Almost famous

Earlier this year, my boys were invited to do a photo shoot for the educational supply company Carson Dellosa. I had actually forgotten all about it until my friend brought me a catalog- and my sons and I were in it!

Alas, that catalog isn't online (I'll try to scan some pictures in later) but I did flip through one of their online catalogs and found another shot of them here.


This one has my middle guy in the olive green shirt and my oldest in the red


And then my little man in red here with my middle guy still in olive green. Okay, so that one's just the tops of their heads. I'm still a proud mama!

Trying to reason with Hurricane Season

Hurricane season technically doesn't end until the end of November, so Ida came along decided to be one of the only storms to even come ashore this year. I'm usually pretty fond of hurricanes. I mean, how many natural disasters actually give you several days notice that they are coming? But I digress...

Hurricane Ida made landfall briefly in the Gulf Coast and then sent all of her rain up to North Carolina and Virginia. We are on day 3 of rain, high winds, and general misery here. The big difference about having a hurricane in November instead of the summer is that it is COLD- I think today's high was only in the mid 40's. Power outages have been sporadic in our area; luckily we have not been affected. The creek in our backyard is very high, but not this high.

Since it is miserable outside, I'm going to share a few random things that have made me happy of late:

1. I'm a winner!

Melanie of Above All Fabric is one of my Twitter friends, and she recently had a giveaway for some Quilt Market Goodies on her blog. I was lucky enough to win this amazing FQ collection of Sandi Henderson's new collection called Meadowsweet. It's not even out in stores yet, but there are 17 gorgeous cuts of fabric in the peach colorway on my ironing board, waiting to become something spectacular.


2. Knitting

Much more portable than sewing, and easy to do while catching up on the TV shows that keep piling up on my DVR. I'm currently addicted to making little rolled brim hats for American Girl dolls and matching ones for the girls who love them. I'm taking a bunch to a local craft market tomorrow, but will have some up in my etsy store soon.

3. Patterns

I am currently working on 3 new eBook patterns to debut right before Thanksgiving. Two of them are perfect for Christmas gifts- stay tuned for details! I've got so much going on inside my head right now; I wish there were more hours in a day for me to get everything done.

Speaking of which, I've spent way too much time on this post already...

104 days of summer vacation

If you haven't seen the TV show Phineas and Ferb on the Disney Channel, you should- it's hilarious. And it has catchy songs- trust me, we own the soundtrack. So when my boys decided that's what they wanted to be for Halloween, I gladly took on the challenge. The results aren't quite perfect, but considering that I didn't have a pattern to work from, I'm pretty pleased with the results.

In other crazy costume news, I was just asked today to make a whale costume for a teenager for a play. A whale, people! Seriously? I have no idea where I'd even begin...

I'm going to spend some time cleaning up my sewing room since it became quite disastrous in there during the costume frenzy last month and I'm also working on a few new patterns that will be perfect for the upcoming holiday season. While I take a break from new listings, be sure to check my etsy store more more destash items- I've got lots of fabric and patterns to get rid of, and who knows what else!

Almost done!

I'm almost finished with the boys' Halloween costumes. The theme this year is... drumroll, please... Phineas and Ferb! All four of them (including the biggest boy of them all, my husband) are HUGE fans of this Disney Channel show. Of course, there are no sewing patterns for Phineas and Ferb (or their pet platypus, Perry) so I had to construct everything myself. Perry is a mash-up of my animal and Donald Duck costumes that can be found in my etsy store. The hardest part has actually been locating a brown fedora in case he wants to shift into Agent P mode! We found a great black one at Target which I briefly considered spray painting, but then my middle guy started wearing it around the store and he looked so cool! I didn't want to ruin an awesome hat! So, Perry will be sporting a black fedora this year. Deal with it.

Phineas was easy- commercial patterns helped me crank out a striped t-shirt and cargo shorts in no time. My Ferb will be wearing a store-bought short sleeve button down shirt, and I was able to modify an overalls pattern to make his quirky high-waisted pants.

And then there are the heads...

I learned a lot last year when I used felt to make the Animal mask for our Muppets theme Halloween, so I decided to try my hand at designing my own mask patterns for Phineas and Ferb's heads. Phineas is so angular; it was pretty easy to assemble. Ferb's head mask awaits me tonight. I'm thinking it may end up with an oatmeal canister inside it. Wish me luck- I've got less than 24 hours left to pull everything together! I'll share pictures tomorrow when everything is done.

free at last, free at last!

