Etsy Progress

Phew! I have a pain in my elbow from sitting at my Mac for 30 hours a day but it's worth it! It would be great if Etsy would let you work on your listings without them going live, as far as I know, you can't save a listing in progress, so it can be tricky if you need to change something... stressful.
Well after I listed my first few dresses, I quickly realized I would basically be losing money, until I found one website that lets you buy fabric in small amounts! Sew Mama Sew is a GREAT online fabric store! Most others only let you get a half yard at the least.
So I had to do some swap outs here and there and I found some REALLY great new fabrics I had never seen before.
Sadly some of the fabrics I had my eye on just didn't exist outside of the designer's website (who didn't sell it him self, bummer) glad to find that out a head of time though!
There is this fancy tool called the Etsy Fee Calculator that does just that! You fill in the cost of supplies and shipping and it helps you figure a fair price so you can still get a profit. It figures in the fees that Etsy and Paypal take out (which to too much in my opinion).
Thats why my prices differ slightly, I am paying myself the same price per dress plus the cost for supplies!

Well, thats how it's going so far! Smoothing the kinks and having a blast!!

Darcy Doodles cookie recipe

Aww... pretty sister! She let me do her hair and make up all 40's-ish. Good sport that one. Ok, so my chocolate chip cookies are soft and sweet and perfectly delicious! The dough isn't bad either! ;) We added easter M&M's today, something about baking M&M's... yum

My chocolate chip cookie recipe has absolutely nothing to do with Mr. Darcy, other than they are both tasty! ;)

I got to use my little flowers.. I always forget to use them.

She posed for me and everything, see her apron? guess who embroidered it!

Darcy Doodles

1 c butter flavored CRISCO

3/4 c white sugar

3/4 c brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 t MEXICAN vanilla

2 1/4 c all purpose flour

1 t baking soda

1 t salt

2 c milk chocolate chips (or whatever you want to put in)

1. Preheat 350, grease or foil cookie sheets
2. Cream crisco, sugar and brown sugar
3. Add eggs one at a time, mix one in well before you add the other :)
4. Add vanilla
5. Combine flour, salt and baking soda in separate bowl
6. Add flour mixture gradually until well mixed
7. Fold in chocolate (or nuts, M&M's, toffee whatever!)
8. Drop by spoonful onto sheets, flatten a bit with fingers
9. Bake 10 min EXACTLY! Don't worry if they don't look done, they firm up as they COOL ON SHEET for 10 min. I usually have one sheet cooling while the other bakes, this keeps everything timed perfectly!

The important ingredients of this recipe are the BUTTER FLAVORED CRISCO and the MEXICAN VANILLA... makes all the diff! These just happen to be dairy free for us who are lactose intolerant, didn't mean for that to happen, just did! Magic.

Copy Cat MJ Dress

Here's my target, The MJ Peach Knot Dress. On eBay its 68.99... wouldn't you like to have it for HALF that?? I have found all but two of the exact fabrics! The yellow bodice fabric and blue shoulder straps have eluded me online but I'm not giving up the search. So far the other fabrics are from Heather Bailey and Amy Butler... top shelf designers! Heather Bailey may be in my top 3 list of favorite designers.

I really think it would be cute to move the apron fabric to the bodice and use a hankie for the apron, then I just need shoulder straps... who made you blue graphic fabric??

So when I find the last two pieces to my puzzle I will list it on etsy (www.embroidiva.etsy.com).

My Open Etsy Shop EmbroiDiva.etsy.com

Happy to announce that my NEW etsy shop is open and stocked with 6 dress options. As things (hopefully) take off I'm sure there will be kinks to smooth out and all that frustrating stuff, so if you think something would work a different way or sound better please let me know!
My many thanks to Leslie for letting me use Nellie Grace in my banner. Nellie Grace and her little friend Mary Meadows are my current models and they look FABULOUS! Thanks ladies!

Bubble Dress Success!

Ta DAAAA!!!!

My design worked! Most online tutorials used elastic for the bottom, but, yuck! How annoying would that be? SO I came up with a much better way to get a pouffy bottomed dress. I used some sparkly pink fabric I have had forever and made a mini version. Here we have my faithful servant Charlemagne modeling it!

What a sport he was to wear my sparkly pink dress, thats why I love you Char!

This Just In!

I know what I am going to do tonight!!!!

I am going to try to make a BuBbLe SkIrT dress! Somthing I have been pondering for weeks now! How cute will your little lady will look this summer in a poof!

What to do with my free time? or MY PAPERS ARE DONE!

