OMG! My Baby swallowed a pin!!!

OK, so it wasn't my baby, but it did happen.

My best friend's nephew swallowed a straight pin a few years back. And, believe it or not, after all the worrying, praying, and trips to the hospital, the thing passed without complication. How amazing is that??? I mean really, think about it. Have you ever seen a photo of an infant's intestines? Not exactly an easy path for a sharp object to make it's way though!

I'd say it's a miracle it made it through with no problems! So why am I writing about this? Because it's actually very common thing, and I recently had a scare myself. All of a sudden it was a little too quiet in the house. You know that feeling, when you realize something bad must be going on somewhere because it's way too peaceful. Well, I walked into my sewing room, and there was my 10 month old, sitting on the floor, holding my pin cushion and looking really guilty. I swept her mouth and sure enough, out came one of my glass head pins. SCARY!!!

I think maybe part of the problem is that every pincushion I own looks like a yummy piece of food. I need to go buy this lovely zombie eye pincushion from Morbidnotions  so that the pins don't seem quite so appealing.

And don't think kids are the only ones in danger. Pets frequently eat the darn things too. I even almost swallowed a pin myself. I was sewing away, loading up my mouth with pins because my pincushion was out of reach and suddenly I had to cough, but it was one of those ones that's proceeded by a gasp in...and in went the pin. It came up fine, but it sure scared me because it really was a close call. I recently bought a magnetic pin dish which I'm loving, although I'm not sure this will solve any problems. I've also thought about buying one of those magnetic wands to pick up those pesky pins and needles you hear hit the floor but you can't seem to track down, but I'm just not sure it would really be worthwhile.

Check out this photo of a grown man who swallowed a pair of scissors by accident. Apparently he was trying to clean his teeth with them when a friend told him a joke, causing him to laugh and inhale the scissors!

Or take a gander at this beauty! This kid loved him some safety pins!!! And apparently he only liked the open variety. GEEEZ!!!

Well, now that I've scared you to death, go lock your sewing room doors and hold your babies tight! And send your best sewing room nightmares to  robin@createkidscouture.com for a chance to be featured in an upcoming blog. I'd love to hear from you!

I gotta go!!! It's suddenly a little too quiet around here...

Time for Tea

What little girl doesn't love a tea party? Check out these gorgeous photos by Puddle Jumpers Photography from a recent shoot featuring some of our dresses and accessories by some of our favorite vendors. Get ready to be amazed!!!

I'm not sure, but this looks like little girl heaven right here!

This gorgeous set was designed by A Festive Touch. What a beautiful job!

Do you see that cute little banner on the front of the table by Inspired By Emily Grace?

How to Print your PDF Patterns!

Hi everyone! It's me, Tiffany, and I'm *gasp* actually writing a blog post! :)

We are often asked about printing and how to get your pattern pieces to print properly! I thought I would make this blog to show some photos and further explain how to ensure they print properly!

First of all, the pattern pieces should be printed on standard 8.5” x 11” paper. Before printing, check to make sure you have the proper settings. The "Auto Rotate and Center" box must be ticked, and page-scaling must be set to "None” or “100%.” This is VERY important. Above is a screen shot to show you exactly what this means. Your print screen might look slightly different, but the options should be the same. The red ovals above show the options that must be selected. 

   

After printing, find the 1” square on the printed pattern piece. Use a ruler or measuring tape to make sure the square is exactly 1”. If the square is even a little bit larger or smaller, it can throw off your sizing and the outfit will not fit properly! You will need to check your settings and try printing again, until your square measures exactly 1” as shown above. We recommend printing only from the latest version of Adobe Reader. (It’s free.) Other readers may appear to be correct but do not always print to scale. 

When you have finished printing your pieces and you know they measure correctly, you are ready to tape them together and cut your fabric!

Happy Sewing!! 

Tiffany and Shannon

Funny Friday

Since there's no Half off Friday pattern today due to our Christmas in July sale (ends today, so don't miss out on 30% off all patterns!!!!) I figured you all might want a little something to smile about.

So, today I'm posting some of my favorite photo outtakes, and you can get a laugh in at my expense. You know what I'm talking about, you've finally finished this beautiful dress and you cannot wait to post pics for all the world to see of your child wearing it...and she just wont cooperate!!! Well, there is one good thing, and that is that no matter how silly or sad your kid is being, the clothes always look awesome!!!

