Valentine's Day Darling

After two weeks of sewing as often as I can, I have plenty to show for it, but most of it has already "left the warehouse". (I WISH I had a warehouse, but you know what I mean.)

What I have to show are some great pictures and 3 totally darling Valentine's Day dresses that are ACTUALLY for sale *GASP!* on Etsy. (See link on the right side.)

I also made 12 swimsuits this week, some of which are spoken for, some of which my daughter begged me to let her have, and some of which are already sold and shipped. Do I have any left? Umm... I might have one or two... maybe. I'll find out and post any extras.

Despite sewing and giving my daughter plenty of Barbie clothes, they still seem to end up naked from time to time. But according to her, the more important thing is whether or not they can all escape from the Daddy Monster in the same get-away vehicle. I'm thinking she should have gone with some sort of bus...

As for me, I have finally decided to take an outfit for myself. When I made this little blue dress, it seemed a little blah. but it reminded me of a 50's housewife, so I decided to take that idea and run with it, and when I was done, I was in love. This little outfit represents so much of how I view myself, and what skills and blessings I have that in which I take so much pride. Domesticity, modesty, style,  .....cuteness. You know what I mean. Needless to say, I can't give her up. She will not be going up for sale. She is going to stay with me. And that's okay. I think I deserve it.

Changes

Changes For Modest Barbie Style

This last Christmas has been a whirlwind of wonderful success for Modest Barbie Style. Therefore, the New Year calls for some updates and changes.

The most important change is that, for the next six months, I will not be able to take custom orders. This devastates me because I love the work I do, and the creation process. But I am in the last months of my pregnancy, trying to avoid bed rest, and I need the flexibility to sew and create when I have time and feel well enough.

I have every intention of sewing every day and posting on Etsy as often as I can. I have streamlined my patterns and sets. Some of the things you can look forward to seeing on Etsy are:

4 Seasons Set—An outfit for each season of the year.

“Sunday Best” Set—Two extra-modest dresses.

Swimsuit Set—Two swimsuits.

Princess Set—Two princess dresses.

Value Set—3 basic outfits

I know there are endless possibilities for sets and outfits for Barbie, and it is likely I will expand my options and sets, if I can. But, to get me through this crazy time of my life, I have chosen to stick with only these ideas, using 8 of my own patterns, and doing my very best to be realistic with myself and my wonderful customers. Thanks for your loyalty. I hope to see you on Etsy soon!

Look, Mom!

 My baby girl LOVES Barbies. She especially loves to show them to me.

"Ma!" she calls, "Ma, look a me!"

"Ma! Look a belly-belly!"

That's my girl!

As for business, my latest packet was completed today and you can see it below. I am especially proud of the neckline on the blue dress and the little bows on the yellow pajamas.

Recently, I have received some of the most heart-felt comments about from my customers, and I am especially grateful to those of you who have gone the extra mile to give me your feedback on my work. One customer especially, left some comments I would love to share. Jana said:

 "I recently purchased a trio from you and I absolutely love it, they are masterpieces, there is not one flaw in them!  My girls are going to love getting them for Christmas. Thank you for caring about our children and helping them learn the values that they need as they grow up. Your products look and feel very tough and durable, I am sure they will be played with a lot."

Thanks to Jana, and SO MANY others, I have gotten just what I want for Christmas. You all really are the best! Because of that, I am still broken-hearted at not being able to take any more orders for Christmas.  This week we begin 3 consecutive week-ends of moving to Vegas, then Christmas, then my sister's wedding over New Year's. After that, I may be able to shell out a few months of stuff before baby girl #3 makes her appearance in March. After that, I just don't know.

Best of everything to all of you as you prepare for the Holidays. Merry Christmas!

The Best Fans

I have the best fans ever! I wish I had 20 hands and 20 sewing machines so that I could meet every hopeful customer with exactly what they want! I have been amazed, humbled and just plain tickled "Barbie" pink over the encouragement and complements I have received from all of you.

To my extreme sorrow, I will not be able to take any more orders or requests before Christmas. I have filled my schedule as full as I dare, and I can't take the risk of taking on more orders than I can reasonably have ready by Christmas. For those of you who are still waiting for your order to be filled, rest assured that I am on schedule, and my last order will be sent and completed by December 17th at the very latest.

After December 17th, my efforts and attentions will be with my family, preparing for Christmas, moving to Las Vegas, and continuing to survive my pregnancy.

After the holidays, I will need to re-evaluate how much time I can spend on my favorite hobby before I take on too many orders. The baby comes in March, so we will just have to see how it goes. I am hoping I can continue to fill my days with the wonderful and satisfying task of designing and creating modest Barbie clothes. There is no greater hobby!!

Sold Already

Thanks to my loyal and benevolent fanbase, my most recent trio has been sold before I can even get it listed on Etsy. (Thanks, Ida!) Sorry to all of you who have been waiting for me to post this week. I suppose if you want to get in line, you can e-mail me. The only catch is that, on the trio, you can't choose colors or styles. They consist of whatever I can get to that week.

As for my most recently completed custom order, please scroll down if you want to see that. I know that half of you come here just to follow my creative journey and support me, and the other half come looking for something to buy. You are ALL so amazing! I still can't believe the support and encouragement you all offer me on so many levels! Thank you and thank you again! I would sew till my fingers were raw just to see all the smiling faces of all those darling little girls with their modest Barbies. If only.... If only there were more hours in the day.

All my love,
Amy

Custom order

This is an order for a long-standing customer of mine, posted here so she can see it all better. I hope the rest of you enjoy it, too.

Catch Up

I wanted to get so much more done this week.

But it wasn't meant to be. One occupational hazard of working from home, and being a mother, is that your schedule is never what you plan it to be. Hence, I am a bit behind on my custom orders, and making strides to catch up. Despite that, here are a few of the things I got done.

To the right, you can see my darling "wedding" formal that I made for my neice's birthday. The little jacket is actually for another client, but they look SO cute together! It reminds me of an Austen novel, and I have other patterns already planned to play around with that idea.

Here is the set I made for Etsy this week. I especially like the blue dress. It reminds me of a 1960's dress--something you could see Samantha from "Bewitched" wearing. I also am very happy with the colors in this set. They are the 3 most requested Barbie clothing colors: pink, red, and light blue. Love it!! I also love that I didn't have to cut out any of the fabric! Woot for Emily, my fabric cutter!



As for this coming week, I will have to work VERY hard not to fall behind again since the kids are out of school tomorrow AND Monday, and... Monday is my birthday and I am SO going to party! (party, that is, in a very pregnant, Mormon, housewife kind of way, which, believe me, is full of plenty of fun!)



I have plans to get out another set like the one above, as well as a set of swimsuits (keep an eye on Etsy!), and also get really close to completing the custom order I have been working on. Phew! See ya soon!