CfC Summer Order Recap

Here are some highlights from a few "Custom from Calista" orders over the past couple months!

Elephant applique & name shirts perfect for this trio of brothers

"Little Golden Book" themed diaper cake to coordinate with the baby shower

This special "Book Worm" onesie is perfect for parents who are avid readers

1st Birthday Onesie & matching Party Hat...pink & teal is such a great color combo!

The owner of this little onesie arrived just before Independence Day 2013... perfect attire thanks to his mamma!

Photo credit: Andrea Fuller Photography

Faux 'dog tag' necklace onesie, perfect for the below newborn photo shoot:

Photo credit: Andrea Fuller Photography

This handsome man finally fits into the onesie (and clipon bowtie) I gifted him at THIS awesome baby shower!

a fun 'ice cream' applique bib to match this cutie's 1st birthday party invitation

another faux 'dog tag' necklace onesie - this time pink & girly!

Mother's Day{s} 2013

I love when ONE special day get's split between a few days...like birthdays for example - they're more often than not, divided into a few different dinners/lunches, with varying family/friends...and this Mother's Day was similar.

It started on Wed. May 8th with a "Mother's Day Breakfast" at K's school... just me & munchkin... she was SO excited in the days leading up to it...I know she cherishes the time just her & I spend together...total mother/daughter bonding - as I do too of course!

She made me a 'picture frame' with her cute face in it, and a cut out of me with a bejeweled pink dress, and awesome 'flower hands'!




Along with the sweetest card...these things I will seriously treasure FOREVER:



And a pretty awesome bouquet of  'paper' flowers:



Then Sunday morning we met up with 2 other fams & their kids for brunch at Cody's La Jolla - seriously LOVED everything about this cute little place! It had pretty great reviews on Yelp, and was able to accommodate 6 adults and 5 kids...so it was a win/win!

I wore this dress that I made for myself the night before...using an old yellow tank top and 2 yards of grey stretch jersey cotton that I scored on sale...and made the belt from an old body-pillow case, love it!

Then we walked down along the coast to check out the seals, as we do each Mother's Day... it was nice to let the kids run around & get out some energy...before heading back for naptime!

As K napped, James & I laid out in our patio with a little Prosecco...

Later that day I made 3 tubs of homemade playdough for K to play with {so cool!}, while I began to make this seriously BOMB banana coconut bread - from here.

Then Kapri & I let dad hang out at home, while we picked up some dinner to take over to my mom's and spend some time together...she loves GramMo's house!

All in all - quite a productive day...surrounded by tons of people that I love!

I heart bein a mamma! It's tough work sometimes... but sooo many rewarding times as well that tend to stomp on the crappy ones. We definitely do a LOT as mothers/parents...so it's nice to have a day dedicated solely to us. I may not have put my feet up ALL day, nor did I get to sleep in... but the things I did do, were part of who I am, and what makes me happy....what makes me 'mom'.

First Street Fair Booth - What I learned...

Just realized I never posted this, after the Encinitas Street Fair in April! haha...(it's 7/12/13...but I'm post-dating!)

Wow.

Cannot believe it's over... kinda like a wedding... months & months of planning all for one day. One day that goes by in a blink of an eye. One day....and it's over. The day/night before, I literally was on ZERO amount of sleep, and an entirely too much caffeine - my heart was racing & I was going about 1500 miles a minute finishing last minute things!

I would've hoped to start this post with something more along the lines of "holy crap I just made 5 billion dollars!!!" - sadly, I did not.

BUT - it was an AHmazing experience, learned a lot of what I would do again...and what I would NOT do again. And it was definitely fun! I had sooooo many people come by my booth & express there well-wishes and/or how proud they were of me...so that felt tremendous and really lifted me up. So much love from so many...I just feel so blessed to have people (family, friends, co-workers) around me that support my love of sewing/crafting! I remember I kept thinking, "wow...I'm a VENDOR - finally....at the same street fair I grew up going to every year, I'm actually on the other side of it now!" I felt really grown up...which sounds odd saying, considering I'm 30 years old, haha!

So - first things first... Our BOOTH!

First apron I've made entirely from scratch...love how it turned out!

