Carolina Ribbons

Another camera strap cover

2012-01-27T14:20:00.000-05:00

Check out the camera strap cover that I made for Monica!

Such a doll!

2011-11-28T20:23:00.001-05:00

Do you know who this is?

This is Felicity. She's an American Girl.

I thought she needed to update her look, so here she is sporting some gingham.

Felicity was given to my daughter when she was really young, say five or six.

Felicity got so much love that she started having really bad hair days.

Did you know that American Girl can replace hair when their dolls start having really bad hair days?

Thankfully the loving grandmother who gave Felicity to my daughter sprang for the hair transplant.

Because of said hair transplant I was a little nervous about handling Felicity,

but, as I said, she needed a new look!

My friend, Sandy Hillis, made the doll clothes,

and I made the coordinating headbands.

Sandy sells the dress and pinafore sets for $20.

Here's Felicity all ready for the fall.

Here are a few more dolly and me headband sets.

These make great gifts!

The one above shows a one-inch headband and sells for $9 a set.

This one shows a half-inch headband and sells for $8 a set.

Several of these sets are still available,

but I am always happy to make a set in whatever colors you need.

If you have a child who is too young for American Girl

or you really don't feel like forking

out a hundred bucks for a doll who will one day have bad hair days,

Target sells 18 inch dolls that can wear clothing made for American Girl dolls.

So does ToysRUs and Vision Forum and probably many others.

I'm off to make more dolly and me sets that have been ordered for Christmas.

Please contact me if you're interested in clothing from Sandy

or headbands from me.

Camera strap covers

2011-05-27T19:38:00.000-04:00

I believe that I mentioned on Facebook that I had gotten a ruffler attachment for my sewing machine. It arrived around the time that debate season hit and I didn't get to play with it like I wanted. You see, I don't just drop everything and play. Carolina Ribbons happens when all my other responsibilities have been met. Except for mopping the floor. Sometimes I put playing in my studio above mopping the floor.

I had a request from a sweet new mother for camera strap covers about this time. Finally I had a good reason ~~not to mop the floor~~ to sit down and play with the ruffler. I ruffled grosgrain ribbon. I ruffled knit fabric. I ruffled cotton fabric. Now I was ready to make ruffled camera strap covers.

I love this color combination! I originally ordered the grey fabric to see if I wanted to make a shower curtain from it. It's lacy and feminine and makes me think of this new sweet mom.

Here's the center. I also added a handy little pocket for the lens cap.

This one was a gift. I like these colors too.

Collars

2011-05-23T16:31:00.001-04:00

I just added photos of the new dog collars to my facebook page.

Now I want to make leashes!

Laptop bag

2011-05-14T17:05:00.000-04:00

So I finally made myself a laptop bag. I had made a linen one for my daughter's new laptop,

but I knew when I made mine it would be colorful.

The background is a dark grey. I wanted grey zippers, but apparently

this is a hard color to match, so I opted for boring off-white zippers.

Here's the interior fabric.

I'd show you how great my laptop looks inside it but I can't.

Somehow I managed to make it too small. That's right-too small.

Sigh. I'm not really sure how that happened.

I measured twice and added the required two and a half inches.

I was too irritated with myself to go back and look at the directions

once I discovered that it was too small.

For Lindsay

2011-04-11T20:42:00.000-04:00

The last time my faraway daughter came to visit

she noticed the travel duffel that I made her sister.

[How many links can a girl throw in one sentence???]

I took note when she said she liked it and wanted one for herself.

I don't know why but when one of my girls likes something that I make I feel very honored.

I have never had a hard time buying stuff for Lindsay,

but for some reason I couldn't make up my mind on fabric for her bag.

So in the end I bought the fabric that I had been eyeing for myself!

The one thing that I didn't like about Becca's bag is that the cool burlap cannot be washed,

so I altered the pattern to make Lindsay's machine washable.

The lighting isn't the greatest since I was rushing to get the

birthday box in the mail before the post office closed.

Here's a side view with the zippered pocket.

This is a great pattern from Studio Cherie. It's very easy to follow.

Or if you don't want to make your own,

Cherie has some ready to purchase.

I'm back!

2011-04-08T12:49:00.000-04:00

I'll warn you now, this is lengthy.

In case you haven't noticed, I haven't been around much. In a six week time frame my son has competed in four debate tournaments. I accompanied him to three of them and did a one day visit to the other one, a total of fourteen days.

When people hear that my son is competing in team policy debate they tend to assume that his parents forced him into it. I'll share the story in the hopes that it will encourage parents.

Last spring my husband and I found out that he won a trip for two to New York City. Scott, my son, did not want to stay at home while we were gone and asked some friends if he could accompany them to the NCFCA National Championship in Virginia Beach. They agreed to let him come because they expected that he would want to compete after seeing what happens at a tournament. I knew better. There is no way that anyone could get that boy to stand in front of people and speak. No way!

I really don't know anything at all. Scott came back and wanted to participate in NCFCA. He thought it would be fun to do a humorous duo speech. Scott is the baby of the family. He grew up thinking that his role in the family was to be the humorous one. At the time we were reading the book Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris. Scott was about to start his freshman year of high school and I had been praying for God to make Himself real to my son. I had also been praying that God would give Scott a purpose and direction for his high school years. He is a great kid, but I wanted to see him lean on God like he never had before. Since we homeschool I needed the Lord to make the path clear. A year ago I had absolutely no idea what the direction of our high school years should be and I was diligently begging God to show the next step.

