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I must admit, I was OVERWHELMED by the response Grosgrain has gotten over the past couple days. I was so thrilled that so many people loved the Marie Therese gown. Never in my wildest dreams would I have guessed it. I read each and every one of the comments and emails. I was floating on air at my MOPS 'Moms Night Out' and couldn't help but tell all my family members to check it out. The work was DEFINITELY worth the reward thanks to all of you!
I know that the last post is a tough act to follow, but I'm here today to announce something else that I am so nervous and excited about. Oh, my heart is accelerating just typing this. You all have left me such wonderful comments and suggestions, so I've decided to try my hand at one of them. Grosgrain will be opening an online store. Just a few pieces. If things go well, I might try to add a couple more things depending on how much time I will have available. You will be able to find the link to the store here on the front page of this blog November 6th....barring any setbacks.
And don't worry, I'll always be offering giveaways regardless of how the store does. It's how this blog began and I don't want to change anything about that. I'll just be busy, busy, busy.
Thankfully for you, I will not be sewing these pieces. Of course, they are Grosgrain designs but I am leaving the stitching to a local clothing manufacturing company whose handiwork will by far surpass mine.
You can see a preview of what I will be offering here in this post! These are not the exact pieces that will be offered in the store but rather the prototypes that I have sewn. Those who have been with Grosgrain for a couple months might recognize it as the reversible bird seed skirt! Now ALSO in blue, red and the original green. To celebrate the upcoming opening, this giveaway will include ALL THREE REVERSIBLE SKIRTS as well as ALL THREE OF THE REVERSIBLE SHIRTS! That could be twelve outfits!
For those of you new to the blog, the skirt is perfect for those walks in the park. What little girl doesn't love to feed the ducks? But how many times has she been ill-prepared when encountering a flock? With this sweet skirt she can carry a handful of seeds in her pocket just in case she meets a group of hungry geese or pigeons on the street.
When I saw this Alexander Henry print I immediately asked for a yard. After seeing the print of the large bird feeding on the seeds, the wheels in my head started spinning. I wanted to make a skirt with a tiny pocket on the side, large enough to carry a handful of birdseed.
As you can see, the reverse side is a complementary solid color with a bird print pocket.
Let me tell you about the shirts. They are thermal long john material and better still, REVERSIBLE TOO! One side compliments the bird print the other side compliments the solid color. Or vice versa. One outfit put together could equal four! Neat. I hope you like:)Oh yes! One more thing! If the winning blog leaves a comment I will include the matching red, green and brown socks. NEW ONES, of course, still attached to the store cardboard. Not the yucky leaf covered ones Lily is wearing:)
Official opening will hopefully occur in two weeks. All of the items you see here will be offered in the store in various sizes and colors. The skirts and shirts offered in this giveaway should fit a 2T-4T.
Last day for posts is Wednesday 10/29/08. Winner will be announced Friday morning!
And be sure to stop by again. I'll be posting more costumes and giveaways in the days and weeks to come! And don't worry, I'll always be offering giveaways regardless of how the store does. It's how this blog began and I don't want to change anything about that. I'll just be busy, busy, busy.
As usual, if you would like a chance to win these outfits just link back to this post. If you have any questions see the "questions and answers" link to the right. If you use blogger just use the "create a link" link at the bottom of this post. If you don't use blogger, that's fine too. Just create a link on your page as you normally would and I will see it using Technorati.
Oh, where to begin? Well, let me start off by saying that this was by far the most ambitious dress I've ever sewn. After this, I have fewer qualms about sewing a wedding gown. With all the man hours I put into the gown itself, not withstanding the fabric, I would say this gown is worth $500....if my time was worth $15 an hour. You can do the math. Like I said...ambitious. At least I knew what I was getting into from the beginning.
I fell in love with the idea of doing a french 1700s piece after watching Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette. Each candy pink and blue scene made my heart ache and it was all I could think of since. It feels good to finally get all that inspiration out in one big frilly burp.
