Petite Poire Boutique

New Blog!

2010-09-10T17:15:00.001-07:00

Well, I'm a big dope. I created the other blog but forgot to link this one to it...oops!

http://blog.petitepoire.net/

Crossroads

2010-06-26T14:48:00.000-07:00

So here I am...wondering what to do next. Somehow I knew I would get here. I knew the very first minute that I decided to make dolls for my girls that I was starting something that I would love and it has changed me and my dreams forever. I used to dream about making clothes for little girls and running into them on the street in one of my creations. I used to lie awake at night thinking about color combinations and picturing how they would look on my daughters. Now I dream about...yarn. Every time I get a new clothing I groan because that's time that I won't get to make a doll.

What does this mean? Does this mean I'm done with designing clothes for any other girls but my own? Honestly, I have no idea. I still have my Etsy and Petite Poire website up but I haven't been refreshing my listings because I'm trying to keep the orders down. I guess time will tell me where I want to go and what I want to do. In the meantime, I just sew...and spin yarn!

I have no idea what most Waldorf Doll makers do - I don't know if most of them make their own clothes or spin/dye their own yarn. I enjoy doing both, but there's something about hand spinning yarn that is downright addictive and soothing to the soul. Something that is not just medieval but prehistoric - I grin at the fact that I could go back in time 10,000 years ago and have something in common with those people. We could sit down together with our spindles and grunt at one another or something. I've been asked if I am going to buy my own spinning wheel and I try my hardest not to snort when I say no way. Yes, it would be faster. But so would buying your own pre-dyed/pre-spun wool from the store! That being said, I do buy some of my yarns pre-spun, mostly on Etsy, but also from a local Colorado yarn store called The Recycled Lamb. I enjoy spinning yarn, but my ultimate goal is to make a doll so I don't spend all of my time spinning. But I will say that there is a special place in my heart for each of the dolls that have hair that I have hand spun for them!

I do know that as of this time in my life I am enjoying making dolls. I'm not done yet. I don't know where I'm going, but I do know where I am right now and I'm happy doing it!

Waldorf Dolls!!

2010-06-13T19:52:00.000-07:00

They are ready to be adopted! I've worked long and hard to get these girls ready for their new homes. It's taken me three weeks of long nights to get to this point!

I know most Waldorf Dolls are extremely difficult to buy. But I'm new to this and pretty much unknown, so I don't expect there to be a problem getting these. All the same, I'd like to keep the confusion to a minimum so that people cannot buy the same doll. For now, since I don't think they will be flying off my cyber shelves, I'm going to list them on my website and see how it goes. Click on the "Waldorf Dolls" link (will be available Monday, June 14th at 12:00 pm MST). If they don't sell there then I will also list them on Etsy within a few days. Whether or not they sell, though, I will continue to make more of them because they are so much fun! So keep checking back and maybe you'll eventually see one you love and want to take home with you!

Please allow me to give a brief description of my dolls, and how they differ from traditional Waldorf dolls. I mentioned in a previous post that my dolls are not traditional Waldorf dolls - so if you're a purist you might not be as interested! I come from the Cabbage Patch Kid era; the days when they very first came out and you couldn't even buy them in the store! I remember my mom was trying to get on a layaway list for a couple for me and my sister and still had a difficult time scoring them. My dolls have knee and elbow dimples, feet, buttcheeks and a belly button. Their eyes are also a little bit bigger than your "average" Waldorf doll since I feel it gives them more of an innocence that I feel reflects childhood. They are more like Waldorf Patch Dolls :P I feel that I've taken the best parts of both styles of dolls and mushed them together to form (in my humble opinion) the perfect doll!

The dolls are completely hand made from natural materials; their bodies are stuffed with wool, which will warm as they are snuggled with! Their hair, which can be styled in many ways, is a mix of wool, alpaca, or cotton yarns and fibers. Each doll comes with at least one outfit, which includes shoes, hair accessories (if applicable) and underwear. As of right now, the larger dolls (16" not including their hair) have the option of being adopted either with one outfit for $135 or three outfits for $150. At this time I do not know if their clothes will fit other dolls such as Bamboletta, since I've never tried them on one. The 14" dolls are only available with one outfit and are $75.

So with all that out of the way, let me introduce you to my first batch of orphans! I really wanted to do an outdoor photoshoot with them but Mother Nature and I didn't see eye to eye this weekend and it was raining and snowing all weekend. Yes, I said snowing, that was not a typo. Gotta love life on top of the mountain!