I wasn't crazy about the humorous duo speech idea, so I asked Scott to consider doing something that he couldn't do in his own strength, something that would require him to lean on God. I remember his response was, "Well, I thought about doing debate but I don't know if I can do it." Perfect! I encouraged him to pray about it.

Here's the part where I get honest. I did not expect Scott to actually compete in debate. I've had friends who had kids who debated in this league. Those kids were really good students. Learning came easily to those kids. Those kids liked school. Scott was not a really good student. Learning was difficult for Scott. Scott did not like school. Scott took what seemed like forever to learn to read. Scott was really, really smart but it wasn't showing up in his academics. He can fix anything. He is a problem-solver. He is Mr. Survival and MacGyver all in one. With Scott, a knife, and a piece of duct tape- all things are possible. All things but communication. And spelling. And reading big words and explaining them to a judge. For that kind of stuff God would have to come through.

But Scott did compete. I had been praying at the first tournament that God would encourage Scott and his partner with wins. But they lost every round. And Scott was the last place speaker in every round. Being ranked last speaker was hard for Scott. It broke my heart. On the way home from that tournament I asked God why didn't He encourage my son. Scott had put hours and hours of research into his case. Why couldn't God come through and let Scott win? The next day I learned a powerful lesson. Scott woke up and the first thing he did was start researching. The next thing he did was ask if there was going to be debate practice on Monday. I learned that I was asking the Lord for the wrong thing. God wanted to teach Scott to be diligent, to work hard and to persevere; I had wanted Him to give him an easy victory.

And so it went. It wasn't so much about winning rounds as it was about leaning on the Lord, working on weak areas, persevering, and being diligent. The Lord did bring encouragement. He used other people to do that. People like Mr. Mark who encouraged Scott at every tournament. He used the other competitors who encouraged one another by praying together, sharing evidence, and including the new kids. I have come to love the people of NCFCA. They have become another family to us.

I love how the Lord was so faithful to answer every one of my concerns about my child. He made Himself very real to Scott. He showed us the next step. He gave Scott a purpose and a direction. Scott had to lean totally on His heavenly Father.

I have such respect for this kid who is willing to work so hard on things that do not come easily to him. He has lots of strengths and it would have been easy to find some activities where he could excel. Instead he chose something that is totally his weakness. I've been asking the Lord to show me how I can grow in this area, to go out of my comfort zone and lean more on His strength. I know He'll be faithful to provide!

One area is the written word. Ew. I start editing after the first words are typed. Next thing you know I have deleted everything. I really wanted to share this story, but chose not to go back and edit. Forgive the mistakes....I hope to grow in my communication skills.

LOVE

2011-02-02T15:56:00.000-05:00

February is here! While a third of the nation is experiencing crazy cold temperatures, my little corner of the world is so warm today that the windows are open. Love it. It won't last long. I understand that tomorrow is supposed to be cold and rainy. Well, I'm enjoying every minute of sunshine and warmth while I can.

February is a lovely month.

Hearts

Red.

I can take a hint

2011-01-28T17:06:00.002-05:00

In case you've wondered, the most popular item for women

that I make is the key fob.

People have given them as gifts for Christmas, birthday,

Valentine's and Mother's Days.

Sometimes they buy them for themselves.

I'll let you in on a secret.

Whenever someone orders one as a gift,

they comment that they wish someone would buy one for them.

It's true. Every single time!

Sometimes they'll even let me know what fabric they like.

Well, people, I can take a hint.

If you want to know what to give her,

GIVE HER A KEY FOB!!

Even if she already has one, she's ready for another one.

Trust me.

They're machine washable too!

Going to the dogs

2010-12-28T21:47:00.000-05:00

Can you believe there are only a few days left in 2010??

December was very busy with lots of custom orders for Christmas.

I looked up and it was Christmas week-

time for focusing on my Savior's birth, family, food, and carols.

Today I worked on a project that had been on my list for

a few months-dog collars!

Three dogs live in my house.

One of them is a roamer who needs better identification.

The other two really don't leave the yard and don't even wear collars.

Well, they do now.

I made three sizes: extra small, small, and medium.

The extra small dog, Mini, was not cooperating

with the photo session. Mini routinely does not cooperate.

I kept trying to move her, but she kept getting in the way.

I shouldn't be surprised since she pretty much

follows me everywhere I go. I like to joke that she lives for me.

This is our blue tick hound. Can you guess her name?

She is the head of homeland security in these parts.

She takes her job seriously and will spend

hours keeping the critters away.

Since she roams, I added our phone number

to the inside of her collar.

The collars are machine washable-

a great feature if you have a smelly dog or three.

Bag tags

2010-11-27T20:30:00.000-05:00

I've shared the bag tags here and here, but these are great little gifts for Christmas.

They can be used on diaper bags, luggage, and school backpacks.

One way to use them at Christmas time is as

a gift card holder!

Or how about as a gift tag?

One side could be monogrammed

with the recipient's name with a note from the thoughtful giver

slipped into the clear vinyl side.

I have some tags listed in my Etsy store.

