Summer Vacation

While you're sipping your sweet tea this summer, come visit me over at my crafty business blog, http://www.polkadotmom.com.

I am having a bit of trouble keeping up with two blogs as I want to spend all of my free time outside with my two girls (and hanging with my husband too), so I'll be writing about my business and polka dot decorating over there too.

I'll be typing while swinging away in my original Pawley's Island Hammock - a wedding gift from all of my sweet college girlfriends. It has only taken six years to put up, but well worth the wait. A hammock in the summertime...pure heaven!

What are your favorite summer things?

Come see me soon at Polka Dot Mom!

Summer Apron Swap

This photo is from a favorite blog of mine - Your Home Based Mom. She participated in Feathured Nest's Summer Apron Swap too.

No, these "Beach Babes" aprons are not for her swap!

This photo is hilarious and I thought it would make your day!

Here is my preppy pink and green apron creation for the swap...shipped to Joscelyne in Hawaii:

Abby from Feathured Nest designed this cute wrap apron and has posted free apron instructions too. She's the best and it really is "quick & easy" like she says.

Happy Summer!

P.S. - I forgot to tell you that the "bikini tops" above are actually removeable pot holders! Haaaaaaaa!

Recent Birthday Designs

We made this pair of Cupcake Applique Tees for our good friend Ashley, owner of Me Oh My! Paper Boutique. Her oldest daughter is turning two and she just had a new baby girl a few weeks ago so she and sister will have a matching set for the birthday party.

We used designer Pink Damask fabric for the icing, Lime Dots for the wrapper and Candy Damask for the cherry. You can always design-your-own cupcake tee at Polka Dot Market.

We designed this Applique Initial Bib for a favorite customer here in Nashville. Her daughter, Rayleigh, had a cupcake tee to match her Pink Ta Dots fabric bib. Her bib will soon be available online:



We would be delighted to design something special for your upcoming birthday parties too. Just contact us to begin. There is never an additional charge for a custom piece.

Come see us soon at the Market!

Damask Birthday Tee

Here is a photo of my little four-year-old sweetie!

She picked the hot pink/candy pind damask fabric by designer Michael Miller for her pink Birthday Number Tee.

She wore this outfit for her birthday day at preschool. Hot pink madras plaid shorts from her Auntie CaryAnn and hot pink butterfly sandals from a local big store and topped off with a pink hair bow from her Aunt Ann. This is her kind of outfit - PINK!

For her treats for her classmates, we found mini sandwich cookies in the bakery at our grocery store. I'm sure all the kids were on a major sugar high after those (sorry, Miss Rosie). I even think Dad treated her to a frozen Coke on her way home too. It was fun for us to spoil her all weekend long. She deserves it - she is a great kid!

I am happy to help you design a Birthday Tee for your son or daughter too. They are just plain FUN! Click here to contact me directly or come see me at www.polka-dot-market.com.

Four Going on Sixteen?

We were at our four-year-old daughter's preschool music program yesterday. It was adorable - picture thirty 3- and 4-year-olds with tambourines and streamers and sunglasses!

After the show, parents and guests were invited to meet their little stars on the playground to congratulate them (and then say good-bye). Our youngest will be two in August and was thrilled to be playing with the big kids.

Our two girls soon found the little red car and hopped right in. This picture makes me laugh because our oldest is serious about her "job" as the driver and the youngest is just along for the ride!

I thought this photo was a little glimpse into my future when they are both in high school and driving all around town to meet their friends. Seems so far away now when they are young, but I know it will come sooner than I think!

One more day of school for Mia...then a summer filled with swimming and sandboxes and a few laps around the cul-de-sac in their battery Jeep!

Watch out, here they come...Beep! Beep!

Initial Aprons for Women made for Today Show

We are working with children's cookbook author Barbara Beery of Batter Up Kids to promote her new online kitchen essentials gift shop, Kids Cooking Shop (launching in August).

Barbara is appearing tomorrow (Friday) on NBC's Today Show for a cooking segment and we sent her along with two coordinating initial aprons from Polka Dot Market for Meredith and herself. We are not sure if our aprons will appear on the show, but we wanted to share the new designs and this new partnership with you.

