Sparkle Running Skirts

So a little less than a year ago I had some friends who are runners tag me on facebook on a link from Pinterest. It was a DIY sparkle running skirt. I decided to give it a go! Now while the tutorial itself was great, there were a few details missing that gave my first finished skirt a not-so-professionally-made look.

Back to the drawing board on this one. After some examination and pulling from my knowledge on fabric and the way it falls and what it does once it's cut a certain way, I determined that it was such an easy fix. Two orders later and I came out with some skirts that looked great.

I honestly love making these skirts and hearing about the costumes that they are going to accent. Not being a runner myself, I can only imagine how fun these events are to dress up for.

As mentioned on my facebook page, here is your chance to win a custom made running skirt made like the ones pictured above!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hair Bows

My sister-in-law, Jamie, has been making hair bows for her daughter for as long as I can remember. I always love seeing her creations and at the same time wished I had a girl so I could do the same. Two boys later, making hair bows seems illogical.

 Around the time I started my etsy shop, we stopped by to visit Jake's brother and Jamie. She had all of her ribbon materials laid out and was making hair bows to sell at her mom's work. I asked if I could help and that is when I learned  how to make hair bows. Here are the pictures of the first two hair bows I ever made. The best part was that they sold!!

Since then I have been trying to figure out how to stock for bow making. She had gathered so many ribbons over the years that the sky was the limit for bow designs. After months of trying to figure out how to get started I finally just jumped in and bought some ribbon...and then left the material unopened as I worked on other projects...oops.

 Not long after that I was at Michaels and saw some great Halloween ribbons. I sat there and matched ribbon for a while and was happy when I walked out the store. This time I actually made the bows fairly close to when I bought the ribbon. Here are the results of that shopping trip.

My favorite happens to be the Purple Halloween bow and I thought that may be the one everyone likes most, as well. But the Trick-or-Treat bow became the clear favorite within a short amount of time.

 Not long after, I bought more ribbon and donated some bows to the Antelope Valley Church of Christ's Women's Day raffle. I didn't think they went over well, especially since there were some great items being raffled off. But soon after the event I had many women come up to me and tell me how much they liked the bows. I even had some come up and order some from me. It really was such a great encouragement. And out of the bows I had made so far, these happened to be my favorite.

 As with anything, the more I make, the better they get. I really am grateful for having been taught how to make hair bows and I feel it gives Becca's Back to Basics some variety and personality. It also gives me hope that I can learn other crafts that people will like. Fortunately, I have been given the opportunity to pay it forward and will be teaching someone soon how to make hair bows!

Thank-you to all those who have bought bows from me, to those who have showed interest in my products, and for those who have given me such great encouraging words.

Background on Becca and Back to Basics

Hi everyone. My name is Becca Farley. First and foremost I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I am a wife. I am a mom. I am a homemaker. My husband and I enjoy our marriage with it's ups and downs. We have two very different boys who fill our home with personality. We hope to expand our family and we are wanting a girl but adding another boy to this testosterone filled home would be amazing.

I am a dreamer. Since I was girl I have set my sights on different dreams and my dreams change as I change. I have wanted to be a novelist, a famous reporter, a photographer for the National Geographic, a Michelin Star chef, a teacher, a Peace Corps volunteer, and a seamstress.

With dreams like these it may seem odd to some that I am a homemaker. I know there was once a stigma associated with homemaking. One of the fears that I had when I considered becoming a homemaker was that my dreams would be put on the back burner but now I see homemaking as an adventure set before me where each of my dreams have poetic license to grow and fill my needs. I am the reporter giving updates about my family to others, my boys are wild and photographing them is just as wild, I get to create and perfect meals in my kitchen everyday, I certainly teach, I have the freedom to bring peace to others, and I think it is no secret that I sew.

I became serious about sewing while I was pregnant with my second son. I thought building a small business where I could sell my crafts would give me direction by working with customers and  support resources. But I think it has the potential to be so much more. I have vision for Becca's Back to Basics where I can celebrate all the parts of me that create this special home and network with other homemakers that pour their hearts and dreams into making their home special as well. At its core, Becca's Back to Basics is the business of making a home for my family.