support the moms!

okay, first of all...just a few 'business' things to do. fortunate for us, BG 'business' is the most fun. :)

• there is anther give-away going on. whoop, whoop! amanda jones is hosting a give-away that includes brownie-goose AND molly blossom. remember her? she is the awesome bag-maker and earring-maker that i featured earlier in the year. she is also doing some sew-alongs for those in the area, and just happens to have her hands on my milly pattern! check out her info for more details on the sew along. AND check out amanda's blog for give-away info!

• i am having some serious moments of pride here at BG! i keep getting photos that you awesome seamstresses out there send me of what you made with my patterns. this is an amazing feeling and it is so fun to see all of you put your own spins on it. man there are some talented folks out there!

• i have about 3-4 patterns in the work as we speak. i am trying to divide my time between chirrens, husband, house, labradors, sewing and pattern making. TRYING to find a good balance here, but am having a ball sharing my patterns. the other fun part is having great friends and talented tailors test them for me. i LOVE a sewing bud and this just fuels my fire. the other fun thing is learning what i have been mis-spelling for eons. hehe. so far, i have learned that all my life i have been spelling the word "voila" as "viola" pronouce....ve-oh-la. hehe. and also been saying the phrase, "the patience of job" and calling him jobe. hehe. awesome. think i must have missed the day in elementary school when they taught spelling. :)

• another proud moment i had was when i let my little lou be a seamstress for a day. check out what she did here on my blog. love that child.

now, let's get down to supporting the mommas.

being a stay-at-home-working-mom myself, i decided early in the game to make a sort of pledge to try my best to support other work at home moms when i can. for instance, i don't buy fabric wholesale. i could, and i could probably save myself at least $2-$3 a yard (which adds up quick considering my addiction) but i don't. instead, i head on over to etsy and hit up mommy-run fabric stores (like my most fave, HB Fabrics) and feed my fire. those extra few dollars don't really matter to me in the long-run since i know just that little bit helps that momma stay at home with her babies. something that i wish EVERY mom could do. i also try to promote mom-run businesses when i can. there are some crazy-talented moms out there that should be showcased! anyways, this basic reasoning is why i JUMPED at the opportunity that was presented to me by another talented mom, meagan of Made-By-Meagan.

she came up with the idea behind Made By Mommies which is a facebook page devoted to all sorts of mom-run businesses. this will be a place for people to go to find mom-run fabulousness, for other moms to advertise/promote their businesses and for networking. it is FREE, no strings attached. :) this is not limited to just clothing, whatever your trade...sewing, cooking, baking, photography, stationery, etc. BRING it. if you want to be featured, email your info to:

buy(dot)mommies(at)gmail(dot)com.

this is gonna be the most fun, and i can only imagine what kind of trouble my paypal account is about to get into. :)

so, get your info in or get your shopping on! thanks again to meagan for the awesome idea!

and now, let's see if i can muster up the motivation to finish up this sweet pattern....

lots of news & fun stuff!

okay, i would apologize for being a slack blogger and not letting all yall know what has been going on...but for once, it isn't my fault. for some reason, blogger has not wanted to publish my posts the last week. whatevs, just glad it wasn't some serious news like orders open or something like that of the past. :)

anyhoo...let me just list all the fun and fabulous stuff i have going on here at BG.

1st - did you know about the BG giveaway? oh my, you must! BG was featured on the blog of Amanda Dove Wells and she did a little Q & A with me. so, if you have ever wondered how BG came to be, what goes on in my crazy little head when i design or anything else about me...check it. here is the link. http://www.amandadovewells.com/?p=559 but, even if you don't want to know about me or think you already do...check it anyways because she is offering a giveaway and at stakes is an oh-so-popular Milly Dress, one of the faves of the BG Originals. eeeeks. the giveaway ends tomorrow...so get on it, dog-gone-it!

2nd - i finally, after many, many requests and pleads from many of my sewing buds that i have met along this journey made a decision. i am now selling the patterns that i design. holy moles. it took a lot of soul-searching and talking to myself before i came to this decision. i had a hard time at first letting go of what i considered dear to me, but once i made the decision and saw all the support and positive feedback that came, i could have cried. have i ever told yall how amaze-balls you are? so, i am slowly learning the world of pdfs and conversion and scaling and all that jive. my patterns will be available in my etsy shop (brownie-goose on etsy) as i finish them. i currently have only gotten the Milly done, but so far...she has done very well which further encourages me to get my camera in my sewing room and sit down in the wee hours to my pdfs. :) so far, i have had requests for the mae dress, lola bells, katie top and jill top...any others you for sure want to see?

