Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Grace's Ultimate Frozen Party

What do you do when your favorite six, almost seven year old, is Frozen obsessed and wants to have a fun birthday party with all of her friends?  You plan the ultimate Frozen party of course!  This is where my sister, and I, her indentured servant, found ourselves a few months ago.  This predicament was further enhanced by the virtual scarcity of all things Frozen. So, off to Pinterest we went and soon we were inundated with Frozen party ideas! You can check out the board I created for Grace's Frozen Party here. 
First things first, the invitation. My sister googled "Frozen party invitations" and found this amazing invite by Bachmanville Photography and fell in love.


We figured we could totally recreate that! Grace had an Elsa pajama dress and this dress that I made for her when the movie premiered so we figured we were set!
 

Only problem, Grace lives in the desert, not a stitch of snow to be found. Solution? The amazing "Let It Snow" brush and action set by Pretty Presets which can be found here.  Next problem, no Olaf to pose with and of course none to be found anywhere. In order to buy the Olaf my sister had to buy the whole Frozen castle. Grace didn't object :)
 

Here is the end result.
 

I think it turned out really cute and I personally love the expression on Graces face :)
In a moment of temporary insanity I told my sister, "hey, why don't I make every girl that comes a Frozen dress?"  Note to self, don't make that mistake again.  Luckily it's a pretty simple design and one that I can whip up pretty quickly. 11 dresses later and I'm still alive.
 

I made Graces slightly different than the others and added a hand beaded snowflake. The necklace is from Boobah's Boutique.
 


So, invitations-check, dresses for all the girls-check. 
What's a party without some food and what's a Frozen party without Frozen names for all your food!  Quick, easy, and kid friendly was the name of the game. Here's what my sister came up with:
Arendelles finest sandwiches, aka sub sandwiches
 

Oaken trading post pizza
 

Sven's antlers and snow dip. Aka pretzels and ranch
 

Olaf noses....or rather baby carrots....not sure how the carrots missed out on the photo taking fun
 

Melted snow- this one really threw the kids for a loop. Took them forever to figure it out......so I may need to investigate the science curriculum at the school (the food pics were taken before the party hence no liquid in the containers!)
 

Elsa punch- a mix of blue Hawaiian punch and Sprite....it was delicious!
 

Elsa's flurry-the cupcake tower that my mom and I decorated with beads, white branches and rock candy
 


The decor was another beast in and of itself!  Luckily my brother in law is an art teacher and was able to whip up a flurry of large snowflakes which were strategically placed around the house


 
My sister scored a few Frozen posters!

 
That castle that my sister had to buy just for the Olaf turned out to be the perfect centerpiece. My sister used every creative bone in her body to come up with the front door sign


And finally the dresses I made topped off the decor!


 
Food- check 
Decorations- check
Next on the list, activities! Grace loves loves loves the Bibiddy bobiddy boutique so we knew that a nail and makeup station would be a hit!



After getting all dolled up the girls headed back inside to have their pictures taken. An extra table cover and some snowflakes made for the perfect backdrop. The girls were told to give me their best pose :)





 
The group shot is a personal favorite 


After pictures it was time for the Olaf creation station. Each girl was given marshmallows, frosting, mini chocolate chips, and mini carrot decorations to build their Olaf. Olaf was then quickly devoured!


Next up was pin the nose on Olaf!  That artist brother in law of mine drew an Olaf on a poster board and noses were cut out of orange construction paper


By the end there was no shortage of noses!  It was then time to pass the Frozen heart ala hot potato style!


While the girls were inside passing the heart I hid eggs outside. Graces birthday was on Easter Sunday so her party was the Saturday before Easter and it seemed like the perfect fit!


Each girl was given an Olaf bag to collect their eggs in and off they went!

 
Fun activities- check and double check 
After the egg hunt it was time for cupcakes!  Grace put on the lace crown I made for her and loved having everyone sing to her

 
Afterwards it was present time!  There were plenty of thank you's and hugs to go around and a mischievous older brother who just couldn't resist harassing his little sister and her friends!
 

 
Cupcakes and presents- check
Over the moon birthday girl- check
At the end of it all, every girl had a fabulous time, the birthday girl was walking on cloud 9, and the rest of us were dog tired!  It was splendid!
















