amylou

Easy, Fast, and FUN Valentines

2012-02-08T16:06:00.000-08:00

Here's a Valentine that is sure to impress anyone. Best of all, they are super easy to make, AND you can get them done, start to finish, in just a little over an hour! I got the inspiration for this from this photography blog: Fresh Art Photography , but thought I'd change it up a little and instead of using a sucker, making a little bag of kisses.

The hardest part is getting the right picture. After, several attempts, we got a good one! These were all ok, but the candy would have covered his face since his hand is pretty much directly in front of his face.

A little better...the arm is out.

Yay! Perfect!

Next, I just uploaded the picture to Walgreens. They have several different options for Valentine's Day cards. This was a 5x7 card. I liked it because it was simple and the design allowed for a horizontal photo. It was ready for pick-up in an hour. While you're there, grab a bag of candy. I used Hershey's Kisses. (If you're not a procrastinator like me and have a little more time to do these, I'd recommend getting them printed at a more professional quality photo place. The picture quality of the photo wasn't great.)

Next, poke a hole right above the hand and below the hand. I used a hole punch for the bottom hole, but the hole punch wouldn't fit all the way over to the top of the hand, so I just used the point of a scissors.

Then, put some candy in a sandwich bag and tie it with yarn or ribbon. I used skinny yarn.

Then, cut off the top of the bag and twist the top of your new little baggie it so that it's skinny enough to feed through the holes on the picture.

From the front of the card, feed it through the bottom hole, then back out the top hole to the front.

And voila! Your child is holding a little baggie of candy. The Valentine is finished.

It's also cute with a sucker.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Tutu Fun

2012-01-30T16:06:00.000-08:00

Just added some fun new tutus to the store. Check 'em out!

http://www.amyloubaby.com/baby_tutus

Here's the Sohpiasaurus tutu, named after the sweet little girl it was custom designed for. Sophia wanted a dinosaur party, and her momma was able to find an adorable dino birthday shirt at this Etsy Store. So, we made a tutu to match. Love the fun colors!

Mardi Gras tutu - perfect for Mardi Gras parades and parties!

Pinktastic Tutu - for the little girl who loves pink.

New Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day Shirts

2012-01-24T21:40:00.000-08:00

Check out Amylou's new onesie and shirt designs for the upcoming holidays!

ALL our shirt designs are now available in both long and short sleeves.

Little Mr. Valentine

How cute is this coordinating shirt for Big Sis? More girly shirt designs coming soon!

Coordinating Little Miss Valentine shirt for big or little sis!

Little Mr. Love

Little Mr. Lucky

Little Mr. Green

chúc mừng năm mới (Happy New Year)

2012-01-22T16:56:00.000-08:00

Last night we had a great time celebrating Tết, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, with family. It's the year of the dragon, which is supposed to be very special and lucky. I don't believe in all the superstition that surrounds the holiday, like not sweeping dirt out of the house for the first 3 days of the new year because it symbolizes sweeping away all your fortune for the year, and not eating black beans those first days because you'll have bad gas all year (that's a joke). But it's still fun to celebrate the new year, and I love our Vietnamese family traditions! The kids wore their adorable Asian jammies and we handed out Li Xi (little red envelopes filled with money) in exchange for good luck wishes. We also feasted on special dishes prepared only once a year for the new year celebration.

This is bánh chưng , my FAVORITE Tết food.

Ahh, quality family time...everyone sitting together...on their phones

Here's our Chinese dragon...guarding our door and keeping all the bad stuff out for the turn of the new year tonight. This is not a tradition...this is my weird sense of humor as I clean up the toy room. Happy new year!

Check out a special order Amylou Baby Little Mister onesie made for a friend to celebrate the new year:

Ahh, Post Holiday Calm

2012-01-12T14:33:00.000-08:00

Life FINALLY feels like it has slowed back down to normal since all the holiday chaos started back in late November. Every year, I vow not to let the holidays get too crazy and to just relax and enjoy it, but no matter what I do, it just happens. I think I've finally come to the realization that I can't really stop it from being crazy. When I say crazy, here's what I'm talking about:

1. Christmas shopping with a 3-year-old and 1-year-old...nuff said
2. Events with friends - dinners, Christmas parties etc...fun, but busy
3. Christmas week: LOTS of family events. All my mom's 8 siblings, and all their children (about 40 people in all - ranging from little babies to fifty-somethings) come into town to celebrate. We literally have a big dinner party every night for a week, and sometimes lunch is thrown in every couple of days. I have a lot of cousins my age, and it's so fun to see them and hang out with them, but when you have little kids, it's just hard to keep up! Between this and my husband's side of the family, we have lots of stuff going on and we're literally busy every day - all day and night Christmas week!
4. Crabby kids - their schedules are sooo screwed up during Christmas week. I try to be flexible during this time, but it always leads to crabby, difficult kids :(
5. Viruses :( I'm finally just getting over my virus that I picked up sometime during the holidays. With so many people in such close quarters all the time, you're always bound to get something! I'm just glad it was toward the end of the "break" and not the beginning. The kids always pick something up too...

Next year, I'm taking my family off to a warm and sunny place to celebrate there! Maybe then we can actually focus on what Christmas is all about - celebrating the simple and humble birth of Jesus. We can actually relax and feel PEACE. I think I said this last year after Christmas too ;)

I may sound completely fed up, but I am complaining with very a light heart. We really did have a wonderful holiday. I really do love all my family despite the chaos. And every year with little kids in the house, Christmas gets a little more magical every year. Little B was so excited about Santa and his reindeer, and was constantly singing Christmas songs. Starting a few weeks before Christmas, he was excited to wake up every morning and find Elfie, his "Elf on the Shelf". (Although sometimes he was a little disappointed that Elfie decided to take the same spot 2 days in a row. Sometimes Mommy couldn't reach those clever high places Daddy found the day before...). Seeing his excitement through it all brings back all the Christmas magic that I used to feel as a kid.

