Oh Neglected Blog, what is going on at A Lovely Start...

Yes, I am still around!  Things have been busy at A Lovely Start these days.  If you are on Facebook, be sure to hop over to our fan page.  Things are always hoppin' over there!  That is where to be to get all the notices about stockings and lots of special offers, sales and auctions!
I am currently part of an amazing "Character themed" auction at Manely Recycled by Audioamy Fan Page on Facebook!  I have this truly unique My Little Pony upcycled longies up for grabs! Auction closes Monday, October 10, 2011!

You can find A Lovely Start stocking regularly at Bitty Fluff on the 1st and 3rd Fridays of the month and A La Mode on the 15th of the month on Hyena Cart.  My own poor Cart has been neglected, but I hope to get a regular monthly or bi-monthly stocking date happening for it as well in the New Year.
Tomorrow, October 7, 2011, I have this fabulous little girls set stocking at Bitty Fluff.

I also have a New Years goal to get back to blogging regularly as well.  In addition to highlighting the items I am working on, I would like to write some general Cloth Diapering and other posts that represent me, my philosophies and my business, as well as answer some common questions I get.

So please continue to stick around!  I will see more of you soon. I will leave you with some pictures of some products I have recently completed!

Cashmere "Fish in a Bag" Upcycled Longies

 

Alexander Henry's 'Apples and Pears' Hanging Kitchen Wetbag

 

 Merino Upcycled Owl Footies

 

Merino Dino Dudes Upcycled Shorties

 

Amy Butler's Love Series "Paradise" Hanging Kitchen Wetbag

Hyena Cart Stocking Feb 4! Upcycled Woolies and some clearance items!

Today is the first big stocking at A Lovely Start on Hyena Cart! I am very excited! It will be at 3:00 Hyena Time (EST) and there is a lot being stocked.  I have been working on more embellished longies and footies.  Oh how I love doing these!  Here are a few I have completed and will be on Hyena Cart today!

 

I also have a bunch of things in the Specials and Sales category.  I have been doing some cleaning in me sewing room and want to clear out some things as I get ready for my spring sewing!  Take a peek to see if there are any great deals you don't want to miss! Here are a couple things you will find in the sale.

Win a wetbag!

Congrats to Lindsie for winning this cute wetbag!

It is time for a little giveaway to thank everyone for their support!

We are giving away a small "Pirate's Life" wetbag  measuring 9.75" x 12" by random draw on Sunday June 13th.


How to enter:
1)Become a fan on my Facebook page and comment where instructed.
2)Leave a review on my Facebook page if you have purchased or used an A Lovely Start item!
3)Leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite item is that you have seen on my site.
4)Leave a comment on my "Customer Feedback" post with a review of a product you have purchased or used.

Good Luck!

A few Wetbags and Pail Liners...

Wetbags and pail liners are a great way to 'handle' your soiled diapers without actually 'handling' them! Pail liners can be placed inside nearly any type of bucket, garbage can or diaper pail to make a great "dry pail" storage system. When baby is changed, simply dump any solids in the toilet then toss the entire diaper in the liner. On laundry day, take the entire liner to the washing machine, dump the diapers and then toss in the bag. Easy Peasy! Be sure to have a second liner on hand for when one is in the wash!

Wetbags are a must have when cloth diapering or for anyone with a baby or toddler. Simply put your soiled diaper in the wetbag and toss it back in your diaper bag. The PUL and zippered top keep moisture and smell contained until you can get home. Unzip the bag and toss the entire thing in the diaper pail or washing machine. A small bag is handy to keep one diaper and a couple wipes in for emergencies - keep one in the diaper bag, one in the car and one at Grandma's! Larger bags are great for daycare or longer outings. And they are awesome to have handy to toss soiled outfits, training pants, bibs and washcloths in when unexpected accidents happen on the go! Don't forget to take them with you to the pool for that wet swimsuit as well!

Two-Handle Hanging Diaper Pails and a wetbag...

This custom order consists of 2 two-handle hanging diaper pails and a matching large wetbag.  I think these are going to be baby gifts for a couple lucky mamas!

These diaper pails are fantastic!  They save on space - hang them from a change table in the nursery or a towel bar in the bathroom.  The inner waterproof PUL layer is sewn completely separate from the outer decorative cotton layer layer to prevent moisture wicking out of the bag.  The two-handle design keeps them hanging neatly and puts less stress on the fabric for a long life.

Here is the entire order together.  I think this is the only picture you can really see the handles.  they are a pretty chocolate brown, but I had trouble getting them to show up in the dark background in the other photos.

Front view of a two-handle hanging diaper pail.

Side view of a two-handle hanging diaper pail to show the gusset (flat bottom).

Large basic wetbag with loop handle.

A Lovely Trade!

I think I have mentioned before, I love to do trades with other mamas. I had the privilege to work with a wonderful knitting mama over the past couple months as we both completed some wonderful items. I absolutely can not wait to get my hands on the adorable knit woolies she has created for me. Here are the items I made for her.

Here is a large wetbag with a snapping handle and a matching small wetbag. These are done in Michael Miller's "Rustic Guitars" print. I love this adorable print!
This is the very last of my Butterfly Frenzy print made into a medium wetbag. It comes complete with a pocket full of soft bamboo wipe-ups!
Two of my round two Quick Dry fitteds in a very cute multicolored owls print. These diapers have a cotton outer, squishy soft bamboo velour inner, a hidden layers of bamboo fleece and bamboo fleece soakers topped with velour. These two feature snaps with engraved owls.
And last but not least, my "surprise soaker". I so hope you like it, Mama! This medium soaker is made with the softest cashmere wool I have ever felt. The embellishments on the back hold a very special meaning for me. The mama's embracing arms are full of openness and love as the tiny baby grows in her heart.

