Christmas Initial Tees

Thank you to one of our favorite customers, Kelly, for sending this great photo of her two kids in front of their Christmas tree wearing their Polka Dot Market original initial tees. (You've seen her daughter before here on our blog!)


I love how both tees turned out. We custom-made the red stripes "g" for her son and the red dots initial shirt became a top seller (we are now selling this shirt for Valentine's Day too). Kelly is a great designer...she knows I have a BIG stash of fabrics and am always ready for custom orders.


We love to see photos of your kids wearing their Polka Dot Market big initial applique tees. We take our time to make each shirt unique and perfect for you. Every shirt includes a soft interior lining for durability and comfort (no scratchy applique backings here). Does your son or daughter love wearing their big initial tee? Send us a photo to post here on our blog and in an upcoming feature on our website!


Insider Information: I just returned from the fabric store with the cutest fabrics for our newest lines of holiday and spring initial tees. I have tiny hearts, tiny shamrocks, a new boy's stripe on the way and three beautiful florals for Easter shirts. In 2008, look for more ribbon trims, more ric-rac and free gift box options. Hooray!


You can purchase the red/white polka dots initial tee here in our Etsy shop: http://www.polkadotmarket.etsy.com/.

Snow in Tennessee

My brother-in-law, Steve, brought snow from Michigan (7+ hour drive in a cooler) so he could build my daughter a snowman in our front yard for Christmas. Can you believe it? What a great gift!


No long road trips this year...we are home and it is very relaxing. I have been missing my family in Michigan (all of my sisters are home too), but they keep sending me pictures and calling so I will make it!


Today the girls are going to Grandma's to play with their aunties who just flew in from Michigan. I will be sewing and shipping a few birthday orders for parties on January 4th then sneaking out for a few hours of shopping I hope. Our best friends from Michigan now live in Memphis and we will see them tonight for dinner as they drive through town on their way to Michigan for the holidays.


We hope you received something very special for Christmas yesterday too. My mom sent me my very own "Sally" blue Porsche car from the movie CARS. I love it! She is on top of my bookcase in my office for inspiration...to sew faster maybe?


I promise our new products and Valentine's Day tees will be up before the new year!


Happy day-after-Christmas-sale shopping. Write a comment and tell me your best bargain.

Sally

Christmas Fun

What is more fun than riding a tiny train inside the mall around and around a huge Christmas tree surrounded by fake snow with Santa's workshop next door? My two girls had a ball. We've visited the mall twice just to ride the train! Just seeing the big smiles on their faces was worth every penny. I squeezed into the back seat (though my 16-month-old probably doesn't need me around). My husband took the photos as we went around and around. Great family activity - I highly recommend it if your kids are still small enough!


My girls are wearing their aqua corduroy Christmas dresses made by Becky at Granny B's Clothesline and their matching hair bows made by Courtney at Back Flip Bows.


Merry Christmas!
Sally

Read More at Polka Dot Mom

We'd like to invite you to read our other blog too at Polka Dot Mom.

We'll be back soon to share new products at Polka Dot Market too.

While you are enjoying the Christmas break, come over and see what other crafty moms are creating too.

See you there!
Sally

My Best Friend

Where am I?

Oh, I'm with my best friend, Daisy.

Daisy is beautiful, kind, hard-working and has been ON 24 hours a day this week.

She is helping me create all of your handmade gifts for Christmas. We are working just as fast as we possibly can to ship everything by tomorrow at 3pm.

Thanks, Daisy! (When this is all over, I'll let you sleep, I promise.)

While We Sew...

For the next two weeks, we are sewing your Christmas gifts around the clock. We will be back with blog updates here after your gifts are in the mail. Want to read some fresh blog posts? Come on over and read our crafty moms blog at Polka Dot Mom.

See you there (and we'll be back with new products shortly)!

Happy Holidays,

Sally

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend

Wishing you and your family a safe, happy and healthy holiday weekend!

We are in Charlotte, North Carolina at my sister's house. My four sisters, parents and my grandmother made the trip too. My two girls are playing with their aunties and all the cool toys my sister brought home from work (she's a preschool teacher). This morning everyone is planning their day of shopping. We have to squeeze in taking a family Christmas photo, eating lots of leftovers and seeing my husband's family here in town too.

