Mandorallyn's Mirror

felting

2010-11-13T10:42:00.000-08:00

A river runs through it

My wool roving showed up yesterday and I got to work felting the blue roving into my green "mat" (back of sweater) Now to make some rocks and a cave and a treestump and such.

pink/brown skirt

2010-09-01T20:51:00.000-07:00

I love how quick skirts are. No pattern needed, just cut a few straight lines and sew together.

Maddie fully approved of this skirt, and though we didn't make it to the intended event, it got worn and loved anyway. Infact it was worn yesterday. I had her try it on (for the above photo) and she told me she wanted to wear it then.

Perfect for playing in the sprinklers I guess

And for kicking around a soccer ball.

At their new home

2010-08-02T07:29:00.000-07:00

Princess Abigail's new outfits!

Alison, I hope you don't mind my linking to your video. I'd love it if you could email me some of those pictures!

Ruffly Lacy Pink

2010-05-10T07:31:00.000-07:00

Something magical

2010-03-25T23:35:00.000-07:00

is almost ready (despite a lack luster of life plus a sore throat, cough, and excessive tiredness. )

2010-03-24T15:00:00.001-07:00

Nearly finished. . .maybe tomorrow if I don't get sicker.

Orange Tartan pants

2010-01-30T17:48:00.000-08:00

I'm pondering if the pants need more.

One outfit almost done!

Orange Plaid (Tartan)

2010-01-20T16:46:00.000-08:00

So there I was almost done with the top. I was very proud of it, thinking, this is so cute! Then along comes Maddie who takes one look at it and says "Mommy, that looks awful." WHAT?! Where did my sweet little gremlin learn the word awful AND how to properly use it?! Now I need to know if you agree. I know it's not incredibly orange. . .it's the most orange I could find. I have some butter yellow and orangey red plaid as well.

Alison, please let me know if you agree with Maddie and I need to start over.

Thank you Vistaprint!

2009-11-18T12:55:00.000-08:00

Just in time for Friday, all my stuff arrived!! My business cards, and postcard (front & back). I'm going to a boutique on Friday or Saturday. I don't have a booth, but I figure I'll dress the kids in the outfits I've made and if anyone comments on their clothes, I'll hand them a card. Never mind that the shop is empty, haha!

So what should we call this outfit?

2009-11-04T15:44:00.000-08:00

I did not have the chance to make a shirt to go with it or a hat like I wanted. But there it is. First outfit. I'll get around to listing it on etsy either tonight or tomorrow.

The dress/top part is complete!

2009-11-03T09:14:00.000-08:00

Well here it is folks! The first Ilaria Eve offering! Is it worth the wait? hahaha. I'll actually be making a shirt and pants to go with it today as well and will then do a photo shoot with Maddie in it tomorrow. You can either call it a mini dress or a tunic top. It hits about midthigh on Maddie.

It's things like this that are the reason I hoard fabric!! Been waiting for something fabulous to make with this fabric. Will be doing the same design in a different colorway no later than next week.

2009-11-02T13:55:00.000-08:00

New outfit comning very soon! Will be available for recreation in size 6 months thru 4 years!

Ilaria Eve headband

2009-10-30T11:21:00.000-07:00

I haven't been entirely idle. I have made one item. And halfway made another that's to go with it. My sewing machine is in hiding but look at this cuteness:

Oh, the headband is cute too. hahaha. Yep, I made both, baby and headband. . .hahahaha. I make myself funny.

Hopes

2009-09-18T23:39:00.000-07:00

I hope to begin sewing tomorrow. First will be something for Maddie of course, to be sure it looks alright. Then I'll sew lots to sell.
I'm going to have woven labels made for my clothing I'm still deciding if I want them to be just text and simple or if I want something similar to my current label idea, which is the new header. It's not finished of course.

Stay tuned for some new posts over the next few weeks!

A new beginning

2009-08-14T11:43:00.000-07:00

Every so often Eden's Bouquet has a 15% off coupon code. And everytime I get the email with it, I get excited and I go to the webpage and fill up my cart and realize that even with 15% off I can't justify that amount of money. Especially when Jordan walks up behind me and says "That's a cute outfit. You should make one." Because he's totally right. The clothes are GORGEOUS, and with exception of the Heirloom stuff and fancy dresses and denim stuff, I can make it. Heck, one day I may attempt to make one of the fancy dresses. I admit I am decent at seeing a picture of something and copying it fairly well. It's definately one of the talents Heavenly Father has blessed me with. But I digress.