I spared no expense with this costume. Homemade florets cover the under skirt and creep up along the bodice. I found the blue and black trim at my favorite niche fabric store. It was exactly what I was looking for. I paired it with the pink satin ribbon. A whole SEVEN YARDS worth!!!!
What took a chunk of my time was the smocking in the over skirt. You can see a more detailed image near the bottom. I stitched each and every one of the knots myself.
The satin ribbon was also used around the sleeves and tied off with a long flowing bow. As you can see I added a long lace material to the ends of the 3/4 length sleeves and around the neckline.
Sadly, the neatest part of this gown can't even be seen. That is the historical underpinnings. Yes, I made one of those corsets that bulge out at the sides. I used 'boning' but if I had to do it again I'd use good old fashioned metal. The boning didn't exactly cut it. The dress is a bit heavy but I had to keep fluffing the sides which shouldn't have been necessary.
All you Marie Antoinette voters were so very close. Please don't be confused by the Marie Therese reference. I could have gone with Marie Antoinette but that is so cliche right? Marie Therese was her only daughter. When I watched the movie the little girl reminded me of Lily so I thought she would be more appropriate.
And YES! That is Lily's real hair! (plus a few Photoshopped curls). I thought it would be harder to poof but you would be surprised what magical results simple hairspray can accomplish. We used Halloween white spray for the color. Lily was pretty good about the whole thing. Taking it out was another story.
Poor Lily, she's had a runny nose for a while now, you can sort of see from the photos that she has a chapped upper lip. I kept having to wipe her nose on my sleeves mid-shoot.
I know I say this so often, but this WILL be heartbreaking for me to part with. As with the previous giveaway, I only hope that it goes to someone who can get good use out of it!
If the winning blogger also leaves a comment I will include the rose choker in the giveaway.
And a special thank you to the reader who recommended me to Craft blog for my handkerchief post. I was so flattered!
This costume is BIG. So I would say it could fit a 3T-5T.
Last day for posts is Friday 10/24/08. Winner will be announced Sunday morning! Just in time to get this to you by HALLOWEEN!!!!
As usual, if you would like a chance to win this costume just link back to this post. If you have any questions see the "questions and answers" link to the right. If you use blogger just use the "create a link" link at the bottom of this post. If you don't use blogger, that's fine too. Just create a link on your page as you normally would and I will see it using Technorati.
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I don't know what it is about them, but I love to sew dresses. I guess that's why I look forward to Halloween so much. I finally have an excuse to go 'all out'. I know, I know, dresses aren't the only Halloween costumes out there....they're just my favorite! And this giveaway was no exception!
I made this early enough so that the winner will get it by Halloween. But honestly, I don't know 'how' I'm going to pack this thing, it's just HUGE! Knowing that I would be giving this away was a little difficult to keep that in mind while sewing it. But I was just so pleased with the final look, it was really worth it! Although, I know it will break my heart to send it off when the time comes but I'm hoping it will go towards someone who could really use it and love it!
The time period of this this costume is set in the 1800s somewhere around the civil war- hence the Shenandoah reference. I used a light olive green taffeta material for the dress. To billow out the bottom the skirt is tiered and I added a crinoline slip. I added black braided trim all around the edges of the skirts and around the sleeves as well as a contrasting white lace trim around the wide pilgrim collar and bodice.
But what I think makes this so great for Halloween is that the sleeves and skirt are long enough so that you can wear a sweater and jeans in case the temperature drops for the big night (which always seems to happen here in Pennsylvania). The white billowy undershirt is sewn into the dress and the oversleeves are sewn with a wide tapered cut allowing tons of room.
I also curled Lily's hair in large ringlets as any stylish southern belle might do and pulled it into a side ponytail.
If I had more time I would have made a matching velvet bag that could substitute as a Halloween treat bag. Perhaps the winner could try their hand at making one. I don't think it would be too difficult.
I would say the costume would fit a 3T-4T, depending on your child.
