Busy, Busy, Busy!

So, I see that I was really embarrassed last time I blogged that it had been a month since my previous entry.  Well, I guess I got past that pretty quickly and pretty easily - because, though it has been a full two and a half months since my last post, I am actually not at all embarrased.  Why?  Couldn't tell you.  Maybe I'm just in a mood?  Truthfully, I cannot appologize for what I have been up to the last couple of months, so maybe that is why. 

So, what HAVE I been up to?  SO MUCH!!  It is summer break, as you know, so my kids are all around me (and under foot and all over me, etc!).  But I have found my time with them enjoyable -yes, I rather like it.  :)  I know some parents feel like the walls are closing in on them during summer vacation, but I have enjoyed having my girls around.  Maybe you need perspective to appreciate my feeling.  I homeschooled my kids for many years.  In fact, 2007 was the first year of school for two of my three girls.  My youngest stayed home that year for kindergarden.  I have a think about teaching my kids to read, so, since she was not yet a reader, she stayed home.  Then, last year, having JUST had my son, I sent them all off to school for the very first time.  I loved having so much time with baby Will and the kids seemed to enjoy school (for the most part).  I was great.  But, being so used to having them around all the time - taking them everywhere with me, etc, there might have been a few moments of ... not loneliness, exactly, but maybe  a cousin of loneliness.  More like alone-ness.  And not a bad alone, but you know, just a quiet house.  I really did miss them during the day - not so much that I wanted them back at home, but ...  So, this summer has been kind of fun.  I see how they are growing up and their personalities are changing or coming out.  I hear them talk with their school friends and it is fun to listen and remember being so young.  We go swimming twice a week and that has been fun for all of us.  I wear contacts and am almost blind without them, so they really never come out.  Because of this, my children have never seen me "swim".  I have gotten in the water and waded around, but no swimming.  This year, I got crazy and actually DOVE off of a diving board!  You should have seen their faces!  Pure enjoyment - and awe, I think.  I don't think even one of them knew I could do such a thing.  So, for one, I have been enjoying my children.

Two, I just spent a short vacation of sorts with my BFF and her family.  Very enjoyable - even though I spent the first day of "vacation" violently ill and then recovering from being violently ill.  That wasn't the best part.  By day two, everyone was at the beach together in a wonderful little beach house that we rented and it was really fun and relaxing - I was no where near work!  And neither was my hubby.  It was bliss.  And having Becky and her family around was so fun!  They moved off a few years ago and we have visited them once since then.  Keeping in touch via phone calls and emails ... well, its great, but not any kind of replacement for her actual company.  It was so fun to visit and see the kids (a new one for each of us since their big move!).  It was over WAY too soon.

And, three, of course, WORK!  Lots and lots of work!  I have been doing a pretty brisk business on etsy.  LOVE ETSY!  I have also opened up a space at a little local shop.  So, between the two, I am kept running, sometimes with the feeling of my hair blowing a bit in the breeze it creates, sometimes feeling wind-whipped by the speed of things and, well, sometimes just pulling my hair out to make me feel sane - yeah, it is THAT bad some days!  All my own fault, of course!!  I STILL have not learned to schedule myself exactly right.  I am trying some new tactics now.  I have always managed to get things out on time, but sometimes barely - and I HATE that!!  If the post office failed to come through at some point, I would be SOOOOO  in trouble!!  And, sometimes I simply have no control over things - like a couple of weeks ago when a piece of fabric I had ordered TWO WEEKS in advance failed to EVER come in.  PANIC!  PANIC!!  In the end it all worked out, but sometimes I feel like I am saved by grace and grace alone - ya know??  Still, my work has been wonderful, I COULD NOT ASK for sweeter, better clients!  And all-in-all, I have loved most every minute of it.  I do love summer clothes and it has been so fun this year. 

Which brings us to ... FALL!  See, in the fashion world, it IS fall.  Always a season ahead, fashion speeds forward on its infinity train leaving behind the wonders of beach vacations, swim days and sunburns (though the rest of us are still enjoying those things!) and is already in the thick of crunchy leaf piles, school days, even Halloween!  And I, sigh!, must ride the train.  No choice - its that or get left behind.  In some ways the ride is kinda fun and exciting - seeing (or BEING) the next big trend before everyone else is its own brand of cool.  But at the same time, it is sort of disorienting.  I'm still seeing kids in flip flops and sundresses and my mind has fast-forwarded to all-out Fall already!  I'm thinking little cropped jackets, long sleeved Ts, cordurouy pants and Jack Skellington!  My Halloween collection has to be out by the first week in August or I will be WAY behind the game.  Then, Christmas and Holiday collections have to be out by October 1st - before Halloween even hits.  See what I mean?  On the other hand, I do LOVE HALLOWEEN!  Not sure what it is - maybe that I was born mere DAYS before that spooky night?  Or maybe it is the intoxicating crispness to the air, the smell of spice, the colors of the leaves?  Whatever it is, I think almost everyone has a "thing" for Fall.  So, I can barely wait until it is time to begin working on Fall fashions.  In fact, my first set for this Halloween is already complete!  Here is my little monster - my "Frankie" jean set for this year.  (Frankies are named for Frankenstein's monster because they have a lot of hand-stitching and a bit of a split personality - half hand-painted, half patchwork!)  Check them out and be sure to keep checking back on my blog here and also my etsy shop to see what new Fall and Halloween items will be all the rage this season!