Well, almost!

You see, I have been VERY busy with Halloween costumes since my last post. The grand total for the year is 13 so far: 3 Donald Ducks and 2 Daisy Ducks, a Mickey and Minnie brother & sister set, a polar bear, a black & white cat, 2 Felicity gowns and matching doll dresses, Piglet, and a blue dragon. Now it's time to make my kiddos' costumes, but I'm not quite ready to say yet what they're going to be. I'm doing most of my updating on Facebook and Twitter these days. My Facebook posts are mostly business related. Twitter, well, that can get pretty random. Leave me with a cell phone to publish my thoughts in 140 characters or less, and you never know what you're gonna get!

Okay, that's all. Just wanted to let you know I'm still alive. And show you my super cute little guy modeling the blue dragon, of course :o)

Cheap costumes (or, why to buy handmade)

No, not from me. It's just a warning about what is out there in the world. (by the way, this cool logo can be found on t-shirts in phippsart's etsy shop)

My friend's daughter is in a play, so she went online to buy a renaissance-y costume. The young lady for whom the costume was purchased is a tall-ish slender 11 year old who usually wears a junior size 0/1. The costume they purchased was an adult/misses "one size fits all." Hello: one size does NOT fit all! That must be the most ridiculous clothing phrase I've ever heard. This dress was ankle length on the girl (who is 5'2")- what would it have looked like on a woman who was 5'6" or taller? The dress was made of stretchy crushed panne velour (to look like velvet) so I guess it could have accommodated up to a size 8 at best; but of course the young wearer of the costume was swimming in it. So her mom called me to the rescue.

A wise seamstress friend of mine once told me she would rather make a new dress from scratch than do alterations on an existing dress. She's smart. I should have heeded her advice. But I like a challenge.

So I took the dress up in the shoulders and pinned some very large darts in the back (fortunately, the fabric is very forgiving so I can get away with making somewhat sloppy alterations) and took it home to work on it; knowing that I would have to seam rip the top of the sleeves and reset them once I adjusted the shoulder seam.

As a boutique seamstress, I am very particular about the insides of my garments; everything is pressed, serged, neat, and as professional as I can make it look. Well, apparently "professional" is not the standard for ready to wear costumes. Some of the sewing techniques used inside this dress were just absurd. And the quality of the fabric- ugh! I could not even undo the seams without it pulling holes in the fabric. At one point, I thought I was going to have to make a new dress because I messed this one up taking it apart, but I just took a little extra in on the seam allowance.

All this to say: you get what you pay for. This costume probably cost around $30, and I'm praying it makes it through all 6 performances (and a week of dress rehearsals). I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm going to be called on again in the coming weeks to repair inevitable snags in this dress. Yes, handmade almost always costs more, but I have found it is nearly always worth the extra money for the trade-off in quality, originality, and passion that goes into the item created. So this year, as you start thinking about Halloween costumes and Christmas presents, if you're not going to make something yourself, I encourage you to buy from a local artisan or one of the thousands of talented sellers on etsy. You'll be glad you did, and so will the recipient of the gift.

(stepping down from my soapbox now)

Technology & Texas

Howdy, Y'all! I'm goin' to Texas. Yee haw!

Those of you following me on Facebook or Twitter have already heard my excited and rambling posts about this. Tomorrow is my birthday and I'm taking a weekend trip to visit my favorite sister-in-law in San Antonio, as well as visiting some of my best boutique buddies including Goosie Girl, The Fab Store, and Living with Lindsay. I haven't seen them in almost 2 years, so I am *super* excited about this trip. Plus, I am getting away for a weekend without the boys and hubby. You know I adore them, but sometimes I just need a break!

In actual sewing news, I'm not the only one with a birthday this month; these two lucky little girls got to go to Disneyland for their birthdays and I was honored to be able to make these darling princess Farbenmix Feliz dresses for them. Their mom tells me they constantly had people stopping them to ooh and aah over their dresses, and even Princess Aurora herself commented that the dresses were nicer than the ones her fairy godmother made!

I'm staying very busy in my studio working on Halloween costumes. So far, Donald Duck has been the big hit of the year with three ordered so far! I'm also working on a Daisy Duck, a Mickey and Minnie Mouse brother/sister set, and a lovely lavender Felicity gown. There is still time to order costumes- check out what I have listed in my etsy store, and don't forget that I love to take custom orders, too!