So, with all that said, here is what we have been up to the last month and a half:

Shopping for Christmas trees

Little B is not happy about our pick apparently

Making (aka eating) gingerbread houses

Visiting Santa
( I don't blame them...I'd be scared to sit on this guy's lap too)

Being silly

Playing at friends' houses

Hanging out with family

Playing Santa

Checking out our new toys from Santa

Opening up presents Christmas morning

wearing cute Santa jammies

eating lots of candy canes!

Hope you all had a great holiday season, and hope 2012 brings you lots of joy!

Christmas Card Holder Tutorial

2011-11-28T21:38:00.000-08:00

Every year, we are blessed with wonderful Christmas cards from our friends and family. When we got married, we only had a handful of them, which could be nicely displayed on the kitchen counter or on the fridge. But over these last few years, as more friends are starting to send them out, the number of cards has multiplied like crazy! I searched and searched online for some sort of card display. The only ones I could find could only hold about 10 cards max. So, I took matters into my own hands and made one. The best thing about it, is that I can actually use it year round. I use it for any kind of card we get - birthdays, announcements, etc. I had a couple of friends request that I make one for them, so I decided to create a little tutorial while I made them. I made both of them at the same time, so you'll see some fluctuation in the colors in the pictures.

Here is my card holder with a few of my non-holiday cards (I haven't cleared it out yet for Christmas, but this is on my to-do list for tomorrow because I already received 2 Christmas cards the day after Thanksgiving!)

Ok, so here's what you need:

A yard stick (or a plain wood stick of similar dimensions to a yard stick) I showed both of them in this picture, but I used the plain stick, which you can buy at Jo-Ann or probably any other craft store.
A plain wooden plaque (also can be bought at most craft stores). The size you will need depends on how long your name is. I've seen these both at Hobby Lobby and Jo-Ann. Both store have a pretty wide variety of sizes. The ones I used for this tutorial are about 8 inches long. The one I used for my personal one is only about 6 inches long.
Small wooden letters - enough of each to spell out "the" and your last name with an "s" at the end (found at Jo-Ann). I used 3/4" Darice letters.
Plain wooden clothes pins (any craft store)

(Helpful Hint: All of the above items are found in the same "unfinished wood" section of the craft store)

Paint (I used acrylic)
Paint brushes
Ribbon for hanging (and for bow at the top of that ribbon if desired)
Other things you need that I forgot in the picture:

A drill
Glue (I used both Liquid Nails and E6000). I don't think it's a good idea to use hot glue for this because there's no wiggle room for shifting the letters around a little.

Ok, on with the tutorial.

Step 1.

Set out all your letters on your plaque to make sure everything fits and looks the way you want it to. I'm staggering my letters a little to give it a little character.

Step 2.

Paint everything. This is the most time consuming part of the whole process because there are a lot of little things to paint. The plaque has to be painted, and all the little sides of all the letters and clothes pins need to be painted. You also need to paint the yard stick. For this, I actually used an old can of spray paint we had laying around, but you can use any paint.

Step 3.

After all the paint dries, set out all the letters again.

I found the center of the plaque and made sure the "H" in "the" was centered first and went from there

Step 4.

Glue the letters down. For this step, I used E6000.

Step 5.

Making sure you leave about 4-5 inches at the top of the yardstick (to which you will attach the plaque), glue the clothes pins on. Make sure they're spaced evenly. I spaced them about 2 inches apart. Even though most cards are longer than this, I like to layer the cards and angle some outwards (see my first picture above), so I find it useful to have more clothespins, closer together. For this step, I used Liquid Nails. I wanted to use a really strong adhesive for these because they get a lot of action when you put up and take down the cards.

Step 6.

Mark where you want the holes to feed your ribbon through on the plaque for hanging it up. You should probably measure to make sure they're symmetrical and even, but I actually just "eye-balled" it.

Mark both holes.

Make sure you let the part your drilling hang OFF of the table so you don't drill through your table...

Drill the holes. I used my left hand to hold the plaque down on the table and my right hand to drill, and my other hand to take a picture...I know - I'm so talented :)

A nice clean, drilled hole.

Step 7.

Feed one end of your ribbon through the hole, from back to front, and tie a knot. To test your knot, try to pull the knot back through the hole. If it fits in the hole, tie another knot around the first knot and repeat until the knot is big enough that it won't pull back through the hole.

Figure out how long you want your ribbon to be (how far you want it to hang down from the nail/hook in your wall, and cut the ribbon accordingly. Make sure you add an extra inch or 2 for the knot(s). Feed the other side of the ribbon through the hole from back to front and tie a knot.

This is how the knots and ribbon should look when you're done. I like to cut the ends of the ribbon almost completely off, then I heat seal them with a lighter to make sure the ribbon doesn't fray.

Next, I add a bow at the top point of where the ribbon will hang for some added cuteness. I used about 22 inches of 5/8" ribbon.

Tie a knot around the hanging ribbon

Make 2 loops like so

cross the left side over the right side

Tuck the NEW left side through the hole

Pull tight, and voila!

Cut the tails to make them even (and I like to cut them at an angle to make it pretty).

Step 8.

