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We're currently working on a new christening gown, bonnet and shoes using a wedding gown that has rows of clear beading on it. We like to use these on baby's gown and hand sew them on by hand. We've "borrowed" the idea from another gown of placing several small beads on the covered buttons to add a little glam. We've also created little flowers for the custom shoes using the large and small beads.
We began this creation using mom's beaded, appliqued and ruched wedding gown. The over layer was dupioni silk and the under layer was bridal satin.
Finleigh's mom sent her gown to us from VA. She sent along pictures of christening outfits she had seen and liked. She wanted a dress that would be suitable for a boy, if she had one down the road. That helps with our creative process. She also requested the dress be made a little bigger and place ties in the back so it could be pulled in. We also tried out a new style of bonnet, one with ribbon in the back so that too, could be adjusted. We love adding ideas to our collections! We also loved the pictures mom sent us of Finleigh...such a cutie! We were also promised a pic of her in her new christening outfit. Thanks Nicole and we're happy you're part of our family now.
Joelle's gown came to us via her mom, who lives in NJ. It was a soft chiffon covered satin, ruched on the side with appliques that seemed to be cemented on! We used the same ruching on the bonnet and were able to remove some of the applique for the bonnet. Joelle wanted to be able to use the gown for a boy possibly down the road so we kept it fairly simple but also made a boy's bonnet so that we could "glam up" the girl's bonnet. Grandma picked up the gown yesterday. We sure hope Mom is as happy as Grandma was!
Our newest creation was picked up today by mom & dad. Mom's gown came to us with quite a bit of stains on the bottom from dragging around on the ground. Also, the dress was stepped on and the hem came out. We were able to work our magic by finding the least stained areas to cut out baby's dress. Sometimes the length of the dress changes depending on what our customer wants or how badly stained the dress is but we were able to do the traditional long dress. We used the smaller beading and hand stitched it on the edge of the sleeves and used one band of them on the bonnet. We took just a small amount of the beaded trim work to put on the bodice and place a small decorative touch on the bonnet just to pull it all together.
Our latest creation was designed for someone who will be a grandmother at the beginning of the year and wanted to use her wedding gown for both her daughter and daughter-in-law's babies. Not know whether it will be a boy or girl, we chose a more neutral design, using some components of a boys outfit along with some of the more "girly" accents. She wanted both a girl's and boy's bonnet and a bib for the inevitable baby drool. We think it's entirely appropriate for either sex. The extra long length adds more drama to the gown. Thanks Diane! We hope you'll send pictures of your upcoming grandchildren in the gown.
As business continues to boom, I'm having a tough time coming up with titles for each post! Believe me, I'm not complaining! Our newest customer Amy came to us right after we finished Gracie's gown. A completely different gown, it was white, embroidered organza on the bottom with embroidered flowers on the top cascading down the side. Amy wanted a coordinating jacket. We took the heavily embroidered bodice for the back of the bonnet and bodice of the dress. Bell sleeves and a peter pan collar completed this look. A gown fit for a princess! 
