Summer time Halter Top

Green and yellow blend together perfectly in this sweet halter top.  Perfect for summer weather or for showing some team pride =)

Top is sized to fit 3T/4T.  With elastic in the back, it will grow with your little one for a couple seasons.

The top can be found in my Etsy shop.

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!

Date Night

Limo ride, candlelight dinner, background piano music and professional photos.  The perfect date night.  All that was needed was the perfect dress. 

What could be more perfect than a gray sheath with kick pleats on the sides and embroidered pink and purple flowers?

What, you thought I was going on the date?  Nope, Girly- girl was the lucky one to have a date =)

The jumper is made of a light weight wool with flower embroidery on it.  There are two kick pleats on the side.  The dress is lined with a pink cotton to eliminate the “itchiness."  I overlapped the shoulder seams to give the appearance that the straps came apart.  There is a pink rose button sewn on each shoulder.

She was so excited.

And here she is with her date.

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 =)

A bit of a catch up post...

Life has been pretty crazy since we moved.  I haven't had a lot of time to get in the sewing room (now that it's unpacked!), but I have managed a couple projects in the last few weeks.

This first was to help out a friend.  She is starting to sell patterns and wanted someone to proofread/ test out the instructions to make sure they were clear enough.

The pattern is actually designed to make a dress for a toddler.  But, I liked it so much that I may just leave it as a skirt.  Not that I have anywhere that I could wear it...

If you're interested in purchasing the pattern, it can be found here.

My next project was a dress for Girly- girl.  And since she loves Dora...

This last project was part of Girly- girl's Christmas present.  She is definately a little princess!

It's not a very good shot of the crown, but that is what I made.  The instructions for the crown can be found here.

I have a few projects in the works right now.  Hopefully I'll be reopening my etsy shop in the next couple weeks.  Until then, happy crafting!

Flowers for Girly- Girl

I seem to have a hard time remembering to take before pictures. This was a plain women's t- shirt. I like the idea of t-shirt dresses for Girly- girl. They're easy for her to put on herself and easily washable for me.

The dress part was cut to take advantage of the hem on the shirt. It's gathered in the front and the back of the bodice. The sleeves were also cut to take advantage of the hem. They're gathered on the top of the sleeve.

The flowers are iron- on appliques that I found at a local store. I was surprised at how well they matched the dress because I didn't have this in mind when I bought them =)

Polka Dots and Pearls

I came across this pattern on fiddlehead and just knew that my Girly- girl needed one for herself.

I figured I had *just* enough fabric to get every piece out and was really proud of myself that I had very few scraps when Junior decided he wanted to help me and cut the tie straps into pieces :( Now what?

Fortunately Girly- girl saved the day by reminding me that I had pretties she liked to wear. A few quick stitches and she had a pretty sewn to her shirt to help keep it up.

Now she's all ready for the hot summer months... If they ever decide to show up around these parts.

Carried Away

The quilt shop in town has been an endless source of inspiration for me. The bold, colorful prints just beg to be made into creative items. This particular piece inspired me to make it into a mei tai style baby carrier. This carrier is available for sale in my etsy shop.

The carrier is made of quilting weight cotton, which has a tighter weave as well as being a heavier weight. I've found that this cotton stands up better through multiple washings and the wear and tear that kids can put it through.

The shoulder straps are padded from just a couple inches above the top of the carrier to about mid- back.

This style of carrier has proven to be the most versitile carrier for me. Once my children have been able to hold their heads, I've carried them in the front carry.

And then, once they are old enough to not "fling" themselves backwards, I put them on my back.

Strawberry Lovin'

I had posted a note to my Facebook account that said I would make something for the first 5 people who responded. One of the five who responded has three girls. I wanted to make them something that matched. After pondering what I could make that would look good on three different girls, I came up with appliqueing strawberry hearts on white t- shirts.

The fabric is some that I had left over from girly- girl's Easter dress. Out of that and a desire to expand my sewing skills, I came up with these shirts.

And then in a fit of inspiration (and realizing that I still had some fabric left over), I made a paper- bag style skirt for one of the shirts. I stitched elastic around the waist and then stitched in to the t- shirt.

Girly- girl modeling the new dress. The dress is for sale in my etsy shop.

And why is it that she can never have a photo shoot all to herself? Her younger brother always insists on getting in on the shoots. Thanks to older brother from trying to pull him out of the way.

Happy Birthday Little One!

Forgive me for editing out some of the personal information =)

A bright, sunny birth announcement for a bright, sunny little girl.

My other obsession is counted cross stitch. I've been doing this for over 10 yrs now. Every once in awhile I get a request- mostly from friends and family- to stitch a birth announcement. And right now, I have a back log for five different ones. Guess I better get stitching!

Strawberry Dreams

I decided I was going to make my DD's Easter dress this year. So, we headed off to JoAnn's to look at fabric and patterns. It was a pretty easy choice for her... They had this dress modeled in front of the fabric. So she wanted "dis one!"

So, I let her pick out what fabric she wanted. "barberries and geen". And then she wanted ladybug buttons for it. I was only too happy to comply :)

Love Bug

I came across this pattern at burdastyle.com. Overall I liked the pattern, but there are a couple things I changed... The shorts were suppose to be one piece, but to save fabric, I cut them in half and sewed outside side seams. The darts on the front of the shirt need to be gathered before sewing them together. The sizing on the pattern is a little screwy as well. The top was suppose to be a 4T, but fits closer to a 3T.

My DD loves the outfit. She calls it her bug shirt :)

This is her telling her little brother to get out of her photo shoot :)

I will use this pattern again, but will keep the modifications I made, as well as modifying the neckline and the back closure.