Time to connect the plaque to the yard stick. I used Liquid Nails for this. MAKE SURE THE YARD STICK IS STRAIGHT and CENTERED!!! One of the reasons I don't use hot glue for stuff like this. It dries too fast and you can't move the stick around at all to make sure it's laying straight.

Step 9.

Let it dry, then hang it up on your wall and hang some cards!

Got mine all cleaned up...ready for Christmas cards!

How I'm Doing

2011-11-15T20:42:00.000-08:00

A lot of my posts have been about new products and stuff about the kids, and I think it's time for a "me" post. Time to get a little up close and personal with how I'm doing as I play all my roles as mom, business owner, homemaker, and wife.

To be honest, the last few weeks I had been feeling kind of stuck in a rut. My kids were annoying me all the time with their fussing and fighting with each other. I never had enough time to do everything I wanted to get done. I stopped cooking and had no desire to cook (for those of you who don't know me, I LOVE to cook - so this is weird). And I was basically crabby all the time. I got to a point where I just wanted to shut everything else out and work on my business stuff - no interruptions. My days revolved around my free time (during kids nap time and after they went to bed at night). I stayed up soo late some nights because I didn't want MY time to end. Now, I wasn't a complete deadbeat around my house or anything - I did my "daily tasks" - taking care of the kids, making sure we had something to eat for dinner, etc, but deep inside I was longing to just be alone and work on my business stuff because I had this huge checklist of things I want to accomplish in my mind and felt like I couldn't get anything done. Plus I just really love working on Amylou stuff.

I feel weird even calling it "working". It's a creative outlet for me. It's so fun for me to sit and create new designs and put new techniques to work. I love creating something beautiful with my own two hands - something tangible - that I can see and touch, and share with other people. It doesn't take me years to see the results. In just a few minutes or hours I can see a final result of my efforts. Also, if I mess up on something, I can just start over as much as I want until it's perfect. I feel like everything else in my life is so much more complicated than that. You can't just erase a lost temper and mean words from your child's mind.

I love "working" so much, that I've even contemplated getting someone to watch the kids for me a couple days a week, so I can have some full days dedicated to work. I think of the money I could make - how we could finally get our lovely electric blue kitchen countertop replaced. And I think of all that "me" time. But then at the end of one of these days, I'll be laying there with Little B, in his bed, wondering how he got so big all of a sudden. I remember laying with him in my bed only 3 years ago, when he was just a baby. Soooo tiny, all curled up next to me. Now he's like 3 feet long! And I remember that it was my dream all my life to stay home and be a full time mom to my kids because I wanted to be like MY mom. And I think about what an important role she plays in my life and that I play in their lives and how blessed I am to be able to stay home with them. We've had to make a few sacrifices, but we're so fortunate that I don't have to work to put food on our table.

So the way I see it is there will always be time to pursue this business dream of mine more aggressively in the future, but my kids are only at this stage of life ONCE. It may sound like I have this all thought out perfectly, but I actually have to constantly remind myself of this as I get caught up in doing more and more for my business. It's been an emotional roller coaster. Things for work will gradually build and build. I'll get caught up in coming up with new designs, taking and editing pictures, and getting everything posted on the website and Facebook. When these times peak, I'll start to notice that I have movies on way too often, home cooked meals aren't happening, and I just don't feel good about myself. This is when I have to take a step back and write a blog post like this to sort out my thoughts and intentions and get back on track. I'm proud to say that over the last week, there hasn't been much activity on amyloubaby.com, Facebook and here on my blog, but I've been cooking awesome meals every night and actually PLAYING with my kids - like chasing them around the house and setting up a "choo choo train" using our kitchen chairs, and not just reading the words on the pages of books, but talking about each page and what we see in the pictures. And even though I'm not getting anything on my checklist done, I feel at peace and am really having fun being a Mommy :)

Angels and Dragons

2011-11-02T23:05:00.000-07:00

I'm always shocked at how busy the Fall is and how fast it goes by. I can't believe we've already done the pumpkin patch and trick-or-treating. Here are some pictures of Little B and Baby A doing the pumpkin patch thing and in their Halloween costumes.

Little B had trouble deciding what he wanted to be for Halloween until he fell in love with the perfect dragon costume at Old Navy.

And I had trouble deciding what to dress Baby A in. I really wanted them to be the Big Bad Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood (because yes, I thought it would be cool to coordinate their costumes), but Little B put up a fight. So, he picked the dragon suit, and I thought - maybe I'll do a princess outfit for Baby A (because Princess and Dragon kind of go together, right?). But since she'll probably want to be a princess every other Halloween of her life, I decided to do an angel costume while she still can't voice her opinion. It turned out to be really cute. I love the white and gold tutu, and I am foreseeing angel (and butterfly) wings in Amylou Baby's future!

Some New Fancy Bands

2011-10-26T09:19:00.000-07:00

Posting some new Fancy Bands on the website today. I'm LOVING the new gold glitter elastic I just got. Can't wait to play around with it some more!

BOWS!

2011-10-20T01:39:00.000-07:00

I have been busy busy busy making Amylou's newest product...BOWS! I'll be posting all the pics to Facebook and put them up on the website for purchase sometime this afternoon or evening hopefully! Here's a little sneak peek :)

Vendor Night

2011-10-05T23:03:00.000-07:00

Vendor night went very well. Honestly, I went into it telling myself that I made ONE sale, I would be happy because I had NO clue what to expect. But I did end up making a few sales, and got extremely positive feedback from everyone who checked out my stuff. Everyone who passed by had the nicest compliments and the people who didn't buy said they really wished they had a baby to buy for! Many of the shoppers that night were mothers of high school students, who don't have babies anymore and are not grandmothers yet. But there were a handful of alumnae having or getting ready to have babies, and some teachers who were grandmas who did purchase some things. One girl even bought a headband without even knowing the sex of her baby...just in case :) Even without the sales, I'm really glad I did the event because it was a lot of fun! I got to see many people I haven't seen in years (old friends, parents of old friends, and high school teachers and faculty), I got to chat with a friend who had a table right next to me (who I thank for encouraging me to take part in the event!), and I got to spend some quality time with my mom who came to help me out. It was also a perfect first event because everyone was sooo super friendly, and it was a very comfortable environment.

