While The Baby Sleeps

This was just too precious (and creative) not to share.... 

Brief background.  A very creative Mom snaps pictures of her daughter when she falls asleep.  

If only I had the same imagination...

Click on the link below for more photos.  Enjoy!!

http://www.buzzfeed.com/burnred/while-the-baby-sleeps-281t

L.C. Designs - Custom Sewing To Accent Your Personal Style

Fur coats transformed into a cozy blanket...
Sexy Sassy Aprons...
Beautiful Window Treatments...
Need I say more?

I didn't think so.  Let me introduce you to a friend and fantastic seamstress Lucia Clark, with L.C. Designs located in Steele Creel area. 

I have known Lucia for several years now and  knew about her skills and talents as a seamstress from remembering outfits she had designed and sewed for kids in our Mom's group.  However I quickly learned her true joy for her business when I walked into her house one day last week.  Needless to say, I just love when I see someone take a Living room or Dining Room or any room for that matter and turn it into their "Passion Room."

It tells me that you are doing what you love, even if it takes over  a room in your house.  And rightfully so.  Lucia studied Fashion Design at Centinary College in New Jersey, and has been surrounded by creativity and sewing her whole life (her Mom a seamstress, her brother an artist).  Lucia has turned her own talents into a unique business offering - a variety of creations for just about anyone. 

Her creations include:

• Customized Handbags
• Children's Clothing (sizes 9 months - 6 years)
• Window Treatments (including installation)
• Nursery Design and Bedding Coordination
• Fun and colorful Kitchen Aprons

And much more...  L.C. Designs also offers alterations and Lucia is happy to sew together outfits that her customers design.  Most recently she sewed an outfit for an entire family for a Disney trip.  Local mom, Amber Greenwalt provided the design and fabric choices, and Lucia, armed with her sewing machine, brought Ambers concept for the outfits to life.

The Greenwalt kids in Orlando wearing their stylish Disney outfits.

"I am a very visual person" Lucia tells me.  She flips through idea books constantly, tucking away ideas and certain designs for future projects.  She can sketch just about anything and is happy to consult with her customers on design plans for any room in the house, kids outfits, bedding and more.  She also offers teaching for those  of you who would like to learn more about sewing and design.  In a nut shell, you will appreciate Lucia's talent and her skilled work, and enjoy the professional technique and expertise she brings to custom design projects that fit your life.  She has years of experience with an elegant eye for style and creativity, whether it's something for your family or just for you. 

Lucia has lived in Charlotte for four years, is a Mom of two boys, and her husband Joe is one of her biggest supporters.  So much so that he made this custom sign for her that hangs proudly in their home:

Joe also helps out on projects that require some carpentry work.  Having a handy husband helps Lucia when she designs a project for a room.  Designs can also be transported not just to fabric but also wood. 

Lucia holds up two wood frames that eventually will go over a baby's crib.

For more information on L.C. Designs and if you would like to discuss a design project with Lucia you can reach her by e-mail at lucia1230@msn.com or by phone at (704) 441-3276.

You can also see some of L.C. Designs products at the upcoming Spring Fling held in Baxter Village on Saturday, March 19th.

A few more pics of L.C. Designs work and creations...

One of Lucia's custom handbags.

A sample of fabric designs to switch out for hand bags.





More of L.C. Designs on display at a recent holiday "Sip and Shop" event in Berewick..

 

.

Check out some Funny Stuff

Laughter is an instant vacation.  ~Milton Berle

Click on link below to take you to the funny page

http://lakeside-chatter.blogspot.com/p/funny-stuff_19.html

New Baby-Lesson's Learned - A Fathers Take!

Hello Chatter friends.  Today I am happy to have Guest writer (and my male BFF) offer a funny look at life as a new Dad.
I wanted to share this for two reasons, first Steve is a fantastic writer and second it is always good to have an insight to the male brain durning a huge life changing event.  Especially if that male is your husband. 
I remember my own precious dear having a MAJOR "Culture Shock look on his face from 0-9 months.  Now I sort of understand more or less where he was coming from.
Enjoy Steve's perspective as a new Dad and make sure you visit his blog Baby Vladimir and My Thoughts
"Something tells me, after my vast one month of experience, that is parenthood in general. I am going to start with a list of things I didn’t know and learned in the last few weeks.
• I didn’t know that women bleed from their nether regions for up to 6 weeks after they give birth. Once again, I do not know how you women can do this whole pregnancy birth thing.

• I knew that you weren’t supposed to have sex for at least 6 weeks after the birth. What I didn’t know is that I wouldn’t really notice or care and the reasons are plentiful. Not the least of which is the previous point, as well as sleep deprivation and, for me, the underlying sense of being on the verge of panic for no real reason.

