it's been a while

ive been super busy sewing, homeschooling the girls and just dealing with life in general. what have you been up to lately?
here is a new version of the strip work spring and Easter peasant dress. isn't it too cute? i love the reds, pinks, blue and green colorways. the pink dots are Michael miller ta dots and the florals are from Tanya whelan.

Wow, It's already July ???? What have you all been up to?

Time surely flies by fast when you are having fun.
I love that the girls are on summer vacation from school. It makes for a more relaxed schedule. But we are so off schedule it isn't even funny . :)

The girls have been spending their time playing PS3-Little Big Planet 2. They love playing this game. I tried to play it myself but I have no clue what I am doing. I am more of a Super Mario kinda gal.
If you have never seen LBP (as my girls call it) it's pretty neat. The kids interact with other kids from all around the world, engaging in online play so to speak. We monitor who they are playing with and only allow them to play with kids that are their age (6-10 years old). No one older and we always check in to see who they are talking to. And they are always playing with the same 3 kids. A 10 yo boy from California, an 8 yo girl from California and then another little boy from somewhere else in the US. How it works is, they have a microphone connected to the PS3 and are able to talk to these kids all while playing the game, building new levels and games, mazes so to speak and just having fun. Doing what kids do.

We do not allow them to hook up the camera as we told them that we do not want them playing on the internet in that kind of way. (well not internet but through the internet connection, this is how they interact with the kids they talk to and play with). Anyways, all of the other parents of the kids they play with are also in agreement with this as well (yep, we've said a hello every now and then to the Mom and Dad of 2 of the kids...it's funny. They too think their kids are addicted to this game as well. haha)

Anyways, So we took advantage of a YMCA family membership to utilize for the summer. We have been a few times but since the schedule flip , we havent been in like 2 weeks. If you guys have a YMCA near you and are looking for something to do for the summer, I say jump in to this. There are no contracts to hold you to a yearly commitment. WHen you no longer want to use the membership, just cancel it. We were looking into community pools to join for the summer months so we could take the girls swimming and teach them to swim and lessons and memberships for just 3 months is so outrageous (one pool membership was $900 for May to Labor Day ) And swimming lessons (dont even ask the price of those). So we figured since hubby and I were both swim team members growing up as kids, we both decided we could teach the girls ourselves. And it worked. From the 3 lessons we gave the kids so far, they can now swim from one of the the pool to the next. It's amazing how fast they got it. They are like little fish now. Now we have to get the schedule flipped and get back to the pool so we can get in our daily exercise.

I am almost caught up on all my orders. I have been so super swamped the past 2 months with sewing that I haven't been able to get to pattern testing, pattern reviews or even sewing from a new book I have. Happy Home by Jennifer Paganelli. There are a few projects in this book that I want to sew for myself. Or that I would love to make as gifts for others (CHristmas is just around the corner, so its never too early to think about gifting ideas) So I will be getting back to reviews and testing this week. And I plan to be reorganizing my sewing room. I am going to pull everything out of there ... a sort of Clean Sweep (ever watch this show?) to my sewing room. But then I am afraid that once I Clean Sweep that room, I will need to Clean Sweep the rest of the house as well. Hmm....not a bad idea.

Anyways, I have a few patterns I am testing now for a very sweet pattern designer I found on etsy a few months back. Ruby Jean's Closet. Mary is not only a talented pattern designer, she is also very sweet as well. And I can't wait to share with you 2 new patterns that she has come up with that will just blow your socks off.

So I will be back in a day or two with 2 pattern reviews,  1 from Ruby Jean's Closet and the other by Sandra Lister of Footloose and Fancy Free. You won't wanna miss out. So keep your eyes peeled for my next installment of sewing fun.

Hugs and as always,
Happy Sewing !
Jenn

New Pattern Reviews coming up this week and Memorial Day...a day of rememberance and Thanks.