New Products to Debut Tuesday Night!

2011-10-02T23:01:00.000-07:00

My goal for Amylou for the next couple of years is to have an online store, and do a couple of vendor events and craft shows throughout the year, maybe once a quarter. This Tuesday night is "vendor night" for alumnae at my high school. It's an opportunity for alumnae with small businesses to set up a booth/table to sell items, and an opportunity for alumnae to shop as well. I'm sure a lot of them want to come get a head start on Christmas presents!

I'm a little nervous about it because I've never sold anything at an event like this before. I also have never attended the event myself to shop. So I really have no idea what to expect. I thought about maybe just attending this year to get a feel for what it's like, then selling next year. But then I came to my senses and realized this would actually be the perfect kind of event for a first run. 1. It's a place I'm familiar with and comfortable with. 2. The price to participate is minimal, and the money benefits my Alma Mater. 3. And, of course, there are sales to be made.

So I've had to rush a little to get ready for this. I only just decided a week ago that I was going to participate. One issue I have is that most of my items I sell are made-to-order because of the size options. So, I won't be selling any of the special sizing items there - just taking orders for those (tutus, onesies, and headbands - all of which I'll have plenty of samples on display). For immediate purchase that night, I'll have clippies, crochet headbands, and my newest items I'm super excited about.........headband and clippie holders! I also have a bunch of new "Little Mister" tie-applique onesies that are absolutely ADORABLE (and will be on display that night to order). Along with all the new bow holders, they will also be available for purchase on my website starting Tuesday.

Froggy Bow Holder

"Little Mister" Tie Onesie in Fall Stripes

An Over the Top, Over the Rainbow 1st Birthday Party

2011-09-22T17:17:00.000-07:00

As promised in my last post...here are pictures from baby A's 1st birthday party. My computer is PAINFULLY slow due to low memory on my hard drive because of all my pictures and videos. I'm currently working on backing up files to get them off my computer. But in the meantime, editing and organizing pics are also painfully slow....this is why it has been taking so long to get them posted.

It was a rainbow themed party. I was inspired by the cake, then found all of these cool ideas online, and wanted to try them all! I was a little too ambitious, so it wasn't stress free, but it all turned out really cute :)

Here I am the day before the party trying to get the house together...as you can see, I had a lot to do and it was a late night for me :(

Our rainbow soda/juice bar

Fruit tray...can you see the rainbow??

I've seen really cute pictures of rainbow parties with all different colors of plates and cups, but I did white plates, clear cups, and rainbow colored napkins and utensils, which turned out really cute (and was more budget friendly)

The food spread.

My dad and husband smoked some delicious ribs and we made some rotisserie chicken. It was all yummy!

My mom makes the best wings! Didn't even get a chance to take a picture before they were all gone.

Found some different colored glass bottles that I arranged into a little glass bottle rainbow. I originally wanted to put these on a long table, but with kids and table cloths, I think I could have ended up with a rainbow colored glass pile on my floor, so left them on the bathroom counter.

Made some of this garland by running little pieces of paper through the sewing machine - a trick I learned from my crafty friend, Thao. So easy, and so cute!

The birthday girl's brother...sporting an Amylou shirt

A fun favor for both adults and kids. The Swedish fish went fast!

Tower of cupcakes. I thought the kiddos would prefer cupcakes to cake. I ordered these from Sams super cheap, then added the rainbows. I originally wanted to pipe some white "clouds" for each side of the rainbows to sit on, but ran out of time

My amazing husband putting the rainbows on the cupcakes because I was stressing out.

cute!

Rainbow Jell-O Shots for the adults. These were very yummy. I used "whipped" vodka...which tastes like whipped cream flavored vodka, and strawberry, lemon, and blueberry jell-o. Like most of the other stuff for the party...easy, but time consuming.

My table skirt that I wouldn't do again if I had to do it all over. I thought it would be easy to make, but it was a big pain in the you know what. Turned out pretty cute though I guess...

Saw similar birthday banners on Etsy and had to try to make one. LOVED the way it turned out! Loved the picture display of baby A on the mantle too. It was just so neat to see the age progression. These are newborn, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, and 12 months.

I'm ready for some cake, Mommy.

The CAKE

Thought I would put the rainbow cake in its own section. It was my inspiration for the whole thing. It wasn't difficult to make...just time consuming. I even made baby A her own mini one...lucky little girl.

surprise!

Pretty colors! I just added food coloring to the cake batter. Not exactly natural and organic, but fun and pretty! And ok for 1 day out of the year :)

I only have 2 pans...so could only bake 2 colors at a time. I have been blessed with a double oven, so one oven had the big cake pans, and the other had the mini pans for the mini cake. If I didn't have the double oven, baby A would not have had her own mini-rainbow cake...

The hardest part was making sure everything was level so it wouldn't topple over.

At one point, her cake ended up on the floor.

Yes, this really did happen.

clean up, clean up, everybody, everywhere

The cake finally did topple over...