When we get to Utah, I fully plan to stop being mope-y and lazy about life and get my act together. Obviously I'm not going to suddenly have the desire, will power, and inspiration to have a booming ebay or etsy business. I just have to make up my mind that even slowly, any start is a start. I'll work on sewing 3 hours a day. I'm not good enough when it comes to making patterns to make sizes beyond what my own child wears, (or the size Abigail or Grace wear) so I'll be limited by that. But the point of my post is that I will begin my "business" in September. And we're changing the name from Mandorallyn's Mirror to Ilaria Eve. That encompasses both girls and sounds cutely boutique-y like Eden's Bouquet or Flora and Henri or Matilda Jane. It's Ava's middle name as it should have been, and the end of Mandorallyn's middle name.
Wish me luck and please provide me with lots of encouragement. And if you see something cute, email a copy of the picture to me! I'd love to have requests!

Boutique-y outfit in a day

2009-08-05T23:47:00.000-07:00

We're going to disneyland tomorrow and of course I want Maddie to look stinkin' cute but not wear a dress. Why no dress? I just don't want to deal with it on rides and such. I don't want her showing her diaper to 70,000 people. They really don't need to know my three year old still refuses to use the potty. So I browsed outfits on etsy and ebay for ideas of what I wanted to make. It was a week ago that we decided to go to Disneyland tomorow. I was on the ball for sending a quick note to my sister who makes bows that I needed custom bows ASAP!

Today I finally got to work on Maddie's outfit. Sorry Ava, you don't get to be dressed all cute, though I do have a cute bow to make an outfit to match someday. Anyway. To the point. How to make a "boutique" outfit in one day. This outfit started with 3 pre-made items. A girls size 10 red with white spots jumper (to which maddie says, "So I can wear it and jump?") my mom had, a white peasant top (this one is a gap one we happened to buy on ebay last year in a lot of shirts), and a pair of black leggings (brand new from Target this morning). Then you cut and sew the jumper a bit to fit a 3 year old followed by embellishing it with some jumbo black rick-rack your sister-in-law gave you last year, then you take the excess material from the jumper and some material you got at JoAnns for this outfit and sew ruffles onto the leggings. Top with some red ribbon to hide the raw edge. Then you take a 6" tall strip (or three) and put a ruffle on the bottom of the peasant top so that some white peeks out from under the jumper. After all that is done figure out if you want a mickey head on it. Decide you do. Ponder whether you want a solid black mickey or a mickey out of the material you bought for this outfit. Make decision then choose to go to bed and sew the mickey on tomorrow before leaving for Disneyland.

And she'll be wearing black chucks with this.

Valentine's outfit

2009-02-28T08:09:00.000-08:00

Even though it didn't quite turn out as I'd like, it still is cute!
Thank you Laurel for sharing pictures of your cute little one in her outfit!

Dress Proto-type

2009-02-27T12:10:00.000-08:00

This sleeper is actually going to be put in my etsy store!! I'll wait until we're settled a bit in CA first though. I love 'wearable blankets' but at $20 for one, that's ridiculous. Back when Mandorallyn was a baby I bought a ton of fleece on sale and cut out pieces to make her blanket sleepers and only actually ended up making one. So now I'm finally finishing them. I made a pink one (can be seen in an earlier post I'm sure) for Avonlea and today finished this one to put in the store. I'm thinking I'll list it at $10. That'll give me a few dollars for labor and cover the cost of supplies. And yes, it's huge. Mandorallyn did wear the one I made her at 6-9 months though, so it does work for babies! I finally finished the apron dress for Mandorallyn. I pondered just putting it in the store, but decided not to because it's a definate proto-type. I made it up as I went and so it's far from perfect. I know what to tweak now though so it's just what I want. And yes, on the next one I'll measure the pocket placements. . .

It has an apron back, but I made the apron parts too big. If I feel ambitious one of these days I'll adjust them but I'm thinking that won't actually happen.
I know it's still a little big on her. She's still a size 2t and it's more of a 3t.

Valentine's Day Outfit

2009-02-02T17:21:00.000-08:00

Here Maddie is modeling an unfinished outfit. I am making it for my friend's little girl. We trade off sewing each other's kid something. Being that her daughter is a year younger than Maddie, it doesn't quite fit Maddie, but I just wanted to be sure it looked alright. It's not quite what I was imagining, but it'll do. The skirt is actually going to be a jumper. I just need to make the straps and then the shirt will go underneath. I hope it fits the kid it's intended for!

The second layer wasn't supposed to be that much longer!! Well you live and learn I guess.

CPSIA Blog-In: Why this store may never get to open

2009-01-28T06:53:00.000-08:00

This shop was finally going to open and I was going to sew my heart out so little girls all over could have cute little bits to wear and or play with.

See, my husband is being involuntarily discharge from the Air Force for a medical condition. Due to this, we're moving in with my parents so my husband can go back to school and get a degree with the hope of finally getting some job stability (we thought the Air Force would be sure fire). To be able to pay bills while he does this I was going to finally open my shop and sell cute things. Outfits like you see here, burpcloths, baby blankets, car seat covers, soft toys, etc. But due to the new laws coming in place from the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), that will not be happening. I don't have the money and means to have every item I make tested for lead. I wouldn't know where to begin and there's no way I could make enough money off of each item to pay off the costs.

