Up- cycled, Down- sized Wedding Dress

I posted this on my design blog.  But decided to post it here as well so Grandma can get her fix of cute baby pictures =)

A couple months ago, a friend asked me if I would be willing to take her wedding dress and make a dedication gown for her new baby daughter.  And I said "Of course!"

The before picture.  A strapless dress with a colored sash and a bolero jacket.  The veil had tiny pearls and rhinestones on it.

And the start of the after pictures.  Sweet Pea decided to cooperate this time =)  A simple bodice dress with cap sleeves and a (very) gathered skirt.  The dress is completely lined- no tulle to make it poofier though.

Girly- girl was standing behind me making faces and singing silly songs.  I guess she didn't like the song as much.

I took the sash and down- sized it.  It looks bigger than it really is because of how Sweet Pea is sitting.

I took the veil and turned it into an apron for the dress- just added a pink ribbon at the top.

She really liked the feel of the veil.

I also made a completely reversible jacket.  This is the white side.

And this is the brown side.

Here is the dress and jacket with out the adorable model.  The shape of the jacket is easier to see hanging up.

I still have some of the dress left and will be working on a blanket with it.  I haven't done any quilting, so that should be an interesting challenge =)

Up- cycled, Down- sized Wedding Dress

A couple months ago, a friend asked me if I would be willing to take her wedding dress and make a dedication gown for her new baby daughter.  And I said "Of course!"

The before picture.  A strapless dress with a colored sash and a bolero jacket.  The veil had tiny pearls and rhinestones on it.

And the start of the after pictures.  Sweet Pea decided to cooperate this time =)  A simple bodice dress with cap sleeves and a (very) gathered skirt.  The dress is completely lined- no tulle to make it poofier though.

Girly- girl was standing behind me making faces and singing silly songs.  I guess she didn't like the song as much.

I took the sash and down- sized it.  It looks bigger than it really is because of how Sweet Pea is sitting.

I took the veil and turned it into an apron for the dress- just added a pink ribbon at the top.

She really liked the feel of the veil.

I also made a completely reversible jacket.  This is the white side.

And this is the brown side.

Here is the dress and jacket with out the adorable model.  The shape of the jacket is easier to see hanging up.

I still have some of the dress left and will be working on a blanket with it.  I haven't done any quilting, so that should be an interesting challenge =)

100 and then a giveaway

I was looking at my Designs By Lynette Facebook page the other day, and saw that I'm really close to 100 people who like me.  So, to encourage a few more new fans, I thought I would do a giveaway when I reach 100.

What's up for grabs?  Not 100% sure yet =)  But, I was thinking something along the lines of this...

Or this...

Or maybe something completely different =)

Double Take

Sometimes I love a challenging project and other times, well...  Not so much.  This is one of those projects.  When I pictured it in my head, it came out perfect (of course!) but when I actually tried to put it into practice.  Well, needless to say there was lots of seam ripping, broken needles and hair pulling.

While I'm not 100% happy with the design, I'm happy enough that I will continue to tweak it until it is perfect.  If I wasn't happy with it, the whole project would have ended up in the "I will fix this later" pile.

The idea behind this wrap is to give the wearer more options.  The panel in the center is interchangeable.  And that's where the design flaws come in =)  I have to figure out a better "framing" system for the panel and a better way to attach the panels.  Once it's perfect, the wrap will offer a lot more color options for the wearer.

The main panel that cannot be removed.

The optional panel.

After working on this one for awhile, I came up with a design that offers only two different panels (instead of unlimited like the original design).  So, for now this is the design that is available.  

The first side.

The second side.

You'll notice that it's "missing" the black border around the panel.  

If you're interested in the second design, please let me know what colors you would prefer- for the wrap part and for the panels.  Depending on the fabric, prices start at $40.

Christmas Gifts Part 1

Now that the first round of Christmas parties are past, I can “safely” post the gifts that I made =)

Tuesday night the ladies at church had a Christmas party.  The “rules” were a gift for $10 or less.  So, I made a note card holder.

It was made from fabric I had in my stash, so no money spent there.

 

I filled it with some note cards/ greeting cards and included a gift card to Starbucks.  After all, who doesn’t enjoy coffee?  The holder is small enough to fit in your purse and is closed with an elastic binder and button.

Last night we had our Sunday School Christmas party.  The “rules” were to spend $5 or less on a gift.  Again, I used what I had in my stash…

A set of four Christmas tree napkins.

