Cinderella Tutu

Cinderella Tutu
www.etsy.com/shop/glittertulle

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Dress is Finally Finished!

Lucy is seriously pondering her new dress

Earlier in the week, I posted about Lucy's New Dress and how I couldn't get it over her head!  Well, today, I went back and added a button.  It wasn't as much work as I thought it was going to be.  And it was well worth it! She absolutely loves her new dress.  I could hardly get it off of her! It's about 50 degrees here right now so I felt like she needed to change after our quick photo shoot but she would have been content to run around in it for hours! Now, I'm all geared up to make lots more dresses!



She likes it!

This dress is clearly a size 3T and Lucy is barely a size 2T so it will fit a little differently on the right sized girl. But I also like that she has lots of room to wiggle around in it. As you can see from the pics, she does a lot of wiggling around!
She likes it so much, she starts to sing and dance!

I'm off to add a few of these pics to my etsy listing!
Lucy's loves her new dress!


Friday, February 1, 2013

Valentine's Day is Quickly Approaching!

Ah, it's February First--the first official day of the Valentine's Season.  Okay, I know that's not at thing, but maybe it should be! Some of us have been preparing for Valentine's Day before Christmas was even over but others are just now starting to get into the spirit of all things hearts, cupids and L-O-V-E.  And, how do I know so many people are beginning to think about Valentine's Day today?  The ginormous amount of traffic my Valentine's Day tutus have seen today is one indicator!  Holy cow, is that Pixie tutu popular!  I'm just thrilled that so many people love it!
Pixie tutu, very popular today, no exaggeration!

Normally, I don't stress at all about getting orders out within one to two days. However, I just found out today that I've been asked to go to a conference in Austin next week--pretty much all of next week--so that won't leave me oodles of time to get tutus out before Valentine's Day. Hence, if you are considering ordering one of my tutus for Valentine's Day, if you can possibly order this weekend, that would be totally awesome! That isn't to say that if you order next week I won't get it to you in time--I most certainly will, if I have to stay up all night to get it done--I would just like to get as much done before I leave!
Today I had an Etsy conversation with a new customer who was very complimentary of my shop.  She said she'd been looking for an affordable tutu for her baby for a while and she was happy to have finally found my Pixie tutu.  I absolutely love connecting with people through Etsy and whenever a customer says something so kind, I often feel the need to go above and beyond my normal above and beyond and add something extra to their order.  So, this sweet little princess will also be getting the headband pictured to match her tutu.  This is the third headband I've made like this one and I think it's super cute and unique.  I'm thinking of calling it the "Tulle Pom-Pom" headband.  What would y'all call it? It's made much the same way as my boas, with lots of little pieces of tulle tied around a ribbon, attached to a crotchet-elastic headband, and then I sew or glue a button or something cute in the center.
New headband

Love this little pink flower!

I used shimmer tulle to add some extra shine

Alrighty!  It's been a busy day and I foresee a busy weekend.  If you have any questions about my Valentine's Day tutus (pictured below) please email me, message me here, or convo me through Etsy.  Have a Super-Duper Saturday!








Thursday, January 31, 2013

So Many T-Shirts, So Little Time

When I first opened my boutique on Etsy, I told my mom--ever the bargain shopper--to be on the look-out for good deals on quality items I could use.  I had her looking for ribbon, beads, headbands, t-shirts, basically anything I could use to create my tutus, hair accessories, dresses, wreaths, and bling t-shirts.  Well, when you ask my mom to shop, you better be prepared to add on an extra room to store everything in.  The box I got today had 20 t-shirts, a ton of ribbon, and some buttons in it.  I offer to pay her back but she always says to just give her stock options once my business goes public.  I always tell her not to hold her breath but I know that's just her way of being involved and helping me to be successful.  If there's one thing my mom is good at, it's finding good deals. If there's a second thing she's good at, it's passing the things she buys on to other people.
This is one shipment of t-shirts from my mother!

People ask me sometimes how I can afford to sell my rhinestone t-shirts at such a low price.  Sometimes they even ask if there is something wrong with the ones I have priced at $10 while other people are selling similar products at twice as much or more.  No, there's nothing wrong with them!  I just don't have to charge as much because I hardly ever buy my own t-shirts.  I charge more for t-shirts I do buy myself, ones with more expensive rhinestone transfers, and the ones I custom design myself. If it's a shirt my mom bought, I usually charge for the cost of the rhinestones, shipping, and just a teeny weeny bit for the time it takes me to apply the transfer.  I don't believe in over charging people just because you think you can or because other people charge more.  I also know some tutu and wreath artisans who pay a lot more for their supplies than I do.  I understand that these people have to charge more for their products to make a profit. Artists who buy their supplies through retail stores, like Michael's or Hobby Lobby are likely going to have to charge more because they are paying more for the items they need to make their products. I buy my supplies wholesale, in bulk, through reputable companies on-line so I get a much better price and I still get a quality product.
If you are looking for specific supplies and you'd like some help finding the best prices, message me and I'll tell you who I use.
I hand placed all of these rhinestones, so this t-shirt costs more than ones that I use pre-set transfers to create.
This t-shirt was a pre-set transfer so the labor cost is minimal!

