BOUTIQUE @ the busy bee

B3 is closed now until January 19 to allow for time to finish a few last minute custom orders and to replenish my inventory.  I have several new ideas for products coming next year!  I appreciate all the support for this little adventure I started almost two years ago.  It has been such a joy to see others fall in love with something I created.  I will be updating with sneak peeks of new items to be revealed upon re-opening in the new year.  Enjoy your holidays!

I will be taking custom orders until tomorrow, Monday December 8, for Christmas delivery.  Any order received after tomorrow will not be ready by Christmas.

I have a lot to be thankful for this year...my family, my friends, my business.  But most of all I am thankful for the time I spent with my Mom.   She was a strong-willed lady who loved with all her heart.  For two months I sat beside her and held her hand, praying for God to heal her, but in the end she was in too much pain and too sick.  I miss her so much. So now I hug my kids a little longer each time and make sure to tell them how much I love them every day.  I cherish my Hubby for giving me the opportunity to spend time with Mom and taking care of things at home. I hold on to my Dad a little tighter knowing he is the only parent I have here now.  I appreciate my friends for being a shoulder to cry on and having patience with me. My business has been my therapy.  Mom had been very supportive of me and my creative side since I was little.  She loved my ideas, I even made her a basket to keep on her hospital table. I also want t...

The temperature has dropped and I got a cold.  A miserable, sneezing, runny nose cold.  I wasn't able to show my craft last weekend because of it.  Therefore this week I have been playing catch up on custom orders and still have two more to go.  My office is a frozen tundra in the wee hours of the morning.  Two baseboard heater and my little electric fireplace take about an hour to heat this space up to a temperature where I can no longer see my breath.  Which is not helping with my heavy consumption of tissues.  Time to buy stock in Kleenex! 

I love craft shows!  Looking around at what others have put their heart and soul into making with their own hands.  I started showing my craft last year, participating in three shows.  A lot goes into the preparation of a show.  First being your craft.  Since I have been unable to work for the better part of the past three months I am scrambling to finish items for the first of two shows this year.  Did I mention it is only four days away?  The second being the display of your craft; tables, tablecloths, decor, etc.  This part is the most stressful for me.  I am a perfectionist at heart and if things don't look just right, well...  I am considering this first show as a trial run for the second show in two weeks.   The best part of craft shows for me is seeing someone fall in love with something I created.  Just having the validation that I didn't waste hours fighting with fabric or the machine to make it just right.   ...

Freezer Paper I had no idea what freezer paper was until I went searching for a way make a pattern for fabric baskets without having to pin it to the fabric.  Voila, freezer paper!  It's so easy and relatively inexpensive to use. The best part is you can use the pattern over and over again.   Here's how its done: Either measure or trace your pattern on to the matte side of the freezer paper.   Cut out. Using a hot iron without steam, press the pattern onto fabric with the matte side up.  Cut out pattern. Peel paper from fabric and start sewing! Super easy and much better than tissue paper!

I am a list person.  I like to make them, a lot.  Very rarely do I cross everything off of the list, which is okay.  Sometimes life gets in the way or I get way too ambitious or I just have an off day where nothing goes as planned.  And there are days when I could care less what is on that list.  But with having my first of two craft shows this season in less than two weeks, lists need to be made i.e. production list, fabric list, display list, and inventory list.   Oh and did I mention I need to order business cards, make tags, and tag everything. UGH!

I bought my very first cookbook when I was in kindergarten and I still have it today.  So when I found this little gem I had to have it.  It was in very poor condition but it just needed a little TLC.  This is now in the home of a precious little girl.  Her mommy was just as excited to play as the little girl!  I am currently working on another play kitchen, four separate pieces.  Can't wait to see how this one turns out! Play Kitchen

Hello, I am a fabric hoarder.  Three shelving units and two rolling carts, full.  Oh and some on the floor yet to be ironed.  I have come to terms with my addiction and have no intentions of stopping. Gotta love brutal honesty... My weakness is vintage fabric. The colors, patterns, and texture of vintage fabric is nothing like the fabric produced today.   Polished cotton is my favorite fabric.  The subtle sheen and the softness of this fabric is incomparable.  I have several floral patterns of polished cotton in my stash just waiting to become lovely dresses.  Below is a picture of my favorite fabric, 4 yards of it to be exact.  I can't bring myself to cut it or decide what to do with it.  Maybe one day I will be inspired...or maybe not. Polished Cotton Fabric, Black with Red Roses 

Boutique @ the busy bee has been open for almost a year and a half and for most of that time I've been searching for a way to label my products.  I researched custom printed labels and had to pick myself up off the floor when I saw the price.  Then one day I came across this You Tube video about Spoonflower .   It is an awesome site in which you can create your own fabric.  And wallah, I now have the perfect labels!  Only downfall is the wait for printing and having to cut out each individual label, but for the cost savings it is all worth it! My Labels

Hello there!  My name is Allisha and I am the owner, creative force, and manual labor behind Boutique @ the busy bee.  I am creating this new blog to signify a starting over point.  I recently lost my mother to a brief battle with CHF and diabetes.  She was very supportive of me and my business.  I hope to keep making her proud.   Boutique @ the busy bee offers quality 18" doll fashions, doll furniture and bedding, fabric baskets, burp cloths, vintage linens and jewelry along with UpCylced items.  Please feel free to ask any questions, custom orders are always welcome.  www.boutiqueatthebusybee.etsy.com