We have a winner!!!

A HUGE thank you for all the comments, compliments and votes of support left about my new website in my giveaway post. As promised - I'm giving away a skinny scarf done in the "girlfriends" fabric line to a lucky winner today!

**and the WINNER IS................................Alicia of RainasDesigns **

I used the random number generator to pick for me! Congratulations!

enjoy your long holiday weekend everyone! I will be busy sewing! Lots of fun new designs coming so be sure to sign up for my newsletter to receive updates, specials and giveaways too!!!

I spy - RESELLS!

Just wanted to let you know of 2 GREAT resells now up for auction from some sweet customers of mine.



The first is a design I get alot of requests for but only created twice! and the second is more a Holiday type outfit. Be sure to take a look at both!



You can use the links or click on the pictures too!

Wordless Wednesday - School girl!

to view more Wordless Wednesday posts view here and here

I'm officially OPEN for business!!!

You may have noticed my new header and possibly my new logo on some of my auction pictures as well. Maybe you were even obervant enough to see the "website" and "shop" buttons I have put back up on the right side of my blog? you did see it? Well let me fill you in on the scoop!

My website has gotten a complete makeover by mjgraphicdesign.com! Bobbie incorpated so many patterns and items that I love when she designed my new logo and website! She was a dream to work with and did it all fairly quickly as well which is good for me. I don't like my "projects", whatever they be, to be lengthy or drawn out. LOL! My husband will tell you that!

The most exciting part is now it's so easy to shop right off my site! I've added several categories - jeans, tops, DIY kits, aprons and MORE! You can contact me easily using the "email me" button, find my auctions, get back to my blog and check out my recent press, etc. I Love it! I've also added a sub category to the Jeans Section labeled - Sample Sets. Right now I have a few sets that I need to clear out so be sure to check that section out as well for a bargain!

I've been waiting to officially announce it and have a big reveal BUT as I've been working to add new products and stock my website I've been fortunate enough to have customers stop by and snatch them up! tee hee hee. SO........I figure I will just have to announce it now as I don't think I'll be ahead of the game long enough to have it all stocked up the way I want it.

A huge thank you to Bobbie of MJGraphic Design and MadieJane.com. Stop by and take a peek around my website.


I'd love to hear your what you think!

**Everyone who posts a comment here will be eligible to win a "girlfriends" skinny scarf from me! I will post a winner on Friday!**

Livin' Large

What happens when summer comes to a close and your summer routine ends?.....................um..............well for starters our garden has almost all been but forgotten this last week...........or maybe longer...........LOL!!! Now that most of our veggies aren't "on" anymore or have stopped producing for the most part I haven't been giving it the love and care I was earlier in the season. I happened to wander out there today and spied and GIGANTIC zucchini! WHOA! This baby grew out over the side of the garden box and onto the ground. It's huge! I tried to capture the size of it by having my six and half year old daughter stand by it. You can see how high up to her leg it stands. We also had a cucumber that got missed for enough days that is was super long and sort of twisty. Anyone else have gigantic veggies this year? *snicker*

Our tomatoes are just about to come on too. I'm personally not a huge of tomatoes. I like them with certain foods or in them but not to just eat plain. That would be my hubby. He loves tomatoes and made sure we got enough plants. I think we'll have too many - wink. The tomato plants have also got invaded by the mini pumpkin vine. I knew pumpkins spread out but I guess we didn't plan it too well. I've been trying to redirect the pumpkin vines away from the tomato plants. You can see how they have spread out over our property line. LOL!!! We've got several pumpkins turning orange too! I can't wait to bring them inside and decorate for fall with them!

I know it's only the end of August but I'm itching to break out the fall decor and switch things up around my house. How about you?

Speaking of decor, here's a few pictures of a project I did this week. I needed to switch gears for a bit from sewing/designing to something else. The victim? A plain wood stool I bought at a yard sale years ago. It's been used for many things and put in many different places and seems to have been used alot lately. So much, that I actually "noticed it". You know how sometimes you have items that maybe sit in a room and you just sort of don't "see" them anymore or really notice them daily. You know they are there - you just pay attention to them. Anyway, I thought if we are going to keep on using this and I am going to keep seeing it around the house then it needs a little sprucing up! So I grabbed a can of paint, a few brushes, throw in a couple of eager helpers ~ TA DA! A shiny black stool that sits in my office as it's "put away" place when it's not being used for various other tasks around the house.

I love it so much now I'm thinking, "why did I wait so long to do this?"

Here's the Skinny....

