Southwestern Style

I wanted to share with everyone some pieces that I've been working on for our women's line, Payne. This vest is my favorite so far, made from an acrylic blend that's super soft and looks like wool. The contrasts are cut from a buttery lambskin.

It's intended to just be thrown over your favorite jeans and a tee, left open with rustic leather straps hanging, but you can tie 'em up and change the neckline if you prefer...

I cut the upper front and back panels along the selvage edge to keep this great little fringe detail that adds even more to it's "Southwestern" flavor.

My jumpsuit is a fluid, printed cotton jersey that just so happens to have all the colors of my vest. I love the "painted desert" look of this print, it reminds me of an abstracted ikat. I'm actually working on an ikat/bamboo french terry, motorcycle/hoody jacket now...
I've had this giant wooden bead rolling around in my desk drawer forever. I find it to be the perfect touch to pull this design over to a more "organic' and "rustic" type feeling (reversed bamboo french terry contrasts help too) I left the vest unlined since the pattern was so beautiful even on the reverse, carefully hand sewing all inside seams and adding hand carved oak toggles to give it the same "rustic" vibe.

...then I had to satisfy a little vintage shopping inpulse, and found the perfect Southwestern style leather jacket from the 80's at Revival House .

DevonRose is back!

I finally reopened our children's Etsy today, but I have to apologise that there are no new items listed yet. I'm in the middle of producing a wholesale order that should be completed around the weekend of May 7th. Afterwards, I've purchased some great new knits that I can't wait to make into summer rompers, leggings, and I've even got a little swimsuit coming soon! This is Mango the house cat, she always keeps me company when I'm cutting and sewing. We'll be moving again soon (mid May) but not far away, and it's temporary too (we'll be moving AGAIN in July...geeeez!) Anyways, I'm gonna miss her...

Today's Color: Red!

It made me kinda sad when I realised that Devon had outgrown her little red chucks! Now I know why parents do crazy things like bronze their kids shoes.... stop growing so fast! Anyways, she might have had a growth spurt, but her feet are still itty bitty:) I got her some new Salt Waters from Little Bean along with this and that. The way I see it, new shoes are always a great excuse to shop around for some new additions to her wardrobe. I quickly found this adorable knit top at Stacy's shop...

and these overalls...
then I headed over to Heather's shop and found this little gem, I also LOVE this...but I gotta stop. For red accessories, Devon's been really into purses lately (and she's always trying to lug around my giant bags) so I decided to make one for her out of this super cute fabric (and it's not really red, but I'm also dying to get her this)

Model Crush

I've switched gears from our children's line to work on PAYNE for a couple weeks (look for our reopening at the end of the month) so, I've been totally immersed in women's fashion again. I know that I'm supposed to be focusing on the clothing, but sometimes I can't help myself and give equal attention to the models, and I've decided that Lindsey Wixson is my new Kate Moss.

I mean, here she even looks just like Kate...

... but with even better lips (I've always been a "lip" girl)

Isaac agrees, but thinks that she almost has too much of an "eerie doll look" but I think that's why I like her so much. I miss working with models. I've been shooting PAYNE (or rather Isaac's been shooting PAYNE) on myself, but only out of convenience. Anyways, I've really got an itch lately to find a new women's model.

Kitty

All of a sudden Devon's drawings went from total chaos to smiley faces, and now her favorite thing to draw...kitties! This is the first Kitty she ever drew me (he's basically a huge kitty head hovering over scribbles) but I just love his little pointy ears and uni-brow.

...skinny, skinny neck, BIG bobble head (gettin' crazy with the whiskers) She drew this one for me in chalk on the back of an envelope:)

Devon's Dance Moves

An old friend of mine sent me this link to Kelis' video Acapella. It's not really my type of music, but Devon was totally feelin' it. My favorite part is when she suddenly drops to the floor and busts out with the leg lifts. It's all very "Flash Dance"...enjoy!

*BTW... sorry it's sideways. I'm just so used to always shooting Devon vertically, that I forget to switch those rare times I think to take a video of her*

News

Here's a little one of a kind dress that I made for Christine with Small Magazine. At a size 4T, it's a rare one (as all of my OOAK dresses are made to fit Devon who wears a 2T) It took awhile to sew up all those little button holes to feed this beautiful, crochet lace ribbon through. I love the end result, though and it will be available for purchase at our shop later on. For now, our children's Esty is taking a little break. I need to catch up on existing orders and work on our women's line, Payne (which will reopen end of month) I'll be posting pics of the new women's line on here very soon:)

Happy Easter!

Have a beautiful day!

