Cole's Corner and Creations

Barbie Jumper All Dolled up!

2012-01-24T12:10:00.002-06:00

Most of the time Boo's and I plan her outfits together... choosing the patterns and fabrics and accessories... but this time, Ella did all the choosing.

She's been eyeing the clothes in the "All Dolled Up" sewing book by Joan Hinds for ages. It felt good to use one of the patterns in there, also. She chose the jumper pattern and it was very easy to make. The only pattern piece I had to trace off was the pocket. Which are SO, SO cute.

She just loves it when I make her dolls clothes to match. She loves to make the little doll model, too. Look how she was making her doll put her hand in her pocket like her.... so cute.

I had to buy three packs of those little heart buttons to get enough of the right size and color to make these two jumpers. I need to figure out something else to do with those, now....

I just love watching her little face light up when 'Emma' and she are matching!

I didn't make Emma a bow, though, just one for Boos. I covered a button with some of the Barbie fabric. It's not my favorite bow, but Ella really wanted Barbie on it.

Oh.... and guess what guys?I was featured on the Simplicity facebook page! Go check it out. I'm pretty tickled by it.

Rainbow Brite Upcycle

2012-01-23T11:31:00.000-06:00

Though... come to think of it, I'm not really sure this would classify as an 'upcycle' since I bought this t-shirt specifically for cutting up into a dress for Ella.

This little one just loves Rainbow Brite. This is the 3rd Rainbow Brite outfit I've made her and she loves them all!So, when I saw this t-shirt at Wal-Mart, I just had to have it for her.

I knew that I wanted to use the Sienna Dress Pattern by Lil Blue Boo. Every dress I've made from that pattern is a favorite. I had a little bit of a hard time matching the colors in the shirt, but finally figured it out and I'm really happy with the outcome!

We even managed to find some ribbons to match and Ella insisted on having a star on the bow, too.

She hasn't had a chance to wear it to school, yet, but she really loves it.

Hurry up spring!!!

Simplicity skirt 2356 and lulu monogram shirt

2012-01-20T17:12:00.006-06:00

Just another little school outfit for Boo's.
I started this and many others back in September and they have just been lying around~ UFO's that needed finished and modeled.

It feels so good to get them finished and out of the laundry room. I used Simplicity pattern 2356 for the skirt and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. It's slightly big and long, but at least she will be able to wear it for a while. I just fell in love with this fabric when I saw it at Hobby Lobby. When I saw the coordinating ribbon, I was sold!

I rarely put monograms or names on shirts, but Ella really wanted me to put this one on one of her shirts and I caved. I do like how it turned out, though, and I know that Emma can wear it later since it's just the monogram and not a name.

Ella loves the bow, too.
I used GGDesigns Stitch and Stack flowers on it. I'm convinced that those make everything cuter.

The past couple days I've been working on these UFO's and it's very productive... but a little boring... I'm ready to break into all those new patterns. I just have to clear my sewing desk and the laundry room out first.

Rapunzel outfit and matching 18 inch doll clothes

2012-01-18T21:21:00.000-06:00

Boos just loves this little outfit I made her.

I made it before Christmas, but hadn't let her wear it yet, because I hadn't made the bow or had her model it.She is so excited to have it and wore it to school today!

I used the Miss Muffet pattern for the skirt, which remains to be one of my favorite skirt patterns, and Planet Applique's Rapunzel applique for the top. Although, I really wish I would have made this with Lynnie Pinnie's rendition, which is just so much cuter and more detailed, but I had already purchased and appliqued this shirt before Lyndsey put her's out.

The bow was made this week out of some 1/2 off ribbon spools from Hobby Lobby. Have I told you how much I love their matching ribbons and fabric. Tooo cute!

The girls went thru a phase where they didn't want to wear bows, but Ella has decided they're cool again. YEA!!!! Do you know how happy that makes me?

I also made her baby a coordinating skirt and shirt.
The skirt is my own pattern (which I am going to share with you guys just as soon as I can figure out how to put a download on the blog... any help there?) and the shirt is by Precious Patterns. I used a new pattern I got for .99 on MLK day (Simplicity 1928) but you can also get it on YCMT.com. It was simple to make and took very little fabric. I know I'll make these again.

I also added a little applique from the skirt fabric on her little shirt. Easy and quick!

Ella loves it so much when I make matching doll clothes.
It's pretty fun, too, and also rewarding. I love seeing this look on her face.

She's getting so anxious to grow up... maybe if I keep making doll clothes, she'll stay little forever...

Hooded Reversible Vest for William

2012-01-17T07:19:00.000-06:00

I am so excited to show this to you guys!William is such a sweet little cutie pie and I, absolutely, love sewing for him.I was thrilled to test this pattern for Jen (the tie dye diva) a couple weeks ago and I've been dying to show it to you ever since.

It's completely reversible and put together so that there are no exposed seams. It's such a quick, clever, little garment and William loves it!!! He's already worn the red and grey side to school.

He likes the red side better.

I prefer the gray.

We both love the hood!I can't wait to make some more of these for William and make some for Ella, too.I think you'll love this pattern and it goes on sale today!
I even did a little linky party today.... Party!

Cutie Princess Hooded Towels

2012-01-13T09:13:00.000-06:00

Have you seen these new-ish appliques from Lynnie Pinnie?Holy Moley! They have to be some of the cutest appliques of ALL times!Just perfect for these little hooded towels for sisters.

Little mermaid for Annalise.

Rapunzel for Abigail.

And in return for making these, I got a pleated piece of pretty, pink broadcloth to practice smocking on!Thank you so much Keisha!I hope the girls love their towels. Sorry it took me so long to ship them.

Want to make your own hooded towel? Check out my tutorial here.

Winter capes for the girls

2012-01-12T12:02:00.000-06:00

My little cuties! :)

I guess these are technically called ponchos, but that word just brings to mind a horrible looking thing my best friend wore in high school. I stole it from his closet and hid it under my bed because it was so ugly. It was big and bulky and itchy and black, gray and white striped. Ugh... horrible. Kinda like this thing, but much worse, if you can imagine that.

I never gave it back to him. I threw it away when I moved from my apartment to my first house. ha! I saved him from a fashion disaster... but I guess that was pretty horrible of me. I'm cracking up just remembering it. I'm so evil.

Anyways... I used this pattern, McCall's 6431. It was one of the new ones this fall and I thought it would be so cute. My Mom made some capes for my little sister's like this when they were little and they loved them.

I love how they turned out. They are so warm and sweet and easy.I don't think the girls are as thrilled with them as I am, however. They love the fabrics and how they look, but they are difficult to play in. They aren't very wide in the body, which makes it difficult to move your arms freely and the neckline is wide, which makes for cold shoulders and necks.

They were very simple to put together and I'll probably make the version with the zipper next time. Yes~ there will be a next time, I really like the ease and look of capes. I'll most likely make it in a solid. While the girls love the printed fleece, it doesn't really work for me.

Although, I really LOVE Lucy's fleece. They are both from Hancock Fabrics, but Lucy's is printed so nicely and it's so soft.

My Mom bought them both for me when she came and visited back in October.

Lucy loves the little kitties, so I fussy cut one for the kangaroo pocket on the front.

I wanted to make them little hats to match their capes. Ella's with an icecream or cupcake applique and Lucy's with a kitty cat... but I just haven't gotten to it. Probably won't. I'm ready to dive into those new patterns!

I'm in the patterns!

2012-01-11T08:37:00.001-06:00

It was my birthday this past weekend! I'm 33 now and boy am I in the patterns! It's been a party in my mailbox all week!I ordered this one for myself before I left for Christmas break. I've been wanting it for a VERY long time.

