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handmade halloween costume: princess fairy

November 5, 2014

If you have been following me for awhile you know that making my kids Halloween costumes is my favorite thing to make all year. What I love most is that my kids always choose to be something out of the ordinary. A few months ago my son declared he was going to be a praying mantis for Halloween. Quickly thereafter the girls decided that it was a great idea and they wanted to be praying mantises too. My kids have never changed their minds about their costumes in the past but I will admit, I was hoping for a costume change this year! Then my littlest decided she was going to be a piranha and not a praying mantis…so I waited some more. I knew a piranha would be ever harder to do! Then finally a few weeks before Halloween the girls decided to go as a pink princess fairy and a blue princess. Luckily they stuck with those costumes but came with lots of ideas and visions for me. These kids sure know what they want when it comes to Halloween costumes! Oh and if you wondering, my son still wanted to be a praying mantis.

So here is our little fairy princess costume…

She of course wanted wings, a wand, a crown of flowers, and a dress with pink flowers all over it. Oh and of course the bottom of the dress had to be really puffy.

The rosette fabric and lining satin came from my stash. I used The Caroline Party Dress pattern from Mouse House Creations for the bodice of the dress and then followed this tutorial from Girl Inspired for the tutu. Instead of adding a full skirt I made little petals from the rosette fabric.

The wings came from Amazon here and then I added a flower and a few ribbons to them.

I made the crown from some floral flowers that I bought from Michael’s Craft Stores. Then I added lots of glitter to it.

I made her wand by using a few canning jar lids and a wooden dowel. Then just covered them with fabric scraps, a flower, some ribbon and of course more glitter.

KCW Day 1-3

October 22, 2014

I had big plans to spend this Kids Clothes Week making the kids Halloween costumes. But unfortunately I waited til the last minute to order my fabric and it still hasn’t come in. Fingers crossed it comes in by Friday. Making three Halloween costumes in one week is going to be a lot of work! But when we walk into Walmart and see all those costumes hanging up my kids still comment on how they rather have me make theirs then buy one. It makes my heart happy! This may not always be the case so I will take it while I can!

So anyways, I decided to work on some vests for the girls this week. Like in the past I used some pre-quilted fabric from Jo-Ann Fabrics and lined it with a thick minky fabric. I used the Knight Hoodie Pattern from Charming Doodle as a starting point. Of course I omitted the arms and all of the extra details but the front, back and hood pieces are pretty much the same. For the construction of it I used my hooded vest tutorial. It’s a great little hooded vest that sews up in little time. Now off finish up her sisters…

lol swing dresses

October 22, 2014

A few weeks ago my two little girls were asked to be flower girls in my husband’s cousin’s wedding.

The bride was extremely laid back and just told me to have the girls wear any old dress they had. I of course could not let that happen. They had to have matching dresses and match the wedding colors…right?

Thankfully I had some satin fabric in my stash that worked perfectly.
The only downside to this fabric was that I had very little fabric to play with, but still wanted dresses that had a little flow to them. I immediately thought to make thelol swing top by Jennuine Design into a dress. I made a lol swing top a few months ago that my littlest just loves! The top has such a great shape and flow to it and it must be super comfy because my littlest lives in hers!

I made a few minor changes to the shirt pattern in order to make it into a dress. First I added about 5 inches or so to the length of the pattern then I tapered the back piece in a few inches on the sides. I didn’t want to change the gatherings at all but knew there would be a bit too much bulk with the satin. So tapering it was the perfect option. The other change was with the shoulder closure. I had a hard time getting the bias strips to look perfect on the edges so I ended up making little caps to cover up my not so perfect edge. Working with satin bias strips is not easy I tell ya! The pattern itself is great! It is easy to follow with step by step pictures to help you along the way. What I love most about the pattern is the way the fabric flows and of course the back. Jenn did an amazing job with the cut of this top.

