Olivia's Dress Sewing Contest!

The Rules:

1. You must use my "Olivia's Dress" pattern as the starting point of your creation!

2. You must have a blast being creative & using your imagination 

to create something that will knock our socks off.

3. To enter the contest you must submit a photo of your creation to me

via email to Dawn@Olabelhe.com by no later than March 31, 2012.

4. You may enter as many times as you like each time with a different creation using my 

'Olivia's Dress" pattern as the base of your creation.

5. Use as many fabrics as you like, be creative with ribbons, trim, lace, etc. 

Add other elements to the dress like pockets, a sash or ruffles. 

That's all I am going to say the rest is up to you!

The more creative you are. . . the better!!!
We will be looking for clever and inventive ideas, great use of colors, and overall design.
Be sure to put your best foot forward with your photos as well,
 that's all we will have to judge by.

The Prizes:

THE GRAND PRIZE

1. 5 Olabelhe patterns of your choice.

2. The entire set of New Olabelhe Summer patterns to be released in May!

3. From Allegro Fabrics ~ 2 yards of your choice of quilters cotton fabrics.

4. From Fairytale Frocks & Lollipops ~ A $25 gift certificate to use on anything at FF&L.

5. From Kinder Kouture ~ A $25 gift certificate!

SECOND PRIZE

1. 3 Olabelhe patterns of your choice.

The Judges:

1. Me

2. Linda from Allegro Fabrics

3. Terri from Fairytale Frocks & Lollipops
4. Jeannine McCloskey from "Kinder Kouture"

Please note: When you submit your photos you give me permission to 

share it with the other judges as well as posting it on my website. It may show up other places on the web as well. For instance it may be shown on Facebook or someone may "Pin It' on Pinterest as a design inspiration. 

You can purchase the "Olivia's Dress" pattern from Olabelhe.com, Allegro Fabrics.com, Fairytale Frocks & Lollipops.com, YCMT.com or other shops.

Good Luck!

We can't wait to see what you come up with!

The winners will be announced on April 1st, 2012

Confection Perfection!

Can you take one more "Olivia"? I promise I will cool it for a while after this one. This is yet another dress made from the "Olivia" pattern but I altered this one as well. As I did in the last photos, I added another skirt and I also added a band of fabric around the bottom of the top skirt. On this one I also added some really fun pockets to jazz it up a bit more. Now I have to say, I wasn't sure about this one at first. There is a lot going on in this dress and generally speaking I like things a bit more simple but Abby loves it and yesterday when we were out taking photos the response was overwhelming. I had one lady offer to buy the dress on the spot! But Abby said "Sorry, it's not for sale, it's mine." she was very polite but firm with her answer. All of these prints can be found at Allegro Fabrics and if you are interested in any of them I would pop over there quickly and grab them as I am sure they will disappear quickly. Abby and I had a blast at the frozen yogurt shop and it was a great treat after our busy morning.

Dawn

It's A Jungle Out There!

Before I say a single word about the outfit I just have to say one thing..."My Baby looks so grown-up in these pictures!!!"

Okay, so I decided to play around with "Olivia". Shorten the length add another skirt and add a band around the bottom of the skirt and just have fun with it. Abby picked out the fabrics from Allegro Fabrics, no big surprise . .  it has animals all over it! The polka dot print is a coordinate and the rick-rack print just happened to match perfectly and we got that one from FF&L. We paired it up with a simple pair of black leggings and it makes for a really fun outfit.

I just wanted to show you how much fun you can have with this pattern. I have to admit I am having a blast with it and I have had about 10 more ideas how to change it up to have so many different looks. You are only limited by your imagination. So, have fun and experiment with this pattern. I would love to see what you come up with. Hmmm, maybe I should have a contest? Let me think about that one and see if I can get some great sponsors and prizes together. I'll let you know.

Dawn

"Olivia" Is In The Shop!!!

At long last "Olivia" is complete and ready for purchase. I have just loaded the PDF version into my shop and the printed version will become available mid week. Happy Sewing and Enjoy!!!!

UPDATE!

The printed patterns have arrived and are also available in my shop.

Dawn

Cover Girl

Yesterday's photo session was a bit of a bust with Abby modeling "Olivia" and I just wasn't happy with  any of the photos. So back out we went this morning to try again and thankfully these turned out much better. This was the final missing piece to putting together "Olivia". So, today I am going to work on putting all the pieces together for the final result. My goal is to have the PDF version of Olivia in the shop this weekend and then the printed version will become available shortly after that if I get it to the printers asap. Until then here are a few more photos for you to look at so that you can start planning what you are going to do with your "Olivia". Enjoy!