You have already seen Hadley. She's a 14" doll and has orange and pink curly hair with green eyes. She is stuffed with wool and her hair is 100% alpaca mohair boucle and can be styled in many different ways.

The other 14" doll is Delilah. She has violet eyes and blonde hair with pastel rainbow streaks in it. She is stuffed with wool and her hair is a mix of alpaca mohair, alpaca mohair boucle, and handspun merino wool roving.

More outfits can be made for her - please message me if you're interested! She does fit into the 16" clothes pretty well, though.

Emberly is a 16" dark brown doll with green eyes and an adorable little inverted bob haircut. Obviously she isn't going to be sporting pigtails or a pony tail, but her hair is 100% alpaca mohair and is unbelievably soft and can still be played with...a little! Here is Em and the three outfits she comes in. Please note that the shoes on all of the dolls could possibly vary depending on availability (the pink rubber ones are Cabbage Patch Kid shoes and will not be included!).

This is Freya, a 16" doll. She's a little funky with her 100% merino wool dreadlocks and big blue eyes. She comes in the outfits seen here:

This little cutie is Cora, a 16" light brown skinned doll with gold eyes and a brown/black/caramel mix of curly alpaca boucle hair with streaks of coral colored handspun merino wool roving. Here she is in her 3 outfits:

This is Anjali (pronounced On-Ja-Lee) and it means "Gift" in Sanskrit. She is a dark brown skinned doll with blue eyes and ultra long and super soft alpaca/merino wool blended hair.

Last, but certainly not least, here is Keiko. Keiko means "Blessed One" in Japanese and this soft and unique doll is certain to be a blessing in her new home! She has brown almond shaped eyes and her super long hair is a blend of cotton yarn, black merino handspun roving and turquoise handspun merino wool. There is no end to what you can do with this hair!

This is it for this week...hopefully I'll have at least a couple more for next week. I'm working on fairy wings right now :) While I am not taking custom orders right now (I'm having way too much fun making the ideas in my head right now!) I am happy to take suggestions and maybe you'll see something you inspired up here soon!

Like I Needed ANOTHER Hobby...!

2010-05-28T09:42:00.000-07:00

I had seen Waldorf Dolls before, and I always thought they were cute, but I could never really understand the "mania" that surrounds them. One day I was looking at them and thought my girls would probably like to have one and that it would be a nice heirloom gift. I wanted something that would be their "baby" that they would love and take with them everywhere, then maybe some day they would put it on the shelf so they can show their little girl. The problem was that getting a handmade Waldorf Doll is pretty darn near impossible, even if you're willing to shell out the money for one! Just try going on Bamboletta's website and ordering a doll. It simply cannot be done. Other brands are equally as difficult to get, and there are some downright scary looking dolls on Etsy that are somehow selling.

That was when it dawned on me that I can just make them! And as soon as that thought came I was barraged with so many ideas that I couldn't even sleep that night. Outfits, hairdos, names...yes, Waldorf Doll mania hit me BIG TIME!

So I made my first doll. I wanted to name her Eve (for obvious reasons!) but my daughter flat out insisted that her name be Molly. I guess she does look more like a Molly anyway :P

My heart jumped a beat when she immediately picked Molly up and started playing with her. She proclaimed her as her very favorite - which is saying something! And hasn't let her go since.

Of course, when my younger daughter saw that her big sister had a dolly and she didn't the tears started. I knew I had better hurry up and finish my second or I was about to have a meltdown at my house! And so Maggie was born...

So I worked out a few kinks. Made a few more dolls. Tore them up and started over. And over. And over. Worked on my orders, but kept dreaming of dolls. That's when I decided to open the "Orphanage". I don't know how I'm going to work it, but for now I'm going to make a few dolls and some outfits for them, and then I'll probably list them on Facebook when I'm ready to sell them. If they don't sell on Facebook I'll list them on Etsy and see what happens!

Remember when we were kids and we all HAD to have a Cabbage Patch doll? I remember falling in love with mine - I loved their hair and the smell, but more than anything I loved their little buns and belly buttons! lol Waldorf dolls, generally speaking, do not have very many features. Their limbs purposely have little detail. I love Waldorf Dolls, but I can't rid myself of the magic of the Cabbage Patch dolls from my youth...so I took my favorite features of each and put them together in one doll! My dolls have little knee and elbow dimples, feet, and of course a belly button and little buttcheeks :-)

Hadley is my first orphan. She came to the orphanage after finding out that her parents got lost while climbing Mount Everest in search of the rare and endangered Himalayan Musk Deer. She has green eyes with bold curly red boucle mohair with streaks of blonde and hot pink. Quite the stunner!

