The Making of a Christening Dress

 

I should have smacked myself upside the head.  I’d had a month to get the Christening gown for Sophia completed, but ended up finishing it just a few hours before her Baptism.

Beyond my usual procrastination, I have a habit of “designing as I go.”  I usually have an idea of what I want it to look like.  However, I continually change design elements and always end up with something totally different from my original design.  Am I the only one who does this?

Working with silk shantung is challenging to say the least.  And trying to set the tiniest gathered sleeves is beyond nerve-wracking!

Then I sewed lace and tatting to tulle.  At least I was smart enough to do it flat (before sewing up the side seams of the skirts).

But the worst was trying to gather 6 skirt layers (1 cotton batiste, 3 tulle, 1 netted lace and 1 silk shantung overskirt) and attach them to the tiny silk shantung bodice.

Whew! DONE!  To give you an idea of size…this dress bodice is a size 3 months…LOL!  It just looks bigger in photos.  Ok, so the dress is huge…I think it measures about 48 inches.  And of my…it was HEAVY!

At the last minute, I decided to do these silk dupioni spider web roses.  I’ll post a quick tutorial this week (once I get another manicure), so everyone can make some, too.

To make dressing the baby easy, I used large sewn-in snaps and covered them with no-functioning rhinestone buttons.

Here’s a close-up of all the skirt layers.  I’ve made several special occasion dresses, but never a Christening dress.  This was a first.  I’ve been collecting vintage laces and tatting for ages and loved using them for such a precious little girl!

Meet Sophia, daughter of my dear friend, Diana (aka Diana of Not Just Bagels)!  The Christening gown fit Sophia perfectly!    It was such a feeling of accomplishment to see Sophia in the Christening dress.

Sophia enjoyed sucking on the big silk roses.  Isn’t she beautiful?

Diana loved the dress and is going to put it in a huge shadow box to display in Sophia’s room.

Wishing everyone a Happy 4th of July!

CPSIA Update

CPSIA – Two New Items

CPSC Lays Out Plans for 2010 CPSIA Implementation in its FY 2010 Budget Request – Broker Power Inc.

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The Consumer Product Safety Commission has released its fiscal year 2010 budget request of $107,000,000, a slight increase over its FY 2009 budget of $105 million.

In addition to presenting its budget request, CPSC outlines the following goals for 2010 regarding its implementation of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA¹) (partial list):

Staff to Screen 500 Models of Children’s Products for Lead

CPSC states that in 2010, its staff will screen 500 models of children’s products for compliance with both the CPSIA lead content limit and the lowered CPSIA limit on lead in paint and similar surface coatings.

CPSC to Develop Protocols & Standards for Random Sampling, Verification, etc.

CPSC staff will develop, for Commission consideration, protocols and standards for: (1) periodic random sampling and testing of children’s products; (2) verification that children’s products tested by a conformity assessment body comply with applicable children’s product safety rules; and (3) safeguarding against the exercise of undue influence on a third party conformity assessment body by a manufacturer or private labeler.

CPSC to Consider Use of Labels to Show Compliance with CPSIA Certification

In 2010, CPSC staff will develop, and send to the Commission for consideration, requirements for a program by which manufacturers and private labelers may label consumer products as complying with the certification requirements of CPSIA section 102(a).² Staff will also prepare a briefing package on a proposed rule regarding labeling of consumer products for Commission consideration.

CPSC May Issue Lead Content Exclusions and Determinations

If needed, staff will prepare for Commission consideration: (1) a rule providing for the determination that the lead content of certain specified products or materials does not exceed the CPSIA lead content limits for children’s products; and (2) a rule providing for the exclusion of a specified product or material from the CPSIA lead content limit.

Staff to Complete Report on Using XRF to Measure Lead in Paint

In 2010, CPSC will complete a draft status report on the effectiveness of XRF and other alternative technologies for the measurement of lead in paint.

CPSC to Finalize Interpretive Rule on Products Covered by Phthalates Provisions

CPSC will finalize its interpretative rule on the products covered by the phthalates provisions of the CPSIA.

Staff to Draft Final Rules on Safety Standards for Toddler Beds and Bassinets

In 2010, staff will prepare two briefing packages with draft final rules on safety standards for Commission consideration – one for toddler beds and the other for bassinets. Staff will select two additional products and prepare draft final rules for Commission consideration.

CPSC to Hold Six Public Meetings on CPSIA in 2010

CPSC plans that staff will participate in six meetings in 2010 to address the many questions about the CPSIA and to allow for an open dialogue with stakeholders. In these meetings, sections of the CPSIA of most interest to stakeholders will be explained and discussion encouraged through question and answer sessions.

