Introducing Julia Lynn Betts

Today at 3:13 pm Julia Lynn Betts entered the world. She weighed 7 lbs 6 oz, 20 1/2" long, and lots of hair. She is a cutie. I couldn't believe how calm and quiet she was. We are all happy to see her. Mom, Dad and everyone else is doing great as well.

Calico Meringues Christmas Cookies

I have been working on submitting a cookie recipe to a cookbook that will advertise my custom made kids clothes business so I made up a batch of cookies last night so I could take pictures. These cookies are my favorite Christmas cookie and now that most of my kids are grown they are the cookies that are most asked for. I thought I would share the recipe here as well.

4 egg white

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1 cup of granulated sugar

1 1/2 cusp M&M candies

Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy in a small deep bowl. Grandually beat in sugar to make a stiff meringue. Fold in candies.

Grease and flour cookie sheet. Use spoon to drop meringue mixture to cookie sheet. Garnish each with one candy.

Bake in 250 degree oven for 25-30 mins or until firm to touch but still white. Cool on cookie sheet on wire rack. Store in sealed container.

Makes about 3 doz cookies depending on size.

New customer inspired dress

One of the neatest things about making custom made kids clothes is the requests that I get from time to time from customers. About a month ago I got a request from a lady that wanted a denim type dress for her grandaughter for a family portrait that was going to be taken at Thanksgiving time. Everyone is going to be dressed in denim so we decided on a chambray jumper/pinafore dress with the classic petticoat dress underneath. I don' t have the photo of the child yet because the pictures haven't been taken but here is a picture of the dress.

I think this jumper/pinafore dress has got to be my most popular dress that I have made so far. You can do so much with it. In the summer months you can wear it alone with the matching bloomers and than in the cooler months you can wear it over a blouse or the petticoat dress and for added warmth you can add pantaloons. This outfit is so versatile and since it's custom made you can make it any type of fabrics that you would want.

A New Baby Girl Soon!!!

We found out the other day that Kim and Dave will be having their new little daughter on the 20th of November. They are pre planning it since Dave works at the mine in Bagdad and they don't want her to go into labor and not have a way to the hospital. They just bought a house in Buckeye and Dave is commuting on weekends. She will be born at Banner Gateway and her name will be Julie, or at least that was the last I heard. We are axiously awaiting the arrival but when I think about it eternally there must be family members on the other side that will miss her terribly just as we miss those that leave this earth and return to their Heavenly Home.

As a side note if any of your families have blogs send me a link so we can all catch up on each other. I have discovered it is a great way to stay in touch without having to send out lots of emails.

New Dress and Pinafore

I have posted a new dress and a pinafore on my site the other day and I have a customer to thank for this. I had a customer email me and ask if I made the old fashioned pinafores with a apron, bib and ruffle. I was excited to say yes and began making it for her. This was her comment when she received the dress.

"..I am at a loss for words.......the dress is just beautiful. I can't explain how I felt and it may sould silly but I was overcome with emotion upon opening the package. Your work is wonderful to say the least. I've been showing all my friends (all who seem to have just boys) and they are all now praying to have grandaughters one to dress.

Thank you again, I'm so glad I stumbled upon your sight two months ago."



It's comments like this that make my day and give me the little extra something to keep doing what I'm doing. You can find the dress and pinafore along with my other custom made outfits at
my website.

Oct 19, 2008-Baby Scare

Yesterday evening we had a little bit of a scare from my daughter in law. She called me and asked if I could watch the grandkids while she went to the hospital. Apparently she hadn't felt any movement and her blood pressure was up. We met her at the hospital and took the kids to our house and fortunately everything turned out ok. The drs. said that she needed to rest more. Anyone who has toddlers should get a great laugh out of that statement. Her husband is away during the week working, they just moved into their new house and she has 2 active kids..and she is supposed to rest more.... you gotta love dr's recommendations. We were so glad to know that everything turned out good.

"What the mind conceives, and the heart believes, the spirt will achieve"

October 2 2008 It's October already

Looking at the calendar it's hard to believe that it is already October and we are in the final quarter of another year. It's hard to know what season you are in living in Mesa Arizona because even though it is October and fall we are still in the 100's.
I got to visit with my daughter yesterday before she heads off to Oklahoma with her husband. Her husband is in the Air Force and will be doing his flight training in Oklahoma. It was hard to see her go but like all mom's we have to let them go so that they can live their own lives. On the other end of that I have a son and his family moving back to this area so while one is leaving another is returning. It will be great being able to see them more often.
I finally posted my new designs on my website but I'm not finished yet because I have other outfits that are in the process of being completed but I needed to get some new things up. It's funny how when I first started this business I wanted to specialize in dresses with pinafores but I soon found out that those weren't in demand so I stopped making them. Just recently I have had several requests for dresses with pinafores so I am in the process of making one right now and will be focusing this coming year on more dresses with pinafores along with my other more trendy outfits. I'm also hoping to find someone out there that would be interested in working with me on this business so it can grow.
As always I look forward to seeing you at Pinafores and Knickerbockers

More Sneak Peaks Sept 25, 2008

I just finished up a couple of more outfits that I'm posting on my blog before I put up on my website. These first two are the first in my boy/girl matching collection. The girls jumper and boys vest are made from frosty the snowman fabric.

I love this little jumper with the panda bear pocket applique. Reminds me of a little girl school dress. This would make the perfect school picture outfit. What's especially great about this jumper is that it has ties on the sides so you get a perfect fit.

I have a couple of outfits left to make and than I will posting them on my website.

Sneak Peak Sept.23, 2008

I have had several requests from customers to let them see what I have been working on lately but I'm not ready to put them on my website just yet so I'm giving you a sneak peak here.

I love this little bloomer outfit that I made for my grandaughter Ally and than decided to add to my collection.

Another outfit that I made for my grandson Ryam's first birthday is this cute adaptation of the traditional bowling shirt. I made the shirt from a really cute dinosaur fabric and than copied one of the dinosaurs and used it as an applique for the back. Really colorful and fun!

I have my husbands niece to thank for this adorable pettiskirt. She asked me to make up a couple and I loved them so much that now they are a part of my collection. These skirts are very fluffy and alot of fun for the little girls to wear. Lots of twirlling power in these pettiskirts. I can't wait to make more.

I also was playing around with making a matching top for the pettiskirt and made this little tanktop with gathered chiffon around the neck. This would be great for the summer months. I'm also in the process of making a long sleeve version for my Christmas pettiskirt. That is still in the works.

So there you have a little glimpse into what I have been working on lately. Hope you like them!

As always you can see the rest of my custom made kids clothing at my website.

Wow where have I been?

I opened up my blog this morning and realized that it has been forever since I have written last. Guess you could say I have been extremely busy but I have decided to put forth the effort to stay current with this blog.
I am working like crazy to get my holiday outfits finished up so that I can put them on my website. I'm really excited with the new Christmas outfits that I am making. I will be having 3 or 4 fancy dresses along with a couple of simple Christmas jumpers with the cutest appliques on front. I'm also making matching boy outfits for a couple of the fancy dresses. These will be nice pants with matching vests. Due to personal requests I am also starting to make the ever popular pettiskirts. I have already made 2 and working on a bright Christmas one and than I will post them all. It seems that in the past whenever I post an outfit I start getting orders and than I don't have the time to make up new designs so I have decided to wait until I am finished with all or most of my Christmas and fall apparel before posting them on my website.