Please email me if you want a custom color

(something Christmas-y perhaps) or a personalized tag .

Regular tags are $8 and personalized tags are $12.

Market totes

2010-11-24T10:44:00.000-05:00

Hello.

It's been awhile.

I've been busy with all sorts of projects,

some near home and some far away.

I cannot believe that tomorrow is

THANKSGIVING DAY!!

I have so much for which I am truly thankful.

God has been so good to me and my family this year

just as He has been in years past!

Are you a Black Friday shopper?

While I would like to take advantage of the good deals,

I prefer to spend the day after Thanksgiving in a more leisurely manner.

I'm more of a sleep-in-and-hang-out-with-family-kind-of-day-after-Thanksgiving person.

If you need gift ideas, I'll be posting some things make great gifts in the next week.

Today's idea is my newest item, the market tote.

Just to make sure that it would work, I decided to take one for a test drive :)

When I head into town I try to make the most of each trip.

This means that I typically load up my car with all sorts of errand running supplies.

The market tote is so handy for errand day.

Since I wanted to get the full effect in my test drive, I monogrammed my tote.

I know, I know... how I suffer for my customers!

The market totes come in two sizes. Can you find mine?

Here's a nice little benefit-

when not in use, they collapse for easy storage.

Mine will always be in use, but it's still a nifty concept.

Here's what they look like all stacked inside of one.

I could have easily fit three more but didn't want to run back into the house just to prove it.

I have lots of colors available, so just ask if you're looking for a specific color.

The mini totes are $21 and the larger totes are $28.

Good help is hard to find

2010-11-02T09:46:00.000-04:00

I mentioned the fact that I was doing a craft fair not long ago. I wavered on committing to it for so long that I'm pretty sure I drove my family crazy. One day I was in, the next day I was out. About a week before the actual date, I decided to do it. My daughter, Becca, helped me scour local thrift stores for display items, provided her opinion on colors, held my hand and told me I could do this, shuttled her brother to his different activities, and kept the house going so that I could play upstairs with my ribbons, flowers and embroidery machine.

On the morning of the craft fair, Becca and my son, Scott, volunteered to get out of their warm beds to help me set up. Scott set up the tent, carried all of the heavy things, secured anything that needed securing, and did all sorts of other essential things for me. For the record, I would never have thought to secure most of that stuff; it would have occurred to me right after the wind blew it down.

Here he is surveying his work.

Becca helped me decide where to put everything so that it looked good and then documented the whole thing. Here's her account of it. I'll have to talk her into being my official photographer! For the record, she asked to have the hair flower. It's an honor to have her wear something that I made.

Since she was behind the camera,

here she is with the rest of us at the state fair the night before the craft fair:

I'm pretty sure that you won't be seeing Carolina Ribbons at all the local craft fairs. It's too large scale for my life right now. I love working with my hands and sharing that with people on a smaller scale where it doesn't take away from time with my family and my ministry in my local church.

Lil sis is on the way!

2010-10-29T12:07:00.000-04:00

There is a new addition on the way. She'll be here very soon.
When baby number five arrives she'll be greeted by her big brother and sisters.
In case she doesn't recognize them, they'll be wearing these shirts when they come to meet her.

Weekend forecast: Fair!

2010-10-22T08:22:00.000-04:00

What's ahead for your weekend?

We're headed to the state fair this afternoon.

My favorite part of the fair is checking out all of the exhibits.

In the evening we'll take in a concert of one of my favorite groups.

Tomorrow I'm participating in a craft fair at the

Habersham Harvest Festival.

I've been working steadily to fill my booth with lots of goodies.

Come by and say hello if you're in the area.

Here's the sign I made for my booth.

Have a great weekend!

Oops!

2010-10-19T19:39:00.000-04:00

I'm prepping for a craft fair this weekend.

This was my table right before supper.

Normally I try to have at least a small area of table

cleaned off for my family to eat supper,

but today I worked while supper was cooking

and completely forgot that we'd have to eat somewhere.

Thankfully we have a bar on the other side of this mess which was actually clean.

This, by the way, is only a small portion of my ribbon collection.

Lately

2010-10-13T18:22:00.000-04:00

What I've been up to lately.....

goodies in a local high school's colors

and competition bows for the cheerleaders.

My hands are sore from sewing bows!

Wild Thing

2010-10-09T18:19:00.000-04:00

After we moved into our home my husband and I decided to convert a closet under the stairs into a powder room. The person who helped me with paint colors suggested that I make this super tiny room really special for impact. My idea of special was to pick out a super busy damask wallpaper in black and white. I figured that since black and white are both neutral I could add color with hand towels. Well, until today the hand towels have stayed boring white. About a week ago I noticed that they weren't only boring and white, but also dingy.

I hit the clearance section of my favorite store for linens, TJ Maxx. Since there's only one towel hanger, I don't have to worry about matching; I can just find single colors I like and change them out. For some reason on the day I was in TJ Maxx, the only color on clearance that I liked was black. Ever since I did the applique frame onesie, I've been looking for another opportunity to use the design again. Here's the bathroom.

Here's another photo.

Here's a closeup.

The little powder room hasn't looked this good since it was graced by my daughter!

I'm still stalking the clearance section for other colors like jade green and tomato red, but this will do for now.

