Monday, March 31, 2008

Our April Pumpkin of the Month



Here's Ronan, our April Pumpkin of the Month! His mom Madi added this note:

"We were given a beautiful cowboy receiving blanket from Hand Picked Pumpkin as a gift for our son Ronan. I immediately designed a matching outfit for him. We have received so many compliments about the outfit because it is so soft and, of course adorable! I can't wait to create a new outfit for summer."

Congratulations Ronan and Madi on receiving a $50 hpp gift certificate!
Want to tell us how cute your pumpkin is, then email us a photo of your little one dressed in hpp and tell us about it!

Friday, March 28, 2008

Inspirational thought

Passion is in all great searches and is necessary to all creative endeavors.
-W. Eugene Smith

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Kind Words from Canada


Many thanks for York Region Baby for this review of Hand Picked Pumpkin posted today.

Sometimes shopping online isn't that exciting, but Hand Picked Pumpkin has changed all that. From creating your own customized outfit for your little one to when it arrives it the mail, it truly is a fun experience.

The past month has been an exciting month for the Illinois based company, as their custom made designs ended up being worn by Angela Basset's twins on the Oprah Winfrey show!

Hand Picked Pumpkin is different from all the rest! They create custom designed clothing and accessories for babies and toddlers. It is truly a fun an interactive shopping experience.

Everything from burp clothes, onesies, rompers, hoodies, pants and more. You simply choose the pieces you would like made and then choose which fabrics you would like --everything from hip and cool to cute and girly.
Visit Hand Picked Pumpkin for more information and to order your custom kids clothing.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Kind Words from Design Mom



Many thanks to Design Mom, Gabrielle Blair, for her notes today about Hand Picked Pumpkin. I love the way she layed out our site graphically for her readers!

Hand Picked Pumpkin


Have I told you about Hand Picked Pumpkin already? It's like choose your own adventure, but for baby clothes. You start by picking from a great selection of baby and toddler basics in thick, soft, interlock knit — all the classic playwear shapes are available. You pick the base fabric color. You pick the accent fabrics for the trim. You can mix and match to your heart's delight.






Design a hat to go with a romper. Design a hoodie to go with some pants. Because we all have a little Project Runway trying to get out.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

A thought to ponder

"The soul attracts that which it secretly harbors;
that which it loves, and also that which it fears."
—James Allen

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Kind Words from Mommies with Style: Customize baby's Spring wardrobe


Many thanks to Zareen at Mommies with Style for posting this review last night on our Spring line.

"It may still be chilly out but spring is coming. The weather….the clothes… One thing that always gets me excited for spring is buying spring clothes! Last fall I reviewed Hand Picked Pumpkin for their adorable custom baby clothing. You can custom design pieces to add to your child’s wardrobe in cozy, stylish, high quality fabrics. I can’t tell you how much fun it is to design your piece, wait for it to arrive, and see your own creation on your little one.

Hand Picked Pumpkin has recently introduced a “Gifts and Just Because Treats” section with all products under $40. This spring, Mia, will be sporting the pocket tee and bloomer from this collection. The perfect spring play clothes. One of Mia’s most go-to outfits from the fall and winter has been her Hand Picked Pumpkin Hoodie. We both love it. It is so very soft and comfortable. I love seeing her in it – she looks soo cute – the interesting trim and fabric combinations make it a really unique and stylish piece. We are both excited for the spring line.

For a fun activity at your next playgroup or Mom’s Night Out you can now host a Hand Picked Pumpkin Trunk Show. You will have samples of the fabrics and you and your guests can spend the party as mommy fashion designers. Visit Hand Picked Pumpkin’s website for more details."

Kind Words from Petit Elefant




Many thanks to Petit Elefant who posted today about Hand Picked Pumpkin.

"This clothing line was created by Allison Case, a mama who knew what kind of clothing she needed for her son {comfy crawling clothes} but couldn't seem to find anything stylish & functional, so she decided to create her own. The result is an adorable line of well-made, comfortable clothing for both boys and girls. You can customize the pieces to your liking, or choose from the darling selection of ready made outfits.

Not only does Hand Picked Pumpkin offer sweet clothing for your children, they're dedicated to being ecologically responsible in the course of doing business:


Hand Picked Pumpkin was founded on the belief that companies need to make decisions that will better both their community and environment. Since its initial launch in 2006 Hand Picked Pumpkin {makes} green efforts {which} include contracting with local seamstresses, purchasing domestic materials, recycling, using non-toxic cleaning products and incorporating energy efficiencies in the design studio. We have also made a commitment to donate a percentage of yearly profits to national charity organizations that specifically center their efforts on helping children."