On a lighter note....I have a few new pattern reviews to share this week..so keep an eye out on the blog... and I will also be posting them on the facebook sewing group as well.  I am also working hard this week to link up with other sewing blogs and sharing my reviews with them as well.

So stay tuned.....

In the meantime....It's going to be a very relaxed day here today. The girls have 3 more days of school, ending on Thursday, May 31st. But today we are off for the Memorial Day holiday.

I've been up for a while now...well, you know me, I havent been to bed yet :)... no surprise there. ;)
I'm catching up on a few sewing projects and plan to enjoy the afternoon with my girls and hubby and rest, and nap and we planned to play Wii bowling this afternoon as well. And of course, I can't forget to mention the bbq we will do here ourselves. Emily is such a nut for ribs, so she requested that since we hardly never buy them (her words) , let's have them today. haha.  So in addition to enjoying the day with a family game of Wii bowling, firing up the grill to and toasting star shaped marshmallows...most importantly, we plan to reflect upon all those men and women that have served in the past, the present and in the future to protect our country and that allow us to be safe and free. We thank you all. We give a special thanks to our own family members that served our country as well.

So although today is typically filled with family get togethers, bbq's and fun times, it's also a day of remembrance. Remembering those that have served our country in the past and have lost their lives while protecting our great nation. So we thank you from the bottom of our hearts and say a prayer for those brave men and women that are still away from their families on this holiday of rememberance.  We pray that you all come home safely to your loved ones. Thank you for everything.

So enjoy your day today. Enjoy time spent with your family and friends. And check back this week for another great pattern review. I can give you a hint.. a super cute girl's dress and matching doll dress. You won't want to miss this one.

Hugs
Jenn

Baby Bubble Sun Suits

I just adore ruffles. The more ruffles the merrier.

I just added a few new Ruffled Baby Bubble Sun Suits to the etsy shop.

Here's a sneak Peek !

I just love the way they turned out.

And just adore Jennifer Paganelli fabrics...they make everything that much more sweeter and special.

So Baby Bubbles are in the etsy shop ! Or if you are a Facebook Fan...then check out this week's Deal of the Week / Day.

Short post today ! Gotta get back to creating !

Happy Thursday.

xxoo

Jenn

Lucy Halter Dress and Top, Pattern Review

Recently I had the honor (and yes it was quite the honor ) to test the Lucy Halter Dress which is a new pattern for Jennifer Pagnaelli of Sis Boom by Carla Crim, the Scientific Seamstress.

I give this pattern a definite Thumbs Up !! 5 Stars and beyond

This dress is going to be a hot little number for this Summer season. Moms, you are gonna love this dress. It is going to be your favorite go to dress for any and all occassions. Whether you are going to the park with the kids, grocery shopping on Saturday, Church on Sundays, birthday parties, dinner dates...I could go on and on...but you get the picture. It's so chic and styled to be worn for everyday wear.

The dress is so cute and very easy to construct. It ranges in sizes from Women's size XS (0-2) to 3XL (24W-26W) so it accomodates any shape , size, curve and not so curvy body. And guess what ? No zippers (a definite plus) !

The bodice of the dress can be constructed to cover a little more or less and ties at the neck. Choose between the Classic Halter style bodice or the Full Coverage style bodice (shown below). The bodice is constructed using not only your chest measurements but your cup size as well so you get a perfect custom fit.

The skirt is an A-line style skirt that can be fashioned in any length (from mini to maxi) so you can wear the Lucy as a cute summer top or choose a knee length, in between or go full on floor length for a cute evening wear dress. The longer the skirt, the more the skirt flares at the bottom.

The back of the dress is styled to be an open back with an elasticized back waist band for ease of wear. And if you aren't to hip about showing that much back, no worries. Just throw on a cute cami or tank top (or cute tee shirt) underneath and you are good to go. Or wear a cute little cardigan or shrug and you are all covered and can wear your Lucy Halter dress/top with confidence.