Fall is in the air

2010-09-29T09:54:00.000-04:00

Thanks to ~~a tropical storm~~ cooler weather in my little part of the world,
the doors are open and we're enjoying the fresh air.
It feels like fall.
Now this may not be a big deal to those of you who
live in a part of the country that has a real fall,
but I live in the hot and humid South.
Here we just might be wearing shorts for
Halloween, Thanksgiving,or Christmas.
OR we could have temperatures cool enough to wear a
sweater and have hot cider.

Hot cider and shorts just don't go together.
When it's the season of pumpkins, I prefer to wear sweaters to shorts.

With this adorable little clippie, you can wear pumpkins with your sweaters or your shorts.
If your name starts with another letter, don't worry.
I happen to have the whole alphabet,
so I can take care of Alexandra as well as Zoe.

If you prefer to have your pumpkin plain I can take care of that too.

And the winner is.....

2010-09-25T16:28:00.000-04:00

Shiloh, who commented on Thursday, September 23rd: "I love sweaters, school starting, leaves falling and football games!"

Thanks to all who commented. I'll try to do giveaways more often.

Whooo's ready for fall?

2010-09-22T16:50:00.003-04:00

Happy Autumnal Equinox (first day of fall)!!

In honor of fall I thought I would do a first....a GIVEAWAY of this adorable owl clippie.

In order to enter please leave a comment telling me what you love about this time of the year.

I love the cooler weather. And college football. And pumpkins.

I'll pick a winner through random drawing on Saturday.
If you don't have a blogger account,
just email me and I'll throw your name in the hat for the giveaway.

Monogrammed luggage tag

2010-09-20T19:55:00.001-04:00

This luggage tag is the first project that I've made for my daughter with her married initials.
Looks pretty good!

When her husband came to our little town for the first time,
he laughed when he saw the local Piggly Wiggly.
Apparently The Pig is found only in the south.
He HAD to take a trip to The Pig and
HAD to buy a shirt.
I'm thinking of giving him his very own Pig card
for Christmas.
I'll present it in a monogrammed luggage tag, of course.

Tag!

2010-09-17T10:47:00.000-04:00

It's a luggage tag!

It's a gift tag!

It's a diaper bag tag!

It's a gift card holder!

It's a birthday card.

It's adorable!

When you contact me you can just call it a tag or luggage tag....
I'll know what you're talking about.

(Gasp! Did she really end a sentence with a preposition?!)
There's more to come....

More for Ivy

2010-09-08T21:31:00.001-04:00

Ivy also received a bow with headband and burp cloth set.
I have always been fond of navy and green together, but it's really cute with the pink.
The pinks match in real life. I guess I should have taken the photo in better light.

For Ivy

2010-09-06T20:17:00.001-04:00

Here is a sweet little onesie and paci clip gift set that I did recently

The close up.

In all fairness

2010-09-04T11:51:00.001-04:00

Go ~~Tiggers~~ Tigers!!

Time to get your Gamecock on

2010-09-02T15:02:00.002-04:00

Go Carolina!!!!

For Amanda

2010-08-30T22:39:00.001-04:00

Dear Amanda,
Happy 15th birthday!! I'm sure you will
never guess what I'm giving you for your
birthday this year.

Even though I have no imagination and always
give you and your sisters the exact same gift for Christmas
only in different colors, just know that I do love you.

For your birthday this year I broke out of the mold!
While you are getting the exact same birthday gift
as your sisters, this time it's a new color.
I have never given you anything purple before.
How's that for original?
Love,
Aunt Michele

For Hailey

2010-08-26T21:46:00.000-04:00

One of the August birthday girls in our family is
Hailey, my 17 year old niece.

Seventeen??? Why just the other day she was toddling
to my pots and pans cabinet to make cymbals out of the lids.

Sigh...the years just seem to fly by.
Now she needs a key fob to hold those car keys.

For Becca

2010-08-24T14:26:00.001-04:00

August is birthday month for our family.

So is March, but that was months ago.

I wanted to make something special for my daughter's birthday.

I knew it would be tricky because she's home a lot

and her bedroom is next to my sewing room.

Becca has been talking about how awesome linen is

so I made her a linen-covered keyfob.

I saw the pattern for this travel duffel bag on etsy and thought it would be nice to have something like this for a trip.

Becca isn't a big traveler, but now she's prepared for a short trip.

Sewing this bag was fun since it called for quilting the fabric which I'd never done before.

Headbands!

2010-08-23T18:52:00.001-04:00

Need a way to keep that hair out of your face?
These headbands will do the job.
Has your daughter become too old for bows,
but you still need a tidy look?
These headbands will do the job.
These particular headbands are two and a half inches wide,
but I have many smaller widths as well.

E is for Eve

2010-08-21T10:07:00.002-04:00

And Emma. And Emily. And Eliza. And Elizabeth. And Ella.

Here's a closer look. The onesie is done in a reverse applique.

Since paci's are a precious commodity in certain households,

here are two paci clips to keep them close at hand.

E is also for Evan. And Ethan. And Elliott. And Elijah. And Ezra.

For Sydney

2010-08-13T21:03:00.003-04:00

Here is another tooth fairy pillow that Aunt Kelly ordered.
This pillow is unique in that the tooth pocket is on the front.
I've been wanting to use the turquoise fabric for
just the right project and this was it.
Isn't it cute?
Now Aunt Kelly needs to do something special
for her nephews!

