Blessing Dress

Can I just say that my oldest daughter is turning into quite the project junky herself.  I mentioned to her a month ago that i thought it would be fun to make a dress for our new baby girl to be blessed in after she is born.  Like a Christening dress, a Blessing dress is usually fancy and white, but it doesn't have to be.  And in the spirit of wedding dresses with a splash of color, wanted to do something a little different for our Autumn baby.  So I told my daughter, we could make it out of cream fabric, and add brown tulle or a few tan ruffles in places for a twist on the normal Blessing dress.  So she stopped me before I gave her all my ideas and said. . ."Mom, i have just the dress we can make it out of."  I was kinda surprised that she would automatically look for another piece of clothing to make it from (since for once I was totally planning on buying fabric for it) and was nervous about what dress she was wanting to slice up.  She came back with a hand me down dress up dress from her dress up bin, that I think at one point in it's life span was a very cute little girls dress, but had been picked up at a yard sale, given to my sister in law, and handed down to me for playtime.  I looked it over and saw enough salvageable material, that I was getting pretty excited.  It was lined with satin, had raw silk, and organza. .  . which gave it lots of potential.  I messed around with it for a few days and with some inspiration from my friend Cindy at Cranberries and Capers, who customized and shipped a beautiful Blessing day headband before I had even fully formulated the my dress ideas. (Here's what she sent. . . . she. is. AMAZING.) 

I came up with a sweet petite fall Blessing dress, that has lots of different textures and warm woodsy colors that I am just LOVING!

   

And the best part, is it was totally free, thanks to my little project clone!

Rock-a-bye baby

So, it is really getting close, the due date of this little bun in my oven.  Just over 2 months away!  Time sure is flying fast.  And after that doozy of a project on the stairs and hallway I just finished, my ideas have turned more baby-minded.  As I have started pulling things out from storage I am feeling like it is all looking a bit old and worn, and some of it just a little blah.  Sort of like this:

Okay, so there is nothing wrong with this, and actually this isn't mine, but it has the same blah and boring look of the swing I had that was destroyed by a 3 and 4 year old jumping on it and playing all sorts of little games in it the last time it was out.  But I am sure anyone who had a kid 6-8 years ago will remember those navy blue and cream plaids that Graco was shelling out for their swings, carseats, pack-n-plays,etc.  I was happy to accept a hand me down from a neighbor to replace my old one, but the pattern wasn't much more exciting.  The swing my friend gave me had the bonus of little dancing teddy bears in overalls.  I was very grateful for a swing--teddy bears or not--because, hey, that's more money in my pocket that I can use for diapers, but I still wanted something a little sassier.  I have noticed, with the coming of number 4 to our house, that our house is all about kids.  We have toys and baby stuff everywhere.  I love it, it makes our house home to have our kids things planted here and there, but with all the little nick nacks I am collecting are really a part of my decor and I want them to look cute and match my decor, dang-it!  So, for a very minimal fee (I think it was about $15-- and could have been even cheaper if I could ever lay my hands on the 40% off JoAnn's coupons when I go) I got some awesome brown and cream zebra home decor fabric (I believe I only used about a half yard, but you would have to measure your own swing cushion), a yard of tan trim for the straps, and a yard of avacado-green ruffle.  Although I spent a little bit more because I didn't measure for what I really needed (and i didn't even use a half a yard of the fabric) I think you could easily pick up the supplies, if you measured everything before you picked it up, for about $10. 

My project began when my mother in law was here, and she pretty much did all the work on it while I got some rest (thank you a thousand times over).  But what we did for the swing makeover was cover the cushion in the same fashion i did for the ironing board.  My mother in law just cut it out using the cushion as a pattern and zig zag stitched around, adding the new ruffle in place of the old one.  We changed over all of the old navy straps to nice fresh tan ones.  And finally took the plastic off of the metal swing poles and sprayed them Krylon's oil rubbed bronze.  Once it was dry we put it all back together and set it up in my living room. It's sophisticated with sort of a whimsical baby charm.  I am loving it!  It looks great, it matches and it's functional. . . yeah!     *Just a note:  Knowing this is for a baby, I didn't attempt to paint or change the tray or the seat or the toys.  Luckily the seat, and trey and plastic bits all seemed to match what I was doing. . .the toys did not.  Those darn toys actually are pretty stuck on there, and are still a bit ugly, but better safe than sorry with remaking baby stuff. So no one get too carried away with the spray paint ;)
* 