Monday, March 17, 2008

Kind Words from Seven Dogs and a Baby: Custom Cuteness You Can't Resist!


Many thanks to Seven Dogs and a Baby for this lovely review:"I love to find adorable and unique baby clothes for Connor and nothing pleases me more to have something that is one of a kind (or at least one of not that many!). Nothing is worst than going to the mall and seeing three kids with the same outfit.

With Hand Picked Pumpkin not only will your son or daughter be absolutely adorable but the odds of someone else showing up at a birthday party with the same outfit is pretty slim, not even if you told all your friends about it!

Hand Picked Pumpkin takes some very simple designs and puts a whole new twist on the basics. You pick which design you want and then you get to customize each part of the outfit in the fabrics and patterns YOU want! Its incredibly fun but I warn you it took me over an hour to pick out one outfit as I kept changing the design back and forth. In the end I had to send my top three picks in and let Allison (the owner of Hand Picked Pumpkin) choose for us, as I just couldn't do it!

In the end we got a blue overall pants romper with the most adorable brown polka dot fabric for the straps and a stripped fabric for the inside and pocket lining. The overall itself is soo soft and though usually I am not a huge overall fan this one takes the cake for cuteness.

This whole custom clothing business could really become an addiction. I'd really like to get the long sleeved crew playsuit for fall as well as the custom hoodie!

Run on over to Hand Picked Pumpkin and check out their clothing, I highly recommend you at least play with their garment builder (pick anything you like and "customize" it) its fun!"

Friday, March 14, 2008

Traveling the World

This weekend we are making our spring break plans. We are staying local and so I'm going to introduce the idea suggested by Citibabes in their CitiScoop newsletter this week: to travel the world from the comfort of our own home and introduce a country or culture via books from the library, special museum trips, activities and ethnic dining. Instead of taking only the week of Spring Break to "travel" I think we'll spend a week or two in each country and travel the globe over the next few months or year.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Inspiration

You are responsible for your life. You can't keep blaming somebody else for your dysfunction...Life is really about moving on. - Oprah Winfrey

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Kind Words Today from Boston Mamas: Pick of the Patch

BostonMamas.com

Many thanks to Boston Mamas for their lovely review posted this morning: Pick of the Patch
"There’s a lot of cool indie kid’s clothing out there, but Hand Picked Pumpkin’s designs (for 3 - 24 month-olds) are destined to rise to the top of your laundry pile. Choose from ready made clothing or build from scratch; simply select a garment style and size, then decide on fabulous fabric options using HPP's garment design tool. And if you can just pick one item, grab a hoodie. This piece is constructed of snugly, solid contrasting cottons for the body and lining, then accented smartly with patterned fabrics on the pocket, hood, and hood liner. The hoodie isn’t meant to be reversible, but it very well could be; it’s gorgeous whether right side or inside out."

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

This week's recipe swap

I was digging thru some old issues of Cooking Light this weekend to try and find some new quick and easy entrees and came across this recipe for Easy Meatless Manicotti ...which I proceeded to make and eat way to much of last night.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Kind Words from Classy Mommy



Many thanks to Classy Mommy for her kind words. "The genius idea behind the stylish and custom clothing designs at hand picked pumpkin impressed Classy Mommy last year. You can purchase ready made styles or you can customize any of their clothing designs to match the unique personality of your own tot. Choose the fabric for pockets, trim, body, and even the color of the snaps. We love the Cream Rodeo Kids fabric for the baby boys. I'm thrilled to see this company is growing by leaps and bounds. Founded by a Mom, hand picked pumpkin has got it going on! An easy to use and fabulous website, trunk show opportunities, and Angela Basset even dressed her twins in hand picked pumpkin threads for their cameo on Oprah!"

Monday, March 3, 2008

Our March Pumpkin of the Month


Here's Timmy, our March Pumpkin of the Month. His mom Halle included this note:

Everytime I leave the house with Timmy in his HPP outfits, so many people stop to say how cute he looks and always ask me where I got the clothes. The clothes are so soft and comfortable for him. He is a bigger boy so I like how easy they slip on and off and he can move so easily in them. He simply looks adorable in the outfits!

Want to tell us how cute your pumpkin is, then email us a photo of your little one dressed in hpp and tell us about it!