Quilt Market Eye Candy

Quilt Market was the most wonderful experience. It was a bit overwhelming at times; just the size of the convention was enough to blow my mind. In the 3 days I spent walking the floor, I was only able to visit about 1/3 of the booths there, and each both was filled with some of the most beautiful things I had ever seen! I've got lots of pictures to share over the next few days. Here's just a taste of some of the incredible things I got to see...eye candy alert!

Rocks in my Pockets- Free Pocket Tutorial

Hello, my name is Nikki Luke and I am the owner of Look –N- Good Hair Accessories and Luke Photography. Today I am going to share how I add back pockets to my CKC pants patterns.

Lettuce Edging...who knew it was so easy???

Hi! Krista, of MaeFlowers & JuneBugs, here again with some more sewing tips! Aren’t you loving the new knit patterns that CKC is releasing? I’m not sure who in my house loves them more, me or my daughter! I made up the new Leah’s Knit Top for my daughter and she loves it! She calls it her “Rock Star” shirt.

Don't Scrap it...Fix it!

If you read yesterday's post, you know I was at my wits end when I accidentally serged a hole in the new outfit I was making for my baby to wear to Quilt Market. Oooopsie! Well, since I paid $12.99 a yard at a local quilt shop for the fabric, didn't have enough to start over, and didn't have time to run back to the store to get more, I had to do something to fix it. Luckily, it was in a spot that was not too difficult to do that. If you find yourself in a similar predicament, here's a little something you can do to save your project.

Here's my hole, on the right leg of the romper, just above the ruffles.

The Road to Quilt Market...Blood, Sweat and, most recently, Tears

We're pinching ourselves...it's finally here! Quilt Market Houston 2012! It's been a hard road to get get here, quite a big undertaking for three stay at home moms, two of whom do the lion's share of all the work here! Unlike many of the exhibitors there, we don't have an entire staff to pitch in and lend a hand to accomplish the tremendous amount of work it takes to actually make it happen. Late nights of sewing samples for our booth, long days folding and bagging thousands of patterns, weekends spent designing a booth, photo shoots, correspondence, and the list goes on.

But we've made it!

Queen Bee Clotherie wins Boutique of the Month

Sometimes greatness just comes out of nowhere and smacks you in the face. That's kind of how it was when we were talking about who would be our boutique of the month for October. We usually try to pick someone who has been in business for a while, with a solid track record, and lots of experience to back them up. This month, we couldn't do that, because someone new and fresh just kind of fell in our lap...someone whose work and professionalism is top notch right out of the starting gate. So while you may not have heard of The Queen Bee Clotherie yet, trust me, this boutique is a stand out. Go like her Facebook Page and her Etsy Shop which will be getting filled soon...you're going to want to keep and eye on Julie Burns; she's the next big thing. Congratulations, Julie, you are our October Boutique of the Month!

Hi everyone! Julie from The Queen Bee Clotherie here! I am super honored to be named boutique of the month, especially by CKC whom I admire and look up to so much!

I'm just going to tell all of you reading this post (thanks for taking time out of your busy day to stop by here!!) a couple quick things about myself and my boutique. Then I have a fun and easy tutorial to share with you combining my two favorite hobbies; sewing and photography! So let's begin!

Wohoo, It's Friday, and We're having a big sale!!!

Well, Tiffany's on the road to Quilt Market, so Shannon and I are holding down the fort here at Create Kids Couture. It's going to be really crazy here for us the next couple of weeks, and to celebrate this busy, happy time we're having a sale!

Simple Fixes

Ever since I got back from vacation, I feel like I've been playing catch up. The seasons are finally beginning to change here, and I am in the middle of trying to switch out the season's wardrobes for the whole family. My entire living room is filled with piles and tubs and bags right now.

Holy cow, it can be totally overwhelming!!! This is just one of 8 piles. And, of course, while I'm trying to do this project, my three little ones are tearing up the place. Abby is relocating all the canned goods from the pantry into her brother's bedroom. I'm about to pull my hair out. I've got to finish this job and get on with my day!!! But, I found a couple pair of jeans that I bought for my oldest last Christmas. They still fit, but in typical boy fashion, Aden has torn out the knees by sliding across the floor and skidding out during gym class at school. He loves that they're torn, in fact, on pair he has ripped them out even more- seam to seam. Mama is not happy about this! The next size up is still too big, so I'm going to do something to salvage these jeans. Besides, I need to retreat to my sewing room, just for a few minutes...or I'm going to lose it! I have to get away from this mess!