Vintage Love

If you're a vintage lover like me, you gotta check out my friend Heather's new boutique 3 Ring Circus. I scored this adorable tee for Devon that's so perfect with our Sweetheart Flares and her new wedges. Watching her work those wedges totally made my day:)

Bright and Beautiful

There's a few more one of a kind pieces in our shop now and we have a great little pleated smock dress that we'll be able to accommodate a very small run in. Devon and I have had lots of fun shooting these pieces over the last few days, and I wanted to share with everyone some beautiful little shots that were too bright for listing in shop, but too cute to be ignored.

Meet the new Mr. Boo

I'm very sad to report that the original Mr. Boo Boo (the goldfish) didn't make it. I'm not really sure what happened, one day he was swimming around happily and then.....not. I figured something more cuddly would be a better choice this time, and "Boo Boo" (apparently Devon REALLY likes that name) seems to fit this guy much better, as he has a huge chunk missing from his ear (you can see it in the middle pic) The former owners had bought Boo from a breeder along with another buck and (even though they had been neutered) they started to fight once they had matured (hence the missing chunk) but Mr. Boo is a lover, not a fighter with everyone else. Devon loves to give him lots of kisses and carrots:)

For Mom and Dad

My parents were always really into flowers, and it was a family tradition that every year (when all the Spring blossoms came out) they would gather us up for a photo shoot in the bluebonnet fields. Now I live right around the corner from this gorgeous view, which I noticed (after all that rain) had sprouted blankets upon blankets of bluebonnets! I just had to get some shots in there for Mom and Dad...so thankful I was able to shoot Devon with them, before they all disappeared.

New Items

I just can't get enough of Devon in these little cami styles, so I made a dress version of the racer-back with a netted skirt and sash. The kitty pointelle (which is so adorable, soft and just lovely) is extremely limited, so don't miss out on this one! I'm pretty sure it's going to be Devon's Easter dress this year.
Our Wallflower cami is made from a brand new batch of organic pointelle knit in a different pattern called "Devine." I'll be adding several new items in this knit using various vintage fabric contrasts. I have quite a bit of this beauty, so I can accommodate a larger size range. I'm thinking about hand dying some too:)

Watch Devon...

...work that felt frog bag!

Cottage Cheese Rolls

Ok, if you're a bread and cheese lover like me, these are like the best rolls...ever! My Mom used to make them for us when we were kids, they were always one of my favorites! I was super excited when she sent me the recipe, and Heidi was so awesome to make us all a batch! Devon LOVES:)

Yummy Cottage Cheese Rolls:
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1 tablespoon butter (melted in the microwave)
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon soda
1 egg (beaten)
1 pkg yeast
1 cup flour

1. put yeast in 1/4 cup of warm water
2. mix remaining ingredients in bowl with yeast
3. let rise 30 minutes
4. grease mini muffin pan well (butter flavored crisco shortening)
5. bake until light brown
15-20 minutes

the last line of the recipe reads: *best is eaten freshly made* no problem with that here:)

Tiddlywinks and new Pinks

I'm so excited to give Devon her new Easter bunny from Tiddlywinks ! After all, she's not just a lone bunny, she's got a whole playset with four of the most precious lacy skirts, an equally adorable felt pea coat, and her own bitty chenille pillow with blankie (all wrapped up in a little boucle tote bag) This is my second adoption from Tiddlywinks (we already gave Sunny a home) She arrived very quickly and is even prettier in person (very impressed with the craftsmanship of these dolls) Originally, it was her outfit that sold me, but now I can't stop looking at her face! There's something about lining everything up together (eyes, nose, cheeks, and mouth) that's just undeniably cute !

Shop Update: It's been really rainy and grey lately, just horrible for picture taking! I haven't quite captured the shot's I wanted for our new Spotted Skinnys. They're so bright and happy, they need to be shot outdoors for sure. I've also got a new pink and blue rose (vintage print and OOAK) skirt that needs to be shot as well. Hopefully tomorrow will be a sunny day:)

Trade and Giveaway

I'm always excited to make a good trade on Etsy. This time it was with Beth from Lemon Cadet. I'm so in love with how Devon looks running around in this little romper with an orange, curly tail bum...priceless! It also makes me a little nostalgic as the "bird bean" character sort'a reminds me of Barbapapa (only much prettier in it's lovely bird print) I had already bought Beth's Yeti Tee for Devon a while back (which Devon LOVES and always has to do her "Yeti impression" whenever she wears it) Check it out here. You should also visit Lemon Cadet's blog Project: project and (just so you know) Beth is not only talented, but super sweet as well....thanks for the perfect trade, Beth!

Another great children's Etsy boutique, Hart + Sew is having an awesome giveaway! You can have a chance to win any dress from her entire boutique which is stocked full of beautiful, handpicked vintage (and adorable handmade items as well) Win your daughter a gorgeous dress, just in time for Easter!

so cute..

and comfy!