AND BE SURE TO CHECK BACK SOON, MORE COSTUME GIVEAWAYS TO COME!
Last day for posts is Wednesday 10/15/08. Winner will be announced Friday morning!
As usual, if you would like a chance to win this costume just link back to this post. If you have any questions see the "questions and answers" link to the right. If you use blogger just use the "create a link" link at the bottom of this post. If you don't use blogger, that's fine too. Just create a link on your page as you normally would and I will see it using Technorati.
Create a Link!
Create a Link!
To start off, this IS NOT a giveaway. I made this costume for Lily last Halloween and it has much too much sentimental value to part with it. HOWEVER, I do plan on doing another costume giveaway this week. I guess you could say that this is a taste of what is to come. Although, I've been at a loss as to what that first giveaway should be. So I guess my first query is to you, dear reader- what costume would you like to see? Just leave a comment in this post. I will sort through them and try to find one that speaks to me:) I'm so excited to see what you have to say!
At any rate, let me tell you a little bit about this little piece. It was the first non-fruit related costume I had made for Lily. It represented a departure from babyhood for me. I was a little excited about sewing a 'pretty' costume. I have so many things running through my mind about this costume but I guess I'll start with the material. I used a satiny aqua blue material. In hindsight, I wish I had used a real taffeta material in a midnight blue color. But the lining was exactly what I had wanted. It is gold satin with tiny purple and yellow flowers embroidered into the fabric. It would have looked even better offset by blue taffeta but que sera. I used a gold knotted trim at the mid-sleeves, around the collar and the waist.
Last year, Lily's hair was painfully short. I always wanted her to have long hair but it just refuses to grow so I made this cute little wreath of flowers with brown extensions hot glued onto a round wire. Surprisingly it worked like a charm! Looks real.... enough. I also found the star wand for $1 at Michaels Craft store. I painted it gold and added the rickrack and striped ribbons. Lily didn't even mind wearing the fake hair....much.
The cut of the dress begins with an empire waist that billows out underneath. The arms cinch above the elbows then flare out to give the dress a 'wizardy' look. I only wish I had some fake pointy ears to match! The best part about this costume was that it was conducive for cold weather. Last year Lily was easily able to wear a sweater, jeans and sneakers without having a stitch of contemporary clothing peaking out.
Of course, as I had mentioned earlier this is not a giveaway. However, if you like the dress feel free to link:) I like to get the Grosgrain word out whenever possible:)
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With Halloween coming around the corner I guess I'm getting my 'theme' wheels spinning. But that's not what I had intended when I decided to make this. When I was a little girl I always wanted a red hooded jacket. Not for a costume but to wear everyday. I knew that when fall came around, it would be one of the first things I sewed. To offset the 'costume' feel I gave the bottom a sort of cropped look. The front two sides swoop in a 'J' shape and tie at the top with a rope that also cinches the hood.
I used a red velvet material for the jacket. Lily loved it so much she made me promise that I would buy more and make a blankie out of it. On the inside I added a rosebud lining. I also gathered the neckline.
This giveaway is for the jacket only. If you like the sweater dress they are still selling them at the Gap for kids. It's on sale for $30, but I found a better, cheaper one online at Old Navy for $20. I bought the knee highs at Gymboree. Believe it or not, it's hard to come by a pair of knee high socks. It seemed as though they were all a girl could wear when I was growing up.
I would say the jacket would fit a 3T-5T.
AND BE SURE TO CHECK BACK SOON FOR MY FIRST HALLOWEEN COSTUME POST!
Last day for posts is Monday 10/05/08. Winner will be announced Wednesday morning!
As usual, if you would like a chance to win this jacket just link back to this post. If you have any questions see the "questions and answers" link to the right. If you use blogger just use the "create a link" link at the bottom of this post. If you don't use blogger, that's fine too. Just create a link on your page as you normally would and I will see it using Technorati.
One more thing.....next month will be HALLOWEEN! Expect costumes galore!
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Create a Link!
Like not spending money?