Then my Mom let me pick out some patterns for my birthday present {thanks Mom} and I picked these Jalie ones. I LOVE those patterns so much, but have a hard time paying the price. I don't know why... they are really great patterns with a HUGE size range.

This is the pattern I used to make Ella's Christmas Barbie dress and Hailey's Non-itchy Marrying Dress.I also chose this one, even though all my babies are grown. I love making onesies for baby shower gifts.

Last but not least, I chose this undie pattern. Ever since we made panties for Boo's, she pretty much only wants handmade underwear. I'd like to make some for me, too. Do any of you have a good online source for those lingerie elastics... I think it's called picot trim elastic?

Then, in addition to that, I had a giftcard to Fairytale Frocks and Lollipops. Not only did I get some of this gorgeous fabric, but I also got a couple of Oliver + s patterns that I've wanted for a long time and in bigger sizes, because I'm finding that almost all my patterns are too small for my two oldest.

I've been trying to get this Tea Party Sundress for almost a year now, but it's out of print and so hard to find, but I found it on etsy this week for only $10! and couldn't pass it up, so I spent some of my birthday money on it.

I want it so badly, because there's an 18 inch doll dress to match it in this book I have. I want to make them for Boo's and Lucy so much!There's a bunch of projects in this book that I want to make. Have any of you made anything out of it?

I also got several new McCall's patterns this week at Hobby Lobby while they were 99 cents. I was really pleased with their new patterns and was especially excited about the Chelsea Anderson patterns. I really like those!

And to top it off, I got an email from Project Run and Play announcing me as the winner of a pattern give-a-way! (You are following the new season, right?)Look at all the cute patterns I get to try from Hadley Grace Desings, a new to me pattern company.

So, needless to say, I need to get my bum in gear and get tracing and cutting out!Talk about the mother load of new patterns! I'm in heaven. Plus, just yesterday, I tested a new pattern for the Tie Dye Diva and just love how it turned out. I'm thinking about sewing up another one before I start on any of these new patterns.

Emma's butterfly dress

2012-01-05T09:34:00.001-06:00

Have I told you how much I love the Portabello Pixie Claire pattern?
I stole this pattern from my Mom and vow never to give it back. It's just too dang cute.I have loved every single dress I've made from that pattern and more, the kids love them, too.

So when my niece Emma requested a butterfly dress, I knew it'd have to be a Claire.

I'm usually not a fan of butterflies, but I had this adorable fabric from Hobby Lobby in my stash (Mom actually bought it for Lucy and I never made anything for her out it... yeah... I was in the doghouse for using it for Emma instead of Lucy... ooops)But I really like how it turned out and I think I have enough left over to make something for Lu.

I used the Designs by Juju butterfly applique set for the apron and made my own bias to go around it using my easy tutorial and the Simplicity bias tape maker.

As much as I loved making the dress, I had even more fun with the bows. Ella and Lucy are not so in love with bows anymore, but Emma still loves them! I used GGDesigns butterfly stitchies for these.

Aren't they cute!?

Oh! I remembered to take a photo of the back, too. I usually forget that.I wish I had a picture of Emma in her dress, but I only have ones of Boos. Oh well....Wondering how I'm coming on those teacher's gifts?... still procrastinating. When this killer head cold finally goes away, I'll be coming out of the gate swinging. I have so many projects in mind.

Christmas wrap-up 2011

2012-01-03T10:43:00.000-06:00

So... I've had the most incredible break! Christmas was a whirr of fun and family filled activities, but none of which involved sewing of any kind. My poor machines.. they're so lonely.But we had a great time traveling to Texas to see the rest of the family.There was lots of presents, laughter, and fun to be had for all.

We made (and ate) tons of cookies, sent some to our friends and neighbors and attended many fun parties!

We took the girls for their first ice skating adventure...

took the boys to Legoland...

where they had the best time ever!

We managed to get a group photo of the adorable Grinch pajamas my Mom made for all 9 of the Grandkids.

And found out that #10 will be another precious baby girl. I can't wait to meet her in 2012!

We also got to travel to the in laws for more fun, fishing, weinie roasting, smores, and digging for rocks.

I also managed to read 2.5 of the Hunger Games books, get my husband to watch 'It's a Wonderful Life' for the first time ever, talk some un-eager family members into playing Apples to Apples, and see my little sister's new house this Christmas.It was so much fun, but went by so fast. I was ready to be home, though, and we spent New Year's Eve and New Year's day for the first time since we've lived away in our own home.Now, it's back to business as usual, with the kids going back to school tomorrow and me planning new projects everyday.Today, I'll be making the teacher's Christmas gifts that I didn't get to before the Christmas break.Here's to a productive and great 2012!

Polar Express Day

2011-12-15T20:32:00.000-06:00

or otherwise known as... pajama day!The kids favorite day of the week.

I threatened not letting them wear their pajamas to school today because they were such terrors Wednesday night.I found popcorn in their bedrooms, despite a very strict, no eating anywhere except the kitchen rule.But I caved and let them wear them... after all.... I stayed up very LATE finishing them up.I did, of course, make them pick up every piece of popcorn before they left for school.I hope they learned their lesson... probably not.

Ella really wanted a nightgown like this one, but I didn't have enough of this Santa kitty flannel that I got from JoAnn's a few years back. I purchased it specifically for Lucy, but Ella really wanted it and Lucy never wears pajamas anyways.

I used the Portabellopixie Ruffle pants pattern to make these pajama bottoms. Have I mentioned how much I like that pattern?

Then I used the 6X10 hoop to applique this adorable Santa Kitty on this ready to wear t-shirt from Hobby Lobby. This is the 2nd time I've used that kitty, but it looks way different from last time. It's one of my favorite files EVER. Why don't designers make more kitty appliques?William picked this Christmas candy flannel that's also from JoAnn's and I just made him another pair of his Easy Fit Pants. It's amazing how great those work for him and how bad they work on Boo's.

For his shirt, I used toyed with using this applique, but finally decided on the candy cane alpha from Planet Applique.

William was so thrilled with his pajamas, but not nearly as much as Boo's. She's so funny... and such a joy to sew for.

I'm giving myself the night off tonight. Tomorrow is Christmas day and you can wear anything Christmasy.My kids are wearing something old.... and I'm gonna bake cookies all day long for our neighbors, friends, and Christmas parties.Have any good cookie recipes to share with me?oh... and just for fun... this hilarious picture of Ella.What's with that pose?

Holiday in Whooville

2011-12-14T09:34:00.019-06:00

Today's theme was holiday in whoville. How fun is that?
We watched both versions of the Grinch who stole Christmas several times in preparations and had unlimited sketches all over the floor to choose from.

I, of course, wanted to go a little crazier than the kids did, but like always, I let them have the final say. Although... I have to admit I was pretty peeved at Boo's for not letting me give her a who hair-do.

William wanted some plaid pants with a matching vest and a bow tie (as seen on one of the actual Who's in the movie) but I altered it slightly. Partly because I couldn't find the right plaid (this was one of only about 6 bolts of Christmas fabric left to choose from at my Hancock Fabrics)and partly because I just made him a bow tie yesterday and I thought that pants and a vest out of that fabric would make me throw up.

I used a pretty green corduroy instead and really wished I would've had more dollars to get some to make holiday jumpers for the girls. I did line the vest with the pants fabric and made this awesome Grinch tie.

