Blue Ladybug Giveaway {through Gussy Sews}

Hey Everybody! We are having a giveaway today through Gussy Sews! She is doing a feature and giveaway for each of her sponsors, which includes us! {Have you ever seen our ad on the sidebar of her blog?} You will have the opportunity to not just win some shop credit to The Blue Ladybug, but a host of other handmade shops are apart of this giveaway as well! There is going to be some really cool stuff to see, and some neat people to check out! You don't want to miss it!

Head over to Gussy Sews now for all the details! And good luck!

Muffin Tin Monday: {theme} the BOY!!!

Happy MTM Everybody! Just curious... have any of our blog followers tried a muffin tin lunch with their kids yet?? Leave us a comment and let us know!

Because we’ve been closely following the Celebrate the BOY month-long event over at Made by Rae & Dana MADE blogs, we’ve been consumed with all things BOY. We’ve both even been trying out their pants tutorials for our super-skinny boys. Thus, it made sense for us to carry the theme into this week’s Muffin Tin Monday! Here is what we both came up with for fun boy foods!

{Top row} Mud & Worms (choc pudding & gummy worms), Football-shaped Turkey Sandwiches, Gone Fishin’ (goldfish crackers, & pretzel/spaghetti noodle pole)

{Bottom row} A Blazing Campfire (pretzels & shredded cheese), Jello Cars, Banana Bug (pretzels, matchstick carrots & choc chips for details)



Banana Bug

If you can’t tell from the pictures, I (Mary Beth) totally had fun planning, making and serving this lunch to my little guy! He experienced many firsts eating this, but the best part for him was his discovery of JELLO! :) My favorite part of the lunch was the banana bug- I couldn’t get over how stinking cute it was!

Since my husband comes home for lunch just about every day, and our theme is all about boys, how could I leave him out of the fun? Yes, I made my manly husband a muffin tin lunch- and.he.loved.it! He told me again at dinner how fun lunch was!  Every man is a little boy at heart!

{MTM theme ideas for March: Rainbow/Dr Seuss/Green/St Patricks Day}

Head over to Muffin Tin Mom to see what other people are coming up with today!



May I introduce... My New Craft Studio!

my first sewing maching

I started out my sewing career with my little machine set up on our coffee table in front of the TV. I’d keep the manual nearby and practice straight stitches on fabric scraps and little projects scattered across the table. I had an old pair of office scissors I had used in college (I believe they were from the dollar store!), and a little sewing kit my mom assembled (inside an empty dryer sheet box) from odds and ends in her old sewing caddy. From those humble beginnings, I could never have even imagined where my creativity and passions would take me!

Once I joined Laura (read about that here) at The Blue Ladybug Children’s Boutique (and had a mobile child!), it became apparent that I needed a more suitable (and safe) space for my crafting and sewing. We cleared out a corner of a room on our main floor that seemed to just be a catch-all for our stuff. We attempted to make it an office my husband and I could both use, but I quickly took it over! I loved having a little spot in the house for my sewing and supplies.



so proud of my little craft corner



That excitement lasted a couple weeks, when I realized that I had already outgrown it. But I continued on crafting in the space for several more months. Getting any work done on orders became frustrating and unmotivating every time I tried to work (or even look) in there! Because there was hardly any flat work space, I would have to move my projects back to that same coffee table I started out on. My newly walking toddler sure loved that! He always wanted to help me work and I even walked in the room once to him waving my scissors around! {oh my heart!} So, I couldn’t work on projects while he was up, and then when I did, I’d have to work as fast as possible so that I could pick it all back up and put it away, finished or not, before he was up. VERY unmotivating!

My dear husband, who is always so supportive and encouraging when it comes to my business and hobby, saw my need and began helping me design the craft room I needed. It took many months for me to even know what I needed. I saw lots of cool craft rooms on other blogs that were very inspiring but I wanted to make sure that I was designing what would work best for ME, and not something that works for someone else. I definitely took my time because I wanted to decide what I really needed, as well as consider growth… of my hobby, interest, supplies, business, etc…



BEFORE: notice the piles that have no place to go!