 

Thanks so much for reading and please come back anytime!  :)

And time rolls on ...

WOWZA!!!  Where did the time go!?  It has been nearly a month since I last posted - I'm really embarassed.  I have been SOOOO busy doing ... a lot of nothing?  Funny how time just rolls right along whether you do anything with it or not.  Really, I feel like I'm being run ragged, but I don't have much to prove it.  Ever feel like that?

Now, the one thing I HAVE done this past 28 days is kinda a big thing.  OK, its a really, really big thing.  In my book, it is momentous.  Huge.  UBER-exciting.  And, granted, it has taken an unbelievable amount of work.  Probably not 28 days-worth, but a dang lot!  My project dejour?  A new studio - all for me!! Now, you may not find this terribly exciting.  Really, why would you?  It isn't your studio after all.  And, you might also be asking yourself, "now, this chic runs this business.  Surely she has a sewing room, a studio or something!".  But you would be mistaken.  In point of fact, I have been, for the better part of three years, doing the bulk of my work smack in the middle of my living room.  Its true.  Sad.  But true.  Let me just lay this out for you.  I have three girls.  Recently, we have been joined by a sweet little boy baby.  I have a husband of 15 years.  And we live in a ... humble? ... three-bedroom house.  Now, a few years ago, we converted our garage to a room.  At the time, we dubbed it the "playroom".  It housed toys and dress-ups and our TV.   One bedroom housed us, another our two younger daughters, and the final bedroom, our oldest (a very small room).  When we learned of our expected addition about 18 months ago, we knew there would have to be some changes.  SO!  We moved all of the girls together into the garage room - a single massive bedroom to share.  I turned the small bedroom into the nursery - and a mighty awesome nursery it is too!  We retained the "master suite".  And the last bedroom was converted to our TV room.  "Converted" is a strong word.  Basically, we stuck our couches and the TV and electronic equiptment in there.  So, what had been a bright purple "fairies and butterflies" room was now a bright purple, with a few lingering fairies, TV room.  (I have a thing about the TV in the living room.  In my house, its a big 'ole no-no!)  Then my brother moved in.  So, now the house housed four growing kids and three adults, one business and a TV.  He, having no choice whatsoever, moved into the purple TV room.  He stayed for four months.  So, you see, there has never been a real, true designated spot for my business.  My two machines have spent most days atop the "game table" in our living room, surrounded by rediculous amounts of fabric and trims, ribbon spools and threads of every color.  Recently, my house began to take on an alien form.  It began to look as though a thin layer of fabric covered everything - mostly because it did.  I was ordering new fabrics for the new season and, well, having no where else to put them, they found homes atop the mantle, across the backs of living room chairs, on every flat surface available.  My husband reached his breaking point.  As my brother moved out, I , at long last, secured total support to overtake an entire room in our little house as my very own - or, rather, 3.l.p Couture's very own!  The thrill of this, you may never know.  Suffice it to say it was goosebumpy!  ;)  A weekend trip to IKEA secured several much-needed items.  And several gallons of paint later ... well, you'll see!  The change from bright purple to butter-cream yellow has been a tedious - bordering on torturous - process.  Generally, I love paint.  It is a quick, easy way to change a room.  But, alas, not this time.  Niether quick nor easy.  Not by a long shot.  This transformation took five coats, six gallons of paint, and almost two weeks!!!!  So, THAT is what Ive been doing for nearly a month.  And you deserve pictures.  I will post a few more in the coming days, but for now...

before color and after color got to LOVE natural light! voila! Fabulous! 

Happy end-of-the-school-year!!  Its almost here!  Time to buy some summer/vacation clothes!  :)  Check out my etsy store for lots of sweet summer sets!

On being a Mommy and a designer ...