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Yet Another ArtFire Collection!

My sunflower headband was featured in this cute new collection on ArtFire, curated by luvncrafts.  Please check it out!  You'll find some great items and it's bound to put a little more spring in your step (wat waw!)
The Sunflower
Headband for Autumn with Sunflower

Lucy's New Dress

You may recall that I was initially too terrified of my sewing machine to even think about actually trying to us it.  See my post, "8 Reasons I'm Terrified of My New Sewing Machine."  However, Saturday afternoon I decide it was utterly ridiculous for me to be afraid of a sewing machine.  I had a dress all cut out, pinned and ready to sew.  All I needed to do was turn that bad-boy on and stitch it up!  I was bound and determined I was going to do it! Tomorrow.  Sunday. Yep, that was going to be the day!  Unless I was too busy or there was a good football game on (the Pro Bowl could have been good!) or it was nice outside and I could go for a walk, or I had to clean the curtains, you know something important that couldn't wait.  Yay, I was probably going to get that dress put together on Sunday. Most likely.  Maybe . . . .
But I did it!  I finally got up the nerve on Sunday afternoon and sat down at The Beast, fingers trembling, knees knocking, pedal foot twitching.  At first I thought it would be a good idea to try some practice stitches on a spare piece of fabric.  So I put a scrap piece in and let it fly!  I was amazed that my fingers were still in tact until I realized that the thread had come out of the needle and not only were my fingers stitch free, so was the fabric.  Ah, but I would not let this minor setback deter me.  I re-threaded the needle and tried again!  This time, I was able to get some stitches into the fabric.  However, the thread got really tangled up in the bottom of the machine where the bobbin is.  Frustrated but bound to be successful, I got my husband--Mr. Fix-It--and he helped me clear the knots. Though it would have probably been a good idea to keep practicing on pieces of cloth I didn't need for the dress, I finally decided to just get it over already and try sewing the dress together.  So, I put the carefully pieced together garment under the rocker-pedal or whatever it's called, and hesitantly pushed down on the pedal.  To my amazement, the machine was actually doing what I was telling it to do!  I was actually able to sew the dress together--all of it!  And when I took it up and held it up, it actually looked like a dress! I was so proud of myself!  I couldn't believe I had taken some pieces of cloth and turned them into an actual wearable item. (Okay--so when I make a tutu I use hundreds of pieces of cloth and turn those into a wearable item but this was different--it utilized machinery we've only had since the Industrial Revolution and that was only a 150 years ago or so.  In a few more years, maybe I'll get one of those cordless phones!)
Lucy's new dress!

The only problem with my dress was that I could not figure out how to finish the edges.  I read in the booklet that came with the sewing machine that I should have been able to use some sort of finishing stitch to make this happen, but it was not cooperating.  I finally decided that I would hand-sew ribbon around the edges and I think it turned out okay but I'm going to have to put in hems next time or something because it took too long and I don't really like sewing ribbon.
I also decided I needed to do something to make my dress stand out from all of the other cute little frocks you can find on etsy these days.  There are a lot of people who can make much more complex designs with a sewing machine than I can.  So, I decided to add some rhinestones.  Lucy really likes ladybugs right now so I made a template for a ladybug and added that to the front of the dress.  Even though ladybugs are mostly red and her dress is pink, I think it turned out really cute.
And Lucy's little ladybug

After several hours of work (mostly on the ribbon and the untying of several knots in the sewing machine thread) I finally had a very cute little dress! I couldn't wait to put it on my little baby and see how cute she looked!  Unfortunately, she was taking a nap!  So, I waited and waited.  When she finally got up, she loved the dress!  She started carrying it around with her like it was one of the 3 blankets she can't leave the house without (and this includes her bedspread, which makes traveling as simple as, well, packing around a bedspread.) Eventually, I convinced her to let me try it on her.  Giddy with glee, I slipped the little pink frock over her head--uhm, just one problem. It wouldn't actually go over her head.  It was stuck.  It was stuck on my baby's enormous head!  Lucy is a teeny, tiny girl.  20% in weight, 30% in height, 98% in cranium. Yep, ginormous head.  (It's because her brain is sooo big!) After all of that work and anticipation, we were not getting that dress on for anything!  She didn't seem to care but Mommy was very disappointed, sniffle, sniffle.
I know that all I need to do is go back and put a button on the back of the dress and it won't take me that long to add said button.  So, that's the plan.  But I would have really liked to have seen her in the dress after all of that work. Ah, well, eventually she'll be wearing that ladybug dress, spinning around, falling down, tearing a big whole in it, and we'll be tossing it in the trash. . . . If I'm lucky, maybe I'll get a picture of her in it first!
I can't wait to make some more of these cute little dresses.  They are simple and comfy, perfect for spring.  I have purchased some really cute fabric to a make more.  I am going to have to perfect my technique a little bit but overall I'm pretty happy with how the first one turned out.
What projects have you decided to try even though you were scared of messing them up?  Sometimes our best work comes out of our biggest fears!