Has this day actually aproached? Yes dear reader, I have about 13 pages of Times New Roman 12 point font waiting to get proof-read by some crazy women who actually like writing. yuck.

So now, I have but to wait for my revisions and print it out! Oh how my heart will sing when I turn it in! Now the question remains, what do I do now? It's too late to go anywhere tonight so I have resigned to eating a chocolate chip rice cake, and watch part 3 of the A&E Pride & Prejudice. While I shudder at it's low quality production and her creepy voice I am just happy to share my special moment with Jane Austen!

I know, I know, I just prefer the more visually apealing 2005 version, it's shorter but... Matthew MacFadyen!

...not Colin Firth

no

YES!

*sigh*

Have I converted you yet?

So I guess I did find some way to enjoy my first free hours! Scouring google images for Darcy!

Anthro Splurge

Don't get too excited, I didn't actually buy anything, but if I had the funds, I would bring these little darlings home.How perfect to complete the collection? As you recall, I finally got the spoons on clearance.
Hopefully these cups will fulfill a similar fate. They are originally $36... yikes! Well, this weekend I saw them marked down to $24... still yikes but thats a good sign that I can get them even cheaper soon! Here's hoping!
sigh, aren't they just too fun? I WILL have them.

Mary Meadows Had A Little Lamb!

Check out my latest little lovely!

Mary Had A Little Lamb, whose fleece was hand embroidered!

My color palette. So springy and fun! Mary Meadow's Grammy picked out the fabric and found the hankie at First Monday in Canton. And of course (mom's) DMC floss in every color wanted.

Grammy found the "Mary" embroidery on another dress, so using my cleverness, I made a pattern out of it. Working on such thin fabric was a challenge but it just took delicate stitching and less thread. Hankies for aprons from now on me thinks!

Instead of just embroidering Mary's apron, I thought wouldn't it be cute if she had the

old time-y peek a boo apron of her own? Then I embroidered a, M for Mary and mini rickrack to the bottom of the apron.

The Little Lamb is made with 2 different grays and loosey-goosey french knots to look wooly!

The bodice is sewn with contrasting orange thread that makes the animals on the fabric pop. I didn't want to lose the top of the hankie when I sewed the skirt to the bodice so I just folded it over for optimal cuteness.

My great-great Aunt Gennie was a famous seamstress, she worked for important Dallas families like the Bass family! (Bass concert hall) We have a lot of her old sewing notions and I found some lace that looked great with the fabric, I'm not sure if the rickrack was hers but I told myself it was! :)

The dress is infused with Jane Austen, I watched both versions of Pride & Prejudice while I worked on it during Spring Break, so it's a special dress! I can't wait to start taking orders!

The Skunk-er-ator 2000!!

As you recall, we have a stinky neighbor. We are still trying to flush out some lingering odor and it's a kinda scary process. Meet the creepy vent thing on our ceiling...It's this HUGE vent that is controlled by a timer on the wall. It sounds like a UFO landing when it opens and a dinosaur when it's on . Check out the RED blades threatening to chop my face off. BUT it sucks out air so thats what we want right? creepy
Here is Shannabe, Daddy and Snowball out by the back shed aka "Snowball City". This house doesn't have a fence, so Puppy is hooked up to a zip line, yep, a zip line. Well, Pops finally got enough stuff to make a fence! Yay for Puppy! Yes, that is a sledge hammer in Shannon's hand! Her little ballerina arms plus a murder weapon where funny. No one got hurt but it was worth watching.

My Most Embarrassing Moment or No Strings Attached...

*DISCLAIMER* I am not embarrassed by feminine issues, I tell it like it is if you ask me. If you are a dude, you may want to turn back now, I don't care if you read this, but be warned!

*2nd DISCLAIMER* This happened weeks ago but I wanted to wait for the Martha thing to end so this wouldn't hurt my chances. Yeah, this is a great story!

5:30 am: wake up to pee, put in tampon.

7:30: wake up at to pee again, change full tampon (yes, two hours and my super was full) string just comes off, no pulling, it just came off!!

I am a little stunned, but half asleep.

"ok, ok, I'll let it maybe soak some more and then it will just fall out right?" go back to bed.

10:00: I'm a little worried, mom says try a shower. Showered, nothing but little pieces come out, I'm scared now.

Bri says lay down on the floor and try. Nothing. Mom says use her surgical forceps, I say HECK NO!

Noon: I look up a clinic and there's one just around the corner.

I shave all the way up... past my knees... this rarely happens unless absolutely essential. I gotta-lotta leg to shave, don't judge.

Get to clinic, whisper that “my string broke” to the receptionist as she straightens up and knowingly nods.

