J Cooper Photography

We’re giving Pearl E. White a serious work-out at our house these past few weeks!

And there are still loose teeth in that noggin of hers!

Julie…that’s you! So throw me an email at info@takeabowcreations.com! I have some goodies for you! And for all you nosey folks wondering what kind of good stuff our friend Julie won…I’ll be sending her a 3 pack of my skinny mini yo-yo headbands…FUN STUFF!

And because I can’t resist and because I am completely infatuated with this little guy.

I missed him so much while I was at market. Sorry to all of you to whom I spoke incessantly (and shared a few too many pictures) of my little man. But he IS cute…and I’m his mama…so there.

Home from market…dead tired…but inspired beyond belief! It was an overwhelmingly amazing experience! I have “just a few” pictures to share If you make it through this post you will probably be as exhausted as I am!!

Me and Paula Prass on Friday night at the Meet and Greet (isn’t she adorable???)

Mary (Flourishes), Patty (Modkid), and Myrinda (Fabrichound) after the schoolhouse series.

Kathy Miller showcasing the dress I made for Paula Prass (gulp!)

Me and Mary (is that a song??)

Traci (Hip Fabric), Patty, and Myrinda

Me and Patty. Ask Patty about the dorky note I sent into her while she was preparing her booth. Being such a “groupie” I couldn’t wait to meet her in person…so I asked some poor unsuspecting woman to deliver a note to Patty while I lingered in the hallway!

Myrinda…love ya girl

The ever-beautiful Heather Bailey (and me totally star struck)

Sandi Hendersson in her FABULOUS booth…it was ridiculously yummy…I want to live there.

Chatting with Patty in her booth…it was OVER THE TOP CUTE!

A glimpse at her whole booth! It looked just like a living room…so comfy and warm!

Billboard photos in Paula’s booth. That sweet little girl is her grand daughter…notice anything else

Paula’s booth…TOTAL eye candy…GORGEOUS and FRESH! And look at the jacket she is wearing made by Mary. You NEED one! I’ll be ordering mine soon!

Paul and her beautiful daughter Jennifer. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting them in person. They are both so sweet, down to earth, and genuine. I consider it a huge privilege to have gotten to work with them both!

Paula’s sample outfits hung sweetly in her booth.

Me, Caroline (J Caroline Creative), and Traci

The most adorable collection of stuffies I have ever laid my eyes on (I think I bought every pattern they make!)…scroll on down for a picture of the sweet owners (Meli and Me).

The gang out to lunch!

Me and Anna Maria Horner….seriously my hero. Gorgeous new fabric lines, published her own book (YES I bought one and had it signed!), and pregnant with #6…need I say more?

In Jay McCarroll’s booth (Winner of Project Runway). I tried desperately to get him to agree to let me buy this shirt. He did agree it flattered me…but I couldn’t pry it away from his marketing manager (she gave me some story about needing it for future shows…whatever) Hoping Jay strays into designing some KNITS!

AMY BUTLER. SIGH. (please disregard my half closed eye which makes me look like I either smoked something behind the convention center or had a match with Muhammad Ali before visiting her booth. This is after all AMY BUTLER…and although I look ridiculous SHE does not…beautiful, sweet, genuine.)

Me and Chelsea (Pink Fig Patterns)…living out the dream of all of us mere ebayers!!

Me with my duds (Kathy Miller of Michael Miller fabrics looking on wondering why I am lame enough to actually pose with this dress in someone else’s booth!)

One more for posterity

The gals from Meli and Me. They are Australian and just a hoot! We had a great time discussing the proper term for diapers/pampers/nappies, etc. You MUST purchase a few of their patterns (which consequently are NOT for diapers but adorable stuffed animals).

Out to dinner (might I mention that poor P was the token male at this dinner…and responsible for the following pictures). From left to right: Myrinda, Me, Coree (Banberry Place), Traci, Mary, Jona (if you read this I need your website addy again…I seemed to have misplaced your business card!), Sheree (Sheree’s Alchemy)

One more of us all lined up!

That’s it! I had the privilege of meeting several other sweet gals (including Jona of Fabritopia) but for some reason never stopped to snap a picture.

I’m dreaming of how to procure my own booth at market some day. I have a few ideas up my sleeve…but for now…I can honestly say I thoroughly enjoyed cheering on my friends and basking in their success.

I’ll post the winner of the giveaway within a day or two (the laundry is calling)…I haven’t forgotten!!

So I promised a few more stripey pictures. IVYLANE is doing a fun STRIPES theme on ebay this week….I figured it was the perfect time for my little guy to make his ebay debut. So I am making a brief foray into boys boutique fashion. I say brief only because I may never do this again. The urge to sew tiny gingham flowers and ric rac to this outfit was almost overwhelming. Several times I made myself walk away from the table and clear my head…the need to adorn was so strong.

I feel rather proud of this little hoodie (please don’t tell me if it is fruity…since I’m doubtful I will attempt this again). Click HERE to see more cute pictures of my guy and view the auction.

Now for the FUN STUFF!

I have been working on making my ~take a bow~ business more concise…working on a website (still to come) and streamlining my business cards and logo. After several hours of design work, I gave up and called in the troops…aka Traci of Leeziebee. If you have never worked with her…she is phenomenal…you won’t be sorry!

