Photo Bracelets

My friend Danielle, who owns ExtraordinaryMommy, has encouraged me in so many ways: helping me start two blogs, praising my writing, encouraging me to start selling my onesies and shirts, and now she's telling me to add another treat to my Katie Kay Tees blog. I agree with her, so I'm following her advice (yet again!).

Besides my custom onesies and shirts, I also make custom photo bracelets. I love wearing my photo bracelet, and get lots of compliments on it. Five of the six photos I have in it are of me and my husband and kids, and the other photo is one of me and my sister. I love keeping my loved ones close!

In case any of you are interested, I also sell these custom photo bracelets for $40. You send me six photos by email or snail mail, and I will shrink them and crop them to fit into the frames. I also seal the photos to protect them from moisture before I insert them in the bracelet. (Trust me, if it ain't sealed, you might as well not wear it!)

The bracelets make GREAT presents for Christmas or Mother's Day, and they are an easy idea if your husband is looking for something personalized to buy for you. I've made them for sisters and moms and grandmothers at Christmas, for women who want to remember loved ones who have died, and for new moms who want a sort of "story bracelet" with photos of their baby's ultrasound and birth. You could also give them to the bridesmaids in your wedding.

If you'd like to order a bracelet, just leave a comment letting me know how to contact you. I'll send you all the information separately, and we'll go from there.

100 Buttons - Finished!

I finished the 100 Buttons shirt today. I decided to find some VERY small white buttons (the smallest I could find in my collection), and sew them on in the shape of a "K." I was hoping that the smaller buttons wouldn't weigh the shirt down much more, and I think they worked well! And I chose mostly buttons with only 2 holes (not 4) to make it easier on me for sewing.

Last night while watching TV, I laid the white buttons out in the "K" shape I wanted, then covered them with packing tape to keep them in place. I hand-sewed right through the tape, then carefully tore it off after all the buttons were tacked down. I sewed 56 last night, then put the last 5 on this morning. I think it turned out well!
Katie has already counted the buttons twice to double-check that there are 100. She says she really likes it, and can't wait to wear it!

I think this will be the only 100 Buttons shirt I'll ever make (unless Jackson begs me for one). It was very labor-intense, of course!

My New Nephew

I made two onesies today for my new nephew, baby Jude. He's the son of my brother's widow, who remarried last year. I'm going to mail the onesies Jude and his mom Bonnie and dad John. I'm hoping they'll send me photos of him wearing the onesies too! If so, I'll post them here for you another time.

No Peanuts

My friend Kerry has a three-year-old who is allergic to peanuts. She asked me to customize a shirt for him, to help adults and teachers remember his allergy. Here's what she requested:

I'm honored to be able to use my talents to create a shirt that will help little Jacob be a healthier, happier boy! And potentially help save his life. Thanks for asking me, Kerry!

Uncle Eric

I got a request to make a shirt through Craig's List. The woman asked me to make a shirt that says, "My Uncle Eric is the greatest!" I have no idea what sort of inside joke that's all about, but I made the shirt and I hope she likes it!

RyGuy and WeeMan

My friend Beth asked me to make nickname shirts for her boys. She calls the boys any number of things, but mostly "Ry-Guy" for Ryan. And Ryan calls Liam "Wee Man." Beth found some cute ringer tees at Old Navy, and gave them to me to decorate. I'll post a photo of the boys in their duds if/when I get one!

UPDATE: I got a photo of the boys in their shirts. So cute!

Titus

I got a photo yesterday from the winner of my Bloggy Giveaway, Paula. She sent me a photo of her little boy wearing a special bonus shirt I made for him. Ain't he the cutest?! I just want to squish his cheeks!

Yes, you observed correctly: he isn't wearing a "Tater" shirt, is he? That's because I made him two shirts. I couldn't find an 18 month plain shirt (not a onesie) at four or five different stores I checked. So I made him a red onesie with "Tater" on it (which I'm hoping Paula will send me a photo of later, once he grows in to it). And as an added bonus (and because I had a 12 month regular shirt on hand), I made him a shirt with his real name on it. I added the monkey because Paula says he really likes them. Now she says he runs around with his Titus shirt on, making monkey noises. Yay!

I'm glad Titus/Tater is happy with his shirt!

100 Buttons

I got the idea for Katie's newest shirt by reading two library books about celebrating the 100th day of Kindergarten. Both books had a character who had a shirt with 100 buttons sewn to it. I decided I wanted to make one like that for Katie, because her school celebrates the 100th Day. I pulled out my button collection, and she picked out 100 buttons for me to sew onto her shirt. I bought her three different shirts: red, pink, and white. The sweet girl told me she wanted the red shirt, since it's my favorite color. (!)

This weekend, I started sewing the buttons on the shirt in the shape of a heart. The idea was to complete the heart, then fill it in with the remaining buttons. Well, I finished the heart and only used THIRTY-NINE buttons. Ugh! I don't know if I can do the remaining 61! First of all, that's a lot of work. But more importantly, that's a lot of weight on the shirt. Just the 39 that are already on there make the shirt pretty heavy. I guess I could switch to tiny, lightweight buttons for the remaining 61, or I could just leave it at 39. I also thought about adding buttons to the bottom of the shirt, around the hem. But that will still be heavy.

Does anyone have any ideas of how I can complete the shirt with 100 buttons?

Giveaway Winner

I chose Paula H as the winner of my Katie Kay Tees giveaway. I loved her kid's nickname, Tater. I would love to use my creative talent to make a Tater shirt! Who wouldn't?!

Thanks to everyone for their feedback and encouraging comments. It helped me to know that at least someone thinks I have a smidge of talent! I will take all your words to heart, and ponder them. And I might even be contacting some of you, after I get a grip on my life again. (This Bloggy Giveaway thing is crazy!)

If you would like to contact me to order a shirt, leave a comment in this post. I will give a 20% discount to those of you who posted a comment in my contest. The 20% discount is good for the next week, until 8/8/08. (Don't you just love that date?!)

Thanks again to all of you!