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 =)

An Easter Dress

Yes, I know it's been months and I know Easter was awhile ago.  But, this is what I made for my Easter dress... Back when I still had a belly to fill it out lol!

It's a simple tank style dress made with a knit jersey.  The shrug has a twisted "knot" on the front and is made from a tissue weight knit fabric.

One of these days, I may get around to posting about Girly- girl's dress.  Or maybe not.  I have a few wraps in the works that I hope to have posted soon as well.

It's been too long...

that I've been out of the sewing room.  But I have good reason- besides being 33 weeks pregnant ;)  A few weeks ago, we decided to rearrange some rooms in the house.  As a result, my sewing room got moved downstairs into the front room that really wasn't being used for much.

So, now I have more room and better natural light =)  It's just taken me this long to get everything reorganized and set- up the way I want it to be.

Yes, that is a display of my running medals...

The majority of my fabric is still upstairs, but I do have a couple shelves in the kitchen pantry for some of the things I use with almost every sewing project.

So now that everything is set- up and organized, I just have to decide what I want to work on first.  With Easter coming up, maybe a new dress for Girly- girl.  Hmm, but wait...  There are a few things that I need to finish up for Sarge first.  And of course I need to think about getting some items to stock in my shop.  It's been low/ empty for too long.

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.

Tractors for TJ

Junior had a birthday party for one of his friends this weekend.  He picked out a box of monster trucks for him.  When we got home, I realized that I didn’t have a bag big enough to wrap the present.  So what did I do?  Yup, I whipped up a backpack to put the present in.

I had some John Deere fabric in my stash.  I was actually kind of surprised considering the majority of my sewing lately has been for Girly- girl or purses =)

The backpack ended up a bit bigger than I was expecting.  But, that’s all right.  Mr. TJ said it was his as soon as he saw it =)

The backpack has two inside pockets.  The larger of the two is divided into three sections and then the smaller of the two is sewn part way into the middle.  The flap closes with two magnetic clasps.  The straps are padded and there is a handle on the top of the bag.

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). 

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Jocelyn!  She’s won my origami bag giveaway!

Send me your address and I’ll get it out to you as soon as possible =)

Juliet

I came across this pattern at a local quilt shop and thought I should try it out.

You can't really see the gathered bust line in the picture (mostly because of the pattern on the fabric). 

I cut the pattern for the above the knee length and then realized that it needed a bit more length to be modest enough =)  So, I added the ruffle on the bottom.

I had originally planned on this being my Easter dress, but didn't get it finished in time.  So, it became my Mother's Day dress.  Wore it with a cute fitted blazer because it wasn't quite warm enough to go sleeveless. 

I plan on making this again.  Might even play around with mixing different fabrics.

Sold: Jolie

Jolie: an adjective meaning pretty.

A great combination of pink and brown,

sugar and spice

and all that's nice.

Two large exterior pockets accented with buttons.

Five interior pockets and a centered, zippered pouch.

The tote measures approximately 14"x17"x7"

The shoulder straps are approximately 20"

Jolie is for sale for $30.

Miss Behaving

I made this bag for a friend.  She had challenged me to make a bag that fit her personality =)

This is a fairly large totebag with a lot of pockets.  Four on the front and 10 on the interior. 

It measures approximately 20" wide, 18" high and 2" deep.

Flowers and Fairies

I came across this fabric at a local quilt shop and was inspired to create a dress.  It took a bit of planning and help from my MIL to get the final design down, but I think it turned out pretty cute =)

Now if I only had flowers in my front garden for her to pick.

Hearts A- flutter

With the craziness of the move last fall, I didn't get a chance to make Girly- girl a Christmas dress.  So I figured a Valentine's Day dress would have to do =)

Girly- girl was being very cooperative with letting me take pictures today.  And the weather was perfect...  Sunny, 75* with just a slight breaze =)

Crimson Sunset Shirt

The elastic smacked waitband on the shirt provide just enough pop of color to keep this shirt from being boring.  Paired with a pair a jeans, it makes a great shirt to wear on warm summer nights.

Contrast binding at the neck with an embroidered leaf pattern add just a bit more allure to the shirt.

The shirt will fit a size medium.

It is for sale for $15.

Kickin' Back Linen Dress

With three days of gray skies, and Sarge not around to help with pictures, I had to resort to dessing up my dress form and hoping for a cooperative model =)

This is a marron colored linen dress with tone- on- tone embroidered flowers.  The flash on the camera caused the embroided pattern to show up more than it really does.

Three vintage- styled silver buttons with flower embossed on them compliment the embroidered pattern on the dress.  There are two kangaroo- styled pockets at the hips.  The dress zips up the back.

This dress would fit a small/ medium.  It is for sale for $35.

Color Explosion Purse

Here's a fun, colorful purse for anyone who likes to stand out!

The purse is fully lined and includes two inside pockets, one on each side.

The purse measures approximately 10"x10"x4".  The straps are 15".

The purse is for sale for $20.

Chiffon Cascade Scarf

Here's the perfect scarf to add a bit a glam to your spring wardrode. 

This light aqua silk chiffon scarf has grape- like clusters at each end.  There are sequined flowers connected by a gold embroidered vine through out the body of the scarf.

The scarf is approximately 58"x 19"

It is for sale for $15.