Stella Sola Handcrafted Boutique Clothing

Happy Fourth of July!

2011-07-02T19:45:00.000-07:00

You may or may not know that I am a proud Army Wife (& sister). My husband is an officer in the US Army and has served for over 5 years. My brother is also an officer in the Army and has served for 15 years (he enlisted at 17). We're very patriotic & proud but also are acutely aware of the price of freedom since both have served overseas in our various wars and have seen good men die in freedom's name. This weekend when you're out enjoying yourself, take time to remember those who sacrifice on a daily basis for the freedoms you enjoy.

My New-New favorite

2011-06-29T18:32:00.000-07:00

As I was typing that title I learned that apparently I already had a post called "My New Favorite." So, this is my new New Favorite. I was inspired by this adorable skirt by the talented people at "Persnickety: Fancy Little Frocks."
Isn't it just the cutest?

I realized that I had the stuff to make my own version last night so I grabbed my Amy Butler fabric (thank you Above All Fabric end of bolt sales which I am TOTALLY addicted to!) and an antique dresser scarf that I picked up at the Boysville Thrift Shop for a quarter(!) (Love that thrift shop...so much better than the Goodwill here!) I stitched up a couple (I had 31" of fabric, just enough for 2 skirts) and am absolutely loving them!

Here's mine!

So simple to make and so cute in the end! They're both available for sale for $35 each (not including shipping). I originally planned on one being for Aidan and the other to sell but Aidan declared it "not for her" so I'm selling both. One is 5T and one is 6x (the main difference is waist sizes, 5T is 21" around, 6x is 23" around).

Auction

2011-06-25T17:13:00.000-07:00

I was recently invited to participate in an auction on Facebook. Since I don't have an Etsy or any other online storefront to sell from, I thought this might be a good way to get my goodies out in front of some new people. Here are the items I'm offering.

Everything starts at $10 and bid increases are 50 cents. The auction is here and will be going on all this coming week. Be sure to drop by!

Happy Father's Day

2011-06-19T12:26:00.001-07:00

Happy Father's Day to all the great dads, moms who have to be moms & dads and grandfathers out there.

On a happier note...

2011-06-19T12:04:00.000-07:00

So, on a happier note, did you notice my new header? My daughter, Aidan, created this cherry blossom branch using construction paper & crayons in art class this past school year & I absolutely loved it. So, I extracted it using Photoshop and used it to create a new header. It's actually 3-D, the blossoms stand up off the page but you can't really tell that here. I want to have new tags made for my garments but I'm not sure how the image would look on cloth. Lemme know how y'all like the new header!

Ughhhh!!!

2011-06-19T11:59:00.000-07:00

Remember how excited I was over getting a new serger? Yeah, that was short-lived. This stinkin' serger is way more trouble than it's worth. My mother, the queen-mother of seamstresses NEVER had a serger, said she never wanted one and now I know why. I just threw away a dress because the serger ruined it. I'm sticking with my French seaming & doing things the old fashioned way. I'm selling this puppy & getting an iPad. It's what I wanted to begin with so that's what I'm getting.

So, if you or someone you know wants a nearly new serger for a good price (more than half off the original price), let me know!

New Toy

2011-05-22T09:39:00.000-07:00

I have a new toy on its way & I'm SOOOO excited about it! I've been saving for an iPad for a while & last week I finally got enough to get one. After a few snags (Apple is way behind on their supply chain), I found out that it was going to take 4+ weeks to get one unless I went to an Apple Store (where they frequently sell out). I told my mom about this & she questioned why I need one. I have an iPhone and a laptop & I was only planning on getting an iPad with Wi-Fi which would mean that I would be limited as to how & where I could use it. My only answer was "because I want one."

As is usual when my mom makes a point like this, I let it sink in & realized that she was right, I didn't really need an iPad and I actually had enough $$ to get a really nice serger. WHAT A GREAT IDEA!! I've been wanting a serger for the longest!

So, I started my research & found out that one of the best reviewed, not basic/bottom of the line, sergers is the Juki MO-735. The unique thing about the Juki is that it not only serges but also has a 5 thread option for coverstitching. It has 24 stitch options which will help me finish edges more quickly & cleanly.

This serger retails for about $2000. I was lucky enough to find mine on Ebay (I <3 Ebay) for $750. Not only do I get the serger but I also get Instruction Manuals, 26 Spools of Serger Thread, Extra Needles, Machine Oil, Machine Brushes and other items pictured. WHAT A DEAL!!

I'm so excited to get my new baby & play with it!! If you have any tips or tricks on how best to use a serger, be sure to let me know!

It's been a long time...

2011-05-13T17:46:00.001-07:00

I swear all of my posts start with that! Life gets in the way of blogging!

I've been working on a lot of bibs & burpies lately. I randomly mentioned them on Twitter and a fellow #Milspouse (that's military spouse) spoke up & ordered a set in New Orleans Saints fabric & blue camouflage for her grandson that's due to be born in the next few months. I found some adorable (but not overly SAINTS!!!!) fabric online (the gingham is gold & black and the coordinating fabric is white with black & gold fleur di lis) and some cute soft blue camo & got to work. She loved them & has posted about them on her blog. Go check them out!

In other news, my designs are now at two locations! I've been consigning with Belles & Beaus in League City for a year and a half now. But now I'm also consigning at The DIY Factory here in San Antonio. The DIY Factory is an art school/sewing school/local artisan boutique, all rolled into one. The great thing is, I can express both sides of my aesthetic now; boutique & holiday items are in Houston and now hip/vintage upcycled/funky/Mexican-inspired items are now here in San Antonio. So, if you're in either location, stop by one of these shops & check them out. Not only is my stuff at both, but the work of some talented artisans. :)

Viva Fiesta!

2011-03-22T16:55:00.000-07:00

According to Fiesta-SA.org, Fiesta San Antonio started in 1891 as a one-parade event and has evolved today into one of the nation’s premier festivals. Fiesta began on April 21, 1891, San Jacinto Day, when a group of citizens decided to honor the heroes of the Alamo and Battle of San Jacinto with a Battle of Flowers. That parade had horse-drawn carriages, bicycles decorated with fresh flowers and floats carrying children dressed as flowers. Participants pelted each other with blossoms to "reenact" the Battle of the Alamo.

The Battle of Flowers Parade is the only parade of it's kind in the United States to be planned and directed completely by women. Additionally, it is second in size nationally only to the Tournament of Roses Parade.

The Battle of Flowers was an immediate success. Within a few years, more events were taking place on or near April 21—a carnival, balls and coronations of “royalty.” The Fiesta tradition had been born. Fiesta has taken place every year except for 1918 during World War I and 1942 through 1945 during World War II.

Fiesta has grown over the years to a 10-day celebration featuring some 100 events that feature music, food, sports, pageantry, military and patriotic observances, exhibits, and parades. Nonprofit organizations sponsor every activity. The festival has an economic impact of nearly $254 million on the city of San Antonio.

