Happy Birthday, Emily!

Today we attended a first birthday party, and my gift was a bib for Emily to wear while eating her cake!

Pink ladybug theme, so I merged this together. GG Designs' Chubby Wubby 1, MCA's Ladybug, Jolson's Hand Lettered Floss Stitch font, and one of the flutter trails from That's Sew Grammy's Just Bug Trails set (which is a nice bean stitch, I ended up stitching 2 or 3 times to match the heaving stitching of the floss stitch font).

 

Birthday designs inspired by party themes

I avoid purchasing and using designs of characters I am not licensed to sell, so when friends ask me to make a birthday shirt to match a theme, I use it as an opportunity to be creative. :)  Today I'm going to share with you two older projects that I haven't blogged about yet.
Cayden celebrated his fourth birthday in November Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle style, so I created this!

I started with 8CP's Chatty applique 4. I added triple bean stitch tackdown lines for the bands of blue knit, letting them hang out on the right side of satin stitching. I tied them in a knot and trimmed the edges. So proud of myself, *I* digitized the eyes. They aren't perfect, but got the job done! Found a free ttf that matches the TMNT logo and my MIL digitized the name for me. I borrowed my husband's action figure (yes husband, not son) to pick my green fabric. :)

The reason I have held off on blogging about this particular shirt is because a new design set from Lynnie Pinnie based on this project is in the works! The 4x4 sizes of the designs have been sent to us testers. I'll post my pictures of those tomorrow. It's really neat to see a brainstorming idea of mine come to life in the hands of a real digitizer!

A couple weeks before making Cayden's shirt, I also made a birthday shirt for Sean. His party theme was Super Mario Bros. and this is what I came up with:

I used the 6 from GG Designs' Chubby Wubby Numbers. Before starting though, I pieced together a pair of overalls by putting two strips of blue on green fabric, and then adding that to a larger piece of blue fabric. Once I had that done, I tacked it down as one big piece to trim out.

I merged in a couple embroidered buttons (plucked from LP's Cupcake design), and used Embird alphabet 30 to add his name (closest I could find to match the logo).

 Both of these were fun projects that stretched me to think outside the box and try something new!

Yeehaw! Kendal is Two!

We are disappointed we can't make it to Kendal's Shindig this weekend, but that didn't stop me from making a cute shirt for her to wear :)

The applique 2 is from GG's Chubby Wubby Numbers. I borrowed the hat from 8CP's Cowgirl 1 Applique and added her name with 8CP's Clay.

Happy 4th Birthday, Chloe!

I can hardly believe I typed that title. FOUR. Where does time go?!
I made something special for Chloe's first, second and third birthdays, so when Jenn asked if I had time in my "not accepting orders" fall to make Chloe's fourth birthday shirt, of course I said yes. :)

This project has a bit of a social media story.
Remember Riley's first birthday shirt? I tested that curious owl for Sheila of Savvy Stitches before it's release. Fast forward a couple months... and Sheila shares this adorable picture on her Facebook page. I was the first to comment, and the way Facebook works... :) I almost immediately got a message from my friend Jenn asking if I could make something similar for Chloe. I said I could make a similar shirt (since I already had), BUT the skirt was another story. I have just not mastered the art of garment construction. After my last reversible A-line/JonJon set I have learned to say no instead of stress myself out.

Unbeknownst to me Jenn ordered the skirt directly from babe-a-gogo! She then sent it to me with a blank shirt to do a design for Chloe. I used the same color palette to match the skirt, but selected different fonts. This may shock faithful readers, but I did NOT use Chubby Wubby numbers from GG Designs! :) This applique 4 is from 8 Claws and a Paw's Chatty Applique, and the text is done with Candi, also from 8CP. I picked my pink chevron print to emulate the wavy lines on the belly of the owl in the fabric (also why I deleted the wings, and used aqua for the eyes and legs).

Since I personally didn't purchase the skirt, I can't leave feedback on Etsy, so let me do it here: babe-a-gogo does FANTASTIC work! The skirt is darling and so well constructed. Seeing the skirt in person confirms that I should not be in the business of making precious twirl skirts. (Especially comparing it to the one I made for Annaliese recently.) So if you like this outfit, hop on over to her shop and check it out. You can order the whole shebang from her because remember (in theory) I am not taking orders. At least I'm trying...