I didn't really use a pattern for the vest and I didn't have William with me when I cut it out, soo....it's way too short.... thank goodness it's just a costume! For his pants, I used the trusty Easy Fit Pants Pattern and while I was at it, cut out three more pairs of pajama pants for him. woo hoo!

I recently joined Applique Forum and got this adorable freebie from Just Peachy.
It was perfect for this dress up day!

I just stitched it on some WSS with two layers of felt and sandwiched the elastic in between to make this free standing tie.

Ella's was sooo fun to make once I figured out how I wanted it.
This is the inspiration photo she picked.

um..... how to make that child appropriate?

I used Ellie Inspired's Sporty girl pattern as a base, but added a zipper, raised the waistline, and added a circle skirt with trim.

Then I added a little black belt that was sooo easy. It's just that thick elastic with a velcro closure and a big button sewn to the middle. I love the way it finishes it off.

Ella wasn't sure about the hood, because it wasn't in the inspiration photo, but I knew it would be so cute. I wish that I would've lined the hood, but oh well.... I added a little bow on the zipper and then sewed little pom pom's on. I love the whimsy that it adds.

I was pretty mad that Ella wouldn't let me give her a Who hair-do, but she did let me give her pigtails and these awesome Grinch bows that were also an Applique Forum freebie. How cute are these???

I accidentally got the skirt a little on the short side... I mean, I like short skirts for little girls, but this one is pushing the boundaries, even for me.
I do have to say though, that the pettiskirt poking out when she spins is pretty adorable.

You can tell she felt pretty adorable today.
William just felt cold.
He DID NOT want to pose for me today.

But that's the price they have to pay. he he he

Today I have to make some Christmas jammas, but I'm probably gonna put it off until tonight cause I'm tired and I feel like sitting on the couch and watching Bubble Guppies with Lucy.

Rockin' Around the Christmas tree 50's style!

2011-12-13T09:01:00.014-06:00

Today's theme~ Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree~ just made me think of the 50's. I quickly decided on a Christmas poodle skirt without giving Ella any choice in the matter, but I let William choose what he wanted. He decided to be a soda jerk, like the one I made him for Kindergarten graduation.

I am SO happy with how they turned out!

This is the second felt poodle skirt I've ever made, but it turned out much better than the first one (that I made for myself)

I used Simplicity pattern 3836. This has to be one of the cutest patterns I own. I've wanted to make that diner costume for myself for-ever! It is so cute! Ella wanted me to make her a little collared button down, like shown on the pattern, but I just couldn't commit to that much time, especially considering that the skirt alone took about 4 hours with the appliques.

I knew instantly that I wanted to use this adorable applique set from Lynnie Pinnie for the skirt. I do wish, in hindsight, that I would've used the 4X4 size reindeer instead of the 5X7, but ... what'cha' gonna do? I used the 6X10 size Santa.

When they were done stitching, I added some buttons and pom poms for fun!
I love this applique set so much! As I was making it, I kept thinking that it would be really cute as a tree skirt if you took more time and appliqued all the reindeer. Maybe one day...

We tried a couple of things and finally decided upon the little tree for her hair.

She was so excited to show off her outfit at school, but I think this little guy may have been more excited. I think he remembers how many compliments he got on the first one. People talked to him about it for a long time...

I decided to make it easy on myself and just purchase a pre-made apron from Hobby Lobby and add the applique and wording. It took us a while to decide what to write on the apron and finally agreed upon 'William's Rocking Christmas Cafe'. I used the sweet tarts font for it.

We already had the hat from last time, which was also made with Simplicity 3836 and William had the great idea to wear his 80's tennis shoes... that I really think are too small, but he was determined to wear. They did look awesome!

I made his bow tie using the Lemon Squeezy Home tutorial and I think it might be my favorite one I've made so far... and I've made a bunch. I like how she innerlined it with felt to make it a little puffy!
William really liked it, too!

I've scored two days in a row with these two... but I'm a little worried about tomorrow's look. The theme is Who-ville and I haven't even started... besides sketching. I'm having a hard time finding patterns to fit what's in my head.

I better get off this computer and get working!

North Pole Neighbors- Snowmen!

2011-12-12T12:33:00.011-06:00

There's a dress up day everyday this week at the kids' school.
You can't even imagine how excited this makes me... or maybe you can.
Maybe anyone who knows the slightest bit about me would know that this kind of thing thrills me to no end. It's part of what I loved about cheerleading~ the spirit days.... ah.... the spirit days!

Anyhoooooo....
today's theme was 'Northpole Neighbors' and try as I may, neither one of the munchkins wanted to be an elf. sigh.... that would've been fun, but snowmen were, too and, I think, surprisingly easy.

Aren't they cute together?

William wanted an exact replica of Frosty the Snowman and even remembered that his hat had a pink flower with a blue middle.

I had to watch the movie to prove him right... I didn't know. I picked up those top hats from the craft section at Hobby Lobby for a few dollars. I made the flower with some felt half circles and a covered button.

I must say... I think I did much better this year than years past.
See here and here.

I really like how this came out!

And I'm terrible at following thru with the promise of tutorials... so I made this quick one for you guys while I was sewing it together.

Ella's was even more fun to make.
Sewing for girls is just fun!

I used Ellie Inspired's Sleeping Bunnies nightgown pattern to make a simple white minky dress and then used my embroidery software to merge three 'buttons' together. I added ribbing at the sleeves and neckline and hemmed it up without the ruffle.
Then we just added a store bought scarf that we've had for years. Easy, comfy, and adorable!

Her favorite part is the hat, though. I love how she wears it on the side like a coolio rockstar snowman.

She wanted flowers all around her hat, but I, luckily, talked her into some holly and made this in the hoop using Shari Marie's wreath tutorial. It also reminded me that I really want to make that wreath....

So, all in all, I was pretty happy with their looks for today, but I can't wait to show you what I made for tomorrow's theme~ Rockin' around the Christmas tree.

woo hooo for Christmas!
wooo hooo for spirit days!
wooo hoooo for sewing!

Happy Birthday Blanket for Emma Daisy!

2011-12-09T14:29:00.009-06:00

I don't know how it happened, but my little niece Emma has so many personality traits in common with me. We always laugh about it and it's pretty bizarre, but it seems like my sister in law somehow spawned my child. Just the same as I gave birth to a daughter just like my little sister...

anyways

It's no wonder that I love shopping and sewing for Miss Emma Daisy.
If I like it, I know she'll like it.

When I saw this little white kitty cat fleece with daisies on it, I knew I had to make a blanket for her. She is a little blanket girl... always cuddled up with one on the couch.

I wish it wasn't all wrinkled! I forgot to snap pictures of it after it was made, so I pulled it out of the gift bag to snag some shots of it right before the party.

This was the first project that I did on my BIG embroidery machine, so I was able to fit the Crazy Cat applique and name in one hooping!

I had a hard time matching another fabric to the fleece and it doesn't really look like it in these photos, but that pink flannel really does match.

I went ahead and put some satin ruffles on it, too.
Everyone loves ruffles and it's so easy with my serger!

You know, I really don't enjoy making blankets that much and I'm ashamed to tell you that I've never made a blanket like this for my kids (with applique and personalized and ruffled up)... even though Lucy steals fabrics from my stash and uses them as blankets all the time... but everyone loves getting these blankets as gifts.
I guess I should probably make one for Lucy.

I hear Emma Daisy uses hers all the time!

Wrapping up Red Week

2011-12-07T10:27:00.006-06:00

well... I didn't make anything else for red week, but I thought I'd show you the other days just the same.

They're funny.