Last year, 2010, marked our first year to experience Fiesta in San Antonio. We didn't really take advantage of much Fiesta had to offer though, sadly, stupidly. I checked out the Fiesta Arts Fair hosted by the Southwest School of Art and, on a whim, we went to the Fiesta Flambeau Parade, Fiesta's only night parade. We were WOEFULLY unprepared for the parade compared to the other parade goers. And that, my friends, was it. That was all we did. A 10-day, city wide festival and we did two things. Sad huh?

. . .

So, this year, we're doing it up right. I made a resolution that I was going to enjoy all that San Antonio had to offer and Fiesta is one of the biggest things there is to do.

To begin with, today I made my Fiesta Wreath. Fiesta Wreaths are a tradition that you will find on doors all over San Antonio before & during Fiesta. They're bright, festive and Spring-y with lots of bright colors & tons of ribbon! There are many places around here that sell them (and get a PRETTY penny for them too) but y'all know me. I'm crafty and like to make things myself. I'm like my mom that way. I looked around online, found one that I liked and that inspired me and got the stuff to make one similar to it. Not exactly like it but similar...inspired by.

Here's mine:
Cost Breakdown:
From Michaels Craft Store
Flowers 15@ $.99/ea (50%off)~~~~~~~~ $14.85
Fiesta Ribbon 10yds @ $1.19/yd~~~~~~~$11.90
From Fiesta on Main
Minature Donkey Piñata ~~~~~~~~~~~~ $2.50
Tin Alamo Ornament ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ $1.95

Fiesta Ribbon 2yds @ $1.95 ~~~~~~~~~ $3.90

From my own stash

Additional Ribbon

Hot Glue Gun & Glue Sticks

Wreath

Wire Cutters

_____________________________________

Total Cost: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ $35.10

Note: No, I don't have 3 of the same color flower next to each other, the lime green washed out in the light, as did the yellow. The flower colors are blue, yellow, white, green, & pink.

Another Note: I didn't add the curling ribbon like the makers of my inspiration did because my house is on a very windy corner. Actually, the wreath is indoors right now because the wind is gusting so badly. I didn't want the ribbons to tangle and look gnarly right after I made it. So, I dug into my stash of ribbon & used grosgrain ribbon which won't tangle & won't get torn up as easily as the curling ribbon will.

Here's my inspiration, from Wow Gift Creations, here in San Antonio.

They want $65.00 plus tax and shipping for their wreath...I think I did pretty well for about half the cost.

. . .

Fiesta runs from April 7-17,2011.

Always Behind...

2011-02-27T11:59:00.000-08:00

Was my last post really in January?? I'm so bad at remembering to update this blog. All inspiration, no motivation.

So here are my latest Spring frocks.

New Year, New Labels, New Look

2011-01-19T17:21:00.001-08:00

Right as I was finishing up sewing for my January 7th delivery at the Boutique, I ran out of labels. I order custom labels from various sellers on Etsy. Starting out, I bought them in quantities of 25. I think about that now and it makes me laugh. Seriously? 25?? I can make up 25 in a month if I'm hustling. So now I order them in quantities of 90-100. That way they can last me a few months, 6 max. Anyway, I ran out this month & decided that when I reordered I'd redesign them as well (and I got 210).

Here's my old one:

Here's my redesigned label from here:

I've also redesigned my hangtags with a similar damask design. I'd like to have these printed on glossy cardstock. I need to check into how much that would run me.

My old hangtags (that I don't have pictures of) were pink circles with my logo on them. I'm really starting to get away from so much pink. I'd rather have predominantly black & white with just pink accents.

You can also tell, if you visited my blog much last year, I changed my blog background from the pink & green to the damask background. Clean, sophisticated, chic. That's the look I'm going for.

Vintage Love

2011-01-17T12:28:00.000-08:00

I've been nosing around Etsy a lot lately, specifically in the Vintage Patterns. I'm completely smitten with the idea of using 60s vintage children's patterns, specifically Mod dresses, with modern fabrics. When I picture it in my mind, it looks so cute!

A few things I've noticed about vintage patterns, 1) skirts were a LOT shorter back then! I like for girls, my girl especially, to wear skirts at her knee. Girls back in those days, based on the pattern fronts, wore their skirts SUPER SHORT! Like mid-thigh or shorter. We toss or donate skirts that short. So, if I made any of these patterns, I'd definitely have to lengthen all of the skirts so little hineys wouldn't hang out. ;) 2) the pattern makers didn't put multiple sizes on one pattern back then. One size per pattern. I guess there are positives and negatives to that. Back in those days patterns were much cheaper so homesewers could afford to buy a new pattern if they wanted to make the same outfit in a larger size . Of course for me, a modern seamstress, that means I have to find and buy the same pattern in different sizes.

Inner Square

2011-01-13T18:54:00.001-08:00

Photo from here

Today, I received an awesome package: 100 Square credit card readers to hand out, and spread the word about the joys and wonders of Square. I got my personal Square reader in late October in time for a few big craft shows and it was AMAZING! After having a customer defraud me on my VERY.FIRST.SALE, I was anxious to find something that would give me instant accept/decline notification so that would never happen again. The timing worked out so that Square was coming out about at the same time. After I made my first sale with it, I was hooked. All of the vendors around me were hooked and all of my customers were hooked! One of the really great things about Square that makes it so different from big credit card vendor accounts is no fees. The reader is free and there are no monthly fees. You only pay a small percentage (about what you pay on Paypal) each time you swipe or manually enter a card. So, if you're like me and your craft shows are seasonal, you aren't paying for something you aren't using.

If anyone is in the San Antonio/South Texas area, and is looking for a great way to accept credit cards on your iPhone/iPad or Android, just let me know! I can give you a demo, help you get signed up & activated online & get you a Square credit card reader instantly!

Wait a cotton pickin' minute...

2011-01-05T14:30:00.000-08:00

Like many other children's boutique clothing makers, I buy only cotton fabrics. High quality, quilting fabrics with a soft hand tend to make the best looking children's clothing. Unfortunately, because of the soft economy and flooding in India & China where a great deal of the cotton is grown (don't even get me started on this, farmers all over Texas grow cotton why don't we use homegrown cotton?) will cause cotton to rise to a 140 year high. This means fabric that was once $8-$9 a yard, will likely rise to a cost of $13-$17 a yard!

If you would like to read more on this subject, here are some links to a few articles I found:

Another unfortunate side effect of the higher fabric costs as well as vendor fees, will be a slight increase in Stella Sola clothing costs. I will work to keep the increases as moderate as possible, just to cover my own increased costs. I wanted to let you all know!

Happy 2011!

2011-01-01T11:16:00.000-08:00

I CANNOT believe that 1) it's 2011 already and 2) that I haven't posted since November! Yikes! I'm not really a big one for personal resolutions. I tend to break them too easily, life gets in the way and I get distracted. But, I'm making one here...I resolve to post AT LEAST once a week on this blog in 2011. They (whoever "they" is) say that the more specific you are, the more likely you are to keep your resolutions.

