All Dressed Up

I mentioned that I would be pulling out fun things I've made from previous months since I've been a slacker lately, right....well here's one!

Our family takes pictures every year with our friend who is an amazing photographer, Emily Piraino.  Here is a link to some of the photos she took of our family this year: http://emilypiraino.wordpress.com/2011/07/27/fountains/

I wanted to make a cute dress for Lillian to wear in some of the pictures...I found a pattern online for a crocheted dress, took measurements, and went to work.  The colors were really pretty on her.  If I remember right, I had to adjust (remove rows) from the straps because they were so long with the original pattern.  The back was also a little weird, but the overall design was great!  The pattern suggested some extra embellishment, like a button on the front, but I thought it was cute as is. 

Here are a few pictures of her in the dress :)

Brown Bear, Brown Bear Felt Project

Birthday season is in full swing around here...we know so many kiddos (and adults too) with birthdays in Oct.  Henry is our good friend that got the season off to a great start this past week by turning 2. 

I wanted to make him something special (as I do for all of Lillian's playgroup friends), so after much thinking and Internet searching, I decided on a felt board.  If you haven't seen one or had the opportunity to play with one, they are really neat because felt sticks to felt and you can make just about anything out of felt.  The possibilities are endless!!!  For my first felt board, I created a forest scene with a lake, trees, and plenty of room for the animals.  I wanted this to be educational for Henry, so I cut out animals in various colors and a different amount of each...now he can work on his colors, numbers, and animals :) 

This was a little bit harder/time consuming than I had planned, but hopefully he will enjoy it for a while.  I know that it was Lillian approved because I had to keep reminding her that it was for Henry and she couldn't play with it.  Don't worry, I've already told her I would make her one...maybe in time for our trip at the end of the month.

Here's a look at the finished product...



The glued on pieces




With the added animals...Henry can place them anywhere on the board :)




An envelope to contain the pieces and some Parent Ideas for a Parent & Me activity.

 It was amazing to see the ideas that people have for these boards and I saw more than one mom talking about a binder that she keeps each of the different activities in. 

Here are some other ideas:

• Matching numbers to how many objects
• Matching words to their object
• Colors
• Numbers
• Stories (I plan to do Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, Goodnight Gorilla, and Goodnight Moon for Lillian since those are her favorites right now)
• Poems
• Farm Animals
• Sea Animals
• First Words
• etc.

Butterfly Tutu

It's that time of year again...Halloween and Costumes!

I was determined to get started early on Lillian's Halloween costume this year since we will be traveling right before the big day.  I wanted something easier than last year (here's a link to the craziness then).  Brent was thinking that she would make a cute Pebbles from the Flinstones, but I couldn't find any sewing patterns in English...and I wanted something cuter for the last year that I can sway her opinion :)

So one hot day, we took a trip to a local Halloween/costume store to see what was out there for toddlers.  I wasn't too impressed with the selection, but we had fun looking at the store's entire selection of costumes.  In the adult section, Lillian saw a picture of a woman dressed like a butterfly and said "butterfly, butterfly."  I knew then that I would be making her a butterfly costume - or at least a pretty tutu to go with the wings I knew I would buy.  I might also make her some antenna for her head, but I'm not sure yet since she won't keep anything like that on. 

We're off to the fabric store to buy some tulle...when we stumble upon some pretty wings for a little girl.  Perfect!  So we snatch those up and then pick out a purple, and 2 shades of blue tulle to match.  I find the elastic for the waistband and we're on our way home. 

After a full afternoon cutting tulle into strips and then knotting them around the waistband, I have a finished costume.  How much easier this was than last year!!! 

For anyone interested in making a simple tulle tutu for your child, use a search engine and tons will pop up.  You can specialize the skirt with bows, flowers, sequins (for older children), etc.

 

MIA

I have definitely been MIA for a while...it started with some neck problems which evolved into laziness when it came to posting.  I have been working on crafts here and there along the way.  Maybe I'll post some pictures of  the projects....

I'm here to tell you, Brent and I are planning a big surprise for Lillian's 2nd birthday which will involve lots of craftiness...I can't wait to share the surprise when it's all done! 

Until then, I have a blanket to make and some other fun projects in the works...stay tuned :)

Silky Smooth...

My latest project was a shirt for myself.  I found this beautiful silk fabric on clearance at Joanne's and thought that I had to try it :)  Turns out that silk is much harder to work with and takes a bit longer too.  On the plus side, I think the shirt fit me better on the first go round this time than the other items I've made for myself.  The sleeves are a bit long, and when I look at the picture, it looks big on me, but it is meant to be "flowy."  Something else that I learned about with this project...you can't buy the same fusible for all material...explains why they sell different types.  I'm sure there were other AHA moments during this process, but I can't remember all of them...on to the picture!

I'm wearing a cami under the shirt, since it's very sheer!

Black January - Scrapbooking Fun

Last year I put together an ABC scrapbook for Lillian's first year.  I thought it would be fun to have another theme this year and it reminds me to take a lot of fun pictures each month...so this year will be colors.  I ended up with black for January...here's one of those pages :)

Have I mentioned how I love digital scrapbooking???