Well, suffice it to say that the past couple of weeks have been ... well, let's be honest ... a nightmare!  I am SO stressed out!  And, no, its not my work.  Work is my saving grace - it literally is what keeps me sane some days - something to think about besides kids.  And, don't get me wrong, I LOVE my kids.  I'm just not overly fond of high fevers, ear infections and vomiting!  Who can blame me, right?  I have a baby who has been on antibiotics for 20 days and counting and is currently running a fever of about 102 for some unknown reason!  NOT COOL - in any form of the phrase!  And a daughter who has an ear infection and (though she is WAY too old for this) refuses to take her meds.  Rediculous.

However!!!!  The very fact that being a Mommy this past couple of weeks has been so horrendously trying has resulted in great productivity.  Yea, me!  Oh, it is so nice when one thrives under pressure.  Especially when pressure is kind of a way of life around here.  (grimace)

SO!  Without further adieu, may I introduce to you some new items I have been working on:

The little white dress is called "Sicily".  It reminds me of effortless style and children playing along the seashore in white.  And, besides, "Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes" was too long a name.  :)  (But I wanted to call it that initially.)  It is made of this scrumptious lacework embroidered fabric, fully lined in white cotton and comes with this beautiful deep royal blue ribbon sash.  This dress would be amazing at a summer wedding!  And, before you ask, yes!  I can do the sash in another color if you like.  Availability of this fabric is pretty limited, so if you're interested in a dress like this, better contact me quick!

You'll notice that a bunch of the new items have names of islands or beaches.  Once I started working on these, I realized pretty quickly that there was a common theme.  They were all so tropical and uber-summery!  Each one reminded me of some wonderful vacation spot.  So, they have all taken on the names of the places that they remind me most of. 

The next one is called "Capri".  It is bright and fun and looks totally beach-ready!  The awesome capri pant (how apropos!) has scenes of flowers, flamingos, even villas.  This is a great set and even has a little hand-stitching on the starfish - oh!  And the flag on top of the sand castle really waves!  :)

Next is "Baby Resort Beach".  This one has a big sister set (yet to be made), so this is "baby".  It is a really cute bloomer (knee-length) featuring awesome brightly-colored palm trees!  Love this fabric!  (The big sister stuff is so awesome!  Check my last post for a pic of that fabric!)  The matching tank with palm tree applique is really sweet.  I added a rolled-hem ruffle in this amazing deep aqua to give it some extra punch and match the sweet bloomer leg ruffles.  It is simple, but really sweet and looks both ultra cool and comfortable! 

BTW, I LOVE a little white in the summer!  It has such a fresh crispness to it.  I use white tanks quite a bit for this reason.  But you'll also notice a little splash of white in the form of trim or lace in other summer sets!

I have some other island and beach-themed sets coming up, so remember to check back often!!  If you're interested in any of these sets, check my etsy store!  They are all listed there.  :)

Caio, baby!

Welcome, welcome!

  Well, hey, everybody!  I'm so excited to have some new people visiting our site!  And I have some new ideas and designs too!  I've noticed that my tastes of late are leaning heavily toward the very bright, the very tropical, the super-fun!  I have to say that a lot of my newest things are looking like ... well, kinda like kid's cruise-wear!  Kid couture cruise-wear!  Crazy!!  This stuff is so fun and so cool, though!  Listen, if you're going on a cruise this summer and taking your kids along, this is gonna be perfect!  BUT if you're sticking around the house, maybe heading to the mall, the park, the pool, it might even be better!  Know why?  Because this super-fun stuff will make you feel almost like you're on a tropical vacation every time you see your kiddos in it.  It really is that fun!  Here are some sneak peeks for you - hope the whet your appitite!  These should be listed within 10 days, so keep an eye out.  For the moment, I will be listing with etsy and not ebay.  If that changes, I will be sure and update here.

 

Spring has really, really sprung here in Texas!!  This past weekend, I took the kids out to take the Texan-traditional pictures in the bluebonnets!  (For those of you who don't know, its our state flower!)  These beauties cover the sides of Texas highways from about mid-March, really ushering in the true Texas spring-time.  Unfortunately, my adorable baby son fell asleep on the way out to the bluebonnet fields, so there are no pictures of him, but here are a few of my beautiful girls and our beautiful Texas highways!   

Change of plans...

OK.  Little change of plans here.  My clothes will be featured TOMORROW - April 7th - instead of today.  Not a big deal, just wanted to be sure everyone was updated so that you can still get in on the give-away!  I think she gives you until midnight to participate, so make sure you get in on that!  If you have already ordered the "easy top", you may choose the tank or T to replace it if you win!!  YEA!

I will update my journal again tomorrow - and you'll even get some sneak peeks at what I'm working on now!  Really, really cute stuff!!

See ya then!