First up- red day- and I was a little in the dog house for not making anything 'NEW'.
I had to explain to Ella that even though she had worn her Danny skirt and Scotty dog sweater before, that is WAS new because she hadn't worn it to school yet.
I finally succeeded and she was happy. Especially when I let her wear these fake glasses to school.

William cracked me up because he had to go full red with the gloves. Love it.

Next up- hat day- easy peasy. I had found this Justin Bieber fedora at Claire's for 2 bucks!!!! Ella loved it. You could tell she thought she was SO COOL. William wore his tried and true Mario hat I made a few years back. Lucy wore some fake glasses. I guess that's the cool thing around here right now.

And the funniest day was the last day....
crazy hair day.

I wanted William to wear this:

but he wasn't too happy with that. So, I spiked his hair up and sprayed it orange or something... but I forgot to snap a picture of it.

This one is the one I want to remember anyhow. Isn't he pathetic?
Mom is trying to make him wear this to school. ha! I love it.
I didn't let Ella have crazy hair. She had a field trip that day and wore this.

Red week done.
What will I show you tomorrow?
I can't think of that now. I've been summoned.
We got snow last night, so Lucy is having our traditional snow bath and she needs another bucket.

This is actually our 2nd snow of the season and it was a nice full snow.
Here's Lucy playing in the first snow.
Isn't she cute. :)

Ra Ra! and Recovering...

2011-12-06T11:00:00.009-06:00

Hooray!!!!
We're feeling better around here.
William went to school kicking and screaming and Ella went skipping and hopping.
I have mounds of housework, laundry and grocery shopping to do, but it feels good to be rid of that nasty virus!

I'm ready to put up Christmas decorations, get this house back in shape, get ready for the holidays, and get some sewing done! The kids have a slew of costumes they need made for school next week... but until then...
I thought I'd pop in and show you another red week day.

It was black and gold day- which is the high school's school colors.
My high school was black and gold, too, so it was super fun to make these outfits!

I wanted to try and make Ella a cheerleading uniform that looked exactly like one of my high school uniforms, but decided just to make it easy on myself and use a pattern.

I used Simplicity 3689. I made the size 6, but had to take it in about 2 inches on each side. I don't know why they have so much ease built into it when it has a back zipper. I also added some larger darts to the skirt back. Ella has a tiny waist.

After careful consideration about what to put on the front of the uniform, I just merged these designs to make the little cheer applique. That way it's generic enough for anyone to wear it when it's time to pass it down.

I've made cheerleading uniforms before, but this may be my favorite that I've ever made. I really love the little a line skirt with the notch out. Having the trim (that I got from my Mom) really helped it look authentic.

And I'm pretty sure that this is Ella's favorite thing that I've ever made her.
Yep... she loves it that much.
It's really cute.
She was all smiles when she came home from school. She said the big girls kept saying... "are you a REAL cheerleader?" cute.

I wasn't quite as thrilled about how William's turned out. I used the lil blue boo hoodie pattern, but I guess it doesn't work well for fleece. He could barely squeeze into it. He managed, though, and wore it to school, but will probably never wear it again. Plus, I didn't get a good placement on the football applique. (which is another from this adorable Lynnie Pinnie set) I wish it was just a little bit lower... or had some kind of something else on there. William wanted to put 'go, fight, win', but I thought that was kinda stupid.

Aren't they cute, though!?
I love making them special stuff to wear to school.
I can't wait until next week! They have a whole week of Christmas costumes to wear!
woo hoo! I hope I can get everything done that I've sketched out in my head!

Stomach virus part two

2011-12-04T12:16:00.007-06:00

yep... I caught it, again.
It's so horrible!
I got it worse than the kids this time...

My Mom always said I never did things by halves... I guess that extends to stomach viruses as well as other things.

Praying I feel better soon so I can do all the fun sewing and baking I have in store.

I let the kids open a present under the tree this morning.
That made me feel better...

I mean, how could this not make you feel better?

I love her little outfit today.
She loves that frog swimsuit my Mom made her so much...complete with winter tights.
And when I told her she looked cute today, she said, "Ella did the hairstyling."

Awesome.

Pajama Day for Red week

2011-12-02T20:55:00.010-06:00

yeah.... red week was in October...
I'm a little behind.

I'm going to attempt to catch up and continue blogging, but I'm not promising anything.
It's just such a busy time of year... fun, but busy.

I was determined to blog today, though. I sewed all morning on the cutest baby set but then Lucy started feeling bad in the afternoon and I held her for a while before she fell asleep and then I started feeling bad. HEADACHE! and BELLYACHE! but I'm gonna blog today... tonight, whatever.

so... pajama day from red week in October...
and both Ella and William needed jammas that fit to wear to school.
So William got these cool football ones and Ella got some cute new fairy angel ones.

William's shirt (as you can see) is a little on the small side. I had to just grab one from the blank t-shirts pile and this was the largest one I had for him. Time to re-stock his t-shirts, I guess.

I used this football helmet from Lynnie Pinnie's adorable football set.
I Love this set!!! It matched perfectly to this football flannel I've had in the stash for a while. I used William's traced out Easy Fit Pants Pattern for some easy jammas. He loved them and was proud to wear them to school. I love that he still wants me to sew for him. :)

Ella's pants took a little longer to construct.
I bought this Portabello Pixie ruffle pants pattern and thought I'd go ahead and make a wearable muslin for her pajamas. I love this pattern! and I love how they came out.
I've made another pair since and plan to make many more.

I was staying up late to make these so I lost steam on the Ella's shirt and used a smaller and different file than I had in mind, because I was tired and couldn't find what I was looking for. This one is from Designs by Juju's Angels Watching over me applique set. Ella's wanted me to make her something from that set for=ever!

I still like how it turned out, but it looked much better in my head. Trust me. I meant to use this fairy embroidery file from Lynnie Pinnie and in a 5X7 instead of the 4X4.... oh well... she loved it and was thrilled.

She was serious about wearing that red ribbon, too. She never once forgot to put it on... but she kept saying it was 'free drugs' week instead of drug free week.
Funny.

oh.. and during the time I was typing all this Lucy started puking. Poor baby.
GREAT and I'm probably next.

Stupid viruses!!!! Leave us alone.

Christmas week at Ellie Inspired

2011-11-18T12:54:00.002-06:00

Just wondering...

if you guys have been following Christmas week on Ellie Inspired?
I should have told you guys about it on Monday... but it's never to late.
I've been pattern testing for Laura all week and MAN! she has some great knit patterns coming out this week. You are definitly going to want to get your hands on some!

Rapunzel, Rapunzel... let down your hair...

2011-11-16T09:42:00.012-06:00

I know.
It's been almost a week since I posted anything....
I've been having some computer issues again.

It's so upsetting and frustrating and maddening.

But I have something awesome to show you today. Finally. My Rapunzel dress from Simplicity pattern 2065.

I LOVE how this dress came out!

It was a little time consuming and had a lot of pattern pieces, but it was really pretty simple to put together.

This is probably the first time I have actually made a pattern in it's entirety from start to finish following the exact directions.

The only changes I made to the pattern were:
1. changing the metal eyelets out for machine sewn eyelets on the machine
2. changing the fabric from organza on the sleeve to satin
3. adding a bit of ribbon trim on the sleeve (because it says pretty as a princess)
...plus I had already spent about $40 on the dress, so what was another couple bucks... Lucy wanted it.
4. and using rolls of precut tulle instead of the wider by the bolt tulle.
I just moved the stitching line down so that the tulle was at the bottom of the slip.

There is a LOT of tulle in this dress, (three entire rolls to be exact) which makes it super puffy and princessy... but also makes it extremely difficult to sit in or buckle a car seat.
I used the ruffler on my serger to gather it all up. Easy and fun... and very sparkly. My entire sewing area was covered in pixie dust.

