Boutique Custom Vintage Back to School Apron Dress

This is such a great day - for three back to school seasons I have gotten this fabric out and then somehow or other never managed to make the set I had planned for so long. So this year I was determined THIS would be my first back to school custom of the season and I couldn't be more thrilled with the result! Total French Schoolgirl! Also I was thrilled to finally be able to use my great great aunt's suitcase - can't you just imagine someone packing it up - these days it serves as Hettie's American Girl doll clothes case - I just love it! You can see the set here and stay tuned for another totally different set tomorrow!

New hairstyle and some school holiday fun

So we are down to one more day of school holidays. A three and a half week mid-year winter break. As with all school holidays at first they seemed to stretch out before us in the most glorious manner. I LOVE school holidays - well I don't love the juggling my Bowznstuff duties with being all entertaining director of fun BUT I love just hanging out, having fun, NO LUNCHBOXES....BLISS! So what have we been up to the past few days.

Well first up, a new do! A nice little headband/low side Spanish pony. The first part of the hairstyle is a fun and easy way to keep the hair off the face and works just as well if you leave the back of the hair down as if you pop it up. So to start with you divide the front section of the hair off and then divide that small section into three. Pop the middle section into a pony.


Then take the side section and twist it upwards and towards the front of the head securing it with an elastic to your little pony.


Repeat on the other side


and there you go, a quick and cute headband.


Because we were hanging out and wanted to keep the hair from getting dipped into paint and whatever else the day had in store we then swept it back into my current FAV do. I losely gathered the hair into a low side pony.

You know I have a penchant for side pony tails but up until now I haven't used the low pony that much - I like it for its Spanish feel. So you simply gather the hair into a low side messy pony - meaning that on the last pull through you don't pull the hair all the way through but rather leave it half way through.

I added a rose to compliment the Spanishy feel and we were good to go!


In other news in my capacity as director of fun activities I pulled out a box of my old toys. Imagine our joy when we discovered my carefully preserved eraser collection. Check out that eraser incarnation of the early electronic games - move over Nintendo DS, the Nintendo Game and Watch is BACK!

Also in the box was my old Matilda furniture. I don't know if you guys had or remember Matilda dolls but I treasured mine. I have since found the dolls so I'll have to post a snap of them too.



Hettie was also kept busy this past weekend with some paper maiche projects with daddy, who is suprisingly or unsurprisingly depending on how well you know me much better at this kind of craft than me! Here is their unpainted castle- the painted version is coming!
Back soon with some new Bowznstuff :)

Bowznstuff Disney Vacation Wear

School holidays! Can you believe that this morning I got to sleep until 8.30am! No lunchboxes AND a sleep in, what could be better! School holidays have been progressing well. Much of it was taken up by dance competitions. No photos unfortunately but they are on their way - the kids had loads of fun, I was a mess of nerves but they got up on stage, they sang, they danced, they won ribbons and medals and a jolly good time was had by all. Now that that is all over and done with back to sewing. I had been so busy in the run up to the school holidays, lots of customs etc etc that I lost my sewing mojo. However, I am rather pleased to report that it is BACK baby! Two sets up at the moment - one is one of the most popular pieces of Bowznstuff EVER - THE Bowznstuff Punk Tink set


and the other a brand new VERY funky Minnie set -

total Bowznstuff with all the bells and whistles! You can see Tink here and Minnie here and the bows here.

And over on my other blog there is a fab giveaway for an applique tee. Just pop over here and leave a comment!

Boutique Custom Bowznstuff Little House

A Retro TV launch is right up my alley! So many FAV retro TV shows...which one to chose!? Luckily my friend Kathy of pixie*dust*studios stepped in with the idea of Little House. Could not be more perfect. Boutique Custom Little House! Little Girls Clothing a la yesteryear! We have all the DVD's and watch them as a family on a regular basis - fools for Little House - that is US! You can see the set here, the tote that started it all here and the creme*de*la*gems here.

Spotted in Bowznstuff and some hairstyle rewinds

Just a quick Spottted in Bowznstuff and better yet not just a spotted in Bowznstuff BUT also available right now as a resell, just listed by the fabulous Ash1084 - a personal fav of mine the Bowznstuff Empire line dress with a sweet 3D washing line. You can see it here.