Two people just left for shopping, three are still sleeping, three are still at the hotel and I just put one down for a nap. Suddenly, my daughter and I are the only ones here!

Enjoying the quiet...how ever long it may last!

Monogram Christmas Aprons

Are you ready for your family's Christmas cookie decorating party? Don't forget your neighborhood play group too...there are so many reasons this time of year to get into your kitchen with the kids!

Of course, they will need a cute personalized Christmas apron to wear as they slice the cookies from Betty's secret cookie dough roll (that's Mrs. Crocker to you).

Moms wrote us asking for an adult Christmas apron...so here ya' go! We suggest tweens purchase the adult size apron. Our child's apron will fit up to age six, depending on your child's height and size.

We have true red and true green apons ready to personalize with your custom initial or embroidered monogram. Come see us real soon!

Christmas Initial Tees

Santa's elves came by with a bag full of white long-sleeve cotton tees and we thought, "Mmmm, let's make some Christmas tees with polka dot fabric initials!"

The true story is our customers have been asking for our line of Christmas tees for over a month. We are happy to say they are in stock now!

Our Christmas tees are perfect for school, holiday shopping trips, holiday parties, family photos and more. Every tee is made to order in your child's initial. You can choose your font style, ribbons and even ric-rac trims.

We are using 100% cotton white cotton tees for our Christmas Initial Shirts. To date we have two designs:

1. White tee with Robert Kaufman's Lime Dots fabric initial
2. White tee with Michael Miller's Christmas Ornaments fabric initial

Are we giving away all of our secrets? We know you love designer fabrics and great cotton tees, so we have just what you want. These shirts are now in stock for your good little boys and girls at Polka Dot Market!

Santa says, "Please order by December 11th for on-time Christmas delivery!"

One more thing to add to your Christmas to-do list:

Have you signed up for our newsletter yet? The big Santa Bucks giveaway is coming soon. Sign-up on our home page for our e-mail list so you don't miss the coupon code.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Polka Dot Halloween Queen

Hey, kids - Your favorite night of the year is finally here!

Our orange and black Halloween Initial Tees were a big hit this year. We had a ball making each and every one for you. Orange polka dot fabric, orange ric-rac, orange gingham ribbon and black shirts were flying everywhere!

Thanks to Kelly from North Carolina for sending this photo of her Halloween princess!

We hope all of the trick-or-treat bags and shirts we created are put to good use tonight by your favorite kids. My daughters will have their bags too!

My oldest daughter is dressing up as "Princess P" and my youngest will be "Little Red" from a new cartoon on PBS called "Super Why!" (they read fairy tails to solve every day problems...like "Princess and the Pea" and "Little Red Riding Hood"). The oldest INSISTED on this as her costume.

I am really looking forward to the evening outside with our neighbors and the girls' grandparents. I will be up late sewing tonight, inevitably eating the girls' prized candy corn and promising to "start my diet tomorrow".

I hope that YOU have a wonderful evening with your family too.

Thanks for letting Polka Dot Market be a part of your lives. Keep sending photos of your trick-or-treaters with their bags. We would love to see and will be posting more of our "models" on our website very soon.

Happy Halloween, ya'll!

Sally

Polka Dots and Gingham Bags for Kids

You can imagine our delight when we found these two fabrics inside our favorite fabric shop. Pink and chocolate gingham paired with a new super-soft chocolate with pink Polka Dots makes for a dee-licious combination! This new Initial Bag design is available in pink or aqua to suit your fancy. As always at Polka Dot Market, you choose the fabrics and ribbons and we'll do the rest!

Our personalized kid's Initial Bags always feature our signature super-size, hand-cut initial applique. We are proud of our designs and thank our customers for all of their enouragement and loyalty over the years.

So come back and see us to design your own initial tee, initial apron, or gingham and polka dots initial applique bag today!

Have a great week,
Sally

P.S. - We are busy catching up on orders and preparing our Christmas collection - check back soon for more great NEW t-shirts, aprons, skirts, hair bows and more!

"P" is for Princess

Every princess needs a shirt that is pretty, perfect, pink and personalized, right?