So for those of you who ever wanted to know what goes into these dolls, I've taken pictures! Don't look if you are worried about it taking away the magic...

It starts with a ball of wool. To me, this is the most difficult part of the doll making process, since it has to be tightly rolled and your hands cramp like crazy. Kindly excuse my wreck of a sewing room - yes, it looks like I belong on Hoarding Buried Alive in there.

The making of the face

Getting skinned!

Sewing on the body - another not so easy part!

Believe it or not, this is me sewing on the legs!

Getting ready to sew on the hair

Giving her a 'do

All done!

Is it sad that this is my favorite part of the doll?

I have other dolls in the works...I won't be displaying them until they're all done, though! I need to work on my orders, but I think I'm going to have a busy (and fun!) Memorial Day weekend. I hope you all have the same!

May Showers

2010-05-18T10:24:00.000-07:00

Aren't April showers supposed to bring May flowers? (And what do May Flowers bring? Pilgrims. hahahaha) Okay, well around here April snow brings...May snow and no flowers to speak of. But today it's raining and hopefully they are wrong about snow tomorrow and Thursday!

I just realized that I hadn't blogged in a month. I know - I'm horrible! I can't even really blame it on the photos either, I've had some great photos sent to me! I've just been extremely busy, mostly trying to get ahead on orders before today. You see, today is D-Day - as in "Drop off my sewing machine Day" for it's semi annual cleaning and servicing. I'm going to be stuck with my older-than-Methuselah Singer machine for a whole week and it doesn't do button-holes. I'm always embarrassed when I get it back and they tell me "Wow, this thing is REALLY dusty! Just how much are you sewing, anyway?" If only they knew....

I whipped together a really cute outfit last week but then got ZERO good pictures out of it. In fact, the pictures are so bad that I'm not even going to list the thing until I get some halfway decent ones! But here it is, please don't judge too harshly - it really is adorable!

The loop tops/dresses have been flying off the cyber shelves! I have a few more in mind for the summer but I really need to start working on the fall stuff. I love how it finally stops snowing around here and I get to start thinking about what to wear in cold weather...it's a little depressing, really!

I've been working on my daughter's school wardrobe. It turns out that her school dress code will not allow her wear anything that reveals her shoulders...so no halters, knot dresses, or loop tops for her unless there's something underneath - yikes! I figured this will work well, though:

Yes, that's our St. Bernard. Meet Eulee, the biggest, slobberiest, hulk of a dog you've ever seen!

A couple weeks ago I had to say goodbye to my all-time favorite outfit, the Natty Huckleberry Halter Set. I did a promotion to send it out in style - however, I did not expect about ten people to PM me within 5 minutes about it! The first two entries were within 5 seconds away from one another - I ended up doing two sets, though one is slightly different than the other because I was out of the "standard" fabric for it. Someday I may come up with a new Natty Huckleberry Halter but for now I must say goodbye! At least I know they went to good homes :-)

Have you seen the new Liberty Belle set? It's a red, white and blue Tilly Rose Romper with a matching sunhat - sooo cute! A Miss Mamie Romper can be substituted for an extra $5, and I can also just do the romper (no hat) for $25.

Isn't that little baby the cutest?! I wanna squeeze her cheeks and smother her with kisses.

And last, and the very opposite of least, I have more Rhiana pics! Enjoy!

And praying I don't see any more of THIS until at least August!

Colorado Bliss

2010-04-28T11:20:00.000-07:00

How do you know you live in Colorado? When it's 80 degrees out on Wednesday and snowing on Thursday. Oh well, I'll enjoy the weather today and hope for the best for tomorrow. But who could deny that it's worth it living here?

Last week we ended up with a three foot dumping of the white stuff. It was one of those days: husband out of town on business, go to fire up the plow and it's out of gas, fill the tank and get going on it and then the plow broke. Not only did it break off, I went ahead and ran the sucker over. So then I decided to be an idiot and tried to move the car...only to have it slide sideways over the side of the hill (thankfully missing the truck that was parked at the bottom). So, as I was shoveling out the car, the snow still falling on my head (the same snow that was supposed to have stopped falling two hours before that) I cried out loudly to God "Please help me out here! Just let ONE thing go right! Just ONE!", and that was when I heard the beautiful sound of my neighbor's bobcat at the end of my driveway. Life has been okay since then!