Monday, January 28, 2013

More On the Felt Owl Masks

I feel like there is something very soothing about hand sewing felt. I'm not sure what it is but I find it very calming to just sit and sew this soft, fun material.  It doesn't bunch, it's not droopy, it doesn't drape over anything.  It just sits still and let's you mold it, let's you turn it into something cute and fun.  I am all for materials that are cooperative!
When I was asked to attempt an owl mask for a forest themed birthday party coming up in April, I thought, "Why not?  I am sure I can find something to use as a reference on Pinterest!" So I decided to give it a whirl.  I did find some useful photos on Pinterest, as well as some free patterns on other websites.  However, I ended up modifying these patterns and creating my own because I didn't love any of them and when I printed them out, they weren't the correct size anyway. I used a basic mask shape for the back ground, used a second color for the contrasting main portion of the face, and then used white for the eyes and gold for the beak.  Sewing it together wasn't difficult at all.  It was a lot of fun!  The only thing I realized once I had it put together was that the eyes just aren't big enough. I decided I would need to make them bigger next time.
The original owl mask

I thought the original owl mask was so cute, I decided to make a special Valentine's Day Owl Mask.  I made it the same way as the original, except I made the eye holes bigger. I also made them heart-shaped instead of circle like on the original owl. I added some more decorative stitches, too.
Valentine's Day Owl Mask

The heart-shaped eye

Who, who, who do you love?

Now that I am using my sewing machine (sort of!) I could probably get these done a lot faster if I used it to assemble them, but I am thinking I might continue to hand sew them.  Maybe if I had a large order I would do them on the machine, but, for now, if you order an owl mask for me, it's probably going to be hand sewn!

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Busy Weekend Finishing Projects!

I usually try to write a post every day, or at least every other day, but the last few days I've been swamped!  I had three orders to get out by yesterday and I had a whole bunch of projects I've been working on.  I finally used my sewing machine (!) and made a dress for Lucy.  I think it turned out alright but not perfect. I will probably list it but I wouldn't sell this particular one to anybody.  I'd just use it to show the style and what  I can add to it (a.k.a. check out the rhinestone ladybug.)  Besides, Lucy really likes it.
Lucy  loves ladybugs!
Lucy's new dress
I also made several rhinestone t-shirts.  A few of them I used transfers for that I already had but I also made some of my own transfers which takes a lot more time but I'm really happy with how they turned out.
This is my design, rhinestones completely placed by me from my  own template
From a purchased transfer
I hand placed these rhinestones, too
This one is for Imma's teacher (don't tell her!) It's from a transfer but it would be very simple to make a similar template.
This one is also from a purchased transfer but would be easy to do something similar.
I finished the Princess Lolly tutu!

Princess Lolly tutu before the lollipops
And after the lollipops.  It took me 7 hours to make these felt lollipops and attach them to the dress.  Yipes!
I was also asked to make a felt owl mask for a huge project I'll be making soon for a birthday party in April. I'm super excited about this project! I wasn't sure if I could make a felt owl mask or not but I did and I really liked making it.  In fact, I liked it so much, I made a Valentine's Day one, too!
Original owl mask.  I think next time I will make the eye wholes bigger.
Valentine's Owl Mask.  The pink you see through the eye wholes is the elastic band.  I could't get either girl to hold still long enough to take a picture with it on!
I also made two tutus this week for a new customer in Pennsylvania and three tutu kits for a very nice woman in New York.  She's going to use them at a baby shower!  The guests are going to make tutus for the new baby.  What an awesome idea!  Wouldn't it be so sweet to give your little girl a tutu that your family and friends made for her at her baby shower?  I love that idea!
I also made this Rock 'n' Roll Teen Tutu for a giveaway winner and I love how it turned out.  She's just too cute! See, I told you you're never too old for a tutu!
Super chic Rock 'n' Roll tutu
If I looked this good in a tutu, I'd wear one everyday!
I'm also still working on an infinity scarf, a couple more t-shirt designs, and I think I'm going to make more felt masks.

What have y'all been up to this weekend??