This is my new favorite shirt for fall (I have boys' shirts too). By customer request, we added some ribbon trim here and there (chocolate gingham shown here) to our long-sleeve pink Initial Tee for that extra special something!

We hope you love it. This is a birthday gift for a little girl named Parker. We hope SHE loves it!

See you soon at the Market - where our Halloween shirts and bags are going fast!
Sally

Thank You

We shipped one of our signature Pink Initial Purses to Caroline of jcarolinecreative! last month...and she has posted about us on her "blah, blah, blah, blog". Click to read about us on her blog.

Flowers for my Aunt Ann

...the quintessential Southern lady from Memphis, Tennessee who loved everything personalized, embroidered and monogrammed.

...ready to work at every wedding in her classic Gap overalls!

...the most generous woman who dressed my girls from head-to-toe in unique boutique clothing from many mom-owned websites across the country. You should have seen the presents at Christmas!

...my dad's big sister and a friend to all with the biggest smile, loudest laugh and best sense of humor.

...she never wanted anyone to fuss over her or worry about her - she took care of all of us!

...a beautiful spirit that will be missed and remembered and cherished.

Since I'm crying now, she'd say, "Go on out and get some good 'ole Tennessee barbeque and an ice cold beer for me."

Here's to you, Aunt Ann!

Love,

Sally, CaryAnn, Becky, Abby, Patty, John, Mia, Lauren, Lindsay and your little brother Bubba

Something Long, Something New, Something...

...Polka Dots Made Just for You!

By popular demand (and thanks to cooler temperatures), Polka Dot Market has finally found a great supplier for 100% cotton long-sleeve tee shirts for girls and boys. We are happy to create our unique initial and number applique shirts now in your child's size in our warm and soft long-sleeve tees. Hooray!


The shirt above was designed by our customer, Kelly, with her daughter's initial hand-cut from Michael Miller's Cocoa Pink Dumb Dots fabric (chocolate/pink) then appliqued to the shirt in chocolate thread. We love this new girl's applique font for initials and birthday numbers:

See you soon at Polka Dot Market! More fall/winter designs coming soon....

Sally

Fire Truck Initial Bags for Boys

Our popular "Big Initial Bags" are now in stock with a selection of fabrics just for boys! We have Michael Miller designer fabrics like Fire Trucks, Little Racers, Retro Stripe, Airplanes, Soccer Balls and more. Now your sons can enjoy a special tote bag just for them. These bags measure 13" tall, 13" wide and 4" deep and are made of durable natural cotton canvas. Moms tell us they can't believe how many cars and "boy stuff" their sons can fit inside these bags!

We've even added a new boy's font for his lowercase initial (or birthday number):

Come see us to design your personalized boy's initial bag today. These bags are also great as birthday gift bags - I fill them with gift tissue and one or two small gifts for the birthday boy. How do you use your "Big Initial Bags" from Polka Dot Market?

Thanks to Kelly from North Carolina for designing this adorable fire trucks bag!

See you soon at the Market,
Sally

Monogram Diaper Bags

I wanted to show you photos of a few of the latest diaper bag designs that our guests chose to embroider with their monogram initials or their full names. We think they look great and add a very special touch to any of our custom-made fabric bags and handbags.

More monogram bags are in-process right now, so check the site soon for more great product photos! Click to view our monogram font choices anytime.

See you soon at Polka Dot Market - Come design-your-own monogram bag today!

Sally

P.S. - Be sure to sign up for our newsletter for monthly specials too.

Personalized Kid Halloween Bags

Our popular personalized kid's initial Halloween bags are in stock now at Polka Dot Market!

Now we have three bag designs for trick-or-treat bags, personalized for your little girl or boy. For girls, we have our traditional Big Initial Bags (pictured above) or a new embroidered Monogram Halloween Bag which features a black canvas mini bag and a big orange and white polka dot ribbon stitched all around the top of the bag, then finished with a big polka dot ribbon bow. New for 2007, check out the Camouflage Halloween Boy Bags made with a fun camouflage and ghosts cotton fabric. The boy's trick-or-treat bag features his first initial hand-cut from orange Kona cotton fabric in a new masculine block font which is then appliqued in a tight satin-stitched.

All of our applique initials and numbers are hand-cut and machine-appliqued by yours truly. I do not use computerized embroidery designs (though that may be fun to learn one of these days).