Being snowed in allows me to exercise my creative muscles. I had quite a few orders to fill but when inspiration hits I am powerless to stop it. Thus, I ended up spending a good amount of time making cute little summer outfits for my girls (and, yes, I did work on my orders as well). I had to run all over the west Denver area last night to take pictures - there is still at least 2 feet of snow all over my property so it's not the best backdrop for a little girl in a summery top! I think CPS would be knocking on my door if I posted those pictures. Though, today is absolutely stunning outside it would look pretty bad if I had my daughter posing in a snowbank with a halter top and sandals...

Anyway, I know it's been a while since I've blogged. Whenever I'm lacking photos I tend to wait longer between blogs. Well, now I have photo OVERLOAD! :D Hope this makes up for my lack of blogginess!

Let me first start with the cutest of cuties. Y'all are going to be like me soon, dying for more Rhiana pics! Her little one is so freaking cute and I crave her pictures like I do a nice cold Mountain Dew (anybody who knows me in real life knows just what that means!). I can't post them all here, but here are a few. If you want more go to her Facebook page. Become a fan! And I've said this before, but if you're within a million miles of Minnesota she is worth the drive to get some knock your socks off awesome photos :-) I can't wait to see what else she has coming!

I finally got my hands on a picture of the Original Sophia Mae dress today! We're on our 3rd version of this dress and when the fabric runs out on this one there will most certainly be a 4th!

See the progression?

And now, what some of you have been waiting for...the new tops! These can now be found on Etsy! My website will take a little longer to update...

Until next week (or the week after...or the week after...lol) have a sunny spring and wish me warmer weather!

Butterfly!

2010-04-12T07:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, while out on my walk with Natasha (my overweight Siberian Husky), I saw a butterfly! Now, I know that isn't big news for everybody. Most of you are thinking "Big whoop, lady" but when there is still 3 feet of snow in most places on the ground up here that's HUGE news! It means that even if we are not finished getting snow yet (and we most certainly are not) at least it'll be warm enough that it will melt quickly instead of adding to the 3 feet - woo hooooo!

The other interesting thing that happened while on that walk is that I realized I am using Natasha to help me get up the mountain, and really nothing else. I used to think that I was using her to help me fend off predators (we have a bit of a mountain lion issue up here in these parts) but when a really old man (at least 85 years old) walked by us she ran behind me and cowered. I now understand that should a mountain lion cross my path the most use Natasha will ever be to me is bait.

So, with the nice weather means nice pictures! Well, as nice as I'm capable of, anyway. I'm still plugging away at my daughter's school wardrobe so I decided to poke around my remnants bin and make her a patchwork skirt. Obviously, I will not be reproducing this thing since it's made of scraps, but since it is skirt season now I will be making more skirts in the coming weeks so keep a look out!

Last week I had to say good bye to the Sophia Mae dress. I guess I have just enough fabric for a little dress (about 6-12 months) maybe, so if you still want a vintage Sophia Mae and you have a wee one let me know - but I'm not likely to relist it because I can only make that size. I decided that the Sophia Mae dress isn't ready to die just yet, though. You all may not realize this, but this is actually the second iteration of the dress. The original used much of the same fabrics but in different places. I'm going to keep the dress alive, capturing the vitality and spirit of the old dresses, so here is the NEW Sophia Mae dress!

I have no idea why, but I matched it up with a pair of Oxford Striped Stretch Knit Ruffle Capris. It just seemed like the thing to do so I went with it!

And a little more eye candy for you this week! I LOVE seeing pictures of other people's kids my my clothing. It brings such a smile to my face!

I'll try not to let it take so long in between blogs, but I can't promise anything! I'm at the mercy of my stupid camera and the weather!

Sweet Sunday

2010-03-28T18:18:00.000-07:00

Sadly, when all I've been doing all week is sewing there is nothing to write in the blog. I have sewn a lot this week - mostly because I had nothing better to do since I was snowed in anyway. I cannot believe how fast March went by. Wasn't it just February last week? Now we're only days away from April! I hate the spring snow around here but at least it thaws quickly. Of course, what's left is mud. Lots and lots of mud.

A few weeks ago I promised to debut the my new formal dress - and here it is! This dress looks simple, doesn't it? Well don't be fooled because it was pretty difficult to make! I think when I make another one it'll be in a slightly lighterweight fabric - this fabric was extremely luxurious but also a little heavier than I thought it would be and heavy + slippery = incredibly difficult to work with! What's even more amazing is how happy the little model was to show it off! This was a new experience for me: to actually shoot photos of a happy child! Woo hoo!

