Easy Infinity Scarf Tutorial

My awesome sister has been visiting me this past month and we've been having a lot of fun spending quality time together.  Whenever we hang out, we have so much fun because we are alike in so many ways.  We have the same silly quirks, enjoy grocery shopping and free samples, love watching cheesy dance chick flicks, and are always having random dance parties around the house.

Last week, she put her high school video project editing skills to good use and filmed and edited my very first video tutorial - it's my take on how to make an easy infinity scarf.

We had a fun time making this and I hope you find it useful and easy to follow.  Feel free to use/share/pin it!

Mustache Bash for a Miracle Baby!

A couple weeks ago, I helped throw a mustache-themed baby shower for a good friend of mine.  My friend Rachel and her husband lead our bible study small group and really have been a wonderful encouragement to us as we've been going through the adoption process.

The first time I met Rachel, she and her husband, Tim, announced in Sunday school at church that she was pregnant.  They shared that they had experienced secondary infertility for a few years after having their first son, and had actually started the adoption process when Rachel found out she was pregnant!  They still planned to adopt in the future, but were putting it on hold until their baby was born.  The funny thing is, that morning on the way to church, I had prayed and asked God for direction about whether we should adopt.  I had been feeling frustrated because I didn't know any people who were adopting.  I had so many questions, but no one to answer them.  Well in class, our Sunday school teacher asked us to do an icebreaker and talk to the people in front of/behind us.  Rachel and Tim were in front of us, so when they turned around and introduced themselves, we mentioned that we were thinking of adopting.  I remember that Rachel's face just lit up and they were both immediately so excited for us.  We hadn't even decided if we were going through with it yet!  In the weeks and months following, Rachel and Tim were a huge encouragement and support for us, having gone through the same things we were going through.  Rachel had researched many agencies and gladly handed over her information and results to me so that I could take a look.  To think that a week before, I had been feeling overwhelmed and had no idea how to even begin looking at the adoption process, much less find an agency.  God definitely answered my prayers!

We ended up joining Rachel and Tim's bible study group and have gotten to know them better and have watched their baby grow steadily.  Their baby is truly a miracle baby and God's answer to many prayers.  Rachel and Tim have continued to encourage us and pray for us as we are awaiting our own baby.  There have been times where I think Rachel has been more excited for our adoption than me!  For someone going through the adoption process, there is nothing better than having friends walking beside you, praying for you, and sharing in your excitement.   I am just so grateful for friends like Rachel and Tim. 

So, I was more than happy to help plan a special day celebrating Rachel and her miracle baby!  It was a mustache-themed bash complete with yummy food, little mustaches, and a photobooth.

Rachel and her mom taking the first picture in the photobooth

A picture of Rachel of me

I made a whole bunch of mustaches - thank you pinterest!  Unfortunately I did not
get pictures of all the yummy foods and cute cake pop favors other friends made.

Of course for her gift, I made her baby some of his own jslik designs items!  I let Rachel pick out her favorites from my stash.

 

Updated Fabrics and Blankets

Happy Friday everyone!

I've taken some new pics of my fabrics recently and updated my blanket fabrics album.  You can check it out here.  I've included pics to show the embroidery option(s) along with the fabrics.  I usually only buy one or two of a particular print so I'm constantly updating my fabrics and buying more.  Check back periodically to see if there are some new fabrics available.  And, just to add a friendly reminder, you can choose from the fabrics in this album for bibs and booties.

I'm also working towards getting my fabrics up on Etsy to make ordering easier.  It seems that whenever I mention that I sell handmade baby blankets, people automatically ask me if I'm on Etsy.  So, to make my life (and your lives) easier, I'm going to reopen my shop.  Now I just need to get around to actually doing it...

And to give you some inspiration (and tempt you to order) here are a few blankets I've made (semi) recently:

More Finished Blankets!

I'm thinking I may need to put my shop on etsy or some type of website to make selling and ordering easier.  When people find out about my shop, they want to know how to browse and place orders.  I end up directing them to facebook, then to my blog, then to the links on the top right.  Often times, customers get lost in all of that.  I would use etsy, but since my blankets are all unique and custom embroidered, I don't have pictures to post until they are ordered and made.  I usually only buy one of each fabric set for the blankets, perhaps I need to buy multiple sets now.... I guess I could post the fabrics and then a picture of a similar blanket so people can get an idea of what a finished blanket will look like.