The funny... surprising thing to me about this dress is that... neither one of my girls are crazy over it.
It boggles me to no end. I thought they would adore it and was shocked that Lucy didn't want to wear it for Halloween. Since I made it weeks ago, they have only worn it a couple times.

I guess they care more about comfort than anything else.... who knew?

Not true of the hair piece, though. Lucy LOVES the yarn wig. It was pretty simple to make.
I just used my cutting mat to measure and cut the yarn into equal cuts.

It reminded me of making those little yarn pom pons we used to wear on our shoes in little league cheerleading. Man...I loved those.

Speaking of shoes... I decided to sew some of the same little Stitch and Stack flowers from the wig to her little ballet shoes. Cute.

The wig has ribbon weaved thru it and little flowers hand sewn to it. It's definitely her favorite part, but not Ella's. Ella refuses to wear it.

Kids are funny....

sweet... and so beautiful.
My little princess.

Cinderelly, Cinderelly!

2011-11-10T19:55:00.010-06:00

I know, I know... I've been seriously 'blogger' slacking lately.

Sometimes blogging just seems like a chore. Sometimes I get weepy thinking about this last year I have with Lucy at home. Sometimes I have to be a good housewife. Sometimes I'd rather be sewing than cropping, watermarking, and sorting photos.

I know I haven't shown you half of the princess dresses I've made Lucy's dance class, but today was parent observation week and princess Cinderella and I just couldn't be happier about how her dress turned out!!! I just had to show you guys!

Do you know how much I love the mice making dress Cinderella scene?
so.....
I was so excited when Lucy asked for the pink dress that the mice make Cinderella in the movie.

But not nearly as excited as she was with the outcome...

I'm pretty sure this one rose to the top of her favorite princess dress list, even topping the Briar Rose Twirl Dress. I really wanted to have some blue beads to top it off, but Lucy was happy with the white headband bow... even though it turned out a little on the large side.

I only wish I would've bought some fabric for it. I used fabric from the stash and the only thing I had the right color was this really cheap costume satin I probably bought a LONG time ago. It wrinkles really horribly and probably won't wear well.

Oh well... I can make another one. It was fun to make.... even the five bows I was rushing to finish and hand sew on this morning before class.

I really enjoyed watching her in dance class. She was so cute! I was so proud!

It's been so fun making all these princess dresses.
Next week is the last class and they're doing Princess Snow White again. I haven't decided if I'll make something new or have her wear the one I already made.

I guess it depends on what this little princess wants...

Could you say no to that face?

ask anyone... I can't.

Mom's first quilt

2011-11-05T09:48:00.012-05:00

well... not really, she's made quilts before, but this is her first quilt from the My First Quilt tutorial like the one I made Sophie.

We had so much fun working on this together and I got to go pick it up from the quilters on Lucy's birthday. I'm so happy with how it turned out. I hope Mom is, too. I can't wait to give it to her!

Most of the fabrics are from the Meadowsweet line by Sandi Henderson~ Michael Miller fabrics. They are just so pretty. Mom chose a rose quilt pattern and I just love how it looks all finished!

But my favorite part is the little tag we made. How cute?!

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Cute.
But not as cute as this little guy.

My little helper.

Happy to help me in any way... including holding up the quilt with only one boot on {that's all he could find} in the freezing cold.

At least I'm getting my new fake fireplace tomorrow! whoot whoot!

oh.... and a couple more photos for Mom.
She got Lucy some live butterflies for her birthday and they finally came out of their cocoons and we let them free. Awesome, awesome project for kids. So cool! Every kid should get to do this once!

Thanks Grandma and Pops!

Mom's first quilt

2011-11-05T09:48:00.009-05:00

How was your Halloween?

2011-11-04T08:20:00.010-05:00

Ours was AWESOME!

I pretty much got everything done that I wanted to and we had a blast.
I didn't have time to make the costumes for the Mr. and me, so he wore a Spiderman shirt

and I dressed up as an old lady. I love that I got to wear one of my Granny's old hats!

It's pretty crazy getting everything ready for Halloween, but I think I've rubbed off on the Mr. and he loves it as much as I do, now.

The kids have always gotten into it and the costume making is definitly the highlight for me. Some people think I'm nuts... but I really enjoy making them something they really want and we work together to make it perfect. There's lots of sketching and fabric shopping and looking for inspiration in books and online.

William's costume is probably my favorite this year. He decided to be a gladiator after finding this awesome sword and shield at the Spirit Halloween store. It was pretty easy to make once I figured out what I wanted it to look like (and I consulted my Mom).

I used fake leather for the armor and sandles and some decorative nails for the studs. We had to put some felt behind them and then push the nails thru and bend them back. Thank goodness the Mr. helped with that part! He's so strong. :) The cape is seamed into the shoulder seams and I didn't even finish the edges- I just used some pretty knit with a nice drape. The metallic trim is from Hobby Lobby and finished it off perfect. Of course, I bought all the trims the one week that Hobby Lobby didn't have the rolls on sale. ugh....

Ella had her heart set on being Frankie Stein this year. She has loved those Monster High dolls ever since they came out. I don't get it... I'm pretty girly girly myself, but I let them choose what they want to be even when I hate it (like when she wanted to be a mummy)

The costume was fairly simple, though, which was a plus!

I used the top of one of William's old white dress shirts for the top and then made a jumper for the bottom and the sleeves. I used lil blue boo's tutorial for the necktie (it's my favorite part) and tore the patch off one of her skirts that she got for her birthday. {She doesn't know that yet... te he he} I made the belt with some remnant pleather and added the fake rhinestones with my glue gun and some chains from Hobby Lobby. She loves the belt the most. For the arms and legs, I bought two pair of pantyhose on clearance at target and drew the stitches on with permanent markers. We got the shoes at Wal-Mart and drew stripes on them with a silver Sharpie, too. But the best part for Ella was the make-up. I mixed some food coloring into some white glimmer shine face make-up to create the green skin. She loved it. She green face was essential for both my girls this year.... go figure.

Lucy had to have green skin, because she decided to be Sally from the Nightmare before Christmas {despite my attempts for her to wear the gorgeous Rapunzel dress I made}

I really like how this dress came out, though. Hours and hours went into it, even though it doesn't look like it. I'm so glad I took the time to do the stitches by hand~ I really love how it looks. When searching for inspirations, we came across this dress by Ollie Girl and Lucy fell in love with it. I pretty much made it look exactly the same per Lucy's request. Man! She has some adorable dresses!

It was cold on Halloween, so I made William and Lucy both some leggings from the Jocole leggings pattern and made Lucy a little long sleeved shirt, too. We drew the stitches on Lucy with Sharpie. It was fun.... but not as fun as spraying her hair red. Man.. it really made her eyes look blue!

Sometimes, I really wish we could do family themed Halloween costumes, like this one that's my favorite I've seen this year, but my kids have always been so individual. Ella loves scary, while William hates it and Lucy is just so random in her choices.

At least they like to participate in my 2nd favorite Halloween activity... the trading and bartering of the candy.

"I'll give you 20 tootsie rolls for one piece of gum..."
Gum was definitely the most loved candy in the bag this year.
Yea... that means I can sneak the Snickers and Twix and they don't even care. :)

I'm getting there...

2011-10-30T21:39:00.005-05:00

I know I've been m.i.a. this week.
Sooooo busy....

But I'm almost done with the Halloween costumes.
I have to try and make some hair for Lucy {shocker} and then I'll be done.

