5.08.2009

Custom Made Swing Outfit Giveaway!

Here I am, at blog entry #199.
It sounds insane to me --- I was THAT girl. You know the one... the one that lurked around for years, reading other people's blogs... all the while silently thinking to myself that I would love to have one --but that there was no way my life was that interesting. Now, I don't know if my life is interesting or not... but I did somehow manage to come up with 199 blog posts.

Before I get to post 200, I wanted to do a giveaway -- it's something that I have never done.

So here it is:
I don't profess to be a seamtress, not even close. But, from time to time, I do like to pull out my singer and go to work. I love to dress my Janey Girl in designer fashions... but I LOATHE designer prices. A few years ago, I got out a catalog and fell in love with everything on every page... and then very quickly decided, Hey! I can make that! FOR WAY LESS -- and that's just what I did. I have had so much fun over the years coming up with different things for Janey to parade around in.

So, In honor of the beginning of Summer and in the name of great children's fashion, today's giveaway is for my latest concauction -
It's a "swing" style outfit made from some great fabric that I found at Hobby Lobby.


Here is my Janey Girl showing it off:
This is the back:
Here is an up-close shot of the front:
...and it even comes with this headband that I found on clearance at The Children's Place:


This is Sarah Jane's outfit... it's a size 6.
I will make this in any size, from 12 months - size 7-8.



To Enter:

One Entry:

Leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite way to save money on your little one's wardrobe.

For a 2nd Entry:
Become a follower of this blog

For a 3rd Entry:
Check out CLICK and leave a comment on your favorite shoot (tell me that you did it in a comment)

For a 4th entry:
Blog about this giveaway and leave me a link to your post in my comments


For 6 additional entries:
Go to this post of my husband's... follow the link... and donate any amount for this AWESOME cause.

So, you could potentially have TEN entries in this giveaway!!

Please leave a different comment every time you enter (if you do all 5, there should be 5 seperate comments). If you sponsor my hubby and win, I will throw in a matching Hairbow so you can have options! :)

On May 25th at 12:00 noon this giveaway will be over --- I will then select one winner at random. Please allow around 2 weeks for your outfit to be shipped as I am a full time Mommy/Wife/and Worker Bee.
Sorry international bloggers - U.S. Only

Good Luck!


86 comments:

Stephanie said...

So you made that? Impressive! I save money on buying her clothes buy letting my mom buy them=)but really I check the clearence racks at Target and use coupons at Carter's

phxbne said...

I 'shop ahead' and get great end of season deals - especially at Sears and Old Navy

Anonymous said...

I absolutely LOVE that! YOU MADE THAT! Man, I wish I had the patience to sew! I shop when there are big sales and buy the next size up so that my kids can wear it for next year!! Love Target and Old Navy!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for adding my button!! YAY!! I am a follower! :)

Anonymous said...

Okay...all of those pics on the blog are so stinkin good!!! It's hard to pick one favorite! Of course, any picture with a child or baby is an automatic given but I picked two adult pics for my favs! The first one is Haley standing in the field with what looks lie a church in the background and the light coming in from the top left!! Love her pink converse too! :) And the second is the pics of the Otwells...the black & white of the entire wedding party sitting on the front porch of the house! So cute!! :D

Anonymous said...

I added this giveaway on my sidebar of my blog! http://hollymcstaypaul.blogspot.com/
My niece is 3 and would look adorable in that outfit!! :D

Anonymous said...

That is an absolute wonderful cause and I'm honored to donate for it! I gave a one time gift of $26. :)It didn't give me a transaction # but I can send you the link via email if you need it. :)

cookinandsmilin said...

To save money on kids clothes you can increase the denominator and keep the numerator the same.
(kids sharing clothes saves money, the more kids you have the more you save)

-cookinandsmilin

Superdumb Supervillain said...

I buy used lots of designer outfits the next season on Ebay...

Superdumb Supervillain said...

My favorite shoot is the "Cousins are Ready-made Friends for Life"

Ms. Candice said...

Wow, I wish I could sew. That is so darling!

I shop yard sales for kids clothes and I fortunately have had lots of people give me hand me downs. And I have 2 boys so I have my own in house hand me down system. :)

I would like to win this for my friend with twins though ;)

onlycancan ta hotmail tod com

Celeste said...

I would suggest buying clothes in the next size up if you see some cute ones on sale!!

contact me at:
celeste@mail4me.com

Celeste said...

Blog follower!

contact me at:
celeste@mail4me.com

Celeste said...

I voted on a shoot (gave it a "prop") :)

contact me at:
celeste@mail4me.com

DawnS said...

I use ebay, end of season clearances and consignment shops. This outfit is so adorable, I love that you made that!