As usual, we are working on more Halloween gift designs. A Halloween initial tee...a new trick-or-treat bucket bag, personalized stationery...the list goes on!

Be back soon with more personalized Halloween gift ideas. In the meantime, please post a comment with your child's costume ideas...we are stumped and need help dressing our two little girls for trick-or-treating!

See you soon at Polka Dot Market,
Sally

Where Have You Been?

My goodness, has it been over a week since I have posted? We have been working on so many new products and large orders at Polka Dot Market. Please excuse my absence!

Let me show you some of our new polka-dot-inspired products:

Personalized Initial Aprons for girls, moms and for boys (coming soon). The set above was designed by our customer, Megan, from Nashville. She designed two aprons: One natural apron with light pink polka dot fabric for the initial and matching 1.5" light pink polka dot grosgrain ribbon band and big bow stitched at the waistline. Her green apron features hot pink polka dot fabric for the initial and coordinating hot pink polka dot grosgrain ribbon. What a pair!

We are so pleased with this new black & pink Confetti Ribbons Purse designed by Cinda in North Carolina. Now you can add our trademark polka dot initial applique to your favorite confetti ribbons purse at Polka Dot Market. Our initials are always hand-cut and appliqued in a tight satin stitch to your item in coordinating thread. Each purse includes NINE YARDS of high-quality grosgrain ribbons triple-stitched and hand-knotted to the top of your purse. Ends are heat-sealed to prevent fraying. So many design options - choose your colors to match your school, cheer, dance or sorority.

Another new option in our collection of polka dot ribbon adult aprons are Monogram Aprons for women! This black and white polka dot apron & stationery gift set was designed by our customer, Mary, from Ohio for her daughter's wedding shower. Perfect for moms, brides, best friends, neighbors, teachers or sorority sisters. We love the idea of pairing our embroidered aprons (stitched with your choice of ribbon colors) with her favorite cookbook, new wooden spoons, cookie cutters or an item from her kitchen registry. Sororities love our aprons for community service events - wear 'em while you work! Our aprons are professionally embroidered in your choice of fonts and thread colors. Apron price includes embroidery of your name, phrase, initial or 3-initial monogram.

See? That's the answer to "Where Have You Been?" I'll do better this week and post some more. In fact, here's a sneak peak...hot off my Viking sewing machine:

Can you guess what's coming next? BOO!

See you soon at the Market,

Sally

Birthday Girl Initial Shirts

Isn't she cute? Her mom told us that she was running all over the park in her new shirt. Her custom "K" initial applique tee was perfect for an outdoor summer birthday party.

Click to view more of our polka dot birthday shirts and bibs at Polka Dot Market.

We love to hear from our customers about their birthday party themes, colors and ideas. We are working on several custom orders right now to match for boys and girls.

Photos of our completed boy's birthday shirts and bibs coming soon.

See you soon at the Market,

Sally

Two Birthdays!

Our daughter turned one on Sunday and I turned thirty-one on Monday! We had a great weekend...her party was on Saturday and the teddy bears theme was so much fun. The neighborhood kids made felt teddy bear necklaces, colored teddy bear clip art pages and snacked on teddy bear cookies.

I did not sew on Friday or Saturday - this is a first for me in a long time! Thank you to my customers for their patience for Monday shipments.

We've been working on a large order for a new retail store, Cakewalk, in the Raleigh, NC area.

Two sales have been extended to celebrate our two birthdays - visit our Sale page for great savings on polka-dot-inspired gifts.

Happy Birthday to all the August babies out there...we are busy sewing your birthday shirts and bibs!
Sally

Daily Reading & Shopping

Want to know what I've been reading? I spend a good bit of time every day on the computer responding to customers, ordering more fabric and ribbons and updating our website. I also like to read blogs and websites and articles that I can relate to as a busy working mom.

My new favorite site for bargain shopping, home decorating and being the best CEO of your home is the Penny Pincher. Penny is a real mom living in Charleston, South Carolina and she is a local writer and television personality. She has the BEST ideas for using your money wisely and creating cute gifts and accessories for your home. I learned about her site when she ordered a few sets of our disco dot personalized stationery (on sale now) for her show and now I'm hooked!