Easy Peasy Bloomers

I'm BACK!  Sorry for the long break.  It was a busy one, filled with visitors, trips out of town, and exceptional weather.  And, due the the warm front that headed our direction, it was time to break out the shorts and skirts for a few days.  My daughter loves to wear skirts in the spring and summer, and once upon a time I was near obsessive about finding my daughter some bloomers.  As any of you with girl will know, after 24 mos. they rarely sell dresses with bloomers attached.  But seeing as most kids in 2T and up still want to wear dresses to romp around in and need some diaper or undie coverage.  I couldn't find any, so i started making them.  Lots of them.  I thought, I should sell them, because I know other people have this problem.  That idea lasted for about a month, and i realized that they aren't cost effectvie item to sell.  Anyhoo. . . long story short.  Now that my daugther is getting older, I still want her to have bloomers on, but she is too old for the frilly ones i used to make.  I found a great way to reuse her old tattered end of the winter leggings to make great big girl bloomers.  I love how comfy they are, how they are snug against her leg, and how they make great summer pajama shorts too!

 

WHAT YOU NEED:

A pair of old knit leggings

(ours are usually, like these, really stained and beyond salvage for any younger kids use)

Scissors

Sewing Machine

HOW YOU DO IT:

First measure how long you want the bloomers to be, i just eyeball it, and cut the legs off of your leggings.

Set aside the top of the leggings, that now look like shorts.  With the bottom leg pieces, cut the hem off the bottom, and then cut the legs open, so they lay flat.  Cut each leg into 4 1-1/2 inch strips.

Sew 4 of the strips together, end to end.  And repeat with the other 4, so you have two long, uneven looking strips.  (when you are doing this part, if your leggings are particularly ratty (like mine were), you could use the wrong side, if they are solid color, or cut your strips around the dirty knees or any holes. 

Now your ready to make some ruffles for the bottom of the bloomers.  Take one strip and fold it in half, so the seams are inside the ruffle.  Line the raw edge of the ruffle up with the raw end of the shorts (you don't need to turn the shorts inside out, sew the ruffle to the top and then it will fold down when you are done so the raw edge is on the inside).  Start one inch from the end of the strip and start bunching and sewing.  Just make sure you are only bunching the ruffle, and not the shorts underneath.

When you are about on inch from where you started sewing, stop.  Pull the shorts away from the machine and cut off any extra fabric, leaving one inch loose on this end as well, so like the picture you now have unsewn fabric on both the start and end of the ruffle and a small space left to sew it to the shorts.  unfold those two loose ends and place the wrong sides together.  This will feel a little akward, but it's pretty quick when you get the hang of it. 

 

Sew the wrongs sides of the ruffle ends together and fold them back in line with the rest of the ruffle.

Once you have folded it back line the raw edge of the ruffle up with the raw edge of the shorts and bunch it together to fit in the space you have left, to finish it off.  Repeat all these steps on the other leg openining. 

Voila!  Easy Peasy (as my kindergartener would say) bloomers.  Here are the ones I have made this way.  It takes no time at all and you can make them in all different lengths to fit what you need!

So go out and enjoy the spring air and the playgrounds, because now you're covered ;).

Back to the Machine

It has been a while since i have sewn anything for my girls.  They really haven't needed anything.  But i always love a good dress designing challenge.  A good friend brought me some old skirts she didn't want to see if i could make anything for the girls out of them.  I was loving this dark blue violet fabric with lavender flowers.  I sat right down and started cutting away at it.  I used an A-line dress of my daughters for the basic pattern, and then i asked my daughter what she was hoping the dress would look like.  She wanted some ruffles and longer sleeves.  And I had in my head that I wanted an oversized flower on the front like some awesome dresses I saw on Shabby Apple (a great dress website). 