Mind you, the main of the CPSIA is good thinking. With all the items coming from China that have been shown to have high lead contents, something is needed, but just as they made an excemption for thrift stores, resell shops, and consignment stores, we need an exception for small home businesses. Because of this there will be no baby and children booths at craft boutiques - one of the main reasons I go -. It makes me mad and frustrates me. I like to buy handmade. I prefer to know that the item I've bought was not made by children slaving away for hours or by adults being paid pennies for items. Instead most of the stuff available on etsy has been lovingly and creatively made, but the CPSIA will kill that. yes, only items for Children are effected right now. But quite honestly, of the things I've bought on etsy, they're all for my girls, with the exception of two purchases I made as gifts for my mother. I haven't bought for myself (in part cause I can't afford a $60 super gorgeous shirt).

If you go here: http://www.etsy.com/forums_board.php?forum_id=5000002&page=1 you'll find all the discussion going on on etsy about how this is going to effect home sellers. A large amount of sellers of child goods do it so they can stay home with their children, just as I was intending to do. How do we change this? I don't know anymore. There have been petitions signed, numerous notes sent to lobbyists and congressmen, these have lead to clarification on the second hand goods but only a brief mention in regard to handmade items. There is a compilation of relevant links and resources to be used in educating yourself, spreading the word, and taking action around the CPSIA http://www.etsy.com/storque/craftivism/cpsia-action-kit-and-community-chat-3321/

I do acknowlege that they have cleared cotton, wool, and other natural fibers. If left natural. Can't be dyed. So if you want your child wearing lots of beige and being devoid of any fastenings. It'll be fun right? Like the middle ages, everything can have a drawstring to make it fit! Oh wait. Drawstrings have been banned for children because they're a choking hazard.

Sewing for Avonlea

2009-01-04T09:41:00.000-08:00

Since we are facing possible unemployment, I have been resisting buying the adorable things I see on etsy. Instead, I have been making some fun things for our growing baby.

Soft blocks - they average $12-$16 for a set of three. Mine used about 5 scraps I got out of a scrap pack I bought on etsy for $10. I have TONS of scraps to make more still:
Girly carseat cover!! They range from about $65 to $150. . .yes I still need to finish this one. The stripes and dots I got on a black friday sale at JoAnns a few years ago for like a dollar a yard. The solid pink was a remnant I got at walmart.

And here I encorporated more of that material cause I LOVE pink and green together. They are now Avonlea's colors, until she has an opinion. A small 'rag' quilt. These range from $20 to $89.

Have I mentioned I love sewing?!

Abigail's outfit

2009-01-03T07:51:00.000-08:00

Hospital Gown 2

2008-11-04T11:17:00.001-08:00

I actually did a beginners mistake on this one. In my eagerness to get started yesterday I cut out pieces before realizing I hadn't prewashed the fabric! So this is still in the original pattern that needs some altering. But I got on the velcro tie and buttons. It needs more than one tie though, it was practically falling off after about 15 minutes.

So now I'll try and get one right!

A new [ad]venture!

2008-11-03T13:52:00.001-08:00

All other projects are on hold as I try something totally new! A child size hospital gown! Not that I've made an adult one (though I will now so I have something cute when I have baby #2!
This is the gown from the test run. It's based on a free pattern that I altered slightly, and will be altering more, to work better, and feel better for the wearer. The current pattern has lots of zigzaged edges against the skin which are not soft.

I decided to glance on etsy to see if someone has taken a lead in this area, but surprisingly there was only one single child's hospital gown for sale there! I wasn't impressed! Maybe Mandorallyn's Mirror will include "couture" (haha) hospital gowns.

oh

2008-09-22T18:11:00.000-07:00

If you haven't noticed it's on hold a bit more as I lose inspiration. If you want something made, tell me (which Alison has done, lol) but not just that, I need measurements!

More about my future shop

2008-09-07T17:38:00.001-07:00

I think for now any clothes I make for the shop will be already made. Once I get a bit better at what I'm doing I'll start offering custom sizes. It's not just going to be clothes though. I'm going to also have bean bags, quiet books, rice packs, and scrappy dolls. Possibly more. Embroideries, etc. I'm not going to list sales until I have at least 8 things for selling. So maybe 2 weeks and you can start telling people to buy things from me!

My first outfit

2008-09-07T11:14:00.000-07:00

I am not thrilled with how this turned out, but you learn as you go along, right? Right. I have no problem letting my child wear it, but it's not selling worthy. Here are the few decent pictures I was able to get of her today.

I love the look on her face. She was SO done taking pictures.

Let me know what you think. PLEASE!!!!

Starting out

2008-09-02T06:07:00.000-07:00

Working on getting my etsy shop up and running! I just need to remember the password for my email address. . .