This is the same dress but I've changed the sash for a different look.

Look at this smile!

The flower is removable

I made this for a friend who is holding an online auction to benefit the Susan G. Komen foundation for Breast Cancer. This is a one of a kind item and will never be reproduced - no matter how much you beg! It's a newborn sized Miss Mamie Romper, called "Sweet Pea". Since I don't have a newborn to model it, you're just going to have to see it on the hanger and use your imagination! For more information about how to bid on this romper please email me at jen@petitepoire.net and I'll get you in touch with the person who can make it happen!

The little one in her stretch velvet ruffle pants looking happier than usual :)

Say goodbye to the Haylee Honeydew Set - this is the last one! *sniff sniff* But if it has to go at least I know it's going to a cute little girl who will wear it well!

I really need to get moving on my daughter's school wardrobe...I'm hoping I'll have something new to debut next week!

Nice and Boring...Just the way I like it!

2010-03-22T13:55:00.000-07:00

Spring is "officially" here and I'm happy to report that there are no catastrophes or major dilemmas. PHEW! Knocking on huge amounts wood here, but we've somehow managed to escape the winter without one sniffle or a case of the funk. Not sure how, but certainly not complaining!

I could talk about the weather, and how Colorado weather is so disorienting. 70 degrees...20 degrees...back and forth. Mud or snow. When the weather report calls for "Significant accumulation possible" instead of an estimation of how many inches we're supposed to get I know we're about to be hammered! I could talk about my youngest and her latest marker infatuation. How she completely colored herself, her bedding, bed and stuffed animals green for St. Patrick's Day! I got the last laugh today though - she managed to get into my disappearing ink marker (for sewing) and colored all over herself. Within an hour it was gone! Muhahahahahaha! I could talk about my "real" job and how scared I am to work for a health insurance company right now with so much upheaval. Thank goodness I work for the disability department at Aetna and I might come out of this unscathed! (knocking on more wood) I could talk about a lot of things but I guess I just did :)

Speaking of the weather...yes, I took these pictures outside today. Now I know this probably looks like abuse to those of you who think 55 degrees is cold but rest assured that the model in this picture was not harmed in any way! She BEGGED me to be able to stay outside and play but I had to say no because there was so much mud everywhere.

So this is the Nie Nie Skirt by Pink Fig. I've been in love with this skirt since the first time I laid eyes on it but haven't had the time to tackle all those ruffles. That's a lot of gathering! But the hubs took the kids out yesterday so I finally had the house to myself and I sat myself down in front of the TV and ruffled until I couldn't ruffle anymore. The finished product is amazing if I do say so myself! After searching forever to find the "perfect" top to go with it I finally decided that the only top that would do would be a brown Riley Peasant Blouse - so I whipped that up for her this morning :) I have not been able to get that thing off of her since! Somehow I'm going to have to convince her to put her leotard on for ballet class...this could be a battle.

Look what this thing can do!

So guess what happens if you order something from me and I'm a super duper ultra lame slacker? Not exactly a slacker, but more than a bit overwhelmed! Well, it's only happened once (or twice...) but I tend to feel bad and throw in a freebie or two! I made this dress for my friend Karen's daughter, Olivia, and it's a one of a kind. She was kind enough to photograph it for me! Olivia looks SO cute in it! Again, sorry for for the late delivery but something tells me she's been successfully bribed :)

I made this Sophia Mae outfit for a friend a while back, whose daughter is named...Sophia Mae (duh). Well, it's since changed hands and I'm so happy that it did because this is the most amazing picture (doesn't hurt that the little girl is cute too)! When I first looked at the picture I was like..."Cute outfit!" then I remembered that was MY outfit - that's how good this picture is! lol Kudos to Rhiana Halverson and thank you so much for letting me use this photo!

That being said, I'm offering a discount to all professional photographers! With two daughters to clothe, I almost never have time to make demos, but I am offering 50% to all professional photographers who purchase my clothing. The deal is only good if you agree to take a picture or two of your daughter in the outfit(s) and mention Petite Poire on your blog! Please make sure your watermark is included on the photo and I'll give you a shout out on this blog and my Facebook page! It will also help if you can give me a little info about yourself (where you're located and what kind of photography you specialize in) so I can give you a proper introduction. Just make sure you mention this promo to me at either checkout (and I'll immediately reimburse you) or convo me on Etsy and I'll set up a custom listing for you. Please remember that this offer is for professional photographers only - no amateurs please! If this gets abused I'll have no choice but to cancel this promotion!

