Taggie Blanket

Another wonderful request! I was asked if I could make taggie toys.. I had never heard of such a thing, did my research and attempted an elephant ( I won't traumatize you with what I first came up with!) Then I made this sweet cuddly blanket. Isn't it cute?!
It is made of flannel on both sides. Front side being a blue and white checkered/gingham with ABC embroidery. The back is white with little blue flowers. There are a total of 15 ribbons in a variety of color and designs. Total size is 17x17". Ribbon has been triple stitched.

To be honest, I am suprised I had never heard of this before, it's simple adorable.. and babies love the little ribbons to chew on and play with, I think I might make one for my day care baby as a Christmas gift!

Princess Set

Someone found me and requested a whole princess set. I was so excited to work on this one because again it included items I hadn't tried before!
Here you can see I made a Princess Chef Hat, Princess Oven Mit (even my hand fits inside!), Princess Tea Towel, and of course the lovely Princess Apron (I did end up adding the ruffle, makes a nice extra touch!)
My daughter kept eyeing this set and was convinced it was for her! Poor dear.. I will have to be sure I make her something soon.... Oh I did already.. I will post that soon!

Blessings!

A Quilt is a Quilt?

My friend Julie gave me a project or two and I was at first a bit stumped about what to do with this one, however as it turns out it was another chance to push myself.
I have made a number of "baby" blankets, smaller and easy to handle. I have even attempted to quilt a smaller blanket before, however nothing compared to this. It is not quite a full, but certainly bigger than a twin. It took me over 6 hours to complete, which as a quilt would really be nothing I suppose. However I am not an expert quilter and I didn't know how I could "quilt" the inside.. so I attempted to do enough that would keep it together, and you know what! I think it turned out great! I hope and pray that the receiver does too! I was even able to make a pillow case for it as well!

Giveaway going on at Fontanfam.com

Did you know I had another site, it's my personal site... so don't be offended by what I really am like!
There is a Giveaway going on over there right now! So hurry up and leave your comments to enter in for a chance to win! www.fontanfam.com

From me to you!

Baby Hat- Chicago Bears

Remember I told ya'll that I made a car seat cover for my friend? Well since I had some left over fabric I made her wee one a little hat!
Nevermind my silly bear, isn't the hat adorable! And it's made with fleece, so you know his little head will be toasty warm!

Girls Aprons x3

I received an email request for coordinating aprons for 3 girls, two are twins. I was very excited about the order, she didn't have a special theme she was asking for and just wanted to make sure it was pink and purple (the girls favorite colors). It took me a while to find fabric that I liked, that wasn't just princess themed. I finally found something and this is what I did to combine all the fabrics, but making each unique and their own. Oh gosh I hope that they like them!

Car Seat Covers

I made a super cute car seat cover for my girlfriend Amy. She's just had a precious little boy and was looking for one with the face flap, which they couldn't find. So I offered to make her one. Let me just tell you that I was unprepared with what I was doing! I had no idea what the measurements would be and nothing to compare it to... for some reason I sold my infant car seat (why?)! So I called her up and asked her for the measurements, lenth and width of the car seat. Then I bought her husbands favorite sports team (Chicago Bears), fleece material and managed to put one together. My biggest fear was that I made it too small. I prayed and prayed that it would fit, (cause let me be honest, I hate making mistakes!) and guess what? To my complete surprise and excitement it fit! I wished I had a camera, but I didn't.. and so low and behold I am just using someone else's picture of their store bought car seat cover.

So if you are looking for something to cover your baby up with on those cold trips to the store or Grandma's house, ask me to special make you a car seat cover, cost is roughly $25.

And since I have some left over material I plan to make cute little hats for her boys, (hubby and sons!)

Etsy

Did you know I was on Etsy as well? Yep, so if you have an account go take a look... I think you can view even if you're not a member!

www.LainesBabies.etsy.com

Dress

I have made Caitlyn a nighty before, so I thought I would try and make a dress she could wear publicly. This tested my sewing skills and turned out great! I made it a bit big for her, hoping she won't outgrow it too soon.

Business Cards!

