etsy!

get over to etsy friends...i have been a sewin' this weekend :) one already sold! wahoooo!!!

www.chelsburleson.etsy.com

loves!

(would write more, because i am in a talkative mood, but this girl has gotta get ready for church!)

i adore writing checks

hey!

long time no blog :) but since my dog woke me up this morning an hour before my alarm was going to go off, i thought, "now would be the perfect time to blog!?!" ha...

the picture above is from the bear creek united methodist church craft show. my sweet friend lizzy flew into houston to join in the fun. and it really was so much fun! we talked to so many women about aprons, attitudes & attire, and how they can join in the mission. after the bazaar, i wrote attitudes & attire their check for 20% of proceeds and it was an AMAZING feeling to sign that check. makes me want to sell these remaining aprons so that i can write them another check!! i just adore writing checks, it's my forte. ha!

so, spread the word, especially with christmas gift ideas on everyone's minds...i have 12 left on etsy and they really need to go before i do any more creating! i do have a ton of fabrics, so if you want something special, shoot me an email: chelsburleson@gmail.com . please help me in raising more money for this great organization that empowers and equips women. :)

wow, my intention wasn't to make this a sales ad but that's just where my brain goes i guess. hehe. i will post a couple apron pics later that i made for two girlfriends from high school! super cute aprons... it's so great being back in touch with old friends...love it. 

bcumc bazaar

soooo (must twirl hair and say it like kristin wiig on snl), i think my mom and i have decided that i am getting a booth at our church bazaar (in houston) and selling my aprons!!!! i'm a tad worried they won't sell...i mean, i like them, and my friends seem to like them, but...will random strangers wandering around at a church bazaar like them? i hope so :)

my plan: fulfill the orders that i have so far, and then start on a collection for the bazaar in october. that SEAMS far away, but it's not in apron world. lol...please keep me in your prayers as i prepare for this. i know it will be fun. and hopefully will raise some money/awareness for attitudes & attire.

a sneak peak and sara's debut...

sneak peek of estelle...

see any buttons on there? it's like where's waldo...

the sara, baby apron

http://www.chelsburleson.etsy.com/

***

i'm all about doing custom orders, so convo me on etsy or leave a comment on my blog and let me know what you're thinking...

meet florence

i heart florence...a lot. i made this one last night...constructed from a hand towel and some adorable seer sucker fabric. the colors are a rust red, cream, gray, and light yellow...i'm still amazed that both pieces of fabric look like they were made to go together! exact same colors!

a little gather with a gray button...so you can see the birdie of course!
pretty waistband


a tad blurry, sorry...i loved this yellow ribbon, however, it is not long enough to tie in a bow. a square knot looks super cute though!

*********

florence is for sale for $25 and remember, 20% will go to Attitudes & Attire!! i have a few people with orders for a half apron, and if you like this one, then let me know! i have enough fabric to make 2 more. if i don't hear back, florence is going to be my first etsy item! either way, i want someone to be able to wear this gal!

unfinished projects, my specialty!

first of all, i am in love with my new blog design!! thank you jennifer!! it is exactly what i had imagined for this apron journey that has taken over my life...in a good way of course!

news flash: i'm sewing and selling aprons :) ha. some of you are laughing and thinking "that chelsea, she just can't sit still!" and you're right! i cannot. and thus the reason for this whole idea and new obsession. whatever items i make and sell, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to attitudes & attire (tm), the awesome non-profit org helping women become self-sufficient. on saturday i was able to meet about 15 women who now have jobs and are on the right track because of attitudes & attire...it was a purely amazing, god-filled day.

