I just received these super cute buttons today from TessaAnn on Etsy and will be adding them soon as embellishments on the shirts! Don't they look delicious?!
I finally finished this dress, I tried out several and even bought 2 different chicken wire fabrics until I found the right one - chicken wire fabric, who knew?!
And look what I found at Marshall's! ($15!!). A mini (toddler-size-5) dress form - yes, it is "developed," but I just turned it around and it makes the perfect model when the little one doesn't want to "try it on just one more time!" And it will look super-cute in the powder room when not performing modeling duty.
So, I bought this super cute (and easy to understand) pattern on Etsy from WhileTheyPlay, to make some gloves for my grandmother. The design is beautiful and it's so fun to knit with all of those little double-pointed needles! It just takes me a while because unlike my grandmother I do not have petite hands. I used a somewhat fuzzy bamboo yarn which looks fabulous, but the stitches are tiny, so I had a hard time picking them out when I made a mistake.
One down and one to go! And I'm getting faster! It looks like the small is a perfect fit for a pre-teen, too!
Now that my little one is in Kinder and we have a cousin who "needs" matching outfits, I love making outfits for whatever holiday we are going to celebrate! There is so much cute Christmas fabric out there - so we are designing two!
These are the fabrics and some of the work in progress.
My cousin wants fluffy cuffs on the top that will match the santa leopard, so I will also be breaking out the knitting needles!
I searched all over for my fabrics, but here are links to some of the fabric on etsy.com
So, I volunteered to help decorate for the school's pumpkin patch. I thought, I love banners - I can make those. Of course, 42 of anything takes a while! I'm about half-way done and I've run out of the right color circles - off to cut more. And I still have to laminate - won't that be fun!
My how-to:
-I cut out triangles the size I wanted.-Found the only leaf die-cut at the school and cut out tons of leaves. -Decided polka dots are always fun and cut out some of those. -Layered and glued (glue-stick). -After I laminate, I will either punch holes and string or use packing tape to attach to ribbon.
-If I were using scrapbook paper (which is usually thicker than school paper) I would probably add those cute little eyelets/grommets for stringing the ribbon through.
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This would be a fun project to give to your kids for when they get out of school that week of Thanksgiving. Make sure you have tons of leaves, or have them trace and cut their own. They could even attach real leaves! Although, it might get kind of messy when they get all dry and crumbly. (Our oak trees should just be starting to turn and will be just right!)
I have wanted to include more girly-girl ornaments in my shop for some time and have been "trying on" dresses without finding the right style - until now!
Y'all know how much I adore hearts - so I made a small heart template and maneuvered it to create my own sweetheart neckline (and hem) dresses!
Each ornament is about 4 1/2" tall without the attached ribbon.
I purchased these beautifully colored fabrics from a lovely shop, TheQuiltShoppe, on Etsy!
I only have photos of one, but made two - one for us and one for our cousin.
I was planning on making ours more patterned, and the other more "halloween-ish" since we don't celebrate, but ran out of fabric so both skirts are the same.
I love how the twirl skirt is so full - and it was easier to make than I thought it was going to be. I used 8 different fabrics. I cut 8 rectangles and 8 "1/4 pie pieces" (triangles with curves on the bottom). The rectangles are longer so they can taper and meet at the waist. I used a plate to trace the triangles.
Her top has all the fabrics, our top is without the "animals!"
My SKIRT how-to: ~I laid out design, alternating fabrics. ~I sewed one triangle to the side of one rectangle on the lower edge (8 times), making sure that I sewed each set together the same way. I zigzag-finished each seam after this step. ~Using pins (which I hardly ever use), I lined up one rectangle side to the desired triangle side. It was a bit tricky at the top of the triangle, but I pinned as straight as I could. I sewed the seam and zigzagged, and then did the same for the remaining pieces. ~I finished the bottom with a tiny zigzag. ~I folded over fabric the top of skirt and made a casing for an elastic waist.
My SHIRT how-t0: ~I cut the pieces and laid out the fabrics on a piece of interfacing and pinned them down. ~I sewed a tight zigzag on all the seams and around the outer edge, too, since my machine is really picky. ~I ironed the square to the shirt and sewed a straight stitch around the edges to hold it in place. ~I added a little bow to top - it just made it look more balanced. ~~~~~ I'm not used to explaining my patterns, so if you have any questions, I will be happy to answer them!