Hats & Jumpers & Dresses...Oh My

I didn't get a picture of all the hats that I made for the children in Honduras, but know that I have been busy with my crochet needles and lots of yarn!

Here's another jumper that I made for Lillian.  This one was made without pockets, but a ribbon around the bottom.  I also left off the bias tape that is supposed to be around the arm holes...she's so tiny, they just seemed unnecessary. 

Impossible to get a shot of this kid from the front since she's constantly running!

The most recent project that I completed was a dress for myself.  I picked out a few patterns online (have I mentioned how much I love looking at them online vs. in store with a screaming child in my arms?), asked Brent his opinion, and bought the pattern.  Then I found fabric that I thought would be great for a dress...bought some satin type material for the lining, and the zipper. 

This was the first pattern that I made for myself that included top measurements.  Tip: Have someone measure you...don't do it yourself.  My measurements were way too big or I don't know how to cut a straight line because when the dress was totally put together it was huge on me.  I ended up pinning it again, basting, and sewing a new seam.  For what it was, it turned out pretty well.  I had fun making this dress and I think I'll be making more from this pattern...I will just have to try a different size next time :)

Don't you love the shell-shocked look!

  

A Special Valentine's Day Project

I have been looking around for a cute outfit that Lillian could wear for Valentine's Day, but didn't want to spend a ton of money for something that was obviously for V-Day.  In the meantime, I was looking for toddler dress patterns for Lillian and found a cute jumper/dress...New Look 6016...follow the link to see the pattern envelope. 

I decided with the right fabric (red with white polka dots) it would be a cute V-Day dress that can be worn any other day as well :) 

Away I went with (most of) my supplies.  At home, I measured a squirming Lillian...chest, waist, and height.  According to the package, she was a little bit smaller than the smallest size for chest and waist, and the second size for height.  Deciding that it would be ok to have the dress a little big on her, I chose to use the smallest size and lengthen it a bit for her. 

Here's what I learned in this project:

1) You can trace a multi-size pattern onto other paper so that the same pattern can be used to make various sizes...very exciting to discover but takes a bit more time.

2) When the book says to practice a new technique before doing it on your project, do so!  Buttonholes are not as easy as you might think and should be practiced. 

3) Bias tape should be of the same color as the fabric because it will peek through on the final garment. 

4) Always try on the garment before hemming because the sizing could be way off.  I hemmed this outfit to the normal 1.25", tried it on Lillian...then removed ~ 3" and hemmed again.

5) It's easy to make this outfit "your own" by adding or removing the accent pieces such as ribbon, pockets, flowers, etc.

I had a great time making this outfit and it took less than a week to complete (with lots of daddy babysitting on the weekend). 

I made the dress...the shirt and tights were purchased separately.  Of course, Lillian would rather eat her shoes than wear them.

The back of the dress as Lillian runs down the hall.

Trunk Show-Off

Here are a couple of the completed Elephants that I made for Lillian, her cousins, and a couple of friends.  I think they're a little goofy looking, but the girls sure seem to like them (or so their moms tell me). 

This was another pattern that came with my S.E.W. book.  They were pretty easy to make, especially since they didn't have any special closures. 

I definitely learned one valuable sewing lesson with this project...be careful how close you trim the seam allowance.  One of the elephants came apart completely in the wash and only a day before the birthday :(

Embroidery thread eyes make this Elephant safe for babies.

Button eyes for Lillian's elephant.

Cuddling with her new toy...and growing up so fast!

All Zipped Up

After taking a break to rest my aching neck, I got back into the sewing projects in full force.  I will post a very cute project that I have been making for Lillian and some of her friends, but I need to deliver one more first. 

This post is all about my new skirt.  It's better than the last one (personal opinion), but still figuring out how to make a pattern that fits me well.  Since I'm so short (5'1 for those that care to know), I feel that I should shorten my skirts/pants appropriately.  Unfortunately, even after measuring, this skirt turned out a bit shorter than I would have liked...but it's still cute and my husband really likes it (of course). 

The pattern I used for this skirt was a Simplicity "Sew Easy" pattern.  It's the first pattern that I have made that wasn't in my SEW workshop book or my own disastrous design (see worm costume).  It was a little bit intimidating at first, and the big challenge was definitely the zipper.  I also learned about basting and twill tape.  The pattern didn't provide any info on completing the hem at the bottom of the skirt, so I used the basic instructions that my SEW Workshop book provided. 

Here were the things I learned from this project:

1. Visualize the pattern pieces together and read the instructions on the pieces before cutting...otherwise you may cut 4 pieces rather than 2 on a fold (yep, I did that).

2. Zipper feet can be difficult to install, especially if the directions are unclear and you are a beginner.

3.  Invisible zippers may be difficult to apply...try, try again...in the end, a zipper makes a much better closure for a skirt than a wrap.

4.  Don't get too bummed if the skirt ends up shorter than you had imagined, at least the men in your life will appreciate it!

This was a fun skirt to make and I will hopefully find time to make more of them in the future...it took me less than a week to make this one during naps.