Unknown said...

my fav way to save money is to buy them a season ahead. old navy has really good deals you can get shirts for a few buck. i just buy them a size bigger so they will work. amsbolda@hotmail.com

Unknown said...

I follow. amsbolda@hotmail.com

Unknown said...

I love the whitney and robby photo shoot. so cute. and fun. amsbolda@hotmail.com

Courtney said...

That is such a beautiful outfit!!! I would LOVE to have it for my little girls. I save money buying clearance, buying things with coupons (I NEVER pay full price!), on ebay, consignment stores, etc. My child is dressed in incredible, designer clothes - we just didn't pay the designer prices!

annasmama0702@gmail.com

Courtney said...

I follow you!

annasmama0702@gmail.com

Courtney said...

My favorite is the "she said YES!" - the last photo in the bunch. The one where she's leaning against the old coke machine? I think that one is great!

Thanks for the opportunity :)

annasmama0702@gmail.com

casey aubut said...

I shop sales and buy next seasons clothes when they are on clearnace
cassandra@aubut.net

dctm said...

My best money saving tip re: children's clothes is to shop yard sales and the thrift store...also, WM and Target usually mark their clothing down near the end of the season, etc.

dctm at bellsouth dot net

Ms D said...

VERY CUTE! I save money by budgeting and buying everything my children wear, well most of it, used or second hand ;)
daxkimd@juno.com

camelfam said...

Adorable! I save money buy shopping at thrift stores. I hardly every buy clothes for my daughter new (I leave that up to grandma).

deepsouthrunner said...

I would like to win this for my sister, who has 3 girls. She is always looking for sales, coupons, and tops and bottoms that would mix and match in a number of different ways.

sarahbcrawford(at)gmail(dot)com

deepsouthrunner said...

I am a follower of your blog!
sarahbcrawford(at)gmail(dot)com

deepsouthrunner said...

I blogged: http://giveaways411.blogspot.com/2009/05/custom-made-swing-dress.html

sarahbcrawford(at)gmail(dot)com

andrea v said...

garage sales and always hitting the sales at the stores.

andrea v said...

follower

Sara said...

We love sales - plus we love shopping at Goodwill.

Bebemiqui said...

We thrift shop and go to the Children's place outlet where they have great sales.
bebemiqui82(at)yahoo(dot)com

Unknown said...

Adorable outfit!! Wow, I love it!

To save money we go to the outlets by our house, use coupons, buy things on sale.

I also hand make all of her hair accessories...I love making her hairbows!

Unknown said...

I follow you, I'm so happy I found your blog!

Unknown said...

You are an amazing photographer! You are a true inspiration to me--I hope to be as good as you one day.

It was sooo hard to pick my favorite...I love A Field of Flowers and The Otwells. Love them all, though!

FannyHams said...

we buy from second hand shops, and shop sales and use coupons

Tuesday Girl said...

I try and get things on clearance or sale for the next season, that way I can buy twice as much! :)

tuesdayef (at) aol dot com

ecky said...

by winning contests : )
seriously - i am all about hand-me-downs, thrift stores and making stuff myself!

elkesten at yahoo dot com

Michelle said...

I love shopping the clearance racks and buying next year's sizes! I find especially good deals at The Children's Place and Old Navy. Thanks for the chance to win that gorgeous outfit.
mrsmchappell at gmail dot com

noreen said...

lots of the idea I use are already mentioned. I also buy sleevless or short sleeve dresses (clearance of course) but my trick is have my girls wear them all year round. In the winter they wear long sleeves underneth and either tights, leggings or pants on their legs. They only wear dresses, even in snowy weather so by buying dress that can be worn all year I get more wear out of them
p.s. I found some great spring dresses for under $5 in the target clearance this morning

Colette S said...

My favorite way to save on my kids wardrobe is to shop JCPenny sales!

You made that! Wow it's gorgeous and so stylish! I love it.

Melanie @ Whimsical Creations said...

My favorite way to save money on my childrens wardrobe is to buy clothes on clearance off season. (I find the best deals at children's place).

=) melanie
http://melaniescrafts.blogspot.com
melanieadey at hotmail dot com

Carrie said...

My favorite way to save money on kids clothes is to accept hand-me-downs from friends!

Sarah said...

We get lots of hand me downs and I check out the clearance racks!
bs.webster at sbcglobal dot net

Anonymous said...

the clearance rack/sales!! bmarkey[at]travelers[dot]com

Rajee said...

I save money by spending with coupons and discount.

rajikarthik@hotmail.com

Rajee said...

I follow you.

rajikarthik@hotmail.com

Rajee said...

I am surprised that I follow your photos in my blog. I love your click lot. My favorite click is that you posted all your photos in one for your header.

rajikarthik@hotmail.com

Rajee said...