Barbara is the author of so many great children's cookbooks. I was in Barnes & Noble with my daughters the other day and while they played trains, I looked on the bookshelf behind me and there were Barbara's books, Fairies Cookbook and Pink Princess Cookbook. They are both filled with easy and delicious recipes for kids. We used a few recipes for my daughter's recent 4th birthday tea party!

Here is Meredith's apron (available in our Etsy shop for a limited time):

Here is a cutie-pie model from Lot 116 Photography. She loves her new pink apron with her initial in designer Carnival Bloom fabric! After the photo shoot, she handed the apron to her mom thinking that she could not keep it. When we told her it was her apron to keep, she squealed with delight! We hope your favorite little girl is this excited to wear her new apron too!
Now available inside Polka Dot Market (view all of our big initial aprons):

Our adult aprons are perfect for bridesmaids, shower hostesses, teachers, graduates, best friends and more. May also be worn by tweens and teens.

Made to order - pair with a cooking-themed gift basket for a gift she's sure to love!

Happy cooking - I'll let you know if our aprons appear on the Today Show tomorrow,

Sally

Our Blogs

Since we LOVE polka dots so much, we wanted to share our polka dot lifestyle blogs with you:

• Polka Dot Birthday
• Polka Dot Mom

You guessed it, Polka Dot Birthday is all about birthday parties, clothing, decorations, invitations and more! We add new products and party ideas all the time, so check it out!

Our popular blog Polka Dot Mom features crafty moms in business and their unique polka dot products. New moms are popping up all the time and we are so proud to promote their small businesses. You can join us, read about our talented moms or simply stop by to enter our weekly giveaway contests.

Now you know where we've been hanging out. Come by and see us!

Spring Dots for your Home

We love the navy and white polka dot pillows inside the spring Pottery Barn catalog! Isn't this room amazing? I love it when I see polka dots. My eyes are drawn to them and they add such a splash of FUN to this nautical-theme room. Those pillows are definitely on my list for new spring decor in the living room or the play room...not sure which yet!




These adorable polka dot bikini towels would match my daughters' bathroom perfectly! I love the appliques and ribbon details on these bath towels. Such an easy way to update your bathroom for spring!




My favorite spring decor find are these polka dot canvas buckets by Pottery Barn Kids. My office and studio are pink and green, my daughters' room is pink and green...so these storage bags are calling my name! I love the option to personalized your buckets with a name or the actual item to be stored. Genious!

I must admit, I love it when a new catalog arrives in my mailbox. I love it even more when I see polka dots as I'm flipping the pages. What are your favorite polka dot finds this season?

Happy spring decorating!

Our Easter Weekend

A helicopter? What does that have to do with Easter??


We found out last-minute that a local church was hosting an "Egg Drop" at the high school near our house, so we grabbed the girls and away we went.


I promised my oldest daughter an egg hunt and a helicopter dropping eggs. That all happened, but with the huge crowd, we ended up with zero eggs. None! Our neighbors gave the girls one egg each, so that was much appreciated! We saw all of our neighbors at the event and our little one was thrilled just to run around a football field with a ton of kids. The oldest was disappointed, but it gave us a chance to talk with her again about being THANKFUL for what we do have. Besides, the Easter Bunny was still going to visit our house!


Today, our church hosted an Easter brunch and egg hunt for the kids this morning. I must not be good at this...after the girls put their jackets on, we were the last family outside and my girls found only two eggs each. Better than the helicopter experience, but two?! Do I need to be more competitive with this egg-hunting business?


I can never get a photo of the girls when they are BOTH looking at the camera:






Our girls had a ball at church, then we spent the rest of the day with family. They found eggs all day long and now they have two baskets overflowing with Easter eggs. Now I'm wondering what to do with all of this candy?


It was really, really fun to be with my girls all day long for TWO days in a row without working. I think I need to take weekends off more often!


The girls' dresses are made by Becky at Granny B's Clothesline.


Hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend too!

Polka Dot Rain Coat & Umbrella

How cute is this Pastel Disco Dot rain coat, boots and umbrella set?

Spring showers are on their way!

So, it did snow here in Nashville on Saturday. Then it melted and made lots of MUD. These boots are needed around here! Last year I found a pair of polka dot rain boots at Old Navy for my oldest daughter. Her feet have grown and we are looking for a new pair. She is almost four and my youngest is almost 20 months old. They both LOVE puddles so this outfit is a must!

