Wishing you all a...

May 2009 bring us all peace, love, health, and happiness!

I'm all ears...

Please - tell me what you think!

If you could see my sewing studio you would see that I am being overrun with shirts. I have a massive quantity in many colors and thought I would play around with a new design. I just did one last night as my very first tester and used fabric I wasn't too crazy about. That dress itself looks good but I still don't like the fabric. Nevermind the fact that I sewed the skirt to the wrong side of the shirt! If you don't look too close you can't tell it's inside out. :P

I just completed another one tonight with fabrics that I do like. I also tried a different design.

So, I want to hear from you! Please leave me a comment with your thoughts on my dress. I just have to say. I put the 1st dress on Alayna really quick tonight before I put on her pjs - and she twirled and twirled. It was seriously the cutest thing because she never does that. I will say it is a good twirling skirt. :)

Coming soon...

I hope that you all had a very Merry Christmas and Holiday Season. I want to thank you for such an incredible 2008 and for making Alayna's Closet your destination for adorable appliqued items.

I know my poor little blog has been neglected. Really neglected. But with the new year around the corner I am feeling more energized and looking forward to stocking Alayna's Closet with lots more goodies! I am in the middle of trying out various products and working out the tweaks in some items I have already done. I always want to offer quality pieces that I love, and in turn, you love.

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Today I finished off some pants that match a top I made for my daughter for Valentine's Day.

I really love this red and pink polka dot fabric from Michael Miller and think it's the best to use for Valentine's. And I had the perfect pink ric rac trim for the bottom hem.

I just had to add a couple little surprises on the back of the outfit.

And a sweet grosgrain belt finishes it off.

You can click on any of the pictures to get a larger view - and you can click here to see the listing for the shirt. I haven't decided if I will offer the complete outfit in the shop or not. But I do have several shirts that would make excellent gifts for Valentine's Day. It's not too far away!

Wishing you and yours...

Getting closer...

Christmas is nearly in our reach. In just over 35 days it will be time to celebrate and exchange gifts. I want to help you out with a little bit of your shopping! My shirts make great gifts and come packaged all pretty.

And of course you know that I can make adorable tote bags to match any of my tops.

So here's the deal... Purchase any two shirts for just $40! This is a fantastic savings and will only be available for a short time.

During checkout in the the notes to seller - you must enter the code BR2440. This offer will expire on November 30th, 2008. Start shopping! Click here to visit Alayna's Closet.

Ruffles here, ruffles there...

I love these ruffles everywhere!

In the next baby step to full blown boutique clothing, I have started to offer complete outfits in Alayna's Closet. You can now purchase my adorable shirts with even more adorable matching pants. I currently have in stock size 12mths -6 knit flare pants and 2T-5T bootcut jeans. I can create these to match any of my existing tops in almost any color variety possible.

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Click on the pictures to read more about each outfit!

How have you been?

Life is still crazy and hectic here in Alayna's Closet. Someday soon I hope to be up and fully operational with posting, giveaways, and lots more!

In the meantime I wanted to share a couple pictures of my booth setup from last weekend. Our group, the Mont Vernon Artisans was set up in 2 different locations - the fire house and the town hall. They share a parking lot.

The cool weekend garnered lots of shoppers for us all. The turnout was pretty good and I really enjoyed the event. I was a last minute addition so I was wedged in the corner by my friend Anita. But we both made good use of the space and got to chat during the down times.

I recently received a large shipment of pants for making some more beautiful outfits. You can see all new additions to Alayna's Closet in the slideshow on the right sidebar.

We're famous!

Sorta...

All of the facts aren't exactly right, ex. I have only been avidly sewing for 4 weeks as opposed to 4 years, but Alayna's Closet is in the paper! I've been feverishly getting ready for the show this weekend and it is going to come down to the last hour.

Today I have a very long list of things to do and garments to complete and then setup is tonight. Is is all so stressful! Hopefully it will be worth it.

Breaking the law...

Anyone ever used to watch Beavis and Butthead?! NM connection there...

So I have been tagged a couple times recently (thanks Jen & Sydnei!) but I am going to deviate from the rules and just spew some random information about me.

I have a not so secret crush on Chris Isaak! *swoon*

Chris Isaak - New Music - More Music Videos

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I loved being pregnant and am sad I won't be ever again.

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My most favorite car that I've owned was my first brand new one. A 1997 blue green chameleon Pontiac Firebird. That car was hot! *channeling Paris Hilton when I say that*

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I am addicted to ChapStick!

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In high school I wanted to be a police officer in my hometown.

Hello???

Is anyone still here?

I am - but barely. I'm still home taking care of my sick husband. He is out of the hospital now thankfully, but still sick. So while I am on hiatus from Alayna's Closet I am sharpening up my sewing skills and prepping for my new Christmas designs.

Here is a sneak peek at what is coming up.

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And as I mentioned - I am broadening my horizon and trying my hand at clothing. Today I finished a couple of flouncy skirts. I ordered a pattern for a couple different designs but I was antsy to get started.

So I did both of these freehand. I have a couple of kinks to work out before I start offering these in Alayna's Closet. But in the meantime - my little girl sure looks cute in something I actually made!

Party time...

My little girl is 2 now.

Alayna has been my inspiration for so many things - including Alayna's Closet - that I thought I would share some photos of her Halloween themed birthday party. We kept it small and just invited a few of her little friends to celebrate. The kids all had fun at the cookie decorating station. Alayna mostly spilled the sprinkles everywhere.