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toddler apron, not finished. made from a terry cloth hand towel. the bottom is tucked under to make a large pocket- cute. and i think i'm going to make a flower under the rick rack out of buttons...i have buttons galore!

this is my fav so far, and it's not finished either, almost, but not quite...ha...that seems to be my pattern here. no pun intended, lol.

a work in progress...this is a dish towel i found at an antique store. i'm putting pleats in the middle and then will put the perfect ribbon as the belted tie...i have yet to find that ribbon.

sweet baby aprons (bibs) for my niece Lauren and her little sis Emily (who is not even born yet! i love her already!) ok, now these are complete! hallelujah!

post addison circle's july newsletter

attitudes & attire article (click to make larger)

oh who's that sweet pet of the month?? why, it's coco!

keep 'em coming

pretty rad update:

i received SEVEN more women's business suits, 2 blazers, and 4 nice blouses...

i thought i was done with the suit collecting thing but God has other plans it seems :)

so, if you never had time to clean out your closets or sift through older/not-fitting-anymore kind of clothes, looks like you still have time :)

( www.attitudesandattire.org )

praises to him...

Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. --Psalm 143:8

4 more days...

http://www.attitudesandattire.org/ has our sweet, littly flyer up on their website :)

check it out and spread the word.

peace!

lots of thoughts in my head

-just picked up 100 coupons from Astoria!!!! free glass of wine with purchase of food. sweetness.
-Zen and Antonio's will also be supplying coupons to us.
-minutes ago i got an email from greenz saying they have 75 coupons for us...hallelujah!
-the flyer is complete (well, almost, we're lacking one sponsor's logo)
- darcy is a flyer making rockstar
-katie is a dear for dealing with my multiple emails/text messages ALL day :)
-these tiny kids on dancing with the stars are incredible. lol...have you seen the way they move their tiny hips?
-oh back on track...does anyone know how long helium balloons float? really, that is relevant. if we got balloons filled friday night, would they still float on saturday for the duration of the drive (until 2pm)?
-is apple really coming out with a new iphone next month?
-oh yes, suit drive, suit drive, suit drive. kidding. we're doing good, we have lots of things in place and ready to go. i finally feel like i can breathe because it's really happening and so many people are helping to make it happen. when it started it seemed so big and such a difficult thing to pull off. however, family and friends along the way have offered their services, knowledge, time, even finances to make this thing be as big and as awesome as possible. you have no idea how great my heart feels as friends and family step up. you all know how important this drive is for me and so you make it important to you too. that's just greatness, people. i love each and every one of you.

after saying how warm and fuzzy my heart is (lol), i also need to ask you for a prayer request. my friends jason and crystal elwell have an uncle named Son. He has down-sydrome and has amazingly lived 62 awesome years...he is in the hospital right now with pneumonia and tomorrow the drs will be taking out all of his tubes- feeding, breathing, etc. Crystal called tonight and said he's already having a very hard time breathing with his tube, so tomorrow is going to be tough. for Son, for his loving family, and for all the people who have been blessed by knowing this really great man. i'm kind of typing like he's already passed away, and he hasn't. crystal just said that the drs said there's nothing more they can do, so the time has probably come. living until 62 with down-syndrome is an amazing thing anyways.

wow, i don't want to end on that note, but i'm going to...our god is faithful, true, loving, and kind...he has blessed us all in so many ways. reflect on that. sweet dreams ;)

updates

so today after work, katie and i walked to a few restaurants in addison circle and asked if they'd like to help out with the suit drive. we were thinking that if they could offer a coupon or discount to the people who donate clothes then that would be even more incentive for people to be a part of this drive. plus they would get more people to visit their restaurants as well as their logo on our flyer...i think that is a fair deal!

*Zen said "absolutely!" the owner's mom should be calling me soon ;)
*Astoria, Antonio's, Greenz, and Avanti's all said probably, they'd have to check and then get back to us.
*and Addison Circle Cleaners is donating hangers and possibly rolling racks.

it was a GOOD day!!

and on top of that, i talked with the town of Addison yesterday. i just wanted to make sure that we could use that parking lot next to my building. the past couple days it has been barricaded off, so i thought, "hmmm i'd better check!" i talked to a very nice man Rob who talked with the Addison police who said "sure!" well that was just too easy. thanks Rob!

one more day gone by and many more goals accomplished...that's how i like it.

one day only and that would be TOMORROW!

be my spark

so tonight katie, maggie, and i got together and nailed down some details. as far as getting the word out, we came down to a general consensus...

it only takes a spark to get a fire going, and soon all those around will warm up in it's glowing....

be the spark and spread the word about the "suit drive"...

