myself, and only myself, not for my kids, my husband, my in laws, my dad, just for me that I do for me.
I've noticed my daughter, only two now, lollying around my sewing and smile, knowing that it will influence her in one way or the other.
so Thanks mom, and miss you...

What I'm trying to finish

2009-05-06T00:36:00.001-07:00

Here are some pics of jersey knit dresses and a new lovie I've been trying to finish.... I layed them all down tonight trying to picture each finished product.
Think the lovie kinda looks like grandma lovie and will require a face lift with thread...only if it were that easy in real life. :)
It's been getting real hot here in Southern California and personally, I like winter, only because it allows me to layer and I can't resist a double breasted coat....not that California winters even allow me to put one on but a girl can still hope...

Bougainvilleas

2009-05-05T20:39:00.000-07:00

These are my favorite blooms during spring. Such rich colors that can make a plain old garden look beautiful. I think My vines have finally rooted themselves this year so I couldn't resist posting a pic of them.
My kids have both been fighting colds lately so my time has been dedicated to them leaving none for my sewing. Hopefully that'll change soon because I'd love to add some more lovies and dresses, some bubble dresses I'm working on currently, to my shop.
Thank goodness though they don't have the swine flu, quite a scare these past few weeks.
Happy Spring everyone! :)

my new model

2009-04-30T06:47:00.000-07:00

those of you who have tried to use a 2 year old to model some clothes know how difficult that situation can be....

so meet my new model :P

I don't know if that bulging belly is making my dresses less cute but it seems more fun than just displaying them on a hanger.

I decided that having the clothes and dolls on the same shop is looking messier than I wished so I decided to give the clothes its own shop at http://www.addysclosetshop.etsy.com/ hope many of you will visit us there. :)

Chloe

2009-04-29T21:34:00.000-07:00

I had been imagining a bigger doll in my mind lately so I took a stab at it.

Meet Chloe:

She didn't turn out exactly how I imagined her in my mind but she's still a cutie and makes me smile so I guess that's what counts. She'll be up at the shop by the end of the week hopefully.
Happy Wednesday:)

I was featured on cuteable!!

2009-04-29T09:28:00.000-07:00

http://cuteable.com/cuteable-finds-329/5439

This is one of my favorite blogs so I'm so excited! :)

baby blue and red

2009-04-25T10:03:00.000-07:00

This seems to be my new favorite color combination. This dress is now ready to purchase at my shop. :) Thanks for stopping by.

never enough time to sew

2009-04-21T04:19:00.000-07:00

As a mommy to two little ones, I usually do my sewing after they have gone to sleep. Well, my kids are night owls and so they don't go down til after 9 so when I get into a sewing project, I can easily stay up past 3am! and then I go on the web and just get lost in all the wonderful pretties out there...

These are on my current wish list for things I'd like to sew which I found on this adorable site:

look at this adorable headpiece on this gorgeous girl...I probably wouldn't put this on my girl but still so adorable to look at...oh and can you believe these shoes??? ugh! so dang cute!! I can't stand it.

See, already past 4am. There are so many adorable things out there for lil ones...I just can't get enough. :)

Good night and happy web surfing.

some updates at my shop

2009-04-21T04:14:00.001-07:00

Added some details to the existing lovies at my shop. Here are some pics.

Hope everyone's week started off well :)

Pixie Dust Fabric Giveaway

2009-04-18T00:07:00.000-07:00

Such beautiful fabric designs...

I'm blogging for a chance at winning. Good luck to me! :)

check the giveaway out here

monograms, hoodies....& a special custom order story

2009-04-15T20:10:00.000-07:00

Here are some new looks my lovies are sporting :)

A personalized lovey with someone's monogram...I made this one with "open" eyes because the requester described the baby to have light brown hair and blue eyes. since I usually do "closed" eyes on all my lovies, I was hesitant but I couldn't deny those blue eyes...
still, I think I prefer the "closed eye" look for some reason...

I wanted to make my boys a little more playful looking so I thought a hoodie could do the trick.

Up and ready to be taken home at my shop.

So here's my story:
The monogrammed lovey shown above was for a special order made for a special baby who was diagnosed deaf and possibly blind. When I got this request through convo my heart just broke. I decided to start this doll making shop when each doll I made, made me smile and just happy knowing that a little one would be enjoying it. so when I got to be a part of making a little one who has it harder than most out there smile, I was so honored and for some reason more nervous than with any other doll. I just wanted so much for this doll to just brighten that little baby's day even for just a couple of minutes or even seconds.
The person requesting the order wanted a "feel" lovey where there would be different textures for the baby to experience and my brain toiled all night thinking of the perfect creation. I know it's just a doll but it meant so much to me to be able to help this baby and her loved ones smile. so of course after deciding on several different textured fabrics and styles, I kept making mistake after mistake and it took more than double the time it usually did for my other dolls. Crazy how your thoughts can make such a dent in your otherwise smooth world.
Well, I think I did my best and it seems the requester really liked the results.