For Olivia

2010-08-12T16:36:00.003-04:00

Of all the tooth fairy pillows, this is my favorite.
When the fabulous Aunt Kelly told me that Olivia needed an owl
I knew exactly which design to use.
Isn't he adorable?
I guess it could be a she, but it seems like a he to me.
I want to make an owl with fall colors next.
Browns, oranges, golds....maybe the fall owl will be a she.

For Claire

2010-08-11T14:27:00.005-04:00

The amazing Aunt Kelly wanted a tooth fairy pillow with a Parisian feel

for her niece, Claire.

I had a French poodle design and an Eiffel Tower

design that came to mind.

In the end it was the French poodle for little Claire.

Can you believe that I forgot to take photos of the

pocket that is on the back?

I tried to think of a French saying to go along with this,

but I took four years of Spanish; no hablo Frances.

For Ella

2010-08-10T09:19:00.006-04:00

Once upon a time there was a little girl named Ella.

Ella had an wonderful aunt named Kelly.

Aunt Kelly had fabulous taste in what little girls want,

and asked her poor old seamstress friend to make a special pillow for Ella.

This was not to be an ordinary pillow, but rather a tooth fairy pillow.

So the old seamstress got to work to create a special pillow with a little pocket on the back.

Said pocket would safely hold the tooth for the tooth fairy to find

and replace with a piece of gold!

Now Ella would be the happiest girl on the planet.

And they all lived happily ever after.

The end.

Kara

2010-08-09T09:14:00.001-04:00

For a sweet little princess with big brown eyes.

Because spit happens

2010-07-22T09:51:00.003-04:00

I made these burp cloths for my good friend's daughter, Hannah Grace. She's a Carolina baby, so she needed the palm and crescent.

This one is my favorite. I just love all of this girlie-ness.

Our little backyard wedding

2010-06-06T17:19:00.009-04:00

Hello again. I believe I mentioned something about wedding photos in my last post. My daughter, Lindsay, was married two weeks ago in our backyard. It was such a blessing to be at home all day. For the early part of the day all of the action was in my bedroom and bathroom since that was where Lindsay and the bridesmaids did hair and makeup. I can't tell you what a joy that was for me.

We haven't seen photos from the photographers yet. They are good friends of Carson, my new son-in-law, and live in Washington state. Amy and Erik had a blast taking photos of our beautiful South Carolina since it was new to them.

My friend, Melissa, posted about the wedding. My daughter, Becca, who was also one of the bridesmaids, posted about the day here and her e .

Here's a photo of me with Mr. and Mrs. Carson Bay.

Zipping the dress.

After the first kiss.

Three weeks

2010-05-01T12:27:00.003-04:00

Hello. I used to blog here about all sorts of goodies that I make. Lately I've been making without the blogging. My daughter is getting married in three weeks, so I've been mostly making things for the wedding- flowergirl dresses, garter, and crafting for the reception.

I'll be back after the wedding with photos, but for now I'm enjoying this time with my daughter who recently returned from Washington state to get married here.

Nothing could be finer

2010-03-22T08:13:00.004-04:00

Are you a Carolina girl? Here's a way to show it off. This design is a hot item right now. I'm selling it on badge reels, bows, tee's, cups. If I can find the card thingy that is missing from my camera, I'll share other displays of Carolina pride.

Proof

2010-03-03T20:33:00.003-05:00

I wasn't able to get any good photos of the bride (see previous post), but her aunt got great shots. Isn't she beautiful? This is the veil I made. My instructions were to make it collarbone length.

Here it is with the flower.

The flower with the birdcage veil that she wore for the reception.

Anything for a friend

2010-03-01T19:12:00.011-05:00

Has it really been that long since I've posted?? Well, it's been kind of busy around here. A good friend of mine had a daughter get engaged and married within a span of six weeks. I helped with stuff like hunting for a venue, figuring out a pattern for the bridesmaids' skirts, helping with the food, and, most dear to my heart, making something for the bridesmaids' hair. Here is what I ended up making.

Here they are from a distance.

The bride has lots of sisters that needed accessorizing also. This is Elaina.

This is Haddie Hope.

Eska is older so I made a flower for her. I ended up making one just like it for the bride to wear with her birdcage veil. All my photos of the bride are a big blur, so you'll just have to trust me on this.

I also got the opportunity to make a veil. I wasn't looking to make one. My good friend just told me that I needed to make one and sent over some tulle so that I could get busy. I spent two days avoiding the tulle. I really wasn't interested in cutting something that had to be perfect for photos. Finally I gathered my courage and made it. But you'll have to trust me on that too. All my photos of the bride are blurry.

You can find fabric flowers for sale in my Etsy shop.

A great aunt

2010-01-21T23:32:00.005-05:00

When my children were little they had a great babysitter, Chandra. I liked to have Chandra come over when I had to be gone all day because she was so fun. I would come home to watch a show that they spent all day planning. They would make costumes and everything. But Chandra wouldn't put up with any disobedience. She was fun and she was tough.