Thursday, March 27, 2014

Why does that cost so much?!?!

I often get inquiries about a dress, give a price quote, and then never hear from the potential customer again.  Sometimes I hear that the price is too high or someone will ask if I am willing to make it for less etc.  So I thought I should explain my pricing so you all know exactly what you are paying for!
Since the casual princess dresses are pretty popular right now, I'm going to use one of them for my price break down.


I'll use the Aurora dress since it is one of the simpler dresses.  The picture is of a size 6 dress.
I followed the pricing tutorial posted by Create Kids Couture here.

Fabric required 1 3/4 yards at $8 yard on average = $14
Ribbon - 1 yard at $1 per yard on average = $1
Thread - it's hard to estimate how much thread is used per dress.  I only use high quality thread for both my sewing machine and serger.  Each spool of thread usually costs me around $3 and I estimate that I probably use around 1/4 of a spool per dress so thread = $0.75
Elastic - 10 inches = $0.30
So total for all materials is $16.05

Packaging costs
Poly mailer = $0.10
Business card = $0.03
Label = $0.05
Ink = $0.05
Packaging total is $0.23

Labor - this is probably the hardest to put an accurate number on.  Initially I was really just sewing for family and friends and didn't pay myself for my labor.  As I began sewing for others it became evident that I needed to reimburse myself for the hours of time that I devote to each piece.  I've been sewing for most of my life.  I have developed quite a bit of skill and feel that I should be reimbursed for that.  So I decided to work for no less than $12 an hour.  That's probably really low, but my primary purpose for sewing isn't for monetary gain.  I have a full time job that I love.  In that job I am paid more for what I know than for what I can physically do.  The bulk of my salary is based on my education and skill I possess.  With sewing I feel that the opposite is true.  I get paid more for the product that I produce than the skill I possess (although the only reason I can produce a quality product is because of the skill I possess so I guess it's a catch 22!)  All of that to say, I'm paying myself $12 an hour.

$12 per hour x 1.5 hours = $18
Packaging hours x 15 minutes = $2 (This includes the time it takes to photograph each item, package, weigh, the package, print off the label, drive to the post office, etc.)
Labor total = $20

At cost total $36.28
Wholesale price (2x cost) $54.56
Retail price (2x wholesale) $91.12

Right now I charge $45 a dress.......according to these calculations I'm losing $9 per dress....hmmmm.

Things that aren't included in the cost:
Machine maintenance costs - I just had all of my machines (1 sewing machine, 1 embroidery module, 1 serger) serviced and with just TLC care and some minor repairs I ended up paying close to $700.  Sound high?  Yup, it is, but I have high quality machines that require service from a technician who is trained to work on my machines, so I have to fork over the money in order to ensure that they are properly serviced.
Power to run the machines- I don't even know how I would try to calculate this!
Cost of pattern - this pattern cost $8
Advertising - I pay to advertise on various blogs and occasionally have a print ad in some sewing magazines.  That cost can vary but averages around $250 per year
Professional photos - I try to just trade out for services as much as possible, but if I have something specific that I want photographed - like a whole line for summer or winter - then I usually end up paying a photographer which averages $300.
Last but certainly not least - cost of time picking out fabrics, hunting down specific fabrics for custom orders, prewashing all fabrics to get rid of the nasty chemicals used during production, prevent shrinking, and color bleeding, etc. 

Boutique clothing is expensive.  Handmade clothing is expensive. You definitely get what you pay for.  Can you purchase clothing for cheaper elsewhere?  Of course!  I completely understand that sometimes the price of items can be prohibitive, but that doesn't mean that I should charge less.  Remember that when you buy something from a small boutique you are paying for boutique quality not mass produced pricing.

So, could I reduce my prices, yes.  Will I, no.  In all honesty if anything my prices will increase.  I'm worth it, my time is worth it.  It is time that I start respecting my time and talent enough to insist on being paid what I am worth!



Friday, March 14, 2014

Sewing Room makeover!