Later on this month marks ONE YEAR since I started Stella Sola, and we've come a long way, baby! It's been such a whirlwind year & I've learned so much. I've decided to get back to basics & (in the parlance of my Texan brethren) "dance with the one who brang me" by sticking with the boutique & Facebook. Those are my two biggest moneymakers. So, I've closed my Hyena Cart Shop.

Speaking of the boutique...I have a BIG deadline this Friday for Valentines, Spring & Rodeo gear. In the Houston area, February & March is Rodeo season. Houston hosts the world's richest rodeo, the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo and people who care NOTHING about the western aspects of Texas for the rest of the year go ALL OUT getting duded up in the chicest western wear...kids included.

After I get my gear dropped off, I'm heading off for a long weekend in New Orleans with my 3 best girlfriends. NOLA is one of our favorite hangouts and we get down there at least every other year...conveniently, Amanda happens to live down there so it makes it pretty easy & cheap. This is going to be a different kind of trip this year, though. No more "Woo! Let's get toasted on Bourbon Street!" Amanda is expecting her first, and Maria (my best friend that lives in our college town of Bryan/College Station) is bringing her 7 month old son. I'm hoping that we'll be able to hit up a few of New Orleans' best restaurants. :) Regardless, I'm just happy to get to see my 3 Yee Haw Sisters.

I'm off to go sew...ok, I'll be watching some bowl games first, I love me some college football! Happy 2011!

Always Growing, Ever Evolving

2010-11-13T11:19:00.000-08:00

After a great deal of thought and some cost-benefit analysis, I have learned that the majority of my income comes from two places: 1) the boutique where my clothes are sold and 2) custom orders. Lately, I haven't been able to focus on either source as strongly as I would like because I have been concentrating on craft shows. I recently spoke with my friend, Val, who owns the boutique & she told me that customers have been asking when she was going to get MY Christmas clothes?

So, here's what I have decided...I cancelled the two Christmas shows I was supposed to be in this month & next and I'm having a Christmas Trunk Show at Belles & Beaus Boutique on December 4 to kick off the holiday shopping season. I'm bringing my entire Christmas line, my stockings, toothfairy pillows & wristlet keyfobs and will be there for the afternoon.

I've also decided to cut back on shows in general. They're simply too big of an expense and not enough of a return. The only show that was really worth it and that I will continue to participate in is the Kingwood Womens' Club Holiday Marketplace. I did almost $400 at that show. I know now how best to prepare for it & will do even better next year. Right now I'm still registered for ShopCrafty in Austin in April...not sure if I'll still do that one or not.

I'm dedicating my time, funds & efforts to the boutique, custom orders, the online shop & online magazines & blogs for advertising. We'll see this time next year how everything plays out.

Added a Show

2010-11-04T13:04:00.000-07:00

So, remember how I've been wanting to add a November show? No? Well I have. I've been poking around, doing my research & found a local show put on by the Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) of Westover Hills called the "Mistletoe Marketplace." The show is Saturday, November 13, at Westover Hills Assembly of God Church from 10am-3pm.

I emailed the show coordinator yesterday & she let me know that they don't have any vendors selling handmade childrens' clothes and they'd really like me to show! Can you imagine? At a MOPS show? Craziness! So, I'm sending in my application first thing tomorrow.

I haven't done a local show since the teeny-tiny show back in the spring in Boerne that was my first show. I've grown a lot & learned a lot in a short amount of time. I'm really excited about it & need to get to work on finishing my appliqued shirts, wristlet keyfobs (provided I get my supplies on time), & stockings.

Again, the show is Saturday, November 13, at Westover Hills Assembly of God Church from 10am-3pm.

Is this for me or to sell?

2010-10-29T11:45:00.000-07:00

Because Aidan sees me sewing almost everyday, when she sees something she likes, she asks, "Is this for me or to sell?" Since I'm done with my big craft show, I finally have time to make for her and not to sell. I had to get her Halloween costume done this week so that was first. She decided she wanted to be a skunk. She's quite the "Little Stinker" so this was the perfect costume for her.

I made her tutu out of a few rolls of tulle knotted & sewn onto an elastic waistband. I sewed a striped of furry white felt onto the back of her black leotard.

Like last year, her daddy made her mask. It was originally a black kitty mask. He took a piece of stiff white felt, cut a furry little shape out of it & hot glued it on. It made for quite a fetching little mask, don't you think? :)

Finally, her shoes. Yesterday after school we realized that she outgrew her old black shoes & EVERYONE knows you simply cannot wear white shoes with black tights! ;) So, off we went to Target...Mama's favorite store. The only Mary Janes we found that worked were either a little too big or a little too small...she needed a 10 and a half. So, I got the idea of getting a pair of Converse lo-tops & embellishing the toecaps. She's been wanting a pair of Skechers "Twinkle Toes" shoes but those only come in kids shoes sizes. My baby has teeny-tiny feet (like her Grandmommy) and is still in toddler sizes so we haven't been able to get any. A few hours and a LOT of E6000 and Crystals later and we have some VERY cute, very blingy shoes!

Now I Can Take A Breath!

2010-10-28T10:12:00.000-07:00

It's been a month since I last posted. I was sewing like a madwoman to get ready for the big craft show in Houston, the Kingwood Women's Club Holiday Marketplace. I was really excited to have my mom there to help me, keep me company, give me ideas and bounce ideas off of. She's so much more artistic than I am so she's my perfect counterpart. :)

I got to Houston on Sunday afternoon & Jamie of Laniebug Bowtique dropped by with my made-to-match bows. They were, in a word, AMAZING! Y'all, if you need a custom boutique bow, Jamie is your girl. The bows were GORGEOUS!

The show went SO well. This was definitely my target audience. Southern, upper-middle class Mamas who want to dress their little girls well. :) I really feel like I have a good feel for how to lay out my booth for the best exposure of my garments & flow as well. I also got to use my Square Credit Card Reader for the first time. After my very first show when I had a card get declined when I got home and had no recourse to get my funds back, I had to find someway to make sure that I never experienced that again. The Square reader is awesome & the funds have already been deposited to my checking account!

Here are some photos from the show.

Now I'm working on a couple of special orders from the show & Aidan's Halloween costume. After that I'm taking a week or so off to breathe, then I'll be preparing for the Kristkindlemarkt here in San Antonio, December 4.

My New Favorites

2010-09-26T20:17:00.000-07:00

The two latest outfits I've created are my absolute favorites. I'm so excited with how they turned out! I'm really hoping that my customers at the holiday marketplaces where I'm showing enjoy them as well.

This outfit, size 24mo, is an a-line swing top with ruffle detail made from "Ho Ho Ho! Be Jolly" Leopard Santa Hats fabric by Susan Zulauf. The shoulders button with leopard fabric covered buttons. I just love fabric covered buttons. They really do add just the right touch to an outfit. The pants are a super trendy coordinating leopard print with a ruffle trim at the cuff.

