Author: Katy

Sean Traditional Baby Boy Christening Gown

Our newest baby boy christening gown design will pull you back into a time of cobblestone streets and quaint French villas. Made with 100% broadcloth cotton this heirloom gown has a summer breeze feel, with a crisp smooth finish that even grandma will approve of. Additionally, the Sean bodice features generous pintucks that are enhanced with decorative cotton-covered buttons. It then is made complete with a classic pointed-collar; offering your little mister a masculine touch that dad will appreciate. Also, double-layered two inch waist-band introduces a 32-33” traditional length skirt. Finally, incorporated into this length is entredeux (French term meaning “between two”) trim. This deluxe trim is used on each sleeve cuff, as well as above our diamond cross-stitched hem for an old-world feel.

Christening & Personalization

Heirloom-style open backed design allows for dressing ease, while a cotton slip adds a secure underlayer. Not only does our soft cotton slip add a plush extra layer, it can also be personalized. Embroider baby’s full name and date to commemorate the special day. Or if you prefer something more customary, we offer time-honored 3-letter monogramming. Your little man’s initials can be done in a circle, diamond, flourish, geometric, scroll, or simple font for an eye-catching appeal.

Personalization is placed on the slip, making it easy to add more as your family grows.

To make this christening, baptism, or blessing gown the “cream of the crop” we’ve added a sweet visor hat that features more diamond cross-stitching. In addition to cotton-covered buttons at the sides, this infant visor hat caters to your baby’s natural charm.

Matching Shoes

Even with all of this, we could not stop there; this adorable infant boys christening gown needed matching shoes. These fully-lined shoes give wiggle room for tiny toes, all the while wrapping them in ultimate comfort. A cotton-covered button fastened to the outside of the shoe secures a diamond cross-stitched strap. This simple design is the perfect finishing touch for our Sean gown.

Christening Gown Margaret, Baptism Dress, Christen

All the intricacies of the Margaret Christening Gown…

This 100% cotton broadcloth christening gown has countless details. Each one has been refined and passed down through the ages! Pin-tucking has always had a place on the clothing of histories elite. The Margaret skirt panel pintucks are no exception, giving this baby girl christening gown an overall vintage charm. Also, a generous ruffle hem, ruffle bonnet, and dainty puff sleeves offer a simple splendor. Vintage Battenberg lace decorates the bodice and sleeve cuffs. In addition, this same lace is featured on the heirloom-length skirt providing perfect symmetry. Also, cotton covered buttons drape down the back, allowing for effortless dressing. Queen Victoria prompted the creation of this lace in the late 1800’s after dubbing her son-in-law Duke of Battenburg. Batten lace has been at the root of Victorian design ever since.

More Details…

Also, a one inch satin-ribbon sash offers a custom fit. Intricate lace insertions on the skirt paneling add a delicate touch. Such a gorgeous baby gown is not for christenings alone. It also makes for an ideal baptism dress, blessing gown, baby photo shoot, wedding, or any other special occasion. Finally, our included Regal Length Slip offers extra layer luxury and subtle volume.

Our Margaret Christening Gown is a One Small Child exclusive and cannot be found anywhere else. Plus, try our 3-letter monogram or shamrock embroidery to transform exclusive into “one-of-a-kind”. Personalization is added to the skirt’s center panel with your choice of colored thread. Choose between classic silver, royal gold, Irish green, or baby-soft pink. Each gown is handcrafted by highly experienced seamstresses, ensuring every effort is made for lasting resilience and impeccable presentation. A prep-team inspects, steams, and neatly packages each order to be sent directly to your door–all ready to go for the special event. Another added bonus: we know family time is precious, so this ageless baptism gown is designed with easy-to-wash convenience. Just give it a gentle hand wash, and hang or lay flat to dry–it’s that easy!

Introducing Our New Website and New Collection!

We have some exciting news here at our busy shop. We’ve launched a new website as well as a BRAND new collection. We’d like to introduce the Katy Lane Collection…

As you know, at One Small Child, our mission is to help make your occasion special and memorable. We know one of the most important of those occasions is your wedding day. We’ve been inspired to branch out, with the hope of making your big day the best day. With the new Katy Lane Collection, we now offer a selection of fabulous flower girl clothing.