Though it was primarily "Custom from Calista" goodies, a portion of it was stocked full of gorgeous hair accessories from my friend Danielle, who owns "Poisies Handmade" - adorbs!

I was so overwhelmed that morning from a combo of annoyances... didn't get into bed until around midnight... missed my alarm by 45 min... then my (& James') bathroom outlets mysteriously decided to NOT work - causing my already panicked mind to freak out. And guess what? The outlets worked just fine the next day...how does that happen?!

We arrived around 6:15am & set up pretty quickly, having 4 people there made that part easy. But then once James left, I felt like my mind was shutting down on me and I couldn't think. I didn't know where I wanted things or how to place different items. I was a silent MESS! Then my friend/co-worker Melissa showed up in the nick of time...She took charge of product placement & made everything look so brilliantly organized....talk about a LIFESAVER!! I could never thank her enough!!

The weather was nice for set up, overcast & cool...and we had a spot just outside a Whole Foods and a brand new restaurant/bar...so I thought for sure that would bring a ton of people our way. Around mid-morning...I started wondering where the HECK everyone was at! I've been to this street fair I don't know how many times in my life (being an Encinitas native), and I know how packed it normally is. You can hardly walk since it's usually so congested with people strolling along, stopping to check out booths. So I knew something was off.

Turns out there was some other events happening that weekend, and maybe the weather turned everyone away. Our booth neighbor told us he's been doing street fairs since the 70's, and this was the first time he'd seen this particular fair so low in attendance. Lovely. So that explains why I didn't walk away with 5 billion dollars, haha!

Anyway, onto 'what I learned' from this whole street fair thing...here's my TOP 10:

1. Get enough SLEEP. I cannot stress this enough. I was so tired, running on fumes the days leading up to the street fair. By the time it was all over, I literally felt like all my life force had been sucked out of me.

2. Make a LIST - a really super detailed one. I'm talking, down to "pens, tape, products, cash, etc". Check off everything the night before. And pack your car(s) up the night before as well. Here's MY LIST.

3. Have proper SIGNAGE. For everything... your biz name on a large & visible banner, product names/prices, etc. Super important. People want to be able to see things, and find info themselves, rather than asking "how much is this??".

4. Bring FOOD! I remember looking at other lists online, and thinking..."nah, there's tons of food at the street fair, I'll grab some yummy grub while I'm there". Nope. I only left my booth maybe 3 times to use the restroom at Whole Foods (& one time I bought a banana on my way out). And luckily, a sweet friend of mine brought me a sandwich, which I almost denied. So that was about the extent of my food intake for the entire day. Oh, and a butt load of coffee, yet again.

5. Enlist HELPERS! Super critical. You cannot do it all, seriously. One or 2 is good, depending on the size of your booth. I had one, and the girl I shared a booth with had one - space was a little tight!

6. SIT - at least a few times throughout the day. I did not. (except to pee! haha) Baaaaaaaad idea. I don't think I've ever been so exhausted (besides giving birth) in my life...and have NEVER felt the pain in my feet, as I did at the end of the day. Like I said earlier, I was running around like a mad woman the entire week prior, and the day before was on my feet crafting ALL day long. Then standing at the booth from 6:15am until 5pm... that'll do you in.

7. TALK to everyone that comes in your booth. Smile. Be personable. I had some great conversations & met so many nice people - I think that goes a long way when you're a vendor. No one wants to buy something from a grouchy person that barely speaks. Engage with them. Compliment something they're wearing. Show them around - they may see obvious items, but you may want to point out the less obvious as well.

8. Take CREDIT CARDS! I used the PayPal Here card reader & iPhone app. Both worked great! I loved that I could pre-load all of my products, along with photos & prices (either with or without tax included...I recommend adding tax into your costs so you don't have to fiddle with calculating tax on everything...especially for those paying with cash. Total life saver!

9. Do a detailed TRIAL RUN set up a week before. If I could do it over again I would've been more detailed in my trial set up. We set up the canopy & tables out on our cul-de-sac, just to get an idea of how long it'd take to put them all together - but I did NOT figure out where I wanted all my products to go and do a complete set up...that was a fail.