Please let me know how you found your photos in my blog. I am so curious as I'm pretty new to my blog.

rajikarthik@hotmail.com

Unknown said...

We garage sale or sometimes we swap clothes with my sister since she has the same age daughter! stef4916 @ gmail . com

throuthehaze said...

I buy on clearance to save money!
throuthehaze at gmail dot com

throuthehaze said...

i follow
throuthehaze at gmail dot com

caseykelp said...

Try and save money by going to the thrift shops and garage sales. Hey you can get clothes with their tags still on them for $2-$5. Thank you for the giveaway.

Penny said...

I have had very good luck at garage sales. You need to show up early though!

pong7@comcast.net

Penny said...

I follow.

pong7@comcast.net

Ginger said...

I have gotten a lot of great things from yard sales, but for this summer I have been making a few pillow case dresses. So cheap, but so cute! Thanks for the giveaway!

Abby said...

I love to shop the clearance rack!

ajcmeyer AT go DOT com

mattie said...

GREAT JOB on the outfit!!!

I usually buy a size up and put back for the next year. The Gymboree outlet and Children's Place outlet have been big successes...not everytime, but several times I have been able to buy CUTE stuff for cheap. I love it when TCP does the extra half off clearance and the 60% off rack at Gymbo is great.

The Lingo Family said...

Save Money by purchasing at two different gently used kids clothing stores.

atrain365@hotmail.com

Unknown said...

I'm a follower! This outfit is sooo adorable!

KelliAnn Christensen said...

That outfit is darling! I have found that I "save money" if I just wait it out and resist the urge to buy clothes at a new season. If I let her, my mother-in-law will get my daughter lots of cute stuff, and then I just have to fill in the gaps, so to speak.
kb3388@hotmail.com

Hummingbirder said...

I save money by buying almost all of my children's clothes at thrift stores. You can find the best brands at second hand shops and all under one roof. I love it!
Thank you for your giveaway! Cute!

Heidi said...

Wow, that outfit is so cute!! To save money I usually shop the end of season clearance/sales and shop on eBay.

Stephanie said...

I buy clothes in bulk on ebay! Saves tons!

Stephanie said...

I am such a follower....of your blog!

Stephanie said...

Fun with the Bunny is my favorite Shoot! So Adorable!

notworthwriting said...

i save money by buying cheap t-shirts ad then adding accessories to them by myself...buy string, flowers...whatever....

notworthwriting said...

i follow you...

Liz said...

We do a lot of shopping ahead at the Children's Place outlet. We're lucky to get 20% off coupons and gift cards in July & December, when we can really find lots of good things on clearance!

TopHat said...

I save money by receiving many hand-me downs. However, I'm running out of those, so I guess I'll be hitting up the thrift stores this summer!

TopHat said...

And I follow you with google reader!

TopHat said...

And the bridals under "Hootie Patootie" make her seem so confident. Love that!

and I forgot my email: hrfarley at gmail dot com

Jenetta Penner said...

I use my swagbucks to buy clothes at amazon- yea free clothes!!

jenettapenner at gmail dot com

SongbirdMama said...

Coming from a large family makes it easy to save money on clothes. I am the 6th born out of 34 cousins. We all share and "hand me down" clothes to eachother and out kids when our own family outgrows them.

SongbirdMama said...

I am a follower of your blog.

SongbirdMama said...

I checked out "Click" and left a comment on The Otwells shoot. Some simply stunning pictures.

ReggieMann said...

I try to buy items on clearance for my niece at outlet malls, target and wal-mart. I also find great bargains at the HappyGreenBee factory store.

Sky said...

You have a great talent! How I wish I could sew!

I buy clearance...all the time! Last year, I bought summer clothes at 80% off for this summer...It rocks! Plus, it pleases my hubs, I'm always looking for a bargain!

seeryusfam@msn.com

Sky said...

I follow your blog!

seeryusfam@msn.com

Sky said...

I commented over at Click...The bride with the pink Chuck Taylor shoes had great photos! Love it!

seeryusfam@msn.com

Aura said...

we love handmedowns and sales!

Dana said...

Wow, I almost missed this. For some reason, I thought I had until the 28th.

Okay, how do I save money on their clothes? Sell the ones from the year before at a consignment sale and buy the next years and yard sales and consignment sales.

Dana said...

I was already a follower. Do I get a vote for that?

Dana said...

My favorite shoot is Michelle and Devons wedding. Favorite picture particularly is the one of them on each side of the door.

taysmommy said...

I wish I could sew ...sigh

I try and save some money buy buying from teh clearaqnce rack for next year and for play clothes I go to Once Upon a Child.

taysmommy said...

I follow :)