Birthday Shirts

Two little boys I know celebrated birthdays recently and needed special shirts for their parties. :)
Brock had a John Deere themed party today:

I used Lynnie Pinnie's Tractor Applique design, coloring it as best I could to look like a John Deere. I did lots of fabric trimming on this. Since I selected a pale blue for the window and headlight, I trimmed out the green pin dot before tacking down the pale fabric, and did the same for the yellow center inside the black tire. That step really helps light colors pop!
Since I don't have Font Engine for Embird I didn't track down a ttf to match the John Deere logo, I just selected a nice 8CP sans serif font -- Alex. I used all capital letters, enlarging the B to emulate how John Deere looks. I used Embird Alphabet #2 to add the "5"

Brooks celebrated his first birthday last week. The partyware his parents selected was light blue with dots, so I used a monochromatic color scheme with my favorite simple 1st birthday design:

The "1" is from GG Designs' Chubby Wubby Numbers and I added his name with Alex from 8 Claws and a Paw.

Using fabric with lines at right angles (like these precisely placed pin dots, or stripes and ginghams) make me nervous, and I always use special care when tacking it down. Check out this tackdown!! I was so impressed I had to take a picture on my phone and email it to my MIL right away. :)

Happy Birthday, Nathan!

This may look familiar, but I promise you haven't seen it on my blog before! Earlier in the year I made a birthday shirt for a Nathan who turned three, and I recently did another! While the first one was a cowboy theme, this little Nathan had a farm themed party. He is particularly fond of black and white cows, so I created this:

The "3" is from GG Designs' Chubby Wubby Numbers. The cow is from Designs by JuJu's Barnyard Buddies set, and I added his name with the Clay font from 8 Claws and a Paw.

For those of you who do custom embroidery (and my friends who just can't get enough of my wordiness, ha!) let me explain what I do when I create a look by overlapping designs. I like to do some design editing in my software beforehand. First of all I needed to modify the precious cow from DBJJ. This was for a boy, so the flowers had to go. For space reasons I decided to remove the appliqué grass patch as well.  Nathan loves black and white cows, so within Embird I changed the colors to give his mommy an accurate preview before stitching.

Once I merged that on top of the appliqué 3, I removed the unnecessary zigzag stitches on the 3 that would be under the cow. That's relatively easy and quick to do in Embird. However, I don't bother changing the placement and tack down stitches -- that's too much work!

Instead I did creative cutting in the hoop, since I knew the red fabric on the bottom would show through the white fabric on top. I ran the placement, tackdown, and modified zigzag stitches for the "3". Then I ran the placement stitch for the cow and removed my hoop from the machine.

I trimmed out the part of the 3 that would be under the cow:

Oops, I used red thread for my placement stitches, and it WILL show through my white fabric! So I picked those stitches out, too. Note to self -- use white thread for placement stitches next time. It's a little extra work, but worth the effort! That cow is a bright white without any discoloration!

Here's a case in point from two past projects -- Without trimming away overlapped fabric:

Trimming away the overlapped fabric:

See how much better the flower looks when the fabric underneath is trimmed away? Just a little detail that I like to keep in mind. I didn't notice the problem on the first shirt until it was done.  I'm always trying to improve my final product!

Kendal is One!

Kendal is turning one, and is blessed to have TWO celebrations coming up! The one this weekend is a luau theme. As soon as I heard that I showed her mommy the onesie I made Lucy last year, and we decided to use that same design, just change a few colors:

I used my fave Chubby Wubby Applique Numbers from GG Designs and merged the hibiscus from Planet Applique's Tiki Alphabet on top of the "1". I added the text with Embird Alphabet #8.

Riley is One!

First, let's start with the birthday girl, and then we'll discuss her shirt :)

Isn't she precious?!?
Michelle and I had already been discussing what to do for Riley's first birthday onesie, pretty sure we were going to go with an owl theme. Facebook then played a huge role in the production process. I commented on Savvy Stitches' photo, and Michelle noticed that, checked out the picture and immediately sent me a message saying she wanted a design just like it. I had never seen that particular owl before, but I knew Sheila (another one of those "friends I've never met") was starting to digitize herself and it just might be hers. So I sent her a message asking about it. She replied immediately that she was already planning on asking me to test the design for her since she knew I had a thing for owls. WOW talk about a collision of perfectly timed events. :)
Michelle ordered the onesie and skirt from Old Navy and then I got to work. I first of all tested the whole design on a bib, it stitched perfectly, and then I moved onto the onesie.

I used Embird Alphabet #8 for "Look whooo's". The "1" is from Chubby Wubby Applique Numbers from GG Designs, and I used the Chez font from 8 Claws and a Paw for her name.

Now, the applique owl design is not yet available. Sheila is busy getting all of her ducks in a row before launching a site (probably this summer). So hang on, it will be available before you know it. Until then, you can become a fan of Savvy Stitches Applique on Facebook. Thanks Sheila for letting me be a tester so I could create this cute shirt for Riley!
UPDATE: you can now find this curious little owl on etsy: http://www.etsy.com/listing/98607269/curious-little-owl-machine-embroidery

Jada is One!