 So, with that in mind, i made this:

Into This: 

Of, course not without having to redo the neckline so her head could fit through.  But now in the back it has this sweet over-sized keyhole, with ruffle detail that I just love and may not have been there if it had fit the first time ;).

She's wearing it around with her fancy dress up Cinderella shoes. I think that means she likes it :)

Ironing Board Cover

Let's be truthful. . . I really don't iron.  I just buy wrinkle free shirts for my husband, and try to get my clothes out of the dryer fast if I really care to have things not wrinkly.  But a few wrinkles add character and wisdom right?  Maybe that only works with faces. My lack of ironing is why it took me 5 years of marriage before I decided it was time to invest in an ironing board.  And invest I did. . . it was twenty buckeroo's for my wobbly, horribly patterned Kmart ironing board.  Maybe $20 wouldn't seem like so much if it were cute, or even somwhat sturdy, but it is as cheaply made as it looks.  Every time I use it I kick myself for spending money on something that has the quality and style of a dollar store item, but since I use it so rarely, i don't kick myself too often ;). 

Why am I rambling about my ironing board, you may ask?  Well, now that my laundry room is taking shape I am realizing that I can't stand the ironing board cover anymore.  I can't bare to put that thing back in my nice crisp, clean space.  While perusing Marshalls the other day, I found some great ironing board covers, but really, do i need to make my $20 investment a $30 one?  I actually would have caved if any of them had matched, but since they didn't i decided to take matters into my own hands.  I had some cute fabric and thought it may be enough, and it was just barely perfect.

 So, to keep it sweet and simple, i laid the fabric out, put the old cover on top (my current cover has a drawstring, so it was easy to un-gather and lay flat).  I cut out a new cover, pinned it with the edges folded under directly onto the old cover, leaving just the edge holding the drawstring exposed (it gets gathered underneath anyways).

 I did a quick zig-zag stitch. . . 

. . . and then gathered it back around my ironing board. 

I LOVE it. 

It is now crisp, and clean to match the laundry room.  And I think I have ironed more in this week than I have in the last 6 months.  Now, i can be at peace with my wobbly little ironing board.  Even though the little rubber stoppers on the bottom fall off every time I pull it out of the laundry closet, and even though it rocks unsteadily with each swoop of the iron. . . it looks good and with an ironing board that rarely gets used, looks are all that matters.

P.S. The Giveaway isn't over yet, you still have until Friday at midnight to enter so don't miss out!

I {Heart} Hair Clippies

Remember this adorable picture with my open toilet in the background {we are trying out 2000 flushes, not a bad product, my kids love the blue water. . . but i digress. . .}?  See that cute little hair clip?  My friend emailed me this link to the cutest hair clip tutorial over at The Purl Bee.  We are going to get together to do them, but i had a few scraps of felt and i couldn't resist trying just one.  It turned out pretty cute.  It makes me excited to get some better felt in some springy colors so that i can have some to match more outfits.  I will just say, i LOVE making clippies.  It has opened up a whole new world of hair doing for my girls by being able to make bows, flowers, and now. . felt clips!  It is nice to have a few supplies on had to whip up a few clips when you feel like your want your daughters outfit to have an extra umph (or your own!). 

Speaking of clippies. . .I have a friend (well, she's really more like a sister) who started making clippies about a year ago, and where i just dabble here and there, she seriously became an expert.  She makes, THE. CUTEST. CLIPPIES.  They are better than a good deal. .  . they are a GREAT deal.  I am the queen of cutting corners and i am often realizing her clips are better deals than even making them myself sometimes (and hers are way better than mine). She is a very meticulous person to begin with, but each of her clippies are made with love and great attention to detail.  She has been featured on numerous websites and in a few magazines, both online and print.  She is currently being featured in Child Style magazine for her oh-so-adorable owl paci-clips that have created quite a stir in the mommy-made business world.  Her clippies are being sold in boutiques around the globe, and to add to her great deals, she is even offering free shipping to her blog followers. So don't delay in checking out her etsy shop, or her blog to see all the new things. . . I certainly have my eye on some cute valentines day clippies! 