I created the dress in a size 2 for my own daughter as she wears a girls size 14/16 and so this little dress is perfect for tweens, teens and mom's alike. Here is my daughter, Emily, modeling her new Lucy Halter dress.

Need a smaller size to match a younger sibling or daughter? No problem ! Jennifer Paganelli has got you covered there as you can find the little girl's dress (Sizes 2-14) in her awesome book Girl's World. A must have book for any seamstress no matter how much of a beginner or advanced level seamstress you may be. (Will make an awesome Mother's Day gift too !)

So pick up your copy of the Lucy Halter Dress today here and stitch one up. You can make yourself a new top or dress in 3 hours or less (that's counting piecing the pattern pieces together, cutting fabric and sewing).

Fabric featured on Emily's dress is both Pink and Orange from the New Crazy Love line by the talented and fabulous Jennifer Paganelli of Sis Boom.

And You can purchase your fabrics listed in my etsy shop

Don't sew ? Well, no problem, because Ive got you covered there as well. Pick up your custom made Lucy Halter Dress/Top in my etsy shop as well.

Happy Sewing !

xxooxx,

Jennifer

I can never find....

the link to my own blog ! It's like, where on earth did it go.
But I found it. (sigh of relief) and so here I am...Friday night...about to cut fabric and get to sewing...or possibly watch a movie and then go to bed. Maybe even read a book.

Im reading a book I picked up at the library 2 weeks ago...
Veganist by Kathy Freston

(here's the link from Amazon.com... but if interested, you can find it at your local library or there is even a kindle edition-and am in no way promoting her book or affiliated with her or amazon in any way...just wanted to share it with you. you never know, you just may find it interesting too)

Veganist by Kathy Freston

Yep, Veganist. It's all about changing your lifestyle and attempting to go full on Vegan. Yeah, we went down that road for all of 2 weeks back 6 months ago or so. We weaned off meat and dairy products, and animal products for about a week and then went full on veggies, fruits, nuts, legumes...healthy for us meals. We all felt better, lost a few pounds, had more energy,didnt feel run down all the time. And then the big T arrived...;.Thanksgiving ! Turkey, dressing, gravy, rich desserts and more and we decided to go off our Veganist ways that day...which turned into another day (got to have leftovers) and then a week, a month, and so on. We have skipped out on dairy milk though. We only drink Soy milk. I prefer to drink chocolate soy milk but I cook with plain soy milk and the girls use vanilla soy milk in their cereal. We also splurge on this wonderful ice cream made from coconut milk that is just to die for.

Here is the ice cream that we love. And I just realized it comes in so many other flavors. It is so delicious. It has a coconutty taste, rich chocoloate, it's smooth and something about it reminds me of chocolate pudding pops. LOL. I get this from WalMart (it's cheaper there for this little pint, or whatever its called) but Im sure you can find it at most grocers. I know Trader Joes and Publix sell alot of products like this (if you have one of those shops in your area, we dont, but will soon) . Or you can click on the store finder tab on the website and see if this is sold in your area. It's awesome and definitely worth a try. I highly recommend it.

So Delicious Coconut Milk Ice Cream 

And we switched butter out for margarine made with flax seed oil and is non dairy, gluten free, cholesterol free and vegan. So a few things we still do. But I want to go back to full on Vegan...or as this book refers to...Veganist. And talks about taking small steps to getting rid of things in your diet one at a time until you are fully rid of all animal and animal by products (including honey...). So very interesting.

And I am also going back on some juicing. Yep, I did the juicing thing for about a month and lost like 30 lbs in that month...but that was back last spring and since then, guess where that 30 lbs are? Right back where they were before the juicing. LOL. oh well. It was good and I felt good but so hard to do. I was gonna go for 60 days but man, 30 days was hard enough and it wasnt full on all day juicing either...I ate dinner and juiced everything else all day long. Dinner time was too hard to sit there with my juice after having to cook dinner for the family. Breakfast and lunch were easy...as no time to eat breakfast anyways when trying to get the girls ready for school and im not a big cereal eater, so that was a plus. then the kids were at school all day, so lunch and snack, not a problem but then dinner got me.

