Personalized Beach Towel

Perfect for the beach, lake or swimming pool, this towel is sure to never lose it's owner. The letters are approximately 6" tall and the towel is oversized and plush. Towels are always subject to availability, so let me know what you prefer and I'll try to accommodate you. TJ Maxx and Marshall's are my favorite stores to find unique and fun beach towels, but they go quickly.

**Reminder** I'm not taking orders right now through July, but I do check my email. Please feel free to email your order and I'll get it in the line-up for when I return in August. It's already starting to fill up! So much for coming back from the beach with a clean slate, but I'm excited to get back to work.

Personalized beach towel - $25

Lime Zebra Dress

Here's a fun zebra set for a little girl celebrating her first birthday. The dress is long enough to wear alone or with the bloomers. Add a white long-sleeved tee under it and it can be worn year-round.

A-line dress with bloomers - $45

Dress only - $35

Hula Girl

The hula birthday party was a success. Gentry requested a "hula girl" shirt, picked out the fabric and font, and supervised over my shoulder as I made it the morning of her party. It met with her approval, so she wore it proudly for her party with an orange tutu and hot pink capri leggings. After the guests arrived and received their leis, they gathered in the backyard for a limbo contest, hula hoop contest and water balloon toss/fight. Tye placed 2 (lit) tiki torches at the end of our patio for the girls to walk through as they entered the backyard and I was a nervous wreck every time someone passed between them, sure that a ponytail would catch on fire. Fortunately, there were no tiki torch incidents, and we ended the party at our neighborhood pool. Happy Birthday to my newest 8-year-old! Now I get a birthday party planning hiatus until October when it will be all about Hello Kitty.

Pink and Brown Name Pillow

I used a pale pink chenille for the front of this pillow, instead of my usual white, although it still looks like white in this picture. It's a nice contrast to the chocolate brown minky dot on the back.

Name pillow - $25

Zebra Initial Shirt

Initial tee - $15

Hot Pink and Zebra Name Pillow

How cute is this color scheme? I put this pillow on Ava's chair in her room to take the picture, and I'm thinking she needs her own pillow in that spot.

Today is my birthday, so I'm enjoying a slow, unscheduled day with my 3 favorite girlies trying to forget how old I am now. My mom and dad called to sing Happy Birthday to me already, so that helped make me feel like a kid again. Do you ever outgrow your parents singing to you on your birthday? Tomorrow I'll have to hit the ground running as I plan and execute an 8-year-old luau birthday party for my middle girly. When do they stop wanting all-out themed birthday parties and just want to go hang out at the mall with their friends? Actually, I love doing it and I don't want them to outgrow parties yet, but it just wipes me out. I'm off to plan a Hawaiian tablescape and hang paper lanterns. Aloha!

** Don't forget, tomorrow is the last day to get your order in before I leave for vacation. Thanks!

What is a Chocolate Zebra?

I don't think I've ever mentioned how I chose the name for my little boutique. My parents were missionaries in South Africa for 8 years, so I spent most of my childhood, from about ages 3 to 11, speaking with a thick British accent, wearing uniforms to school, and missing my grandparents back in the States. We would often take visitors to the game reserve to see the wild animals in their natural habitat, and my favorite was always the zebra. Their unique pattern and coloring prove that God is a creative designer, and I was fascinated to see how well their stripes acted as camouflage in the tall grass of the savanna. My blog name hearkens back to those years in South Africa and the fondness I still feel for that place. The "chocolate" part is due to the fact that my dad always told me I have brown eyes because of all the chocolate I consumed as a little girl (or maybe he said it was the Marmite).

This burp cloth set was ordered for a family who are about to serve as missionaries in Africa, so I couldn't resist the shout-out to my favorite African animal print. May God bless your efforts there, and give your family many wonderful memories!

Western Taggie Blanket

This is a western-themed lovie blanket with coordinating ribbon tags down one side. The red corduroy is the perfect complement to the cow print fabric, yet it's lighter weight makes it ideal for this summer.

Lovie Blanket - $25

Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations to Amy Henson on winning the drawing! I intended to take pictures of the whole process, but my camera battery had other plans. Just know that we followed rigid drawing protocol and everything was very fair! Amy, I'll email you later to see how you want to spend your $20 credit.

Thanks again, and have a great weekend!

Giveaway and Some Housekeeping

It was around this time a year ago that I launched this little boutique in blogland. It's been a fun and rewarding experience, with lots of late nights and too many trips to the post office. My family has been so supportive of "The Chock", as my husband refers to it, and I've made many new friends, both online and in person. So to celebrate the first anniversary of The Chocolate Zebra, I'm hosting my first giveaway! I'm offering a chance to win a $20 credit towards any item in my store. Just leave a comment stating which Chocolate Zebra item is your favorite, how you found my site, or just say hi. Make sure you leave your email address so I can contact you if you win. My "assistants" will draw the winning name on Saturday at noon, so check back and see if you're the lucky one!

On a related note, with only 2 days left of school, my productive sewing hours are about to dwindle significantly. I am looking forward to spending unlimited time with my girls at the pool, taking our family vacation to the beach and helping with my brother's wedding in July. I'll be closing up shop for the month of July, so I won't be able to take orders after June 15. If you've already contacted me regarding an order, I have you in the line-up and will get your item completed before I leave. When I return, I hope to have some fun new products to introduce to you. Please feel free to email me in the interim. I'll continue checking email and posting completed items, but I won't be working on orders until August. Happy Summer!