The lighting was so bad in my house that day. I actually waited till the next morning to take this picture. Baby girl did some damage to that cake!

I foresee birthday hats in the future of Amylou...

Messy shirt

All clean!

Here are all the links that inspired me:
Rainbow Fruit Tray
Rainbow Cake (hers looks so much better than mine!)
Another awesome rainbow cake
Table skirt
Jello Shots
Cupcakes
Ok, as I look at these pages again...they ALL look so much better than mine! Oh well, I had fun :)

Birthday Parties

2011-09-08T00:10:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy last 2 weeks. Both of my kids birthdays are a week apart. So we had back-to-back weekends of birthday parties. Little B's party the first weekend wasn't too bad because we had it at a venue and it was just a small group. But having that party first kind of threw me off guard because as soon as that one was done, Baby A's was only a week away. And we had that one at our house. Which means, I had to clean the house, plan a menu, buy food, make desserts and food, and decorate all in one week (on top of all my other motherly and Amylou duties). It was a busy week! Even though I forgot to serve a couple things at the party and didn't get around to making some of the food and decorations I was hoping for, the party was great. It was a "rainbow" themed party, which I was really excited about because of all these cool decoration and dessert ideas I found online on various blogs. But there were so many cute ideas I wanted to try that it was also a bit overwhelming. Here are some pics of little B's train party. Will post the rainbow party pics next post!

Little B's Party was at the Transportation Museum in a little play room you can rent out called the Creation Station. It was so much fun for the kids!

There was a big pirate ship the kids could climb around on.

Lots of trains to play with !

After playing and cupcakes, the whole party got to go on a train ride!

Amylou Halloween 2011

2011-08-24T14:21:00.000-07:00

It's almost September...time to start thinking about Halloween parties and pictures! Instead of the usual chain store-bought items, opt for some handmade boutique items that will make your little sweetie stand out from the crowd!

Candy Corn Tutu

Candy Corn Close-Up

Baby A modelling our Pumpkin Pie tutu

Pumpkin Pie Tutu

Candy Bowl Tutu

Candy Bowl Close-Up

Jack-otini Headband

Bootini Headband

Halloweenitini Headband

Little Boo Tutu

Little Boo Close-up

Trick or Treat Stretchy Hat

Mr. Halloween Toddler Tee

Upcoming Challenges

2011-08-20T20:32:00.000-07:00

Some of my upcoming project challenges for the store. Probably will work on them in this order...

1. Necktie onesies

Amylou needs some fun BOY accessories. I've been wanting to come up with something for little guys for a while now, but had a hard time figuring out what. There is nothing cuter than baby boys with little man clothes. I have some adorable pictures of my little guy wearing Daddy's huge shoes and ties (which, by the way, make adorable and inexpensive props for professional photos). So I thought, TIES, perfect. I always had a hard time finding a little tie for little B when he was a baby, and pickings were slim once I found one his size. I also didn't like how they wrapped around his neck because of the choking hazard. So I thought why not just put the tie on a onesie? A fun guy accessory. Adorable. No neck wrapping. Perfect. I have tested one on my little B's white t-shirts, and here's how it turned out. The satin stitch around the tie applique took some practice, but I love the way it turned out. Now onto the onesies...

2. Pom Pom tutu

How adorable is this?! I came across this adorable tutu while researching different tutu techniques, and I really want to make an attempt at making it (and making it look as cute as the one in the picture). I was looking at some pom pom tutus out there, and to me, they look more like tutus with weird growths on them since the pom poms are too big and randomly glued all over the skirt. Anyway, I thought this one was cute, fun, and classy, and I hope to come up with my own version of it.

Pom Pom Tutu

3. Sewn tutus

I absolutely LOVE all my tutus I've made, but there are a lot of tied, no-sew tutus out on the market. Although I believe mine are some of the best out there, (with my color combos and being extra poofy because I use double tulle layers) I'd like to come up with some sort of sewn tutu. Sewing them will make them extra durable, and will set them further apart from the rest. The challenge is to keep the extra "poofiness" you get with the tied tutus.

There will be updates on my progress on these projects in the next weeks. Stay tuned!

Little Stinker

2011-08-17T15:49:00.000-07:00

My "terrible two" year old has been trying hard these days to be as crabby and difficult as possible. He TRIES to be mad and unhappy about anything I say or anything we do. Although I know I shouldn't take it personally, sometimes it hurts my feelings. So today while we were laying down for nap, there was a moment when he [almost] hurt my feelings. I tried to give him a hug and kiss and told him, "I love you". Then, with a scowl on his face, he screams and he pushes me away and says, "No, I don wuv you, Mommy". Ouch. Just then he lets out a loud fart and immediately his face brightens and he starts cracking up. It was great - I didn't even have time to be sad because we were both laughing at the fart. Yes, I know...totally immature.

Feather Massacre

2011-08-16T13:40:00.000-07:00

So I thought my almost 3 year old, Litttle B, was quietly sitting in the next room watching a movie. Turns out he was having a lot more fun than I thought. I was working on a peacock feather headband. Little B was also working on a peacock feather project himself.

BEFORE
What the feathers usually look like

AFTER
Feathers are sad now :(

All these little shredded feather pieces were covering my foyer floor

Poor feathers

On a good note, here's the pretty headband I successfully made:

New Fancy Bands!

