Working Hard

I have so much in the works right now! As you can see to your right, there are new things listed on Etsy. Also, I am working hard on some custom orders, AND indulging myself with a few items I have been wanting to make. I am even working on a life-size skirt for my 7-year old! Oh! How I love to sew! If only housework was this fun...

Do you have anything in your life that is so fun to do that you dream about it and count the hours until you can do it? If you don't have anything, but you would like to, what would it be? Think big... Anything at all... what would you LOVE to do?

Rockin' and Rollin'

WOW!

I am giddy with excitement over the support and encouragement I have gotten from all of you!! Thanks to all my followers, customers, fellow bloggers, and all those of you who were lucky enough to stumble upon my blog! I now come up on the first page when you google "modest barbie clothes". I can't believe it!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Today was my first "on-site" party. My sweet sister, Laura, is the creator of some of the most beautiful one-of-a-kind earrings, and my mom decided that she would host a party for the two of us to showcase our creations. She invited pretty much everyone that we have ever known, and it was a blast! Imagine lots of ladies, lots of food, and lots of fun creations.

YUMMY!!























Here's Mom, hostess of the year.












Me on the left, Laura on the right.







Thanks, Laura, for the Barbie jewelry!

The panties were a hit!














Laura's creations really are amazing. What is more amazing is her singing voice! Her youtube channel has been in the top 100 of the world for nearly a year now. One of her videos just hit one million views! The awesome thing is that each of her earrings is named with a song title or lyric. SO COOL!!

Check her out here:

www.youtube.com/user/disneydiva7

Or here:
http://www.disneydiva7.etsy.com/












My display table.













Avalon, my 7 year-old... Princess of the party, of course.

My youngest, Embry, finds a friend in Grandma.

Thanks to all of you who were able to attend. It was wonderful to see you all!

For those of you who missed the party, you still get a free panty if you place an order.

And don't forget to check out Laura's sites!

Surplus Sale

I have decided to run my first surplus sale.

This means that you can choose any three outfits you see in this post for a total of $15.

If you want 4 outfits, your total is only $18,

and if you want 5, you pay only $21.

That is a savings of up to $9!

Leave a comment if you are interested, or email me at modestbarbie@gmail.com to place an order.

These deals are not currently available on my Etsy site, but if you want to use paypal, let me know what you want, and I can list them on Etsy just for you.

Not into Barbies? Do you know someone who is? Please forward my link, or at least let me know you stopped by. It's always nice to know you've been here.

Thanks!!

UPDATE: Many of these items are in the process of being sold. Please contact me to see which ones remain.

Perfecting the Panty

In sewing, there is no such thing as "getting it right the first time" although I sure wish there was. Today my goal was to perfect the panty. So, I sat down with a strip of white swimsut fabric, and got to work. I chose lycra, #1, because it doesn't fray, and #2, it has a strong rebound (obviously), and puts up with a lot of stretching and pulling. Therefore, I know I could achieve a really good fit and still be able to pull them on those sticky plastic legs without wanting to swear.


This first picture is what I consider to be the best of today's attempts, though it still has a way to go.

The first pair I made was sewn with a straight seam. It looked darling, but once I pulled it on, all of the stitching snapped apart, which I should have forseen, seeing as the tight stitches had anchored the fabric, eliminating the stretch component.


So, I went to my sewing machine guide, hoping for an answer. To my relief, I found a stitich called the "lycra" stitch (duh). You can see a rough example to the left. Because it is not a straight line, it allows the fabric to stretch and, a REALLY GREAT side-effect happens to be a cute little ruffle effect!



YAY!!







So, after that wonderful discovery, I decided it was time to perfect my pattern. The current pattern I had created had a slight flaw:





Undesirable BOOTY exposure.





So, after a few more tries, I finally perfected the panty!

As for all those cute but not quite perfect panties that I have laying around my house now...

You are welcome to a FREE pair with every outfit you order, now, until I run out, of course.

Then, the "GOOD" ones are only $1 a piece!!

So, how do you like 'em? Cute? Silly? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Ready to Sew

While I was planning my orders and cutting out fabric the other day, my daughter, Avalon sat on the other end of the table doing the same thing. When I finally surfaced from the abyss of my concentration for a moment, I discovered the quality of her creations. Remember: she will be 7 in 2 weeks. At 12 months old, she could hold a pencil correctly. By 15 months, she could make rows and rows of little circles in a straight line. When she was 2 years old, she decided that crayons do not give the precision of colored pencils, and crayola and roseart colored pencils did not have the intensity of color she could get out of Prismacolors, so she fell in love with Mom's Prismacolors.

They have since been dragged all over the world with her, the way stuffed animals or blankets are dragged by other children. They have been worn down to nubs, and repaced, one by one, at a dollar a pencil. She has also begun to experement with watercolor, acrylic, poster paints, and oil pastels. she has been begging for art lessons, which she will begin this summer, and sewing lessons, which she began the day before yesterday.

I thought she might be ready. You think so?

This ain't no stick figure!
















Look at the detail in this little face!



So, we began our first sewing lesson. She decided to make a Barbie pillow and blanket, which is a perfect starter project. She cut it out, and sat down to sew. despite the knowledge I already had of her creative skills, I was amazed at the confidence and fluidity of movement with which she attacked her project.

There is no mistaking that she had these skills before she ever came to this earth to be my daughter. What a stewardship I have been given! To nurture without manipulation, inspire without control, encourage without obligation.

I am humbled and proud. My little girl. No--my big girl, growing up. Good job, my sweetheart. I love you!

.

Denim Day

Yesterday, at the Modest Barbie "factory", we had a "Denim Day". I currently have two big orders, totaling 15 outfits, with a self-imposed deadline of March 31. Yesterday, I did all the denim componenets. So, for the two ladies who will receive these items, what do you think? For the rest of you... Doesn't this look fun? Well, it is! Sewwing is a productive and useful skill. And yet, I still feel like I am just playing a really fun game when I should be "working". Hahaha!

I LOVE loving what I do!

Recent Creations

I have decided that multi-item sets are the very best way to run this Barbie clothing business. It is not only a good value for the buyer, but also for the maker, me! The buyer gets enough product to justify shipping, and enough outfits to establish a modest wardrobe for their Barbies. I get the satisfaction of sewing more pieces, and creating matching and/or co-ordinating outfits. WOOT!

Here is my most recent set. It is called

The Spring Starter Pack

It includes the basics of a Barbie's Spring wardrobe.

Including: 1 Jeans, 1 shorts, 2 shirts, 2 dresses, 1 nightgown, and 1 jacket.

This set is part of a larger group of sets that sell for $28.00 each.

Including the Spring, Summer, Winter and Fall sets. All sets include the same number of items as the set you see above, but they may be custom-ordered to meet the needs of the individual buyer, and can be shipped for only $3!

Smaller sets are also available. Including:

"3 Dresses" set for $17

and

"Mix & Match" 2 outfit set for $12

Want 15% off, AND free shipping?

Got a blog?

If you write a blog post about this site, and provide a live link,

your next order will be discounted!

This set is SOLD

Contact modestbarbie (at) gmail (dot) com

to place an order.