Anyone have any ideas on how I can avoid etsy and set up my own shop? Please leave me a comment if you do!

Anyway, here are some more blankets I've finished recently:

Have a great week!

Fabrics and Blankets

Been busy sewing and fabric shopping lately!

Here's a few of my latest projects:

 

 

I've also been doing some shopping and have added a few new fabrics to my shop.  Here are some new options:
 
 

Note, the chevron print can be made with other color combinations as well.  You can check out my new blanket choices here.  I've also added a couple of new fabrics to my bibs and booties choices, you can check those out here.  Happy browsing!

::edit:: I forgot to add that you can contact me at jslikdesigns (at) gmail (dot) com to place orders.  Thanks!

Ready for the Weekend!

Been sewing up a storm lately.  I love having my sewing space connected to the living room because now I can be inspired by endless episodes of Project Runway while working on my projects.  Those people are crazy talented!

If you haven't noticed, I posted up some links to the right with information about my products.  Check it out and contact me at jslikdesigns gmail com if you'd like to place an order.

Here are some orders that I've finished up the past couple of weeks:

 
 
 
 

I've been working hard this week, sent out a bunch of orders, and cleaned off my sewing station.  My best friend is coming into town tonight, aslik's heading to Big D, so it's gonna be a fun girls' weekend!  I was going to say no sewing, but my best friend has recently started sewing herself and she wants to learn the secrets behind jslik designs.  She's got 4 kids, so she doesn't get much time to sew, eat, sleep, or do anything by herself.  So, this weekend she's coming sans-kids and we're going to have a fun time of sleeping in, eating a ton, watching chick flicks, and maybe a little sewing :-)

Production begins!

It's been a busy weeks as I've been working hard to get a bunch of orders out.  First in the queue was a blanket for Josie! I've been working on figuring out my font choices for embroidery.  All the embroidery on my items are done carefully by hand.  I print out the name in Word and then trace it onto the fabric.  Then, following the design, I embroider by hand.  So far, my favorite font is Bookman Old Style, but there are times when Century Gothic works as well.  I've used script fonts a couple of times, but with all the flourishes, it can be too busy and a little hard to read when embroidered.

I realize alot of people have been asking about my prices since I made my shop re-opening announcement last week, and I'm working on updating my blog so that my fabrics and prices will be easily available.  Have a great weekend everyone!

Big News!

Anyway, I have a big announcement to make - I'm opening up my shop again!  I've been doing some shopping, getting my stash ready, ordered some new business cards, and re-designed my blankets.

New business cards - I left off the phone number because I'm always moving out of the country!

As for my blanket designs, I've changed them to look like this:

Mainly, I cut out the corded border that I used to put on my blankets.  I also changed the middle strip from a flap to a flat strip that is sewn in.  The blankets are a bit lighter now and easier for me to make.  Why did I do this?  I've been re-evaluating my business and with the current rates I'm charging, I realized that the blankets are not really worth my time.  With my old blankets, I was making sweat shop rates, but by cutting out the corded border, I'm able to significantly cut down the time required to make a blanket and therefore increase my profitability to a reasonable rate.  You can weigh in on this by leaving me a comment (if you care).  I could always still offer the option of the cording for an extra fee.

Besides the blankets, I'm still selling my bibs and booties as sets or as separates.

I've already had a few orders, so it's time to get busy for me!

You can check out my current fabric selections in these albums:

Fabrics for blankets

Fabrics for bibs and booties

For more information you can contact me at jslikdesigns (at) gmail (dot) com.  Let the baby-making and blanket-ordering begin!

"D" is for...

I've broken my silence and made my first baby blanket in over a year!  In Singapore, it was impossible to find the soft minky plush fabric I use in my blankets so I couldn't make my signature blankets.  But, now that I'm back in Houston, I have access to my fabrics again.  I prefer to buy my minky fabric at Hobby Lobby.  Joann's has them too, but they're not nearly as soft as the brand that Hobby Lobby carries.  Much to my delight, I found that during my absence over the past couple of years, Hobby Lobby has increased the variety of colors they carry of the minky fabric.  Oh the possibilities!

I picked up the NYC fabric on one of my trips to the city and have been waiting for the right person to use it for.  Little Darya was born in Jersey, but just moved to TX.  So, this will be a little reminder of her East Coast roots.  I'm a little late with my gift as she is now a few months old, but it's better late than never right?