Chandra is now an aunt to lots of nieces and nephews. Her newest niece was born just a couple of weeks ago. To celebrate this new one's birth, Chandra asked me to make matching outfits for the siblings with coordinating bows. I decided to do simple A-line dresses that can be worn with a shirt underneath for winter and without in the summer. Instead of lining the dresses, we decided to make them reversible thus getting two dresses in one. For the little guy there is a matching tie.

Here's a close up of the matching bows. We decided to make some that were specific to the dresses and some that can be worn with other outfits.

Whatcha call it....

2010-01-13T12:52:00.009-05:00

I've heard pacifiers called paci's, binkies, soothers, and nuks. Whatever you call them, they sure are handy to have around. If your child has one (or five) you know that they have a tendency to not be where you need them when you want them. I so wish I had a paci clip (or five) when my kids were little! These little critters clip to your child's shirt so that the paci is never far from the mouth.

I wanted to "share" some that I recently made. My monogrammed paci clips are $8 each. Regular clips are $3 each.

More burp cloths

2010-01-08T19:17:00.005-05:00

Here are a few more samples of burp cloths I've made.

Just for decoration

2010-01-04T16:27:00.001-05:00

Here's a sweet little gift set that I made for an infant this fall. One cannot have too many burp cloths with a baby, so here are a couple that are personalized. Not only are they cute, but they will come in handy in the church nursery where everyone will know to whom they belong. I added some matching bows in coordinating colors.

My son asked why people decorate babies. I don't know. Babies are perfect even when they're completely unadorned, but sometimes it can be fun to decorate them.

Headbands

2009-12-29T11:46:00.002-05:00

These headbands are a very popular item these days. These particular headbands were a Christmas gift from a grandmother to her grandaughters. I chose the same font for all of them, but the font, the ribbon color, and the thread color can all be changed to suit you.

Christmas bows

2009-12-20T22:22:00.001-05:00

I've been very busy this month making lots of Christmas bows. My embroidery machine ran non-stop for most of last week making custom headbands, key fobs, mugs, and badge reels. I'll post photos of some of these later since they are gifts...wouldn't want to spoil the surprise!

Made for klutzes like me!

2009-12-05T21:22:00.002-05:00

I was so excited when the nice UPS man delivered these insulated tumblers. After doing my chores I grabbed the box and went upstairs to play with them. Somehow I managed to drop one. I shuddered as it hit every stair step on its way down to the brick floor at the bottom of the stairs. I was quite surprised to discover that it was still in one piece. I hadn't planned on keeping a mug for myself, but that sucker just fell down a whole flight of stairs and might somehow be defective. So now I am the proud owner of the stainless steel mug on the left. I use it all the time too!

The stainless steel tumbler holds 12 ounces and the other one holds 16 ounces. Both are great for either hot or cold. At first I was disappointed that I didn't drop the 16 ounce one, but 12 ounces really is plenty. I have lots of fabric that can be embroidered for the insert. If you want one I promise not to drop it!

For the stocking

2009-11-27T10:07:00.001-05:00

Or for yourself. Have no idea what to get the difficult-to-buy-for person? How about an embroidered key fob. I used the same font on both of these, but have several others from which to choose. And fabrics??? Well, I've got you covered in that area too. I've amassed quite a collection and can find something for anyone. This is the short version (four and a half inches); the longer version can fit over the wrist. These are $8 each.

Are you ready for some rivalry?

2009-11-25T18:29:00.001-05:00

In South Carolina this Saturday is one game not to miss. Carolina will be playing Clemson. I will not be at the game, but my headbands will be there. Hope they have fun. Go Carolina!!

Jane

2009-11-18T08:28:00.002-05:00

This is Jane. See Jane smile. See the cute little monogrammed pinwheel bow that makes Jane smile. (Doesn't having the right accessory make you smile?) Smile, Jane, smile!

What's for lunch?

2009-10-22T17:37:00.002-04:00

Tucked into the care package for my daughter who lives on the other side of the country was a lunch bag with her first initial embroidered on it. I wanted to use a three-initial monogram but she will soon have a last name and new initials. Yes, my girl is getting married!!

I have a few more of this same lunch bag as well as a bigger bag in the same design. Contact me if you're interested in one.

Opinions, please

2009-10-08T08:34:00.001-04:00

Which do you prefer with the monogram, the pinwheel bow (shown in brown) or the boutique bow (shown in light ivory)?

Scrabble

2009-09-11T12:17:00.001-04:00

I finished a custom order for embroidered badge reels last night and left them sitting on the kitchen table. This morning I noticed that the reigning Scrabble champion (my husband) had found them and decided to make a little game out of them. My son witnessed the impromptu photo session and told me that I could make better words than these. Sounds like we need a game night around here soon!

I realize that the M doesn't make a word. I just really like the way it looks in this font and had to add it. Off to the side are many letters that I could have added to make my own word, but I'm just realizing this now while blogging rather than in the moment. No wonder I always lose!

Cheers!

2009-09-03T19:27:00.002-04:00

Pardon the poor coloring of the photo below. It's evening and not a good time to take photos in natural light, so the kitchen counter will have to suffice.

I've been busy making cheer bows for some little ladies who will make their cheering debut at tomorrow night's high school football game. Local elementary school girls who took a cheer clinic last weekend have the opportunity to show off their newly learned skills. As women everywhere know, we must have the right accessories. Hence, the selections below. GO EAGLES!!