This little one (it could be a dress or a top) is my all time favorite right now. I love the bright colors and the combination of fabrics and the little ruffle at the bottom. The main part of the dress (sized 12mo) is Robert Kaufman's line "Sparkle All the Way" Large Poinsettias. The sleeves and ruffle are made from the ubiqitous Michael Miller "Ta Dot" in berry.

Remaining 2010 Show Schedule

Kingwood Women's Club Holiday Marketplace, October 25-26

San Antonio Kristkindlmarkt, December 4

I'm planning on adding a show in November so stay tuned!

Santa's, I Mean, My Sweatshop (UPDATED)

2010-09-18T15:46:00.000-07:00

That's right kids, I have been slaving away, daily, in my very own sweatshop (it gets DANG hot in my sewing room), getting these Christmas clothes made for the holiday craft markets coming up. I've gotten four full outfits done this week and will start again tomorrow.

So far, almost everything I've made has been made from the Moda Basic Grey "Fruitcake" line. I really like that line of fabric, from the color combinations to the patterns to the hand & drape. It's all really lovely.

You've already seen the first outfit, here.

The second outfit is size 18mo. The top is made from Simplicity 3511. The pants are "Britches & Bloomers" with a cute ruffle trim. I just love ruffley pants on little girls, don't you? The back has a fabric covered button that coordinates with the pants & top.

The third outfit is sized 2T. The top is a peasant style tunic made from a pattern I bought on Etsy. I've never bought a PDF pattern online before but it was super easy and I love that I can save it & print as many as I need and cut on the size instead of tracing the size I need. I'll be buying more PDF patterns for sure! The pants, a dusty blue damask print, are made from Simplicity 4107 with a ruffle added.

The fourth outfit is sized 3T. The pants are a soft pine green print, made from Simplicity 4107 with a ruffle added. The shirt is a white 3T Circo long sleeved tee with ornament appliques.

The fifth outfit has a top made from Robert Kaufman's "Sparkle All the Way" line using Simplicity 4107. Ya know, I love the way that pattern looks and turns out but the back lining just gives me fits. If I make it again I'm going to have to change that up some if I want to save my sanity. The pants are made from a lime green pinwale corduroy (from the "Britches & Bloomers" pattern that I love) with a ruffle trim at the ankle.

I'm linking to The Train to Crazy's "Make it Wear It" Blog Party. Go check it out. There are a lot of really cute things being made out there!

Fabrics On Their Way

2010-09-16T13:30:00.000-07:00

I love fabrics. Seriously. LOVE. FABRICS. I have a bunch of new fabrics on their way to me from various Etsy sellers. Here, take a look.

Aren't they just yummy? I can't wait to get them & start sewing them up!

Christmas Already?

2010-09-15T09:23:00.000-07:00

Here we are, mid-September, 90+ degrees outside and I'm sewing up Christmas frocks. Hard to believe, huh? I have my first Christmas outfit completed and am halfway finished with my second. This is a combination of two patterns. The pants are made from the "Britches & Bloomers" pattern and the top is made from Simplicity 4107. The fabric is Moda Basic Grey "Fruit Cake".

I'm planning on making up quite a few Christmas outfits, appliqued shirts, dresses and onesies because I'm doing 2 (so far) holiday markets. The first is the Kingwood Women's Club Holiday Marketplace at the Humble Civic Center, October 26, 27. The second is the Kristkindlemarkt at the Beethoven Maennerchor in the King William District of San Antonio, December 4. If you're in either area, be sure to check me out!

Off to go sew!

Shameless Plug

2010-09-07T05:45:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! I usually reserve this blog for Stella Sola business-related stuff but since my little one is the reason why I do this, I thought it wouldn't be too inappropriate.

I'd really appreciate it if you'd swing on over to the Aggie Energy site & give a vote to the picture of Aidan that I posted. Not only because she's cute ('cause she is) & not only because it's a good photograph ('cause it is) but because Ryan (my Army officer hubby) hasn't been to a game since he joined the Army 4 years ago. Between moving to Ft. Benning, deploying to Iraq & going to 3 separate Army schools, making it back to go to a game just hasn't been in the cards.

Voting starts today & goes through the 11th. You can vote once per day, per email address so if you have multiple email addresses, register them all!

Thanks everyone! Here's the link, one more time!

The Cowtown Indie Bazaar is Upon Us!

2010-09-02T10:10:00.001-07:00

I signed up for this show very shortly after I started this whole "selling adventure". I figured that I had enough time to get the hang of sewing multiple garments at a time & get my inventory built up. And, if not, I could always cancel...no harm no foul. Months have passed, my skills have increased and here I am, heading up I-35 to Ft. Worth tomorrow with an inventory of handmade dresses, toothfairy pillows & wristlet key fobs in tow. If you find yourself in the DFW area on Saturday, check it out. It's shaping up to be a great show! Here is a sampling of some of the dresses I'll be bringing with me.

If you come to the show & tell me you saw my blog, you'll get a 10% off discount. And, as always, I give all members of the military & their spouses a 10% discount.

Corazon

2010-08-16T22:06:00.001-07:00

I am will be donating a Stella Sola original for the fundraiser and birthday party for Camren Barron, my new friend Eva Garcia's son. Camren was born with a congenital heart defect and has endured numerous heart surgeries, hospital stays and doctor's visits. There will be a BBQ plate sale, raffle and silent art auction at Sew-Deluxe on Saturday, September 4th from 4pm to 10pm.
Please mark your calendar and plan to attend the event, EVERYONE IS WELCOME, on Saturday, September 4th from 4 to 10pm. There will be live music, BBQ plates, silent auction, raffles, and birthday activities for the kids.

Please join us and help celebrate 7 years with Camren and surround him with lots of love to carry him on for many more years to come!

What I've Been Up To...

2010-08-05T21:16:00.000-07:00

Since getting my new shop set up on Hyena Cart, I've been working like a madwoman to get things made for my next show. Have I mentioned I'm doing my first BIG craft show this Labor Day weekend? Yep, I'm participating in the Cowtown Indie Bazaar in Ft. Worth. I consider this to be my first BIG show because the other two shows I've done have been small. The Cowtown Indie Bazaar has something like 80 participants. I'm excited but I'm also nervous because this is a BIG SHOW y'all!

So, here are a few things that I've gotten done recently.

This is a "knot" dress made from six different Moda French General fabrics from the "Rouenneries" line. I made one similar to it last year at Halloween for Aidan. With this one I went with fewer, wider panels and gathered the skirt, rather than the straight skirt on Aidan's. I like the look of a gathered skirt better. It's a little sweeter & more girly. I love these fabrics. French General fabrics are so soft and wearable. I feel like this color palate is perfect for Back to School and the transition into Fall. This one is a big 5T or maybe a 6. I'll probably make 2-3 more like this.

Between clothing projects I've been making wristlet keyfobs. I have one and I LOVE it so I decided to make a bunch of them to sell at craft shows. They sew up so quick and easy and are super cute (IMO). I've gotten about half of them done.

Here are some:

I love the blacks & pinks...one of my fave color combinations. I also really like the black on the far right. It has a really cute punk ribbon on it. Click the picture to see it larger.