• I didn’t know how much of an effect Leah’s diet had on Vince’s level of gastrointestinal distress. (Women, for the sake of you, your baby and the possibility of sleep, avoid onions and garlic)

• I didn’t know that a woman’s nipple could actually get long enough to actually start to bend under its own weight.

• I didn’t know that mother’s milk does not come out of a single hole, but more like a sprinkler head.

• I didn’t know I could get so comfortable with a woman (even though she is my wife) flopping her boob out in mid sentence and have someone sucking on it and barely notice or care.

• I didn’t know the worst part of the whole pregnancy thing for women, at least Leah, is hemorrhoids. That more than anything is making Leah nervous about even the idea of having a second child.

• I didn’t know the level of guilt I would feel every time the baby is being cared for by me and starts crying and the only thing I can think to do is hand him back to Leah because I think he is hungry.

• It never occurred to me how ridiculously hard it is to figure out how to help someone who has absolutely no way of communicating with you other than screaming. It is like having a senile Italian grandmother under your care.

• I didn’t know how far baby boys could pee. If it were proportionate I would be able to pee from my desk to the office bathroom which is down the hall and has 2 doors.

• I didn’t realize how much I could care less about getting baby poop on me. I do realize this will change and probably fairly soon. But for now it is like being at a cook out and getting French’s mustard with some pepper flecks on my hand. Just wipe it off.

Those of you we talk to on a regular basis know how good and non-fussy Vincent has been over the first month. It has really been amazing. Here is the weird thing though. Even with having a great baby who sleeps pretty well and eats regularly and doesn’t even cry when being bathed, Leah and I still are exhausted, have very little chance of eating at the same time, can’t get through a single 30 minute show with any focus, sleeping for more than 3 hours at a clip is not even dreamt of and I have spent less time doing anything that is about me than I ever thought possible. So, my question is this… How in the world do people with Twins, or fussy babies, or colicky babies keep from just sitting in whimpering pool of their own excrement mumbling “why why why…” I have never had to schedule peeing, or showering, or checking email, or even eating, before. Seriously. Here is the type of conversations that is typical throughout the day. “Can you hold him for a sec, I have to…” or “He is sleeping, so can you stay nearby because I have to…” or “If that dog puts her cold nose on him one more time I am going to rip out her…”
With all of this, I have lost all sense of what is going on in the world. Have we caught Bin Laden? Does the economy still blow? Has my house gained enough value to not be an upside down mortgage anymore? Did the Caps win the Stanley Cup? Have the Cubs won a World Series? Have we found Hoffa? Thank God for the Internet. With that I can find out what happened while I am getting used to being a father.

Stephen Marchesani - Husband to Leah, Father to Vincent (now age 1 1/2)

A Letter to God. A Letter to Ginny.

Dear Ginny,

This is not God (just wanted to clear that up front) but I do know a thing or two about Holidays.  You see there is this certain secret between us girls.  We sort of own our very special holiday.  It starts with a V and ends with an E and goes like this: Valentine's Day.
Say it with me, "Vaaalllleeennnttiiineeesss Daaaayyyy......"
Very good sweetie, you see, when you grow up you will learn the valuable power of this special day.  First, it does come between Christmas and Easter.  Exciting Right?  Second, if you play your cards right you will get lots of cookies and candy (when you are still young) a nice dinner, flowers and/or jewelry when you are older (again if you play your cards right) and when you become a Mommy you get homemade Valentine’s Day cards made by your precious yet sticky (from all the candy I was telling you about) five year old. 
You also get to exchange Valentine’s Day cards with your friends and find out what they really think of you.  Things like "Cutie Pie," "Cup Cake" and "Hug Me" are all wonderful saying's, good for the soul and can be a fantastic mood lifter. 
Then you get to eat the little sayings and if you are still young you won't care about the caloric intake, and when you get to be 30 and over you will care a little bit more but not really.  They are small pieces so eating  18 in a row won't hurt (not that I would l know....)
Now, I must pause real quickly and throw in a small (yet powerful) warning, the men in your life will totally try and deny you this holiday.  They will say things like "It is a Marketing Ploy"  "Stores just want our money" and some other senseless crap.  Girlfriend, DO NOT BELIEVE A WORD THEY SAY and if they pull that trick on you ignore them, remind them of how fabulous you are and if that fails steal their credit card and go buy yourself you own Valentine’s Day present and double the amount on what you think he would have spent.  Some store suggestions...IKEA, Nordstrom’s, Pottery Barn, Jarred Galleria (my personal favorite) and so on. 
So you see, it is all good sweetheart.  A holiday focused on hearts and love and sugar and spice and everything nice.  It is a Girls DREAM.
Yet more than anything I want you to remember, that the most important part of a holiday focused on hearts, is to remind ourselves, to take care of our own.  So Ginny,  from one girl to another, be good to yourself, and Love Yourself.  You can’t go wrong there and I think even God just might agree.