I read the The Cottage Mama has a few pieces in her studio from Ikea, so I decided to check out the website and see what they had and how much! I was blown away at how low-priced and quality-made everything was, and the endless possibilities there were! So once Tim and I (finally) decided on a room design that would work for our odd little room, we browsed Ikea’s website and picked out and priced everything I would need. Then we planned a trip to the only Ikea in MI (quite a drive for us!), and spent the day shopping! Wow… What do you say about Ikea? It is the most amazing place! A friend recently said, “Ikea isn’t just a store, it’s an experience!” So true! So after a few hours of shopping, we came out with a lot of stuff for what we spent! I got 2 tables, 2 wire drawer organizers, shelving, and an office chair for just over $200… Not bad considering some of the solutions I had been looking at before I discovered Ikea. We also bought a 2^nd 9-cube organizer from Target to match the one we already had, and used Laura’s idea from her craft room (read about it here) to make a cutting table for the center of the room. Tim had an old boss and friend make us a laminate countertop that will fit on the top. So for a budget of $350, we came just under… And that was including the paint job in the room too! Can't beat that! Plus, I'm totally and completely in love with my new craft studio! It's fresh, and clean, and organized...

AFTER



I got back to work the moment we finished! :)



Tim even has a little office space! yay!

I love that the clutter is gone and that I have lots of room for my business and hobby to grow! The room has alot of finishing and personal touches to add (shelving, decor, the countertop, etc) but I have been creating like crazy the past couple weeks since we worked on it. It's inspiring me in so many ways and helping me be productive, motivated, organized and efficient. It's also brought my stress down a LOT! I love that it's not just helping organize my business, but it's helping me organize other parts of my life too as I have a clean, quiet space to sit, think and work.

{Coming soon:} Organizing & Design Ideas I've gained from this experience! (with more close up pictures of the details in my studio!)

Boy Pants

We've been following along with the Celebrate the Boy blog series happening this month at Made and Made by Rae, with anticipation.  I was super duper overly excited when Dana posted the Kids Pants tutorial and pattern last week.  I have been making girls pants for a while now, but hadn't really thought about boys pants. I think the fabric selection for boys pants feel intimidating and I feared they would look strange. But after seeing the super awesome fabrics and style in the pants that Dana made for her son, I knew I had to try some for Cameron too!  

I scored big time, and the pattern she shared was a perfect fit for Cameron!  I find it very hard to find pants for Cameron, since he is tall and very skinny.  I love the adjustable pants available in most stores now days, but I usually have to adjust them sooooo much they look all bunchy and weird.  By making pants according to Cameron's measurements, he has a perfect fitting pair of pants.  And my favorite part, is that there are no snaps or zippers.  It's an elastic waistband, which gives him more independence during these potty training days...making mommy's life one step easier!  Hooray!

I used a denim material that I had laying around.  It's soft and comfy.  The coloring has a bit of a fun and funky  retro feel.  I can't wait to try many other fabrics, that I hadn't originally thought of for boys.  Not to mention, all the cute shorts I can make for summer now as well!

I think he really enjoyed his pants that "mommy made for him."

Such a boy....with cars always in his hands.

And when you try to encourage your preschooler to "model" for you...this is what you may get. 

Yup....all boy....

Elissa didn't want to feel left out today, so she wore her custom made  Blue Ladybug ruffled pants!

Even if you're not in the market for boys pants, check out all the other amazing crafts and boys clothing being featured all month long on Celebrate the Boy!

Muffin Tin Monday- Sick Day!

For this week of Muffin Tin Monday lunches there was no theme. It worked out nicely for both of us Mamas because both our little boys were sick- fever, runny noses, coughs, etc… Laura didn't get a chance to do MTM and I managed to do one hoping to coax my little boy into actually eating! Titus ended up having Strep Throat, and I feel bad because I think he went through the worse of it before we even knew what was wrong! At the time we did this lunch I thought he was just teething and not realizing how much pain he was actually in. Here’s the muffin tin lunch I came up with. {Theme: Sick Day!}

For Titus,  (I thought was going through some major teething), I put together foods that he loves, plus foods that would be easy for him to eat. He hasn’t been eating much this week (even fun snacks!), so I’m trying to cater to him a little bit knowing that it’s coming from not feeling well!