¹Enacted as Public Law 110-314 on August 14, 2008.

²Section 102(a) of the CPSIA requires that manufacturers and private labelers (later refined by CPSC to be domestic manufacturers and importers) of products subject to a consumer product safety rule under the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA) or any similar rule, ban, standard, or regulation under any other act enforced by CPSC, issue a general conformity certificate, based on testing or a reasonable testing program, which certifies that the product complies with all applicable CPSC standards, bans, etc. In addition, Section 102(a) subjects children’s products (for children 12 and younger) to a more stringent requirement, as certification for those products must be based on third-party testing by a CPSC-accredited lab.  (Another section of the CPSIA requires that these conformity certificates “accompany” the products, are furnished to retailers, etc.)

Note that in February 2009, CPSC stayed until February 10, 2010, most of these Section 102(a) testing and certification requirements, though not the underlying product safety requirements.

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CPSC Votes for 2 Year Stay of Enforcement on Bicycles.  Now how about we reexamine the children’s clothing issue, so we can get back to business?!

 

Sweet Sixteen and Never Been Kissed

Unlike her friends, Marielle chose not to have an elaborate Sweet Sixteen party.  Here in NYC, parents seem to go over the top with these ridiculous parties which resemble mini weddings.  It is not unheard of for costs to go way over $30,000!!!

I was able to have one of our local bakeries make a terrific zebra cake filled with Strawberry Shortcake in just 24 hours!  Talk about customer service.  I shared Marielle’s transplant story with them and they went above and beyond what I could have ever hoped for!

Meet Coconut.  I caved in and surprised Marielle with a 9 week old Maltese puppy.  Isn’t she adorable?  Marielle had been harassing me, but her transplant doctors said she had to wait until 6 months post kidney transplant.  Ok, so I jumped the gun and got the puppy a mere 3 weeks early.

My friend, Jennifer (Jaybird Designs) sent Coconut the cutest collar and sweater.  Love them!  Thanks so much Jennifer!

In addition to her new puppy, we also got Marielle a cute zebra dog carrier.  Oh and the other big gift — a spa day for her and 5 of her bestest friends at Pilo Arts.  Marielle and friends will enjoy facials, body massages, body scrubs, pedicures and manicures in 2 weeks from now!

For a week, my home smelled like a florist!  Marielle’s aunts and grandparents showered her with flowers and other great gifts for her birthday.

Mother’s Day Miracle

My friend, Tara, celebrated her 1st Mother’s Day this year.  And boy, did she get the best present ever.  Her son, Colton, received a liver transplant that day!  What more could any mother want more than the health of their children?!  Wishing Colton a lifetime of health and happiness!

HEAT SWAP from the Best in the West!

Received a big box from Lady M™ (aka Myrinda) containing our latest SWAP of the Girls Night In Club.  WOW!  I got some GREAT stuff!  This time we hat to spell the word, “HEAT!”

H is for HANDMADE secret stash (black silk dupioni zippered case).

E is for EDIBLE–delicious Salted Caramel Sticks from Have It Sweet confections.

And Lady M™ added a little tag requesting I share it with Marielle.  Fat chance.  Sorry Myrinda!

A is for AROMA…my absolute favorite scented candle – Trapp’s Fresh Cut Tuberose!!!  Funny thing is Lady M™ posted on Facebook requesting help in finding Trapp candles.  I suggested she get them online where I buy my candles, but Myrinda insisted she needed them right away.  LOL…now I understand why!  She totally tricked me!  I had no idea it was for ME!

Would you believe her husband, Chops, found this for me?  Love that man!  I wasn’t sure if it was A for Aroma or E for Edible, because it’s both!  LOL!

T is for THRIFTED…OMG!  I love this wire dress form!!!  Lady M™ knows how much I LOVE dress forms!!!  PERFECT!

A big, big THANK YOU to my West Coast Counterpart!  Myrinda is just one of those people who really gets me.  You’re awesome Lady M™!

Designing a Christening Gown, Finding a Treasure and Happy Birthday to ME!

PLAYING WITH LACE

I was so terrified honored when my dear friend, Diana (you know, the one who made all the delicious caramels apples for the big BBQ), asked me to create the perfect Christening gown for her new daughter, Sophia.

She decided on a simple an over-the-top ivory silk shantung gown with an underlay of vintage lace. 

Diana is even going to let me add a big vintage pink silk sash which will be tied into a big bow on the back of the dress and embellished with Swarovski crystals.  Luckily, I have one of those cool hot fix crystal tools from Hot Fix Suzy™!