New Shop!

2010-07-25T21:38:00.000-07:00

The new shop is all set up & ready! Go check her out! Click here.

Moving...

2010-07-23T20:04:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to let everyone know, I'm moving from Etsy to Hyena Cart. (You may have noticed that my shop has been closed for a while and I took the Etsy link off the header). Etsy has just been too volatile lately, too many good sellers being ousted for no real reason. Plus, Hyena Cart (funny name aside) is a great site for Mom-preneurs selling to fellow moms. I'll let everyone know when the Hyena Cart is all set-up and ready to go!

I'm famous!

2010-07-13T12:03:00.000-07:00

Ok, not really, but my picture was on the Etsy Storque Blog!

June 18 marked the 5th Birthday of Etsy and all over the world, crafty peeps got together to have an "Etsy Craft Party." I helped to organize the Alamo City Handmade Etsy Craft Party, along with Brandy of Blink Design. We had an AMAZING turn out at Sew-Deluxe. We estimated around 70-75 crafty folks showed up to party down with Alamo City Handmade. We were thrilled!

Fast forward about a month and lo and behold, what do we see on the Etsy Storque Blog? Me, screenprinting "Etsy is Cool" on the ACH Co-Founder's (Carrie) derriere.

San Antonio definitely knows how to party! From Fiesta to Dia de los Muertos to the Alamo City Handmade Etsy Craft Party! Come on down to San Antonio...we know how to have fun! :)

Thread Stash

2010-07-08T12:57:00.000-07:00

Inspired by the "Show Us Your Stash - Thread" post over at Sew, Mama, Sew, I decided to do a post here about my thread, answering their questions.

How did you select colors for your personal thread collection?

Usually by the fabrics that I buy. When I purchase new fabrics, I almost always get matching thread.

Do you always match the color perfectly to your project?

I would say, 99% of the time, I match the thread to the project.

Do you ever use contrasting thread?
Very, very rarely. It draws too much attention to the little imperfections.

Do you use the same color in the bobbin as the upper thread?

Usually. I used to only have 4 bobbins and changing them out got old and time-consuming so I would sometimes get lazy and use something like a black bobbin with navy or dark brown upper thread. Once I used a white bobbin with black upper thread...not a wise move. I could see the white thread at each entrance and exit point of the black thread. Buying more bobbins (I have about 30 now) was one of the best purchases I've ever made. Now I can leave most of my bobbins wound, ready for use.

What if a fabric has big areas of very different colors?

I usually try to figure out the main color (or if I'm using a solid accent color, I'll use that color) and go with that. I don't worry too much over that.

Do you have any tips or suggestions about choosing thread?

Never use old thread. It deteriorates over time and it'll break all over the place. Also, don't use "Hand-Quilting Thread" for anything but hand-quilting. When I first started learning to sew, I just grabbed thread off the rack, not knowing the differences and fought with that thread tooth and nail...especially when I tried to do a button-hole with it. It's basically like sewing with dental floss.

For everyday sewing, I buy Coats & Clark Dual Duty XP General Purpose or Dual Duty Plus All-Purpose threads. The regular Dual Duty is polyester and Plus is polyester wrapped in cotton. I have friends that swear by Guterman but it's expensive and I'm just sewing for kids so I haven't felt the need to upgrade.

Can you show us a picture(s) of your thread collection?

Here ya go...
I organize my threads in ROY-G-BIV order so I always know what I have and because it's aesthetically pleasing. By looking at my thread rack (I bought it at Jo-Ann's for about $15, I think) I know that I need more of several colors.

Do you ever buy thread because you fall in love with the color (without a particular project in mind)?

Coats & Clark 1840 is my "go-to" hot pink and is one that I buy regardless of whatever project I'm working on at the time. It's my stand-by pink that I use almost as much as white or black. I had a lot more of it but I used two and a half spools on a recent applique project. I'm also a fan of the color green, so when I see a pretty green, I snag a spool or two. I prefer 500yd. spools to 250 or smaller. They last longer.

Do you “invest” in thread?

No, all of my thread is the old-fashioned Coats & Clark. Like I said above, I haven't felt the need to upgrade to Guterman or any other ultra-high quality threads. My mama, The Queen-Mother Seamstress, always used C&C, even when she was making couture gowns, so I do too.

What types of thread do you have? (elastic, quilting, all-purpose, wool, etc.)

I had a spool of Coats Upholstery thread to sew on canvas to make a portable DVD case for the car. I think I may have tossed it in a recent purge. I also have a spool of silver metallic thread. I used it to create the ends of Christmas lightbulbs on an applique dress I made Aidan a couple of years ago. I'm not fond of sewing with it...it's pretty weak. I also have a spool of white elastic thread to shir with. Love that stuff. :)

When C&C redid all their numbers and spool designs, I was a little frustrated because I knew the numbers of my usual threads and when I needed to match the old thread numbers to the new ones, it was a pain...especially if the store didn't have the cards out with Old-to-New equivalents. Now I'm over it and almost all of my thread stash are the new numbering system. One thing I loved instantly was the redesigned spool. I hate having long thread tails hanging off my thread rack. On the old spools, if you cut the tails off, it was virtually impossible to get the thread out of the little notch that held it. Now, there are grooves on both ends that hold the thread and you can leave a very small tail and still start the spool again. I know, I've thought WAY too much about thread. ;)

Ramblings

2010-07-05T13:36:00.000-07:00

I participated in a craft show on Saturday that taught me a lot about the handmade community and people who attend craft shows. In this particular show, there were about 3-4 booths selling basically the same thing as me. handmade childrens' clothes. As I perused the booths I noticed something...most of those booths had poorly made clothes and ridiculously low prices. $13 for a toddler A-Line dress made from Amy Butler fabrics? That's insane, that barely covers the cost of the supplies! What's more, none of the inside seams were finished or turned under; they were all raw and exposed...that guarantees that after one wash they'll fray horribly. Sadly, it seemed that the majority of the people who attended the show were looking for bargains and clearly were not interested in quality. I sold 4 toothfairy pillows at $5 each (I had all of the supplies for these on hand...this was just profit) and that was it. I heard tons about how cute and well-made my garments were but inevitably, they bought from the cheaper booths.

I know my pricepoint works. I sell my dresses on my Facebook page and at the boutique in Houston that carries my items (Belles & Beaus in League City). I guess people were just looking for bargains and my garments weren't that. You live and learn.

My next show is the Cowtown Indie Bazaar in Fort Worth, Labor Day weekend. If you're in the area, come check me out! This will be a great opportunity to get a jump on holiday shopping!

A New Show & Deadlines

2010-06-14T16:08:00.000-07:00

Sorry I've been MIA for a while, y'all. The end of school is killer now that Aidan is actually schoolaged! After school got out, she went to spend a week with my mother and I took a ton of stuff (the bulk of my shop inventory) to the boutique that carries my line. So, if you've been looking for something of mine or want to order something, contact me via email or Facebook. My Etsy shop is on vacation and might be all summer. Or, if you're in the Houston area, stop by Belles & Beaus Boutique in League City for my dresses and adorable matching bows and custom boutique flip flops.

