stitch by stitch

pictured from left to right, top to bottom: 

a pop of orange on teal "i do" shoes, the "grilled cheese" shoes which is a saying between the bride and groom,
a new "you + me" design that is cute all year round, personalizing converse's product red line collection
of pre-printed shoes, a pair embellished chucks with the swarovski engagement rings, a mickey mouse pair
for a bride tying the knot at disney world(!), a yellow pair for a couple's engagement photos, a bright
red pair of converse zip-ups that was so fun to work on, and a simple but classy "mr and mrs" design.

while i haven't been able to be around the blog as much as i had plans to be, i have been getting in several requests for my custom embroidered shoes recently in anticipation of wedding season and i couldn't be happier with the growth of my little business and the work i've been able to do for my brides and grooms. i just got a couple more pairs in this week but i hope that soon i'll also be able to share progress on some new pillows for the shop as well.

in the meantime, here is a sampling of a few of my favorite embroidered shoes that i've worked on so far this year, details on each one right below the photo. some are for brides and grooms on their wedding day, some for engagement shoots and casual rehearsal dinners, and some made as wedding gifts.

the work can honestly be a bit hard on my hands but seeing how they all add up like this and what they mean to the folks they live with now is quite humbling and i'm so happy to see my stitching going out into the world like this. 


p.s. don't forget to enter into the giveaway if you haven't yet!

storytime with crazy cat lady.

this is a new design for a pair of embroidered wedding converse that i just finished up. i found some pretty little swarovski crystals to make a little engagement ring and think it turned out pretty well. i had wanted to get them done earlier today but instead i locked myself out of our apartment. um, yeah...i'm a few french fries short of a happy meal today it seems!

you see, our landlord was supposed to be coming over to do some repairs and i thought i heard him knock. i had been doing some seriously fast tidying of the place so i rushed down the stairs to open the door. turns out it was just the postman bumbling around and as i turned to go back up, our older cat zoe rushed between my legs and onto the front porch which is just a few paces from the intersection! i just about lost it because i think i would be darn near inconsoleable if we lost one of our cats (yes, i'm that crazy cat lady and i'm ok with it). i managed to coral her back to our apartment door, which is just short of a miracle, and then promptly slammed it shut so i could sign for a package.

you'd think that an unlocked door would stay unlocked but apparently that's not how ours works. i suppose the lock mechanism must have slipped when i slammed it....*@#as!dg$(*@(asdfga&_@#$!...and that's what i have to say about that! so i sat on the porch enjoying the lovely fall weather thinking our landlord would be there any minute. mmm, not so much: i ended up sitting outside for two hours in my slippers, no cell phone, no nothing. well, i had clothes on...thank goodness for that and that i had not been working in my pj's today...otherwise this story might have gotten really interesting, haha!

all is well that ends well i suppose, right? i'm just thankful the weather was nice and that we have such helpful neighbors who let me use their phone. and yes, i will finally be hiding that spare set of keys we have!

down the isle in style

i just finished this custom order for another pair of wedding converse. dang, working on these shoes is tough, but i love love love how they come out! and this pair is so cute with the little skull & bows on the second tongue of the shoe...should be one stylin' bride that's for sure.


among the custom work i've had in lately, i'm also knee deep in embroidery work right now for some new shop items and for a couple pillows to go in my own home. it will be nice to actually keep something i've put so much work into and i'm almost done so there will be plenty to share with you in the near future. i better get back to it...there really doesn't seem to be enough time in the day to do everything on my to-do list!

extra extra! read all about it!

wedding fashion for the fellas

i'm thrilled to announce that i've been featured in an article on besthudsonvalleyweddingever.com! my first real press! the article is all about men's wedding fashions and shows off my embroidered converse shoes as one way to amp up the guy's look for the big day.

it was also nice to see that all of my fiance's outfit choices are mentioned in it from the smart suit and quirky tie to the customized boutineer....good to know we are on the right track! we're just 15 days away from leaving for Scotland (eeks!!!!!) now and we're scrambling to tie up loose ends here and there..fun details though, not too stressful. i'm finally getting really excited though after seeing our marriage visa all shiny and official looking in our passports! i also have my final dress fitting this week, we'll go to target to pick up some travel essentials, and then i can get busy packing our bags. i can't wait to be on that train traveling north through the highlands to our little ceremony site overlooking the sea:


and this my friends, is the bed and breakfast where we'll be staying! will have to watch out in case agatha christie's poirot stops by to solve a murder mystery...


i also can't wait to get back and share boatloads of photos with you! a photographer friend of mine who is very talented will be at our ceremony and then of course there's the rest of the trip to the lake district, yorkshire, and london....it's my first trip abroad so you better believe i'm going to be one slap-happy shutterbug!

embroidery isn't just for grandmas

i am a very lucky girl. lucky because my customers have been coming up with the most creative custom requests lately and i can't take any of the credit for that! i just finished the embroidery on this pair of converse that a customer is giving to her fiancee as a surprise to wear at their wedding...cool, right?! we put our heads together to come up with the simple little design and now i just have to finish the other shoe before shipping them off.

and once again, i think i want to borrow the idea for my own wedding. or maybe a pair of embroidered converse with flowers or music lyrics and such for everyday wear...for myself of course!