Shop Talk

Here are pics of Nikki's first, completely made by her, reversible headband. It turned out very well. After several tries at different sizes and elastics, she and I like this the best for comfort and style.

This weekend I'll be at the Peddlar show in Cedar Park where I'll be sharing space with Mama D's. (There's more to the story of cooperation with Mama D's. Will post about it later.) I'll be selling some of these cute headbands. I'm excited to see what reaction I get!! And, of course, I'll have dresses and skirts for sale.

Click on link above for info and directions to Cedar Park Center. Show is open Friday, July 23 3-8pm, Sat 9-6, and Sun 11-4. Pick up your free pass on the Peddler website.

See you this weekend!!!

Family Fun

It was family week at my house last week. Yeah!!! The youngest son with his wife made the loong drive from Bloomington, Indiana to spend time with us. My daughter and her 3 children came from Houston for 2, too short, days. And the group from Georgeown spent lots of time at our house blowing bubbles (see previous post) and romping on the water slide. With so much family around (we missed you, Joey.) we got to celebrate 2 July birthdays and an anniversary.
Below is part of the gang at the birthday dinner. What great fun it was to decorate old time style with lots of crepe paper and balloons.

Here is birthday boy Hudson. 5 years old. He thought the decorations were marvelous. Thank you, Papap and Uncle Ty. Remember how exciting birthdays were when you were 5!!!

Below Allyson also celebrated both a birthday and the 3rd anniversary married to Ty. She was such a good sport about sharing all the excitement with Hudson. She and Ty did get a grownup day in Austin with shopping and a meal for two.

I don't know about other families, but it seems that when we are together my family spends most of their time planning what to cook, cooking or eating what we've cooked. This means numerous trips to the grocery store. (The local HEB must show a huge increase in sales. I imagine the executives crowded around the revenue charts saying, "Ah yes, we see by the jump in sales, the Skrosses must be having another family gathering.)

And then a lot of time spent cleaning the kitchen. It's the neverending job. Below Ty and Allyson try to make some order out of the chaos.

We all had a great time! I can never get enough of being with all of them - children and grandchildren. They are all awesome!!!

New Design

Trying to learn how to create a collage for my header. This is my first try. Not bad, but I need to get dandelions out of the way. And probably try a new color for words.

Thanks to all you facebook fellow flyers who posted in the basic tips section. On your advice I used picnik which was fairly easy for the computer challenged me!

I'm going to be tweaking over the next week. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Have a great weekend!!!

Bubble Fun

Remember blowing bubblies with a simple plastic wand? Summer fun!!

Concentration brings the colorful results.

Here Jack and Ryann are learning that slow and steady makes the best bubbles.

Bubbles...one of summer's simple pleasures. (Aren't they something wonderful to see? The kids, I mean.)

Yesterday while I was working at The Exchange I had 2 dresses shoplifted. How sad!! And a bit angering!! Why does someone think it is okay to take, without paying, goods from a store? Now, we're not talking necessities here. You can get a lot of cute kids clothes at The Exchange for very little cost. Even though they are second-hand, the clothes are in excellent condition. If they needed clothes, there were ones to be had for $5 or $6.

So I can only assume that someone really liked the Annarella Girl dresses but didn't think they had to pay what everyone else does. I try very hard to keep my prices reasonable while keeping the quality of the workmanship very high. But I know they are not cheap. They don't look cheap, they don't wear cheap. I'm asking a fair price for my garments. I'm sorry that someone felt it was okay not to pay me for my ideas and craft. To steal from me.

Although I wish I were not, I am angry and hurt. I can't afford losses like this. Right now every cent I make is going right back into the business as I'm trying to take it to the next level. I left the store feeling very discouraged and asking myself whether it was worth the risk of theft to keep them on display. Working by one's self, for one's self tends to lead to feelings of vulnerability. Incidences when someone does not value your work heaps more vulnerability on top. I hope that the thief doesn't steal from anybody else. I wish the thief would realize how it effects the victim.

I don't have bad feelings for the stolen dress recipient. When the little girl who receives the stolen dress wears it, I hope she loves it. I hope it makes her feel pretty. For if a person feels pretty inside, I don't think they will commit such an ugly act as theft and hurt someone. So fly, little girl, in your Annarella Girl dress as you should.

Is Summer Over Yet?

In the workroom, summer is moving into fall. Can you believe it? Slowly (and I emphasis that word since I have many distractions) I'm developing the dresses and skirts for fall and winter.

Mrs. Cie of Fonda Photography and mother of this sweet Annarella Girl inquired this AM what fall dresses I was working on. So I decided you all needed an update. So I'm posting some pics of the samples I've got so far. A few, as noted, are in my etsy shop. and available now. Some are still experimental. Thanks, Mrs Cie for the interest. Check out her beautiful photography by clicking on link.



I love this yellow fabric with the black and red birds. Have you noticed how birds are everywhere in prints? I think it makes a great apron dress. I haven't decided how else I'll use it. And wait until you see a cool owl on black fabric I haven't used yet.


Pink is always popular all year long. Love it with brown. Another dress which spans the seasons well. I'll be posting this on my etsy shop shortly. Its a size 6-12 mos.

Black, green with splashes of pinks. (This is already posted in my etsy shop.) Gorgeous! I love mixing black into the smaller sizes. Its a sophisticated color which plays well with toddlers and is a welcome break from the pastels. You could use soooo many colors, pink, black, white, green, for shirts or leggings to wear with this come cool weather. (Yes, someday it will come.)

Last for today, just a teaser of this dress. Black, beige and red. Will look great for the holidays, but not so specific that your girl wouldn't love wearing it all year long. Shown in a size 7.

I hope you've enjoyed this preview. Seems like the fall/winter line is going slow, but I'm still working on summer to fill out the inventory which is selling. Plus my lovely assistants are learning and in next couple of weeks will be up to speed.

While you're looking at lovely photos, see what Sarah Havard is upto. Remember she took my publicity shots. Her logo is in my header and there is a link in the sidebar under favorite artists.

Have a great day. We're expecting rain. Good for the garden, but bad for the drivers. Be safe.

Noisy, colorful, lively

Found this wondeful quote on the blog of the Vintage Flea. No suprise it spoke to my Annarella Girl side.

"If you're quiet, you're not living. You've got to be noisy and colorful and lively." Mel Brooks

My "girls" are athletic, giggly and curious, certainly not sedate. They love jumping on a trampoline, turning cartwheels and chasing fire flies. These are my muses - who I design for. Love the picture atop my blog where they're walking (almost skipping) down the street sharing secrets and laughter.

And two sisters dancing on the sofa. It makes me smile.

When we no longer could climb trees or dance on the sofa, what did we grow up to be? Lively!!!