2011-08-08T22:16:00.000-07:00

Yikes, I've been completely slacking on my blog! I guess that just means I've been paying more attention to my family, which is probably a good thing... Both kids have been sick the last week and a half. It's amazing how much time and energy sick kids take out of you! Anyway, during my spare time, I've been creating a new headband line. While at a fabric store one day, I noticed some cool scalloped edge lace and thought to myself - that would make some really cool flowers! I bought the lace, but it's just been sitting under my desk the last couple weeks, untouched. Well, just last week, one of my friends asked me to come up with something white/off-white, soft, and classy (to match a GORGEOUS "princessy" dress she bought for her baby-to-be). Perfect! This gave me the motivation to get moving on these lace flowers. So, here are a couple of things I came up with. And there are still more Fancy Bands to come!

Missing Out

2011-07-26T16:13:00.000-07:00

A couple months ago, my parents decided they were going on an Alaskan vacation. My older brother has been living there in the summer these last couple years, leading outdoor adventures like hiking, climbing, and zip lining. So, Mom and Dad decided to plan a trip to visit him and see Alaska for the first time. They were going to meet my other two little brothers there as well. An Alaskan trip, with free [parental paid] lodging, and a chance to hang out with ALL my brothers who I miss so much. Sounds awesome! I was going to try to make this work because it really was a "once in a lifetime" opportunity.

There were just a couple things holding me back that I had to work out. Like....the kids. Alaska is not exactly an ideal place to take a toddler and an infant, so they couldn't come. I'd have to find some family to watch them throughout the week. I have my whole life with the kids - one week away from me isn't going to hurt them. And...nursing. I was still nursing Baby A, so I'd have to make sure to wean her by then because I was NOT pumping all through the trip. I wanted to go 12 months breastfeeding her, but 10 months is still pretty good, right? As I worked out all these details and planned which houses the kids would hop around to each day I'd be gone, I started feeling more and more guilty and selfish. The thought of having to pass them around from house to house so I could go on vacation started making me feel sick. And, after much deliberation over this and the thought of spending a big chunk of our family's money for my plane ticket, I decided that I probably shouldn't go :(

The trip was last week. And, no, I didn't go. Needless to say, I felt like I was missing out. I kept in touch with them the whole time they were there and listened listfully to all the stories of the beauty they saw, the adventures they had, and wildlife they experienced. They had an AWESOME trip. We welcomed my parents home last night and had a picture and souvenir-filled night. It was good to have them back. Baby A clapped her hands happily as we sat and ate dinner with them. My dad looked at her, surprised, and asked "When did she start clapping?"

I thought about it for a second, "Oh yea. She just started clapping a couple days ago." Throughout the rest of the night, my parents kept going on and on about how much she has changed in the last week - how well she can pick up food and put it in her mouth now, how she can hold herself up to standing with only one hand, how she understands the word "no" now, and how she can stand for a couple of seconds without holding on to anything. Wow, a lot has happened with her this last week!

I keep thinking to myself - what if I would have gone on this trip? I think about baby A's first precious clap. She was laying on her changing table, looking up at the picture on her wall, smiling her big 2-tooth smile, and slowly brought her hands together a couple times. She was so proud of herself for learning how to clap and so happy to see my excitement over this accomplishment. We laughed and clapped together for about 2 minutes. And although I didn't realize it at the time - that moment right there was one of the most precious moments of my life. And to think, I could have missed out on it had I not been there.

Opening Day and Week 1

2011-07-18T20:20:00.000-07:00

I should have picked a better day for opening the website. It was rough. Husband was out of town, it was the day after a big family party so the kids were up late, and it was a Monday - my day to get my life/house back in order after the weekend. But, of course, hindsight is 20/20.

There were a lot of last minute tweaks I had to do - adding pics of some of some items, fixing descriptions, and fixing some shopping cart issues, etc. I was a bad mom all morning. I fed and bathed the kids, but in between those times - the TV was on, toys sprawled out over every room in the house, dishes and laundry piled up, and I was on the computer. I wanted to open up the site at 5pm. With the kids usual napping schedule, the timing should have worked out perfectly, but that's not how the world works, is it?

One fell asleep earlier than usual, and one fell asleep later. So when the 2nd one went down for nap, the other one was starting to wake up! At opening time I was on the computer trying to get some last minute stuff done while Baby A was back in her room yelling for me to come get her. When the website first opened up, I found some problems I had to fix. Although flustered, I was able to fix the issues with a baby in my lap. So the store opened...an hour late. I got a few orders the first week, and the timing of everything worked out fine. It was actually a lot of FUN fulfilling the orders, and packaging them up and sending them off. It really gave me a feeling of ACCOMPLISHMENT, which has been rare for me since I became a stay at home mom and everything I do is an ongoing task.

So, although it started out a bit rough, the good news is I now have a fully functioning, beautiful web store....and the kids are fine, and my house is still standing. Even though it took a little longer than usual, the dishes and laundry got done, and the house will be clean again...someday.

Amylou Store

Different Wavelengths

2011-07-15T10:04:00.000-07:00

After running some errands yesterday, I pulled into the garage and opened up the van door to get the kids out. I unbuckled Benjamin and took Ava's car seat carrier out. Benj leading the way, and 30 pound car seat in arm, we walked up the stairs to the house and Benj decided to stop and the top of the stairs blocking the doorway and insist on pushing the button to open the garage door. "Come on, Benjamin, you can push the button later. Let's go inside." He is now fussing and screaming that he wants to push the button. I kindly explain to him, "Benjamin, Mommy is holding Ava's car seat which is really heavy and I would like to walk inside so I can put it down. My arm is very tired, and my hands are full so I can't lift you up to push the button. You need to try to think about how others are feeling and not just yourself." Benjamin stands and contemplates, looks at Ava for a few seconds and responds, "Ava haves teeth, Mommy." Clearly we are on two different wavelengths.