I've been looking forward to setting my sewing room up since I moved into my house in October and this week that time finally came!
So off to Ikea I went and got everything I needed to make these tables!  The pink legs were on sale which sweetened the deal. My best friend helped me out by drilling the holes to drop my plugs down through and fastening the table tops together. 
The thread storage I got at both Joanns and Hobby Lobby. I love color and rainbows so was excited to see how all my thread was going to look on display!  Just in case you're wondering the thread is mostly Guterman with some Mueller and an occasional Coats and Clark. 
The ironing board cover I made about a year ago and love it!  The cabinet is filled with dozens and dozens of patterns 😁
The hanger on the wall is old thread spools and I found it at Rod Works!
I've never met a glass jar I didn't like and save just about every jar that enters my home!  The jars make the perfect spot to store buttons, ribbon, tape measures, extra scissors, and labels!
The cute little shelf was a Hobby Lobby find and is the perfect scissor hanger!  The little yellow thing on top was given to me by a friend in Mississippi and has a little smiley face on it, it always makes me happy when I look at it 😊.  The silver scissors are old Ginghers that my Mamo used to make quilts. The still cut like new and I love using them. The hanging mason jars I found at Target and adore them!  They are the perfect spot to store random sewing things. 
I always have an over abundance of fabric scraps and finally have a pretty way to store them. These cute wire baskets I picked up at Hobby Lobby. 
I made the fabric storage unit out of 12x12 wire storage things I found at Bed Bath and Beyond. It's perfect for my stash. Inside the armoire I have my mandatory tv....I mean who doesn't like to watch tv while crafting? I also have tons of scrap booking stuff in there. 
Phew!  I think that's it! I have lots more planned so stay tuned for updates!

Sunday, February 24, 2013


Well this was the first ever Prickly Pear giveaway and it was quite a success!  
Thank you all for entering!  Now on to the good news......the winners are

Tabitha Noack
Linda Walsh
Rosemary Hyser
Alycia Bollinger

Winners have 24 hours to respond to their notification email!  


Sunday, February 17, 2013


5000 fan giveaway!


When I started Prickly Pear in September 2010 I thought I would NEVER reach 5000 fans so when I did I felt it was time to celebrate!  

There will be 3 lucky winners!  Here is what you could win.

$50 gift certificate from Prickly Pear

Necklace from Gumball Glam

$200 voucher to Etc. Events



Necklace from Sissy Kreations

Flower Clip from Blossom Country

Flower Baby Sandal - winner chooses color from Chelsea's Creative Crafts

$25 Disney Gift Card from Magical Moments Vacations by Nancy

Ruffle Romper, Short Pants, and Lace Crown from Sigal Ineno Photography




Discovering the Magic Kingdom book from Discovering the Magic Kingdom

10 Pack Hair Ties and Bib Necklace from knotieties™


Classic Bonnet from Just Be Happy Crochet

Wood Bead Necklace from Vintage Afflair

Pot Holder in Winners Choice of Fabric from Sew Randomly Unique

8" Long Elastic Waist Skully Skirt from Sew Grammy Sew

$25 Store Credit from A Pocket Full of Sunshine Boutique

$10 Store Credit from The Crochet Sisters

$15 Store Credit from Mommy's Little Princess Boutique

Size 3-5 Dress from 4 Funky Funks

One Wrap from Rock Your Skinny

Winners Choice of Wrist Key Chain from Home Sewn by Tiffany

Cream and Floral Fabric Flower Headband by Little Pink Blanket

$25 Store Credit from Lily Shine Boutique

$15 Store Credit from Tiny Blossoms

$15 Store Credit from Little Binky Boo


iPhone5 Vanilla Vintage Vinyl Wallet from Blood Sweat and Thread
































































Thursday, May 17, 2012

Pin It to Win It

Pin it to Win it contest!

I LOVE pinterest......so naturally I would absolutely LOVE to see some Prickly Pear stuff be pinned!

Cue a contest :)

Here's how it's going to work:
  1. If you don't already have a pinterest account, get one!  If you need an invite just let me know!
  2. Once you have an account, or if you already have account, follow my boards at Pinterest
  3. Pin something from the Spring/Summer 2012 line from the pictures posted on the blog (the previous post)
  4. Post a comment to this blog telling me you pinned a photo!
  5. For every pin, you will receive and entry into the contest.
  6. Contest will run from 5/17/2012 through 5/20/2012
  7. Winner will be chosen at 10pm CST on 5/20/2012
  8. Winner will get any item from the Spring/Summer line FREE!
Good luck!