86 days til Halloween... are you ready?

I know most of you are thinking Back to School right now, but I've got to think ahead to Halloween. It's my busiest time of year when people are shopping for costumes!

And since my studio is nice & clean (okay, not *quite* as clean as it was a few weeks ago, but still very workable!) I had some time to make a few new Halloween outfits: this fun Halloween skirt made with my Peek-a-Boo Pleats pattern, and also a vibrantly decorated Vida jumper. You can find them, and more to come, in the Spooky Wear 4 Halloween section of my etsy shop.

Also, check out the new Destash category in my shop- I'm loading it up, slowly but surely, with a wide variety of fabric, patterns, beads and more at great prices. Let's get it out of my sewing room and into yours!

I encourage you to order your costume(s) early because I am only committing to 3 costumes every 2 weeks thru October 11. That means only 15 lucky customers will have a Monkey Doodle original costume this year (and I just got my first order before I could even post this, so I'm down to 14)! I can do just about anything you can dream up, so don't be limited by what you see listed in my Costume Shoppe category. Convo me with your ideas, and I'll quote you a price. No word yet on what the Monkey Doodle boys are planning to be this year, but I'll share pictures once they decide.

in case you haven't noticed...

I am HORRIBLE about updating my blog.

Nothing new to report. Well, maybe. Last Friday, for the first time in I can't remember how long, I had nothing that I HAD to sew. All orders completed & shipped, sewing errands for friends & family dutifully completed. So I spent the weekend cleaning up/out my sewing room. Which probably hadn't happened since last year. I sew in a 7' x 7' area that was a walk-in closet in its former life. Everything else spreads out into the room that accompanies said closet. And I do mean EVERYTHING.

Take a look at what I tackled on Saturday morning. And Saturday afternoon. And Saturday night. And pretty much all day Sunday. Isn't this horrendous? I am so embarassed to show this to you! But it's much better now... but not quite photo ready :o)

Star Spangled!

I woke up this morning to discover my Stars and Stripes Forever set was featured in this adorable treasury by RoughMagicHolidays. Hooray for the Red White and Blue! (There's still plenty of time for me to get it to you by the 4th of July; it's ready to ship in size 5/6!)

Customer cuties

One of the rare treats of an etsy seamstress is to actually see her items on a child. I make things and send them to various homes across the United States (and sometimes the world!). Sometimes the parents remember to leave feedback for me; most of the time they don't. So it really is special when a mom takes time to share a picture of her child wearing something that I made. Here are a few pictures I have received lately.





Don't forget: all ready-to-ship items in my etsy store are still half off for the rest of the month. Tell your friends!

Also, if you really want to know what I'm doing and thinking, you've probably discovered that my blog is not the best place to find me. I'm doing good if I post more than once a month! I invite you to follow me on twitter and facebook (link over on the right sidebar... I'm too much of a commitment phobe to choose a username over there!)

Ready to ship for half price in June!

Hello, etsy friends. I want to buy more fabric. I want to make new things. But I have a lot of things that are already made, waiting for new homes.

So here's the deal: during the month of June, if you buy something in the ready to ship girls or ready to ship boys categories of my etsy store, I will refund HALF of the price to you. Yes, you read that right- all ready to ship boys & girls items are half price in June! All you have to do is ask nicely for your half price discount when you check out. It's a win-win situation: I'll have less inventory and more money to buy more fabric and increase my inventory again. And you'll get a really cute outfit for an unbelievable price!

If you're reading this in May and you've had your eye on something, now might be the time to buy it before someone snatches it up in June. Tell your friends! And tell them to go to my blog and sign up for my mailing list so they'll know about all my other great promotions, too!

Dressing the dolls

You can set your calendar by it: the first week of May, my friend Deborah gets stressed out. Why? because she is the director of Arts Alive Studio and the first of May means one month until production time. This year's acting performance is The Hiding Place, which they have done several times before. No need to make an entire set of costumes like last year. This year's clothing crisis is for the ballet, of all things!

The production they are doing this year is based on the children's book The Best Loved Doll. I've never read it, but the basic plot is that a little girl gets invited to a party where all the guests bring their best-loved dolls. The older students are the party guests and the little ballerinas are their dolls.