 

And a snowflake ornament.

Now it’s time to move onto the presents for family.  Some of the things I won’t post until after Christmas though =)

For the dessert I brought to the party, check out this post.

Chinese Anyone?

Our Sunday School class is having their Christmas party tonight and the dinner menu includes Chinese food.  I was instantly reminded of this clip:

In honor of that, I decided to make sushi, pork lo mein and fried rice to bring along.

Hmmm…  Doesn’t that look yummy?

A better look at the sushi.  I found the recipe for it here.  It comes with it’s own bowl of chocolate dipping sauce.  What??  Yup, chocolate sauce.  The sushi rolls are actually rice krispie treats with gummy worms rolled inside and then wrapped with fruit roll- ups.

Close ups of the fried rice and pork lo mien.  And yes, they’re not what them seem either.  I found the recipes in this book.  And they’re made out of cupcakes, frosting, cereal and lots of different types of candy.  Yes, I’m bringing dessert to the party =)

 

The egg in the fried rice is made from banana flavored Laffy Taffy.  Soften it in the microwave, cut it up and then roll it to “smooth” out the rough edges.

 

The carrots are orange jelly beans and orange Tootsie Rolls.

 

The scallions are made from green licorice sliced at an angle.

 

The peas are green jelly beans.

 

The pork is strawberry Laffy Taffy that was softened, flattened and sliced into shreds.

The broccoli was a lot of fun to make.  Each piece is made with a green Tootsie Roll cut halfway down to form a branch.  Then the branches are covered with a dab of green frosting and green nonprailines. 

The fried rice was created using rice krispies mixed in with brown- tinted frosting.  Add the “veggies” and then top the cupcakes with the mix.

The lo mien was finished off by putting the “pork” on top of the cupcakes and then squeezing brown- tinted frosting across the top to look like noodles.  A piece of “broccoli” was then placed on each cupcake.  Both sets of cupcakes were then topped with a sprinkling of “scallions.”

I can’t wait to dig in =)  And I hope the rest of our class enjoys the food as much as I enjoyed making it.

Little Bear

As the weather turns cooler, my thoughts turn to ways to stay warm.  I’ve had this pink knit fabric in my stash for a while now and just never knew what to do with it.  Then I ran across a pattern for a hat with bear ears.  It was a perfect match =)

Super easy to make and super cute as well.

 

Unfortunately this one was just a bit too small for my Girly- girl.   But that hasn’t stopped her for wanting to wear it everywhere lol!

Little Froggy

See the little froggy Swimming in the pool
The water’s great- It’s nice and cool
When she gets all cleaned up Out she’ll hop
Squeaky clean From bottom to top.
See the little froggy On the lily pad
Trying to catch flies She’s getting sad.
When she catches one, She’ll gobble it up
Back in the water She’ll go Ker plop!

 

 

Many months ago, I downloaded this pattern for a frog.  And now I can’t find the link to where I found it =(  If anyone knows, please let me know so I can properly credit the designer.

Little Froggy is about 7.5 inches long and is filled with barley to give her that bean bag feel. 

Closed: Purse- onality Giveaway

Yes, it’s been awhile.  What can I say but I’ve been busy with everyday life and an extended vacation.  But, to make up for it, I have 3 new purses for your viewing pleasure.  And one lucky reader will win one of them!

The first one is Pink Rhapsody.

This one has a pocket on the inside and a pocket on the outside- where the two different fabrics come together.

Next is the Harper bag.

This is a nice circular tote bag with an extended top.  And I’m sorry, but it does not fit across the body on adults =)

There are no pockets on this one.

Then we have the Pressley bag.

The Pressley is quilted and has an interior pocket.

One lucky reader will win their pick of the bags.  And then the other 2 will be for sale.  First come, first serve =)  And how do you win?  Easy.  Just leave a comment on this post.  I’ll have random.org pick a winner next week Friday (September 24th). 

Warning: Extreme Cuteness Ahead

Butterfly Garden at the zoo

 

Better than TV

 

Future cowboy and cowgirl

 

And another cowboy

“I’m cuter, so take a picture of me”

 

Testing for orange belt

 

Focus and determination

 

Sarge redid the front landscaping.  It looks very nice.

 

 

I finally got around to painting the boys’ room.  Red, white and blue.  Fitting since I painted it over the 4th of July =)