oops! I almost forgot...

It should be a crime to be a Grandmother of 7, and look this awesome!

Happy Mother's Day to my favorite (and only) mom :)

You mean the world to me, even if you never let me cut my hair when I was a kid!

And yes, that is a neon pink, glittered cast on Parker. It was an accident that involved a chair and an itch on the posterior...don't ask.

Remember this girl?

I have a mom who forbid me to cut off my Marsha Brady hair my whole childhood. I mean, bangs were the compromise. Hello, I grew up in the late 70's, early 80's...mom, did you ever hear of Farrah? So my daughter has been begging me for a few years (and yes, she is only 5) to cut her hair short like a few of her darling friend have (Avery and Erica, you know I am talking about you gals). I kept using excuse after excuse, because frankly, it was what my mom did when I wanted feathered hair. "wait until after your recital" "you won't be able to put it in a pony tail" and my favorite "you will wish you hadn't". Well, I caved. I ate my words, I broke the mother/daughter hair struggles cycle. Fine. Ok, I really love it. I admit. So does Grandma (aka my Mom). We will see if she wants to keep up with the blow-drying and haircuts every six weeks. I actually hope so.

I just love her.

Yeah, I know I said that I would be back sooner...

Holy cow! Life gets in the way of plans some days. I won't bore you with the details, but suffice it to say, poop happens.

The Alice in Wonderland Party for Paris was a ball. Parker really enjoyed the face painting and the croquet and the hat decorating...everything was darling and there were even some Billie Beans wearing gals there! (imagine that!)

The host and hostess (aka, the Hendersons) are in the Tweedle Dee and Dum shirts. You all throw a great party!

Paris in Wonderland

It has been quite some time since I have visited my blog. I think I have my mojo back...in my own mind, anyhow!

I have been dyeing and cutting and sewing my heart out. I spend my days while the kids are at school just making stuff. It is cheaper than therapy, and it makes me so happy to create something fun and pretty. My husband refers to it as an expensive hobby. I like to think of myself as chronically creating. I do fine with my tie dye line, Billie Beans, but I just need to take it to the next level. I had a nice handful of stores before the economy "shifted" and now I am just doing trunk shows and vendor fairs and selling to whomever wishes to purchase some super cute kids clothing. I do need to narrow down what I do, because I am frankly, all over the board.

Here is a perfect example of my creative ADD. I am self diagnosed, so I am not on any medication....yet.

So, Parker has been invited to her fabulous friend, Paris', Alice in Wonderland themed birthday party. Love the Alice theme, and so perfect for a tea party! Paris' mom, although a nurse by profession, is also very clever and creative (not to mention sweet, and cute and quite young...lucky Brandie) I cannot wait for the party tomorrow, because it is going to make for some mighty sweet photos...I wish I were a photographer with a fab camera, but I think I can get the point across!

Might I add to this post, that I am still kind of rusty at blogging, and I don't get how to put the images where I would really like them. The invite was just way too darling! I love the vintagey feel of it! Brandie said that we should dress according to the theme. Parker's first reaction was "yeah, um, I'll be Alice." Sorry to pop your bubble, babe, but that is reserved for the birthday girl! Next, The queen of hearts. Good idea, easy to put something together for that...right? Right.

I think that any costume can evolve from A) feather boas and B) a pettiskirt. I took it from there.

I screen printed a black crown on a white tank first. Then I thought of the invite...playing card theme...so I put red felt hearts in all 4 corners and stitched them down. Then, because more is more (as far as I am concerned with costumes) I added a black felt tea pot to the back. A trip to Joann's for a couple of boas and a black feather hair clip, and we have lift off.

Tomorrow, I promise to show the photos from the party!

Kindergarten, in fact, does rock.

I have referred to myself as a recovering preppy in the past. I am not quite sure that I am recovering, entirely. When it comes to my "look" I would still fit into the fairly conservative category. Not "lands end" preppy, more "j crew-ish" . I do, however, take a lot of liberties when it comes to my daughter's wardrobing options. She runs all over the fashion spectrum, from girly girl, to hippy love child, to boarding school chic. I can't nail her down, and that is fine with me...I love more options than I could have ever imagined. I can take more fashion "chances" with a 5 year old...I have this kind of paper-doll mentality when it comes to dressing Parker. Since the day she was born, I have wanted her to be one of those babies that spits up a lot...so I could put a new outfit on her. Much to my dismay, she was the "cleanest" of all my children.

Anyhow, I got my girl...beware of what you wish for :)

So, Parker got a pair of tie dyed sneakers from her over-indulgent mom this weekend (you can do that when you make stuff for a living) and you can get them too atwww.billiebeans.etsy.com. You also get to have other wonderful friends that make cool stuff for a living. Parker digs all her Paperlili apparel, but this tee is her current fav. I think that most girls adore color, and rainbows and sparkles and that is what Cristy is all about! We especially like to have coordinating items to go with her Paperlili goodies! Check out www.paperlili.com! Always, always new and fun and original sparkly goodies!

So check out paperlili, and check out my etsy shop for some cool new sneakers, whatever way you like 'em!

xo

Here is a quickie look at what I have been working on! I will have them available in my Etsy shop shortly. You can just click on the link to the right, and it will take you right there!

I am so fortunate to have a photographer for a sister-in-law. Michele is wonderful! Go here to see her work: http://www.hinzphoto.com She and my brother Brian do wonderful work. If you are in the metro Phoenix area, look her up for some great holiday photos or Senior portraits or any other photo desire you may conjure up!

A New Meaning for Happy Feet

Oh, these shoes just make me happy by looking at them! I have been working on these under strict recommendations by my buddy Cristy of Paperlil.com. She is a good motivator!

I will be offering these in my Etsy shop, shortly. They will be completely custom, I am loving the rainbow tie dyed version at this point.

So, look for them shortly in my Etsy store. You can click on the right, or go to www.billiebeans.etsy.com.

BTW, these are for my sweet niece, Alexis in Michigan! Your shoes are on their way :)