We were asked to be a part of Chic Shops Baby and I think it is a great new resource for the coolest baby gifts. Their site is bright and colorful and fun to click around. Find lots of free goodies, discount codes and new designers.
I love to order gifts from Etsy too. I usually buy from fellow moms in business to spread the love around! My most recent purchase was two Trendy Tatters teddy bear charm bracelets for my daughter's 1st birthday party this Saturday (big sister gets one too). The party theme is teddy bears...though I still haven't decided on the kid-friendly craft or activity. Any ideas? Please post - I need your help! Here is the bear bracelet:

Happy reading and shopping and we hope to see you soon at Polka Dot Market!

Sally

Fresh Twist on Personalized Birthday Gifts

Polka Dot Market is becoming known for our large initial applique bags and gifts - our Big Initial Bags (tm) are very popular! From the beginning, our initials have served as a "fresh twist on personalized gifts" - something different, unique and totally custom-made for our customers. We always want to keep our applique designs new and vibrant while maintaining our quality and value. So we have recently added our Big Initial Birthday (tm) line of gifts.

We hope you will stop by and check out the collection. It includes initials and numbers appliqued to bibs and tees. Oh my goodness - we are having too much fun designing these personalized applique birthday gifts for you!

Our Cupcake Shirts and our Birthday Number Shirts are now on sale through August 15th. Order early for the big birthday party and SAVE! Click to see all of our polka dot birthday shirts and bibs.

My youngest daughter is turning one on August 5th, so moms I am right there with you trying to get everything ready (and perfect) for her first birthday party. We are doing a teddy bears party theme - any suggestions for kid-friendly activities for all the 3- and 4-year-old siblings and friends?

Have a fantastic day everyone,
Sally

Fall Paisley Custom Fabric Bags

Love green and chocolate brown for fall? Me too!

Paisley & Polka Dots Collection -
This is our newest custom fabric bag for our fall 2007. The bold lime green paisley decorator fabric was a must-have on a recent shopping trip. In fact, we bought the entire bolt!

We paired the green paisley fabric with another favorite for the interior lining: Michael Miller's Cocoa Dumb Dots (chocolate and white polka dots).

This bag design is available in any of our custom bag sizes. Starting at just $35.00.

Just wanted to share this new product with you. More to come!
See more custom paisley fabric bags at Polka Dot Market.

Monogram Church Bag for Kids

True story:
Last Sunday morning, picture me running out of the house with THREE diaper bags filled with stuff for my two girls for church. One for my baby who needed a bag for the nursery, one for my preschooler filled with activities for the service, and one bag for me. I honestly tried to slim down the contents, but ended up walking in to church with THREE bags. It was a little embarrassing. Yes, each of my diaper bag were handmade with the cutest polka dot fabrics, but all together I looked pretty silly. I looked like a mom who couldn't decide which diaper bag to bring to church that morning. Here's what I absolutely needed from each bag:

For me - My wallet and make-up bag, panties and outfit for 3-year-old, juice box for ride home.
For my baby - 2 diapers, wipes case, bottle, snacks and change of clothes
For my preschooler - snack, paper, crayons, stickers, trains and her bear

Not that much stuff, right? So, here is my solution:
A SMALL "church bag" for each girl filled with exactly what they need. When I take the baby to the nursery, I proudly give them her small little tote bag, then my preschooler can carry her own tote bag to church. And I can carry ONE small handbag - that never happens!

I embroidered "church bag" on my bags, but you can choose to have their names or 3-initial monogram too! I have nearly every color choice of polka dot grosgrain ribbons too - pink, blue, green...pick your favorite for a free ribbon band and bow stitched to the top of your bag (front and back). Monogramming is FREE with the cost of this tote bag.

The best part? I get to walk in to church with ONE bag.

Here are some handy, mom-tested ideas for quiet church activities for your kids (they can help pack their own Church Bag each week):

• Coloring Pages (alphabet, animals, construction, trains, bible stories). Click for free coloring book pages - no pop-ups, some ads.
• Low-sugar snacks like crackers, cereal, grapes, apples (avoid noisy wrappers)
• Stickers (look for these free in your mailbox, or cut the free address labels you receive)
• Tic-tac-toe
• Magnet books
• One favorite toy from home (this usually helps with getting them into the car)

I hope our new personalized Church or Name Bags at Polka Dot Market will make your Sunday mornings quick and easy! Each tote bag measures 9" tall, 10" wide and 3" deep with 12" handles (perfect size for kids and quick trips).