My new toy

2009-07-28T19:52:00.000-04:00

Wow! Has it really been that long since I posted? Where have I been?? Well, I've been enjoying my summer. Also I got a new toy, an embroidery machine. I've had fun learning how to play with it. A friend of mine hinted that she would love a key fob with her name on it. She requested a bright color that would be easy to spot. Since she has several small children I decided to make it long enough so that she can just slip it on her arm. Here it is. She loved it, by the way.

I'm just happy I remembered to take a photo of it before giving it to her. I've made several fun gifts lately....a set of burp cloths, a set of kitchen towels. Since I always seem to forget to take a photo, you'll just have to take my word for how cute they turned out.

You're a grand old flag!

2009-06-09T18:36:00.006-04:00

This Sunday, June 14th, is Flag Day here in the good old USA. Flag day is of course the day we commemorate the adoption of our flag in 1777. Here are some bows that are perfect for the occasion.

Below, Brooke wears the red, white, and blue for a Memorial Day parade here in town. These are ponytail streamers. They're in my etsy shop.

Here's another shot of Brooke enjoying the parade. Her little sister, Tally, is wearing the bigger version of the patriotic bow. Little brothers wear the ever appropriate camo.

A close up the the ponytail streamer. I think it's way cuter on Brooke!

Summer means watermelon!

2009-05-08T12:47:00.002-04:00

I know it's not officially summer yet, but I live in the South where summer starts early. Can you guess what my favorite summer treat might be?

Gardening

2009-05-07T13:19:00.001-04:00

I love to garden; I have several rose bushes that are all in bloom as I speak. I cannot leave those beautiful blooms outside though. I simply must cut them and brighten my home with them. Unfortunately I'm no floral artist.

Here are a couple of bow arrangements that I made for the Help Cure Ana Maria fundraiser this Saturday in Beaufort. While my arranging isn't the best, the point is to raise money for this precious child's healthcare. If you're in the area, stop by and meet Ana Maria. And please, please pray for her and her family.

Workin' the system

2009-05-02T09:23:00.002-04:00

For those who live within a two hour drive of Beaufort, SC, there is a way to get bow goodies for free.....invite your friends over for a bow show! I set up my incentives in ways that benefit you. With items that start as low as $1, there's something for everyone. Please email me for more info.

Dots

2009-04-28T22:41:00.001-04:00

I had to play with this dotty ribbon as soon as it came in the mail. I couldn't decide which one I liked better, the milk chocolate ribbon or the dark chocolate. Which do you prefer? For some reason the blue one looks a little wonky in the picture, but behaves nicely in person. I guess some bows just aren't very photogenic!

In honor of Belle

2009-04-25T16:51:00.001-04:00

When I saw this ribbon it reminded me of my favorite daschund, Belle. Belle isn't my dog, rather she owns my former neighbors, the Smiths. We're kindred spirits when it comes to dogs, so I made this little key fob in honor of Belle. Belle's people were quite happy to have a reminder of her.

Cute girl from far away

2009-04-21T20:01:00.004-04:00

This is Lindsay, my eldest child. She's currently on the other side of the country where she attends school. In her Easter care package I added several toggle headbands. I knew I could trust Lindsay to let me know if a college student would actually wear one of these. Turns out that they do, or at least this one does.

This is what it looks like beneath. The toggle allows the headband to be adjustable. I add a little no-slip grip to the inside because a girl needs to know her headband isn't going anywhere!

My Easter Peeps

2009-04-17T12:25:00.003-04:00

When I was a little girl Easter meant a new dress and new shoes which had to last all spring and summer. Now that I'm older I treasure Easter for what it truly is, the resurrection of my Savior. Still, it's fun to watch little girls come into church bedecked in their Easter finery. This year I had a part in some girls' Easter bedecking. The following links will take you on a little Easter parade.....
http://sensiblemom.wordpress.com/2009/04/16/headbands-galore/
http://thehomespunheart.blogspot.com/2009/04/easter-week.html
http://mileyjourney.wordpress.com/2009/04/14/easter-cuties/

Enjoy!

2009-04-16T14:35:00.001-04:00

So let's just make it ice cream week. I love this ribbon. The sweet little pink (er, strawberry) dots on chocolate- it's just so feminine.

I guess it's ice cream week

2009-04-15T09:38:00.001-04:00

And this is heavy on the strawberry. I've also done this heavy on chocolate, but I forgot to take photos of that before it sold.

More Neopolitan Fun

2009-04-14T15:05:00.001-04:00

Here's the same color combination in a korker. This is the second best selling item I make.

I scream, you scream...

2009-04-13T11:17:00.002-04:00

I don't know about you, but when I hear the word neopolitan I think ice cream. But lately around my house the word is used to describe the best selling color combination-brown, pink, and cream. Or I guess you could say chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla. Here's what it looks like in a headband. The one on the top is the most popular item I make.

Spring is here!

2009-04-11T13:19:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I finally planted a butterfly garden. Hopefully I'll have a few real butterflies flitting about my yard soon. For now, I'll have to be satisfied with the ribbon variety.

For the big sisters

2009-04-01T13:12:00.006-04:00

My good friend, Charlotte, is due to have a baby tomorrow. Her sweet daughters are getting new matching outfits to wear when they meet their baby brother for the first time. New outfits need a little accessorizing, don't you think? So do I! I haven't seen the outfits yet, but hopefully one of these will match.