 Mom, I'm SO DONE sitting in this stupid little chair!!! Get me out!!!

(Grace's Twirly knot Dress)

I know you told dad to watch me while you ran in the house for fresh batteries for your camera, but he wasn't really paying attention, so I decided to climb in the garden, eat dirt, and ruin my outfit.

(Olivia's Ruffle Butt Pants)

Mom, I want to be in the picture too!!! Well, perhaps you should put some clothes on then!!!

(Ruby's Sun Top)

Well, now that I've shown you mine, you show me yours!!! Shannon and Tiffany have sent me all their doozies, and I'm still looking for more photo outtakes from fans for a future Funny Friday Outtake post. A good outtake picture, is not simply a bad picture, it is a crisp, clear picture that somehow went wrong. So, go on,  go through your photo files and send your best outtakes to Robin@createkidscouture.com for a chance to be featured in an upcoming blog!!!

Want to be our next Boutique of the Month???

Wow. You guys are just awesome. So many beautiful outfits. Such beautiful fabrics. Incredible photos. It makes it a tough job for us to choose our Boutique of the Month!!! Oh, the hours we spend trolling your sites trying to make a decision!!!

I need a makeover...and so does my sewing room!!!

I finally got sick of sharing my creative space, so I recently threw up some double doors and took over our formal dining room for my own personal sewing retreat (because who really needs a formal dining room anyways???). And while I can now say that I have my own space, it doesn't feel quite as homey as I'd like it to...yet. I did make good on last week's promise to cut down on my fabric stash...I made this little decorative fabric bunting, but I used up less than a fat quarter. Never mind the scotch tape I hung it up with. I figured it was a lot safer than a rolling chair/serger/adult female collision at midnight.

And only a giant 18 gallon tub of scraps remains now--It's a start anyways.

HOORAY!!!

We just reached 7000 fans so I think this calls for a celebration! 

How about a HUGE giveaway???

We'll be doing a Back 2 School/7000 Fan Celebration August 13-19. If you would like to donate a prize to the giveaway please email us at CreateKidsCouture@gmail.com 

Just like our last giveaway, we are expecting HUGE amounts of people to participate. I believe people gained 400+ fans on their pages in our last giveaway. I'm shooting for at least 500 this time! lol.  

This is also a great time to sign up for advertising on our blog for the month ;) In January, when we had our last giveaway, we had almost 20,000 page views that month--our average for the previous months was about 6,000 page views so we jumped up a lot! As of last month we're averaging 25,000 pageviews so we're hoping for BIG numbers during this giveaway. If you are interested in advertising on our blog one month is just $25 or 3 months for $65 (that's $10 off!). Our Boutique Directory may be full but there is still plenty of advertising space on our blog! If interested, please email us at CreateKidsCouture@gmail.com


Happy Sewing Giving!!!
Shannon and Tiffany

Share it to Win it!!!

We think most of our fans have the "Share it to Win it" contest rules down by now, so we're only going to repost the rules whenever a new pattern is released from this point forward, rather than writing a separate blog post each time.

I F.A.R.T.ed...Sheesh! It's not what you think!!!

Yep, I F.A.R.T.ed. and it felt so good. But before you go running in the other direction in disgust, you might want to wait until you know what this really means. In fact, I've bet you've done it yourself.

That's right: Fabric Acquisition Road Tripped.

CKC Week in Review

Wow, last week was quite a whirlwind wasn't it??? Three new pattern releases plus a free shirred tutorial and pattern came out all in just a matter of a few days!!! Well, in case you missed it, here's our week in review.

Shannon released her long awaited and much sought after Willow's Wrap Jacket. This jacket is incredibly stylish and despite how cute it looks, it really isn't that hard to make. So versatile, depending on the fabric you use, it can be light weight, mid weight, or even a raincoat!

Help!!! I'm stuck under an avalanche of fabric scraps!!!

If you've been sewing Create Kids Couture patterns for a while, you've probably begun to accumulate a whole bunch of fabric scraps. If you're as obsessed with fabric as I am, you probably also have a hard time parting with them. They are so small. And so cute. And so soft. And full of so much potential...how could you possibly throw them away???

Here's a photo of my fabric scrap collection. Isn't it pretty?

