Amanda Dress

This is another dress in my Lazy Sunday collection.  It has taken me quite a while to finish it because I was unsure of how I wanted it to look.  I think I'm finally happy with it after changing the neckline a couple times.  I'm naming it after my friend Amanda who I worked with in Salt Lake City.  She's coming this week to visit me in Chicago and I can't wait.  She's a fun spirited girl with a great attitude and kept me going somedays!  Love you Amanda!

Daddy and Baby

Sorry I haven't posted any dresses lately.  A lot has happened in the last few months.  In September Steve and I moved to Paris, France for his semester abroad.  We were just settling in and having a lot of fun when we got word that my sweet dad had died peacefully in his sleep.  This tragedy has broken my heart.  I was very close to my dad, we had a lot in common and did a lot together all growing up.  Now it's hard for me to go on without him because he was such a huge part of my life.  I sure didn't realize that until he was gone.  I took him for granted, and I hope he knows how much I love and appreciated him.  He encouraged me through so much of life.  He was such a great dad, a wonderful husband, and an overall good person.  It helped to see that in the number of people who came to his viewing and funeral.  He will be missed for a long time.  I can't wait until the day I get to see my wonderful daddy again.  

On a happier note, we have a little baby girl on the way.  She is due to arrive April 7th, and I can't wait to meet her and see her sweet little face.  Even though it breaks my heart that I won't be able to watch my dad hold her and play with her as she grows up, I know she's spending a lot of time with him right now.  I wish with my whole heart that I'd be able to ask her about him when she arrives, but I'll settle for being able to hug her, hold her, kiss her little face, and love her for the rest of my life just as my dad did with me.

So because of this little girl that will be here in 5 short weeks, I'm just going to warn everyone now that there might be a few more little girl dresses posted than adult dresses...Or maybe for every women's dress I make, I might just have to make a baby dress out of the scraps.  I'll just call her my mini me when we wear the dresses together.  I can't wait.  Actually, it's already started.  I had some extra pink fabric left over from my Sarah dress, so I whipped up this little number.

  

I'm officially a designer

Back when I was in school, I looked into a program with Shabby Apple called their "Emerging Designer Program" where you can submit some designs and if approved, they mentor you through the production and manufacturing process of your designs then they assist you by selling the dress on their website.  So, I submitted a sample of my "Criscell Dress" and they wanted to do it.  I of course paid for all the fabric, and the manufacturing costs, but now it's finally done and up on the website.  I can officially call myself a designer now!  Check out more photos here.

Erica Rose

Sorry for the delay in posts lately.  Moving from DC to Paris has been hectic, but we're loving it so far. I finished this dress while still in DC, and it's another one in my Lazy Sunday Collection.  I'm naming it after my friend whom I worked with in DC.  She and I were put on a scanning project than nearly made us go insane had it not been for each other.  I'd give her daily updates on the dress, and when I lost enthusiasm for it, she'd always say "ok, I expect the dress to be done tomorrow."  Thanks Erica.

P.S. Kevin wanted to be in the picture too.

The Tara Dress

This dress isn't part of my Lazy Sunday collection (still working on that) but I needed to test a pattern I made recently so I sewed up this dress really quick and had my cute girlfriend Tara Collette try it on since she's got the perfect shape for it!  Anyway, it actually turned out to be a pretty cute dress even though it was just supposed to be a test sample, so I put a couple cute bows on the shoulders and decided to put it up on the blog.  Thanks Tara for modeling and helping me get the fit right!  You are too cute, too bad I couldn't have gotten a picture of you in the dress!

The Sarah Dress

This is the first dress in my Lazy Sunday collection.  I'm sorry that two very wonderful ladies have to share this dress, but it's not my fault that two of the most wonderful women in my life were both named Sarah. : )  The first Sarah I met while living in California.  She was such a cute lady, was a wonderful mother to her three beautiful children, and was such a great friend to me through thick and thin.  She was a great example to me.  I'm sad I don't live close to her anymore, so  I don't talk to her often.  The second Sarah I met while visiting Chicago as a possible location for grad school for Steve. She is also a wonderful example to me because she not only lovingly raises two young darling boys, but she is always so positive about life.  She enjoys every moment, and thanks our Father in Heaven for everything little blessing in her life, even the ones that don't appear to be blessings right away.  I love you my wonderful Sarahs!

Another Lazy Sunday

My favorite thing about Sundays are getting dressed up, going to church, then enjoying the rest of the day without school or work to intrude on a perfect day.  This summer collection was inspired by the song "Life is What You Make It" by Mishelle Bradford-Jones.  It makes me think of a warm Sunday afternoon, you come home from church and sit on your front porch overlooking a beautiful flower garden, drink ice cold lemonade while cuddling with the love of your life, giggling with your children, or hearing funny family stories with mom, dad and grandparents.