Dawn

"PlayDate" at Pat's

Yesterday I played "Hookie" and I went up to Richmond to spend the day with Pat at Chadwick's. As always we had a wonderful time and I was surrounded by inspiration. Pat's fabric collection has grown by leaps and bounds since I visited her last. Wall to wall loveliness in every color of the rainbow. Honestly, it's a bit overwhelming and I was like a kid in a candy shoppe. After taking it all in I decided to play with this gorgeous and very happy daisy print. How can you not smile when you see this??? It "told" me it wanted to be an "Olivia" which actually really surprised me because I wasn't planning on making yet another of these, but they are so much fun to make I thought "What the heck!" I  went into Pat's back room and set up shop and within a few minutes my machine was humming away. Pat and I visited and I got to meet with some of her guests and we talked and talked about sewing. Truly a treat. I had this one finished before lunch. We spent the rest of the day chatting and I looked through old issues of Sew Beautiful as well as Australian Smocking. Sadly, the day ended too quickly but not before I managed to pick out a few more fabrics that wanted to come home with me to be made into something extra special. "Olivia" will most likely become available next week. I just have to get a little more feedback and take Abby out for a photo shoot to get the cover photo and it will be ready to go to print!!! Hang on it's just a few more days. Until then you can begin to think about how you want to make your "Olivia's" and start picking out fabrics. Oh, if you are interested in these fabrics just give Pat a call and I'm sure she will be happy to take care of you!

Thanks so much for a wonderful day Pat!!! I'll be back to visit soon to "play" some more.

Dawn

Look How Gorgeous!

Can you believe this! I just sent the test pattern to Jeannine yesterday and she has already made up an adorable "Olivia". Of course because she and I collaborated on this project she is my main tester! I have to admit I was really nervous/excited to see what she had to say about the pattern and well I just let you pop over to her blog to read what she had to say about it! We are both just tickled about the results of this design and we know you will be too. Be patient just a little longer, I have to tweek a few minor things but honestly, I  think I got this one just right.

Dawn

Olivia Update

I wanted to give you all an update on Miss Olivia. I have received an unbelievable amount of email from so many of you asking all kinds of questions about this dress. Therefore, I am going to try to answer some of your questions here so that if anybody else was wondering some of the same things I could reach more people at once here. Now, please don't misunderstand. I absolutely LOVE getting emails and phone calls from you but because you are all so anxious for this dress responding to all those emails and calls tends to slow me down and I am trying really hard to get this dress to you ASAP!!! 

So. . . .

Q ~ When is Olivia going to be released and will it be in time for Easter? 

A ~ I am just about done with the pattern. The pattern pieces are all drafted, instructions written, illustrations drawn and photo tutorial completed. I just have to do a few more things before I will feel comfortable releasing it. As for the release date I am hoping to release it in the second week of March, barring any disasters. So, you will have it in plenty of time for making Easter dresses!!!

Q ~ What sizes will this dress come in?

A ~ This pattern will include sizes 3-8

Q ~ Do you need testers for this dress?

A ~ I am so touched that so many of you volunteered to test "Olivia" for me but, I already have my testers all lined up and they are super anxious to play with this dress and give it a test drive.

Q ~ How much fabric will I need to make this dress?

A ~ Many of you have already started planning your "Olivia" and want to start shopping for fabric. As always I am pretty generous with my yardage amounts and I can tell you for sizes 3-5 you will need 2 1/2 yards and for sizes 6-8 you will need 3 yards of fabric. Of course if you are planning to use a variety of fabrics you will have to adjust your amounts.

Q ~ Does "Olivia" have a built in crinoline?

A ~ No, this dress does not. However, if you wanted to you could easily add one by using the instructions from one of my other designs that include a crinoline like "Miranda", "Natalie", or "Gabriella".

I hope this helps a little. I have just been overwhelmed by the amazing response to this dress and I am so appreciative that you all love it so much!

Dawn

Hot Off The Press

I told you I am somewhat obsessed with making "Olivia's". Here is this mornings version. This time I decided to use a contrasting fabric for the center band and I trimmed it out with hot pink ribbon with black saddle stitching and added the sweet little bows to the back for interest and to make it a little bit different. Yes, I know, I still have to sew the hot pink buttons on the back of the dress but I was anxious to have Abby try it on and I can easily sew the buttons on later. I also added a pretty fabric flower to make the front more interesting. To be honest . . . I am not totally sure if I like this dress or not. One minute I think it's cute, the next minute I wonder if it's a train wreck. I'm still undecided. I personally like the last one I showed you much more. But, I wanted to show you yet another idea of what you will be able to do with this new design. You can use 1, 2, or even 3 prints if you wanted to. It all depends on what you like and the look you are going for.