July Boutique of the Month-- Josi Q Creations

We are excited to announce that our Boutique of the Month for July is Josi Q Creations!!! If you haven't already, go like her Facebook Page to see more of her beautiful work!!! We loved reading her story and hope you will too!!!


 

Scarlet's Shirred Skirt with Lace Embellishment

Tiffany and I are so excited to be a part of Project Run & Play's: Skirting the Issue series this month! Be sure to follow the button below to be taken to their website with over 40 free skirt tutorials coming in this month! You will definitely want to bookmark that page ;)

So what is the issue they are skirting, you may be asking yourself?  Here is what they say as borrowed from their blog:

"Skirting the Issue is an event that has been planned for the month of July to make and donate handmade skirts to girls in Foster Care.  We have teamed up with our local Foster Care Agency, Utah Foster Care Foundation,  in our local efforts, but we have been assured that there are plenty of local Foster Care Agencies across the nation (and world ) and that there is plenty of need for skirts!
As part of the event we have asked over 40 celebrity sewing bloggers to participate and share simple handmade skirt tutorials that we can all use to make and donate skirts to our local agencies (or mail to us if you would like to!)
We have set a goal for 100 skirts to be donated by the first week in August---and we REALLY need your help to make our goal!"

Be sure to check out this link to read more about it and see how you can help. I know Tiffany and I will be sending over our skirts!

How-To Gather Ruffles Without Swearing

If you've ever sewn a Create Kids Couture pattern, you've most likely had to gather lots of ruffles! Ruffles!!! They are one of the features that make our designs really stand out, but they sure can be a headache sometimes, can't they? I remember one of the first CKC patterns I ever sewed-- Addison's Triple Ruffle Dress--ruffles galore! After reading Shannon and Tiffany's sage advice "Some seamstresses prefer to have two rows of stitching in case a thread breaks, however, if you are using high-quality thread as we do, then one row of stitching should be sufficient." I decided that since I used high quality thread, I would do one row of stitching. As I got a layer almost completely gathered, the unthinkable happened!!! My thread broke!!! I spewed a few obscenities and started over. Phew, I made it through that layer, and on to the next only to have the same thing happen AGAIN!!! I remember thinking at that moment, "Wow, Shannon and Tiffany must be friends with that chick who can spin straw into gold thread, because my "high quality thread" obviously isn't quite as high quality as theirs is!"  If you've ever been in my shoes, you know just how this feels...it STINKS!!! That moment, I decided that I would find a better way!

So here's my secret...upholstery thread! I buy it from Joann's. In my local store it's on the top shelf with other specialty threads. It's a little more expensive but so totally worth it, plus you can usually use a 40 or 50% off coupon to get it! I just use that in my bobbin and I NEVER have a break! Plus, the thread is really smoothe, so you don't have to do a lot of tugging and wiggling, the fabric just slides right along no problem!!! I've also heard of people winding fine fishing line on their bobbins for a similar effect, but I've never tried this myself.

In case you haven't been there, you really need to visit the Create Kids Couture Sewing Forum. I was just browsing there and ran into an entire thread dedicated to gathering/ruffling tips. I ran into this awesome video link about gathering posted by kaliechloe who claims to be a newbie but apparently has really good instincts. Go watch it!

Or maybe you're like me and you actually invested in a ruffler foot, but can't figure the dang thing out!!! Carissa74 shared a link to a free ebook "The 'Ruffler'...Unruffled." I'll be snatching that up!!!

Well, now that you've got ruffles down, go check out some of my favorite patterns featuring ruffles and get sewing!!!

Rosanna's Corset Peasant Dress



Serena's Double Layer Stripwork Dress

Kiki's Extra Ruffled Top

Share it To Win it-- Isla's Knit Ruffle Shorts

Are we slammin' this week or what??? Another hot pattern release, so you know what time it is-- time to share it to win it!!! Isla's Knit Ruffle Shorts Pattern is now available and you could win your very own copy!

Here's what you need to do: On our Facebook page is a link to our newest pattern with a short description (make sure it's the one that is pinned to the top of the page. No other one will be counted). Copy the description, share the link, and paste the description as YOUR description (make sure you tag us!). Be sure to comment that you shared it. Due to Facebook settings, if your profile is set to private you would not show up as sharing it so you MUST comment to be entered. After 24 hours we will pick one winner who shared to receive a FREE pattern of their choice. We are notifying winners by commenting and tagging them in the post they shared.

