The Beatles Dress

I have received many emails about The Beatles Dress I made for Elle with one of Lil Blue Boo's patterns. People want to purchase one just like it, which is incredibly sweet and flattering, but sadly I don't have any to sell. Ashley (mastermind behind Lil Blue Boo) HAS started to sell some adorable one of a kind dresses! They sell very quick, so don't hesitate if you see one you like in the right size. Shop HERE.

i heart these dresses big time!

The Best Gift!

Are you looking for a gift that will make your Disney Princess loving girl smile from ear to ear!? I don't know why I didn't share this with you on my Cinderella Party How To post (I had the CD playing in the background), totally forgot! Anyways, Just Me! Music makes these personalized CD's with your child's name.

My sister-in-law got it for Elle for her birthday. There's a ton of songs and Elle's name is all over the place. It's amazing! It really does sound like the songs were made especially for Elle. We listen to it every day after nap and Elle runs to her dress up clothes and want to put on a dress and dance. Seriously, cutest.thing.ever. I wish my name was on it! No worries, mamas to boys, there are other themes available!





"Hear the Disney Princesses sing and speak to your child over 60 times throughout this one of a kind CD. It will be an instant hit that she will listen to over and over. Watch her face light up as she hears her name sung and spoken by the original Disney Princess cast. She will join each of the Disney Princesses as they prepare for a Princess Tea Party. Each princess will personally coach her through getting dressed and using proper etiquette, and she will receive a personal invitation to the castle to join all the Disney Princesses at their Princess Tea Party!"

Angel Face Designs {New Sponsor}

Stylish Gifts for Stylish Moms

I am just too excited to introduce a new ElleBows sponsor to you : Angel Face Designs. Handstamped Jewelery and Keepsakes. I am a customer so I can tell you from personal experience, this is a very nice store. Let me just show you a few things I have acquired from the lovely Heather at Angel Face Designs...

{photo by Angel Face Designs}

I proudly wear a petite name necklace with Elle's name on it. It's so pretty and I added a special charm that my husband gave me on my first mother's day. Heather also made one for Elle to match!! Elle and I both shrieked when we opened up the the package. The chain is the perfect length. Take a look at Elle in her new necklace. Is this not the sweetest thing for a girl that loves to be girly and match her mama!??

I had to wait for her to fall asleep so that I could take it off. She fought me so hard when I made the attempt before bedtime. This girl loves her jewelery I tell you!

I did some Christmas shopping and got a petite name necklace with 5 charms for a special someone with the names of her little special someones on it. I know she is going to love it! I also was lucky enough to win this adorable owl necklace during Heather's last giveaway! Didn't you know that Owls are all the rage right now!? Super cute!

{photo by Angel Face Designs}

So, go and do some holiday shopping with Angel Face Designs. I adore personalized gifts and Heather is so easy to work with. Also, be sure to check out Heather's blog to learn more about her and to stay updated on Angel Face Designs promotions, sales, and giveaways!

::SWEET DEAL ALERT:: For the rest of November, Heather is offering FREE SHIPPING to all of my amazing readers!! Just mention "ElleBows" in the notes to seller section during checkout!

Big Thank You to Heather for all of our new beautiful keepsakes. We really do love them!

charity: water

Please join me in donating and raising awareness for charity: water. Make this one of the first gifts you buy this holiday season. For $20, that's about 4 Skinny Vanilla Lattes at Starbucks, you can provide drinking water for 1 Person for 20 YEARS! Imagine having to give that dirty bottle to your baby? I know it's hard to imagine, but this is reality for many.

Photo Love

I wanted to share a few pictures with you that I recently received from some very talented photographers. Each little one is wearing a little something from ElleBows, love it! I'm so appreciative of these photos! Thank you ladies!


Enjoy...

Ashley Ann Photography

Aubrey Wrenn Photography

Faith Buss Photography

I Heart Comments

I LOVE getting comments and I love your questions! What I don't love is when I try to respond to your lovely comments or questions and I get this yucky email address...

noreply-comment@blogger.com

I always like to respond to questions and I also like to respond to some of your comments! If you don't know if your email address is in your blogger profile here is how you find out, and how to add it!

On your Blogger Dashboard there is an Edit Profile link to the right of your Profile Picture. Click it!

This will take you to your profile page. See where it says show my email address - you want to check that box! When you check this box and share your email address, it means when people access your profile they can email you, or when you make a comment on a blog, the author can respond to you.

There you have it! Easy peasy!

Baby Shower Theme

I recently stumbled upon a lovely blog called Cakies. The author, Ruby, was given a surprise baby shower with a Story Book theme. Take a look at these food items all inspired by popular children's book...