Click to design your own personalized Church or Name Bag for your little boy or girl at Polka Dot Market now.

Post a comment and let us know what you do on Sunday mornings with your little kids running around.

Back-to-School Polka Dot Purses in your colors!

We just made this Auburn University colors polka dot purse for a customer in Georgia and it is our new favorite purse! We love her design - she picked a navy and white polka dots fabric exterior and handles, a solid orange cotton interior and an orange grosgrain ribbon bow. She added two interior pockets, a magnetic snap closure, and a monogram in the Curlz font in coordinating orange thread too.

Her design made me about all of our favorite high school and college football games coming up this fall - and what a perfect way to support our teams with a polka dot purse in your school colors!

Back-to-school shopping is right around the corner too. Order your custom handmade polka dot fabric purses from Polka Dot Market today and surprise a special daughter, grandaughter, niece, aunt or best friend with an adorable purse in her favorite school's colors!

We have polka dot fabrics in nearly every possible color PLUS high thread count Kona cotton solid fabrics in nearly every color to create your one-of-a-kind school colors purse. Oh yes, and we have grosgrain ribbons in every possible color coming out of every drawer in our office!

We would be so happy to sew even MORE school-inspired polka dot purses for our guests at Polka Dot Market. I wonder which school will receive the most orders...which school will have the most polka dot purses at the first home season game?

Isn't it fun to think about football season coming up?

Come on over to the Market, walk around and take a peak at our selection of fabrics for your back-to-school polka dot purse. You can contact us any time for custom colors or requests too.


We have several purse and tote bag sizes to suit your back-to-school needs!


See you soon at Polka Dot Market,
Sally

Summer Travels and Family Photos

Okay...a little shameless promotion, but isn't she adorable?! She is wearing my Polka Dot Market pink and green hat on a hot, sunny day up in Midland, Michigan last week. The real reason she is wearing it is because I left her hat at the house and she needed one. The fun reason is so she can tell folks about my business. Kids are great, right?

I wanted to tell you that we were traveling last week in Michigan visiting friends and family. We started the week in Detroit, went to the NASCAR race for my husband's company-sponsored car (#4 Ward Burton), then drove to Midland for more fun.

Here are my girls watching my dad's church VBS program on Friday (this was taken before I put hats on both of them).

See that cute green paisley diaper bag hiding behind her stroller? That's our newest diaper bag. I made it for a friend and customer, but secretly kept it for myself for our trip. Don't worry, I made her one too. The interior is chocolate polka dots fabric by Michael Miller. Love that!

Below is a picture of the girls with my husband's brother, Steve. He lives in Royal Oak, Michigan and is a graphic designer and art director. He designed the Polka Dot Market logo! The girls love their Uncle Stevie. (Wait - Lauren is wearing the same dress in both photos. Gotta love vacation!)

All in all, a great vacation! No sandy beaches this time, but lots of family and friends. We are happy to be home. Thank you to our customers who placed orders last week - they are all in process and will ship starting this week in the order received. You were busy designing lots of polka dot diaper bags and baby gifts last week. We have a full order book!

Happy summer everyone! New photos of our beach bags are up on the website too. Like flip flops? Come to the Market and check it out!

Sally

Polka Dot Ribbon Stationery is Back!

Our stationery designer, Ashley, has created more polka dot stationery note cards for us and we wanted you to be the first to know. By special request from our customer, Mandy, we have refreshed our classic design with new colors and bolder polka dots on our Ribbon Stationery.

Perfect for weddings, showers, birthdays, thank you notes and back-to-school, our personalized polka dot ribbon stationery will be a hit with everyone on your list!

Personalized your note cards with a first name, family name, initial, monogram or a phrase ("Thank You" is very popular). We have a selection of fonts and colors to choose from, of course, and your sets ship quickly for only $12.00 each. Sets arrive wrapped in a cellophane gift bag and tied with our boutique tag and coordinating grosgrain ribbon.

Create a matching polka dot fabric purse for an adorable gift set too!

