A Twist On an Old Favorite

Baby Grace's Dedication Gown

I apologize I haven't posted anything in awhile. 

This little gown was too special to not post.

Mom wanted all ...

GLAMOR

The mom found this amazing ribbon rose embroidered fabric.

Once it arrived I knew exactly the silhouette it deserved

My First Ever Baby Mermaid Gown

I loved working with this fabric it sewed beautifully

This gown almost has a sculptural feel with its

little cap sleeves and tulle inserted in the hem

I love the brush gold linen sash. 

I love how it complements the bead work and fabric

If you this gown and would like to learn more about having one made

for your little mermaid

email Jennie at:

willowbeanstudio@gmail.com



The Ultimate Handme Down

Can you imagine being able to wear the exact gown that not only your mother wore, but your Grandmother before her along with your sisters and cousins.  Well this is the case for the Zgorski women, their Grandmother's gown has been worn by 7 family members spanning 3 generations. 

Such a beautiful story of family tradition.

read the full story here

My heart just swoons at the thought of having one of my christening gowns worn by so many family members and spanning over multiple generations.

Photo by: Joseph Victor Stefanchik/FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

The above photo has to be my most favorite photos from the Washington Post Article.  Notice the labels sew into the under skirt; it reminds me of a slip I did for a current project. 

The front of the christening slip has the baby's monogram and christening date embroidered on it.  While there is a tiny label hand sewn in the back that lists the great-grandmother's monogram and wedding date along with the maternal grandmother's monogram and wedding date. 

The actual christening gown was made from the wedding dresses of the maternal great grandmother and maternal grandmother.  It was a very moving project to be able to lovingly refashion two gowns into something that will be worn by all the new babies welcomed into the family ... Starting with baby Aubry.

 

Baby Carlie

I hope everyone had a fabulous Mothers Day!

For me, Mother's Day 2012 began on Friday morning when I went to drop off my latest project,

Baby Carlie's Christening outfit. 
It was made from the train of her Mother's wedding gown.

I love the fact that her Mom saved the picture of her wedding gown

that she tore out of the bridal magazine at the salon almost 15 years ago.

Carlie's has three older brothers ages; 12, 8 and 2.  Her mom has been waiting 14 years for this little princess to arrive.  She has told me that since the day she was married she dreamed about having a daughter
and having her wedding gown made into the christening gown. 

This was such a fun project to complete.

I really enjoyed removing the lace from the hem of her train and

 reworking it for Carlie's Christening Gown and Blanket.

Her Mother also requested that I make a Monogramed Christening Blanket.

Above are a few detail shots of her blanket

When Chris opened the box that contained Carlie's Christening Gown

her eyes filled with tears.

It was an amazing moment to watch her face light up and hear her reminisce about buying her wedding gown and talk about how she dreamed of having a daughter who would be able to wear a Christening gown made from her Wedding dress.

This Mother's day I was able to help make one mom's dream become a reality.

Life doesn't get much better than that :)

Interested in having a dress like this made for your little one ... email me at:

willowbeanstudio@gmail.com

Wedding Gown Conversion

Your big day has come and gone, and the dress that you dreamed about since you were a little girl sits quietly in a box stowed away out of site.  It could be tucked on a shelf in your closet, under the guest room bed or worse sitting in your musty basement ...

Wouldn't it be nice to give your special gown a second life so it may be used and treasured for generations to come.  I can happily accommodate most wedding gown conversion requests.  With over 8 years of experience in this area I know you will be thrilled with the one of a kind design I create for you. 

 Wedding Gown Conversion to An Anniversary Jacket

             The Maddison                                                     Convertable Christening

       Convertable Christening                                            The Fiona

If you like what you see and would like to learn more about my

wedding gown conversion services send an email to:

Willowbeanstudio@gmail.com

Baby Fiona

A few weeks back I posted a sneak peak of my latest christening project. 

I recently received photos from Fiona's parents that were taken at the actually christening.

Oh they were so worth the wait!

If you live in the Philadelphia / South Jersey area please look up

Nicole Nurthen Photography

Such Amazing Photos

of such a special day for the family

Happiness is ...

What brings you happiness theses days?

A Sneak Peak

I know I have said it before, but I love what I do.

I get to take someone’s most precious garment ...

their wedding gown and turn it into a family heirloom.

Below are some “BEFORE PICS" I took from a recent project.

I loved the lace details on this gown

And ohhhh the green sash....

LOVE THE SPLASH OF COLOR!

Hope I have peeked your interest to see how this wedding gown

was transformed into a christening gown!

Check back later this week to see how it turn out.

One Stylin' Little Man

I just wanted to share pics from my latest project.

Typically I make all my Christening garments from the

mother's wedding gown for this one I purchased some silk dupioni.

I love this shade of white and how crisp the fabric was. 

I feel it added a level of formality to the romper.

 I don't know about you but I think there is something so

irresistible about baby clothes.  I'm just lovin' the little sleeves!

Six tiny pin tucks frame the hand embroidered cross. 

I used an opalescent thread to embroider the cross.

I am so happy with the results;

 it almost has the same nubbiness of the dupioni.

Add a little Jeff Cap

and this little man will be stylin' on his big day!

Three Generations

I am so in love with this photo that was given to me by one of my clients.

Here is her little daughter that they wanted so badly,

wearing her wedding gown that was refashioned as a christening gown,

while holding onto her grandmother's rosary beads.

I'm just in awh at the way three generations are present in this photograph.

In case I haven't mentioned it I love the families I work for.

Hearing the specail stories that surround a childs christening

make the late nights and long hours worth it.

Why do you enjoy creating for others?

A Family Heirloom

I have been creating keepsake garments for little ones now for almost seven years.  So you can only imagine how I felt when I found out I was having a baby girl.  Ask anyone I love having a son, but you can only sew things for your little boy for so long before it becomes odd.  While I was pregnant with my daughter I used to spend my days dreaming about making an over the top Christening gown.  I was so excited that I finally had the opportunity to create such a gown for my own child! 

I have always been a big fan of Martha Pullen and all her knowledge of heirloom techniques.  This dress combines one of her dress designs along with some of my own special details, which I added to make the dress more a reflection of my own personal taste/style.

I am so happy that I had the opportunity to create such an elaborate gown.  I can imagine her as a grown woman holding it and thinking about how I stayed up late at night when she was a just a newborn to create a special garment for her blessing day.

This post was linked to the following partys

seaminglysmitten

"The Dress"

 

               Okay I gave you all a little teaser on Tuesday.  Glad to see you stopped back to see what became of "The Dress".  I was so excited when I was commissioned to created a Christening outfit for my friend, Doreen's son Luke.  She had a unique request that I make this an outfit that could be used for both a boy and a girl as she hopes to have a daughter one day.  So after a little thought I figured we could just make the bottoms interchangeable with the help of buttons.  I was so pleased with the outcome and so was Doreen.  I couldn't be happier.  There is nothing I love more than creating special garments for sweet little ones.

This post was linked to the following blog:

Linkin' with Lil' Luna

Sew Chatty Made with Love