If you Give a Mouse a Cookie

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

If the Dinosaur Came Back

The Vegetable Alphabet Book

The Rainbow Fish

{the above photos are property of Cakies}

I think this is such a wonderful theme for a baby shower or maybe a child's first birthday party. Please visit Cakies, you will surely become a follower as I did♥

Looky what I got...

oh.my.goodness

It's only been a few days but I am head over heals in love with my new Singer Pro Finish Serger. My poor husband and daughter, they have been neglected as I play with this marvelous new toy. It has opened up a whole new world of sewing!! More to come soon...

Two Little Tots {New Sponsor}

I am so happy to introduce to you our latest ElleBows sponsor...Two Little Tots!

Two Little Tots is just oozing with adorable handmade goodies. Melissa, mama to twin girls, creates all of the amazing items you will see below. Here are a few of my favorite things...

Crayon Rolls

Hooded Bath Towels

Burp Cloths

Fabric Flower Hair Clips

I don't know how she does it with twin girls! I can hardly do what I do with one. This is one mama I look up to! So, please take a peak at Two Little Tots and be sure to heart her shop. Christmas is just around the corner! Melissa also has a fabulous blog for you to follow HERE. Go and give her a little comment love ♥

Birdie Madness

::UPDATE:: Promo code is no longer valid.

Welcome Back Promotion!

I have opened the shop back up for business and I'm happy to announce that there is a new birdie in town. If you sew, then you can understand how much scrap fabric piles up after a while. Well, I have so many scraps and I finally decided to put them to good use.

I made a few fabric birdies for Elle and then just couldn't stop. They are the sweetest little things and I love the handmade nature of them. They are not perfect, but that's kinda what I was going for ;-)

To get a birdie you simply have to purchase any hat, and there are now several to choose from, or spend $20 (not including S&H).

As a special gift to my beautiful blog friends, I will give you TWO birdies with the purchase of one hat or $20 spent. All you have to do is enter code BLOGBIRD2 in the notes to seller during checkout.


Get your birdies before they all fly away!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ElleBowsAndMore

P.S. If you made a purchase today send me a note with the code and I will add your 2nd birdie to your order, but you must email me within 24 hrs before they ship.

Bring on November

I'm really happy October has come to an end. It was a busy month with a Birthday, Baptism, and a battle with Croup. However, we ended the month on a very happy note. Elle chose her Tinkerbell costume for Halloween. Good choice Elle. You were ridiculously adorable!

I have missed my little ElleBows shop greatly and I'm excited to get back to it. I will open back up tomorrow and I will be adding new items and marking things down like crazy (I mean serious markdowns). There will be a fun promotion going on as well. More details to come.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween!

New Fall Staple

Elle and I have been playing around with Ashley's latest pattern: Recycled T- Shirt Hoodie Pattern. It's a unisex pattern so hey you mamas with boys that have been asking for patterns , now you can make your little man a hip knit hoodie!

For this outfit I combined The Sienna Dress Pattern with the Hoodie Pattern. I capped off the sleeves to make the dress a vest and used some thicker knits from some of my old clothes.

If you want to see how Ashley has combined patterns check out her post HERE.

She's Back

Someone is feeling better.

Playing happily outside with her princess figurines and modeling my latest project. I'm working on some new clothing items and have been experimenting with a tee shirt ruffle dress.

We decided to head back inside after Elle stuck Belle in a pile of dog poo. Is my child the only one fascinated by the stuff? Yucky.

It's good to have you back Elle ♥

Baptism Day

I am so happy to announce that Elle has been baptized! It was never my intention to have her baptized so late. I always pictured her a sleeping newborn in an antique baptism gown on her baptism day. Well, life happens, and here we are at age 2, but we did it!

Elle was so sick this day which broke my heart. She came down with croup, AGAIN. As much as I wanted to keep her home this day, I just couldn't because her godparents flew out. It's pretty obvious from the pictures, but my girl was not her normal, cheerful, self. Just tired and snotty, but still totally went with the flow. She's so easy going. She did NOT get that from me. That is all Dad.

Her dress was beautiful. Absolutely perfect. I plan on taking some pictures of Elle in her baptism dress when she's back to her chipper self. Will share more about the dress then.

We chose my Aunt and Uncle to be Elle's Godparents. Aren't they gorgeous!? They gifted Elle with a beautiful cross necklace. Elle wore it to bed that day, she loves it so much. We are so thankful for them. The baptism ceremony went well I was told. I was so distracted by Elle's runny nose. I mean, snot bubbles when the priest is blessing you, is so gross. I see now why people do these things when their child is a newborn. Although, I think Elle was the only one that didn't cry when the priest poured the holy water on her head :-)

We celebrated at a nearby hotel. I forgot the stroller, which is pretty typical for me, I always forget something. We had a large space in the back so I was able to lay her down on the floor. She was out for almost 2 hours. I can't say I didn't mind. Her and I were both going on zero sleep and I was able to enjoy a huge hearty brunch with no interruptions. Fabulous.

