Rapunzel....Let her hair down!

When I asked God for a girl I knew that there would be days ahead where I'd want to exchange her for a little peanut head boy who only needs a visit to the barber once a week and a daily quick brush.

But nooooo, I wanted sugar, spice and everything nice and so I must do hair every morning if I don't want my child looking a hot mess. The other day I decided to give Nyla a real old school wash, hard press and curl and even clipped her ends. This is what her hair looks like straight out of the tub after being washed. Very curly, wavy and a joy (sarcasm) to manage.


And this is what it looks like after lots of heat and PATIENCE!




A mother has a right to brag on her child so I will say my baby has gorgeous hair! It came out so pretty! But this little stinker was so happy about her hair that she took on a total different DIVATUDE once it was done! She thought she was super FINE! Her teacher said "Please don't do her her like that anymore"! According to her she was shaking it in everyone's face that day! LOL. And guess what? She sweated it out the next day so all my work was in vain anyway! I think I'm gonna have to start getting it braided. Too much work!

Dinner and a show for my little lady!

Ahhhh Mother and daughter time. I love bonding with my little lady and going different places. Over the weeekend on Sunday, we did just that. My boss gave me tickets to the broadway show White Christmas at the beautiful Fox Theatre. I knew Nyla would love this so I planned our little date!

We had dinner at the Olive Garden, her and my favorite, first. We then went downtown. SHe was so excited! She kept asking "we're going to see a Christmas show"? "What kind of Christmas show"?

We ended up having a great time. She was cute and dressed up in her little dress and lovely black fur coat that she rarely wears. We took a few pictures. She especially loved the pretty dresses the ladies wore!

It's good to expose your children to all forms of the arts. Step outside the box and take your kids to museums, art galleries or the orchestra. There's more to life than Chuck E Cheese and the park. It expands their view of the world and keeps them open to trying and enjoying cultural and different things!


Enjoy the pics!

Happy Halloween!!!!!

Folks go nuts over Halloween! I personally go nuts over the candy. Which I will TRY not to do this year!!! I swear this is the day that kicks off the season of winter weight gain. Every year I put on between 5-10 and that is NOT cool! I drop it again in the Spring but the ups and downs is a pain in the neck.

Nyla and I are going trick-or-treating today. She isn't going to be anything special by way of costume this year. I did'nt have an ounce of time to make her a costume. I did make a cute Halloween outfit that of course she probably won't be able to fit next year so that is what she will trick-or-treat in. It's cute and it's appropriate, and it may even get me more BIZNESS!!!!!! YES! I've already handed out several cards to admirers.

Look at this shot too.....I couldn't get the pic directly on the screen so follow the link.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/anulyra/2897531662/

Here are the pics taken by my wonderful photographer, Jen of The Family Room Photography. www.familyroomstudio.com. If you want quality, top-notch photos follow her link. She is located in Warren and specializes in children's portraits. Take a look at Jazzigirlz.com and follow the link to my portfolio. Jen took all of of my high-key, white background photos. SHe is AWESOME with that camera!







Here's Nyla from last year's Halloween. Of course she was Lil Red Riding Hood. Cute!

Pillows, Pillow, Pillows! Up to my ears in plush!!

I'm a bad blogger I know. It's part of my ADD and general lack of organization! LOL.

I have been up to my EARS in pillows! Jazzi Girlz latest offering is our Identity Pillows! They are fun, cute, and colorful! Each one is handmade, unique and they are great keepsakes! I have been swamped with orders! Yes, the pillows are a lot of work with all the details, applique and patchwork, but I do love the fact that I'm creating something that children will love, cherish and keep (hopefully) forever! Meghan, the daughter of one of my clients is so in love with hers that she insists on bringing it in the car everywhere she goes! She clutches it dearly and THAT is part of why I do what I do. Sewing not only gives me a creative outlet, my clothing and other creations stand out and are as unique as the children I design for!

Take a look at some of the examples. Again, each one is uniquely individual and never duplicated. I use lots of decorative trims, buttons and ribbon to add the "Jazzi" factor to each one. And YES I do make them for boys even though I don't design clothing for boys.









I'm taking a limited number of orders for these pillows so that they can be done before Christmas. If you are interested in a custom order of your own please email me at Tanayaparker1977@hotmail.com. Each pillow is $35 ($5 extra for names over 7 letters). You have your choice of colors as well!

* I take out-of-state orders too, but an extra charge of $6.50 for shipping is added

My beloved sewing room! Getting organized!

My haven, my sanitorium, my lab, my escape is my wonderful sewing room! I am a lucky girl for the amount of space I have for sewing. When I first took on sewing as a hobby and started (hoarding) acquiring more fabric, notions, machines, and other STUFF I realized I needed a dedicated space. In my old house I had 3 bedrooms and with just me and my daughter of course I had a a spare room. But the way that house was built, even that room was not enough. It had a non functioning short ceiling basement that could not be used for anything really. I shared my sewing room with 200+ pairs of shoes almost 100 purses and tons of hats. It was the accessory/sewing room plus nail room since I did nails also. Too much huh! I eventually had to move off season stuff to the garage. Even then I was luckier than most. Some folks have no choice but to use the kitchen or dining room. I still have some improvements to make to make it more fun and personal but I'm really pleased.