Skinny Scarves that is! Debuting today are my new accessories for Fall! Want to add some color or something different to your everday wear? A Skinny scarf is the answer! Casual yet stylish ~ colorful but not flashy ~ comfy?.....oh yes. It can be worn so many different ways. Wrap it, twist it, drape it, or layer it with your jacket! Made with the rich colors from the Manzanita line by Joel Dewberry and one of 4 new items I designed for the "Indelible" Launch. Yes the launch is today! I've added a fun detail to the scarf as well so be sure to check out the auction to see what that is!



Also newly listed today for the launch is 2 pairs of Mosaic jeans ~ One for WOMEN and one for GIRLS. Now's a perfect time to snatch up a matching pair for Mom and daughter! A beautiful mix of Pinks, Browns and Greens with fabrics from Joel Dewberry, Amy Butler, Moda and more! Perfect for the upcoming fall season. I even added a bit of leopard print to really set them apart!



And last but not least I teamed up with my littlest sister to create a matching purse! She has had fun making some for herself so I enlisted her to be my seamstress. The purse has been created in a "Mosaic Stripwork" style. What else would you expect from me? LOL!!! Alittle bling, a bold pattern on the back and loads of style and fun! This purse is a OOAK ~ One of a Kind so don't miss it!

I also had the opportunity to work with Erin of the_vintage_pearl on some matching jewerly for this launch. She created 2 beautiful pieces to match the manzanita fabrics and the aviary fabrics. Check out her items as well!

Indelible..........it's coming!

I hinted about an ebay launch I was asked to participate in coming up and it's just about here! Tomorrow is launch day BUT if you'd like alittle sneaky peek at what some of the 51 designers have created using Joel Dewberry's fabrics take a peek at the Boutique Buyers blog. She has the scoop and a few pictures too!! Tell her I sent ya! ;)


and if you are itching to snatch up some free swag head on over to BoutiqueCAFE! They just kicked off their monthly clicking spree event. It Ends thursday! It's easy to play too! Just click on the ADS on their site that catch your eye and post a comment in the show notes about what you found, liked, etc. That's it!

SPC ~ Pattern ~ Coming home

What are we on.........week 3? I think so! LOL!!! August's theme for the Self Portrait Challenge is patterns and I went with a little different "pattern" this week than I have in my week 1 and week 2 photos. Still keeping with the patterns in our lives that surround us I captured the design in our front entry. It's the first thing people notice and they usually say something about the design, color, layout, etc. Then to capture myself in this space I played around with the "B" or Bulb Setting on my camera to create movement in this space. The front entry is the in and out of our home and has been very used this summer as the kids come and go and as we welcome friends, family and neighbors over. I focused more on our "daily patterns" or routines. We all have them - your morning routine, driving the same routes to go different places, meal times, etc. So hopefully I captured the movement of this space as people go in and out and create thier own patterns on top of the physical pattern that lies there.

*Thanks to Jeremy for choosing my photo this week!

Look Jane look!

See designer. See designer get lots of outfits done. See designer list and list and list! whew! Busy, busy, designer. LOL!!!! I'm back in business after a good summer "break". Back to school is in full swing and holiday sales are starting as well! I've just listed a CUTE Dick and Jane outfit for your little sweetie! She's sure to catch the teachers heart in this "educational" ensemble. (wink ,wink)
And it's never to early for ebay HOLIDAY boutique! Halloween sales have been going for awhile now and I'm finally joining the race! My Spooky Halloween outfit has 5 pieces included with loads of colors and style!
And if you can believe it - YES - more HSM jeans! I've had an overwhelming response to these jeans and MANY requests for, " MORE HSM jeans please!" SO I am running a .99 cents NO RESERVE auction with custom sizes running from 2T - 12! yup! It's crazy I know! If you want a pair - now's the time to bid! I am finishing up designing these so don't miss out!



My Christmas Holiday fabric has been arriving this week - very exciting! I've got some fun new designs in the works and I've done 2 other photoshoots this week with some exciting NEW designs! You will be able to see what they are next week! But I will give you alittle hint about it:

Enjoy your weekend! I'll be sitting down with about 15 or more squealing girls to watch the debut of High School Musical 2! teeheehee

A "crabby" photoshoot

Can Dads be good photography assistants? I asked my hubby if he wanted to come along for a photoshoot I would be doing with our daughter as the model AND to mainly help me watch our little guy while I was busy with my eye behind the lens. He of course said "SURE" being the good husband that he is and that's when the "fun" began! LOL!!! I got right down to business snapping pictures knowing my that son was in good hands and I didn't need to watch or worry about him. It was very nice. I didn't even pay attention to what Dad was doing to keep him occupied until it started to interfere with what I was doing. Little red "interferences" kept popping into our photo area, landing near our feet and whizzing past our heads. "what the???"