I shared a little sneak peek on my facebook page, but I decided to show one here, too.
Each of the kids chose a costume without a pattern this year, which is part of the reason it took me so long to make them, but I'm really loving how they all turned out.

William chose to be a Gladiator after he found the coolest weapon at the Halloween store. You know it's all about the weapon with him...

Ella chose to be Frankie Stein from the Monster High dolls series. It was fun to make and she is so excited about it.

Lucy picked Sally from the Nightmare before Christmas even after repeated attempts to get her to wear the Rapunzel costume I spent hours and hours sewing... it's super cute, though and well worth all the time I put into it, I think.

This is in the very early phase of construction.

And the sun was in her eyes... this was the only good shot I could get.

I really hope that I can work on my little witches tomorrow. I really want to make at least one for Halloween this year. My Mom bought the pattern for me and I haven't had a chance to sew one up. :(

Barnyard Theme

2011-10-27T07:36:00.010-05:00

Hi! I'm back....
I'm still busy as all get out, but I'm setting aside time to blog today.

If I don't, I'll never get caught up. {I still have things from the summer to show you}Which is actually what I'm showing you today.

I love to use my Mom's patterns when I go home in the summer and this was one of those projects. I used Pink Fig's Lydia Dress Pattern for this dress.

I've been dying to try this pattern ever since I learned to shirr on my machine.
I love the little shirred sleeve/straps. That's probably my favorite part of the dress. Although, I had to make them twice because the measurements in the pattern weren't nearly long enough for Ella.

Here she is wearing it in the summertime at her Grump's house- with her new cowgirl hat.

And here she is wearing it to school for Barnyard theme week-

with her new cowgirl boots, of course.

I really like how this dress turned out. I found the fabric at JoAnn's and fell in love with it. It was in the nursery prints, but I can't find it online.
The applique I used is this little piggy from Planet Applique.

So, I didn't make her anything new for barnyard theme week, but luckily had this dress from the summer that was perfect!

... and just for fun... I was playing around with the Halloween themed elements on Picnik.

Here's Boo's all vamped up. Yeah... I'm pretty excited about the new Twilight movie!

and as a non-vegetarian vampire.

tehehe

This Momma better get crackin' on those Halloween costumes.

Checking in...

2011-10-24T13:27:00.002-05:00

Yes. I'm still here.
Yes. I'm still sewing.

I'm just checking in to say, I'm too busy to blog.

The list of projects is growing exponentially by the hour it seems.

I have so much to show you guys, but not today.
And tomorrow is my little Lucy's birthday~ so probably not tomorrow either, but hang in there. I have lots of stuff to show you when things slow down.

Apple theme week

2011-10-17T14:58:00.012-05:00

I've been having so much fun making Ella outfits to go with her themes at school.
A couple weeks ago they did an apple theme. That what I made the Snow White apple apron dress for.

Ella also wore her Dortje pants that week and I made this little clip to go with them and Ella wanted me to make a little broach for her teacher, too.

I bought this file in the morning and stitched them both out before Ella got on the bus.

She also wore her pink apple chiffon dress that week. I was so happy to have a couple of things already made that would fit with the theme!
... see... she does wear some things twice... :)

On the last day of the week I made her this little bookworm shirt to go with these little red knit pants I made at the end of the summer.

I got the applique as a freebie from Planet Applique~ I just left of the letter, so Lucy can wear it next year.

I really like how it turned out... but you should have seen the shape it came home in that day. Oh My Gosh!!! What was my kid doing at school? That adorable white shirt was filthy when she hopped off the bus. It took shout, era, and tide to get it clean again.

But I did get it clean, so thankfully, she can wear it again one day.
It's really cute with jeans, too. But for this day, we paired it with these knit ruffle pants I made with the Easy Fit Pants Pattern. I just lengthened the rise in the back and lowered the rise in the front. Ella has too much booty for the way they are drafted.

I got the knit for these pants from Chez Ami a while ago. I don't know why it took me so long to make these pants. I've been wanting to make them FOR-EVER!
I really like the quality of this knit. It's thicker and more stable and great for pants.

I made them a little big, too make sure that they will fit in the winter. This girl has been eating like a horse... so I know a growth spurt is coming.

So... that is apple week...
and to celebrate, we made some mini apple pies and some apple crisp that week, too.
Yummmmmmy!

Ships Ahoy!

2011-10-14T07:37:00.003-05:00

I'm gonna be so busy getting back into the swing of things today.
All the stuff I've been putting off has to be done~
Grocery shopping, laundry, total disinfection of the house, paying bills, cleaning up... ugh.... but it must be done.

So, I thought I'd pull something from my summer folder to show you guys today.

This little hooded towel was a gift for a Ship themed party we went to at the beginning of September. I used the steamboat applique from Planet Applique and the Delightful font by ggdesigns for it.

I really like how it turned out.
Want to make your own hooded towel? They're great for quick gifts! Check out my tutorial here.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Princess Belle

2011-10-13T14:12:00.009-05:00

Well... I think everyone is better now.
Lucy managed to hold down some toast this morning and she's been talking about her birthday {which is on the 25th} non-stop today, so I think she's better.

We had to miss her little dance class today, which made me really sad. It was Princess Pocahontas day but I'm going to give myself a little break and not worry about making that one. I'm not real sure the girls would like it anyhow... although, I think it would be super fun to dance to that music. I think it's one of the best Disney soundtracks!

Anyhoo......

Since I don't have a princess to show you for this week, I'll go ahead and show you our Princess Belle from last week.

Belle was REALLY fun to make! Both my daughters have been asking me for a Belle dress for years and I've never made them one... isn't that sad? I've made one for both my older nieces, but never for my own kids. Sometimes I really think I'm a terrible mother for that. But I've vowed to get better and I think I've made up for it with all these princess dresses! I've made them all slightly big on Lucy so that Ella can wear them, too.

I didn't use any sort of pattern for this dress because I knew what I wanted it to look like and couldn't find a pattern to fit. I made some construction mistakes and there are definitely things I would change but, overall, I'm really happy with the final look of it.

So is this one.

Isn't she just the cutest, happiest, little Belle you've ever seen?
I just love this kid so much!
I made her that fabric wig several months ago and planned on making it into a PDF pattern to sell, but.... drafting patterns makes me kinda crazy. I wish it didn't... I really have some great ideas... but sitting down and writing them and drafting them... UGH! I have so much respect for pattern designers. I just want to make it fit my kid and move on to the next thing. I keep thinking one day I'll do it. I have a huge file folder of ideas... just waiting for my patience. :)

Like this pettiskirt... I couldn't be bothered to look up how to make one correctly, or to consult any type of pattern. I just kept tearing muslin and laying tulle in there and ruffling it with my serger. I'm not in love with the turn out, but it did the trick.

I used three different gold satin fabrics for this dress. My Mom kept giving them to me when she'd hear the girls say they wanted a Belle dress. Well, I never made them and they kept piling up... but I lacked enough fabric in one or two fabric choices to make the whole dress, so..... the bottom is a little narrower in the width than I would have liked... that's why I wanted the pettiskirt. I love how the different fabrics look, though, in the end, and I LOVE the red roses Lucy and I picked.

I let her choose if she wanted red, pink, or gold and she went with red.
I made 9 of these in the hoop and then cut them out, rolled them up, hand stitched each one and tacked them onto the dress by hand.
That part took a LONG time, but so worth it.

This is probably Lucy's favorite dress so far, which isn't surprising since the poor thing has been asking for it for a few years.