Here is Miss Audrey strutting her stuff.
Also as we are about to start school holidays and I'll have some more time for some new hairstyles, I have just beeen combin my blog to see what I have and haven't done and found a few handy instructions.
Remember the Bowznstuff Curl Chronicals :) See how to do Bowznstuff Rag curls here.

Or how to do a ballet bun here

Or a sock bun here.


How to do a French Roll here.


Or alternatively if you'd like to have a look through all the different how to hairstyles on the blog click here. Have fun!

Boutique Custom Fall, giveaway and holidays

Ah yes it may be baking hot outside but in the world of boutique custom girls clothes it is way past time to turn your undivided attention to the Fall wardrobe LOL! Surprisingly and unsurprisngly as the case may be at the start of every boutique custom season, that very first seasonal outfit I make, I think to myself - ah I never want this to end - Summer is particuarly like that. The first summer outfit of the season makes me long for a year long summer season. But then come June I get a hankering for autumnal tones - oranges and browns and lace and cord and velvet and PUMPKINS! So here it is the very first Bowznstuff Boutique Fall outfit of the season complete with all of the above - oranges and browns, lace AND what I personally think may be the pumpkin to end ALL pumpkins - a rather cauute pumpkin hat! You can see more of the set here. This is also part of a Bowznstuff collaboration so you can find the artwork and tote here, the jewels here and shoes here.



There is also a rather fab giveaway going on over at the Sugar3 blog - very simple - just go and check out the Sugar3 auctions here and then go over to the blog here and say which is your fav - some great pizes - including these hairbows plus a necklace and a reversible crayon apron!


Today marks the first day of the mid-year school break - most schools here stick to the standard 2 week break but our school goes for the big cahoona - 3 weeks and 2 days! That means lots of time for fun and more time for blogging about our fun so stay tuned. Oh and one more thing I've had lost of questions lately about Bowznstuff sewing patterns and hairbow instructions - for immediate download you can by them off my site.

Ballet Hair and Villains!

What's new at Bownstuff? Well quite a bit as it happens - in order new set and new hair. The latest from the Bowznstuff machine room (ha ha) is the very Villainous Set! You can see more here.


And time as well for some ballet hair. You know when I first started doing ballet hair, I thought to myself, how long can this last? How many ballet styles are there?? Well me of little faith there are MANY! To start this one, I divided the hair roughly in two with the majority of the hair in the top pony and about 1/4 hanging free at the back. I did this roughly as people with curly haired children will KNOW that a part if very seldom a straightforward affair. I often watch in wonderment as straight hair is parted with a swift yet deft flick of the comb - curly hair just 'usually' isn't this way - it sticks together in its curls - it doesn't want to be parted. Some days I am up to the challenge of forming the perfect straight part, others I am not - for this one I was not BUT the great thing about curly hair is it is VERY forgiving so oftentimes, even if you don't have a straight part - you can't tell. So to get back to business, a 3/4 to a 1/4 part with the 3/4 being on top of the head. You take the majority of your hair and tie in in a top pony, right up there on top of the head..ONLY you dont' pull the last round through. The last time you pull the hair through the elastic, you leave a little bunch on top. I am fond of leaving these little bunches and I do them LOTS. For a start Hettie's hair is getting longer and lots of times you will want shorter than the actual length showing, so these bunches are a great way to do that. Also they give height and a well.....cool sort of look. It's sort of like a messy piggie but not messy.


Next you take the part of the hair at the back and twist it up towards the pony on top. Twist a bit bast the bunch and then secure the whole thing with a second elastic.
Doesn't that look nice?

Later in the day when we moved from jazz and tap to ballet, I simply toook the hair that was hanging down and twisted it around the bunch - a GREAT way to do an easy ballet bun. I secured it with pins and a net and we were all set with a fancy shamancy ballet do
But before that I added a barrette of flowers and we were good to go for jazz and tap.




This would look equally fab with straight hair, or you might want to add some curls. A versatile do that works as an up and a down do and adds a touch of fancy to the everyday!