Is it wrong...

...to want this? I know that it's the dismembered wing from some poor, dead birdie...but I find it incredibly beautiful!
JuliaDeVille

Little Payne

I've always gone back and forth between wanting to design sweet and pretty pieces, versus wanting to design edgy sportswear. Hence, the very different design aesthetic between our women's and children's lines. This little jumper is a good example. I used the same laser cut cotton here for a women's top. Devon loves to wear her girly dresses, but sometimes she likes to be street tuff too! So, I'm thinking about adding a few sportswear items for children into our Payne line (stuff that will be great for little boys as well) Either way, I'm going to switch gears this week and focus on Payne (for new items) while I sew up orders for Devon Rose. I'm so excited, I just noticed that our Ruffles and Lace piece had made it on The Etsy Blog!

Teeny Tiny

I had a teeny, tiny piece of my vintage "Liberty of London" fabric left...so another halter! I know, I know...but I just can't help myself, and it 's SOOOOOO hot here!I originally wanted to do a shirred, triple tiered skirt for this gorgeous, hand crocheted trim (my mom got me), but I only had a teeny, tiny piece of the pinstripe denim left too!....and she's done!

How to revamp a totebag

Yesterday, I unearthed this canvas tote. I'm not really sure how it came to live in the depths of my closet, but it's got great bones (love the handles) and is constructed very well. The only thing I didn't like about it was the screened logo. Since it didn't have any pockets on the inside, I decided a pocket on the outside would be the perfect way to add function and cover the unwanted logo. I used a piece of microfiber twill and cut it into a 9x6.5" rectangle. This includes 1/4" seam allowances. I then cut two more rectangles that each measured 5x1 3/4, to use as a tunnel (which makes the pocket adjustable) This includes a 1/2" seam allowance at center front and 1/4" seam allowances on the sides.
I made a spaghetti strap (out of a scrap of my navy and cream thermal knit) added a chunky carved oak toggle, and the end result... a great little functional pocket, with loads of character! Now Devon has a cute pool bag that goes perfectly with her swimsuit :)

Family

Devon and I took a little road trip south, to visit with my parents. It's about a 2 hour drive and Devon slept the whole way there...nice! Isaac had to work. So he couldn't come along, but he spent the night at a friends house (that has an entire room devoted to gaming) so I think he was ok with it. Devon had a great time (as did her mommy) she met new friends, made new discoveries, and still had a little time left over to model our newest piece, the Country Mushroom Patch halterDevon's new discovery, the happiness of playing in sand. By the look on her face, I would say that it's sheer joy bordering on insanity (funny how she and Bik Wu have almost the exact same facial expression) We'll be moving back to Southern California, and be living by the beach. Guess I know what we'll be doing for the rest of our summers...
My mom knitted Devon the most adorable teddy bear! She also gave us a hand embroidered, beautiful quilt (adorned with the cutest little cherub scenes) My mom is ultra crafty (she can make anything) and she has the local insiders tips on the best places to get gorgeous fabrics and trims. She took us to a shop called A Stitch in Time, located in the historic Governor Ferguson's home. It was beautiful, but very old and in great need of repair (even the street was still hand laid in brick) Which is, unfortunately why this boutique is closing it's doors, but I was very happy to have the opportunity to check it out before it's gone. My mom has always been very supportive of our Etsy boutique, and bought us some beautiful trims and an amazing, dusty blue corduroy fabric (that will be in our shop this Fall) My new discovery (while shopping around) was Oliver + S. They make the cutest, contemporary sewing patterns for children that I've ever seen, and the packaging is genius! I wanted to get them all (just for the adorable, cut-out paper dolls).
My parents still live in the same house that we grew up in. I was just a little older than Devon is now, when we first moved there. These pics of her (in the patio that I used to play in as a child) stir up a lot of old memories. It's so cool to be able to still visit the same places, and see how much they've changed over the years. We took a walk around the neighborhood (I used to bike all over that place as a kid) Everything looked strangely familiar and at the same time brand new!

These are some great ways that my mom and dad have made memories into beautiful home decorations.....the memory of a cardinal that built a nest in their backyard...

...the sand from all the different beaches that they've visted together..
...BTW, Devon slept the whole way back home too :)

Stay Cool

Here's a new dress that I made for Devon. It's cut from a wonderful, linen Japanese import. In case you can't make it out in the pics, it has the most adorable border print of teddy bears with balloons. I thought it would be fun to shoot it by the pool (since it has this great little nautical theme running through it as well) But I didn't think that she would climb right in! With this heat....who can blame her? Unfortunately, I only had enough of the fabric to make one, so it won't be listed in the shop.

A Froggie Father's Day

My plan (initially) was to find something different for us to do for Father's Day. I had remembered this great place called "Bar of Soap", where you could do your laundry, have 75 cent draft beers, play video games, and watch live punk rock/rock-a-billy bands. I knew Isaac would love it and we could be productive and get those towels cleaned too... perfect!

I was also excited to get some shots of Devon running around in there. I made her a new pair of shorts just for the occasion (I call them her 1985 Bike Pants...sooo cute with the Pumas!) Only when we got there, it was gone! And by the looks of it, for quite some time (I've been looking over reviews and discovered that it was closed last September!) We were totally disappointed, but it makes sense that something that cool wouldn't last in Dallas.