Here's my 2 pair of jeans that need fixing. One is just a little hole, but if I leave it, he will certainly "improve on it" and make it bigger. The other, geez, boys!

How do you store your pdf patterns??

Hi, I am Greta. I kind of blog over at http://gretam.wordpress.com. I haven’t been that good in keeping up lately. Too much sewing going on over here!! I am here today to share with you how I store my pdf patterns. I started printing mine all out as I got them and was paper clipping them and started piling them up and up and up. I decided I needed a better way. This is what I ended up with and still use today. It helps me find a specific dress, pants, skirt, jammies, toys, household item pattern with ease.

Layla Grace Charity Auction Open!

OK, Create Kids Couture fans, it's time to raise some money for a great cause! Our charity auction with Windham Fabrics is now open! We really want to be able to hand over a big gift to these wonderful folks, so remember, when you are bidding, 100% of the proceeds are going to the Layla Grace Foundation!!! Share the auction album with all your Facebook friends, your business fans, and anyone else you think might be willing to support us!

Easy Tips for Taking Great Photos from our New Photography Consultants!

Hi! We are Julie from The Queen Bee Clotherie and Addy from Addy K Photography filling in for Robin today. We are here to chat with you about photography, and please make sure you read all the way through because there is a cool giveaway and coupon code included!

Easy Peasy Zipper Project

Today, I'm showing off a zipper foot. Not anything crazy, but something a lot of Create Kids Couture fans and other novice sewists might not be familiar with...yet. Oh, zippers, zippers, zippers...I have heard so many people complain and cry about them, telling of completely irrational fears about zippers, but there's really nothing to be afraid of, and this is the perfect EASY little project to start getting you comfortable with the thought of using them.

School is in full swing now, and I'm always busy packing lunches. If there's one thing I hate, it's waste, and that's one of the reasons I pack my son's lunch, because most of the time when he "eats" school lunch, most of it goes in the trash. I have to pack a lunch and an afternoon snack packaged in a separate bag. He has a soft sided thermal lunch box that he takes everyday, and I had been packing his snack and drink in a quart size ziplock bag, but I hate the fact that every day that bag gets thrown out. No, I'm not one of those super crunchy mamas, but I think there are little things that we all can do to help save money and save the earth, and reusable snack bags are one of them. Even if you don't have kids to pack lunches for, you can use this tutorial to make a change purse, lined makeup bag, or any kind of zippered bag with a lining.

For this project you will need the outer cotton fabric (size depends on bag size you decide to make), inner nylon fabric (or other suitable fabric, see note below), a zipper, sewing machine with zipper foot, and thread. I chose a 7" zipper, which is a good size for a snack bag, I think, and I cut my fabrics 7" x 10".

Boutique Basics: How to Tag

With Robin away this week on vacation, I thought this would be the perfect time to sneak on here and write a post I’ve been meaning to write for awhile. While the cats away the mice will play right?!? I’m such a rebel! Lol.

When Tiffany and I started this business we never dreamed we’d be where we are now. We get asked almost daily for tips on how to help WAHM businesses grow and we are so honored that so many of you value and respect our advice. We thoroughly enjoy teaching, helping, and watching all of our fans’ boutiques grow; it’s genuinely one of our favorite aspects of our business. While I wish I could give you a simple answer in this one blog post, I just can’t.  In fact, I’ve decided to turn it into a monthly series because we have a lot to tell you! And we’re excited to share! 

Over the next few months we’re going to go over setting up and establishing your boutique, how and where to effectively sell your products, how to get your name out there, how to price your products, and many more topics that will have you calling yourself a *successful* Momprenuer in no time at all.So continue below for the first installment of Boutique Basics!

Krista's Laminate Tips

Hi! I’m Krista, owner of MaeFlowers & JuneBugs, a small girls boutique here

on the web.  For those who don’t know who I am, you can find my Facebook page at

www.facebook.com/maeflowersjunebugs.

A few months ago, I was one of the testers on the awesome Willow Wrap

Jacket from Create Kids Couture.  Instead of being like everyone else, I

decided I would do something a little different and I made my jacket out of

laminated cotton, making it into a raincoat for my daughter.

Unfortunately, we live in Texas and she was only able to wear it for the

photo shoot.  She grew into a larger size before she was able to wear it,

so I’m left with the task of making a new one.  As I do that, I’m going to

walk through some tips to help you with any laminate sewing!