Opening Day Tomorrow!

2011-07-10T18:50:00.000-07:00

I previously blogged that I am opening up the website for purchases on July 11th. Well that's tomorrow! Everything is technically ok and working, but I am not as ready as I'd like to be. There's a few more products I'd like to put out there, but I figure what the heck, let's just do this already! I can always add more products later! So, as originally planned, amyloubaby.com opens tomorrow 7/11 at 5:00pm (CST).

Tutu Cute!

2011-07-08T08:20:00.000-07:00

A little tutu preview!

Rainbow

Lime Punch

Mint Chocolate

Ice Cream Sprinkles

Witch's Brew

Pretty Peacock

Ava Grace

Strawberry Kiwi

Our Florida Vacation

2011-07-05T15:45:00.000-07:00

The Drive

The kids did awesome in the car. I made sure to pack lots of DVDs and new books and stickers to keep them entertained. I brought a bag full of ribbons and thread and actually got to sew quite a few flowers. On the way down we stopped in Nashville for a few nights to visit family, so breaking up the trip really helped. On the way back, we drove all the way through, but left super early in the morning so the kids slept the first few hours.

The Beach and Pool

Both kids LOVED the beach. Little B had a blast letting himself get knocked over by the waves, and as I suspected, Baby A loved the taste of the sand! The place we stayed was a couple blocks from the beach, so I was a little nervous about how naptime was going to go, but Baby A slept great in this little baby tent we brought with us. The sun and ocean wore her out and there was a great breeze to keep her cool. The greatest thing about the place we stayed was the pool. They had a gradual decline pool, so right where the water starts is perfect for babies and toddlers to play (and for mommies and daddies to sit and relax next to them).

Mommy and Daddy
Mommy and Daddy had a good time as well. Daddy got to play some golf, and Mommy got to do some shopping at the outlet mall. And I even read a whole book! (from 4 book clubs ago) Although I wouldn't call it a RELAXING trip, it was a lot of FUN, and I'm so thankful we had the opportunity to go. I just love seeing the excitement in the kids' eyes at the beach. It takes me back to my childhood when everything was just so magical.

Headbands and Minivans

2011-06-20T21:45:00.000-07:00

I've been sewing flowers and updating the website with new pictures every chance I get, getting ready for opening day. Here's a few of baby A modeling one of her Amylou headbands. Don't you just want to pinch those cheeks??

I also have a family vacation coming up! So things have been a little hectic around our household. I remember the good ole days when packing for vacation was carefully picking out all my cute swim suits and beach clothes and a different pair of flip flops to match each one. I used to have a separate suitcase just for shoes. Now I have a separate suitcase just for diapers. And I make sure all the clothes I pack for myself will match the ONE pair of black flip flops I can squeeze into my bag. It's amazing how much stuff you have to pack for a baby! Bibs, bottles, breastpump, diapers, wipes, baby food, toys and books for the car ride, and LOTS of clothes. Baby A is a picky eater too, and the only thing she'll eat is homemade veggie/chicken medleys, so I think the food processor is coming with us too. Not to mention sippy cups, snacks, and toys for little B. Good thing he's [mostly] potty trained now because underwear takes up much less space than diapers and wipes.

Every time we go on a road trip it's a new adventure. The kids are a different age, and at every age they react differently on the ride. I have a good feeling about this one since baby A can be entertained with toys and books for a decent amount of time. Thank God for the minivan and DVD player! I'm so excited about our trip. I can't wait to see how baby A reacts to the sand. Bon Voyage!

A Little Preview

2011-06-13T13:03:00.000-07:00

Here is a little preview of things to come. Just a few of the flowers I've been working on :)

The Bank

2011-06-09T14:47:00.000-07:00

I took the kids to the bank today to open up my business bank account. With my baby bag on my shoulder, car seat on one hand, toddler on another hand, and folder with all my paperwork in my other hand...wait, that's too many hands. Well, somehow I managed to get it all in there. After a short wait, I was led to a banker desk with an elderly woman clerk. We'll call her Jane. I gathered all my stuff and children and sat at her desk. Jane didn't seem too thrilled to see the kids, but the good news is they were charming all the other people there. After the first 10 minutes of my 2 year old son sitting and coloring nicely and my 9 month old daughter happily sitting in her car seat looking around, I had a feeling this was going to go a lot smoother than I had anticipated!

Well, I don't think Jane had previous experience setting up a business account. Jane was doing a lot of reading behind that computer screen, and things took a lot longer than I had hoped. My son spotted the candy jar on her desk. Then he was tired of nicely coloring and started violently covering the paper in crayon, drawing a big purple line across the front of Jane's desk. Then he spotted the candy jar. "I want canny!" "Ok, sweetie. You can HOLD the candy in your hand and if you're a good boy while we're at the bank, you can eat it." He opens it, then tells me that he wants to eat it about a hundred times in a row. Jane is talking to me. "Ok, go ahead and eat it, but you have to be a good boy." He puts it in his mouth. Ah, peace and quiet.

Jane gathered all the needed paperwork and identification from me and started to fax something off to get approval. She comes back. "Oh, Miss, your son just dropped his candy on the floor and this floor is really dirty because of all the construction going on." I look at him - it's in his mouth. Great.

Uh oh, I hear crunching - my son figured out how to chew the candy instead of just keeping it in his mouth and letting it melt away slowly. Darn, this wasn't going to last long.