Now I will leave you with some pictures that I took from the ceremony. It was such a beautiful and meaningful ceremony. We feel so blessed that we could be there to witness it as well as have our little ones be part of it.
I also have to mention that I hemmed the brides gown. Talk about stress right there! But honestly, she was the perfect bride to work with (and how beautiful!). She was so laid back that she would have been happy with anything. I think the hem came out really nice and thankfully it didn’t fall out. I learned a lot from working on her dress and it has inspired me to want to learn more about formal wear. After all, I have two little girls and a ton of nieces who are going to need dresses hemmed and altered in the future!

Have any of you ever sewn formal wear or a wedding gown? Any great resources you want to share?

Quechee Gorge

October 10, 2014

This week my husband and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. To celebrate we decided to go for a little hike with the kids at Quechee Gorge in Vermont. Below are a bunch of pictures from our trip. It is amazing how fast 10 years can fly by!

sunflowers from the garden

September 13, 2014

sewing for kindergarten

September 11, 2014

Today I am participating in Sewing for Kindergarten by Mie from Sewing Like Mad.

Sewing for Kindergarten is a fun little series were we make an outfit for that special little one starting kindergarten. Starting kindergarten is a big deal in this house. We choose not to send our kids to preschool at all so kindergarten is their first experience with school. Below are a few questions that Mie wanted me to answer. It’s been so fun reading through everyone else’s answers.

Is this your first time sending a child to Kindergarten? If not, what number child is this?

This is my second child starting kindergarten. Next year I will be sending her sister off as well. The worse part about having 3 kids in 3 years is that they all leave home way too quick!

Do you feel like crying or celebrating? And what about your child? I feel like crying for sure…and do! I love having my kids home with me and it feels so weird when they are not around. My little girl is celebrating all the way. She told me the other day that if I get sad and start missing her then I should look at one of her pictures and I would feel better. So then I asked her what would she do if she started missing me. And her answer was that she does not miss me at all. Ouch! Actually I am very thankful that she feels that way. It means that she is ready and she is just fine without me. Its a huge sense of relief. But I do know that she misses me a tiny bit. The way she yells “Momma” and runs off that school bus each day shows me so.

What type of school (public, private, homeschool) will your child attend?My kids attend public school

What was your own first day of school like? I do not remember a thing about my first day. Actually I don’t remember much about kindergarten other then it was half-day classes…and I peed my pants. Crazy that is all I remember.

For my little kindergartner I wanted to make something comfy and for the cooler weather that will be arriving soon. My girls are all about comfort and anything that can be paired with tights or leggings, so this is the perfect outfit.

For the top I used The Perri Pullover pattern from Cali Faye.

I used a soft sweatshirt fabric that I had in my stash. I sewed up a size 4 even though she wears a 5/6 right now. And as you can see it is still a little big on her. I have sewn the Women’s Perri Pullover Pattern a few times so I knew that the sizing was very generous. The pattern itself is a very easy to follow and a pretty quick sew. I highly recommend it.

She just loves the top.

For her pants I used the Hosh Pants Pattern from Lou Bee Clothing. This is my fourth time sewing this pattern and I just love it! These pants go together super quick and the sizing is spot on for my kids. The only modification I did to the pants was make them with a ribbed knit waistband.

I used a fun floral print that I had in my stash. The fabric is a decor weight so I cut on the bias to give a little more stretch.

It is still so hard to believe that she is in kindergarten!

flip this pattern {voting opens today}

August 29, 2014

If you follow me on facebook or instagram you know that I am competing in the Summer Flip This Pattern over at Frances Suzanne. I shared my “flipped” look over on Frances Suzanne this week and today I am finally sharing it with all of you.

First of all, here is an overview of the Flip This Pattern Series for those of you who have never heard of it before. Basically four Sew-ers were given the same pattern the Ethan Shirt Pattern by Sis Boom to start with. From there we could turn it into whatever we wanted to. All this week we got to have a look at everyone’s “flips” and they were all amazing! Each look is so different and unique but have the same basic pattern in common. Today the voting finally opens, so head on over here to vote for your favorite look.