As much as we both loved the alençon lace, it was too glitzy for the Christening gown we’ve envisioned.

We decided on the perfect lace which has a soft hand.

The abundant tulle underskirt layers will be trimmed with various vintage laces…some ivory and some pink!

But before I can start on the Christening Gown, I’ll need to tidy up my sewing room…ugh!  Prior to sewing any special occasion dress (especially whites), I always give my sewing room the Mr. Clean treatment.  DONE!

Seems I started 14 pair of lounge pants for my daughter, 7 onesies for above new baby and various other sewing projects.  Off they all go to the UFO (Un Finished Objects) pile…LOL!

Sophia’s Christening is June 28th…so I had better get moving!

UNIQUE PATTERN MAKING

Kathleen of Fashion-Incubator recently posted about a defunct company, East-West Musical Instruments Co., which created the most unique leather jackets.  These jackets are a work of art.

And wouldn’t you know, I’ve had this beautiful one they created back in the 70s.  It was given to me by my childhood housekeeper who received it from Edgar Winter.

I certainly made a fashion statement as a teenager as everyone went nuts when they saw this silver leather jacket.  I didn’t realize it was valuable.  Check this one out.  Elvis’ jacket went for over $30,000!  It is marked jacket #432, I believe!

I can’t imagine the hours of pattern making and sewing that went into creating this masterpiece.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

Last week, I celebrated my 46th birthday (May 22nd) with a delicious Mocha Butter Cream cake (thanks to my sister, Linda).  I had cake for breakfast, lunch and dinner for two days..haha!

And no…that’s not my front lawn above…although it is not below me to get one of those!  I did, however, display the obnoxious amount of fresh flowers Mr. Diva surprised me with in the front window.  It pisses off all the other housewives in the neighborhood.

Now to get to work…hope everyone is having a great week!

With friendship,

Lisa

How CPSIA Impacts Small Businesses

Yesterday, the House Small Business Committee, Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight held a hearing on The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act and its impact on small businesses.

Rick Woldenberg has a post up about the hearing and subsequent press release of the committee.

In other news, the CPSC voted yesterday on  NAM’s request for stay of enforcement on Tracking Labels.  It was a split decision between Nancy Nord and Thomas Moore…ugh!  That means it was denied!  NAM says labeling fosters confusion.  More posted on Amend the CPSIA here.

Oh…I’m missing Quilt Market with Lady M™ and Mary the Craft Addict™ this weekend!  I should be there in Pittsburgh, but I’m not.  DRATS!

And a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Patty Young (aka ModKid Boutique)!  She, too, will be at Quilt Market (Booth #2531) having a blast without me!  Be sure to stop by her booth and check out her new Mezzanine fabric line for Michael Miller!

With friendship,

Lisa

Tribeca Film Festival

Think you’ve seen it all in New York?  Think Again.  My nephew just arrived home from the Navy after an 8-month deployment, so we spend Saturday at the Tribeca Film Festival to see the screening of Cropsey.

There was a street fair with everything from Italian sausage to funnel cakes.

We went for a quick bite at The Smith on 3rd Avenue.  Instead of having my regular favorite, I opted for a more health conscious organic roasted chicken.  Pretty good.

For anyone who knows me, eating healthy is something I NEVER do.  I’m all about high fat foods and extra toppings.  Bathe me in butter and I’m good to go, KWIM?  But I’m making an attempt–working out with my personal trainer at least twice a week and not eating Wise Cheese Doodles every night.

The good news is I’ve lost at least 8 pounds and I haven’t had to give up my Vanilla Creamer!

While I had my nephew and his girlfriend hold my spot in line (I was third…WOO HOO), I ran over to Stogo to get some healthy organic ice cream.  So many awesome flavors…I had some coconut vanilla bean ice cream with hot caramel.  YUMMY!

So, about the movie…OMG!  It was AWESOME!

 

Check out the Cropsey Movie Trailer!  The Cropsey Legend began many years ago in Upstate New York.  Basically, it’s a name we give a bogeyman.  For many years, Staten Islanders had their own “Cropsey,”  Andre Rand, who was convicted of murdering a local child.  Police believe he is responsible for other unsolved missing children cases in Staten Island.

At the end of the movie, the directors did a Question and Answer session with the audience.  Talk about cool!  Even the detectives and psychiatrist were in the audience to answer questions!  Double cool!

Now I need to get back to my sewing room.  Because of all the interior painting we are doing, I know find I need lots of new window treatments to match.  Fun, fun, fun…LOL!

