Jazzi Girlz event coming soon!

I'm taking a leap of faith and lots of initiative to increase my business and get more customers. I have decided to host Jazzi Girlz very first Open House and Design Showcase in May!

It's all still in the planning stages in my mind but I want to have a nice event with my designs, hair accessories and other products on display to purchase and sell.
I'm currently working on my summer collection. There will be pretty, colorful halter dresses, super full twirl skirts with embellished tank tops and my ever so popular Jazzi Pants made of breathable cool cotton. Oh how I love lil girls in skirts and dresses!

To get ready for this, I'm taking April and half of May off to get ready for it.

I may even do a fashion show if I can get enough sewn! Stay tuned.......

2009 Summer line...in the works!

I'm very excited about working on designs for the summer! As a designer, I'm sad to say I'm always behind the seasons and not ahead the way the fashion world works. I don't get to my Christmas, Valentines, Halloween etc. until 3 wks before the holiday and seasonal clothing is done in the middle, not before the season starts with me. I work full-time so it's hard to get everything done the way I want.

I am putting my foot done on my procrastination and making an effort to get on track. For me that means ignoring Spring this year. I really won't do many Spring designs so that I can focus all my attention on Summer, and after July I'll go right into Fall. I plan on taking the whole month of April off (no custom orders) to get as much done as possible.

I plan on using lots of color, bright and unique prints and unexpected color combos. Cute summer halter dresses, twirl skirts, embellished tank tops and jean capris are just a few things on my list! You'll see lots of ruching, lace, unique trims put to creative use as well! I have soooo many ideas and deigns that have been floating around in my head! Many of the outfits will be one-of-a-kind, not to be duplicated. Also in an effort to make good use of the fruits of my addiction (FABRIC) I will be using up fabric I have had on hand for 2 yrs or more. I will giving sneak peeks very soon! STAY TUNED!!!!

Easter's Coming! Get your pillows!

With Easter right around the corner I think it's a great time to do a special. FOr one week only I'm offering my Keepsake name pillows for $30! People tend to get Easter baskets with lots of tooth decaying candy in it for kids. Last year I made my own for Nyla and ended up spending waaaaayy more than if I just bought one! I filled it with coloring books, puzzles, toys, educational items and healthier snacks, very little candy. Excuse the rough pic. My baby had just woke up a few minutes before the pic. lol




I'm offering an alternative to the same ol same ol! Get your orders in from 3/20 to 3/27 only. I ship around the world as well. Shipping charges apply.

Email me at tanayaparker1977@hotmail.com!

Wish I could afford to hire Michael Phelps....

But I can't so I enrolled my daughter in the Goldfish Swim School! They specialize in teaching kids only to swim. I really want her to learn how before the summer. My parents have a pool, a since she loves being with Gramma and PawPaw every chance she gets I thought this is a great time to start!

I originally put her in a swimming class when she was 9 months and again at 18 months. But of course she didn't learn to swim. It was more of a mommy and me thing where the parent had to be in the water with the child. I got tired of singing "The Wheels on the Bus Go Round" so I said no more classes until she gets to an age where she can REALLY learn, (without me having to get in, lol).





She had her first class and she did great! I was so proud of her! She wasn't a bit scared...not like she was in the 1st photo photo. (she was screamin bloody murder with my dad in the pool)
Here's pictures from her first class with her teacher Meagan who is great by the way!

My child is HILARIOUS!!!

God knew just what he was doing when he blessed me with a girl! Honestly if it wasn't for Nyla I wouldn't even have my business and I certainly would not have the interest in sewing. Children really bring some great things to your life! But they also bring some challenges. It's funny watching their little personalities develop.

Anyhow this child never ceases to amaze me with her "GROWNESS"! She wants to be a lady soooo bad! Examples.

A few weeks ago she asked me for a wig/weave. (she's very particular about her hair)
She asks to get her nails and toes done regularly. (I used to do nails so I oblige)
She loves to wear perfume and lipgloss
And when she was coming out of her diaper stage she sat on the potty like this





But the funniest example lately has to be this......






She got hold of my black and gold Enzo pumps and proceeded to sashay around the house. Funny thing is she can walk better in a pair of way too large 4.5 inch heels than some women can in a pair of house slippers!

She was workin it! Ashy little knees and all! LOL!

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.