So go on, get outta here, and get to sharing!

Hot! Hot! Hot!

Hi everyone! My name is Brenda and I own Pink Castle Fabrics. I'm interrupting Shannon and Tiffany's regular post today to talk to you all about fabric!

Each month I'm going to stop by and let you know what's coming up in the next few weeks and point out some things you should look for. The fabric industry is stepping up it's game and putting out more and more great lines and it's easy to get lost in everything that is coming out. I will do my best to highlight things I think are going to be big winners so you don't miss out!
To recap last month we talked about:
28 New Kona Solids - these are late from the manufacturer and will be in this week sometime.
Seaside by October Afternoon - this line is everything I hoped for and more. It's so beautiful in person!
Song Bird by Carina Gardner - Wow! Such pretty colors! I see lots of little girl clothes in this line!
Fox Hollow by Monaluna - still on its way, it should be here this month!
This month and next we see some heavy hitters arrive in the shop! It's a great time to start thinking about Holiday Gifts!
The Birds and the Bees by Tula Pink

This is the line I'm looking forward to the most this month. This will be in the shop tomorrow! I saw this line at Quilt Market and the colors are amazing! Very bright and sunny. And Tula's designs never disappoint me. She adds so much detail to every print. AND! there's purple!

Purple fans rejoice! This season we will see some excellent shades of your favorite color. It's been hard to find lately and it's coming back baby!
Cameo by Amy Butler

Amy Butler always brings beautiful, sophisticated designs to the party. This line is no exception. Her booth at market was so bright and colorful. Every print looks amazing in this new line.

Excellent for clothing!
Hope Chest by Josephine Kimberling

Josephine's first line of fabric just came out for Blend Fabrics. If you've never used any of the Blend fabrics before, you should check them out. The fabric these are printed on is so silky smooth, almost like a lawn! And they have some seriously cute new lines coming out. Blend is a division of Anna Griffin's fabric company!

This line has a great modern vintage feel and excellent color choices!
Next month we are going to see some awesome new lines coming in from Kokka Japan! You won't want to miss out on those new lines! Make sure you sign up for our newsletter to get up to date emails from me about new fabric and sales! Thanks for letting me pop in and take over Shannon and Tiffany! Until next month!

Share it to Win it!

Yea!!! Another chance for our fans to win a free pattern!!! Look what was just released--Rosanna's Corset Peasant Dress!

So, you want a chance to win this beauty??? Here's what you need to do: On our page is a link to our newest pattern with a short description (make sure it's the one that is pinned to the top of the page. No other one will be counted). Copy the description, share the link, and paste the description as YOUR description (make sure you tag us!). Be sure to comment that you shared it. Due to Facebook settings, if your profile is set to private you would not show up as sharing it so you MUST comment to be entered. After 24 hours we will pick one winner who shared to receive a FREE pattern of their choice. So go on, get outta here, and get to sharing!

Happy Sharing!

Knock, Knock...

Hey Ya’ll! I’m Robin, the new social media coordinator for Create Kids Couture. I’m so excited to be joining this team of incredible ladies, and I thought I’d take a minute to tell you a little about me and how I got here…

Me and my baby girl

I am a stay at home mom of 3-- two boys and a girl. I’ve been married for 13 years to my high school sweetheart and we live in beautiful Wilmington, NC with our wire haired Dauschund and 4 chickens. My mother was a seamstress in a lingerie factory, and sewed all my clothes back in the day when it was actually cheaper to sew them than to buy them in the store. She never taught me a darn thing about it though, so I’m a completely self taught seamstress. (Minus that oh so enlightening lesson on making drawstring shorts in 8^th grade Home Ecomics)


At the risk of sounding like a creeper, I never told Tiffany or Shannon this, but since I know most of you guys are a little fanatical about them too, I’ll let you in on a little secret. I discovered their Etsy shops pretty much when they came onto the scene and developed a bit of a “professional crush” on them. I didn’t know them, and I didn’t even know they knew each other, but their creations really stood out to me. I didn’t even make children’s clothing back then, but I was dreaming of having a little girl someday who would wear all those pretty dresses they were making.

