Second Christmas!

My husband asked me what I wanted for Christmas about three weeks ago. My answer? Tulle, of course!
What kind of tulle?  All kinds of tulle!  Regular tulle, glitter tulle, sparkly tulle. All kinds!
What color of tulle?  All colors of tulle!  Red and pink and green and blue and purple--all of them.  All of the colors!Well, it was a little late, but this arrived today.  Hard to complain about it being late when I opened it up and saw what was inside!

The box!!

Yards and yards of tulle in every color imaginable!

Close up of the yards and yards of tulle!

Even shimmer and glitter tulle!

Even more tulle!

It just keeps going!

Another layer of tulle!

It filled up an entire plastic bin!

And was practically over-flowing! (Tulle circles on top, neat!)

Well, at this point, there's only one thing for me to do.  Make tutus--lots and lots of tutus!  Any requests?  I've got every color you could possibly imagine and probably every shade, too!
Thanks, honey!!!  I'll see you in four months, when I am finally done making tutus.
Remember, sneak peek
of Valentine's tutus coming today!

Tutu Tamer Tutorial!

Nothing is more annoying than a staticy, frizzy tutu!  Fixing this problem is very simple, as you will see if you watch the short video below!  This is my first attempt at a video tutorial  Enjoy!

Here are the directions again:
You'll need a spray bottle
Fabric softener
A measuring spoon is helpful but not completely necessary if you are good at "eye-balling" it
A tutu! (www.etsy.com/shop/glittertulle)
Water

The ratio is about 2 tablespoons of water per quart, or 32 oz.  It does not have to be exact.  Mix the fabric softener with the water, shake it up, and lightly mist the tutu.  Pull down on the tulle and straighten as needed.  That's it!  Repeat as needed, usually around every two hours on a day where there is a lot of static in the air!

Thank you for watching and please pass this along to all of your tutu-wearing friends!

Featured in Another Art Fire Collection!

My work has been featured in another collection on Art Fire.  Yay!
Here's the link to the collection:

http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=40001

And here's the length to my product, which is my beautiful rhinestone bling t-shirt, "Ballet."  I only have one available right now, which is girls size 5/6, long-sleeved, in Navy Blue, but I can take custom orders. It's on sale for $10 and I'm offering free shipping right now at Art Fire and Etsy!
http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/product_view/5635894

8 Reasons Why I am Terrified of My New Sewing Machine

1. I'm terrified I will break it.  Right now, it is sitting on the kitchen table.  I have walked by it about 150 times and every time I look at it, I think it starts to ratchet itself apart somewhere on the inside. It's not making any noise, per se, but I swear it's squealing, kind of like a dog whistle that human ears can't hear or like a rabbit in panic mode, warning me not to take another step closer or else it will implode.
2. I'm afraid I'll hurt myself.  I don't know if anyone has ever actually sewn her own fingers together on a sewing machine but I'm pretty sure, if it can be done, I will figure out a way to do it.  I can't imagine that it feels too good and if I have to go back to Care Now and explain one more crafting related accident, well, let's just say the words Insurance Fraud may show up on some paperwork addressed to me in the near future.
3. I'm afraid of the words my children may learn. When I was in seventh grade, my wonderful language arts teacher proclaimed that cursing was for people who could not think of anything more interesting to say.  While I whole-heartedly agree with her, in times of duress, I've been known to spew an obscenity or two.  I believe that it is a distinct possibility that I will even invent some new swears while working on my sewing machine and while I'm pretty sure no one can understand anything my two year old says, if my five year old walks into kindergarten next semester and repeats any of those gems, well, we may need a teacher-parent conference.
4. I'm afraid I'll have to attach another limb to my child so she can wear whatever I make her.  Okay--that was a little wordy, what I mean to say is, if I actually attempt to make Lu a dress, it will most likely end up with three sleeves, in which case, being the perfectionist that I am, and having a little bit of a problem admitting that I have made a mistake, my only resolve will be to attach a false arm. This beats the alternative, of course, of what would happen if there's only one arm whole . . . . (Don't worry, I'd never really harm my baby!)
5. I'm scared I'll lose my dog.  I have a very small seven pound dog.  He often ends up in strange places and I have no idea how he got there.  Boxes, drawers, the cupboard (okay, Imma may have had something to do with that.)  What if he accidentally gets sewn in to one of my projects?  I know PETA is against wearing fur, I assume that means dogs, too?  Is Lhasa Apso in right now?  Luckily, he is hypoallergenic and non-shedding!
6. I'm terrified to fail! I hate failing!  And there's already a craft-fail blog! If I can't sew, I'll probably be the first person in the history of human-kind who couldn't figure out what is, essentially a baby-sewing machine meant to be operated by eight year olds, and I'll be the laughing stock of all the neighborhood moms. (If you are a close friend and you know that there are not actually any other moms that live in my neighborhood, please keep this information to yourself.) With my luck, my husband will be using it instead of me and he'll be making all kinds of fancy pinafores for the girls to wear to nursery school!
7. I'm petrified of succeeding.  Do you have any idea how much fabric costs?  It's really expensive!  And I'm already spending my entire paycheck on tulle.  Do banks give loans for fabric?  Do fabric stores accept chocolate, blood or first-born children as payment?  Does anyone personally know Jo-
Ann? Something tells me that, if I am actually good at this, we will need to build on so that I have a place to store all of my lovely items and all of the fabric I'm going to use someday. (And I am going to use it someday! Just like that stock-pile of acrylic paint that went bad four years ago and that nice peach yarn I bought on clearance when K-Mart closed it's Houston locations in 2001.  You'll see, you'll all see!)
8. I'm afraid of creating something so heinous I actually cause the Zombie Apocalypse.  Okay, this one is a bit of a stretch but with the inevitable Fiscal Cliff, the Mayan's being off (but how far off?) and the Dawning of the Age of Aquarius (I may have the date wrong on that one) who knows?  I am not above imagining that I could accidentally cause the end of the world as we know it through something I accidentally do--and I wouldn't feel fine about that!
You were with me until that last one weren't you?
When I finally use it, I'll let you know.  Until then, it will be sitting on my table, looking spiffy, and daring my children to touch it.