Now that I have no inventory here at my house, I have to basically start all over again because I have a show that I'm doing on July 3 and that date is creeping up faster than I thought it would! I'm participating in the July Jubilee Craft Show at Post Oak Mall in College Station, TX. It's from 11-6 and...here's the great thing about a summer craft show...it's INDOORS! I'm a bit of a southern magnolia...I wilt in the sun if I'm out too long. I love my air conditioning! :) Anyway, I found some great sales on some good boyish fabrics so I need to get to crankin'!! I want to do some short overalls, some bubble/sunsuits, lots more dresses, lots of toothfairy pillows, a bunch of strings of bunting, applique a mess of t-shirts and onesies (I found the cutest Buddha playing the guitar and giving a thumbs up fabric) and make a bunch of burp cloths. Ugh, LOTS to do!

San Antonio Etsy Craft Party

2010-06-03T13:43:00.000-07:00

San Antonio is having an Etsy Craft Party and everyone is invited. Etsy.com is using the just launched Meetups Everywhere tool to throw a huge worldwide party on June 18 (Etsy's birthday). Etsy challenged local creative communities like ours to create, join or step up to organize an Etsy Craft Party in their town, and we want to rock this!
The top 50 parties with the most RSVPs will get a free Craft Party Kit. So be sure to RSVP soon, so we can show Etsy how crafty the Alamo City is!! Be sure to sign up here.

Etsy.com is a marketplace and community for artists & crafters & the people who love them, but you don't have to be an Etsy member or a member of Alamo City Handmade to participate. We want everyone to come out! Even if you don't think you're very crafty or creative, we have plenty of talented people on hand that can teach you and help you find your crafty "poison."

We'll be meeting at Sew-Deluxe, San Antonio's First and Only Alternative Sewing Lounge, (1132 S. Hackberry) on Friday 6/18, at 8pm. We'll have plenty of crafts, food and drinks and you'll have an opportunity to meet the crafty people that the Alamo City has to offer!

Keep San Antonio Crafty!

("Craft Party"Photo Credit: Blissinateacup)

Big Giveaway Winner

2010-06-01T10:01:00.000-07:00

It's June 1. What does that mean? Time to draw the winner of the Celebrate May Giveaway!!! I'm thrilled with how many of y'all entered, tweeted about it, posted it on your Facebook pages and told your friends! I got over 900 new views to my Etsy shop, which is huge for me! Thank you all so much for that. I hope you all find something you like and want to purchase for your little ones!

So, without further ado...the winner.

Number 21 is Lynn!

Lynn, I will email you and get all the details. Congratulations!

One Day Left!

2010-05-30T18:03:00.000-07:00

There's just one day left to leave a comment to win the big blog giveaway! You have entered, right? I can't believe the end of May is here. This has been a great month, my Etsy Shop has gotten over 850 new views since the beginning of May, I've made some great sales and made lots of great contacts! Tomorrow night at 11:59pm, Central Time I will cut off the sale and the giveaway. On Tuesday I'll do the drawing with Random.org and make the announcement with a new post so check back here on Tuesday evening. If you're the winner be sure to let me know which dress you want and we'll be in contact to find out where to ship it to.

Ok, so tell your friends, tell your family, tell your frenemies! Tell everyone! Come enter the giveaway!

Cabana Girl

2010-05-18T11:51:00.000-07:00

As soon as I saw these fabrics from Paula Prass's line "Summer Soiree", I knew I needed to sew them up into some fun summer dresses. They're so bright and colorful and happy! I loved them at first sight. I got mine from Above All Fabric but I don't think she has them anymore. But, never fear, just go to Google Shopping and put in "Paula Prass Summer Soiree" and you'll find a ton. :)

I've been making so many pillowcase dresses, I decided to go with an A-Line this time. I love how the chevron fabric looks all ruffled up. :) I think these colors are so sharp and bright and happy, this whole ensemble reminds me of a summer cabana in the Caribbean.

New Creation

2010-05-16T19:21:00.000-07:00

To break out of my rut that I mentioned earlier, I decided I'd lay off my usual a-line and pillowcase dresses and try something new. On an earlier post, I featured an adorable ruffled peasant dress and decided to give that a try. It turned out super cute and between this and my trip to Renegade yesterday, my sewing mojo is back!

(Sorry about the horrible picture quality, it was dark and I took the picture with my phone.)

I altered Angel & Simplicity's instructions slightly by not putting the elastic in the sleeves. I also didn't do the bottom band in 2 pieces making side vents, I did a full band around the bottom. I also discovered that I made a mistake by adding the band before I put the ruffle on. I realized that I should've attached the band last. Oops! Lesson learned!

This trial dress will be for Aidan and then I'll

try another one.

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Don't forget about the giveaway! There's still time to enter! We also have 25% off until midnight tonight, Sunday, May 16 (I'll go by the Etsy Transactions timestamp) and then 10% off for the rest of the month (15% for all return customers!).

In a word? AWESOME!

2010-05-15T19:17:00.001-07:00

That's how I would describe the Renegade Austin Craft Fair today. It was THE.BEST.craft fair I have ever been to. Hands down. If you're in Texas and can get to Austin tomorrow, get in the car, get on a bus, jump on a Southwest plane and GO to Renegade, you'll be glad you did and sorry if you don't.

I was supposed to go with my friend, Shelley who works for the Southwest School of Art & Craft. Unfortunately, she wound up having to go with her husband to Corpus Christi so I went by myself. I dropped off her SWSchool Catalogs at the Renegade entrance table and started looking around.

Here's a little tip for ya...everyone goes to their right when they walk into places like this...go to your left, there are almost always fewer crowds.

So that's what I did and found the wonderful ladies of A ustin Stitch Lab doing a ribbon rose Make-N-Take. I'm definitely glad I did it when I did because 1) the later M-N-Ts weren't as fun or pretty and 2) the others were packed with people. The ribbon rose turned out beautifully and they even let me glue it to a headband which I wore for the rest of my time at Renegade. I usually wear my sunglasses so it's nice to have something pretty and handmade to wear instead. :)

PS. Despite being in Austin, the rose is red, NOT orange. I did not drink the Kool-Aid.

Proud of my ribbon prowess, I meandered on down and found the booth belonging to Crabapple Designs out of Austin. She has some really cute laminated notebooks and I found the cutest crafty/sewing one that I had to snatch up to keep notes and receipts and whatnot in for the shop.

I got to meet some crafty "celebs". I spoke with Jenny Hart of Sublime Stitching and told her about the craft club at the school where I taught last year and how I taught all the members how to embroider using transfers from her books. She loved that and I loved meeting her. She was SO sweet. I was bummed I didn't have any of her books to autograph. I also met Elsie of A Beautiful Mess and Red Velvet Art. I've been following her work since we were both scrapbooking...about 5 years ago. We've both moved on to other things but it was cool to meet her today.