Eureka asked me to make a first birthday onesie for Jada and I was delighted to do it! The party was a pink and zebra theme... this went with a hot pink pettiskirt. :) And bonus, I just happened to have a black onesie in the correct size in my stash! Woo-hoo! Love it when that happens. It's a Monag brand bodysuit, so I'm sure I have my MIL Kathy to thank for that. :)

The "1" is from Chubby Wubby Applique Numbers from GG Designs, and I used Miss Kitty from 8 Claws and a Paw for her name.

 

Here's Jada all decked out for her party, check out that precious headband and pettiskirt! What a cute ensemble!

 

Happy Birthday, Nathan!

Dashiell's buddy Nathan had his third birthday party today -- a Rootin' Tootin' party out at a corral! I had the pleasure of making the birthday boy a special shirt to wear:

Pardon his squinty face -- in order to get a good shot of his shirt with my iPhone, he had to face the sun. I should have grabbed his cowboy hat! :) Oh, and while I'm at it, let me add that this was taken at the END of the party. After horse riding, hay riding and cake eating. Look at how clean that shirt is!! I'm totally impressed. :)

About the design...
Even though I own a ton of Planet Applique's specialty fonts, I do not own the one with the cowboy hat. So I just made up my own, and I'm thrilled with the results. I combined my three favorite things:
1. GG Design's Chubby Wubby Numbers
2. Applique designs from Lynnie Pinnie -- both the cowboy hat and boots are hers. They are designed to use two fabrics but for simplicity I just used one, a neat suede-like material.
3. Fonts from 8 Claws and a Paw -- this one is Hoedown.

Birthday Shirts

These are a couple birthday shirts I made in the fall, and busyness prevented me from blogging about them.
Sue asked me to make a third birthday shirt for her grandson who is really into trains:

I used Applique Cafe's Christmas train, but I removed the tree and added an applique 3 from Embroidery Boutique's Tiny Applique Alphabet.

I got an email from Kelly who had found a picture of Jillian in her birthday shirt on my friend's blog (Pirates-n-Princesses) about Jillian's Dora and Boots birthday party. Kelly asked if I could recreate the look, and I was happy to oblige!

The "3" is from Chubby Wubby Applique Numbers from GG Designs, and the font is Tinker Toy from 8 Claws and a Paw.

Happy Birthday, Chloe!

Third year in a row for making Chloe a custom item to wear on her birthday! First birthday was a reversible A-line, 2nd was an appliqued shirt, and now year three:

Jenn made it really easy on me this year -- she wanted me to reproduce a shirt I made in July, all I did was swap the name and changed the thread color to match this adorable tutu skirt she had purchased. If you compare, I even got the fabric placement virtually identical -- so proud of myself! ;) I used the Chubby Wubby applique numbers from GG Designs for the 3, added the crown with Applique Cafe's Add a Crown design and stitched her name with the Swirley font from 8 Claws and a Paw.

 I didn't get to celebrate with Chloe, but saw pictures... man is she adorable. :)

Lucy's Luau

Lucy turned one, and her parents threw her a luau! Natalie requested a "1" shirt with a hibiscus flower, and here's what I made (this picture is really dark for some reason...):

Initially I thought about using Planet Applique's Tiki Alphabet, but the 1 was so skinny that I didn't like it. So I used my fave Chubby Wubby Applique Numbers from GG Designs, and merged the hibiscus from the Tiki Alphabet onto GG's 1. I added the text with Embird Alphabet #8.

Natalie sent me a link to the hibiscus plates they purchased so I could use it to determine my color palette. Lucy coordinated with the decor quite well! :)

WOW! She's Two!

Jeni asked me to make a birthday shirt for her daughter who recently turned two. She sent me a couple pictures of the partyware she was using, and this is what we came up with:

The "2" is from GG's Chubby Wubby Numbers. I found a ttf that matched the font on the partyware, and Kathy digitized the text for me. I plucked the confetti from an Applique Corner design (which I happened to purchase for a penny the weekend I created the design - perfect timing). I like that the fabric pulls in the stars from the partyware, as well.

Princess Birthday Shirt

Presley attended a princess themed birthday party recently and needed to take a special gift:

I used the Chubby Wubby applique numbers from GG Designs for the 3, picking a fabric with scattered princessy things. I added the crown with Applique Cafe's Add a Crown design and stitched her name with the Swirley font from 8 Claws and a Paw.

I also monogrammed an insert for a little travel mug using the same fabric and font (sorry for the lousy picture):