I don't know if you've ever had the opportunity to look at a dance costume catalog, but they are FULL of amazing costumes of every shape, size and style you can imagine. Unless you are my friends Deborah and the ballet's author/director, Nicole. They had a very specific look in mind that just couldn't be found in any of the catalogs they checked. A sweet, vintage girly look. So they decided to make the costumes.

Deborah, bless her heart, is making pastel leotards and matching skirts for the older girls who are the guests at the party. And based on the sample I saw last week, they are just as nice (if not nicer!) than store-bought ones. The dolls will be wearing dresses in a color that matches their owners' leotard. Deborah had done the rough construction of each of the seven dresses, but needed someone to "fancy them up." Would I be able to help with this?

Heck yeah!

On Friday afternoon, I picked up a bag loaded with pastel loveliness, lace & ribbon and given free reign for embellishing the dresses. Yippee! I culled through my stock of vintage patterns for ideas and have knocked out 3 of the 7 dresses already. Here's a sneak peek of an apron I made for one of the dresses:

Falling off the wagon and climbing back on

Perhaps you've noticed that a week went by without anything new popping up in my store. Perhaps you haven't. Either way, I noticed, and here's the story that I'm sticking to:

I love to sew, and I don't want sewing to become stressful or just something else to squeeze into my very busy day. I don't want to ever feel pressured to make something, and that's how I was feeling last week. I ran into 3 days that were slam-packed with things to do from dawn til dusk (and beyond dusk, I'm usually catching up on recorded TV shows). And then I ran into 2 days of blissful weather where I needed to wind down from the busy week. Then yesterday- slammed again. Today, not so much :o)

I'm happy to say that things *look* like they're calming down a bit in my schedule (but you know how deceptive looks can be...) I actually started working on this dress last week, but between finishing up customer orders and everything else going on, I only got to finish it this morning. Ta da! Lilo's Luau, size 3T (or a top fo a slim 7/8), ready to ship.

I have 2 more Williamsburg costumes to list, one for girls and one for toddlers. I'm still waiting on pictures for those. This weekend, my boys costume was chosen for a treasury highlighting the anniversary of Paul Revere's midnight ride. The treasury has ended, but you can see the link here on Jane's Glorious Hats blog. Thanks, Jane!

What About Your Friends?

I am so blessed to have a great supportive group of online designer friends- the ABSD street team on etsy. I have known and worked with many of them for over 3 years, and am constantly amazed at the new things they come up with. Since I didn't think of anything exciting to do for my 2 year anniversary on etsy (and, honestly, I didn't even list anything for probably another 6 months after I joined, so the anniversary thing is not a big deal...), I am going to dedicate this post to the recent creations of my awesome friends.

Tip Top Applesauce makes the most adorable baby hats EVER! This one was featured on an episode of TLC's A Baby Story! I love getting to those cute little babies wearing her hats almost as much as I love checking out her new designs!

My friend Lindsay hasn't had much time for sewing lately... she's been too busy blogging! Check out Living with Lindsay for some amazing decorating ideas that don't cost a lot of money and can be done by just about anyone!

Several of my friends have recently completed new eBooks... check out The Pretty Baby Boutique's Sami Dress pattern. Did you know the Tie Dye Diva does more than tie dye? These are two of her latest patterns- aren't they adorable? But don't stop there- her shop has even more patterns and ready to ship creations as well!

Les Tissus Bows just completed a tutorial for her fabulous raggie bows. She's also hosting a fun contest on her blog- pop in and check it out!


Those are just a few of my friends... this was a fun post and I'll do it again to highlight others, but in the meantime you can find all of our listings by searching ABSD on etsy.

Here fishy fishy...

Last night, I made this super cute knit set for etsy. I haven't made anything from knit fabric in a long time that I almost forgot how fun and easy it is to work with! How cute (not to mention COMFORTABLE!) would this be for a summer beach trip? The sample listing is size 3T, but I will make it in any size from 12m-5T in this listing. So although I didn't list it last night, I made it last night and listed 2 things today, so I'm still up-to-date with my April Challenge. Only 17 new things left to list... yikes! Does that number seem overwhelming to anyone other than me?

Peek-a-Boo Pleats!

I am SO excited that my first eBook is finally finished and listed in my etsy store! You can find it right here, but if this one happens to be sold already, don't worry. I'll be re-listing often and you can just check my store to see if it's in stock. Youcanmakethis.com is also reviewing my work, and I hope to be selling on their website soon!