Now I know I promised you a peek at the new super pretty dress for special occasions....but I'm still not done with it. I am almost finished with it but it's still a couple days away from unveiling...sorry!

Gearing Up for School

2010-03-01T10:21:00.000-08:00

It's such a big step in a child's life when she starts Kindergarten...and such a big job for her mother to get her school wardrobe all designed! Wow, my girls have no idea how lucky they are, do they? Inevitably the day will come when they don't want to wear mom's stupid clothes anymore but for now I'm just enjoying the fact that they'll happily wear them even if they don't want to be photographed in them!

I'm still debating on what I will be listing and what I won't be...but I'll show them off all the same! The denim Fancy Pants didn't seem like they'd be difficult - and they weren't - but they sure took a long time to make and all I did was hack up a pair of Target jeans and sew on coordinating fabric. You can't see the back, but I added some lace over the pockets and it turned out darling. However, they were not my design (I was basically dared to make them!) and they are way too much work! Same thing with the denim twirly skirt. I think I will be listing a denim skirt but probably not that one. I'll work on a simpler design that will not drive me crazy to reproduce. I will definitely be listing the tops, however. I love love love how they turned out!

I think I've finally figured out the secret to getting my oldest daughter to model...all I did was tell her that if she didn't model for me (with a smile on her face) I would give these clothes to some other little girl who liked taking the pictures instead! I meant every word of it! Amazing how well that worked.

I'm working on my first "official" formal dress for a friend's daughter's baptism. I had made my daughter's flowergirl dress last year for a friend's wedding, but that really wasn't my own design so it really didn't count. So far so good, it's coming along beautifully if I do say so myself! If all works according to plan, this dress will be perfect for weddings, baptisms, or anywhere else you want to risk taking her in a beautiful white dress! Keep your eyes peeled for that next week...

The Sun is Shining

2010-02-23T07:16:00.001-08:00

It's about time! It's been snowing here since Thursday, and while we only got about a foot of snow, the constant white cloud starts getting really tiresome. It might be super cold outside (-2F right now) but it looks so pretty!

Yes, that is the actual view from my bedroom window. Almost makes being snowed in sometimes worth it, huh?

Some of you have noticed (and taken advantage of!) my new Featured Items on Facebook. Every few days or so (no rhyme or reason except it'll be an item I happen to have a little extra fabric in) I will be featuring an item in Etsy. For that day only I will be marking it down. So keep an eye out!

Last week was a little nutty, but I did manage to make a couple new pieces (aside from the Easter dresses). It's so hard to think warm thoughts when the weather is bad, though!

It's a halter apron dress with quasi matching stretch velvet ruffle pants. I'm still sorta kinda waiting for my shrimpy little model to grow into the size 2 ruffle pants, however. But here's a close up:

I'm going to begin to offer the Spring Song Set as soon as I get around to it. Isn't it darling?

Isn't it even more darling that she is actually smiling?!

And just in case you are sick of looking at my woeful children, here's a treat!

This little Aussie sweetheart is just too cute!

Off to finish work and go see my sister at the airport. She has a 2 hour layover in Denver and she's brought prezzies for her nieces!

Easter Dresses!

2010-02-21T15:25:00.000-08:00

I know February seems early to start thinking about Easter, but it's really only SIX weeks from today!

Today will be a super short blog today - I have a ton of work (both sewing and "real" work) to catch up on today and I'm snowed under so I have to keep plowing the driveway before the snow piles up too high and I can't get through it. Yippeeeee! I do have more pictures to show this week, though, so I will blog more in the very near future.

But for now...here are the Easter dresses! I do not plan on making a great number of these - as soon as I run out of the fabric I have for each of them I will not be buying more. But if demand is high I will come out with more before Easter Sunday, deal?

Also remember, while these make darling Easter dresses, they are perfectly acceptable to wear for the entire year (okay, maybe the halter might not make it in most areas come winter time...)!

As usual, my models were less than enthusiastic about modeling this week...my eternal apologies!

The first dress, Sky Flower Twirl is just that - a super full twirling dress perfect for Easter or beyond! I will be offering the two twirl dresses in 0-6 months and 6-12 months!