CRAB APPLES! Well that is what he said they were. The trees in the area were full of them and they were all over the ground. Of course only a guy...ahem......a boy..........better yet, anyone of the male gender would undoubtedly see them as weapons, or something to play with and scoop them up handful after handful and throw them around. What my dear sweet husband had been doing while I was so anxiously engaged in the taking pictures was throwing crabapples around, mainly at my son as he giggled, laughed and tried to dodge them. Then he changed his target to us! LOL!!! I didn't mind really - just family fun, expect it soon got my daughter distracted from taking photos and she wanted to retaliate, and funny enough, she asked me to take pictures of her throwing them at Dad!

All in all, the photoshoot went well and turned out to be a fun family outing together! Which doesn't always happen with photo shoots! (wink, wink) My husband even said, "Take a picture of the crabapples and you can post it on your blog." LOL!!!! *sigh* Oh he knows me too well! He did manage to sneak alittle sweetness into our shoot as well. I just love those tender Daddy Daughter moments.

SPC ~ patterns ~ Polka dots

Continuing with the Pattern theme for SPC this month I couldn't leave out my favorite pattern - Polka dots!!!!

I recently purchased these shoes when I found them on clearance! woohoo ~ makes me love them even more! I added the pattern of the shadows from the blinds again this week as I found myself soaking up the warm sun and the beautiful light on the weekend. Enjoy!

Fabric Therapy

The snip of the scissors, the piles of fabrics unfolding and running through my fingers, the whir of the machine..................all things I have missed and so desperately needed after a long couple of days.............just alittle fabric therapy. I pulled together a girls DIY kit done up in the red and blue fabric combination from the Amy Butler Lotus line. I've gotten several requests for some girl DIY kits and they are on their way!....um........................soon! But it felt so good to immerse myself in the fabrics, to see the patterns, colors and designs and just get down to business. You can check out the latest DIY kit here - in my etsy store. AND if you have amy suggestions on themes you would LOVE to see for more kits OR jeans done my ME PLEASE let me know! I love getting feedback from you! Just post your ideas in the comments section.

Modgirls

I just loved Jennifer Paganelli's new fabric line the moment I laid on eyes on it. Modgirls is fresh, funky with gorgeous lines, shapes and colors. It combines for many fun elements I jumped at the opportunity to mash them all together in my Mosaic Jeans. I contacted my_angel_sophie designer and asked if she would design a top to go with the jeans and she said YES! I was thrilled and the outfit came together great! She designed a fun ruffle top with great detailing! The auction is currently running for both pieces in custom sizes 2T - 12.

I also listed the modeled pair of my
High School Musical jeans!!!! These are ready to be shipped to you and could even arrive in time for the debut of the second movie next week!

***edited - Jennifer Paganelli has added this outfit to her blog today! What an honor! you can check her blog out here. ***

For the Vintage lovers

Have you heard about Heather Bullards GRAND opening????? Her blog is amazing and she's been working on her website debut. Well TODAY is the day!!!!!!!!! RUN over and stroll through her website - Present Past collection - the essence the modern vintage lifestyle. Isn't that dreamy?

She has so many categories and gorgeous vintage finds that you can snatch up and add to your home. PLUS leave a comment of her blog before Monday and you may win something special from the PresentPast Collection. So why not do alittle shopping this weekend? Her website and blog are a such a treat for the eyes! Enjoy!

Outakes HSM style!

Some of the "fun" of doing a photo shoot is the funny things the model will do. *snicker* And most of the time to keep the shoot running smoothly you just go with it! Miss M likes to do certain "poses" she thinks fits the with the theme of the outfit and also ones she thinks are like grown up models would do. It's funny to think what is going on in her cute little head! But I just keep snapping and give a little direction here and there. I can't fake that I took the picture when she does a pose that I don't like and know I won't use because she knows! No camera click sound plus sometimes she likes to "SEE" the picture and well................if I faked taking it then I get caught when I can't replay it back for her! oops! So I've learned to just snap away - delete later (wink)

With my High School Musical Jeans ending TODAY I thought I would share some of the funny outakes from our recent shoot. Here's just a "few" *sigh*. It's amazing how many pictures I can take and only really LOVE and want to use a handful. Maybe I just need more practice! (wink)

Pucker up!

Amelia has issued her latest FFF - Fashion Forward Friday - Challenge titled - Lip Smackin' on boutiquecafe.com! Let's talk lips! favorite lipstick colors, lip gloss - it is a must for you? What does your color of choice say about your personality? She wants each of us to put our own spin on it!

