all about the auction!

I am thrilled to participate in a wonderful fundraising campaign to benefit a grieving family whose center was shaken to the very core last week when a tragic car accident claimed the life of a wife and mommy. I cannot even fathom what Amber's babies are thinking and wondering and crying over right now. I look at my children and hold them tighter. I write them letters, confirming my enduring love for them and my gratitude that the Lord has entrusted us with their care for a short span. Though I didn't know Amber but just a little after writing back and forth, both of us in search of the same sweet fabric, in the spring of this year, her story is ever on my mind and I had to work my hands and machines to help in whatever way possible. Tragedies like hers happen every day. I wish I could know those stories and pray for and tangibly help each one. Pretty overwhelming. But as a hearer of Amber's story, I feel privileged to respond in the way that I would love to help each hurting story... enough rambling! sorry! There are several ways you can help too!

Her amazing friends began a fundraising website and you have to check out this link to see what all has been raised for this family!! 

They then began collecting donations for auctions to benefit the family as well. Kind of confusing but there are a few different links for that:

-main handmade auction page

-and here are links to all the cc items in the auction:

     ~yellow floral petals 2t

     ~yellow floral petals 4t

     ~denim petals 3t

     ~denim petals 5t

     ~chevron petals any size

     ~butterfly dress and petals set 3t

-a sweet customer also donated a few of my favorite cc items! I just adore those pocket shorts! Remember that they run fairly narrow, but are quite a favorite around our house!

So many of my sewing friends have donated wonderful pieces, so browse through it all and be astonished at their breathtaking creations!!

and another auction page has also been set up! what amazing items at both sites!

Alright, hopefully this post kind of sums up everything you need to know about how to love on this family (and do some fun shopping at the same time!).

a sweet day

today was a big one for our family! little man b was dedicated at church this morning, and as his parents we committed to raising him in a home that honors the Lord and relies on the saving grace of Christ.  here are some photos of our day today!

i made two new styles of dresses for the girls to wear on this special occasion. i am just in love with this vintage-feel fabric and adore that it can go spring or fall! and the open-back of the dresses is a sweet surprise that the girls got quite a kick out of! :)

july 23 petal shorts and cropped leggings upload notes and details!

Hello, everyone! It seems that there are lots of new faces around chickadee chickadee these days! Welcome to you all and thank you so very much for supporting my little mommy-made shop! Here are some bits of information about how cc uploads work!

~at 9pm EST I will post a new photo album to the facebook page with pictures of every item i will be offering tonight. the items will be organized from smallest (18-24m) to largest (6).
~to claim an item, simply comment on the picture of the item you like with your paypal address. if you do not feel comfortable writing out your paypal address, you can claim the item with a comment that you will send me a message with your paypal address. 
~if for some reason a picture pops up before 9 pm, please wait until the album has been published to comment. If your comment appears before 9pm, I will not count it. I do not like being the bad guy, but I'm trying to keep it fair! :) hope that makes sense!
~if you like an item but it has already been claimed, feel free to comment if you are second in line--with "second"--if the first buyer does not pay the invoice, i will contact you! but please, if you comment to claim, please pay your invoice!! :) 

~sometimes it appears on your screen that you are the first to comment, but when you refresh, there may be other comments ahead of yours. when multiple people comment within seconds of each other, facebook organizes the comments according to who posted first, but you may not see that right away on your screen. i will invoice the first person to comment and all others will be next in line should the first commenter fail to pay the invoice.
~you will receive an invoice for your item(s) by Tuesday night. Please pay within 24 hours so that I can mail out your goodies as soon as possible! All items will be shipped by Friday morning at the latest!