Organization--the Key to Sanity!

Now that Christmas is over, I have a little bit of free time on my hands.  I say a little bit because, as many of you know, having two little girls is very demanding!  With time off from work, lots of new supplies, and a disastrously unorganized house, I found there was only one thing to do--reorganize! Here are some things I do to keep myself organized.  I hope they help you to stay organized, too.  If you have a great organizational idea, please post it in the comments.  You can leave an anonymous comment on this blog if you don't want to bother to sign in.

My sweet husband got me a ribbon organizer for Christmas.  It isn't big enough to fit my thicker rolls of satin but it did fit some of the ribbon I use for hair accessories.  I was able to stack the satin ribbon on the shelf and on top without it being too cluttery.  He also got me another ribbon spool holder but it was missing some pieces so I am hoping to move some of these bigger rolls onto that once he can exchange it.

It also has drawers so I put some more ribbon in there.

When that wasn't quite enough room (I have a lot of ribbon!) I utilized the drawer in our faux fireplace.  I prefer plastic shoe boxes but I also don't like to waist perfectly good objects so my ribbon will stay in this cardboard shoe box for now. My little sister got me this cute pink sewing box for Christmas.  I love it!  It has plenty of room for everything I need without being too bulky or heavy.

I have a ton of tulle and my husband ordered me some more for Christmas, but it hasn't arrived yet.  Still, knowing it was coming motivated me to re-organize my spools of tulle.  I find there's plenty of room under the shelves in my towel closet so that's where I keep my tulle.  Plastic bins are awesome for this. I would love to organize it by color but I've not quite gotten around to that yet.

I also picked up this cute vertical hanging sweater organizer from Target this summer.  It was $2.50.  Obviously, I am using it horizontally. It's a little wobbly on it's own so I put shoe boxes in it to stabalize it.  I use a lot of tulle and when I cut too much I don't like to throw it out so I keep it in a section of the pink organizer.  I can use it to make my boas.  I also have a section for extra ribbon. I just got a sewing machine for Christmas and some material so I started a section for items relating to sewing. I am a little nervous about that! And the final section is for hair accessories.  I use crotchet elastic headbands for the waists of many of my tutu's too so I have a lot of those.

I use this handy carrier to take with me to craft fairs and other places where I might need to work on the road.  It's very handy and holds a lot.  You can also see that I store my tulle bolts back here.  I don't get bolts often because I really don't like cutting the tulle both ways but when I do use tulle on the bolt I never unravel the whole thing because it's such a pain.  This way I can store it more easily.

