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Two Toned Seersucker Bow Tie

Here's a fun new bow tie that I've added to my online Store - the Two Toned Seersucker Bow Tie.  This was a special request from a customer, but I loved it so much I decided to make it available to anyone who wants it.  Why not?  

Aren't you glad Easter is gone so we can start wearing seersucker again?  I'm thinking of making THIS dress for myself out of blue seersucker.  I think of making dresses all the time but it never seems to happen!

I'm Back with Gingham Fabric for Bow Ties!

I finally made it through my first trade show this past weekend. I'm tired but ready to move on with making more of my spring bow ties. I found some great ginghams that I've Added to my  STORE.  

And here are my seersucker ginghams

I placed an order for a few more madras fabrics as well so hopefully they will be here soon. It's going to be a fun season!

Gift Certificates Now Available

So I've actually gotten 2 e-mails within the past few days which have said something to the effect of:

"My boyfriend is obsessed with your bow ties and I want to buy him one".  

So I've decided to add a gift certificate to the website so that if you can't choose, he can come back later and choose his own.  Or, he can mail me his neck tie to convert or even his own fabric.

So hop on over to the STORE and buy your favorite man a few gift certificates.  Now I'm working on a printable certificate that the purchasers can use to represent their gift. 

And for those who may be interested- I'm working on a Carolina (scarlet and black) and Clemson (pruple and orange) gingham bow tie.  They are really fun.  I've also ordered some lovely seersucker and madras (straight from India) for the spring and summer.  I can't wait for summer to come back!  Cotton bow ties are wonderful.

A Summer Wedding with Seersucker Bow Ties

I got a surprise in my inbox this evening.  Here's what it said.

"Dear Ellie,

I wanted to thank you so much for the bowties for our wedding back on August 15th.  They were absolutely gorgeous.  The men & boys got so many compliments on them, and they really went perfectly with the theme of our wedding. "

Be still my little heart - these boys are adorable!

Wow!  These pictures are great.  I'm so happy that they sent them to me.  I love how they took more casual suits for their and really made them look classy with the freestyle bow ties.  They all look so cool and comfortable.  I wonder how many of these gentlemen knew how to tie one before the wedding.  It would have been fun to see them all trying to get them to look just-so the morning of the wedding.  

I'll be working on more seersucker bow ties and neck ties for a summer wedding over the next month.  I was able to custom order fabric to match their dresses from Thread Design.  So fun!  And to my grooms and brides- thanks for thinking of me!

 

Win a Free Bow Tie!

The winner of this giveaway will win a bow tie of his choice or a free neck tie to bow tie conversion.

I've had it in my mind that I would give away a bow tie in conjunction with Reformation Day for a while now.  We used to have Reformation Day parties and my husband would dress as Martin Luther and shave a tonsure in his head - which resulted in a very cold shaved-head November.  This year, since he has a real job, he's decided to not be so  bold with his costuming and thus, we will celebrate with a bow tie giveaway.

The contest is open to everyone - all you have to do is comment on this page.  Also, you can get an extra chance to win by signing up for my new 
MAILING LIST.  I will use this list to send periodic updates when I add new bow ties to the store or decide to do specials.  I promise not to spam you like crazy - I'm really not into that.

I will close commenting at midnight on October 30th and announce the randomly selected winner on Monday, November 2nd.  Are you excited?  I am.  

Please announce this give-away on your forums, blogs, facebook and twitter so that we can spread the word about great, quality, handmade bow ties!  Your support in this endeavor is what helps me to price my bow ties so reasonably.  It is a community effort for sure.

So, let the games begin... Good luck.

Dear Gordon Gee

I am writing you to tell you of my bow tie business, The Cordial Churchman.  One of the professors of your school ordered a bow tie from me.  He told me that your school is very accustomed to bow ties since you wear one every day.  How many bow ties do you own?  I've heard that you own over 900 and that one of your bow ties has visited outer space.  I have a new collection of Bow Ties that I'll be posting on my store on Monday.  Could you please check them out and see if any of them interest you?  Today, I made a 2 inch diamond point fall colored madras tie that I think you would love.   It would be my honor to have you wear one of my custom bow ties.  Also, if you have any neck ties in the bottom of your closet, I'd be happy to convert them into bow ties for you.

With Kindest Regards,

Ellie

Lots of New Bow Ties - Wool Bow Ties, Madras Bow Ties and Silk Bow Ties

I've been working hard on these bow ties and am so excited to finally get them up here for you all to see.  Please visit the STORE (www.elliesbowties.com) and pick one out for yourself or your loved one.  The ties can be ordered simply by e-mailing me at ellielaveer@gmail.com.  Bow Ties are $23 each.  Please share this blog post with all your bow tie wearing friends.

Some of you have asked to see more pictures with more details of the ties so I've tried to accommodate you as best as I can.  When you click on the ties, it will take you to my flickr page which has sets of photos of each ties.  Also, I've had a few requests to make wool bow ties so I've added 3 wool fabrics to my stash.  I think they look great.  I hope you like them as much as I do.

Ellie's Bow Tie Club Flickr Group

Do you have one of my handmade bow ties?  If so, join the club.  I've started a flickr pool for all of you.  Please upload your photos and add them to the pool or e-mail me (ellielaveer@gmail.com) so that I can add them.  Also, If you want, add your comments about your bow tie in the comments section so that everyone can know how much you like it.  I'm also going to add the pool to the sidebar so that you can have easy access to it.   I can't wait to see what you come up with! 

Cheers!

Bow Tie Onesie

As I was making this last night for Owen, my husband agreed that this shirt screams "My mom is a big dork".  Somehow, I don't really mind announcing that I'm a dork with children's clothing.  I asked my 3 year old if he wanted a bow tie shirt and he said no.  Maybe a neck tie shirt for the big guy?

The best part is that even when he's really mad, I just look at him and laugh because he's so darn cute.

Handmade Bow Tie from Neck Tie

Andy found this rather ugly neck tie at the thrift store.  Today I turned into a rather cute bowtie.  This was actually my first time sewing with silk.  It was rather slippery, but I think I figured it out.  I'm excited to do a bit more of this type of work.  What do you think?

I'm sure Andy's glad that I've figured out how to tie these things by myself so that he doesn't have to get all dressed up for my photo-shoots.  He actually wore it to church tonight but we forgot to take a picture.

And I just had to show off these super cute guys.  We snapped this shot on the front porch after church today.  Can you tell that Andy dressed Deacon?  He looked sharp.