Only two weeks after opening the shop, I got such a special order. Guess God's telling me to keep going :)

Giveaway Winners

2009-04-12T16:49:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much for all of your sweet comments and support. I have to admit that I was pretty nervous about putting these dolls out there but after reading all of your comments, I'm so excited about the shop and am constantly thinking of new things to add to the dolls and make them more adorable. ie. I will be adding hoodies to the boy lovies and also making some new lovies with monograms...check back for these new dolls.

Back to the giveaway...

I decided to go old school and draw names out of a basket since there were less than 40 entries. Also, it is my first giveaway to kick off loviesformybabies so I wanted to make it special and include my kids. :) For those of you that blogged about the giveaway(Thank you!) - I made sure you had two entries by entering a second comment for you myself.

so Congratulations Melissa and Melanie !! Please email me at loviesformybabies@gmail.com with your addresses and I'll send out your favorite picks as soon as I receive your info. :)

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE! :)

Addy's Closet coming soon!

2009-04-10T11:14:00.000-07:00

Here are some images of clothes I've made for my lil girl. I thought they'd make a fun new section on my etsy shop called Addy's Closet since the pieces were originally created for her. Hopefully other people will agree and purchase them. :)

This red halter is another Anthropologie kitchen towel turned halter.

This whimsical pink dress was made from a women's XL summer top and a child's apron. That apron was just too cute to leave as an apron, don't you agree? I'll post more detailed pics on etsy once I have this section running but those matching cloth buttons and ruffle hem are so precious.

Here's another dish towel turned halther. look at the adorable embroidered lemons. so cute.

I've already shared about this princess skirt in a previous post...can you imagine a tomboy just rolling her eyes at this? :)

Now only if I can get my daughter to model for me more easily...it's like actual work trying to photograph her in something! :)

I'd love to know what you think so don't hesitate to leave me a comment. Thanks!!

The giveaway is almost over. Don't miss out...tell your friends:http://loviesformybabies.blogspot.com/2009/03/free-giveaway.html

ZOE

2009-04-09T01:37:00.000-07:00

just finished her...
Here's Zoe with pink hair and Ana Marie cotton fabric.
she wears a cute little matching hair accessory that I got from this etsy shop.
and the Ana Marie fabric is from the chocolate lollipop series that I purchased a while back at this etsy shop.
her face is embroidered as well...I'm kinda new at embroidering so I took my time making sure it came out nice.
Hope you like her, she's ready to be taken home at my shop.

Good Night.

My other sewing pleasure...and a dark skinned lovey

2009-04-08T17:44:00.000-07:00

So my other joy when it comes to sewing is making clothes for my little girl.

I have a love for halter tops and frilly skirts. Just love laces and bows but also mod designer fabric...I guess it gives me pleasure to combine the two.

So here is my latest finished piece.

I saw this princess-like skirt on a little girl and thought I needed to make my own version of it. think it turned out like I imagined. the top layer fabric is actually a cloth napkin I got at Anthropologie, my absolute favorite store on earth. They have such cute...everything... and since I can't get myself to spending the money on all those beautiful items, I do little cheats like buying cloth napkins from there and turning it into my girl's skirt. genius right? :)

Here are some images of my girl as I quickly put it over her capris. love how it poofs out in the back, don't you?

and....

as I read a comment about creating a darker skinned lovey, I was right on it. I don't know why I didn't think of it before (esp. since me and my kids all have an olive tone) but here is an image of her sans body. what do you think?
I also decided to embroider her face which I think I'll do from now on for all of my lovies (as requested by a dear friend)...it does look more quality so even if it takes more time, I guess I'll just have to raise cost a tiny bit and do what makes my lovies look better.

love to read comments so please do so...

and don't forget about the FREE GIVEAWAY. I think two weeks is a bit long for a giveaway online, next time it won't go for so long...two weeks online seems like 2 months! :)

Happy spring vacation week....

loviesformybabies

FREE GIVEAWAY!

2009-03-29T22:00:00.000-07:00

I am doing a free giveaway to promote my new etsy shop. I will be giving away two of my adorable handmade lovey dolls.

Here are the rules:

1. go to http://www.loviesformybabies.etsy.com/ and check out my current dolls, pick out your favorite

2. come back to this blog http://www.loviesformybabies.blogspot.com/

3. post a comment for this blog post and tell me which doll is your favorite. if you post about this giveaway on your blog I will enter you a second time. be sure to leave contact info.

Deadline to enter this giveaway is the day before Easter Sunday, Sat April 11, 2009. I will announce the winner on Sunday and email the winner for mailing information.

Good Luck!