I bought a cool button from Rebecca of Rar Rar Press. It was cool, fun and only a dollar. :) I love her stuff. A year or two back I bought a post card from her with one of my favorite sayings on it..."Bite Me." She's discontinued the "Bite Me" postcard but I'll show you the poster of hers I'm currently loving.

Finally I went to Public School. Well, yeah, I went to public schools but I also went to the Public School booth. They're an awesome design group based in Austin that brought with them a really cool collection of posters, books, buttons, cootie catchers and a fun photo spot that looked like the old school photo sets that we remember from our childhoods. I got a fun, old-fashioned looking limited edition poster that I plan on hanging in my classroom.

I came out of Renegade energized, inspired and ready to take on the crafty world! I'd love to be able to participate in this awesome craft show next year. There were so many Dallas and Austin Etsiers showing, the Alamo City needs to make a great showing next year!

Mama Needs Some New Fabric!

2010-05-14T14:14:00.000-07:00

Summer is coming, y'all! Aidan has about 3 weeks left of school and it's already been above 95 degrees here. What does that mean? It means that I need to get on the stick and start sewing up some kicky new Patriotic outifts for the Fourth of July! More importantly, what does it mean for you?

A SALE!!

Yup, that's right, this weekend only, from Friday, May 14-Sunday May 16, everything in the shop is

25% off!!

So, if you've been waiting to buy something, now is the time to move! Be sure to mention BLOG in the "Notes to Seller" for the discount.

Also, don't forget about the giveaway, it's still going on! There's still plenty of time to enter. I'll draw for the winner on June 1.

Where does it come from?

2010-05-09T20:20:00.000-07:00

I must admit, lately, my creative mojo has been waning. I just can't get motivated to sew. The past few weeks have been crazy busy, I've been getting things ready for my daughter's 5th birthday party, job hunting for the coming school year, promoting and marketing the shop on Twitter and blogs like crazy and trying to get all of my inventory listed in my Etsy shop. As a result, very little has gotten made.

I also think part of it that I need to branch out in what I make. Since January I've been making pretty much the same 2-3 dresses over and over and over again, ad nauseam. I want to try my hand at making some baby shoes, I need to get some onesies appliqued, and I also want to put some of my 100s of tutorials to use and make some of those garments.

So tell me, when your motivation is waning, what do you do? How do you go about getting it back?

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Speaking of promotion...DO NOT FORGET...

We're having a sale going on all this month in the Stella Sola Etsy Shop.

10% off EVERYTHING!

15% off EVERYTHING for all repeat customers (Etsy and Facebook)

Plus, there's a giveaway going on all this month as well. Go check out this blog post for all the details and to enter and of course, you're going to want to enter, you can win ANYTHING from the shop!

Don't forget the Giveaway!!!

2010-05-05T17:30:00.001-07:00

In case you didn't know, I'm hosting a giveaway and it's going on all this month. Anything you want from my shop! Pretty good, huh? Check out this post for all the details.

In addition to the giveaway, I'm also having a sale on everything in my shop. 10% off everything and 15% off to my repeat customers. Starting tomorrow I'm going to be adding more inventory to don't forget to go stop by and check out all the new dresses!

And, in case I don't post between now and Sunday (it's going to be busy, Saturday we're throwing my daughter's 5th birthday party), Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms, Grandmothers and Mothers-to-be out there reading.

Sale! Sale! Sale! Plus a GIVEAWAY!!!

2010-05-02T16:33:00.000-07:00

I love May. It's my favorite month of the year. When I was a student and then when I was teaching it was my favorite because it meant we were almost done with school. Now that I'm not in a school setting it's still my favorite because it's the month of my birthday (May 1), my daughter's birthday (May 9), Mother's Day (also May 9 this year) and Memorial Day (at the end). It's warming up but the nights are still cool. May is just flat out awesome. To honor my favorite month of the year, I'm having a Celebrate May sale and a giveaway!

For the entire month of May, everything in the shop is 10% off (excluding any custom or commission orders).

Any repeat customers from Etsy or Facebook will receive an automatic 15% off!

And the big giveaway...I am giving away one dress from the shop. The winner gets to choose anything they want.

Entries & The Rules

Mandatory Step: Earn one entry by leaving a comment on this giveaway post telling me what your favorite item is in my Etsy shop. Don't forget! This step is mandatory!

For an additional entry, go to my Facebook page and become a fan. Come back to this post and in a separate comment, let me know you did so. If you're already a fan, tell me you are...and then pat yourself on the back for being awesome!

Earn additional entries by mentioning the giveaway on Twitter, your Facebook status, your blog, etc. Be sure to come back and tell me that you did this. Please remember to make an separate comment for each additional entry!

Earn an additional 10 entries if you make a purchase from my Etsy shop. This cannot be a past-purchase. Leave a comment if you make a purchase and once the transaction has been confirmed, you will receive your 10 additional entries!

The winner will be chosen at random using the Random Number Generator www.random.org.

When posting comments, please make sure there is a way for me to get a hold of you if you win (email, blog, Facebook, Twitter, smoke signal, etc.)

This giveaway will begin as soon as this posts and will end Monday May 31 at 11:59pm Central time. The winner will be announced Tuesday June 1. The winner will have 2 days after my email/contact to respond or I will return to the Random Number Generator to select a new winner.

This giveaway is open to US/Canada residents only.

Good luck, everyone! Don't forget to spread the word!!

Hope to see you over at the shop!!

Tutorial Sunday

2010-05-01T22:04:00.000-07:00

On this instillation of Tutorial Sunday we have a luggage tag, a skirt and a peasant dress.

The geniuses over at Craft Apple bring us a tutorial for a "Happy Circle" luggage tag. I love this! Who hasn't been at the luggage conveyor belt in the airport staring at black bag after black bag after black bag? With this super cute little DIY luggage tag now you can make up your own for yourself or your whole family.

Next is this adorable Dresden Plate Skirt from Crafterhours. I've really been loving the idea of a scalloped-edge skirt lately so when I saw this skirt I just loved it! This is definitely one I'm going to be making!

Finally, the Ruffle Peasant Dress from TaDa! Creations. As soon as I saw this dress I was drawn to it...it may have been her choice of fabrics, I love gorgeous fabrics used in unique ways like this.

Remember, if I featured your tutorial, don't forget to grab this button to put on your blog!

Filling Up the Calendar

2010-04-28T11:00:00.000-07:00

I'm a visual person. I need to see the events on a calendar to know exactly what I have going on. Last night I put my calendar together for May through the end of the year for Craft Shows. The nice thing about Texas is, it's a huge state and there's never a shortage of events going on! It's just a matter of finding out about them in enough time to apply before the deadline.

My May is pretty well filled up. I'm planning on attending the Renegade Craft Fair in Austin on the 15th, just as a spectator with the hopes of actually showing there next year.

On the 22nd I'm planning on selling at the "Spicewood Buzzard Bump" in Spicewood, TX.

Finally, on Memorial Day weekend, May 29-30, I'm planning on selling at the "Bandera County Funtier Days." That will be my first 2-day sale.