3rd - this goes along with the patterns and is so fun that i just cannot stand it. my husband was one of the ones behind me in supporting the sales of my patterns. he also really, really wants me to offer a sort of sewing class/lessons for people. now, the pure idea of this sounds fantastic and fun, but also overwhelms the snot out of me. you see, when i sew...i sew how it works for me. these methods are not always what you would learn in sewing 101. they aren't wrong methods by any means...but they are amy-isms and don't always make sense, just ask my friend Phoebe who puts up with me in the sewing room sometimes. so, until i learn to convey what to do in the sewing room in a 'proper' way and figure out where to put people and electric plugs and such i will leave this to other seamstresses who thrive in this setting. like sara of molly blossom.

this is where the fun begins. she is offering a sew-along for the newly released Milly pattern. how fun, right? now, how do you get in on this fun? this is what she has to say:

Have you been wanting to make your little girl beautiful, boutique style clothing but aren't the type that can sit down and breeze through a pattern? Do you have a sewing machine that needs dusting off and a yearning to make beautiful things? BG Originals and Molly Blossom have the perfect solution. Join me, Sara, at my house on June 18 (formerly mis-stated as the 13th) at 3:30 pm with fabric and your machine and leave with a beautiful Milly Dress using Amy Norris' beautiful dress pattern.

Don't miss this opportunity to get the pattern at a discount and have a personal guide to ensure your success. There are only six slots available for the special rate of $27 per person. I will take you from beginning to end of this lovely, layered beauty and you'll have a dress and the pattern to take home with you to use again and again with endless combinations.

Message me with questions or to register. on facebook, find Molly Blossom.

so, isn't all this just so fun? i know...right!

okay, now that all this exciting news is out and hopefully finally going to publish...what are you waiting for? get on over to amanda's blog and enter the giveaway and then, if you are feeling up to it....get you a spot in sara's sew-along!

have a fabulous memorial day weekend and stay awesome BG fans!

time for cool change...

are you singing along with little river band yet? and now that my life is so pre-arranged, i know that it's time for a cool change....

okay, although i am 'technically' still on maternity leave...we all know i have a hard time staying out of my sewing room. hence, you have seen some things going on with sales and BG originals and such.

you may have even seen a small sneaker of the new line that will be....Daydream Believer.

but, what you haven't seen is an explanation of how in the world i am going to manage it all.

want to know why....yeah, i am still not sure how to swing it all. but i have made a decision. and it is one that i am hoping to be a good one.

BG is going solely etsy.

what does this mean to you? well, it means that i will not be taking orders by email. i will not be doing a lottery system and i will not being opening and closing orders as i have in the past. i have learned recently that my time in the sewing room has been cut very short due to a new baby, and honestly...it is okay with me. i have said this from the get-go, family is first in my house. i love BG and i love to create, but my babies come first. but with my time cut short, i have realized how stressful it is for me to have orders pending. it is much easier on me, the seamstress to go into my room when i have time and create at my leisure. my creative juices flow a bit better this way. also, i was having moments of freak-out when thinking i may be facing up to 700 orders again this fall. i just can't swing it with 2 that way anymore. not right now, at least.

however, all this said...BG isn't going away. i will still be bringing some fabulousness your way in the way of outfits for your kiddos to wear, but it will be on a smaller scale.

as of now - my plans are to get some fun summer items made up and inventory boosted and list them in my shop. then, i am going to start work on Daydream Believer. i am not sure yet if this is going to work well, i never know until i try - but i do know that i needed a way to free up some of the email/website/business aspect of it so that i could spend as much time in the sewing room as possible.

you will be seeing some changes on the website in the coming weeks/month and instead of the BG fall line, you will start to see Daydream Believer make its debut. i am so stinking excited about that, especially the limited edition lola bells that i really feel i need to swing a pair for me. :)

so, what does this mean for you as a BG customer? bookmark my esty store.
also, stick with me on facebook as i have linked in my etsy there and it will probably notify when new listings come into the store.

so, basically....in a nutshell, BG is now on etsy only. hope you like the change. i hope it keeps me sane, and frees up a lot of time for sewing and my sweet kiddos. i mean, we don't need to see this pitiful face now do we?

and in the meantime while i get my sew on (occasionally), thanks for rocking my house and being the best customers a seamstress can ask for. thanks for being there through it all. BG will turn 3 this fall, and i don't think it would be where it is without all of you!

and just to get you thinking and ready for it, check it. Daydream Believer. you know me, i am all weird and find sewing inspiration in songs. crazy, yep. certified, maybe. :) oh, and go ahead and sing along...it will make you smile!

behind brownie-goose

so, for those of you that are new to BG, or haven't read my "about me" you may not know that my hobby is named after my sweet, sweet 4-legged babes. my labradors. my first hearts. love them forever.

so - they don't get a lot of lime-light. you know, they should. but i just never think my frocks would look as cute on them. and, i doubt many of my fans would be as crazy about dog fur on clothes as i am.

but, today i had the help of mallard brown, aka brown doggie, buddy, brownie. i got him when he was 6 weeks old. he is my heart (just ask my husband). i loves him. and he loves me. in my eyes, he can do no wrong. he even walked me down the aisle in my wedding. isn't he the sweetest?

just thought i'd share. :)

ps - will be unloading some BG originals soon. the first 'release.' haha.