Exciting Changes for Bare Bottoms Boutique!

Hello all! I just wanted to take a minute to post a quick update on a lot of exciting changes that will be taking place for Bare Bottoms Boutique. First of all, our products - mainly cloth diapering products - will soon be available at a Blessed Baby Boutique in Farmington, Maine. Blessed Baby is a shop stocked with wares made mostly (but not entirely) by work-at-home moms, and geared towards natural parenting (cloth diapers, slings, natural soaps, nursing covers, wooden toys, etc). I've been offered consignment deals in the past, but I've turned them all down. However, Heidi's shop and the idea behind it really appeals to me and I'm very excited and honored that she has offered to sell my products!

Selling in a different venue has also given me an opportunity to work on my product packaging. What do you all think???

I am also now a licensed seller of Ditto Daddy products. I have loved the looks of these products since I first laid eyes on them and I'm thrilled to have been given the opportunity to make and sell them for all of you to enjoy. Keep checking back to see some of these great items stocked in my shop very soon (hopefully! ;-))

Other exciting changes to keep an eye out for include diapers with snap closures (the same great product with snaps instead of aplix) and a new web design! So, stay tuned...we've got some exciting changes ahead!

I Made a Mei Tai and I LOVE it!!!

When it comes to baby wearing, I didn't have much experience before Isaac came along. Ryleigh wasn't the baby wearing type. My little Miss Independent would rather be in a stroller than strapped to my back. We had a Snuggli with her, and we used it....periodically...more to say we did than for actual need. Here she is at 6 months...one of the 2 pics that we have of her in the Snuggli - the other was taken the same day (she was a chunk, huh???? lol).

And then there's Isaac...my needy, but oh-so cuddly and lovable baby. He was (and still is) a baby-wearing baby if there ever was one. As an infant, he required holding full-time. He spent the first couple weeks in one of the two pouch slings that I made. Here he is at 11 days old...nestled in the sling.

That worked great for a while...but, lets just say that my babies don't stay little for very long. So, it wasn't long before my back couldn't take it any more. So, I switched to the Snuggli for a while until he got a little older.

Then, I tried using the sling different ways, but I didn't like how limited that one arm was. Part of the reason I wanted to wear it was so that I could hold him AND get something done at the same time. So, only being able to use one arm wasn't helping any. Hence, we reverted back to the Snuggli for awhile. Then he just got too big...again, the back wasn't handling the front-carrying too well. So, I've been without a carryer for a couple months now. He's old enough to sit in shopping carts on his own, so I didn't think it would be too much of a problem...it certainly wasn't worth buying a new carrier especially since we aren't planning on having any more babies. Then I came across a pattern (by Sew Liberated/Montessori by Hand) for a Mei Tai carrier.

Of course I had heard of mei tai carriers, but considering that I didn't really use a carrier much with Ryleigh, I never thought about buying one. I couldn't afford one, anyway. I figured the pouches that I made would be sufficient. But, I loved the looks of the pattern I saw and the idea of making one myself. So, I bought it and couldn't wait to sew it up! I spent this afternoon making and I absolutely LOVE everything about it! It was a cinch to sew, it came out great, its comfortable, and Isaac loves it! And it even folds all up into a little pouch. It's going to make my life so much easier!!! Its exactly what I've needed for him! I've spent the rest of this evening wondering why I didn't do this sooner?!?!?!

Excuse the bad hair and makeup in that last pic...its been a rough week. :) I would highly reccommend this type of carrier - at least for back carrying. I haven't even tried it for front or hip carrying yet, so I can't comment on that. :) If you want to sew one yourself, I would reccommend the Sew Liberated pattern - its great! You can check them out at: http://www.sewliberated.com/

Pink Fig Fabric Giveaway!

All you fabric-aholics like me will LOVE this! Chelsea Andersen of Pink Fig Fabrics/Vintage Chic is giving away a 4 yard sample pack of Heather Bailey's Pop Garden line! This is a gorgeous fabric line and I'm dying to get my hands on some of it! I happened to run across this giveaway on Chelsea's blog while looking at her adorable boutique clothing patterns. I can't wait to get my hands of some of those either! :) She's got a new one due out in October that I'm super excited about. Check it out:

If you're looking for fabric, adorable boutique clothing patterns, or want to enter Chelsea's giveaway - go visit her at any of the following links:

http://www.pinkfig.typepad.com/

http://www.vintagechic.typepad.com/

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5606849

He's Got Teeth and He Knows How to Use Them!

And so, we've reached another milestone with Isaac...he got his first two teeth! After several months of teething and being miserable, the first one popped through on July 8th...just a couple days after turning 9 months. The second one made its appearance 3 weeks later on July 29th (Daddy's birthday).

While I'm happy he's finally getting his teeth, everything else is suffering. This kid chews on everything...toys, furniture, my fingers....you name it! Here he is taking a bite out of the chair I use while sewing.

Now the occassional nibble on my furniture doesn't really bother me. I mean, afterall, our furniture is not the best to start with. But, the beautiful crib that I so carefully picked out for him during my pregnancy has taken a beating! Look at this...in less than a month's time...

Ryleigh used her crib for 2.5 years and it isn't even half as bad as that! Obviously...something needed to be done. I got tired of going to get him out of his crib to find him covered in black paint chips. That can't be healthy! There's a woman on my FAM team on Etsy that makes quilted crib rail guards for just this purpose. Her name is Amy and you can check out her shop at: http://www.newenglandquilter.etsy.com/. She makes lots of wonderful items - go check it out! I seriously contemplated ordering one from her, and even spoke to her about it. But, with a little nudging from her, I decided to take on the task by myself. She urged me to try it on my own not because she didn't want to do it for me, but because she's a wonderful woman and didn't want me to have to wait the time, or spend the money when she knew I could do it myself. She pointed me to a great tutorial that she posted on her blog. So...I decided to give it a try. I decided that I wanted this to be a quick project which didn't require me to make any trips to the fabric store. So, I didn't end up following Amy's tutorial precisely, but reading it sure did help me on my journey! I remembered that I had a bunch of blue and white fleece left over from when I made a Boppy cover for Isaac. So, I dug that out, did some measuring, sewed two layers of it together, added some snaps, and voila! Here's my very simplified and not-as-pretty version of a crib rail cover.

As you can see, Isaac is happy with the results. Now hopefully he doesn't move on to a different area of the crib to satisfy his need to chew. I see a crib completely covered in fleece in my future!

Have a little beaver of your own and need a crib rail cover? Go visit Amy! http://www.newenglandquilter.etsy.com/. Or, if you know how to sew - go read her tutorial!

Apples and Pears Bib and Burp Cloth Set

I love making burp cloths! They are simple, but cute and very functional! The first one I ever made was for Isaac....that wasn't that long ago, but boy have I come a long way since then! It may not be the best looking burp cloth, but its still my favorite to use with him! Since then, I've tried many different fabric combinations....terry cloth, flannel, minkee, cotton wovens...I love them all! But, my favorite part is finding different, adorable ways to embellish or personalize them.

Here is my latest set - and my favorite to date! This is a luxurious set made with designer Alexander Henry Apples and Pears fabric and pastel pink minkee. It's so soft against baby's skin - and absorbent to boot! I appliqued two pears and an apple on the burp cloth and I just love how it came out!

Here's a link to the listing on Etsy:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=13959031