New Custom Couture Creations by Two Bees...

Just wanted to pop in and let you know that I have added a few more items to the ETSY store today.  For those who aren’t familiar with ETSY,  it is an e-commerce website focused on handmade or vintage items as well as art and craft supplies. These items cover a wide range including art, photography, clothing, jewelry, food, bath and beauty products, quilts, knick-knacks, and toys…that you wiki-pedia!  If you have never been on the ETSY site (www.ETSY.com) you have to go right now and check it out!  And cross off about two hours…you will get completely lost in your finds!  I have a little store, aptly named, Two Bees and a Belle.  It is taking me a bit to get going, but slowly and surely, I am adding little creations to sell.  I have really been doing lots of behind-the-scenes work the past year, selecting patterns, researching fabrics and current trends in children’s clothing and sewing!  I have looked at many other designers on ETSY and the web, and have come to a few conclusions…

1.        I really like vintage inspired items and hope that my shop reflects an appreciation for the “up-cycled” approach

2.       As I am an artist, I really struggle with making 20 of the exact identical thing.  I like to make things that are unique and I think customers like for their creations to be unique as well.  If I wanted something cookie-cutter I would order it from a magazine!  This being said, I have decided at this point in time to just offer example of a pattern made up on my ETSY site, not 30 items made and ready to ship.  My hope is that customers will see a style that the like and write me a note saying “I know I want a reversible apron skirt in browns and teals for fall in a size 3…what can you come up with?”  At that point I would pull some fabric example from on-line and offer a few combos that I think would work.  Once fabric is selected, it will be ordered, and once it arrives we begin your own custom little creation. 

3.       I am completely committed to making cute couture item at a reasonable price that are one-of-a-kind!

So without further ado….this week’s three additions to the store are  (drum-roll please…..)
 

The Reversible Apron Skirt

https://www.etsy.com/listing/108107695/reversible-apron-skirt
(click blue links and it will take you directly to ETSY for a detailed description)

For sizes 2 T - 7

 

The Laurens Retro A-Line Dress (with leggings and headband if desired)

https://www.etsy.com/listing/106386812/size-4-laurens-retro-a-line-dress

For sizes 12 months – 8 years

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and last but not least…

The Two Bees Jersey Knit Skirt

https://www.etsy.com/listing/108104847/two-bees-jersey-knit-skirt

Size 6 mth. – adult

 

And don’t forget to check out the hats that inspired me to create this skirt at https://www.etsy.com/listing/100443055/the-mary-kate-cloche-creamneutral-size  
 

....this hat paired with that skirt and leggings would be darling for fall!  You dream up a color combo and we will see if I can’t find it!

 I would love, love, love to hear your feedback on this! 

Happy Wednesday,

Jenny

Lil' Kitchen Makeover and Back to School!

I know it probably has appeared as though I fell off the face of the earth...well, kind of!  The past three weeks have flown...and the days have been so full!  The boys and I really tried to take in every moment of those last few summer days before school started.  As a family, we have taken multi-tasking to new Johnson lengths this month: getting everyone back into the school groove (two Johnson's in new schools), built book shelves, had a painter come spray paint trim in the basement and said bookshelf's (note to self: don't want to do this again - HUGE mess!), I have started a new part time job (or two) and been trying to wrap up, ohhh, like 10 different projects around the house.  C-R-A-Z-Y. Crazy I tell you!  That said, I should also add that I am loving my new career, being at home, to just be mom!  Kate are I are getting to know one another again, and it is so fantastic to be able to read books to the boys at bedtime and then not drag myself to put toothpicks in my eyes and grade artwork.  We are very grateful around here for all the new changes.  But I am so ready to get back in a routine and back to sharing with you, sewing and working on adding new fall items to the store!

Since last Christmas I have known that I wanted to refinish my old kitchen for Kate.  I received it for Christmas when I was four, and after pricing Pottery Barn kitchens (dear lord, I could buy a new appliance for that price) I was confident we could breathe new life into mine.  I love the size of it, but wanted to add a shelf, oven, and "update" the fixtures a bit.  I can't tell you how excited my dad was when I showed up at 8 pm one evening two week ago to cut wood and start this little project..really his excitement was underwhelming :)...but never the less, the helped me construct my "vision" and this is what we got! 

 The best part folks, I spent a whopping $30.00 to complete.  One can of oil rubbed bronze and cream spray paint later we have a little kitchen.  I found the oven handle and replacement knobs for $10.00 at a hardware store, basket at Home Goods for $6.00,  and had the tension rod and fabric.  To make it really authentic, I added a little light at the back, so the oven would "glow" and look like it was on. 

I think Kate has many years ahead of her to use this little guy.  I'm excited to play kitchen with her in our days ahead...and the bonus?  Bryce came home yesterday and said kitchen was his favorite center in Kindergarten.  Maybe I will get double use of of this old little guy yet!

 

 

I have sooo many fun things to share with you in the days ahead it almost hard to pick which one to start with first!  Stay tuned!



Skirting the Issue and a Winner!

This week I stitched my first item to enter in a contest!  The best part is (even better that the contest part) it is for a great cause!  The ladies over at Project Run and Play hosted a fantastic blog series in July that featured sewing bloggers each day with a skirt tutorial...over 50 skirt tutorials in all!  That's a lot of skirts!  All of the skirts demo'ed were bloggers own little creations, and let me tell ya', these girls are super creative!  The whole concept behind the series was that women all over the country (and world) could sew a skirt and donate it to a Utah-based foster care facility.   The people at the foster care center would then see that the skirts were put in the hands of young girls through high school ladies to start the school year.   I thought that this was such a great idea!  I was totally in.  This week I created my donation, loosely inspired by my hats I have been sewing.  The whole skirt was made from 1 XL man's t-shirt!  And to make the whole thing just a little more personal, I have contacted a social worker in Blue Springs to get my little skirt in the hands of a Blue Springs middle school-er...maybe even at one of the schools I taught at!

I am so happy that maybe this small little skirt might put a smile on the face of one of those little girls I had the privilege to work with in the past few years.  Maybe it will get her year off to a great start knowing that someone made something especially for her!  The goal was to have one hundred skirts to donate.  Well....as of today over 240 skirts have been sewn!

To read all about the contest, click on the button on the right side of this page that says "Skirting the Issue".  To see some of the other skirts donated, and there are some cute ones, click here to visit the Flickr group.

And Congratulations to Heather Nelson Deyerle!  She is the winner of the Star-Fish Pillowcase!  Thanks all who entered!