In the top two corners are leftover spaghetti with lots of veggie goodness, and in the middle are gold fish crackers. In the bottom two corners are cheese stick pieces, and the in the middle is applesauce. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t touch much of this meal, even the stuff he loves, and spent more time playing with and arranging all the food. Oh well, I can always be hopeful for dinnertime and focus on getting lots of fluids in him! After a weekend on antibiotics, he's already doing much better!

Head over to Muffin Tin Mom to find out what others are doing! And feel free to join us too!

Jackpot! All things handmade for BOY! {Details inside...}



my very first tie onesie!



I started my crafting hobby by making tie onesies and pacifier clips for Titus, which turned into a business with Laura. (You can read about The Blue Ladybug beginnings here) She made lots of cute girl clothes and bows for Elissa, but I struggled to find very many fun projects out there for boys in general! If you are a mom of a boy and have struggled with this same frustration, keep reading… ;)



As I promised when I blogged about my new Big Boy Belts, here is what I’m calling the jackpot of all things handmade boy! It’s a month-long event over at Made by Rae called Celebrate the BOY- boy projects, fabrics, tutorials, photo roundups, etc… I’ve been anxiously awaiting this for a few months! As her guest blogger described it today, “no ruffles, no pink, no flowers, and no boring solids!” It’s a new day for boys handmade projects!

The event started yesterday and continues for a whole month, so be sure to subscribe to her blog and check back every day to see what’s new! You’ll already have to catch up, because yesterday she posted an adorable dragon slippers tutorial I’m going to have to try out for Titus! :) Today there’s a fabric giveaway you can enter, as well as some cool fabric roundups for boys from Above All Fabric (<--click to see the fabric selection) and See Kate Sew.



I’m hoping we’ll make it into a photo roundup, so I’ll be keeping a close eye out for our stuff! You’ll be sure to hear about it if we do! So hurry on over to Celebrate the BOY 2011 and be inspired to create for your boy!



For a quick shortcut to CTB11, you can also click on the green "the boy" lego button on the left side of our blog! I'll definately be using it for quick visits over there every day!



I'd LOVE to hear your experience with boy crafts... are you frurstated in this area, or are you a wealth of creativity? Have you made anything really cool recently? Tell me about it!

Our Muffin Tin Monday Premiere!

Today, my dream of making my child a muffin tin lunch came true! This my very first Muffin Tin Monday EVER! I (Mary Beth) remember reading MTM posts while I was pregnant and couldn't wait to be able to do them with my child! Now Titus is 15 months old and at the perfect age to start making muffin tin lunches! I was a little under the weather today, but I was too excited to make it for him! And what a perfect theme to make my MTM debut, than Red/Valentine's Day for the Love I have for my little guy! :)

There were so many options I could go with, but there are still many foods (like most raw fruits and vegetables) that Titus can't eat yet, so I had to make it work for his age! I really enjoyed the challenge and the chance to exercise a little more creativity in my toddler's lunch! :) Overall, he's a great eater and enjoys most foods! Here was what we ended up going with:

On the top left, we have "heart-shaped" pretzels dipped in Cranberry Chutney (leftovers & made by Daddy!). This was his first experience with something "dipped" and love it! He just kept licking the pretzels! :) Next is some Venison and Vegetable soup with a tomato base broth (also dinner leftovers! :) ). He loves this soup, but unfortunately, with all the other fun options, he didn't eat much of it- sad! Next to the soup is a white chocolate chip, macadamia nut cookie with heart sprinkles! This is the first time I've let him have a cookie, but he knew what it was and begged for it before all the rest of his food was gone (ahem, the soup!). Underneath the cookie are red goldish crackers. I bought the multicolor bag and picked out the red ones! :) he gobbled those up right away! Next to the fish crackers is homemade applesauce. Yes, that is it's natural color! When my MIL and I were making applesauce last fall, one batch came out a very deep pink color. It came in perfect for this lunch! And then last but not least, on the bottom left, we have a cheese stick sliced, cut and shaped into little hearts! Titus wasn't sure what they were at first, but of course, polished those off too! haha Overall, this was a great muffin tin lunch theme, a great first experience, Titus ate pretty good, and I had so much fun doing it!