Here are our current font choices for our polka dot stationery:
Available colors for our polka dot ribbon stationery: Chocolate brown, hot pink, light pink, light blue, navy blue, kelly green, purple and black. We can also create a custom stationery design for you like a hot pink ribbon band with kelly green personalization (for your favorite preppy pink-and-green girl) or light blue ribbon band with chocolate brown personalization (for wedding gifts or new baby boys). There are so many options - come see us at Polka Dot Market today to design your own personalized polka dot note card sets too!

Polka Dot Party Princess

We couldn't resist posting this photo of our friend's daughter at her polka-dot-inspired birthday party this weekend. Her mom, Ashley, is the designer of our line of disco dot personalized stationery at Polka Dot Market.

Send us photos anytime of your polka dot princess to sally@polka-dot-market.com.

Happy birthday, Molly Cate!

Polka Dot Totes for Your Bridesmaids

5 Reasons to Design-Your-Own Bridesmaid Tote Bags:

1. The girls will LOVE you forever


2. The bags are handmade to order for YOUR wedding


3. Your new mother-in-law will be impressed


4. Custom wedding tote bags start at just $18 each


5. Our bags shout, "Thank you for being in my wedding!"

Speaking of "five," one customer is giving each of her five lucky bridesmaids a Polka Dots & Paisley tote bag (pictured above) at her rehearsal dinner this Friday night.

To all of our brides, remember that every order over $75 receives FREE SHIPPING every day at Polka Dot Market.

We are working on an order for nine canvas totes in pink and chocolate - what a wonderful gift idea for your wedding party! Our personalized initial tote bags are only $18 each every day. We will upload a photo when they are finished for you to see. Updated 6/13/07 - Here are the nine polka dot initial bags:

See you at the Market-
Sally

Decorate Your Polka Dot Party!

Look what we found! Get ready to throw that "Polka Dot Party" you've always dreamed of with Target's line of affordably cute entertaining accessories in our favorite pattern: POLKA DOTS!

Available in two weeks from Target.com - The "Big Bash Collection" is a bright polka-dot-inspired party line of plates, mugs, serving pieces and even an adorable polka dot party cake stand. The cake stand is $24.99, a set of four cake plates or four ice cream bowls is $19.99 and a set of four mugs is $19.99 too.

Polka Dot Party Ideas:

Kid's Ice Cream Sundae Party - Use Target's polka dot ice cream bowls to create an entire theme, "Summer Ice Cream Sundaes". Cover the party table with two plastic tablecloths (stacked) from the dollar store (use blue tape to secure it under the table for a worry-free party). Use your polka dot cake stand as the centerpiece and top with small favor boxes for the kids, fresh flowers, or a balloon bouquet. Fill colorful bowls with sprinkles and candies, then set out chocolate and strawberry squeeze-bottle toppings. Have wipes and paper towels on hand. Give each child a polka dot ice cream bowl filled with scoops of ice cream, then let them play "Ice Cream Shop" at the table. Pre-ice cream activities could include coloring printed pictures of ice cream cones, playing "Pin the Scoop on the Cone" or even decorating little aprons.


Wedding or Baby Shower - A popular theme for showers this year, decorate with polka dots! Create a beautiful dessert table, then let guests serve themselves using their "Big Bash" polka dot cake plate. To use the large polka dot mugs, create a delicious coffee bar with flavored coffees, creamers, chocolates, liqueur, etc. After the party, you can then wash all the polka dot dishes and give to the new mom or bride as a special gift. Or, if you have a way to wash the plates and mugs at your location, guests can take their plate home as their shower favor! If you want to give the plates or mugs as a shower gift (only $5 each), but don't want to wash them, use them as your table setting decorations! I can see the plates holding a special card, photo or handmade placecard. The mugs can be filled with a single flower stem, candy, fancy tea bags or specialty coffees (chocolate covered pretzel sticks would be cute inside the mugs too).

I love parties and could go on and on with my ideas! I can't wait until this line of polka dot plates, mugs, bowls and serving pieces goes on sale at Target.com.


Hope you enjoyed our polka-dot-find this week! Visit Polka Dot Market for polka-dot-inspired gift ideas too.