Lady Bug Gift Sets...

A while back I made an Itty Bitty Pocket Diaper that was red with black snaps and my son named it "Lady Bug". I fell in love with that diaper and received many compliments about it. Several months later, I found this adorable red, white and black fabric that I knew needed to become friends with "Lady Bug"! (and the many offsping I have been creating all also named "Lady Bug"!) So I created a couple gift sets for friends that were expecting. The set below is "Lady Bug" with a pillow topped change pad and wetbag. "Lady Bug" also took along a wetbag and went to live with a very sweet mama and her Christmas Eve Blessing! My only regret, I didn't buy more of this fabric! I only have enough left for about two more sets.

Newborn Diapering...

First and foremost:
MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The past month or so has been busy with Christmas prep, family craziness, and trying to get some orders finished up as well. Now that my sweet hubby has revived our computer network and I can once again access my pictures and such, I will try to catch up on posts of all the new things I have been working on around here!

I finally completed an order for a wonderful (and patient) mama who is due with her 4th baby on the 8th of January. She has cloth diapered two of her children but this is the first baby she is planning to diaper right from newborn! Yay! She is keeping baby's gender a surprise, so we did up a dozen Newborn/Small pocket diapers. These diapers should fit approximately 6 - 15 lbs.

This set of one dozen pocket diapers is complete with a dozen zorb/bamboo inserts, 4 terry towel tri-folds that can be used as either insert doublers or large wipes, 4 two-layer microfiber doubler inserts, half a dozen fleece liners and one dozen bamboo velour/bamboo terry wipe-ups. (I forgot to take pictures of all the extras, oops!)
We also made a medium sized two-handle hanging diaper pail with matching change pad for her main floor bathroom.
And one more change pad. Both pads are constructed from an attractive cotton print outer, hidden waterproof PUL, hidden flannel for a little extra softness and absorbency, then topped with soft and cozy molten fleece.

A gift for a new little baby...

This "Chocolate Lime Gift Set" is done in beautiful shades of greens and browns. It includes a large wetbag, a wipes bag, 4 matching wipes, a waterproof change pad and two NB/Small pocket diapers with inserts.
Also included in this gift set is a large two handle hanging diaper pail.

This week's labours...

This week we returned from a beautiful weekend camping and prepared for a wonderfully fun 3rd birthday party for my sweet Tool Boy. But I did manage to squeeze in a few orders.

First up are 8 Bum Genius All-In-Ones and 1 Bum Genius One Size that were in need of a little TLC. Their tired velcro was replaced with some great snaps! I had lots if fun putting together some cute snap color combonations on these diapers.
This is an All Day size wetbag and zippered wipes pouch created for a sweet mama for daycare use.

I created a couple sets of tester inserts for G-diapers. These 3 inserts each have a different combination: Microfleece/microfiber/hemp, Microfleece/Zorb/hemp, bamboo fleece/bamboo fleece/bamboo velour.
I also started to create a wool-in-one for my little girl to use for nighttime. I used a nice thick sweater for the outer layer and a soft thinner merino wool sweater for the inner layer to combine for a bullet proof night solution. The only problem is, Tool Boy got ahold of it before I could finish it up and decided that it shoud be his. So the snap-in bamboo insert has been left out and it is now a wool snap wrap for my son. I will have to find a pick sweater to make one for Little Miss as Tool Boy will not let pink near him!

Chocolate Fantasy Wetbag

I have been working on some things for a really sweet mama and her adorable little girl. Here are the first couple items I have ready.

Medium size basic wetbag in pink and brown Chocolate Fantasy print!
Medium spring green shorties with a creamy colored waistband.

Baby Gift Set...

I was asked to come up with a gift set for a cloth diapering mama. I enjoyed this project as I would have loved some cloth diaper friendly gifts when my second baby came around. I stuck to fun and funky earthy colors as the gender of baby is a surprise.
This set consists of 1 small basic wetbag, 1 change pad - cotton backed and bamboo topped with hidden layer of PUL, 1 small side snapping pocket diaper with a 4 layer bamboo insert, and 3 small bamboo terry/bamboo velour wipe-ups. This gift set could easily be switched up for a non-cloth using mama as well. Switch the wipe-ups and diaper out for a bib and burp cloth. I think a wetbag would be loved by both cloth and non-cloth mamas. Soiled clothing, messy burp cloths and dirty bibs can really muck up a diaper bag!

Custom Wetbags and Pail liners...

This week has been Wetbag Week! I have several custom orders on the go and I fell into a groove making the wetbag portion of my customs.

This bag is a solution for daycare and g-diapers. This mama wanted to be able to keep the insert separate from the cover in a clear way for her child's caregivers to use. So we came up with this Double Wet/Wet bag. This bag features two sides that snap together at the top. Both sides are lined with PUL and have zipper closures. The zippers are done in different colors with a label attached to the zipper pull to give a clear visual of what is to go in each side.
Next up is a Grab n' Go Wet/Dry bag. I had two orders for this identical bag, so here they are together. One side is lined with PUL and has a zipper closure while the other side has cotton lining and snap closure. Each of these bags comes with a little snap closure pouch for an extra snappi, pins paci, or any other small item that often gets lost at the bottom of the bag!
This is a basic medium wetbag in Michael Miller's "Lotus" print.
And last up are three pail liners. The ocean colored one is taken of the inside showing the cotton patch for adding TTO or lavender oil to mask any unwanted smells. The pail liners go in the pail with the shiny PUL side out.
Ocean
ChocolateBurgundy