JUNE 14TH, 10 AM-2 PM

WOMEN'S BUSINESS CLOTHES (interview-ready...aka clean, pressed, and on a hanger)
ACCESSORIES/SCARVES/HANDBAGS
PANTY-HOSE (must be brand new, no used ones please :) )

***i tell you this 6 weeks in advance bc you will need time to take a good, long look at your clothes, possibly get them to the cleaners or iron them, hang them, and tell everyone you know to do the same***

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10

thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!
so, what i'm trying to say is....thank you.

bueller?

put on your thinking caps peeps...we are in need of:

• extra hangers (clothes are required to be on hangers, but i anticipate that not all clothes will be on them when they're dropped off)
• large, plastic bins- quantity 5
• signs
• we need a large banner with the name of the event on it
• smaller signs to point people to our location (anyone in the sign business?) :)
• paper to print flyers...something thick and sturdy

anyone? anyone? bueller?

*and the date is now leaning towards june 14th*

the suit drive is on!!

ok, so some brainstorming has gone on, and this suit drive is on!! the date will either be May 31st or June 21st...i would like to do the May date, but i also don't want to rush it. i want to make sure that it's planned well and ready to go with ample time to advertise. the awesome thing is that i talked to my apt complex and they want to help put it on. SWEETNESS!

so here are some ideas/thoughts:
*location: esplanade park in addison circle (area where jazz concerts are held in the summer)
*time: 10 am- 3 pm (is that a good time...wanted to give people to have time to see signs and go home and get stuff)
*need signs in the area, directing people to the park; also a large sign for the location
*music? what do i do about that?
*need rolling clothing racks bc clothes have to be on hangers (ask adidas and vanity fair, both are located in the building i work in)
*extra hangers??
*bins to collect nice accessories, scarves, handbags (also a bin for non-interview items that people bring)
*make flyer...errr....get darce to make the flyer :)
*what about asking local restaurants (avanti, pastazios, astoria cafe, greenz) to offer some kind of discount/coupon to people who donate? think they would??
*need volunteers to help at the drive- accept clothes, sort them, help take them to WTC in dallas (guys, this is where you'd be of great help!)
*becca with attitudes and attire is emailing me a receipt (to duplicate) to give people to use for tax write-off

*advertising ideas:
-flyers at work places of volunteers or...anyone who wants to help advertise
-see if IBC's women's ministry can help advertise...or maybe just email lots of women
-put small flyer in showcase boxes on 1st floor of each building here at post apts
-get flyer printed in post's newsletter
-darcy is making a banner for people to use on their myspace/facebook- yay for that!
-hand out flyers to businesses in the area

whew...i'm beat. are there any doable ideas in there? any suggs? please help friends!!

for more info... ATTITUDES AND ATTIRE

:) loves!!!

Attitudes and Attire

ok ladies, it's GO TIME. this org "attitudes and attire" has been weighing on my heart for well over a year. and every time it would pop into my head, i doubted myself. but you know what? we really can do this.

go to the website- www.attitudesandattire.org and let's organize a suit drive. we all have plenty of nice clothes that either don't fit well, are "out of season" or we just don't want them anymore. but we can give them to the Attitudes and Attire boutique and allow low income women a chance to wear a nice suit for an interview. we can give them that first boost of self-esteem, the boost that comes with feeling good and confident about yourself. the org also has workshops, image consulting, and job training which includes positive self-image, appropriate workplace behavior and appearance (many volunteer opps there!!). it's a truly super organization for women. check out the website, read about it and the success stories, and then contact me and let's get this party started.