Kind Regards,
A Friend

Two Mom's, One Passion, A Ton of designs.

Meet local stay at home Mom’s, Amy Snyder and Jenn Holby.  They are the two very creative brains behind their local home based business, "Sew What Mommy."  If you think the title is cute, wait till you see their selection.  They offer fun and different clothing for little ones as well as some unique items that are all handmade, all fabulously trendy and super adorable.
Amy and Jenn have known each other for six years.  Their friendship is unique in the sense that they both have two boys and one girl who are very close in ages.  Their friendship blossomed when they met at childbirth class with their first babies. They now live in the same neighborhood and not only call each other best friends but also neighbors. 
I visited with them one day last week and found out the story behind “Sew What Mommy” and where they get their ideas and inspiration.
"We just wanted to create an eye-catching outfit that you wouldn't normally see in Target, but one that wouldn’t hold a boutique price." Says Amy (a Clemson grad and diehard Tigers fan) Amy, who never had much interest in sewing as a little girl, comes from it honestly as her Grandmother who was a full on seamstress passed away at the age of 96.  After that she bought her first embroidery machine and with the help of her mom and many phone conversations, she self taught her way around the machine and was making and monogramming outfits in no time.
“My grandmother was a big inspiration to me.” She says, and now that she can design and create outfits using a family niche it makes it all the more special.

Jenn, also has a way with the sewing machine.  Prior to buying her Sewing/ Embroidery machine she worked on a 60 year old “Sears Kenmore” that was a hand me down from family.  The machine had been well taken care of but being 60 years old it had some “issues.” Still, she was able to use the machine to make some outfits and most recently, curtains for their new home.  But after Amy showed her Brother machine and what cute stuff one could make, she went out and bought one immediately.  Together they began making new outfits for their little girls and before they knew it people were asking them “Where did you buy that.”  And things took off from there.

“We are inspired by boutique style outfits, but want to offer them at a more reasonable price. Seeing the newest specialty children’s clothing catalogs fuels our creativity even more and we want to achieve a look for kids that are funky yet also simple and fun.”
“Brainstorming is part of the process.” They also say.  Both girls, who admit they get most of their ideas while in the car, come up with new ideas daily. They laugh at the fact of how many times they have called each other saying “I have another IDEA!!"

Trendy Top and pants outfit.

Most of the sewing is done during nap time and also in the evenings when kids have gone to bed.   It is non-stop but also part of the joy they tell me.
"The fun part is it doesn’t feel like work.  We truly love what we create and love what we do."

Another unique thing about “Sew What Mommy” is you can do business with them one of two ways.  If you are a fabric buff and want to pick out your own colors etc, you can bring the fabric to them and they will make the outfit for you.  Or, they can purchase the fabric for you and just add it to the cost of your item.  Both ways allow many options for customers and make things easier on those of us (me included) who can barely put together red on red.

Fabric Sample from one of their designs.

I am definitely a fan of their work and know you will be too.   One of the main reasons they do this is so that the outfits will be distinctive and not something you would see on other kids at school.   They are fun, creative, and both girls have an eye for styles that are current, trendy but also have old fashion flair. 

All of the fabrics are pretreated by washing them on gentle cold and hanging to dry. They also “serge” the raw edges of the material for a professional look and product as well as to prevent any unraveling. All items are made in a pet and smoke free home.  Their sizes run from 3 M to a size 12.  And they offer both boy and girl appliqués along with seasonal collections as well. 


Girl Easter Outfit

Sample Boy Applique

Be sure to also check out their monogrammed items, one here includes the famous South Carolina Logo using monogrammed initials.



Designers Amy and Jenn with daughters Aubree and Mena.


For more information check out their website at and become a fan on facebook.
http://www.sewwhatmommy.blogspot.com/
Or contact them at:  sew-what-mommy@att.net




Intersections is now on You Tube

Because you asked (and I love you for that).  Intersections is now up on YouTube for easy viewing.  Please comment and let me know what you think.  I learned how much I LOVED making this and would like to make more videos in the future that INSPIRE and make you LAUGH!!  And show off any products or services.  Look out Spielberg, the Chatter is coming....

Having my Pink and Blogging it to.

The new is here. I am in love with my new look and hope you are too.  Like most things in life, it turned out not quite as I was expecting. 
A pink background? 
Really?
How did  that happen? 
But here it is new and fresh and simple yet lovely and sweet.
And different from anything I ever thought.
Which is sort of the point.
And I so love it when that happens.
Thanks for being so patient.
Welcome back and Grab my button.
Let's Chat.
Laugh
Inspire
Sort of what you all do for me.
Now we can do it together.
In all sorts of colors.
I can not wait!

Mary