I don't carry around too many shades of lipstick. I'm more of a buy what I like and stick with it type of girl. I switch between a couple of colors depending on what color palette I am wearing. I am a chapstick-o-holic though. I don't like dry lips and I am always putting on chapstick or lip gloss when I've got it. I'm pretty neutral when it comes to color - nothing too over the top but something that also stands out and doesn't blend into my skin tone.



I found a fun quiz online that associates your shape of your lipstick with your personality. Here is what mine look like:


The tube on the left if what my lipstick looked like right before I threw it out and replaced it with another one. The one of the right is what the new tube looks like NOW but I KNOW it will look flat soon. They just always do! LOL!!! Having said that the quiz says this about my personality according to the shape of the lipstick:

To the point
High morals
Needs approval
Careful about appearance
Very dependable
Conservative
Quick mind
Loves challenges

I think that is pretty good! Take the quiz and see if it matches you! Of course color has nothing to do with this quiz ;) I'm not much for RED lipstick on me. teeheehee

Another lipstick that I love because it lasts soooo long is the Maxfactor lipfinity. I was pretty leary at first to even try it because most lipstick just doesn't stay on me long. My husband even asks sometimes why I wear it all when it comes off so fast! LOL! BUT this stuff works great for me and even comes with it's own glossy cover to keep my lips feeling moist with a bit of shine!

If you want to jump in on all the lip smackin' fun with the FFF challenge from Boutiquecafe - visit the link here!

SPC Challenge ~ Patterns wk 1

A new month means a new challenge from self portrait challenge. I have really enjoyed jumping in and participating. The theme for August is patterns - "Pattern has a lot of meaning to a persons life. Family history, personal history and cultural history all can be mined to work within this theme........use patterns to accentuate your self, to bring added meaning to the image, to tell a story or point to your history."



I couldn't decide whether I liked it better in color or black and white. The light plays on the all the colors and tones in the first but the lack of color and simplicity of the second seems less distracting and quieter. What do you think????

For the love of 4

I was tagged by Carole recently to share a bit about me in fours. So let's go!

4 jobs I have had:
bus girl at a downtown restaurant
Daycare Teacher
Dance Teacher
High School Dance Assistant Coach

4 films I could watch over and over:

The Holiday - *snicker*

Girls Just want to have Fun

Seven Brides for seven brothers

The Notebook

4 Places I have lived:

States - Idaho and Arizona

Houses - Bellomy House

3rd story aparment - OY!

beautiful new home hubby spent many hours building

4 Favorite TV shows:

Greys Anatomy

Survivor

So you Think you Can dance

and........hummmmmm don't know!

4 Favorite Foods:

Farmers Pasta

Sourdough Ham Sandwich From Poulet

Guac Salsa

Rasperberries

4 Websites I visit everyday:

Blogger

Boutique Cafe

Ebay

Yahoo

4 Places I would love to be:

Shopping in Park City

Seeing hubby's favorite house in Hawaii

Disneyland!!!

Visiting Daria in Canada

4 Favorite Colors:

Black

Silver

Aqua/Teal

Limey Green

4 Names I love but would/could not use for my children:

Madeline

Jack

Zachary

Abby

Well that's it! Thanks for the tag Carole! that was sort of fun! Now I'm need to tag 4 people - Tori, Ashley, Christine, Erin and Jeana. (well that's 5 *snicker*) Just when you have a spare minute ladies!

High School Musical, Etsy and more! OH my!

It's been a busy day here and I have lots to show for it! I am so excited to show you my newest and limited edition Shaggy Mosaic Jeans for girls - High School Musical Style! If the HSM craze has hit your house your daughter will love to strut her stuff in these jeans! Due to the limited availability and price of the materials these jeans will only be made a few times. So many fun shapes, colors, patterns, images and sayings from the movie make up these mosaic jeans. Snatch up a pair while they are available.

On another exciting note I am debuting a product that has been in the works for the last 4 months - my DIY kits! My website will soon be getting a makeover and my own store added. It will be so easy to click and shop right from my website. BUT until it gets all designed and set up I have opened up shop on etsy.com. I have stocked it with a few aprons and my DIY kits. Now you can make your own pair with pre-cut fabrics and fun themes! There will be more themed kits to come over the next few weeks and of course more outfits for my wonderful boutique customers. Enjoy shopping around!

You will be able to easily check what's new in my store by clicking on the "My Store" logo on the right of my blog or going to my website, SHOP page and clicking on the etsy store link.

If you want to be in the know of what is new, sales, discounts, giveaways and MORE please join my mailing list in the box at the right as well! I'd love to have you!

Wordless Wednesday - Do I look fat to you?

For more Wordless Wednesday photos please visit here and here.