~shipping is $3.50, $1 for each additional item.
~a sizing chart for the leggings can be found here! if this helps at all, my middle daughter is an average size 2.5 year old and fits great in the size 2 petals. My 4-year old is on the petite side and wears the size 3 very well. :)
~shipping is $3.50, $1 for each additional item.
~if you are interested in the dark wash denim petals, please be sure to read these notes! 
~the petals are made from highest quality, super soft and sweet cotton lycra. All seams are serged and top stitched. waistbands are serged as well. 
~all sales are final--no refunds or exchanges. (but i do know that there will be many cc mommies happy to take any of your items that may not fit!) 

 if you have any other questions please feel free to send me a message! i hope i covered everything!

June 14th Ready to Ship Upload details

Hello, everyone! In just a few minutes (9pm EST) the June ready to ship albums will go live! Here are some things to know and keep in mind about tonight's sale:
~at 9pm EST I will post two photo albums (one with 3m to 24m sized items and the other with 2T-4/5Tsized items) with pictures of every item. 
~to claim an item, simply comment on the picture of the item you like with your paypal address. if you do not feel comfortable writing out your paypal address, you can claim the item with a comment that you will send me a message with your paypal address. 
~if for some reason a picture pops up before 9 pm, please wait until the album has been published to comment. If your comment appears before 9pm, I will not count it. I do not like being the bad guy, but I'm trying to keep it fair! :) hope that makes sense!
~if you like an item but it has already been claimed, feel free to comment if you are second in line--with "second"--if the first buyer does not pay the invoice, i will contact you! but please, if you comment to claim, please pay your invoice!! :) 
~you will receive an invoice for your item(s) by Friday night or Saturday morning (baby is having his tubes put into his ears in the morning and I'm not sure how that will color our day tomorrow!). Please pay within 24 hours so that I can mail out your goodies as soon as possible!
~shipping is $3.50, $1 for each additional item.
~if you are interested in a pair of shorts and would like a coordinating tee or tank (with applique (name, initial, number or image etc) or fabric flower) I can take orders for those (i know how annoying it is to have a cute pair of pants or shorts and nothing to go with it!!). tees and tanks to match the shorts will be $16 and flutter sleeve tank tops will be $22. These will ship within ten days.

happy little bow tutorial

here's a short and sweet little tute on how to make a fabric bow.

you will need:

2 pieces of fabric, approximately 3.5 x 28 inches

1 piece of 1/2 in bias tape (double fold, unfolded) or a piece of fabric that measures about 2 x 4 inches (turn the ends of the long sides under  to the middle and iron to achieve the same bias tape look)

I didn't take photos of the first steps because they are straightforward.
~Cut your fabric pieces.
~Take the two long strips and sew them, right sides together, leaving a small opening for turning the fabric right side out. Sew an angle at the ends of the fabric strip if you like the angled edge look to your fabric ribbon.
~Turn right sides out and iron
~Top stitch and be sure to close up your opening with your top stitch
~Mark the center of your fabric ribbon with a pin

 ~Lay the center of the fabric ribbon on your piece of clothing where you would like to position it.

 ~fold on side of the ribbon toward the center.

 ~scrunch a bit to see if you like your bow.

 ~repeat with the other side

 

 ~take your bias tape and position it over the place on your ribbon where the sides of the fabric ribbon meet.

~fold the top and bottom raw edges of the bias tape over the top of the center of the ribbon. 

~sew the rectangle down with a simple top stitch, making sure to enclose the bow! viola!

 

mother's day tea

my wonderful mom planned and put on the most amazing afternoon tea party for all her grand-daughters today! (poor baby b was a little left out but he did manage to skip a nap and attend for a few minutes before catching up on golf with the rest of the men in the family!) she has been working on every facet of the tea for many weeks now and the girls grew more excited by the day to attend mimi's party! we donned gloves and hats and fabulous costume jewelry for the fete! fancy nancy herself would have been impressed by our attention to every frilly detail! i have been sewing more play clothing for the girls lately than dresses so i figured they needed something fancy and fun for today's event! and not to worry, baby b was not left out of the weekend sewing...he got a schweeeet pair of yellow seersucker shorts! here are some pictures of our fabulous tea party!

awestruck by the festivities!

 

 

happy mother's day, mimi! we love you and had the best time today!