Here's the NEW room!!!

As you can see I have an L-shaped area for my sewing machines and thank God I can fit all 4 that I use. I have space underneath for my massive ribbon and pattern collection. Space underneath my cutting table for trims, elastics and buttons. I have lots of room for fabric even though it won't all fit on the shelf. I have lots in tubs. The organizer next to fabric is scraps, jewelry, bow-making supplies, and craft items. There is also lots of space near the computer for all of my sewing books, and binders.

All I can say is " THANK YOU JESUS"!!!!!!

HERE'S THE OLD ROOM!!!!

As you can see that I was cramped, and this was AFTER I moved half the shoes and purses out. My ribbon was a mess! I had to use only half of my adjustable cutting table and then there was no space to walk. There wasn't much space at all for my fabric or sewing books.

For the Birthday Girl!

I just love creating special things and getting custom orders. Little Karli is turning one soon, so her mom commissioned me to create something pretty, pink and purple for her birthday party.

I went to town and was so pleased with the result! I made matching panties, a korker headband, and a little wristband to match it all. Everyone at the party loved it and I was so proud!!!

Another year on Planet Earth! It's my BIRTHDAY!!

I'm 31 and completely proud of it! Gettin better, wiser, (more good-lookin) with every year that passes by! Just 10 years ago I was excited about becoming the extremely "it's official, I'm grown" age of 21! It seems so far away now. I have made many mistakes and done many dumb things along the way but I'm glad for it all because I have matured so much and those experiences will come in handy if not for me for someone else.

Today I plan on going out with a good friend of mine to an outdoor concert at Chene Park. Keith Sweat and Joe are performing. Not too excited to see ole whiny, begging Keith but Joe?????? OMIGOD the man can singggggggggggg!!! I love, love, LOVE Joe! Saturday I plan on having a few friends over to celebrate. Nothing major, just kickin it. We may play some games too. My parties are always live when the games come out. Lots of competition!

Happy B-day to all my fellow Augustines!!!

Going home now to get gorgeous!

Gotta love the thrift stores!!!!

I know some real hoity, toity, finnicky folks who wouldn't dare step foot in a thrift store. I've even been on my cell phone with friends and they ask "Where are you?" When I say Value Village or the Goodwill they say "What are you in THERE for?"

NEWSFLASH people!! Thrift stores are not full of street people down on their luck looking to clothe their whole family for $10. It's just like being in K-mart or at a garage sale! There are very nice things to be found at thrift stores! I love refurbishing or reconning clothes, jeans and wooden items so Value Village is my friend! I have found great fabric, and best of all vintage patterns!

LAst night I went in Value village cause I had a coupon that was set to expire July 31st. I struck gold! I got a big bag of fabric, nice fabric for $.90! I also bought very cute adult purple and grey plaid skirt I plan to cut up and make a skirt and hat for Ms. Nyla out of. And my best find was inspiration by way of these.....





I fell in LOVE! No pieces were missing either! I search for vintage patterns on Ebay every now and then. ANd they never cost 80 cents!!! I'm always looking for ideas and inspiration. Things to give my designs flair and set them apart. I really love certain elements of the clothes from the 60's and 70's. I probably won't even sew these patterns, but I may just borrow a sleeve or bodice from them. Just looking at them gave my brain a creative boost!

Here is another one of my great thrift finds. This wall mirror was an ugly matte burgundy color. It was $3! When I bought it I had noooo idea what I was going to do with it but I knew it was destined for greatness eventually! I painted it in a zebra style to match Nyla's room decor and it looks great!



The moral of this story???? No one is too good to shop at thrift stores! Even some celebritities do, they just call used stuff "vintage." There are some great things to be found! Stop in one soon, you may be suprised!

It's official! I'm a blogger now!

Blogland…….I’m finally here!! Been resisting the blog bug for years!! Sure I read em, I have many favorites! But write them????

What will I talk about?? Who will care enough to read what I have to say???? This is what has kept me away.

Now I have a reason to blog and a reason to celebrate! Jazzi Girlz Apparel, my boutique clothing line is doing well and the future is getting brighter everyday! I’ve cut the excuses about being a single mom who works 40 hrs a week who doesn’t have enough time to sew, let alone other daily tasks. So in light of the new success, and direction of Jazzi Girlz a friend suggested a blog as a way to connect with customers, friends and strangers. It's also a personal release for me. I've always loved to write anyhow.

This blog will be about me, Tanaya the designer, and things having to do with my life and my precious daughter Nyla who is my number one model. Expect to see an occasional recipe, tutorial or sewing tip! Most importantly you’ll see my new designs as they come to life!

My aim is to post maybe 2 or 3 times a week! Enjoy and come back!

Coming Soon!

Jazzi Girlz is handmade unique clothing and accessories for little divas. Our website is under construction, and our etsy store will soon be filled with trend-setting outfits with a boutique, designer flair. Stay tuned for one-of-a-kind ensembles that attract attention!