For right now my main concern is getting a white 10x10 tent with walls that's not going to cost me an arm and a leg.

I only have one show on the books for June so far. How do you find craft shows, fairs and festivals?

Tutorial Sunday

2010-04-25T13:05:00.000-07:00

Like many of you, I'm sure, I love collecting tutorials from around the hundreds of blogs that I read. I bookmark them in my browser and sometimes I get around to making them but often times I don't. So, I thought that it might be fun to feature some of those great tutorials here. If I liked them, surely you will too!

The first is from Tea Rose Home. In her Little Girl's Tunic with Tank Top Tutorial, Sachiko demonstrates how to take a thrift shop tank top and turn it into something sweet and stylish. I can imagine that this would also work to create a dress, rather than a tunic, by lengthening the fabric layers added.

Next is this adorable Toddler Petal Skirt from Kara at Craftastical! Inspired by Amy's fish scale petal skirt on Project Runway, Kara created and a pattern and photographed the steps to create a petal skirt for the little girl in your life. I love it. I even love the colors she chose. ;) I know Aidan would love this. It's cute and flirty without being "prostitot".

Finally, a tutorial for ruffle pants from a pattern you already have. I love this tutorial. There are so many "boutique" patterns available that charge a lot for basically the same thing, a pants pattern with an added rectange at the bottom for the ruffle. Don't buy into it! Go to Jessi's blog, Jump Up and Down, and learn how to do it for so much less!

If I featured your tutorial, please feel free to grab this button for your blog!

New Dress

2010-04-24T06:59:00.000-07:00

Since it's been a while since I made one of the halter sundresses that I have to make for the Pink Milk order, I thought it might be smart to make a test dress or wearable muslin first. Just to work out the kinks and make sure I remember how to do it. I finished this one yesterday. I like the colorful pink, orange and black fabric. The halter straps need to be wider. I cut the strip 2.5" wide initially. I think I'm going to cut it at least an inch wider. I also want the straps to come completely together in the center. I'm leaning towards 86ing the yo yo, I can't really figure out a way to sew it on and make it look neat and professional. What I'm thinking about doing, instead of using a snap on the unattached end of the halter strap, is sew a large coordinating button on the unattached end of the halter strap and put a buttonhole in the dress.

I wish I had a picture of Aidan wearing this. My plan was for her to wear this to the Battle of the Flowers Parade yesterday but, late Thursday night she woke up throwing up and spent most of the night sick to her stomach. Neither of us got much sleep on Thursday so we spent Friday on the couch napping. (Yes, kids in San Antonio have a day off from school for a parade...Fiesta is a big deal around here apparently. We've only lived here for a little less than a year so this was our first Fiesta "experience.")

My Current Project

2010-04-22T13:32:00.000-07:00

Not too long after I got started on this weird wild trip, I got an email about selling some of my designs wholesale. To be honest, I was thrilled. It was one of those Sally Field at the Oscars "They like me, they really like me" moments. The company that was interested in my work was one that I had actually shopped from.

Here, let me rewind...

Aidan watches, loves, ADORES, a British cartoon called Charlie & Lola. Last year for her 4th birthday she informed me that she had to have a Charlie & Lola themed party. But, because this cartoon is popular primarily in Great Britain, I had to order all of the decorations and party supplies from websites abroad. One of the best sites I found was Pink Milk (Lola's favorite and best drink is pink, or strawberry, milk). After the party, I fanned them on Facebook and found them on Twitter to thank them for helping me put together such a great party.

Fast forward about 8 months...

I start selling my clothes online and Pink Milk becomes one of my fans on Facebook. Soon I received an email from them. They're expanding their offerings to unique handmade clothing and my aesthetic matched theirs. Would I create 10 dresses in 2 styles in all different fabrics for their site?

Y'all, I was ecstatic, thrilled, floating on air!!! Yes! Of course I would! So, I made 6 pillowcase dresses (a little bit of the American South invading the British Isles, I love it!) in beautiful, soft quilting cotton fabrics. I sent those off on Monday. Who knows exactly when they'll get there, they're battling Icelandic Volcanic Ash to get over there. When they make it onto the site, I'll let y'all know and add a link over here.

The other 4 dresses are going to be in this style. I made this for Aidan when she was...2, 2 and a half? I'm in the middle of making a test run, wearable muslin right now. Pink Milk wants four 4T dresses so that's handy because I just so happen to have a walking talking size 4T mannequin...although she tends to do too much talking most of the time. ;)

Normally I would just whip up the dresses but it's been a while since I made this style and since they specifically asked for this dress (they saw it on my Facebook page), I have to get it right!

I'm very excited to have my dresses on an established retail website!

If you run a site that sells children's clothes, contact me. I would love to work something out with you to carry a line of my clothing on your site!

I'm linking up with Kim at Everything Etsy:

New Additions

2010-04-21T13:59:00.000-07:00

I added some new dresses to the shop today.

http://stellasola.etsy.com

Go check 'em out, heart them, forward them to your friends, buy one for your baby!

My First Show

2010-04-20T21:19:00.000-07:00

So I had my first craft show on Sunday. I spent weeks preparing, sewing up dress after dress after dress. My sweet husband painted a sign for me and built a rack out of decking supplies we bought at Home Depot.

The pink dress form was purchased at the Spring Antique Show in Warrenton.

The sale was pretty small. I only had three sales to two people, one of whom was a seller and fellow Army wife that came up from Ft. Hood.

When I got my very first sale, I was so excited! The lady and I spoke, she was a first grade teacher (I'm a certified middle school teacher) and we talked about how neither of us could teach the other's age group. Her husband and son had on Texas Longhorn gear so I mentioned that I made appliqued t-shirts with matching shorts and I would have to make her little boy a Longhorn set. She was such a nice lady. When I got home and ran her credit card, it came up declined. :( Hmm...maybe I made a mistake. I ran it again on Monday...no dice. Ran it again today. So I decided to call my merchant account company to see if it was my problem. It turns out that the card comes up "Do not honor." WHAT?? On my VERY FIRST SALE at a craft show? So not cool. The other sale (which, luckily, was the larger sale with two dresses) went through just fine.

I've since signed up with Pocketpay.me which is a Smartphone App that will allow me to process credit cards immediately at craft shows.

Back in the Blogosphere!

2010-04-20T20:52:00.000-07:00

If you followed me over from my old blog, thanks for making the trek! If you're just joining me from Etsy, Facebook or Twitter, thanks for finding me!

My name is Tara. I am the "brains and braun" behind the entity that is Stella Sola Handcrafted Boutique Items for Children. I've been sewing children's clothes for almost 5 years, primarily for my own daughter, Aidan. After much encouraging from friends and family, I joined the Handmade Revolution at the beginning of 2010.

Be sure to fan me over at my Facebook page, if you haven't already, at http://facebook.com/stellasola

And, heart me over at my Etsy shop, if you haven't already, at http://stellasola.etsy.com

My shop is a little sparse at the moment but that will change this week, I have lots to photograph and list!