A Bit of Warmth

This time of winter always has me thinking about spring.  This seems to be the time where there is just enough of a break from the fridgid winter temps that all the snow dissapears and I always get fooled into thinking spring is just around the corner.  When, in reality, in New England the warm weather is far, FAR away.  But i get on a train of thought none the less.  And my train of thought goes like this: Spring makes me think of Easter, and Easter makes me think of sweet pale colors like those from little tulip buds or cherry blossoms.  And the beautiful spring palette gets me thinking of Easter Dresses.  And when i think of Easter dresses, I get all giddy thinking of my sweet little threesome all dolled and slicked up.  It is hard to not think of all they ways they can match each other, or all the different styles and periods they can portray.  Last year I got an image in my head of some vintage looking outfits like children in the 1950 might have worn.   That proper little time period when after the town easter egg roll, all the kids would run to a candy shop and ask the man behind the counter (who would naturally be wearing red and white stripes, an apron and one of those little rectangular white hats) for giant swirly lollipops.  Then of course, without staining their prim, crisp clothes they would sing and lick their rainbow lolly's while their bobby-socked feet would skip down the incredibly safe and low-traffic Main street back to the house. Can't you just picture it?   I couldn't find anything like it in the stores.  Well, i found something wonderful for my boy, boy things are much easier to buy than to sew.  But the girls i had to design it myself.  Here was the outcome:

I was either so impressed with myself last year, or the depths of winter funk is getting to my head, but I am thinking of trying to design them something this year.  This takes some prep, so it makes it okay that i am easter dress "shopping" in January :).  I have done quite a bit more sewing since so I  made those dresses to i am feeling up for more of a challenge.  So in my spring state of mind i went purusing through chasing-fireflies (it's like my PotteryBarn, for girls dress ideas--love it, but can't buy it, so may as well try to make it) to see some of their so-sweet-you-could-eat-them dresses.  Here are my faves, You guys tell me what you think:

How can something so shapeless look so darn adorable?  I dont know what it is about this hot pink trash bag that i love so much, but it really is so striking and bold, and not like any other little girl dresses i see, that i just can't help but like it. 

This i just love and my oldest wasn't as excited about it as I am. . . I am hoping she changes her mind.  I love the two layers, and how thin that organza is throughout the middle and how rich it looks with the ruffles and rosettes.  And now that I know how to make rosettes, I could defnintely make this.

This looks like a Juliet dress.  And what little girls doesn't want to look like a Shakesperean princess?

I seriously think i could make this one out of burlap and paint the circles on.  I love the metallic against the coarse textured tan fabric. 

I heart fancy dresses on little girls.  There is nothing more hugable than a little girl in airy, subtle, tulle ruffles.

So this one is obviously for winter, but i could see it in some light whispy cotton candy pink chiffon, with dark pink rosette around the neck... i just can't get enough rosettes. 

The $3 Outfit

I was at Marshalls yesterday and they had tons of clearence stuff.  I am loving leggings for my 5 year old, since she is the queen of skirts and it is just too cold for bare legs, so i picked up a couple pair.  I found this grey casual pair of $3 i really liked and when we got home i noticed she didn't have much to go with them.  Since i am trying to clean out my unnecessary wardrobe items i started rummaging my drawers for something i could turn into a cute 80's baggy T for her to wear with these great leggings {heaven forbid my $3 go to waste}.  I found this frumpy black, knit, V neck i got after having my youngest and got to cutting.  I used a Tshirt of her's for my guide and (going a few inches longer) I cut a band off the bottom. 

I wanted to keep most of that bagginess for the top, but then make a tight band to bring it in at the bottom.  So I made the band true size and gathered the bottom of the remaining Tshirt.  Then I sewed the bottom back in place creating a nice gathered affect for the T. 

After I did that i had her try it on and i marked with chalk where her arms  were so i could make the sleeves tight and then i cut off what i needed to around the arm and armpit and angled out as i went towards the bottom of the shirt so it would stay nice and baggy.  I sinched the V by weaving a small unsewn piece of scrap material through with a big embrordery needle, and tied it in a knot. 

I Just Love it!  I only wish clothes for myself were that easy--and cheap ;)