Yes, I am super excited over business cards.. I realize how lame that is, but still! What's great about it is that I go them for 80% off! Plus the upgrade of glossy finish for FREE! Yeah! Thanks Destri for telling me all about Vista Print! I also got free mail labels, but they haven't arrived yet and well it's just not as cool as business cards! Next time you order from me be expecting to receive one of my cool classy cards as well!

Green and Purple Polka-Dot Apron

My friend Kristy asked for some aprons for her girls (she has 3, one of which is 6 months old). A would like to have a princess apron, perfect! M likes green! Not a typical color for a girl, but she has been close to this particular color since she was a wee one. I happen to really like it and was fortunate to have made a blanket for the newborn in green! Go Elaine! haha!

So I found this cute fabric at ... and decided it was perfect for M's apron. However, I have done something wrong with my apron design to where I realized after cutting it that I had once again made it too short and too wide!!! Duh, should have just turned it around.. but no, not me! Instead I have been coming up with new ways to make it different and lengthen the little mess. As you can see I added a ruffle with coordinating colors.

On top of that I decided to venture into figuring out how to make my fake Monograms! hahaha, (thanks Destri!) So I printed out their initials, cut it up (which took about an hour EACH!) and ironed it on. Looks nice, but I don't think I will do that part again! Way too much work for a pair of tired eyes. Regardless, I really like the turn out of M's apron and I hope she will too!

Princess Blanket and Apron redone

I had a request from a friend of mine. She asked me to make her a Princess blanket and Princess apron. I set out to find the perfect combination of the two and I believe she will NOT be disappointed!
Take a look at the Princess Blanket: It has all the famous princess' in their own little blocks. The backing is a soft purple fleece, perfect for those cold nights!
Matching Princess apron, which I remade from my original design.
It was the ruffle that made this task a challenge and triumph! I had tried to make a ruffle before but my thread broke as I tried pulling it through all 310 inches of fabric! This time I succeeded and it came out beautifully! So, as I was saying about the apron... I added the ruffle to it and voila, it's cute huh?!

Blanket measures 35x45 and apron fits 5/6T.

Ladies Winter Event Update

The Ladies Winter Event went ok. I was a bit surprised to see, oh wait, I mean didn't see as many people as I'd been hoping and praying for. But alas, it's ok and we are only just getting started.

We certainly had more ladies coming in this time around and I was able to make a couple sales (woo hoo)! I'd have to say that my favorite part of the event was hanging out with my vendor mommy friends and seeing their displays. They do such wonderful work and God bless their hearts for everything they do and work hard for.

I was even suprised to be visited by two wonderful ladies that I had invited, one being my 2nd cousin and the other an old girlfriend of whom I usually only get to see once a year (yeah, that stinks!). It was so good to see them and watch them shop around.

I have to say a special thanks to the ladies that attended, I'm glad you're a part of this small event and I believe that each time we do it we will be rewarded. Thanks for being there and I hope and pray for your families to be blessed by it.

Blessings, Elaine

Tinker Bell Travel Pillows

I found this fabric with Tinker Bell design in the scraps area of my local fabric shop. When I say scraps, I don't mean that they were a bunch of cut up pieces thrown aside, noooo, it was as if someone had it cut and then decided against it. Since it was adorable and they took 30% off the original price I bought it without knowing what to do with it.

The Tinker Bell fabric sat in my lovely pile of fabrics for a few weeks when it finally came to me to make cute children's pillows out of it. It's perfect for a pillow and I just happened to have matching fleece fabric for backing! I only had to pick up stuffing and bias tape for the border, purple! And look isn't it adorable! This pillow is by far my most popular item, too bad I only have 6 left, I might have to keep one for Caity!

I gave one to a friend for a review... you should read it and see her beautiful daughter! Visit Jody and take a look around while you're there, she even has a wonderful food site and travel site!

Ladies Winter Event

This coming Monday, November 17th, marks the first public appearance for Laine's Babies. I am really excited and am hopefull for a good showing.

Last Spring I held a "Spring Event" for all my mommy vendor friends. It was a way for me to be helpful in gaining them some exposure and new clients. I have to admit, unfortunately, it didn't turn out quite as wonderful as I had hoped. None the less, I think they did gain a couple clients and I learned not to book such an event on a busy weekend such as VEISHA.