When making the flower girl collection we realized that this could easily translate into a gorgeous women’s line as well. This gorgeous skirt works great as a bridesmaid outfit or for any occasion calling for a special look.

At Katy Lane Collection, we now offer our finest line of designer christening clothing for boys and girls. We’ve taken our decades of experience and poured it into a selection of fine christening wear and complete christening collections. The Katy Lane Collection brings you only the finest textiles and the most intricate detailing in an array of quality, hand-made gowns, and outfits with all the matching accessories.

Everything in our Katy Lane Collection is handmade in our own U.S.A. facility. We make sure that each item sewn on our facility is the best of quality.

Norah’s Special Day with One Small Child

As promised, here are some pictures of adorable baby Norah’s special day. She’s dressed in her gorgeous gown, designed by her mama, Lindsey. Her older brothers look so handsome! We have loved getting to know Lindsey and her beautiful family a little better. We feel so privileged to have been a part of making their wonderful occasion special. Here are a few snapshots and some thoughts and feelings Lindsey shared via Instagram.

The Norah Hi-Low Dress and Norah Headband are available for purchase at One Small Child

The Norah: A Custom Designed Gown

Our new Norah Dress has such a wonderful story behind it that we want to share with you. This is how this beautiful custom designed gown came to be:

Lindsey is someone who I have looked up to for many years. When I started the adoption journey over 6 years ago, Lindsey’s blog therhouse was light in a dark world of unknowns. Adoption is exciting and scary all at the same time. Lindsey’s blog educates people on what a healthy open adoption looks like. It shows you how incredible birth parents are. Birth parents are often times greatly misunderstood, and Lindsey’s mission in life is to change the stigma. Birth parents are incredible people with a great love for their children.

{Lindsey, Norah, and Norah’s Birth Mom}

Lindsey has four children, all through the miracle of adoption. Three boys and one baby girl call her Mama. My third child and Lindsey’s third child even share a birthday. How cool is that!?! When Lindsey adopted her fourth child, her first little girl, I knew I wanted to help design her dress. I was ecstatic when Lindsey whole-heartedly agreed. Together we came up with a unique design made just for Norah.

We started with some sketches of our basic idea. Isn’t it amazing to see how much the design evolves when you compare the first sketch to the final product?

The next step was to draft the technical drawings. This gives us a more in-depth idea of how to construct the gown. From this, we made our first sample. Lindsay and I shared pictures back and forth via text.

Lindsey has a love for lace and asked that we incorporate that in the gown. We went searching for something fabulous and found this gorgeous Venice lace for the Norah.

It was such an enjoyable experience to design a gown with a woman who I truly look up to. She was SO fun to work with! Stay tuned for images of Norah’s special day.

Our Adoption Story

We adopted our little girl Maelee from foster care on May 4, 2015.

It took over 14 months to complete everything and finalize.

Click here to view a short inspirational video of Maelee’s adoption story : Our adoption

Maelee Eternity: The meaning behind the name

When we were given the opportunity to adopt our baby girl Maelee, her birth mom had one request–that we use the name Eternity. I have yet to hear the reason her birth parents picked the name, but I know that it was deeply important to them. And I in turn felt like it would be important for Maelee. As it turns out, we have this thing for ‘M’ names, (long story). We felt like we couldn’t switch it up and have a child feel left out. All the siblings insisted that baby sister have an ‘M’ name like they do. So we named her after my great grandmother Mae, and Kendall suggested Maelee. Eternity fit as the perfect middle name. We felt like it was important for this sweet little girl to have a connection to both her adoptive family and her birth family through her name. The name Mae means spring and a time for growth, which perfectly described how Maelee entered our family. The name Eternity means infinite and timeless which is also perfect for our little one. We are so grateful for her birth family, their sacrifice, and the love they have for her. Adoption is quite the amazing journey and a “time for growth”. We love you Maelee Eternity.

Stay tuned…. tomorrow we will share her story.

Kids Easter Activities 2015

It’s always fun to try something new around the holidays. With a million kids Easter activities to choose from, we’re shooting for three new ones this year.