Now on to my “flipped” look!

I will admit, I was super nervous to reveal what I made. Flipping patterns is not really my thing and I had so many struggles along the way with this one but in the end, I really like what I came up with. More importantly my little girl LOVES it and that is all that really matters. She loved it so much that she decided to wear it on her first day of kindergarten. Way to make your Momma feel loved right?! Oh and by the way she LOVES school!

As you can see I decided to turn the Ethan Shirt by Sis Boom into a dress for my little girl.

I had to make a lot of changes to the pattern in order to get a well fitting dress for my daughter. Starting with the shoulders I had to adjust the width as well as the armhole a few inches. I also made the back of the shirt under the yoke slightly gathered. I just added a few extra inches to the width of the pattern to allow for the extra gathering and then matched the gathered piece up to the altered yoke piece.

Then I did the same gathering technique to the front of the dress as well. Since there was no “yoke” piece for the front of the dress I just cut the front of the pattern where I wanted to gathering to be and then added in the seam allowance. I didn’t make any changes to the collar but should have made it a bit larger. It is too tight around my little girls neck and cannot snap it. I should also mention that I used snaps instead of buttons. I am just not a huge fan of buttons on my kids.

I made a little tie belt as well as added some belt loops to the dress.

I decided to make some flutter sleeves instead of the long sleeves so that my little girl could wear it now as well as into the cooler months. A cardigan layered over it will allow for wear throughout the seasons.

Surprisingly I did not adjust the length of the pattern at all. I happen to love the length and it even looks super cute with a pair of leggings or tights underneath.

Now make sure you head on over here to vote for your favorite look. Voting is only open until Saturday, August 30 and I know all of us would love to see our “flips” shown a little love!

First day of school

August 28, 2014

Yesterday was the first day of school. My little girl started kindergarten this year.

While my little guy headed into the second grade.

Both kids loved their first day and I loved all of the stories they had to tell when they got home.

sewing spaces {abby from sew much ado}

August 26, 2014

Today we have Abby from Sew Much Ado sharing her sewing space.

I had the pleasure of meeting Abby awhile back and she is just about as sweet (and beautiful) as one gets…and her blog is just about the same. It is full of beautiful creations that she has made for her children, herself as well as her home. Besides blogging Abby has her own pattern line Sew Much Ado which you can see here. I have made a few of her patterns and just love them! One of these days I am finally going to make one of those cute little Ruby Lou Dolls. It has been on my to do list for forever! Below are some more of my favorites from her site.

Gathered Car Seat Canopy, DIY Wood Crate Bookshelf, Ruby Lou Dolls, Infant Peasant Dress Pattern,

Now let’s take a little peek at Abby’s sewing space. How beautiful is that hutch?! Now head on over here to see the rest of her sewing space.

sewing spaces {Tasha from glitter and wit}

August 12, 2014

Today I have Tasha from Glitter and Wit sharing her sewing space.

Tasha has been blogging for just over a year now but you would never know it by looking at her blog. It is full of the coolest creations! I just love Tasha’s style and she has such an ability to pair fabrics together that I would never think to pair together. Plus, Tasha makes all of her kids clothes…yes, ALL OF THEIR CLOTHES! I dream of such a thing, but know it would never happen. I just love that she does it. Luckily Tasha occasionally sells some of her “pre-loved” kids clothes as well as some of her handmade creations in her shop Glitter and Wit. Below are just a few of my favorites off her blog.

The Senna Tote, Ash Jumpsuit, Fedora Hat, Doli Tanks and Hosh Pants

Now let’s have a little peek at Tasha’s sewing space. Head on over here to see the rest of it and make sure you do because I learned something new about Tasha that I never knew before. The picture below gives you a little hint, but I never caught it. Let’s see if you are more observant then me!

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