This time around I have carefully advertised our event through free local newspapers, flyers, online communities, word of mouth and community event calendars. I am hoping it pays off.

I have managed to put together a number of items for sale. My fear is that either no one will buy anything or I will have sold out of what little I have, so I am praying for the later. There is a huge time crunch to get everything together within 1/2 hour. This means I have to:

• set up tables and chairs
  
• set up my display
• set out the road sign and balloons
  
• set up the Christmas tree and decorations
  
• get the beverages made up
• run the Christmas DVD for the kids
• figure out how to prop open the heavy doors!
• help everyone else with their luggage?

Well all I can say is that before I wrote this I was calm... now I am a bit anxious, I wish I had Superman to help me out!

If you're in the area, drop in for a chance to win some awesome door prizes!

Chef Hat

It's late and I've been working on this hat for a couple hours now... it's not as easy as I'd thought it would be, but I did it!!! I have to admit I am quite proud that I managed to do something so different without too much fuss.
My model (Caitlyn) is fast asleep, so I borrowed her dolly (Rosie). The Chef Hat is made to fit children, measuring 22" circumference with 3 inch elastic in back. FUN!


My model LOVES it! :)

Square 1,2,3,4 Blanket

I have been dwelling on this project for a week now... growing frustrated, putting it away, glimpses of hope, then "no that won't work"... and finally I laid it all out and came up with this one. CUTE huh?!
Front has complementing colors with cotton circles and fleece strips. The main attraction has to be the 1,2,3,4 squares that hold little chickies, lambs, bunnies and teddy bears. It's backing is light green fleece. Simply adorable and warm. Measures 36x36.

Country Flower Nursing Cover

I have been extra busy this week and have been waiting to work on this one for a few weeks now. I had some mishaps.. resulting in a lost project.. so this gave me the opportunity to do something I KNEW how to do, plus it was already pre-cut! And look it turned out great, resulting to gaining my confidence back!

Laine's Babies, who are we?

Laine's Babies was created by Elaine, a mother of two young children and wife to Michael (aka Superman). We live in Ames Iowa, a small college town that grows quiet during the summers.

Q. What's in the name 'Laine's Babies'?
A. My parents called me Laine (pronounced Laynee) when I was a little girl, sort of brings back some caring memories. Now that I am a mother and have been blessed to have babies I realize that no matter their age they will always be my babies, plus I just happen to adore babies.

Q. Where did you first learn to sew?
A. I took a brief class in high school and made a small bag. It was really my step-mum who gave me a sewing machine along with loads of material and supplies. I have her to thank for getting me started. I didn't actually begin to sew much till I had more interest in sewing for friends. I began with the basic blanket and since I like a good challenge I kept it up.

Q. How did Laine's Babies come about?
A. I gained a friend from Iowamoms.net, she happened to be the one that said "you can do this," and I believed her! Along with a few other good friends and their encouragment, I took the plunge into creating a store first, which wasn't really the right place to start, but it was a start!

Q. What have you learned about selling online?
A. I think anytime you are starting out, you must realize that it's not easy. I have put more money and time into this than what I have gained so far. It takes time, patience, and prayer to keep going, plus it helps to have some good resources! Online isn't the best place to start, word of mouth is- by far!

Q. What do you enjoy the most to make?
A. Anything really. If I've made something more that once I am already trying to figure out how to change it up, to make it new. I enjoy the challenge of creating something from nothing. I am currently trying to make Caity a dress, I've made her a nighty before, but this is different as she will wear it publicly... so it has to be perfect!

Q. How to do balance your sewing and mothering?
A. For the most part I keep all my sewing for when the children are sleeping. When I have a deadline, I will use "quiet time" for catching up. My busiest time was preparing for the ladies event, that was horrible. I had to lock myself up for days trying to finalize items. I was so thankful once the event was over with so I could spend quality time with my children again.


If you'd like to ask Laine a question, please feel free to email her directly at esfontana@gmail.com

Thanks for stopping in, I hope you enjoy what you see, please feel free to leave a comment!