I've already got an idea in mind for my next pattern, but may have to wait until the April Challenge is over before I find the time to work on it!

Twice the magic

Since I missed out on one day of listing this week, I am making up for it with a double listing tonight!

For any little girl who is heading to Disney (or wishing she was), I have made this Magical Vacation sun dress! There is a sample listed in size 4, and a custom size listing for any size, 12 months though girls 8!

I also noticed that my 2 year membership anniversary on etsy is coming up on Monday. I'll be thinking of something special for the occasion and welcome any ideas you may have!

Hanging my head in shame

Sigh. I din't even make it a full week! I went to bed last night without getting a new listing up for my April Challenge, and actually woke up at 4 am thinking about it :o(

To be fair, I have been very busy in and around the house. I am working on orders for a customer, celebrating my baby's 5th birthday today, cleaning the house for the in-laws' arrival this weekend, administering end-of-year tests to my older boys, and other general daily duties. I think I will try to get TWO things done and listed today.

On Sunday night, I listed this custom sized boys colonial costume (girl and baby versions coming as soon as I get pictures!). They're great for school plays or trips to Colonial Williamsburg. On Monday, it was this cute citrus lounge set in size 3/4. Wish me luck for TWO listings today!

Day 4- Saltwashed

The colors in these fabrics reminded me of the saltwashed hues you see on houses along the North Carolina coast. Wouldn't this be a darling set for your beach vacation this year? Capri and butterfly top set, size 5/6 here in my etsy store.

I'm done and it's not even 4:30! Maybe I'll get a head start on tomorrow's outfit. But more lifely, I will take my pillow out back and take a snooze on the trampoline while I smell the freshly cut grass. It's a gorgeous afternoon here!

Pay it Forward Friday

There's a great little thing on etsy called Pay it Forward (PIF) where you list an item in your store for only the listing fee of $.20. It's a great way to offer something unexpectedly nice to someone out there, and all the lister asks in return is that the recipient list a PIF in their etsy store, or do something nice. Pretty simple concept, huh? If only the rest of the world were this nice :o)

I head a REALLY long day that involved me making some very kindhearted decisions this morning before I fully woke up. In the span of less than 30 minutes I had committed myself to coaching my son's t-ball team (even though I know nothing about t-ball) and offering to watch my friends' 5 children, along with my own 3, at her house all afternoon. Needless to say, that didn't leave me very much time for sewing and I was very worried about failing the April Challenge on only day 3! So I pulled out this little jumper I made last year when testing the eBook for my friend the Tie Dye Diva and listed it as a PIF in my store. Happy Friday- the few minutes of it that are left!

The jumper is a girls size 6; you can find it here if no one has snatched it up already. The pattern is available for sale in eBook format in the Tie Dye Diva's store (link above).

And speaking of eBooks- I finished mine yesterday and it is off to the testers. Yippee!

Spring sparkle on Day 2

Day 2 and I'm still going strong :o)

This skirt is covered with fun sparkles and will come with a pink tshirt or tank top with butterfly applique. It is 14 inches long so will fit a range of sizes from 3 or 4 up to 6. I will make the shirt in the size you choose. Check it out here in my etsy store!

Designer ADD and the April Challenge

I've been having a bit of designer ADD of late. I have tons of fabric and ideas, and every time I wander into my studio I seem to get overwhelmed. I'll pick up a random fabric and cut 3 pieces of a pattern before I get distracted and move on to something else. Obviously, this does not result in many finished projects. Add to that the fact that I just got back from a week and a half road trip with my boys and was rushing to finish up customer orders before that, and, well it's been a LONG time since I've added anything to my etsy stores.

The guilt set in today, and I cut out the rest of the pieces to go with 3 that I cut out 2 days ago, and found that in a matter of hours, I had a completed item. I was so pleased with my little jumper and embarassed at my laziness that I issued myself

THE APRIL CHALLENGE

For the month of April, I plan to list at least one new item in either my Monkey Doodle (kids clothing and costumes) or Bibidi (all things baby) stores on etsy. This is a HUGE challenge for me. I am optimistic, but not positive I will succeed. I'd love for you to cheer me on as I sew- leave comments if you have any ideas about what you'd like to see me work on! Also, since most of my listings will be OOAK's, I have to ask you to bear with my not-so-great photography skills. Believe me, all of my effort is poured into sewing your outfit, not photographing and photo editing :o)

So without futher ado, here is the entry for April 1 (no foolin!), a fun little dog and cat themed Farbenmix Vida jumper, size 3T. You can find it here.