LOTS to do here in the next 18 hours before I LEAVE FOR QUILT MARKET! I will have TONS to share when I return…but until then….let’s have a CONTEST?!?!?!

I am so excited for the chance to meet so many talented people in Houston! Make a comment on this post while I am gone and you will be entered to win a SURPRISE prize straight from my sewing studio (don’t worry…it will be something FUN and FUNKY!!) Just tell me who you would like to meet if you could meet anyone! The more people who post…the better the prize so pass the word and get posting!

Until next week,
Jenn

Loving fall at our house

It was picture day at J’s preschool this morning and little brothers got a session for free as well! I couldn’t resist dressing up sweet S in these fall-ish stripes (thanks Nance!) He was such a little ham for the photographer…sitting up in a little director’s chair and giving big gummy grins. When we got home I decided to try my luck at snapping a few more shots of him.

He’s growing so fast. At four months old he is over 16 lbs. and trying to move! He’s rolling all over the place and working on getting those chubby little knees under his belly so he can crawl. He’s still going strong on his special formula. We won’t try switching him again until 6 months as his Dr. said he failed miserably the last time we tried to switch (seems a bit harsh doesn’t it!) He’s finally enjoying his cereal and is all giggles, bubbles, and smiles. He has also discovered the joy of his little round toes and is forever pulling off his socks so he can get a better look! Now if we could just kick this fall cold…we might even get back to those wonderfully blissful long nights of sleep!

Stop back tomorrow for more stripey pictures of another kind!

That’s all I heard about this weekend. If you have spent any time at all with A you know that she talks non-stop (I have no idea where she got this trait?!?) And when she is excited about something (no matter how trivial) she will literally make your ears ring with her insistent and continual remarks. We took a quick trip to Nebraska this weekend and when Saturday afternoon donned sunny and beautiful we made an impromptu trip to the pumpkin patch. A has a thing for gourds. I don’t know if she is partial to their funny, bumpy skins, just likes their colorful, shiny bodies, or if she just associates gourds with autumnal fun. But whatever the case…we heard an earful (before the pumpkin patch, in the car, during the hayride, and even at home when the girls set up Gourd Tales on my parent’s living room rug). She’s played with little else since our trip. I’ve been finding these hanging from chairs and lamps in my house…listening to “Gary Gourd” talk to his gourd-ish friends, and answering the “which one is your favorite mom?” question repeatedly. Oh gourdy gourdy how I do love fall!!




And a couple of pics of the S man before church on Sunday. Who doesn’t love baby sweater vests and wing tips??


Happy fall to you!

This little one was so sweet and snuggly today. At just one week old he already has his mommy and daddy wrapped tightly around his little finger! It’s no surprise that he is gorgeous…his model-perfect mom and GQ dad definitely have great genes. There’s not much I enjoy more than newborn sessions…just wanted to share a few of my favorites!




Sweet dreams little one. You are so loved!

has made a visit to our house. A has a mouthful of loose teeth right now but there was one that was particularly dangly last night at dinner. So once we were finished eating I reached right over and plucked it right out of A’s mouth She signed her name on a little letter to Pearl and tucked that teeny tiny tooth into the pocket before bed. Overnight Pearl exchanged the tooth for a couple of packs of stickers (A had previously warned me that gifts are better than cash). There are at least 3 more loose teeth in that noggin of hers…maybe a jack-o-lantern for Halloween this year?

Yesterday we celebrated J’s 4th birthday with a super girly, princess pink, ballet dancer birthday party. The only prerequisite was that you had to come in lots of pink and dance til you were dizzy! We began planning several weeks ago and I was so excited to see our resident princess in action. But as the day drew on, I began to feel worse and worse…and just as the party was starting (and guests were arriving) I determined a trip to the ER was unavoidable. I was there the entire day…lovely. P held down the fort in princess-land and made sure all the little ballerinas had a superb time and that the birthday girl was thoroughly spoiled (he even snapped a few pictures in my absence). I had lofty ideas of beautiful pictures to share…but these will have to suffice. I think I’m pretty darn lucky P took any at all…between the cake serving, ballerina corralling, S bouncing, gift unwrapping, and cleaning! We will have a small celebration at home on Wed. for her real birthday. Hopefully I can redeem myself then!

Cupcakes fit for a queen (or ballerina!)

Party goodies

The birthday girl herself!

Taking her role pretty darn seriously…wouldn’t want to miss out on an extra wish!

Now to deal with the aftermath of the party and trips to the Dr. to figure out what is going on. Hopefully I will be back to my regular wordy self soon!

…after lots of sewing, emailing, and picture taking! I have finished the samples for Paula Prass.

J was sweet enough to model the sets for us (after a bit of a bribe) this morning. It was a bit too cool out to be wearing short sleeves but she braved the elements…hey…you gotta work for that Bathtime Cinderella Barbie!

She actually told me I was pretty fun this morning…we had lots of time to talk during the photo shoot. Funny how much she tells me when no one else is around. Things like “Daddy is the bestest…he makes yummy pancakes…but don’t worry mommy….you make good peanut butter sandwiches!”…and…”wow…I’m hungry…being cute is lots of work” (I think that might be a good life lesson?)

Anyways…here are the sets! I did a mini-wardrobe…lots of mix and match potential!






And finally…the fun headbands I made for Patty for market! She will be debuting her gorgeous new line called “Andalucia“…It is scrumptious!

Now to see to my poor neglected house!