Found at the cutest little website (polka dots everywhere), Duck Duck Goose Boutique. So much fun. They have dresses, boys' clothes, shoes, baby gifts and diaper bags too. It really is a great store. Have you seen the CROCS for spring that are like Mary Janes? Maybe these were out last year and I'm just way behind, but I really want these for my girls. I'm searching for a shop that has my girls' sizes in stock. These shoes sell so quickly!

If you love the Pastel Disco Dots fabric shown in the rain set above, I have it available in my shop. I can make Initial Tees, Birthday Tees, Initial Bags, Diaper Bags or Girl Purses with it!

What is on your shopping list for spring?

Kid's Initial Tees for Spring

The short-sleeve shirts are here for spring...if only the weather would cooperate, right?

It's a little cold here in Nashville today, but Easter is just a few weeks away and I am hoping for some spring flowers soon (at least for Easter Sunday).

Our model, PJ, is wearing our hot pink/pink Candy Damask shirt in the photo above. We have a wide selection of damask fabrics for spring.

We just ordered some black/white damask too...which would look really cute as in initial or number on a pink or white tee.

There are a lot of choices in fabrics, ribbons, shirt colors and styles at Polka Dot Market. Sometimes it can be overwhelming (for you and for me!). If you ever want to write or call me to discuss your design, I will lay out the fabrics and ribbons and then send you a photo. It's that easy!

Look for this great damask fabric to start popping up on our Girls Initial Aprons too.

For boys, we have preppy seersucker stripes and a new "Chocolate Pony" or "Vintage Firetrucks" fabric for their Birthday Number or Initial Tees. Remember, any fabric you see on our site can be made into a custom applique number or initial for your favorite little boy too.

I am busy sewing lots of Easter baskets this week (order deadline is Monday), so spring is on my mind. It is cold and they are calling for snow tonight...we'll see!

Come to Polka Dot Market to see more of our Damask Tees for girls and Initial Tees for kids.

I'll let you know about the snow.
Sally

Personalized Easter Gifts Deadline

Please order your personalized Easter gifts by Monday, March 10th for on-time Easter delivery.

Thank you!

Big Initial Bag Giveaway

One of our favorite customers is featuring Polka Dot Market on her design blog this week. Jade O'Connor is a designer and mom to twin girls. We made birthday shirts for their Valentine's Day birthday party in coordinating hot pink and red polka dots. They were adorable!

We have partnered with Jade to sponsor her Easter Giveway. It's easy to win, simply post a comment on Jade's blog and wait patiently until March 3rd when she announces the winner.

Your Big Initial Bag will be custom-made for you in time for Easter. Enter today!

Personalized Easter Baskets for Boys

We didn't forget about the boys for Easter! This photo above is from Gymboree.com and features their spring clothing collection of chocolate browns, blues, greens and khakis for boys.
So we designed a personalized initial Easter bag to match - choose your gingham fabric and your trims. We have chocolate gingham too, moms!



For older boys, we can use a solid ribbon trim, or no trim at all. This bag is simple, yet durable and will look great in your Easter photos! Boys won't mind filling our 7" diameter canvas bucket bags with lots of Easter eggs.

After Easter, he can store his favorite cars, action figures, markers, stuffed animals or socks in this personalized bag. Or, safely tuck it away for next year so it looks good-as-new (boys can be rough, right?).

We have personalized painted Easter pails for boys too. Come see us at Polka Dot Market this week.

Easter Girls in Pink and Chocolate

These beautiful Easter dresses from Gymboree inspired me to create a pastel pink and chocolate personalized Easter basket bag to match:

Our pink and chocolate Easter bag features a spring pink floral fabric for her initial applique, light pink grosgrain ribbon and rick-rack trims and two big chocolate polka dot grosgrain ribbon bows at the base of each handle. We have some more styles on the site and more to come too!

Updated 2/6/09 - Here are the Easter 2009 personalized initial Easter basket bags for kids from Polka Dot Market:

A Polka Dot Valentine Craft for You

I wrote an article on how to make these cute (and easy) Valentine's Day lollipops on Polka Dot Mom. This is an idea from Martha!

Click to learn how to make your own Valentine Lollipops for kids.

Around Here...