I'm a little more excited about the next few weeks, which is Princess Rapunzel, Princess Tiana, the Little Mermaid, and lastly~ Cinderalla! I could NOT be more excited to make these ones.

Woooo hooo.... all that... plus 5 Halloween costumes.... I better get working and off this computer!

Taylor Swift and birthday party.... totally worth it

2011-10-12T09:07:00.007-05:00

The kids and I drove home Friday afternoon for some much needed family fun.
My niece Emma had her 5th birthday party and my cousin was celebrating getting into P.T. school.

We had so much fun seeing everybody. I was especially ready to see baby Sophie. Babies just change so much so quickly... I hate missing all of that.

We had a blast at Taylor Swift! It was an amazing show and to be in a suite at the new Cowboys stadium... amazing. I think the girls may have been a little spoiled for their first concert!

The jumbo tron was really cool! You can tell by Lucy's expression... awesome.

All this went down Saturday.... Sunday disaster hit. Ella came down with the raging flu, followed by me and then William. We were finally able to come home yesterday, but Lucy started puking last night and we've been up every hour since 11.

Sooooooo tired...
So everything is on hold.
No witches.
No Pocohontas costume for dance class this week.
No testing patterns.
No Halloween costumes or decorations.

Just cleaning.
Comforting my sick babies.
Washing clothes.
Clorox wiping everything.
And resting and watching movies.....

I can't wait to be back to normal.
But it was still worth it.
One day like that with my family is worth all the puking in the world.
Sorry we didn't get to say good-bye to everyone.
We love you.

Horton Hears a Who

2011-10-06T21:37:00.006-05:00

Ella brought her Kindergarten shirt home and they all wore them earlier this week.She was so excited about it... and I must say... I'm not surprised... it's pretty darn cute!!!

So, I made a pretty darn cute little bow to match it and I LOVE how it came out!

One happy Kindergartner!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Do I ever sleep?

2011-10-06T08:44:00.010-05:00

Not really.
It seems like there is always something coming up that needs to be done.
The to-do list is never ending....

I was working on the finishing touches of Lucy's Belle dress last night

when William informs me that it's Pajama Day tomorrow and he doesn't have any pants to wear. Oh crap!!! He's right.... I remember, I cut all his pants off into shorts.

So, we searched thru the stash and found this awesome Bart Simpson flannel.

He's growing up and most of what I have in the stash for him is TOO babyish for school.... or so he says.
The good thing is that the pajama pattern I traced off for him last year still fits- so I just had to cut them out and sew em up. It really took no time at all and he loves them.

They went great with this old pajama shirt, too, which was a bonus- no shirt to make! The applique on this shirt is from embroidery boutique.

I'm really glad I had to stop everything and make these for William. I've been in the dog house with him for a few weeks, because I've been making so many new things for the girls. My little boy still loves to be sewn for, too.

Ella decided to wear some pajamas I made her over two years ago.

I can't believe that these pajamas still fit. I made them out of an old receiving blanket when Ella was 4 years old. I need to make some more of those.
They're capri length now, but they still fit and the girls love them.

I still love the little shirt, too. This applique from Pickle Pie Designs is just so cute!

So, these two were happy and I was happy to send them off to school is something handmade by Mommy.

Pajama Day is so exciting to these two!

Princess Mulan

2011-10-05T08:22:00.009-05:00

I just have to put the finishing touches on Lucy's Belle dress for tomorrow.
I'm SUPER excited about it! I'm trying to think of some place cool to do the photo shoot... but haven't come up with anything yet.

But today I've got Princess Mulan for you.
She was our princess last week and Lucy really enjoyed her dance class- especially when they got to do the fighting 'dancing' to this song. She loves the {huh huh} part!

I really should put this girl in karate instead of dance.
Remember this little video....
That still makes me laugh.

Anyhoo... back to Mulan.
So, I considered using the Kyoko pattern that I love so much, but to be honest- I just didn't want to put that much work into it. My girls don't really like the Mulan movie and they've never asked for a Mulan dress. I wasn't even sure if they'd wear it... so
I just wanted to go simple. Simple and quick.
And only using fabrics from the stash.

We looked thru all our books and watched the movie- twice- before Lucy came up with this inspiration photo.

I looked thru all my fabrics and had knits to match! Perfect.
I used the Sienna dress pattern as a rough base {but pretty much changed the whole thing} to come up with this version. It's pretty big on Lucy, but I've been making them all a little big... so they can fit Boo Boo, too, and so Lu can wear them longer.

Knit dress up dress = happy kid + happy Mom.
We both really love how it turned out.

Ella even wants to wear it to school. Score!

I think we did pretty good with the inspiration.

What do you think?

Jasmine goes to dance class

2011-10-04T12:46:00.006-05:00

I'm working on Lucy's princess for this week- Belle.
I'm so excited about it... it's coming together really nicely, even though I'm winging it without a pattern.... :/

But today, I thought I'd show you guys Lucy's princess Jasmine outfit.

I'm not really thrilled about how this one came out... and I even considered not posting it at all.
It's slightly scandalous and just not that cute.

I LOVE the pants, but Lucy and I could NOT agree on how to make the top.
I wanted to make one more like the traditional top, but Lucy was dead set on the strapless. It's been all about that lately at our house.

Well... I procrastinated and at the last minute gave in and made her the stupid strapless. I didn't use a pattern and in an attempt to make sure it didn't fall off- I made it TOO tight.

I actually threw it in the trash when we got home from dance class, only to have her dig it out and come out wearing it.

Oh well..... she loves it.

And... I got to sneak into dance class at the very end and snap a few pictures of her saches.

Cinderella peek-a-boo jewelry bag

2011-10-01T20:05:00.005-05:00

Since it was all about Cinderella this year for my niece, Hailey... I wanted to try and get her some of those plastic play high heels with Cinderella on them.
Unfortunately, I could only find a pack of 4 shoes for $20... more than I wanted to spend, so I picked up this little Cinderella jewelry set with a tiara in it.
Perfect!

...and then I needed a little something special to tuck it away in.

I used Pickle Pie Designs little crayon peek-a-boo bag and personalized her name at the top.

Perfect for my little Cinderella fan!
I just opened up the package and tucked all the little things inside.

Great for the parents, too- they don't have to listen to the whining while the package is being opened. I love when my kids get presents minus the packaging!

I love making these little in the hoop bags for girls of all ages.... and boys.
Stay tuned to see some adorable ones I made the boys.

Snow White Claire for Boos!

2011-09-30T09:45:00.008-05:00

Well, it's apple week this week at Ella's school....
and that means new clothes, right?!

I've been dying to make my girls some play princess dresses ever since I made Hailey's Cinderella dress, so this was the perfect opportunity to sew up a dress like my favorite princess- Snow White.

I used the Claire pattern by Portabello Pixie, which still remains to be one of my all time favorite patterns. It's actually my Mom's... but I swiped it a while back and despite her efforts to get it back... I just keep sewing from it.
This is about the 9th claire I've made and I've loved every single one!

I didn't make any changes to that pattern aside from the design details- like the red things on the sleeves and the ribbon down the front and I changed the sash a tiny bit.

I was able to use my new embroidery machine for the applique -so it's a BIG one! yea! The big ones looks so much better now that the kids are getting older.

I made a little bow to go with her dress, too, using Ruffles and Stuff simple bow tutorial- I just made it a little bigger and wider. I think it's SO, SO cute! Thank you Disney!

I managed to remember to take a photo of the back, too.
I was unsure about putting the sash on the dress because Snow White doesn't have a sash, but I really love it and I'm so glad I made it red!

