Happy New Year!

Okay, okay, so I've officially added "be a better blogger" to my list of New Year's resolutions. December was such a blur but I say that with sincere gratitude for all of my wonderful customers and supporters of BellaBlu designs. The exposure from the Bark Magazine gift guide combined with the holiday rush (not to mention my 'real job' and the typical holiday stress of shopping and traveling) left me with little time to think... or write. But as I reflect back I am so thankful for the success of my business and all of the wonderful people I've met and the opportunities that presented themselves in 2008. I am very excited for another year and I look forward for all that lies ahead.

We returned from Atlanta last weekend and I am happy to report that I have done little to nothing for the past few days. It feels wonderful! We got a new t.v. and a Wii so Andy has been pretty busy perfecting his inner guitar hero. I've been working on some new items for the Etsy shop and have decided to revamp a few of my listings for ease of ordering. Notably, I'll be moving all totes and many other sewn creations to a "You pick the fabrics" set-up. i.e., you will have the option to pick the fabric for the appliqué and in the case of the tote bags, the color of the bag handles, as well. I'll also be adding a few more breeds like the mini schnauzer and the chihuahua.


I'm off again tomorrow and plan to work on some new designs and updates to the shop. I'm all caught up on orders and hope to see a few movies before the weekend is over, as well. Hope everyone had a fabulous (and safe) New Year's Eve... we were sound asleep by 11:30 so missed all of the hoopla.

Team Griffin

Last night Alison and I went to see Kathy Griffin and she was hee-lare-ious. We had such a blast. We went to Romeo's on Barton Springs for dinner first and then it was off to the new Long Center for the show. The Long Center is amazing... super accessible for parking & we were able to quickly navigate the crowd and make our way to our seats in the way, way, way upper balcony (last row). From where we were seated Kathy looked like little more than a red-headed spec on stage but she delivered some seriously large laughs. I wish we would have been able to see her better because I am sure she had some insane facial gestures to illustrate her jokes.


I was so exhausted when I got home last night that I went straight to bed. This of course meant I had to rise bright and early to get my work done and all orders into the mail by 5. I am pleased to report that I got everything out the door by 4 and cranked out a new tote bag:


I posted earlier this week about my new shabby chic floral onesie and I love the design so much, I decided to turn it into a tote. I ordered this new tote with light blue handles and the blue is so much more gorgeous than it looked in the online photos. It's almost more of a minty blue and it matches perfectly the aqua fabric I've cut for the center of the flowers. I used buttons on the tote and I think they're a nice little addition to the design. The only problem with this floral motif is that it takes FOREVER to assemble and sew. There's so much layering and I'm still perfecting my straight stitch on all of the little curves. It's just so cute that I keep thinking of other things I can create with the appliquéd flowers. Stay tuned!