Organizing!

Whew!  It's been a busy couple of weeks getting my boys settled back into the school routine, starting their breakdancing (cute!) and Canskate lessons.... I also participated in an auction over at Jennifer Leah Photography's Facebook page!  It was wonderful to do an auction to benefit charity!  I am always looking for opportunities to give back, so if anyone knows of any charity auctions, etc., please let me know!  Business has been picking up significantly so I haven't had the chance to make as many new creations while dealing with orders, but I should be at adding more art sculpture ribbon clips and headbands shortly!  A new favourite is the stretch velvet headband, so cute and stretchy :)   Current colour choices are light pink, bright pink and black...soon to come are red, brown and white!

Today I took an hour out of my day to reorganize all of my tulle and ribbon.  Unfortunately I don't have a craft room so I have taken up a corner of the family room for the past couple months.  Last weekend I started the daunting task of cleaning out the walk-in closet in the family room to make room for my supplies.  Sweetie Bug decided to help me sort out the tulle:

While searching the web for new tips and tricks I discovered a new way to cut my tulle and "cut" my cutting time by 3/4!!!  Makes creating a tutu much quicker and easier, so I was very excited about that!

Stay tuned for many more ribbon choices, artificial flower and satin rose clips, art sculpture ribbon clips and much more!

Need my Ribbon "Fix"

So...I've been waiting 22 days for my shipment of ribbon - that isn't too long as it is coming form the states and a lot of times things get hung up in customs.  BUT, I am wanting to make whole new batches of clippies for the upcoming fall sales that I will be participating in!  Very frustrating when the creative juices are flowing but the supplies for what I want to do just aren't there!

For those interested, Sweetie Bug will be at "An Evening At the Busy Women's Express Shop" on November 10th from 4-8 p.m. at the Laurel building in downtown Kelowna.  We will also be at the "2nd Annual Westbank Busy Women's Christmas Extravaganza" on November 19th from 10-3 pm, this event takes place at the Westbank Lions Club.  There will be many other amazing vendors, swag bags for the first 50 people through the doors, door prizes and more!  So come on by and do some Christmas shopping and support some local small businesses.

So, while I've been waiting for my shipment of ribbon (and also lots of new tulle colours) I have been making a lot of tutus to prepare for the upcoming sales and to showcase some of what is available for custom order.  Here are a few:

Rock Candy Double Layered Tutu

Pumpkin Tutu

Bewitched Tutu

Angel Double Layered Tutu

I am very tempted to turn the Bewitched Tutu into a double layered.  And, I'm having a difficult time choosing a costume for little Sweetie Bug.  Each tutu I do is a new favourite.  We are wanting her to be a sunflower...so maybe that will be the next one!  

Busy Summer!

Wow!  It's been one busy summer off on mat leave with my 3 wonderful, energetic children!  We were lucky enough to have a couple small trips and lots of fun activities closer to home.  We've been enjoying summer to its fullest but I've also been working on some great things for Fall.  I have been working on some wonderful art sculpture clips, mostly themed for Halloween - and am working also on some Halloween costume tutus.  I am also doing sets of clips and working on some new headbands.  Check out our facebook page for some samples!

It's getting towards that time of year where I am thinking about Christmas and will soon be working on some art sculpture winter themed clips!  Great items for stocking stuffers!  I will be participating in the 2nd Annual Fall Kids Flea Market  on October 15th so come and check us out for some great tutus and hair accessories for the Fall and Winter!  I will also have a table full of newborn - 9 month baby girl items, toddler boys clothes (mostly 3T) and some other wonderful babies and children's items including some gently used cloth diapers!  Come on by and check out all of the other wonderful vendors :)  I will be looking for opportunities for some Christmas craft fairs as well, so stay tuned...

Deluxe/Costume Tutus

My first two deluxe/costume tutus are complete!  I will have to wait until the morning to take some shots in natural light.  I have many, many ideas for more that I would like to do!  These tutus will be a few more dollars than the regular ones, maybe $3.00 - $5.00 or so.  They take a fair bit more time and cost a bit more for supplies.  I will also be working on some new styles of tutus...making them a bit more whimsical and fun!

We have been battling a couple cases of the sickies around our house this week so I haven't had a lot of time to devote to creating, but everyone seems to be on the mend now.  This coming week I should have a bit more time to create! 