Sally

Confetti Ribbon Purses for Summer

This Confetti Ribbons Purse is another NEW favorite of mine designed by a customer!

Let me tell you - I am so thankful and humbled that my wonderful customers trust me to create their unique, custom designs. This Confetti Ribbons Purse was designed by Katy in Mississippi. She writes, "Oh My Gosh!! It is soooo CUTE!! I LOVE IT!!! (My new co-workers) are going to LOVE it! THANKS for your hard work!!"

Katy selected a solid black canvas exterior and handles, a hot pink cotton interior with two XL pockets, a magnetic snap closure, and a Classic Script monogram in hot pink thread. We topped her design off with every hot pink, white and black ribbon we could find! She chose the "Allison" bag size and will be using it for work - she is a Mary Kay consultant. This bag is a guaranteed conversation-starter.

I started thinking of all the ways you could use a compliment to talk about your own small business:
"Oh, I love your bag!" they say...then you can say, "Thank you! I wanted to design a fun, energetic and happy purse that makes me feel just like my ______________ business does! Have you seen our new summer line of _____________? It's amazing!"

Here's your chance to design a one-of-a-kind purse to suit your style. We have tons of ribbons in stock in nearly every color! Contact us to start designing your own Confetti Purse today. Color consulations and custom designs are always free of charge.

My college friend, Ryann, is a huge Georgia Bulldogs fan - I am making this Confetti Purse for her in red, black and white. Another friend, Aimee, loves the Clemson Tigers (orange, purple, white). Can you imagine them at the tailgating parties this fall? The other ladies will be so jealous!

Let's match your wedding colors! Perfect for bridesmaids, attendants and flower girls. Very popular as birthday gifts too.

See you soon at Polka Dot Market - I can't wait to create YOUR custom Confetti Purse!

Sally

Initial Bag Gift Sets

How cute is this gift set? I wish I had thought of it myself. One of our customers designed this polka dot initial bag and personalized stationery set (I told you our customers have the best ideas). Abby's set features Michael Miller's chocolate polka dot background fabric and a solid pink cotton hand-cut initial. Her stationery set of twelve folded note cards features Michael Miller's pink and chocolate Disco Dots pattern. For around $30.00, you can create-your-own gift set for your favorite kid too. We have so many color combinations - the possibilities are endless! (Our stationery can be printed in your child's favorite colors too.)

For preschool or kindergarten graduation, surprise your son or daughter with their very own tote bag for summer. Perfect for trips to the pool, library or VBS. Their personalized stationery will be handy for thank you notes and summer letters to their grandparents too.

For weddings, gift this gift set to your flower girls and ring bearer. Fill with coloring books, crayons, stickers, hair bows, flip flops, or maybe a cute t-shirt to tell them, "Thanks for being in my wedding!"

This black polka dots and pink initial gift set features a canvas initial bag paired with a matching Gerber cotton burp cloth. Again, our customer thought of this one and WE LOVE IT!

Polka dot fabrics IN STOCK today: Red, Navy, Black, Yellow, Lime, Hot Pink, Pastel Pink, Pastel Blue, Purple, Royal Blue, Chocolate, and more!

Visit Polka Dot Market to design your own initial bag gift set today. Many of your custom designs make their way to our website as new samples - let's see your design!

Kids Birthday Shirts

Cupcake Birthday Tees are here!
This adorable birthday set includes a cupcake applique shirt and a matching bib with your child's birthday number. An embroidered monogram or name is available as an add-on feature.

We use Old Navy shirts for the cupcake applique design. We handcut your cupcake from three fabrics, so each shirt is made especially for your little birthday girl. The birthday number is made in coordinating pastel pink polka dot fabric in your child's age.

You may add a birthday candle (or two...) instead of the "cherry on top" to your cupcake. The birthday set for little boys is coming soon!

New Birthday Number Tees have arrived too!



Made with your choice of one number in big dots yellow, red, purple, green or blue fabric. Choose your child's shirt size too.

Available today in our Etsy.com shop at www.polkadotmarket.etsy.com.

Kids love announcing to the world, "It's My Birthday!" We love this big dots fabric and can't wait to create a birthday shirt for your favorite little boy or girl. Matching bibs available upon request for only $5.00.

Happy Birthday, Kids!