Sitting in waiting room when a CUTE guy comes out and calls "Alicia?" Oh lord please no!

He says his name is something like Hottie Man and I just wither from the coming humiliation.

He not only has to see my weight but I have to tell him why I'm there!!! AHHHH!!!!!

"Yes Hottie Man, I weigh the same as a baby gorilla and am on my period, AND have a tampon trapped in me!"

He leads me in a room and gives me the gown, "Take everything from the waist down off." He leaves and I think how differently I had imagined the situation involving those words was supposed to happen. A gown was involved, but I had more of a bridal gown in mind.

Now does the open part go in back or front? What the heck, its all going above my knees anyway. But, if I take off my undies, I'm gonna stain something!

Some one help me! MOMMY!

I figure leaking on the exam table is really not that big of a deal at this point of my journey.

Hottie Man comes in a few time to set up the silver rolling table thing they put tools on. Well, I don't say a dang thing to him. Especially after he sets out the biggest pair of forceps I have seen.

Is it too late to just leave?

Dr. comes in, says I shouldn't need to worry about TSS but let him know if I feel feverish and he'll give me meds. He’s very reassuring that this happens sometimes, no big deal… easy for him to say.

Time to get down to business. Heels in stirrups, flat on my back. HELLO WORLD!!

Sparing you the details, IT HURT SOOOO BAD! No pelvic exam has EVER hurt that bad. He was very nice and talked me through it and it was over pretty fast.

But as I sat up tears started falling. You know, because I wasn't embarrassed enough I had to start crying. I think it was just the stress on top of the pain finally crashing down.

Moral, umm, don't have your period!

Chocolate and Crafts this weekend in DFW!

The Grapevine Chocolate Festival, yes thats right, CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL is happening this weekend!!!! Website here. The Evening of Chocolate and Wine sessions are sold out but there are many Day of Chocolate and Art still open on Saturday for $15 for adults and $5 for kids. The event is in downtown Grapevine, surrounded by all those fun shops!

Saturday and Sunday, at the Will Rogers Memorial Center is the 3rd Funky Finds craft show. It's AMAZING!! This is the first year I won't be selling. It's free, and pet friendly! Totally worth a drive to Fort Worth. The website is here.

My long lost vintage treasures!

I have lived in Texas, California, and Oklahoma (I was a baby so I don't remember it), went to 4 Jr. Highs, and have officially moved over 10 times (actually packed all my stuff and emptied a house) I have stayed with people for whatever reason, jobs or school 4 times, (so they are mini-moves I guess).

Needless to say our items tend to get left behind in grandma's garage, someone's closet etc. So when dad finds a box tucked in a back corner with my name on it I know I'm about to go down memory lane!

He just made my day with my box of vintage collectables and old journals!!

I have this pattern saved on my computer as an embroidery pattern, so I was thrilled when I remembered I OWN it!

In high school, my friends and I put our new drivers licenses to the test by driving from Van to the antique malls in Terrell to buy this antique corset! It actually fits me but my hips get a little squishier the tighter it's drawn! :)

My great great aunt Gennie was Dallas's best seamstress. She never married and had the BEST stash of sewing stuff. The women in my family all share her treasures. I don't remember her but she called me by by spanish name Ali-C-ah. :) We would get along so famously if she was alive now. These tags she cut out of clothes, not sure why, but they are still really cool.

The vogue patterns, an antique postcard sent to my great grandfather and a print I made from a photograph in art school of my grand father Poppy(ie?) in Paris. One day I want to take an identical picture of my standing in that same spot.

I think these gloves where either Ginnie's or my grandmother Oma's; both ladies have tiny hands.

The journals are just chalk full of childhood and high school memories. I can't wait to share (some of) them with Megan! Meg, your gonna laugh and cry your eyes out.

Vote For Dresses!

Mid Terms have been terminated and I am ready to get sewing! I have soo many ideas for dresses but I have to pace myself and my budget by starting with just a few dresses. Thats where you come in dear reader!

Vote for your favorites and I will go forward from there! You get one chance to vote but you can click as many as you want. I think you can vote again the next day if you forgot one. This is your chance to tell me what you would like to see in my etsy shop ajsnow.etsy.com.

Let the VOTING begin!!

Fabric Options
	Kissing Booth
	Poppy Leaf
	Betty Bakes
	Early Bird
	Farmdale
	Miss Mod
	Pure and Simple
	Bliss
	June Bug
	Fifi and Fido
	La Petite Ecole
	Delilah
	Jasmine
	Walk in the Park
	Modern Affair
	Sunkissed
	Metro Living
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