Oh I Love a Sunny Treasury!

Tonight I got another wonderful surprise. I was featured in a treasury on Etsy.com. I think this is my second or third feature in a treasury, and I am ever so grateful for the publicity. Even more, I am grateful that people notice what I'm working on and like it well enough to choose it to display over thousands of other items. It warms the heart a bit.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d1d3e97efbc6d91601fff6f/the-color-of-happiness

Speaking of warming the heart... I am tossing around the idea of creating some clothing specifically geared towards Valentine's and St. Patrick's Days. I have several ideas in mind, and I just have to sort them out, draw them up, sew them up, and post them!

Spring will be here before you know it. It's time to start looking for some wonderful hand crafted clothing for your tots. Hand crafted items keep YOUR money in YOUR economy. They also make a beautiful kid shine and are perfect for special occasions, pictures, or everyday play. Hand crafted clothing is better constructed meaning you can pass these clothes down through several kids and they will continue to wear beautifully. In addition, many of my items are created to allow for multiple seasons of wear as well as the ability to grow with your child from a dress to a tunic. That's like purchasing one crib that becomes a toddler bed that becomes a twin bed! This means they are highly economical. Who wouldn't want to save money, look great, and get fantastic quality?

I invite you to come check out Artfire.com or Etsy.com for handmade, vintage, and supplies. Both sites are fantastic and bursting at the seams with unique and wonderful items. Of course, I have my shop MeltonYourHeart on both sites!

Do You Have a Diaper that Needs Covered?

I haven't had a baby in my house in nearly a decade, but nothing is cuter than an awesome diaper cover on a baby's bum. Diapers are just not attractive. It really doesn't matter what you do to them, they are white, unsightly, and just plain "blah." Baby clothing, including dresses are cut a little on the short side, presumably to show off some cute little bloomers anyway, so why not pick some bloomers that make a real statement?

My diaper covers come in many different colors and patterns, and are not your typical homemade cover seen online. Most diaper covers are created with one continuous piece of fabric and they look like panties, they gather right up at the crease of the legs. Even though they are really adorable with their cute little ruffles, they just don't offer the coverage I was looking for. My solution? A cross between your typical diaper cover and bloomers. My diaper covers are created in a way that allow some coverage of the very top of the legs. They can also be altered to provide even more coverage, in typical bloomers fashion. Because they are more like shorts with gathered legs than a diaper cover, they can be easily worn with just a t-shirt, onesie, or under a complementing dress. They are also roomy, giving your baby plenty of room to move, crawl, and walk.

I can add ruffles to any of my diaper covers as well for an additional charge, but my covers are so cute on their own, I haven't had the urge to decorate them up with a lot of fluffiness. I invite you to browse my shop and look at the many different diaper covers I offer. Keep in mind, that I will discount multiple diaper covers in the same purchase. You pick your size and your fabrics, send me a message, and I'll get you a better price than my retail price.

My diaper covers are not absorbent and are designed to be worn over disposable type diapers.

Do you want quality? Do you love keeping your money out of child-labor lead infested factories? Me too, that's why I often buy handmade, and support home-based artisans in their beloved craft. Support handmade on Etsy.com.

Sew Much Fabric, Sew Little Time

Well, tonight saw the posting of two more dresses to my shop. Both are simply darling peasant style dresses, with one being much more a dressy dress than the other. Someone at work called it a "Church" dress. He is correct. The Pink Kleo dress with the apron is definitely a dressing up dress. It took a lot of time and a lot of fabric to create. The details are incredible, bold, and unique. When I finally finished it, all I could think was "I should have made this bigger, I would even wear this." I would, perhaps with alterations of the apron, but I'd still love to wear something very similar and using the same fabric.

So this got me thinking... What market would I have for ladies sized tunics in some of the fabrics chosen for the girls dresses? I could easily match a Mother/Daughter for special occasion in Juicy or Kleo. Both are age appropriate for ladies and children. Perhaps a grown up version of the peasant dress is on it's way...

Tomorrow is a fabric shopping day. For that matter so is Friday. I'm running somewhat low on some stock and I'll be hitting two shops trying to replenish. I had no idea my Pink Kleo dress would require nearly 3 yards of fabric when I started. Unfortunately, I could hardly stop adding details and embellishments.

That leads me to another point. Some of my dresses are VERY limited. So limited that only two or three may be produced of that kind before I'm unable to find the fabric again. Some of the dresses were created with fabric from my collection that I had been saving for this occasion and it has long gone out of print. The carrots are an example of one of the out of print fabrics. The Green, Yellow, and Pink spring fabrics have now also been discontinued. No worries though, if you miss out on something you like, you may find something you LOVE within weeks. I'm constantly replenishing fabric and I'm always on the search for more gorgeous threads to make your girl the Belle of the ball.

