Lil Blue Boo

Li’l Birdies for a Li’l Boy

October 2, 2009 By Ashley Hackshaw 14 Comments

I just finished up this nursery painting order. It is for a little boy named Cameron to be born next week. My client received it as a baby gift from her aunt and uncle. I love doing these paintings because they are so personal. The little striped birdies on the “M” are the design on her bedding. Her grandmother recently passed away and loved birds so I included a few and added the crown on the sherbet colored bird in memory.

Li'l Birdies for a Li'l Boy via lilblueboo.com

I float frame them with a large frame and matt to match the nursery furniture. Measuring 18″ x 24″ they become a substantial piece of art for a baby nursery.

Li'l Birdies for a Li'l Boy 2 via lilblueboo.com

This one is embellished with stitching, buttons and hand-painted metal stars.

Li'l Birdies for a Li'l Boy 3 via lilblueboo.com

Welcome to the world baby Cameron!

Filed Under: Gifts, Kids Projects, Nursery Art, Painting, Things I've Made Tagged With: baby shower gifts, boys, gifts, nursery art, nursery decor, painting

Number two reason I LOVE the fall…..

October 1, 2009 By Ashley Hackshaw 7 Comments

….feeding the giraffes. Number one reason: it cools off. It was finally cool enough this morning (80 degrees) to come out of heat hibernation and go to our favorite place….the Living Desert. It is a mile down the road and when it is cool I take Sienna almost twice a week. I get exercise and Sienna gets worn out.

Number two reason I LOVE the fall via lilblueboo.com

Sienna is afraid of the adult giraffes….but not the cute little baby.

Number two reason I LOVE the fall giraffe via lilblueboo.com

We usually only stay about an hour and visit different things each time after the giraffe feeding. Today we visited the animal hospital. Below is “Hootie” the screech owl….he has a neurological disorder and his neck twitches. He’s also missing a wing. What a mess.

Number two reason I LOVE the fall gscreech owl via lilblueboo.com

We always visit the huge train system. Sienna runs around looking for trains and I am amused looking at all the details:

Number two reason I LOVE the fall trains via lilblueboo.com

“the wreckage”

“floozies”

Number two reason I LOVE the fall dirty police car via lilblueboo.com

“please wash”

On a random note, I think I just found a one-woman-factory for the Sienna t-shirt dress. Seriously, Davida JUST bought the pattern and look how many dresses she has cranked out….I need to learn to sew a little faster

Filed Under: Life, The Sienna Dress Tagged With: fall, giraffe, owl, The Living Desert, The Sienna Dress

A Dress for October (Updated)

September 30, 2009 By Ashley Hackshaw 19 Comments

Another dress for the fall using 5 different t-shirts.

A Dress for October (Updated) via lilblueboo.com

I bought Sienna (yes, storebought) the perfect black and white striped leggings to wear underneath. Now it just needs to cool off! It was only 101 degrees here today.

A Dress for October (Updated) 2 via lilblueboo.com

I’m sewing an identical one for my Etsy store except that the purple is at the top and orange is at the bottom….I’ll finish it tonight. The plan was to offer someone their pick and Sienna would get the leftovers, but my iron was too hot and I smeared some of the text at the top of the dress! She’ll never notice.

A Dress for October (Updated) 3 via lilblueboo.com

Halloween tees are SO much better than when we were growing up, right? I wouldn’t have been caught dead in one until recent years…..

A Dress for October (Updated) 4 via lilblueboo.com

Pattern used: The Sienna Dress

A Dress for October (Updated) 5 via lilblueboo.com

Update: Here is the 2nd one I made. I LOVE the little owl tag that is on the bottom ruffle! This dress is in my etsy shop now…..there will only be one.

A Dress for October (Updated) 6 via lilblueboo.com

A Dress for October (Updated) 7 via lilblueboo.com

Filed Under: Children's Clothes, Sewing, Sewing Patterns, The Sienna Dress, Things I've Made Tagged With: children's clothing, dress, fall, girls clothing, halloween, sewing, T-Shirts, The Sienna Dress, upcycled

For the Owl Lover

September 27, 2009 By Ashley Hackshaw 39 Comments

Here is one of Sienna’s new fall outfits I made this weekend. We love owls.

Sometimes I buy clothing just to reuse the fabric…..that was the case with this pajama set I found at Target. I saw the owls and knew immediately that I wanted to cut them out and use them as appliques. They are HUGE owls which is hard to find…..each is around 5″ tall.

I used one owl for the shirt and stitched around the edges……

….and two owls for the pant with a polka dot corduroy layer in between. One owl is on the side of the leg…..

……and one on the seat of the pants.

I used Pink Fig’s Bella Pant pattern for the corduroy pants.

I used my detail scissors to cut out the rest of the owls that I didn’t use. And I am offering them in sets of three in my Lil Blue Boo etsy store if anyone is interested (and can’t find the pajama set at your local Target). I applied fusible web to the backs of them so that they are iron-on ready. Each set is different.

Update: I sold out…I’ll try to get more cut today and relisted. You can also email me if you are interested and I’ll let you know when I am getting ready to list or even reserve you a set. Thanks!

Filed Under: Children's Clothes, Collecting, Sewing, Sewing Patterns, Things I've Made Tagged With: appliques, children's clothing, owl, pants, sewing, top

Frog and Frog…..and Frog and Frog

September 26, 2009 By Ashley Hackshaw 9 Comments

Margaret from With or Without Nap made these adorable little frogs using my frog pattern download. I had to share her frogs because I just LOVE how she uses the fabric design for the eyes…..aren’t they great! (and I’m such an impatient crafter…..I love anything that eliminates a step from a project!)