This little flower is new for me. The perfectionist in me wants to get it just right before introducing it, but then again, the perfectionist in me is never satisfied. I'll just have to post the perfected versions some other time.

Wishful thinking

2009-02-28T12:01:00.004-05:00

Today is the last day of the shortest month of the year. I'm so glad that tomorrow begins a new month. One can typically count on warm days in March in my little part of the world. Warm days bring spring flowers, and I am ready for flowers. In a few months my vases will be boasting daisies, roses and other treats from my yard. For now, on the last day of what seems like the longest, coldest, dreariest month of the year, my vase is showcasing ribbon flowers. Enjoy!

Hush Little Baby

2009-02-20T20:04:00.004-05:00

Paci clips weren't around when I had babies, but I would have had oodles of them if they were. Paci clips will keep that pacifier from touching the ground. The ribbon length is 9 inches for a standard paci clip. Clips for a Soothie pacifier will be 8 inches long. These are machine washable!

My current favorite

2009-01-28T15:57:00.009-05:00

Since I'm not so great at posting maybe you're wondering what exactly I'm doing. Well, I do have a husband and three kids, the eldest leaves tomorrow to go back to college, and I homeschool the other two.

My family is my first priority. Then comes ministry opportunities. Oh, and let's not forget laundry! Because my children are older, I do have plenty of time to keep my hands busy and be creative. My very favorite thing to make right now is woven headbands. I can park myself in my favorite chair, chat with my sweet people, and weave away. I managed to weave several the other night at the airport while waiting for a flight to arrive.

I love the brown ones. The one on the far left is modeling a brown bow that is separate. A bow can slide in any of the headbands to change up the look.

Here are the reds. These will be nice for Valentine's Day, but really work any time of the year. Recently my 17 year old daughter and I were looking at old photos. I noticed that in most of the pictures, she was wearing a red bow.

The headbands on the top are only 1/4 of an inch wide. The ones on the bottom are one inch at their widest point.

Lots of pinks and greens here. There are three different shades of each color in this group.

These color combinations came about after a trip to the mall. I first noticed them in Gymboree, but they seem to be everywhere. In this photo the dark navy looks black....I guess I should work on my photography skills!

Now where are my keys??

2009-01-28T15:30:00.000-05:00

While I may not be able to help you find your keys, I can help you organize them with these cheery key fobs.

Aren't they fun? I had a hard time choosing just one!

Getting accustomed to custom

2009-01-06T22:30:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile since I last posted, but I'm still around. Lately I've noticed a trend that I'm beginning to enjoy. Now that word is getting around that there are bows to be had, moms are looking in closets and needing to match specific outfits.

Can I tell you how much fun it is to take my color cards and ready-made goodies and visit closets to match outfits?! Today I went to two different homes and with the little girl dresses spread all round, we matched and designed bows, headbands, and korkers. There are about fifteen different pinks on my color charts and it can be so hard to pick just one. Well, today was about making sure we got just the right pinks and blues.

One mom was all about doing her birthday shopping for her daughter's friends, so we picked out colors for the UGA fan, the one who loves purple, and the girly-girl.

Perhaps you have a Sunday dress that needs a little something and you can't find just the right shade. Just shoot me an email, and I'll be happy to accomodate you.

Are you blue?

2008-12-19T13:05:00.001-05:00

I like blue. A lot. It's in virtually every room in my house and is taking over my closet as well. Here's an assortment of blue for the little ladies.

The baby clip in the left is $1. For a girl with more hair is a bow that I've mounted on a ponytail holder. It also comes mounted on a french clip or an alligator clip. $3.

I love these colors. The little clip on the left is $3. Its big sister on the right is $6.

This is tiny. Mounted on an alligator clip, it measures just a little over two inches wide. Fun for little girls with not a lot of hair. It also comes in brown, lime, red, and white. More colors to come soon. $3.

The basic bow. I have lots of colors available. The secret to keeping this fresh looking is a light starch. No flat bows here. The basic measures 5"x 3". $4.

More korkers. These are so fun because the color combinations are just endless. $5.

Hello World!

2008-12-09T11:55:00.001-05:00

So here it is, my very first post. Suddenly I'm shy and not sure what to say.

I guess I'll start with why I'm here. I have always loved busy hands. I like to be doing something....crafting, sewing, making stuff.

When my girls were little I made all their hair accessories. I would have purchased them, but alas, I am cheap. And I live in a small town where hair pretties cannot be found.

Now my girls are much older. Too old to wear big bows on the top of their pretty little heads. But I still like to create them, so after some prayer about where this should go, I decided to make them for the people who live in this small town where they cannot be found.

Since it's the most wonderful time of the year, I thought I'd share some of the Christmas goodies that I've made. Enjoy!

Woven hairbands! The one on the far left is sporting a separate hair bow can slide in the ribbon. The one inch width is available for $7 and the half inch sells for $5.

Christmas korkers- a sassy little hair pretty. These are attached to ponytail holders, but can be mounted on french barrette or alligator clip as well. Korkers are $5 each.

Here are the holiday bows. These range from $2 to $8. I just love the reindeer ribbon. I used up every bit I had, but more is on the way!

If any of these catch your fancy, please email me.