For some reason I thought it would be fun to make my little one a coat. I had the pattern left over and unused from my oldest, so I took the plunge last night. I had to make huge seams and adjust the collar because of it, but I think it's going to work.
I still have all the finishing work, top stitching and hand stitching to do, but I'm so close!
Did I mention it's reversible?!
I love how the fabrics contrast. The lady who sold them to me wasn't convinced, but it turned out just like I planned. She was so sweet - "You do know that at some point both of the fabrics will show at the same time?" I told her I was going for vintage funky!
Just in case you're interested, the pattern was from 1998, it is Butterick 5714. I made the collars and pockets contrasting, whereas the pattern has them the same.
So ... I found this wall hanging today. Brass, floral, deeply embossed, well-loved. Now, I have to tell you that I planned to cut it up like my ceiling tin (and I still might!), but I wanted to see some other opinions. By searching online, it appears that yes, this is definitely vintage, maybe as early as the 1950s based on some other items. None of the other ones are floral, though. But they still seem to be a tough sell on ebay. (Only found 2 on etsy).
It has some condition issues, there are areas of black, peely (paint?), and and two worn spots with a green color showing through (like copper does). Can that be fixed? It doesn't seem like it would be wanted in this condition.
So, I could (1) attempt to sell as is (2) paint it and "cottage" it up a bit (3) cut it up and make a heart garland as originally planned (4) keep it a mystery and not tell anyone!
Lucy hasn't arrived yet, but her sweet mommy has already requested some special letters just for her. I was so excited that I had such a "girly" designed tin to use as the material.
And since I love pink, I was doubly excited that this was the requested color!
My little one needed a coordinating outfit, but the smallest tee was just too big. So, I took a deep breath, said to myself - it's only $10, and got out the scissors!
I laid the shirt flat, cut off each sleeve about 1 and 1/2" inside each seam and sewed a straight seam up each side also about 1 and 1/2", so a total of 3" off of each side. I also sewed higher so that the arm hole was smaller. Each of the sleeve ruffles is a long, shallow curve (approx 1/3 of the long side of an oval) that is gathered and sewn to the top half of the arm opening.
I made belt loops and added a belt to give it a bit of shape and added 3 ruffles to the bottom. The turquoise fabric is a handkerchief print to go along with the "giddy up" theme. The bottom ruffle is attached to the very bottom of the tshirt (it was long!) The other two ruffles are just sewn on top of the shirt. The top edges are finished.
And one set of Christmas outfits done
In my shop now!
-Found the only leaf die-cut at the school and cut out tons of leaves.
I was planning on making ours more patterned, and the other more "halloween-ish" since we don't celebrate, but ran out of fabric so both skirts are the same.
My SKIRT how-to:
I still have all the finishing work, top stitching and hand stitching to do, but I'm so close!
Just in case you're interested, the pattern was from 1998, it is Butterick 5714. I made the collars and pockets contrasting, whereas the pattern has them the same.
So ... I found this wall hanging today. Brass, floral, deeply embossed, well-loved. Now, I have to tell you that I planned to cut it up like my ceiling tin (and I still might!), but I wanted to see some other opinions. By searching online, it appears that yes, this is definitely vintage, maybe as early as the 1950s based on some other items. None of the other ones are floral, though. But they still seem to be a tough sell on ebay. (Only found 2 on etsy).
So, I could (1) attempt to sell as is (2) paint it and "cottage" it up a bit (3) cut it up and make a heart garland as originally planned (4) keep it a mystery and not tell anyone!
Each one is about 6" tall. I'm going to add hooks to the backs so they can be hung separately or strung all together like a garland.
I love the swirls and curves!
I made belt loops and added a belt to give it a bit of shape and added 3 ruffles to the bottom. The turquoise fabric is a handkerchief print to go along with the "giddy up" theme. The bottom ruffle is attached to the very bottom of the tshirt (it was long!) The other two ruffles are just sewn on top of the shirt. The top edges are finished.
Just had to share the cute tees my oldest made for herself and for my youngest! She is so proud to be able to say - My sister made it for me!