There is nothing more rewarding for me than seeing others use my tutorials and patterns and make things their own. I love when I get an email with a link to something new. Everyone has their own unique twist and fabric choices. I love getting new ideas!

Filed Under: My Picks, Sewing, Toys and Accessories Tagged With: eyes, frog, pattern, sewing, toys

Folding Fabric

September 25, 2009 By Ashley Hackshaw 21 Comments

I couldn’t function yesterday morning. The house was a wreck. I spent ALL day cleaning and organizing to get everything back in order. Somewhere in between polishing the refrigerator and putting away laundry, I took every piece of fabric I own off the shelves in my studio and began folding. I snuck a few TV shows in while I did it (Criminal Minds, CSI NY, a random Lifetime movie).

I can’t believe how many fabrics I had forgotten I had. So many projects I had planned but never got to. Plus…. perfectly folded fabric just looks so pretty, right?

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: folding, frabic

Etsy Additions plus ElleBows!

September 25, 2009 By Ashley Hackshaw 4 Comments

These dresses and tops are now in my Etsy store. Lisa of ElleBows made adorable little matching ElleBlooms for each one! I’m have a hard time parting with them……seriously.

Etsy Additions plus ElleBows via lilblueboo.com

I listed these two as well, but without ElleBlooms….sniff.

Etsy Additions without bows via lilblueboo.com

Filed Under: Etsy Tagged With: bows, dresses, Ellebows, Etsy

Boutique: Done

September 24, 2009 By Ashley Hackshaw 13 Comments

Last night was the Artisan & Commodities Girls Night Out in downtown La Quinta. It was a really small crowd but lots of fun. The food and frozen margaritas were the best part! I had a little table with some clothes, nursery art, portraits and blog info.

It wasn’t really the “handmade” clothes or sewing crowd, so I didn’t sell many clothing items or patterns. I put them all in my Lil Blue Boo Etsy Shop. I did talk to a bunch of people about portraits and nursery commissions and gave out a ton of cards.

My awesomely supportive sweet hubby stopped by after picking Sienna up from school and surprised me. Sienna was very uncooperative with picture taking! It was REALLY hot so I had to put my hair up. Does my top look familiar?

I have the most supportive friends too! You might know Lisa from ElleBows? She made adorable bows to go with the little dresses and tops I brought. Leslie has the oldest sewing machine known to mankind with “ONE stitch option” and she still volunteers to be one of my pattern testers! Emily has her own little craft blog and is the best cook! Thanks you guys for helping and watching the booth! Here we are at the end of the night:

The night was a success but I am over the “boutique” thing for a while. At the end of the night as I was loading up my car battery decided to die! Some kids hanging out at the liquor store across the street heard the car die and must have been bored beyond belief because they came over and asked if they could jump it. They were SO nice and polite and helpful and I had to FORCE them to take money for their trouble. They used their Ipods/Iphones to light up the engine to see what they were doing….very surreal.

Filed Under: Friends and Family, Life Tagged With: botique, clothes, dresses, friends, nursery art, patterns, protraits

Need toothpicks……

September 23, 2009 By Ashley Hackshaw 27 Comments

…to hold my eyes open. I am pooped. My day was a blur. My mother-in-law took my daughter for her first mani-pedi this morning so I’d have some time to work…Sienna waited by the door for an hour in anticipation…ready with her purse, toy cell and laptop. I peeked in her purse….8 erasers, one outlet safety plug, a rubber band, a small plastic dog, and some cookie crumbs….very important stuff.

Here is some sewing I did today for the boutique tomorrow:

A peasant dress (from the Leila and Ben pattern)…..

Need toothpicks peasant dress from the Leila and Ben pattern via lilblueboo.com

….with little black and white bows at the sleeves.

Need toothpicks peasant dress from the Leila and Ben pattern with bows via lilblueboo.com

I call this one the “Sound of Music” peasant top….because I made it from some leftover drapery material. If no one buys this I am definitely keeping it for Sienna to wear this fall.

Sound of music peasant top via lilblueboo.com

This dress was made from the scraps of 4 different t-shirts using the Sienna Dress pattern. I stenciled the stars.

Sienna dress using four different t-shirts via lilblueboo.com

I might have to keep this one too. So much for running a business…..

Sienna dress keeper using four different t-shirts via lilblueboo.com

After everyone went to bed tonight, I painted 5,000 little dots on an assembly line of nursery paintings.

Nursery painting dots via lilblueboo.com

I know I haven’t visited many of you or returned emails the past couple days! I plan to catch up at the end of the week….so sorry! I don’t like feeling out of touch. Thank you all so much for your nice comments and encouragement. Hope you have a great night!

Filed Under: Printing/Stenciling, Recycled, Sewing, Sewing Patterns, Things I've Made Tagged With: bows, dots, dress, nursery painting, peasant, recycled, sewing, The Sienna Dress, top, upcycled

Halloween Batik Toddler Top

September 22, 2009 By Ashley Hackshaw 23 Comments

I found this amazing batik fabric at Joann’s the other day and immediately knew what I was going to make with it! I made this peasant top for Boo and another one for the boutique I am going to this Wednesday. It is a very subtle “Halloween” outfit which is totally my style. My friend Lisa over at ElleBows is going to make some ElleBlooms to match! I used the same pattern that I used for the Coffee Sack Dress and shortened it.

I love the spiderweb design.

I’m experimenting with new Lil Blue Boo garment labels too. They are a little plain but I’m liking them! I used this tutorial from Pepperberry as a starting point….