Anyways, this post is so off subject, but then again not. As it's a day in the life of my SouthernBabies...which encompasses my 2 Southern girls, my southern life and my boutique SouthernBabies. so you never know what you may get over here. A patchwork blog is what it really is...a little of this, a little of that.

Tomorrow or this weekend, Im gonna post a review of a vegan Red , White and blue cake the girls and I are gonna make. Yep, it's vegan and has a  cooked soy vanilla icing as well as fresh raspberries in the cake batter and fresh blueberries on top for garnish (got it out of a Vegan baking cook book I pickedup at the library as well.). So will let ya know how it turns out and will post photos as well...unless it turns out to be a big mess. LOL

Happy Friday !
xxoo
Jenn

Fabric, sweet Fabric !

Oh how I love fabric. I love everything about it.... the pattern, the print, the colors,,,,,,the feel of it. And love the way it looks all stacked nice and neatly in my little corner of sewing happiness. But I so hate to cut it.  But in order to share the love in my creations and through selling my fabric stash at incredible prices in the etsy shop, one must cut ... must...cut...the fabric.

So with that said...NEW fabrics available for sewing creations as well as for sale in the etsy shop. Here are just a few of the fabrics available... all from the great and fabulous Jennifer Paganelli of Sis Boom.

Check them out. Most are priced starting at $5.50 up. Great for stash building and creating something new and fresh. Speaking of creating, these fabrics are also available to be used in your next cute outfit.

Happy Tuesday!
Jennifer

My how time flies !

I often try to keep caught up (cough, cough) with facebook and the blog but Ive been so super busy lately that Ive neglected them both. So thought I'd stop on by my little piece of blogger here and drop a quick hello (too all 3 of my wonderful followers) :)

I hope everyone is enjoying the spring weather. Here on the Gulf Coast of Alabama it's been around 85..... more like summer than spring.  Spring fever is hitting the kids hard, they are tired and are ready for either Spring break (3 more weeks to go) or to be out for summer vacation (my 7 yo is counting down the days).

Oh, something new going on, Im now selling fabric in addition to my clothing creations in the etsy shop. One of the conditions of my signing up to purchase fabric wholesale is to sell some of my stash on etsy. It's so hard cutting in to all this gorgeous fabric as I kept the plastic on the bolts for about a week after I even got the fabric. LOL. (fabric collector over here)

So with that said, check out the etsy shop... I have Riley Blake Chevron prints (on back order) and Jennifer Paganelli's Crazy Love. And let me tell you, it is just that crazy love.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/SouthernBabiesEtsy?section_id=6730384

 On that note, Im off to finish some sewing before the kids wake up for school...and then have an appointment to tend to, come home for more sewing and then have another appointment after the kids get out of school.

Hope you all have a terrific day and week.

xo,

Jennifer

Etsy Treasury Lists

I love it when other people recognize and admire my work and share it with others. Especially through their Etsy Treasury Lists. I have a few Treasury Lists on Etsy that my Valentine's Day Skirt set is featured on.

 Check them out. Never know what you may find on Etsy that you just absolutely would love to have or would make an awesome gift. Here are 2 of those Treasury Lists for you to love and share.

Chocolate Valentine's Treasury
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTQ5MTM5NTJ8MTk3NjA1NzA5NA/chocolate-valentines

All You Need is Love
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/ODI2MTM2MHwxOTE1MTE4OTEz/all-you-need-is-love

xxoo
Jenn

Happy Holidays

Did Christmas just pass me by so incredibly fast of what this year? I feel like the year went by so incredibly fast, then slow, then fast and then hit super lightning warp speed and here we are, the day after Christmas.

My 6yo daughter, Ella was sick and we visited the ER on Christmas eve Eve with thoughts we would have to return on Christmas Eve to be admitted But...she pulled on through and is now doing well. But we have to make an appt. with the pediatrician on Tuesday for a referral to see a pediatric pulmonary specialist for testing for asthma.