I had my first sick-day in a long time yesterday. I think I caught the bug my 3-year-old daughter brought home from preschool. Not fun!

My husband, John, was home with our two girls all day. He made Mia's lunch for preschool (she's been well since Saturday), took her and picked her up. He played with little Lauren all day too! I was in our dark bedroom with a pillow on top of my head with the worst headache in the world after my rough morning of fun flu symptoms. What saved the day? A frozen Coke from our convenience store. I think I was having caffeine withdrawals. How embarrassing. After the morning episodes, I didn't want to drink or eat anything, much less my coffee. So John saved the day again with a special delivery of an ice cold slushi Coke Classic. Yea!

I managed to stand upright by about 6pm. Then the tornados and storms started coming through Nashville. I was glued to the weather report on the local news. Around 10pm we woke up the girls and took them to our bathroom (safest room in the house) to wait out the Tornado Warning. Thankfully the girls went right back to bed after all that. Then there were more storms behind that one, so I was on TV duty while everyone in the house slept.

I cleaned my studio, sent a bunch of e-mails, cleaned my inbox, put the girls' toys away, tidied up the kitchen and now I can add that "I Blogged!" to my list of accomplishments. Next up, cutting lots of initials for your custom tees, bibs and bags. I'm really looking forward to it actually!

My 18-month-old, Lauren, is upstairs in her room now saying, "Mommy? Mommy!" in the sweetest voice.

Back to being a mom (my favorite job) and thank goodness it was only a 24-hour flu.

Stay well, friends!

Short-Sleeve Shirts Have Arrived

The weather is warming up in some parts of the country, while the snow is still piling up in others!

We have re-stocked our "warehouse" with long-sleeve and short-sleeve shirt options for your custom Initial Tees.

Little boys love this navy shirt with our Retro Stripes initial fabric. For boys we have added more fabrics too: Vintage Fire Trucks and Classic Seersucker stripes in red, navy and green.

For girls we have short-sleeve shirts in classic pink, rich chocolate brown and white. Remember you pick the initial fabric, your shirt color and size and your trims...and we do the rest. Every order is a custom order at Polka Dot Market.

Even if you are still shoveling snow from your driveway, you can plan ahead and order your spring short-sleeve tees today. Dress them up in their handmade personalized tee for spring photos or the neighborhood Easter egg hunt.

I'm ready for warmer weather...though I cannot complain about the weather here in Tennessee. My mom is in Michigan and writes us daily about snow, ice, snow and more snow!

She is coming down for a visit next week to escape the cold and visit her granddaughters. I'll be sewing and designing new spring tees with new spring fabrics for you while my mom plays Play-Doh, trains and tea party with my girls.

Thinking of you...dreaming of spring!

St. Patrick's Day Shirts for Kids

There are a lot of new products coming soon at Polka Dot Market, but this is one of my favorites!

Designed by our friend, Carol, at Little Bow Peep Tails with emerald gingham fabric and emerald dots ribbon and rick-rack trim, your little leprechaun is sure to love wearing this shirt for St. Patrick's Day.

This is a preppy design that she can wear all year too. For boys we have white shirts with gingham or solid emerald for the fabric. We have a few shamrock fabrics for all of our Irish friends too. Short-sleeve or long-sleeve shirts are available for this design.

Pink and green...always a favorite around here!

Valentine Initial Tees

I created this hearts-a-flutter fabric "L" Big Initial Tee for my little sweetheart, Lauren. I've since added polka dot ribbon trim and ric-rac to the base of the shirt (you can too). When she stands still long enough for me to take a photo, I will post it here for you.

We have some really cute fabrics to match your Valentine's Day style:

• Michael Miller Pink Damask
• Kaufman Red or Hot Pink Dots
• Kaufman Tiny Hearts
• Red/White Stripe
• Michael Miller Candy Pink Dots
• ...and more (custom requests are welcome)
• See photos of our most popular Valentine fabrics for your initial

We have our new American Apparel pink or white long-sleeve tees in stock in all sizes. You will love these American-made shirts. So soft, thick and a great fit. You can't ask for more!

Order your polka dot Valentine's Day Big Initial Tee today...we are sewing and shipping these shirts as fast as we can so your kids can wear them before the big day.

Find adorable polka dot Valentine's Day hair bows to match at Little Bow Peep Tails too!