The Never-Ending Painting Adventure

I’ve been quite busy with having my home repainted.  It’s amazing how much stuff we’ve accumulated since we last painted 5 years ago.

The first thing to be painted were closets throughout the entire house.  Now granted, the closets didn’t need to be painted as the paint was still in great shape.  However, it gave me an opportunity to reorganize them all (and of course, I got to use my handy dandy label maker).  Although our house looked like a hurricane swept through, it was so worth it!

I can easily find items in my pantry and my linen closet never looked better.  I donated all my unwanted towels, sheets and placemats to a local animal shelter.  Now I have room to add new linens to match the new paint colors.

Marielle’s room is FINALLY finished (well, except for a few little odds and ends)!  I only have a few sneak peeks of her room as we are still trying to find space to store all her junk.

Not only did we paint the walls hot pink and most of the trim black, we even painted her vanilla-colored furniture white. Marielle suggested we do black velvet curtains.  But in the meantime, I ordered 2″ black aluminum blinds for her huge window (because we all know how long it will take me to sew her curtains…LOL).

I’ve been buying and hoarding anything zebra, hot pink and/or black for the last year.  My efforts have finally paid off.  Most of my best finds were at either HomeGoods, TJ Maxx or Marshall’s.  The hot pink lunch boxes were only $3.99 each.  And the zebra canisters were only a few bucks.  Oh and the hat box (which also has 4 coordinating big boxes) was only $5.99!  Score!

Check out this matching doll I bought while hunting for zebra items on Ebay!

Marielle asked that I stop buying anything with a zebra print on it as she thinks it’s starting to look like a zebra puked in her room…haha!

Since my darling daughter has a habit of writing on her closet walls (Marielle loves Anthony, Steven, Adam, Nick), we painted black chalkboard paint so we can just erase past boyfriends’ names instead of having to cross them out.  How clever am I?

Oh, speaking of closets, I caved in and got her 300 hot pink Huggable Hangers.  I absolutely LOVE these hangers (might have to buy them for every closet in the house).  The above hangers may not look hot pink, but they certainly are.  It’s pretty hard to get the correct color when editing photos of a black closet.

I purchased zebra light switch and outlet covers on Etsy.  Only problem is I ordered the wrong type outlet covers (I need the new rocker type covers).  So I’ll be doing a craft project this week–covering her old white outlet covers with some zebra wrapping paper and a little decoupage.  Wish me luck!

I found this cool zebra phone at Marshall’s for just $12.99.  Perfect!

This weekend I spent spray painting different things for her room in gloss black and semi-gloss white.  I had found this neat shelf (once gold) at TJ Maxx for a mere $12.99 last year.  The minute I saw it, I knew if turned upside down it would be a perfect bed crown for my daughter’s room.

A little black paint and now to find the zebra sheer fabric to attach to the bed crown which I have stashed somewhere in my sewing room…I’ll show you photos of it once I get it hung on the wall over her bed.  I’ve got to figure out a good way to attach the zebra sheers to the bottom of the new bed crown.  Any ideas?

I hadn’t finished spray painting Marielle’s light pink wicker rolling baskets when those two darn ducks took over the yard.  Yes, they’ve been coming to my yard every stinkin’ day to eat all my Koi fish food.  Any good ideas on how to get these ducks out of my yard once and for all?  It’s getting a little old chasing them around with a broom, KWIM?

Spring in the City

 

My sister, Laurie aka “Tess” is up visiting from North Carolina.  So she, Little Joey and I took a quick trip into the city.  Today we were adventurous…we took public transportation.  Glad we did as the crowd was crazy.  There were people everywhere!

 

First stop was the giant Toys R Us in Times Square where Laurie and Little Joey played Nintendo Wii Tennis on a huge plasma screen.  Check out the big Nintendo DS…what a great window display!

We then had a late lunch at HB Burger.  Wow!  What great cheese burgers and Vanilla Egg Creams!

 

Joey got a kick out of riding the subway.

Notice the Subway Emergency Evacuation sign?  Here in NYC, we’re prepared for everything.

We made it back to Staten Island just in time to see the beautiful sunset on the NYC skyline!

CPSIA Rally Video and Free CPSIA Graphics

Amend the CPSIA Rally Video from Dawn LaPolla on Vimeo.

Above is the video of the entire CPSIA Rally in DC last week.  Be prepared…it is LONG!  So grab yourself a cup of coffee…

Barbara Beck’s:  Scientific Testimony at CPSIA Rally

Here’s some fun CPSIA-inspired graphics for you.  Just right click your mouse over the image, copy and save…