Who says baby items can't be stylish?? Actually, there are quite a few companies for "posh tots" designed to satisfy parents' desires to be posh and petite. I can't fathom paying $500 for a crib set, but that's just me. I prefer smaller punches of pizzazz. Like zebra/soccer ball burp cloths!
I was at Joann's, buying some flannel to make baby burp cloths for my friend Mallory. The blue trains or car tracks (she's having a boy) just weren't speaking to me. I like to get two different fabrics with highly contrasting patterns or colors to sew together, and the polka dots they had (I do love polka dots) were the same hue, or saturation, or whatever it's called, as the blue trains fabric, so there just wasn't enough contrast for me. Enter zebra print. I've never done something quite so... unique... but it turned out! She loved them, and that's the important part. Thankfully, she's athletically minded too. :) I was crossing my fingers that she didn't hate soccer or something.
There's more to the story, because I bought the flannel on a Wednesday, and the shower was the following Saturday morning. That is so way ahead for me, with sewing projects. (Last time I made something for someone, I was in line at the cutting table at 2 p.m., and we were supposed to go over to their house for dinner that night! The tote bag came together in just a couple hours, so it worked out.)
Of course, by the time I washed, dried, and cut the fabric, it was Friday afternoon. :) I was all set to sew the rectangles together during Caleb's nap time... but my sewing machine wouldn't work. I was pretty stressed out, because I really wanted to do it while Caleb was sleeping, plus the shower was then "tomorrow morning." Needles, pins, and rotary cutters are not good toddler toys, so I try to avoid sewing when Caleb's awake. It took me pretty much his whole nap to troubleshoot the problem. All I ended up doing was moving the stitch length setting, and then voila, it worked. I sewed my first successful stitch... and he woke up. Argh.
Thankfully, Caleb goes to bed at seven, so I was able to crank out six burp cloths that evening. Sean was at a volunteer thing for work, so I was able to sew without neglecting him. :) I think they turned out pretty well! It was really fun, and I love handmade items.
Someday I want to open an etsy shop, but the thought scares me a little. There's so much awesome handmade stuff out there already; I kind of feel like my offerings wouldn't be good enough or unique enough. If I can find a niche, it would work smashingly, I'm sure. :) We shall see!
I was at Joann's, buying some flannel to make baby burp cloths for my friend Mallory. The blue trains or car tracks (she's having a boy) just weren't speaking to me. I like to get two different fabrics with highly contrasting patterns or colors to sew together, and the polka dots they had (I do love polka dots) were the same hue, or saturation, or whatever it's called, as the blue trains fabric, so there just wasn't enough contrast for me. Enter zebra print. I've never done something quite so... unique... but it turned out! She loved them, and that's the important part. Thankfully, she's athletically minded too. :) I was crossing my fingers that she didn't hate soccer or something.
There's more to the story, because I bought the flannel on a Wednesday, and the shower was the following Saturday morning. That is so way ahead for me, with sewing projects. (Last time I made something for someone, I was in line at the cutting table at 2 p.m., and we were supposed to go over to their house for dinner that night! The tote bag came together in just a couple hours, so it worked out.)
Of course, by the time I washed, dried, and cut the fabric, it was Friday afternoon. :) I was all set to sew the rectangles together during Caleb's nap time... but my sewing machine wouldn't work. I was pretty stressed out, because I really wanted to do it while Caleb was sleeping, plus the shower was then "tomorrow morning." Needles, pins, and rotary cutters are not good toddler toys, so I try to avoid sewing when Caleb's awake. It took me pretty much his whole nap to troubleshoot the problem. All I ended up doing was moving the stitch length setting, and then voila, it worked. I sewed my first successful stitch... and he woke up. Argh.
Thankfully, Caleb goes to bed at seven, so I was able to crank out six burp cloths that evening. Sean was at a volunteer thing for work, so I was able to sew without neglecting him. :) I think they turned out pretty well! It was really fun, and I love handmade items.
Someday I want to open an etsy shop, but the thought scares me a little. There's so much awesome handmade stuff out there already; I kind of feel like my offerings wouldn't be good enough or unique enough. If I can find a niche, it would work smashingly, I'm sure. :) We shall see!
Just found your blog! I loved getting to read about the process behind my oh-so-posh burp cloths :). And I know you could open and Etsy shop. I can even help you if you want! One perfectionist helping another perfectionist--together, we can overcome!-lol. The thing is, people who shop on Etsy don't want something "perfect" but typically something handmade and, therefore, completely unique. And it's an awesome way to share the gospel through your work (maybe a statement on a business card?) and interactions with people you would never have met otherwise. But until you do, I will probably just keep requesting items from you--lol. Do you do crib skirts or curtains?! What's the price babe? :-p
ReplyDeletePS--I have a friend who does sewing and part of the money goes towards families for ministry. You might like checking out her site--http://www.designsbysessa.com/