An Elle Belle Birthday!

Elle Belle has you covered when it comes to those littlest birthdays! For the actual birth day, nothing beats an Elle Belle sling! They come with written instructions that include pictures, so if Mommy hasn't used a sling before she'll be a pro in no time. I guarentee the first time baby is inconsolable and the only thing that works is the sling, you'll get a call from the new Mommy to thank you for your gift that saved the day. Or maybe she'll thank you instead for actually being able to make herself a sandwhich or fold laundry for the first time because baby won't let her put him/her down. Slings are new Mommy life savers!

First birthdays are great for hooded towels that make bath time and those trips to the beach/pool even more fun. The recycled no-break/no-roll crayons are also a big hit with this creative crowd.

Second birthdays beg for an Elle Belle I Spy quilt! They’re an extra special gift that makes for lots of quality fun time with Mommy & Daddy and is sure to become a cherished heirloom.

Third birthdays are the perfect time to start preparing for pre-school and get a jump on letter, number, & color recognition with Elle Belle Count & Spell beanbags.

Forth birthdays and that little one isn’t quite so little anymore. Elle Belle Tooth pillows make one of those rites of passage a little less painful!

Stop by the Elle Belle shop the next time you get a playful party invitation in the mail!

Coming Soon!

I’ve been on an Elle Belle hiatus of sorts since last Christmas and haven’t been listing new items in the shop, but that’s come to an end. I’ll be posting new items every week day for at least a month. Here’s what you can expect to see in the coming weeks:

• New designer boy and girl cart covers being released.
• Bib & Paci clips - These are in limited supply, when they’re gone they’re gone, so get them while you can. Oh and did I mention they’re FREE shipping?!
• Zippered pouches now included for FREE with many Elle Belle slings.
• The last of the Elle Belle Swarovski crystal heirloom baby bracelets makes it’s appearance near the end of the month.
• Several new slings are making their way into the shop
• Recycled no-break, no-roll crayon sets make a sweet surprise for your creative little one

Be sure to stop by the shop often this month. Keep watching the blog too; I’ll be featuring some of the new products and even do a giveaway just for blog readers!

New Elle Belle Product!

If you’ve stopped by the Elle Belle shop recently you may have noticed that it’s kind of slim pickings. I needed a little break after how insanely busy I was during the Christmas rush. My excuse after I had recovered from the rush, was how exhausted I was during my first trimester, and now it’s that I’m having too much fun with all these projects for the new baby. For the first time since I started sewing, I’m doing more for us than for customers and have been really truly enjoying experimenting and taking on new creative endeavors. However, despite the hiatus of sorts I’ve been on recently, I do really love Elle Belle as well and I especially like being part of the Etsy/crafting community. So, I think I’ve come up with a plan to marry these too things that bring so much fun to my life.

For Elle Belle, I’m going to be focusing primarily on slings. I have quite a few new prints to list in the coming months, and am knocking around some new design ideas to add into the mix. In the past, I’ve often considered adding accessories to the slings. There are several people/companies who make slings and include a pocket in the tail so that you can carry a wallet, diapers, etc. with you. I can see the convenience in just having one thing to grab that serves double duty, but I prefer to wear my slings with the tail tucked under the baby instead of hanging down, so having a zipper and/or stuff in the tail wouldn’t really work in that application. Also, if you do wear the tail hanging down (as is the case with the slings that have embroidery on them) having too much stuff in the pocket seems like it would bang around and be sort of cumbersome. So, I’ve decided to instead offer zip pouches that you can clip to your sling. I made this prototype to match a sling I made for myself and the new baby. It’s the size of a standard wristlet so that you can keep credit cards, cash, and a cell phone on hand. I always threw a zip pouch of my own items into my diaper bag so that it was easy to find amongst the sea of diapers, wipes, toys etc. and now I’ll have a super cute one that matches my sling and that I can clip right on.

I’m excited about offering these in the Elle Belle shop soon! I’m still working out a few ideas I have about how to offer them and specific designs though, it may still be a couple weeks before the first ones actually get posted… so stay tuned!

Holiday Happenings

Tis the season for lots of holiday craft shows and new products for the Mommies and little ones on your Christmas list!

Visit Elle Belle in person at the following events in the Tampabay area:
Nov. 22 - Mommy and Me Charity Fund Raiser: Serrano's Maternity and Infant Apparel 401 S. Parsons Ave. Suite F, Brandon
Nov. 30 - Holizaar: Studio @ 620, St. Pete
Dec. 5 - Holiday Shuffle: St. Pete Shuffle Board Courts 7pm-10pm
Dec. 14 - Atomic Holiday Bazaar: Sarasota Municipal Auditorium
Jan. 10 - New Year New Baby Maternity Open House: Look Who's Kickin' Ultrasounds, South Tampa

I debuted some new products at the Handmade Holiday Bazaar and will be taking pictures this weekend so that I can list them the beginning of next week. A custom banner, the newest addition to the tattoo inspired line of slings, and a super cute new embroidered tooth fairy pillow all coming just in time for Christmas!