And here's what I (Laura) made for Cameron and Elissa's lunch.

Front and center:  Peanut butter and jelly on a slice of heart shaped bread

From left to right back: sliced celery ( I thought it had a bit of heart shaped look), strawberries, a heart shaped cookie that Cameron and I had made that morning, and strawberry banana yogurt.

We're linking up at Muffin Tin Mom today.  Pop on over and check all the other creative and yummy Muffin Tin lunches.

What I did on my Snow Day

Yesterday, Michigan was hit with a blizzard!  It was actually pretty exciting.  Most adults even had a snow day from work.  That never happens!  It's been a long time since I've seen this much snow.  The piles at the end of my driveway are taller than me.

Since I wasn't going anywhere yesterday, I worked on something new for The Blue Ladybug.
Meet, The Shabby Chic Apron Knot Dress

Does that fabric look familiar?  Take a closer look.

Yup, I used the fabric from the Rosy Garden Pillowcase dress, added a few more fabrics, and refashioned it into an Apron Knot dress.  I love the mix of fabrics.

There's a nice shot of the back...or my daughter running away from me...either way.  Hey, don't judge, until you've tried to photograph a 14 month old who has just found her walking legs.

My favorite part about this dress is the fabric for the apron.  It gives the whole dress that perfectly shabby chic, vintage charm.  You can look for this one to be listed in the shop today!

And in case you missed it, two other new dresses were added earlier this week.

The Roses in Cream Peaseant Dress.  Love, love, love this dress.

And the Dolce Bird Pillowcase Dress, so perfect for spring.

I'm A Sucker for Roses

It might be a little cliché, but I just can't help it.  The first flower my husband gave me was a red rose.  He gives me roses on my birthday, on the birth of our children, just because he loves me, and many other special occasions.   Unfortunately, I'm horrible with greenery.  I'm like the opposite of "green thumb".   So I borrowed this little letter from a new favorite blog, to pass on to my husband, and she says, you can distribute it to your husbands too. 

{wink wink}

Aren't those Rolled Rosette flower necklaces gorgeous!  They're from Allora Handmade.  

I'm really hoping to get some of these roses this Valentines Day.

Or I'd even settle for these super cute little earrings.

It's February!

And I've got Valentine's Day on the brain.   My front door is lacking a wreath.   I always figured that no one really looked at my door in the dead of winer...how could you possibly see through all that snow.  But this year, that blank space, and empty hook are taunting me.  They are screaming out for a cute little Valentine wreath to hang there.  So I think today I'll make this.

You can make one too!  The full tutorial is over at Sew Much Ado. 

 Let's see how long nap time lasts.  I could really use some sewing therapy today.

Happy crafting everyone!

Allora Handmade Interview and Giveaway

We both love to read other creative womens' stories of helping their families financially by opening their own successful homemade shop. Here is a story I ran across today of Jessica from Allora Handmade, who makes beautiful rosette jewelry. She has such an inspiring story that really connects with both of our stories too! Gussy Sews did a 5-question interview with Jess today. Read it here. There's also a giveaway at the end so be sure to read the whole thing!

In other exciting news, The Blue Ladybug is now a sponsor on Gussy Sews! Woot Woot! Go to her blog and look for our button on the right hand side (scroll down). We are so excited to be working with Gussy the next few months! She's such an inspiring handmade business owner to both of us, plus she has cute ruffled accessories! Check out her blog and shop!



-Mary Beth