Now my 8 yo daughter is getting a cold...has a headache, fever and says she feels a lack of energy and wants to take a nap all day. Poor kiddos.

Atleast we have this next week and then 2 days more of holiday so they can relax, sleep in and do whatever....however, my house is a complete disaster so I will be super busy cleaning and have decided to do a little Fall/Winter cleaning.... I guess you could say reason the house is in more of a disaster zone than the usual. It started raining for the past 2 days and so everything I had hoped to move out in to the backyard to sort through, donate, trash...a sort of Clean House or CLean Sweep type of cleaning (we have too much stuff in our tiny home). So now I have boxes piled up in the dining room. haha. (I think Im a fabric/crafting hoarder as most of what I have sitting in here in boxes is just that. ... and hubby likes to keep every single page from the girls returned homework and school papers so I have 2 boxes of that to go through to pull out the art work for their scrap books).

Anyways, tis the season to be Merry. And Merry it definitely has been. (as I hear the sound of the 4th limb falling on the rooftop...it's super windy and rainy out here tonight)

I am so thankful for everyone in my life and for all that I have. I may not have much and some of what I do have would not be worth keeping to others, but all in all, I am very Thankful for my health, the health of my children, friends and family and a roof over my head.

I look forward to what the New Year, 2012 will bring me and my family with hopes that it will be bigger, better and brighter and hopefully with a move in our 2012 future as well.

Until next time, I hope all of my followers out there be it facebook, twitter or blog, had a very blessed and wonderful Christmas that was filled with lots of love and memories to last a lifetime. And  I wish for much peace, love, good health and great wealth for you all in the New Year.

Blessings, Love and Hugs
Jennifer

It's Beginning to Look alot like Christmas

Ive been super busy house cleaning and getting a few decorations up with the girls. I can not believe that in 2 weeks it will be Christmas. Where did the time go this year?  I surely hope next year goes by quickly as well .. Im already looking forward to Christmas next year and we havent even gotten through Christmas this year yet :) I absolutely adore Christmas!

So the stockings are hung, the tree is up and decorated, laundry is almost all caught up, and the next big tackle is the girls's room and their closet. YIKES! Time to dig out the old toys and get them ready for donations. I like to spread our donations out to various places such as Freecycle, fostercare facilities, preschools, goodwill , etc. I like to mainly donate my items to places that are not in it for a profit as in to make money unless they are using that money for the good of mankind. 

Freecycle is a great place to donate items to. Almost every city has a Freecycle organization. Basically it's just a member's message board of wants and offers. I look through the posts there when getting rid of clothing  and other household goods. Toys and books I like to give them to preschools and foster care facilities that have small children. Those places can always use extra kiddie items and books.

So Im in the giving mood this week. And speaking of giving mood... Im continuing with the 12 days of CHristmas giveaways on my facebook page for SouthernBabies. www.facebook.com/southernbabies2
Day 4 and 5 will be posted today (am running behind due to the weekend).

So hop on over to my facebook page, LIKE us there and play along in the giveaway.
xxoo
jennifer

Getting into the Holiday Spirit

I feel as though my holiday spirit is striking me rather late in the season. I have all these creative ideas churning and churning...filling pages of my notebook ... and well, Ive done it again...Ive waited too late in the season to crank out any of these ideas. I always seem to do this. And I always say "next year I will be on top of the game" and then next year arrives and oops! Ive done it again!

I am however, so wanting to start on my Spring , Valentine's, Easter and Summer collection. But I also tend to stray from this as well as I love celebrating the seasons and holidays in their present moment as opposed to jumping ahead ... makes me feel like a few nationally credited stores out there that already have Valentine's wares out and we havent even made it through Christmas just yet. But I guess that is the name of the game.

Anyways, off to my Toy workshop so I can create more for this year before the holiday season passes me by. Im working on a few things for my girls and their friends for the holiday season. I just adore handmage gifts, don't you?

xxoo
jenn

I can spend my entire day on the web...