Some future plans include the introduction of a boys line. Several people have suggested that I include some inexpensive, but well-crafted essential boys pieces to my collection. I'm happy to say that I have some Alexander Henry fabric picked out and on the work table. Along with boys clothes, I'll be introducing some fancier girls clothes to my line in the late summer, early fall, just in time for Christmas shopping. Those dresses will be geared more toward special occasions, Christmas pictures, and parties, and will be guaranteed to turn the heads of everyone in the room. Again, I will be using only the finest fabrics I can lay my hands on, and sewing with the same attention to detail. I hope you'll stay tuned for the unveil.

Now for the great news. I have a birthday coming up. Instead of getting a present, I'll be giving a present! Right now there is a Spring Sale going on in my shop. Buy any of the featured dresses and get a dress that is not currently featured for 20% off. That includes shipping and INSURANCE! Now is the time to buy, and get two, or four, or six... dresses for a great price, and no shipping and insurance charges. Summer is on it's way, it's time to get the girls ready to play in the sun.

Thank you for shopping quality handmade.

It's Finally Finished!

Today I finished two more dresses that will be debuted on Etsy.com/shop/meltonyourheart later this evening. It seems evenings are the best time for traffic so I try to post between 6 and midnight. This dress took a long time to perfect, but it was well worth the wait. It's made with Alexander Henry fabric, is a peasant style twirl dress, with an attached apron complete with applique flowers from the skirt fabric. The sash is loose from the sides to the back making this dress customizable for your little girl.

In addition to this dress I also whipped up a super fast peasant dress from Alexander Henry's Juicy fabric. That dress can be found early at my facebook page MeltonYourHeart Childrens Clothes. That dress comes with a coordinating, removable green sash as well as a sweet little matching bow detail with rick rack. Both dresses will be available in sizes 2T to child 10. As always, I can make them in a larger size, and honor every special request possible.

I hope you enjoy these little dresses as much as I enjoyed creating them.

I Have a Blogspot and You Paid How Much for That at Walmart?

Alright folks, I've started a blogspot in hopes that it will bring me even more cheap (free) publicity. As always, my dedicated family, friends, and fans are my best advertising!

Tonight I started working on some new designs. I'm trying to put out a peasant style dress and/or tunic and have so far had some good luck with pattern development. I have a few kinks to work out around the neck of the dress, but overall I'm pleased with the design, and I can't wait to finish them and get some feedback.

The other accomplishment of the evening included updating my Etsy.com shop. All but four of my dresses were offered with free shipping, but tonight that has changed. Now every dress, from here on out will be offered with free shipping. As long as you live in the USA, the price you see listed is the price you will pay at check out. The only exception is insurance. For $1.75, you can insure your purchase up to $100.00. Once you insure your package, there is no way the post office will lose it! My packages are all mailed USPS priority mail.

Let's talk about quality. Tonight I had to go to Walmart for my once every six months, can't really get this stuff anywhere else nearby, shopping trip. While in the Walmart I went through the clothing department for children. The average dress was selling for $15 to $30, depending on the "name brand". Not one dress I picked up and felt had the quality fabric I'm accustomed to using. The stitching was mediocre and the garments were just not built for durability. I thought about my own clothing line and how my dresses are constructed with fabric that I actually look at, touch, and scrutinize. Flaws are out. Poor quality is out. Thin, cheap fabric, out. Even my thread and notions are quality products. My point is, handmade is often a bargain. When you buy a dress for your girl from a chain store you usually only see it get one seasons worth of use before your child grows out of it, it fades, or it falls apart. When you pay the same, or even a few dollars more for a quality handmade garment, you are buying something that you know your girl will be able to wear for several seasons, if not years. Many of my dresses are designed to become a tunic when your child is too tall for the dress. You are also supporting your country because my clothing is not made in a Chinese sweat shop, it's created in my sewing studio, in the United States of America. You can feel pride that you are buying something crafted in the USA and supporting your economy.

Although I would love for you to buy from me, there are other wonderful shops on Etsy.com. Unlike ebay, Etsy is a community for those that are selling handmade, vintage, or crafting supplies. You will not find garbage on Etsy. You will find wonderful items, most of which are made by artists that love to create beautiful products. A lot of items are unique with very few produced. You would never have to worry that another girl will show up in the same dress at prom when shopping from a site like Etsy.

I hope you'll visit my shop and become a fan of my facebook page and my blog. I hope you'll find something wonderfully delightful for your special little girl in my shop. As always, I honor custom requests and special orders. There is not a quality fabric out there that I wouldn't make into something beautiful if asked.

Enjoy your night...