Since Devon had fallen asleep in the car, we went ahead and had lunch at Chuy's (definitely NOT different) but yummy, so it worked. She woke up (notice the sweaty bedhead) just in time to walk across the street to have an adventure at her favorite toy store, "Froggie's Five and Dime". I get to hang out with her all the time, but Isaac rarely gets to have the opportunity to see her so excited in this environment. He staged a total mutiny on a pirate ship while Devon ran about playing different instruments and sampling various pieces of plastic fruit...good times;)

Great way to start the weekend

Friday night, Devon and I had dinner at our friend, Christopher's house. He made us an amazing pizza from scratch with fresh basil from his herb garden. Devon was surprisingly on her best behavior, which allowed me to get some cute shots of her while checking out new surroundings. It is impossible to take a bad picture in there, as there is a place for everything and everything is always in it's place. Christopher works for SkinCeuticals and has the insane sample hookup. He gave me a beautiful, lilac sueded box full of products! I have the mask, cleanser, moisturizer, phloretin CF, and hydrating B5! It was like Christmas! He gave Devon a hot pink, super squishy "Moshi" pig (her new favorite to sleep with) BTW, Devon (and her mommy) LOVES Christopher! She gave him kisses and hugs all night:)
On the weekends, Devon takes her inspiration from M.O.D (Models off Duty) Now that it's scorching hot here, I hacked off all the sleeves from her American Apparel tops. As a muscle tee, the shoulder lap makes for an interesting detail and I was tempted to attach a few pyramid studs on there. But in the end, I decided that would be a major chocking hazard. I really want to source some knitted, very organic looking, athletic mesh and attach it to the top lapped portion. Devon would rock those all summer long...

...pig nose...
...pig face...

Small and Smaller

I'm super excited about this new and brilliantly fresh, children's on-line-zine, especially since Devon Rose will be featured in one of their beautiful editorials for Fall! I was contacted by the co-editor of the magazine who also designs one of my favorite children's clothing lines, Baby Bean Vintage Daywear.

Christine is also opening a shop in Dallas called "Little Bean" which will feature her own collections and pieces from other independent designers whom she admires, so I was thrilled when she asked to carry our line. You can read more about Christine's shop via her blog, Smaller. I love this blog, BTW... beautiful pics, great DIY projects, and filled with inspiration.

Speaking of blogs, our women's line received some blog love today!

Country Chick Halter

I have a huge pile of teeny, tiny scraps of vintage repro prints and various imported Japanese prints. I've been thinking about the best ways to utalize them all and came up with a variation of the halter I listed yesterday. This golden hue gingham goes with a lot of the prints that I have (I'm doing a 60's repro mushroom print tomorrow) I also want to do a bunch of itty, bitty undergarments. I've been contemplating doing a tutorial for the blog on "how to sew up some super cute, baby bloomers" and include a pattern. I just really need to get a manicure first (before taking all the sewing instruction pics) I've got a really bad habit of biting my nails.

Polka Dots and Petals

Devon let me put her hair up into a mini french twist, which is quite out of the ordinary for her! Lucky for me though, since it shows off the back detail of our newest halter beautifully. It's made from a pure cotton, swiss dot with a precious, floral border embroidery. It's perfect for the hot, muggy weather we've been having lately and goes with so many things in Devon's ever expanding wardrobe.

French Chic Skirt

... a look that seems to say "why do you always do this to me, mom?"

The dreaded time is here...Devon is starting to dislike modeling! At least the last few times I've gotten her dressed for pictures, she's thrown rather extreme temper tantrums. After she's calmed down a bit, I can usually get her in a playful mood again and start quickly snapping away before her mood shifts again. I wish I could have been lucky enough to get some "twirling" shots of her in our new French Chic Skirt. There's just something so endearing about the way a mini circle skirt falls over teeny, tiny legs like hers! Next on the agenda, I've got a slew of cute halter tops :)

Isn't she...

...Pretty in Plaid?

*click on it*

Rainy Day Outfit

I've been holding onto this small test print of a graphic that I produced (years ago) for a Juniors private label company. I loved the sprawled graffiti look of this "raining bows" screen, while the mixture of browns and blues keep this large print from being too loud. My boss (at that time) dubbed it "too forward" and so it sat on my desk, destined to never see a showroom. I loved it so much, I decided to bring it home. The only problem was (being a test print) there wasn't enough of it to make anything. So... it got sucked into one of my ever growing fabric piles (which I've been reorganizing over the last few days)

I was super excited when I unearthed it, and discovered that there was enough to make a small nightie for Devon! And today was the perfect day to make it, since there's a crazy lighting storm ravaging Dallas right now. We've lost power twice already and water is pouring into our bedroom from one of our super leaky, ghetto windows.

Anyway, it literally took me 15 minutes to cut and sew this nightie! It's designed to be cool and comfortable (perfect for lounging about the house) while still looking cute...although Devon looks cute in everything and nothing.

Kiddie Inspiration

I love checking out candid shots of different peoples street styles, and little kids are particularly interesting to me (especially at this age, because you KNOW that they are demanding to dress themselves by now) I just have to commend this little ladies uncanny ability to layer (not to mention her talent at mixing stripes and patterns appropriately) and the ballet flats are the PERFECT shoe for this ensemble. If I had a little boy, I would make clothing for him like this...what a perfect little gentleman!

Silk Noil Shorts

I've been wanting to make some silk, "paper bag" shorts for awhile. I thought about using charmeuse, but then I stumbled upon this beautiful raw silk noil! It has an awesome nubby texture that comes from the use of very short fibers, called 'silk noils,' to weave the fabric. When these short fibers are spun into yarns, the resulting yarns have occasional slubs and loose ends. It's my new favorite fabric and I love how it lends a wonderful, rustic quality to these shorts. You can't tell by these photos, but it's a gorgeous steel blue color! I need to get a super close-up of the fabric texture and the carved oak branch toggle (can't get enough of those) but you can check out more pics of this piece here

Kitty Top

Here's one of the pieces that I made for my brother's Kitty Cat. It's perforated cotton with a super fat, shoe lace drawstring and carved, oak branch toggle. Cat (if you're reading this) I did it in light grey thermal as well (in case you would prefer another fabrication) You can check it out here ...