I am excited because on Monday we will be going to Wee Piggies And Paws to have something wonderful created by Ilona!  I can't wait to see what she comes up with for us.  It's going to be so awesome to have a keepsake of the kid's hands to enjoy for years to come.  I will be sure to post a pic once it is done!

Another exciting opportunity has come up as a wonderful woman I know from my middle/high school days is now doing photography!  I am making a tutu for her cute little daughter that she is going to photograph for me - it is going to be really neat to have some professional shots taken of my creations :)  My camera is ok, but definitely not of the caliber I would like.  You can check out Shannen's photography here!

I'm off to place a large order for more tulle - so I can make the visions in my head "come to life"! 

Balance

Life definitely becomes a balancing act when one has children!  I am constantly wondering if I am doing things "right"...spending enough time with each child, making healthy meals and snacks, keeping my home in an acceptable state of order.  It's also the reason why I tend to stay up late each night and write my posts, catch up on emails, do my crafting...it's okay to work on "my own things" when the children are tucked into bed and I can wind down for the night! 

Tonight I worked on setting up my Etsy shop.  Not an easy feat when my internet connection seems to be soooooo slow and I am trying to have several windows open at once so I can multitask.  Oh, and there's sweetie bug, not wanting to be down in her crib ...a new one for us, she's used to the bassinet.  Off I go for a snuggle :)

Too, Too Terrific!

Pictured here is our table at the 2nd Annual Kids Flea Market that we took part in on Saturday.  It was really nice to get out and get a feel for in-person markets and to meet some of the wonderful babies and kids that will wear my creations!  A favourite was the Pink Chocolate tutu, so I will definitely be making more of those!  Also, the fashion doll or BarbieTM tutus were definitely a hit with little girls, and I sold out of my dolly/teddy bear tutus.  I will be sure to create some more in the near future!                                                                             I also met some wonderful women who run some amazing local companies.  You can find all of these on Facebook, including Mommy Jewels (I have one of Kim's wonderful "granite" nursing necklaces, Pretty Little Lids - the cutest owl and monster hats you've ever seen!  Snap Pea Designs make the most wonderful little animals and creatures for little ones.... I am definitely going to have to order some of these soon.  Another great lady from Wee Piggies and Paws Kelowna stopped by my table with her super cute daughter.  They do amazing keepsakes of your little one's hands and feet - I am really looking forward to having my children's done in the very near future!  I encourage you to check out all of these local businesses and let them know that Sweetie Bug Creations sent you :)

I had a nice break today for Mother's Day and my wonderful husband and boys made me breakfast.  Sweetie Bug didn't quite get the memo, so I didn't get to sleep in (breastfeeding does have its disadvantages sometimes!), but we had a nice, relaxing day.  We had lunch with my parents and the did a few quick errands followed by a late afternoon walk up to the resevoir.  It was nice to have some down time without having to do dishes or laundry or cooking!  Back to normal tomorrow :)

Now, if only I could decide what to start on next!  There are so many projects awaiting me and I am not quite sure where to begin....

Pinkalicious!

Here are two views of the new Pinkalicious tutu (inspired by the children's book Pinkalicious by Victoria Kann and Elizabeth Kann).  I wanted to do a very girly girl type of tutu (by the way, I was also thinking of naming it girly girl!).  It turned out even better than I had hoped.  The new shocking pink shimmer tulle is like a bubblegum pink and I love it!  It is the lighter of the two pinks.  I am going to order a whole lot more of it and it will also be featured in the breast cancer fundraiser tutu that I will custom make for the winner. 

I made a new tutu tonight that I haven't yet taken pictures of.  It will be called The Sweetie Bug...and it is red shimmer and black shimmer as a bit of a ladybug look (3x red to 1x black).  It is super pretty.  I may also add black dots to it as I hope to develop it into a bit of a Halloween costume for my Sweetie Bug this fall.  I also want to make a honey bee costume in the near future.  Yes, I am already thinking Halloween...I am just a wee bit of a planner (can you tell?).  I hope to have several costume choices available, which will of course include ballerina, fairy and princess.

I received a wonderful shipment in the mail today...my cute fabric flower appliques that are pink ribbon themed.  So, next week once my new pink grosgrain ribbon arrives I will begin several sets of clippies for the fundraiser.  I may incorporate a few into the tutu as well...we'll see what inspiration hits at the time!  Wow, that's a lot of pink!