"More canny peese Mommy." Argh. Do I just give more to him to shush him up and look like a bad parent? Or do i keep up my good mommy appearance? Well, hadn't reached my breaking point yet, so I go for looking good. "No no sweetie, only one piece. You can have another piece after lunch." Then I got up and got him a book from the magazine rack. "Sit down and read this, k?" He did. For about 60 seconds. He starts to antagonize my daughter in her car seat. She start to fuss. I pick her up and hold her while Jane continues to talk to me.

"Good news. It's approved. I'll go ahead and get the account started." After asking me a bunch of questions about what type of account I want, she continues typing away behind the computer screen. She pulls out a brochure on a machine that accepts credit cards. "Do you want an account that accepts credit cards?" I tell her no, I'm just using Paypal to start. I think about it a little, "Well, I may be interested in that in the future. Can I go ahead and take that brochure to go over it later." She tells me no, I can't take the brochure but she can make a copy of it for me. She says the brochures are downstairs, and it's dirty down there. Really? So basically she didn't want to get up and go get one for me.

It's been a good 50 minutes by now, and my son has gone through all the books and toys and rolling on the floor fussing and begging for more candy. My daughter is ready for a nap and whining, and I already had to call and cancel my son's haircut appointment because this was taking longer than I expected. Finally, the account is ready! Time to go!

As I'm getting up to leave Jane says, "One more thing before you go. Do you mind if I fill out this form and send it into the company that sells the credit card accepting machine I told you about? I get credit for mentioning it." Are you kidding me??? You never even actually give me a brochure. "Sure" I say, "Thank you for your help."

July 11th

2011-06-07T20:44:00.000-07:00

I decided July 11th will be the grand opening of the store. This will give me about a week after we get back from our family vacation to prepare for it. I don't think I will ever be completely mentally prepared, so I'm going to have to just go for it. I'm going to have to accept the fact that there is no way I can foresee and prepare for all the issues I will come across and just open up shop and see how it goes and address any problems as they come. I have most of the paperwork done. I'm just waiting on a sales tax number from the IRS,a couple legal questions to address with a lawyer, and I need to set up my business bank account. Who knew that getting to the bank could be so difficult?! I keep putting it off because I'm waiting for a good time to go. Let's logically think about this though. Banks are open during regular business hours. My husband works during regular business hours. I have two kids during regular business hours. So I guess this is why I can't find a good time to go. I think I will just have to chance it and go with the kids. This could be an adventure!

It's Official

2011-05-26T13:54:00.000-07:00

It's official. I have a company! I have done all the paper work and Amylou is now officially an LLC according to the state of Missouri. Hopefully I will be ready to open up shop real soon. I'll be selling handcrafted baby and toddler gifts, like headbands and tutus. My website, www.amyloubaby.com, is currently under construction. I had hoped to have started selling by now, but my website ended up being a lot more "professional" than I had originally planned (thanks to my very driven and very talented cousin, Jonathan), so instead of selling a handful of items to family and friends as a hobby and to make a little extra cash, I'm going to try to do this big[ger].

THE INSPIRATION: my daughter. Oh yea, another reason I haven't officially opened yet. I just had a baby! Well, 8 months ago I had a baby. But this 8 month old didn't want to be on a schedule that coincided with her 2 year old brother's schedule until a couple weeks ago. And it's STILL not consistent. It took her brother about a year to start taking a good 3 hour nap every day at the same time, so I'm hoping that runs in the family! I'm so hesitant to open the website up if I don't have sure time (at least an hour or 2) every day when I can work on my store. I don't want to cut into my sleep time...that's far too valuable! So until school starts, I'm going to have to be careful about making sure I have enough time for work while staying home with the kids. My #1 priority: my family. I am a wife and mom first, and if my business gets in the way of that, guess which one has to go. I want to continue being a stay-at-home mom, but also would love to pursue this passion of mine. If I can do both, GREAT!

Baby A's First Tooth

2011-05-24T14:33:00.000-07:00

It's funny how such a silly thing can be such a monumental and emotional day. My 8 and a half month old daughter sprouted her first tooth today. Her bottom, left front tooth to be exact. With my son, I couldn't wait for him to hit all these milestones. And now with her, who may be our last kid depending on how her toddler years start, I want time to slow down. I'm sad that this little tooth is making its way into our world :( I just keep thinking of how much I love her little toothless, gummy smile. And this new tooth is a sign of her turning into a little kid. I feel like time is running water, and I keep trying to catch it all and cherish every moment, but my hands aren't big enough and the water keeps overflowing out of my hands.

My First Blog Post

2011-05-03T20:52:00.000-07:00

I am a 28 year old stay-at-home mom of 2, who has nothing but free time to sit and blog! Just kidding. I had this vision of a peaceful life with an amazing husband and beautiful children who are mostly perfectly behaved. In my vision, the kids and I do fun things during the day, and evenings consist of playing, family walks, and home cooked meals. Then sweet bedtime stories and kisses goodnight. Well, didn't quite all work out that way. Yes, I have an amazing husband and two kids who I love with all my heart, but there's a lot of difficulty in between all the sweet lovey moments. Kids aren't born well-behaved - it takes years of patience, love, and discipline (WORST part of parenting). And I've learned that those homecooked meals only happen when my hubby gets home at a decent hour from work and I can actually find the time in between diapers, nursing, potty training, feeding, and cleaning to cook. My life is hectic, but it's also never been better.

So since I have so much free time, I decided that I want to start a company - "Amylou". I am making cute little baby accessories (headbands, hats, tutus, etc). I have been inspired by all of the cute little girl stuff I have recently discovered through gifts and shopping for my baby girl. So, in my blog I am going to share with you this crazy experience of being a mom of 2 babies and launching and running a new business! Wish me luck!!