10. And finally...Don't Worry, be HAPPY!...just try not to stress yourself out  :-)

Here's a few other photos of our booth set up:

Cutest Baby Shower - EVER!

Baby showers have become more & more stylish over the years, especially with the explosion of Pinterest - people are FILLED to the brim with ideas on decorating everything from your house, to nursery, to weddings & parties.

I had a feeling while getting ready for this one that it'd be pretty special...even the location was amazing - tucked away in a little (and by little...I mean huge & exclusive) gated community that contained houses/mansions, which were nothing short of AHHHmazing. Living in San Diego, and right next door to RSF, I'm somewhat accustomed to seeing very nice homes, but as I drove through this particular area...my jaw was on the floor. I just wanted to know one thing.... "what do you people do for a living?!!!!" haha

Anyway, the actual shower was held in the local community room/center (that was flawless in itself), located right on this little lake, surrounded by beautiful homes & lush landscape. We couldn't have hoped for better weather - the whole day was stunning.

I arrived to find adorable shower decor in every inch of that place & being the person I am... took note of all the tiny details the hostess' put into it...I could tell they spent countless hours making everything to ensure it was perfect:

The glowing mamma-to-be {Christina} is a long time friend, who's husband actually used to share an apartment with James & I many years ago. They are high school sweethearts like us, so I love having that common bond with them. They also married in the same location we did - though entirely different theme & feel which was so fun!

My gift set - coordinating necktie onesie, clip-on bowtie, & burp cloth - cannot WAIT to see baby Lucas rockin his new CfC gear:

As she opened my gift, she knew by looking at the front of the card that it was handmade...by me, haha! I'm such a sap, I totally cried writing on the back of it...remembering Kapri as a baby just brought tears to my eyes. It all goes so fast!

Along with the above baby gift set, I also made her a nursing cover from fabric that she'd seen in an Instagram pic and specially requested it a few weeks prior.

Congrats girl & thanks for having me at your out-of-this world, beachy baby shower!!! Can't wait to see how little L's first b-day party turns out! haha

Ladybug Bday Outfit

I'm so proud of my latest completed order... and so happy that this mamma chose to order a very special 1st birthday outfit for her little girl. She told me it was a 'ladybug theme' and that she wanted her daughter to be 'decked out' - so I got busy making one of the cutest outfits I've made to date.

1st birthday 'custom' ladybug outfit

My first attempt at a party hat... complete with an embroidered "1", a ladybug applique and a tulle pom pom on top:

My first attempt at these fab little bow sandals...a bit tough, but turned out adorrrrable!

The whole set together... it's fabulous and I cannot WAIT to see the little birthday girl in it! Happy 1st birthday little E!!!

Dog Tag Necklace Onesie

Living in San Diego, we have a large military presence and the other day I got an order that I was so excited to make. This customer wanted something for her friend who recently had baby #3, and they have strong ties to the military. So I knew camo print had to be involved.

As we were chatting about what options she had for her order, I immediately thought of somehow constructing a dog tag onesie. The idea evolved into this amazing little thing, complete with the new baby's name & year of birth. I couldn't be happier with the outcome, and so pleased to have something new for boys in my Custom from Calista portfolio!

First, I embroidered the name and year onto the camo print fabric. Then I printed out a dog tag image in a few sizes, so I could find the perfect fit to the length of the finished embroidery. I traced the shape around the name & year, cut it out & added it to the front of the onesie with some fabric glue. After that dried I carefully sewed around the edges. Then I added silver puff paint to form the appearance of a necklace - pretty easy!

What a perfect gift for a newborn - paired with a matching burp cloth and you're set!

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Serenity Now

Baby Tag Blankies

Finished these fun little blankies about a month ago...totally forgot to add them to my blog! So here they are... seriously love minky fabric, just hate that it's so dang expensive!! And in my experience, all babies love tags, so I made sure to add a few on there. 

These are 20"x20" - and will only cost $20! (embroidery extra) - love - they are SO soft, and as always... completely customizable ;-)

These blankies were ordered with these fun onesies as well...man I'm obsessed with that pink ruffle ribbon I found!

These are such perfect baby shower gifts!