You may have noticed some cardboard pieces stuck in the corner in the broader picture as well.  That isn't trash, believe it or not.  That's what I use to cut my tulle.  I keep cardboard in different lengths so that when I go to cut it I can just grab the cardboard in the correct length.

I have a lot of in-stock tutus, rhinestone t-shirts and hair accessories.  I like to make sure they are kept clean and organized so I have clear plastic tubs with lids in my closet.  When I finish an item I put it in one of these until I sell it. Hopefully it doesn't stay here too long!

I also have a closet in another section of the house where I keep all of the items that I only use occasionally  like yarn, scrapbooking paper, etc. I use plastic pull-out drawers for most of these items.  I find it makes it easier for me to get what I need without having to dig for too long.  Labels would probably be helpful as well but I like to move things around and I would constantly be re-labeling!

Again, I hope you have gotten some ideas from seeing how I store my "stuff."  I'd love to hear any of your great storage ideas!

We are also putting together our very first tutorial on how to keep your tutu from frizzing up!  Stay tuned for that--I'm a little nervous about getting in front of the camera but I think it'll be helpful!

SALE! SALE! SALE!

If it works for the newspaper, it oughta work for me! I've been extremely pleased with the success of my etsy shop and with my sales at craft fairs. I've even done well on Facebook! But, my bonanza booth my Art Fire studio have crickets living in them. Let's change that, shall we? Through 12/28, free shipping to the US from my Art Fire studio with the code CHRISTMAS2012 (creative, I know!) http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/studio/glitterandtulleboutique
 Or save 10% at my bonanza booth with the same coupon code CHRISTMAS2012 http://www.bonanza.com/booths/glittertulle
 If you live outside of the US, and I know some of you do, please feel free to email me and I will set up a custom order for you to see what I can do for you on shipping. I'm always willing to work a deal with my loyal blog readers so if you want to send me a message before you place a custom order, tell me something you like about my shop and I'll make sure I give you the best price possible. Thank y'all for reading! Happy shopping--tis the season to get what you really want, lol!!

New Year's Eve Dress-It's not too late, Moms!

A fake message from my two-year-old, based on her over-dramatic facial expressions and what she might be thinking (but she's probably just thinking about watching Strawberry Shortcake because that's what she's usually thinking about!) Please enjoy my hopefully humorous attempt at a shameless-plug.

 What do you mean you didn't order your little girl a dress from Glitter and Tulle Boutique for New Year's Eve?  Look at my face--can you tell I'm in shock?!?

But if you purchased her dress from somewhere else, you probably paid too much and it might not even be hand-made!

Calm down, girl, it's gonna be alright. Y
ou know, it's not too late!  Order today and it can still get there in time. Otherwise, you'll just have to make up for it by getting her the best Valentine's dress ever from Glitter and Tulle Boutique.  Custom orders are always excepted and my mommy works super fast!

With a dress from Glitter and Tulle Boutique, your little princess will always be ready for her close-up! (Can you tell I'm fake smiling, is it obvious? It's time for a milk break!)

Featured in a Collection!!

I wanted to share this ASAP because I'm so excited about it! Oh, and since it's past midnight CST, Merry Christmas!!
One of my rhinestone bling t-shirts was just featured in a collection on Art Fire!  It is the adorable Cinderella's carriage t-shirt, light pink with long-sleeves. I only have the one, size 5/6 for little girls, like Imma's age.  I don't know how it's possible I still have it because so many people have told me how gorgeous it is, but I do, and now it's in a collection called, "Dreamy Light Pink," put together by Dressaholic. I really am honored.
I also want to say how much I appreciate how many of you are stopping by to read this.  I know I don't have a lot of official followers and I've heard that it's a pain in the booty to become a follower, but I see the stats and I am truly honored that so many of you are taking the time to drop by and see what craziness I am up to. I love, love, love making beautiful things and the fact that y'all (that's Texas for "all of you") come by and see what's going on just amazes me. So thank you so much! And it is much easier to like my facebook page, I assure you, if you want to do that, too.  But please keep reading my blog because I've got a lot of ideas floating around in my head and hopefully you will be amazed and astonished what one can do with some tulle!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=39944

Infinity Scarves!

More things for grown-up girls! I'm launching a new line of infinity scarves. Simple, elegant, warm and cozy! You can choose your color of high quality yarn or choose from one I've already made. And the best part? Only $5!