She did miss the cake, that made me a little sad. Hello, have you ever seen such a baptism cake!? It's like a wedding cake. I put my mom in charge of the baptism cake and she outdid herself for sure. We do like to do our cakes up big in this family!

God Bless you Elle. We love you very much.

You Still Have Time!

Some fun Halloween Inspired Tutorials & Freebies




Skeleton Shirt from Brassy Apple

Felt Pumpkin Hair Clips from Treasures for Tots

Halloween Picture Frames from Beach Brights

Treat Buckets from Brown Paper Packages


Halloween Digital Scrapbooking Freebie from Candy Coated Scraps

Hulk Green Dress

My first Sienna Dress made from a purchase at the Goodwill!

I combined a men's shirt and women's pajamas. I don't have a serger YET (hint, hint to Santa), so the PJ's were great because the pant legs and top had cute ruffly serged ends.

I chose the green because Elle is totally into the Hulk. It was on HBO the other day and she caught a glimpse of it. I let her watch a little bit. I'm scared of the damage I may have caused. My parents let me watch Jaws as a child and I still can't go in the ocean. Everything that is green is now called "Hulk Green." So, this is her Hulk Green Dress.

So far, she seems pretty unphased by the movie. She asks me every day if she can watch it again! Ummm, no Elle! Do you know how hard it is to say no to this face!? Luckily, she has her Hulk Green Dress to get her through it.

She is such a funny little girl. She makes me laugh so much. What was life like before I had her? I just can't remember.

Jeweled Tee Tutorial

Jeweled Tee Tutorial by Still Dottie

This is beautiful! It is now on my to do list!

Wish I had some tee shirts left over. I think I have destroyed all of the spare shirts in our house to make Elle about a dozen Sienna Dresses. The pattern from Lil Blue Boo just hit the You Can Make This store. If you look at the photos there you will see that Elle is famous! I don't know if you noticed, but I have taken a little break from ElleBows the shop. Sewing up a storm for Elle and enjoying my wee little break.

H A P P Y * T H U R S D A Y

Cinderella Birthday Party {How To}

Wow! My new Contact Form got a lot of use these past few days! I received some of the sweetest comments about Elle's Birthday Party and lots of questions. I did my best to answer all of them. So, here's how to plan a Cinderella Themed Birthday Party! If you have any questions please let me know.

D E C O R

Happy Birthday Banner - Handmade by me. See tutorial at Amazing Mae

Kids Table & Chairs - Rented from a local Party Rental Company. $10 per table and $1 for each chair. Much easier then building one which was my original plan. I put two 6 ft long tables together to form a square. Can fit 3 chairs very comfortably on each side.

Chair Decoration - Each chair was wrapped in purple and pink tulle and embellished with a few pieces of silk flower hydrangea. The tulle can be found at most craft stores in the wedding section in a variety of colors. I used two rolls at 25 yards each and had some left over. You can pick up a bouquet of hydrangea flowers at most craft stores and they come in a variety of colors. You can cut a few stems for each chair. We used only one hydrangea flower for all 12 chairs.

Castle Centerpiece - Centerpiece is made by Meri Meri. Take a look at all the cute matching items HERE. I purchased mine from Make It Mine. It is now in Elle's room and looks adorable on her bookcase. So it was a great purchase! Another option is the Disney Princess Centerpiece sold HERE.

Cinderella Glass Slippers - Found these on the clearance rack at Michael's. I filled them with pink M&M's that I also picked up at Michael's. They have all the colors!

Cinderella Plates - The plates are no longer in production, but you can find them on eBay. You can find them by searching for "Cinderella Stardust."

Coordinating Table Cloths, plates & napkins - Picked these up from a local party supply store. I chose a lavender purple and baby blue for my main colors.

Paper Doilies in between Dinner & Desert Plates - Size 10 inch. Can be found at most craft stores in the baking section.

Napkin Rings - Plastic princess rings came from Target in the party supply section. Package of 12. I was able to slide a napkin through the ring hole. They were the perfect fit.

E N T E R T A I N M E N T

I hired Cinderella to come and entertain the girls for an hour. It was the largest part of my budget, but it was the best money spent. The girls were so in love it was ridiculous. I didn't have to do a thing to entertain them, so it was great for me! You can search for Character Rentals or Kids Party Planner in your area. I will do this again and again I'm sure! Most rental places have a variety of characters and can even help you with your party planning.