I love the idea of growing our own Easter grass. I know my kids would enjoy watering it every day and watching it grow. …And wouldn’t it be fun to decorate with? Here’s a great tutorial from How Does She?.

These cascarones look like so much fun! I know I’d be in for a mess, but the kids would have a blast making and breaking them. Mom.me has a great picture tutorial on how to make these.

I really enjoy doing fun service activities as a family. I think it’s important to incorporate service into our family time. Especially around holidays. I love the idea of ‘egg’ing someone for Easter! I’ve seen several variations of this: scatter treat-filled eggs in their yard and leave the sign on their door; leave a basket of candy-filled eggs; or my favorite-put together a simple plate of home-made Easter treats and do the ring and run. This activity offers extra family time since we’ll make the treats together. Family Ever After has a cute “You’ve Been Egged” free printable.

Momtrepreneur Style: From Meetings to Macaroni

Many of us at One Small Child are working moms to young children, just like me. We also have a passion for style. We need looks that are fashionable, appropriate for business settings and kid-friendly. We don’t have time to change our outfits three times a day. We need clothes that will take us from morning meetings to macaroni dinners. Clothes that are comfortable, professional, and resilient. Talk about a challenge! Well, we’ve learned a few tricks along the way. Just for fun, today I’m sharing three of my go-to looks to take your momtrepreneur style from meetings to macaroni.

Momtrepreneur Look 1: I love the versatility of a blazer. This has definitely become a wardrobe staple. Here, I paired it with a flowy peplum blouse and a dark wash skinny jean. I accessorized with sparkly flats and a fun necklace. Why this works for momtrepreneur style: I can throw on my blazer when I’m headed out the door to cover up little baby spills on my shoulder or front. It gives an authoritative look. The flowy blouse adds femininity.

Momtrepreneur Look 2: A printed button-up blouse is topped with a comfy sweater and dark wash skinny jeans. Add a pop of color with the bubble necklace and flats once again. This is another outfit that offers a lot of versatility. If something gets on the sweater, it can be removed and it won’t ruin your look. I’m in the same skinny jeans as the look above. These are another momtrepreneur staple. Jeans are durable, stain resistant and kid-friendly. Because they’re a dark wash, they don’t detract from the professional nature of your look.

Momtrepreneur Look 3: A maxi dress is my third staple. Dresses are super feminine, which I love. A girl just needs a dress every once in a while! Maxi dresses are kid-friendly and so comfortable. Here, I added a cardigan and belt for a professional touch.

Katy’s Time Management Tips for Momtrepreneurs

Being a business owner, a wife and a mom is a lot to juggle at times. I love One Small Child and I love my work. My first priority, however, has always been my family. Most days striking the perfect balance is a challenge, but I’ve learned a few time management tips that have definitely helped.

Taking time to read scripture in the morning is a must-do for me. Otherwise my day is chaotic and I feel like I struggle to balance everything.

I recently tried something new with dividing my week into days.

Sundays are all about family. We go to church and we visit grandparents. It’s important to me that my kids have a good relationship with their grandparents, so we make this a priority. We don’t schedule anything else on Sundays.
Mondays are our get ready for the week days. I make a plan for the week. The kids and I do all the laundry. I make a menu plan and a grocery list. This helps us avoid the last-minute ‘what’s for dinner’ panic. Making sure I have everything I need for each meal makes it so I don’t have to run to the grocery store several times a week.
Tuesdays are kid-friendly days. I keep Tuesdays open to focus on what they need.
Wednesdays are my bread-making days and a big kid-running day. A lot of the kids’ lessons and activities happen to fall on Wednesdays, so I wear my taxi hat those days.
Thursdays are my work meeting days. We have a scheduled meeting in the morning, and I try to check up with things in production after that.
Fridays are our chore days. The kids are getting to the age that they’re learning how to do chores, so we spend the morning getting all that done.
On the weekends, we do a pizza and movie night as a family. We also make a once-a-week date night a priority, which usually works out best on Friday or Saturday nights.

I try hard to not over-book myself and to stay flexible. This helps me keep the focus on my kids. They’re little and I know they need their mom.