The second, Olive Rose, is a halter sundress and is a perfect for your older girls (i.e. already walking). Because of the long slim lines I will only offer this dress in 18-24 months through 5T. I can probably do a larger size if measurements are provided.

Please try to disregard the look of sheer misery on my daughter's face...

And, finally, the Gingham Pink Twirl is sooooo fresh and girlie! Another super full dress that is spin certified by my expert twirler!

Yes, she is screaming in this picture. So am I, by this time...

I will also be offering matching hairclips w/ bows or headbands so if you are interested please let me know! Matching hairclips w/ bows will be $3.50 for 2 and headbands will be $6 if purchased with the dress!

Little Diva

2010-02-12T17:50:00.000-08:00

Yay Olympics! I know, I'm totally nerdy (but wasn't that already a given? Data Analyst + Seamstress = Ultimate Dork) but I get so excited for the Olympics! Opening ceremony tonight - I'm DVR-ing as I write so I can just skim through the commercials. Thank God for modern technology.

I've had a heck of a week. My hurricane of a daughter managed to rip off a good portion of the wallpaper border in her bedroom. There's no fixing that! She dumped the following into the toilet: her toothbrush, my toothbrush and toothpaste, a dirty diaper (ew), my hairspray, and her shoe. I'm trying to simply be grateful that it wasn't a plugged in hairdryer. My other daughter somehow managed to chip her tooth today, and yesterday my oldest son underwent major reconstructive surgery on his face. Yeah...it was one of THOSE weeks. The good news is that my hurricane daughter didn't electrocute herself, my older daughter still has all of her teeth (chips and all) and my oldest son is doing well after his surgery and is healing on both the inside and the outside. The weather has been reasonably good (considering the rest of the country is under snow - even Florida!) and when we did get snow I was actually able to PLOW instead of shovel for once! woo hoo!! Turns out that plowing with the four-wheeler is a total blast and I don't know why I ever let my husband have all the fun! He's sooooo fired!

So...not sure if anybody was paying attention last week, but I promised to debut my newest creation! Here is the When I Grow Up...Diva Edition! I actually dreamed up this outfit over a month ago and it turned out exactly how I wanted it to! It's a sassy halter dress with a pair of double ruffled peddle-pusher pants, matching headbow, and matching purse! I want to say this is part of Nadja's closet for school but I just read the other day that halters are against her school's dress code. BOO! HISS! Oh well, it still rocks and she will get plenty of use out of it nonetheless!

Here's an updated picture of the Riley Peasant Blouse with a pair of Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Pants. I love the pants, but for some reason the name just makes me smile at my attempt at cleverness. Plus, it's probably somewhat appropriate for Valentine's Day, right?

I think most moms sincerely believe that their little girls could be America's Next Top Model (Toddler Edition) but I wouldn't wish that on anybody. My little models HATE taking pictures and the second they see the camera they both burst into tears. The pictures you see are, sadly, the BEST of them, with a lot of bribing, yelling, crying (on my part sometimes) involved. See what I do for you, blog reader? I guess I bring this up so that you'll all have mercy on me when you see a cruddy picture and give me the benefit of the doubt that the clothes really look better in person and on a happy child! I promise!

Here's hoping you all have a Happy Valentine's Day and that each of you are as pampered as you deserve to be!

Winter Blues

2010-02-04T10:49:00.000-08:00

One thing I've learned from living on top of a mountain: The only thing good about February is that it's not January! It's the month before the "real" snow comes in March and the month after the ridiculously bitter temperatures and extraordinarily high winds of January. But time is flying so quickly these days that I can almost taste the spring!

That being said, I've been working on more and more spring-y items. I'm catching up on my orders and soon I'll be able to do what I love most - designing! It's been a busy week, and just today I finally feel like I'm starting to see the bottom of the pile.

In the meantime, here is a little peek at some of the custom orders I've been working on. I love when people come to me with ideas that are in their heads that they want created just for their little girls! So much fun to see the finished product. Seriously, that's why I do this!

Here is the latest Miss Mamie. This was a custom order that I fell so deeply in love with that I immediately made one for my daughter! I can't wait to take her out in it - the pictures do not even begin to do it justice. That's not a surprise - I have a lousy camera, an uncooperative model and I'm the worst photographer ever! My model is getting a little bit better since she's now old enough to successfully bribe with yummy treats :P

Ever wonder what a Miss Mamie would look like on a five year old? Well, I'm not sure how I feel about it. Of course, I think my daughter is so beautiful that she can pull off anything, but I designed these for babies and toddlers, really. People keep wanting them in larger sizes and I'm happy to oblige but it's very difficult to make them hang right and not look like she's trying out for the circus. I do think the extra smocking helps, though.