P A R T Y * F A V O R S

Paper Favor Bags - Custom order made by Oregon Luminary. She can do any color combination and add different paper embellishments. Send her a convo on Etsy. They arrive flat and you do have to assemble them, but that's what keeps the price so low. She was able to match my purple and blue color theme. Also, they are small, which encourages you to keep the favors to a minimum which is a good thing if you have a tendency to over due things like me!

Favors - Princess coloring packet from Michael's from the dollar section. Disney princess necklace from the Dollar Store. Disney Princess fruit snacks from Target. Handmade hair clip by me! Center of bow had a Cinderella Bottle cap. I got my princess bottle caps from Beloved Bows.

Disney Princess Wands - Another Dollar Store find. I put them into a glass vase and added clear decorative glass rocks. I handed them out to the girls right before Cinderella arrived. They looked great as a part of the table top decor.

T H E * C A K E

You can order this cake from most grocery stores with a bakery that does Disney cakes. I ordered mine from Super Target. It was so adorable in person!!

Random Tips:


- Send out an evite! Great way to save money on the cost of invitations and postage. Great way to track your RSVP's too.

- Don't spend a lot of money on your favors. Most of the wands were left behind at our house, which I totally expected. I spent most of my energy on the hair clips because I knew the mom's would appreciate those the most and their girls could get some good use out of them.

- When it comes to food, keep it simple. I had a tray made at the grocery store of deli meats and cheeses and we had rolls so people could make little sandwiches. There was pasta, potato and fruit salads. Oh, and lots and lots of juice boxes. It was 90 degrees and our poor girls were sweating like crazy!

- Take advantage of your local Dollar Store! You would not believe how much Disney princess stuff you can find there.

- Don't assume that every little girl you invite has princess attire. Be sure to offer to provide some if needed! You can get inexpensive dresses at Target, Walmart or Toy R Us. You can also check out 2nd hand stores.

H A P P Y * P L A N N I N G

A Cinderella Birthday Party

Elle's 2nd birthday party was a big success! It was a lot of work but those 13 happy faces were so worth it. I would do it all over and over again for that. I wanted to cry when Cinderella walked in because the expressions I witnessed on our girls were just priceless. So, here are some pictures from Elle's special day.

The girls loved their royal table that was just their height...

...and princess decor.

Cinderella lovingly painted all 13 girls faces. She was so incredible.

They played, they danced, they all did whatever Cinderella asked...

...and ate a royal lunch and desert

They parted with royal favors...

...which included an ElleBow of course.

Elle received a big card from Cinderella that all of the girls colored. So sweet. She won't stop looking at it.

The day was perfect. Elle was the sweetest I have ever seen her be. She was so enamored of Cinderella. I know she's only two, but it was so worth it. She will not stop talking about "Rella," and the face paint.

Happy Birthday to my little Princess!




Party details to follow - where to buy, how to make, etc.

Thursday is the Big Day!

Elle's 2nd birthday party is this Thursday! I'm running around like a crazy person making sure we are ready to host a dozen little girls and their mamas for a Princess themed birthday party. Now, when I envisioned a princess party I saw this in my head...

{The above photos are property of Make it Mine, LLC}

Isn't it beautiful!? You can buy this party package from Make it Mine over at Etsy. So fabulous! The seller is so creative and she can make the most beautiful party for you. Ok, Elle is a little too young for this and gets more excited when there's a character involved. So, we are going with this...




Although, I still bought the Castle Centerpiece because it's way too cute for words. I'll make it work with my Cinderella theme. So, the plate you see above is actually no longer produced. All of the princess plates you find now are Heart Shaped!! Well, I needed a round Cinderella plate! So I finally found these hard to get plates off of eBay! Why!?? Because I'm totally going to try and copy this...

{above photos are property of Party Wishes}

I needed a round plate for the round doilies!! Is this not the most beautiful Tinkerbell Party you have ever seen!? Donna from Party Wishes is beyond amazing. Oh, and she's really nice! I emailed her a question I had about her table and chairs and she responded right away. So sweet.

I went to a local party store and brought in one of the Cinderella plates I got off eBay. I needed to find coordinating plates and napkins of course. She said to me, "Is she your only child?" I said, "Yes." She said, "Oh, I thought so." Wow, is there something wrong with me? I mean, who doesn't like to plan a party, a Cinderella one at that?

I need to get back to making 12 Cinderella hair clips! Will be back after the party to blog all about it.

Oh, just a reminder! The fundraiser for Carter's Crusaders ends on the 18th. I encourage you to make a purchase from any of these sellers, including myself, as we are all donating a portion of our sales to benefit this amazing cause. You can read more about it here. Big hugs to everyone who has made a purchase. I have sold over 40 items for Carter so far! Thank you, thank you!