Dawn

Olivia, The Trouble Maker!

I think I finally have this little dress figured out. After making the first two I discovered a few things which really bothered me about the original design. It was pulling in places where it shouldn't pull and although it was pretty minor it really bothered me. So, for the past few days I have been making lots of variations of this little dress until I figured out a way to solve the problem. This time, I think I finally got it right and after a few sleepless nights of thinking about how I could tweek it, get it to stop pulling and maintain the integrity of the original dress that everyone, including myself liked so much. I was determined to get it right. It fits Abby perfectly, she loves it and I am finally happy with how the dress fits. Now, I can finally come up for air and take a little break. However, tomorrow I want to start working on putting the pattern together, but maybe I will make one or two more just to be sure. Plus, I have to say these are really fun to make and they go together pretty quickly as well. I should know, I have a pile of them here that I have made over the past few days.

Even after I thought I had finished the dress I was still feeling like it was missing something, so I played around with the idea of adding some red rick-rack to this sweet little dress and here are the results. Sorry about the less than perfect photo, but I did this last night after the sun had gone down and had to use artificial light. I am very pleased with the addition and love the way the dress looks now. What do you think? Amazing what a little rick-rack can do!

Dawn

Having Fun With Olivia

Yesterday I put together another "Olivia". I have to say, I am really loving this little dress. It's sweet, stylish and believe it or not it goes together really quickly and it doesn't require tons of fabric. This time I made it out of gorgeous print from Moda's Rose Parade Collection. Love the aqua. When Abby saw this one she just about fell over and said "Mommy, when can we go take pictures of this one?" sadly, it's going to have to wait a bit until it warms up a bit. Although this winter has been extremely mild the past few days have been rather chilly and grey and not exactly picture taking kinda days. But fingers crossed that Spring is right around the corner.

Dawn

A Great Story!

Okay, here is a great story! I received the sweetest email from my friend Jeannine from Kinder Kouture on Monday night. If you have never been to her website, you must go! She is such an amazing seamstress and has a wonderful business selling her beautifully crafted custom creations. She explained to me that she was frustrated because she couldn't find a pattern to re-create her daughters Easter dress from last year. She had tried to do it on her own, but after a few tries she decided to call in a "professional" (giggle). Here is the photo she sent me... Isn't the dress just darling! I can see why she loves it. Well, I am always up for a challenge and I told her to give me a little time to see what I could come up with. But I told her not to be too surprised if she had photos waiting for her in her mailbox the next morning. Let's just say . .  I know me, and I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep with all these ideas flying around in my head.

Here is the photo she sent me . . . 

I sat down and started studying the photo and then grabbed paper and pencil and started drafting pieces and just like a puzzle figured out how this dress was constructed. Then grabbed some fabric from my stash and started "playing". This is what I came up with. Now keep in mind mine is different because I didn't want to be a total copy cat, so I added my own twist while still keeping the main idea in tact.

Here's what I came up with . . .

When I showed Jeannine the photos yesterday morning she was thrilled! I have to admit, I was pretty proud of this little cutie as well! Now, keep in mind this is just the rough draft and I need to make several more to perfect it, but if all goes well I hope to add this dress to my Summer Collection. Abby and I have decided to name this one "Olivia", in honor of Jeannine's adorable daughter. What do you think????

Dawn

Vintage Charm

This outfit was inspired from another designer who's style is timeless and very feminine. I was enchanted when I discovered her blog and was instantly motivated to make a miniature version of one of her designs for Abby. Using vintage flannels from Grandma's attic I made this for Abby. A sweet dress with pink buttons down the front and satin bows and ribbon roses also adorn the front. Underneath are the cutest white flannel pantaloons with ruffles, ribbon trim and yes, more bows. She is a little girl afterall...so I can do that!

Ladybugs, Butterflies and Hearts....Oh, My!!!

A trip to the Funny Farm

yet another of these darling sets...I plan to make lots of these for Abby. Mainly using solid colored under dresses and fun and whimsical pinnys over the top. This way we can mix and match and get a lot more outfits. This one is with a orange velour under dress and a super cute flannel pinny with silly farm animals all over it. She really loves this one!

"I want candy"....

This is my new favorite design. Once again a Farbenmix creation. This is just the sweetest little dress and pinny set. This one is made from a super soft and cozy aqua velour with the fun gnome-hood which I just adore. The pinny is made from more flannel. This time with a sweet design of cartoony sweets. Rainbow buttons down the front and a little red polka dot trim and I think this one is finished.