One month later- status check

From last month's post:

I've also been sewing a custom Feliz dress for one of my favorite customers,


helping a 12 year old girl create a Regency era dress for an English Country dance she is attending (think Jane Austin!),

sewing costumes for 4 children who will be visiting Colonial Williamsburg in period attire {these are being worn in Williamsburg this week; I'll have pictures when they get home},

and working on my first eBook pattern. Here's a sneak peek of my finished item- book will be ready soon!

I'm taking a week off to head to Florida with my kids, but plan to list some great spring specials when I return!

Cole's stuffed "animal"

Going to the fabric store with 3 boys in tow is an unfortunate reality for me. Because we homeschool, I am rarely without them. Some fabric store trips are better than others; we've had some pretty good ones lately because I have learned that offering a Krispy Kreme donut as a reward for good behavior works wonders. Sometimes, they are happy to help me locate a fabric if I give them a swatch and say, "find me something this color." Pattern books are usually a big hit; I can usually get away with a good 10 or 15 minutes while they look at the Halloween costume section, and now I can give the older boys an assignment and ask them to find a particular pattern in the drawer for me.

During our time in pattern land this week, Cole discovered a pattern that he *had* to have. And when they're on sale for a dollar, I generally appease such a request. The last such request resulted in me making this parrot for Finn. So this time, Cole got his pattern and 1/2 yard of fabric-of-his-choosing. After 24 hours of unrelenting begging, I helped him make his creature last night. Here is the chronicle of his "animal."



Here are the fabric and pattern he chose.



The pattern gives several options for which body, ears, arms, and legs to combine; here is his combination after I addeed the felt mouth with hand-stitched teeth and button eyes.



After I stitched the body together, Cole dutifully stuffed his little guy for nearly 10 minutes before he got bored. I finished the stuffing & sewed him up, resulting in...


A happy Cole, and his "animal" named Crazy.

Spring flowers are blooming

It's been a while since I've created anything new, due to the CPSIA crisis that is now, thankfully, resolved. It's been pretty cold and gloomy around here (it is winter, after all), so I decided to make something nice and spring-y. Using the very last smidgens of this cute Michael Miller daisy print, I created this one of a kind set, size 3T. You can find it here in my etsy store.

I've also been sewing a custom Feliz dress for one of my favorite customers, helping a 12 year old girl create a Regency era dress for an English Country dance she is attending (think Jane Austin!), sewing costumes for 4 children who will be visiting Colonial Williamsburg in period attire, and working on my first eBook pattern. Whew! Guess I should be spending more time in the sewing room and less on the computer...

Call the cops...

'cause we're about to commit a felony!

Next week, over a hundred talented ladies (and possibly a few gentlemen!) who will be out of business as of February 10 due to the new CPSIA legislation are gathering for a final launch on eBay. We're hoping to draw even more attention to the cause of independent small-business crafters who will be impacted by this ill-advised legislation. So make sure you search boutique felony on both eBay and etsy next week- this could be your last chance to buy custom boutique for a long time... or ever!

Halloween... a whole lot late!

Life is finally settling back into a normal routine after all of our holiday celebrations & travel, and post-holiday clean up. With the CPSIA legislation becoming effective on February 9 and no loopholes in sight for Monkey Doodle Designs (or other homemade clothing & crafts), I've had to seriously consider what direction my business is heading in.

While I took a diversion for a few weeks of making bibs for my niece (for sale on my new etsy account, *bibidi*), I received several costume requests from local and online customers. And that made me remember- I love making costumes! Part of what is really important in the world of custom boutique sewing is creating your niche... something that I have not been very good at previously. I love to make EVERYTHING- new Euro patterns for girls, purses, boys tee and shorts sets, applique, jewelry, etc. So while I don't plan to stop dabbling in clothing altogether, I will be changing my focus for Monkey Doodle Designs to a stock of costumes that I can keep stocked in my store, and add special OOAK seasonal clothing as I have time and desire. I currently have 3 in my etsy store, with 2 amazing girls Narnia costumes underway.

With all of that out of the way, let's talk about Halloween, LOL! My new computer is set up and fully operational and the missing photo editing software has been returned and installed. So without further ado, I would like to share my very, very belated Halloween photos with you. Meet the Muppets (and a cute little tuxedo cat)!