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I found many great themed snacks here and here.

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We had another delicious cake from our favorite bakery. Alayna was a pro blowing out her candles.

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Thanks for looking! I hope to be up and running with my blog and shop by next week. See you then!

Hey, hey what do ya say?

I say...
More free loot!

Right now until Saturday you have the chance to win one of my popular girls Patchwork Pumpkin shirts and and adorable leaf tote bag embellished with glass beads and ribbon trimmed handles. Head on over to Simply Sentimental the Blog and enter now.

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And thank you to everyone for your positive words! I read all comments and appreciate every one of them. My husband's transplant was done over the weekend and so far he is doing great. He now faces 3-4 weeks of recovery in the hospital. We continue to hope and pray for minimal side effects.

We have a winner!

Congratulations to Teresa!
She is the lucky winner of the $10 store credit the fabulous Etsy shop, So So Rosey. Thank you so much to Jennie for participating in this giveaway and for such a lovely prize! You can visit Jennie's shop by clicking on any of the pictures in her Etsy mini on my right sidebar. You can also view the shops of previous participants and preview upcoming shops that will be offering more fabulous giveaways!

I will be back very soon with more riveting posts and more excellent giveaways! : ) Stay tuned!

I'll be back...

I hope I still have some readers left!

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I know I haven't posted in awhile but I am very occupied in my real life. My husband has Leukemia and has been in the hospital for the past week. He will be undergoing a bone marrow transplant in the coming days. After that we hope and pray he will be on the road to recovery and back to his normal self soon.

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In the meantime I still have a giveaway going. Enter for your chance to win!

Saturday Giveaway - So So Rosey

Congratulations to Janet, Judy, and Miranda!
They are the lucky winners of the tote bags from my Etsy shop, Alayna's Closet.

This week Jen from the wonderful Etsy shop So So Rosey is really going to make one winner very happy. She is offering $10 to spend in her shop in whichever way you choose! There are dozens of items within that price point so you will surely find something you love! And of course she is so graciously going to cover the shipping to get your little treat out to you.

Here are a couple of my favorites from her shop that are ten dollars.

I love the soft color of these napking rings and the pretty shell button!

And this coaster/trivet would brighten up any kitchen!

How can this be yours you ask?

* Click HERE to visit Jen's shop, then return to this post to let us know your favorite item.

* Make sure you leave your email address so that I may contact you if you are the winner.

* Only one entry per person

The fine print... This giveaway will be held from Saturday, September 19th - Friday, September 26th. The drawing will close at 10pm EST. The winner will be randomly picked and announced in next Saturday's Giveaway thread. This drawing is open to anyone, I am willing to ship worldwide.
Good Luck!

And please check out the rest of my blog - there is much to see!

Have you ever seen???

A movie called The Warriors?

I was forced to watch it some time ago by my husband. The first time I just thought what a cheesy, campy movie. And it is! But now I like seeing it. I find myself repeating lines of the movie all the time.

*** Warriors... Come out and play ***

Here's a little tidbit. My sister works for St. Joseph Hospital and has worked with Dr. Remar, his brother is James Remar. He is in The Warriors and more currently played Richard on Sex and the City. Speaking of which - am I still the only person who has not seen the SatC movie?! I can't wait for the dvd to come out next week!

Is one yours??

It very well could be! All you have to do is enter!

They are all packaged and ready to go to their new home.

Thinking of taking the plunge...

I have been sewing more often lately than I have before, mostly my tutu shirts for Alayna's Closet. But my sewing maching doesn't have a real home in my smallish studio. What I have been using is my daughter's play table and chair. Probably meant more for a 2 year old as opposed to a 30 year old! Needless to say - I want a new sewing table.

I have heard time and time again - go to Ikea.

I have actually never been to one before. Not too long ago they opened up the first store in Massachusetts. Stoughton isn't exactly close - about 2 hours away. But I have been told they could have almost anything I am looking for - even lunch. So I thought I could make a day of it. And hopefully find a new home for my sewing machine.

A new arrival...

Well I finally found some long sleeve shirts for boys that I love and gave one of my dinosaurs a new home! I will have more colors and designs coming shortly.

Saturday Giveaway - Alayna's Closet

Congratulations to Jenn!

She is the lucky winner of the set of cards from the fabulous Etsy shop, Simply Sentimental. Thank you so much to Sydnei for participating in this giveaway and for such a lovely prize! You can visit Sydnei's shop by clicking on any of the pictures in her Etsy mini on my right sidebar. You can also view the shops of previous participants and preview upcoming shops that will be offering more fabulous giveaways!

This week I will be mixing it up a bit and offering 3 of my tote bags from my shop, Alayna's Closet. And this week there will be 3 lucky winners! The first winner chosen will have their choice of the bags and so on. Here are the bags up for grabs!

All of these tote bags are my medium size, the measurements are: 11w x 9h x 3d

How can all of these be yours you ask?

* Click HERE to visit my shop, then return to this post to let us know your favorite item.

* Make sure you leave your email address so that I may contact you if you are the winner.

* Only one entry per person

The fine print... This giveaway will be held from Saturday, September 13th - Thursday, September 18th. The drawing will close at 10pm EST. The winner will be randomly picked and announced in next Saturday's Giveaway thread. This drawing is open to anyone, I am willing to ship worldwide.

Good Luck!
And please check out the rest of my blog - there is much to see!

Never Forget...