Of course, I was pretty ticked off when I finally had my baby girl and found out neither of them were producing clothing for their shops anymore! But, next thing I knew, I ran into Create Kids Couture on Facebook and after trying a few patterns I was hooked. Like so many of their fans, I started stalking their page for new pattern releases and testing opportunities. I think I might have peed my pants the first time they picked ME!! to test a pattern. All of us fans have been thrilled to see their venture explode in the last year, and I think I just happened to be at the right place at the right time.



Serena's Stripwork Double Layer Dress

So, now that I’m here…I might need a little help fitting in. I keep hearing that song from Sesame Street in my head, “One of these kids is not like the others,” but I’m going to do everything I can to create a seamless transition and make them believe I’ve been here all along. For example, I’ve been practicing using exclamation points!!!! A lot!!!! As a former English teacher, there’s something about this that doesn’t quite feel right, but I’m sure you’ve noticed by now…it’s their favorite form of punctuation!!!! Also, I’ve been making my baby girl model all my CKC creations whether she likes it or not; even when it was over 100 degrees out I had her wearing the newly released Willow Wrap Jacket for testing photos. I’ve also taken to eating fried bologna sandwiches because Tiffany called me a baby for never wanting to try one…never thought I’d stoop that low to impress someone, but she IS super cool. Admit it, even you would eat fried bologna to be a part of this team!

Of course, I might need a little grace while I get used to my duties, and I might need a little help from time to time from our fans. Thanks for welcoming me to the team! I always welcome your ideas, comments, and questions at Robin@CreateKidsCouture.com

Share it to Win it!

We are so excited about the release of our new pattern- Willow's Wrap Jacket!!! This jacket is so versatile and cute! It can be made from quilters cotton for a lightweight fall or spring jacket, corduroy,  fleece, or demin for a little warmer feel, or you could even use laminated cotton and make it a raincoat!

Every seamstress needs to own this beautiful pattern, and right now you can have a chance to win it!!!  On our page is a link to our newest pattern with a short description (make sure it's the one that is pinned to the top of the page. No other one will be counted). Copy the description, share the link, and paste the description as YOUR description (make sure you tag us!). Be sure to comment that you shared it. Due to Facebook settings, if your profile is set to private you would not show up as sharing it so you MUST comment to be entered. After 24 hours we will pick one winner who shared to receive a FREE pattern of their choice. So go on, get outta here, and get to sharing!

Help Is On the Way....

So, if you're a fan of our facebook page then you probably know that we recently hired our first helper. We're pretty darn excited about it too. As much as we LOVE doing our job, it started getting really hard to keep up with the workload with just the two of us! We now have a Social Media Coordinator and her name is Robin. She is going to be helping us blog, tweet, pin, keep up with Facebook, and some other behind the scenes stuff.

Just wanted to give you all a heads up since you will probably be seeing lots of stuff from her in the future! Please give her a warm welcome as she is just as excited as we are!

Maybe we can get caught up with our "Coming Soon" pattern album now!

Happy Sewing!
Shannon and Tiffany

Oh Ashley...

So, I was just reading Ashley's, from Lil Blue Boo, newest post and I about died laughing! She always cracks me up.  She reminds me of a much funnier version of me. If you haven't read her blog, go. NOW!  I swear, if there was one person I could make be my friend it would be her.

Welllllllll....Martha Stewart would of course be a close second. Or maybe Martha would be first. I love Martha Stewart. Always have and always will. She might be the better choice in my highly *hypothetical* situation. Mostly because it's Martha Stewart and in our line of business she would be a good friend to have on our side! lol. But if I were basing this solely on who would be the better friend, it would totally be Ashley!  Sorry, Martha!

But I digress. ::sigh:: Especially since after reading this, I'm pretty sure NEITHER of them would friend me with a ten foot pole! lol.

So it got me wondering who you guys wish you could befriend? We're talking anyone here. It doesn't have to be someone in this business either. So let's hear it! 

Make it a good one!
Shannon

Share It to Win It!

Well, its that time again! We just released another new pattern so we're gonna try Share It to Win It again! Today we released our new super secret pattern that we've been keeping under wraps as a special surprise for everyone. Cora's Tiered Top, Sun Dress, and Maxi Dress pattern is 3 patterns in one!