Here is a custom set that I think turned out beautifully! I had to squeeze my poor daughter in it, however, as it is actually two sizes small on her, but I really wanted to see what it would look like on! Maybe I should have another baby so that I have another model....I'm KIDDING! Please disregard her messy hair! I rolled her out of bed, shoved her in these clothes and pointed a camera at her. I'm just amazed she was such a good sport about it!

And, lastly, I made this Miss Mamie romper for my daughter only. I don't think I'll be selling more of these because this fabric is pretty much discontinued. But I love it and just wanted to show her off!

Stay tuned for next week when I unveil my newest brainstorm: When I Grow Up...Diva Edition. To die for!

Broken

2010-02-01T23:25:00.000-08:00

Let me first apologize for not blogging earlier - I usually try my hardest to blog once a week but I might as well tell you that sometimes I fall short of this goal.

This is a fashion blog, so I won't get into too much of my personal drama, but I will say that this past weekend has been a horrific experience for me and my family. The events of the past few days have both humbled me as a parent and reminded me to cherish my children and hold them close to me always. I can only hope that my family can heal in every way, both physically and emotionally, and we will be stronger for it. Right now it's difficult to see past tomorrow.

I wanted to show a picture of an adorable Fuzzy Wuzzle I made last week...but somehow the camera ate it and I can't find it ANYWHERE! UGH. Hopefully I can find it and post it because I really liked that thing and now it's shipped off and I'll never see it again :(

I'm going to keep it brief this week - maybe I'll get a chance to blog some more this week, we'll see what happens. Because of the craziness of this weekend I'm falling behind on my orders and for the first time I've had to write "I'm Sorry" notes. I feel terrible and I'm trying to get caught up, I promise!

But I will post a few pictures of the latest dress, Spring Song.

And we have a winner!

2010-01-24T14:21:00.000-08:00

The problem with putting up a poll is that it's really not a surprise when the winner is announced...but a special thank you to Heather, talented creator of my new logo! Another round of applause for Rose, our runner up. Both of the designs were beautiful and exactly what I was looking and it was extremely difficult for me to choose between the two, so I appreciate the overwhelming amount of help I got from all of you. I also want to extend a thank you to everybody who participated in both the website naming and logo contests!

I've been working diligently on my new website and it's entering the final stages of production! I will post on here when it is finished and then you should be able to use your e-coupons that you received when becoming a Facebook fan. If you haven't yet done so, become a fan and then email me at jen@petitepoire.net to receive your 10% off coupon.

Many thanks to all of you!

Logo Contest - Please vote in my poll!

2010-01-23T15:42:00.000-08:00

Help me out here - I am down to the last four logos and I simply cannot decide between them which means that YOU have to! I'm leaving this up until Sunday afternoon (i.e. TOMORROW!)

Logo One

Logo Two

Logo Three

Logo Four

Welcome One and All!

2010-01-23T15:05:00.000-08:00

Thank you so much for taking the time to check out my new blog!

Some of you have asked...why the name change? Well...after much consideration I had decided that I had "outgrown" the name Crazy Daisy Baby Boutique. I felt it was time to expand my horizons, especially now that my daughters are not considered babies anymore (sniff sniff). I don't know where my future is going to take me, but I didn't want to be pigeonholed with a name with the word "baby" in it and "Crazy Daisy" was already taken. I am happy with my new name and I hope you guys like it too!

For those of you who are new to Petite Poire (or Crazy Daisy for that matter) click here to see where it all began!

And a big shout out to those of you who have been with me from the beginning, thank you so much for your support and ideas! Hopefully some day you can say you knew me back when...and it'll mean something!

So, continuing from last week's blog...I had promised some pictures of the girls' dresses from the National Western Stock Show. They were SO cute and really strutted their stuff there. I might consider making something a little less cute for next year though - seriously, people were stopping me every 10 feet asking me where they got their dresses! Of course, ditzy blonde that I am I had forgotten my business cards. DUH! My only regret (other than my forgetfulness) is that the girls had to wear turtlenecks underneath the dresses. Oh well, that's what I get for living in Colorado, right?

I have a few ideas on the burner but very little time this week to flesh them out. I'm hoping I can steal a couple hours here and there between orders...I can't wait to show you what's in my brain!