I can literally spend hours upon hours visiting awesome websites and blogs.
I am sharing many of them under My Favorite Blogs and Websites list. Be sure to check out the many talented/creative shops/blogs/websites/facebook pages listed there. You never know what you may come across that you just have to have.

I have found so many items that I would just love to have. Absolutely TDF (to die for) items. Im building a Must have list and am gonna sign/seal and deliver my Christmas list to Santa at the post office this week. Won't you join me?

Support handmade/work at home moms and women. They are who make the world go round.
Happy Holidays!
Jenn

Holiday Giveaway!

That's right! Im giving away a FREE pair of squeaky shoes (my choice) to one lucky winner...and maybe, perhaps 2. Go on over to my facebook page, LIKE US and refer your friends and family. Tell them to post who referred them and you get an extra entry. And depending on the referral, your friend / family member may win a pair too.

www.facebook.com/southernbabies2

Squeaky shoes make excellent gifts and are available in sizes 1-7 for both girls and boys in a variety of styles and colors.

The winner will receive their package just in time for holiday gift giving as well.
So head on over to my facebook page, LIKE US and comment on the Contest Post.

Contest ends tonight at 8pm CST.
GOod Luck
Jenn

I'm a super Busy Bee!

Im currently working, sewing away, Current Christmas orders as well as homemade gifts for family members. I love giving gifts from the heart. I find that people (mainly family ) love handmade, homemade gifts. It adds a personal touch filled with lots of love, thoughtfulness and uniqueness.
So I have a few things in the works...shhh, can't share exactly what I am working on just yet....you never know who's checking out my blog and wouldn't want to spoil any gift giving surprises. haha.
So will definitely be sharing a few of my latest creations.

RACK's (Random Acts of Christmas Kindness)

Our RACKs are going so well. The girls have been super excited to do a new task each day and spread the Christmas joy allover town.

Today it is raining though so I am trying to figure out what our RACK of the day will be. So far we have gathered shopping carts and brought them into the store at WalMart, CVS and the Dollar General store. We gave out a few random Christmas cards to strangers in Walmart parking lot. ..We picked up newspapers at the edges of neighbor's yards and brought them to their doorstep, left a treat for the postman...so let's see ...I need to come up with something to do today...and I just figured it out. I am baking a cake today for the girls. We've been planning to do this since Saturday. So instead, I may make cupcakes instead and share half of our batch with our little friend and her family. We have carpool this week so I think this would be an excellent treat/surprise for a wonderful friend and family.

What have your RACK's been so far?

RACK'ed (Random Acts of Chrismtas Kindness)

I got this idea from a friend and thought to myself...what an awesome way to countdown the days of Christmas (Advent) and teach my girls an important lesson on caring/sharing and the perfect gift of giving.

So Random Acts of Christmas Kindness is basically doing something for others. It can be opening the door for a stranger, giving someone a hand with their groceries, putting the carts back at the grocery store, leaving change around town on paper machines, soda machines, etc. You can pay someone's library fees, give out small gifts or gift cards. Have the kids draw pictures for a local senior living facility...the ideas are limitless.

So this week, leading up to Dec. 1st, I am going to make little notes to pass out along with our little gifts, etc so that people know what we are doing when we do them and hang them up on a pretty ribbon or something of the sort (like an advent calender) and each day we pull one of the cards and do something special that day .
this is gonna be super fun and hopefully the start of an awesome tradition for my girls and family each year.

I will have to blog about it so we can share our Advent journey.

many hugs and blessings.
Jennifer

It's Been quite a while...

I started this blog some time ago and wow, It has definitely been quite some time since I posted. I guess I got all wrapped up in facebook, twitter, myspace and life in general. So starting fresh today. ... Im gonna try to use my blog as much as I can and as often as I can.

Awesome Fabric Find

I just found some really awesome fabric online and am so excited about my find.