I know it's ridiculous to make new clothes for the Kindergarten themes... but I just can't help myself.
It's so fun!!!
...and it makes for one happy kindergartner.

I think she makes the most lovely Snow White.

Oh... want to see some of the Claire's I've made???
Look how tiny the girls are.... sigh.

My babies are growing up. :(

Cinderella play version

2011-09-29T21:45:00.004-05:00

So, Hailey always wants dress up dresses for her birthday, but I really wanted to give her something she could wear to school this year {as she started pre-school in September}

I've been a huge fan of Tinkerella on etsy for years- always searching thru the new things she's made and I've always loved the play princess outfits she makes.
That was the inspiration for this little peasant dress for Hailey.

I love how it turned out! I want to make one for all the girls!
Ella is a little bigger than Hailey- so on her it's longer and I sent her some white leggings to wear with it to school instead of these black ones that we modeled with it.

Comfy, cute, and princess- I think I hit all Hailey's checklist points.

Happy Birthday Emma Daisy!!!

2011-09-28T10:01:00.008-05:00

It's my neices' birthday today! Yea! Happy Birthday Ems!
I'm still working on her birthday gifts... but it got me thinking that I never showed ya'll my other nieces birthday gifts.

Miss Hailey turned five at the beginning of August and she was all about Cinderella this year. I made her a Sleeping Beauty and Belle dress that she LOVES and she informed me that, this year, she needed a Cinderella version.

***NOTE that this photo is Hailey wearing the dress straight out of the mail- hence the hideous wrinkles that so desperately need pressed. She is such a cutie pie... but I cringe every time I look at this photo (which is the only one I have of her modeling the dress...)***

Since she loves the other two so much, I went ahead and used the same pattern- just one size bigger.

I added the little faux corset on the bodice by arranging some gross grain ribbon and straight stitching it on. I really like the look of it. Even though it's hard to see in these photos.

I'm now noticing that the dress needs pressed in these photos, too. Ugggggghhh! So ugly. Maybe that's why I never posted these pictures... hmmmmm....

I find that most kids do not like those poofy things on the side of Cinderella's dress, so I made them a bit different on this version- using a rolled hem and an eye for the curve. According to Ella, it's much better than the 'poofs' and more comfy to dance in.
Good.

I have more stuff to show you from Hailey's birthday... but I just called the sewing machine shop and they are done with my new machine!! Hooray!!! So I've got to throw on some jeans and head up to the shop to get my new toy.

{Some of you were asking... it's a Brother Pacesetter 2001 that my girlfriend found on Craigslist for me and my parents went and picked up for me. It's a sewing/embroidery machine combo with 6X10 sewing field. I'm so thrilled!}

weeeeee!

La La La La La La.... the Smurf Sandpiper

2011-09-27T13:50:00.009-05:00

Remember Ella's green dress?
When I was posting that I remembered that I forgot to show the first Sandpiper I made.
I make so many things that, unfortunately, many of them do not make it to the blog.

But I couldn't let this one go without a post. I made it WAY back at the beginning of August when I tested this pattern for Laura, but I just wanted you guys to see it. It just came out so cute!

The Sandpiper is a really great and easy pattern. I love that it uses knits.
Have I told you I love knits?... and my kids do, too.

A little birdy told me that Laura has more knit patterns in the works and I, for one, could not be more excited!

This pattern lends itself greatly to leggings- my girls favorite choice in leg wear.
I had the opportunity to test a leggings pattern for Jocole and could NOT be any happier. I have tried many, many leggings patterns- from the main pattern companies, independent designers, and European patterns. I don't know how she did it... but this is BY far the greatest and best fitting leggings pattern I have ever seen.

I will be making these by the dozens.

For the little bow, I just appliqued some of the fabric to a piece of felt and hot glued it in the middle of the bow. Easy Peasy and Ella loves it.
She was actually able to wear this outfit to see The Smurfs at the movie theater.
We had so much fun!

Wondering where I got the Smurf knit from?

A few years ago, my kids had really gotten into The Smurfs and I found these pajama pants in the clearance section at Kohl's. I think the top was missing- so I got them for a steal and they've just been collecting dust in the stash... until The Smurfs movie came out and renewed Ella's love for all things Smurf.

Women's pajama pants are a great source for cute knits. You can find licensed prints all the time. I don't know about you guys, but my kids love those characters.
These pants were women's size Medium and I was able to get the bodice and a pair of leggings and a doll outfit!

Jocole's leggings pattern has a doll pattern for leggings included (which was wonderful) and I just drafted the pattern for dolly based on Laura's design for the Sandpiper.
I'm going to offer it as a FREE download as soon as I can figure out some stuff on this little laptop.

The girls love it so much when I make them matching doll clothes.
Lucy was jealous that I was doing a photo shoot with Ella's doll, so we had to do a quick shoot of her Strawberry Shortcake dolls, too.

Aren't they the cutest?

Briar Rose

2011-09-25T21:22:00.010-05:00

Do you know how exciting it was for me to make a Briar Rose dress instead of the typical Sleeping Beauty dress for Lucy???

The scenes with Briar Rose are some of my favorite movie scenes of all times. I love everything about them; the fairies sewing and cooking and fighting, the song in the forest, the animals....love.

The dress isn't beautiful in the traditional sense, but I've always loved it.
I SO wish I had a small wicker basket and shawl for this photo shoot to complete the look.

You know how I talked Miss Sassy Pants into letting me make her this one instead of the pink one?

This amazing skirt.
Eight gores of slinky, twirly, soft, comfy knit.

Every girls dream... and she loves it.

It may be grey and dull in color, but it's full of sass and swing and it's comfy!

I almost made a traditional woven dress- with a real collar and cuffs and a zipper up the back... but dress up dresses should be comfy and easy to put on and non wrinkly.

This franken pattern combo of a Jalie pattern and the twirly dress was the perfect fit.

I changed the sweetheart to this angler top, raised the neckline, added the little collar and finished the edges with fold over elastic for the bodice and then just gathered the skirt and added it to the bottom. I finished the edges of the skirt with a rolled hem....

and I actually remembered to take a picture of the back.

I'm having so much fun making all these princess dresses!

Robes for the Family Part Lucy

2011-09-22T13:04:00.009-05:00

Lucy LOVES her robe!
She picked every part of the design and she couldn't be happier with the outcome.
I think she's worn her robe at least once a day every day since it's been made.

The combination of being teeny tiny plus the desire to be naked all the time makes this one freezing chica most of the time.

For that reason, I knew I wanted her robe to be fleece!
She chose Simplicity 3584 out of my patterns and we went to work. This pattern is super, super easy to make and made me feel extremely guilty for not getting it done sooner.

Isn't she sweet!

She chose a pink and white flannel gingham fabric for the binding and I thought it was so cute, I used it for the sash also.

I got this sweet kitty cat fleece from Hancock Fabrics for my niece, but had enough to make something for Lucy, too.

and... to her great delight, we had enough to make one for her baby {Kourtney}

This made me the coolest Mom in the world for the entire day.

Happy daughter. Happy Mom!

Crossing necessitous sewing off the list feels so great!
But this week will be full of FUN sewing- a Snow White costume, a Mulan costume, a 1st birthday outfit, and maybe some apple themed stuff for Boos!

We're also putting up the Halloween decorations this weekend! yea!~

Necessitous sewing- Robes for the Family Part William

2011-09-20T10:20:00.009-05:00

Necessitous sewing is never as fun as, well, sewing for fun.
But it's got to be done.

Everyone in this family needs a new robe.
I love wearing robes and I love making them,too, but I can never seem to find the type of pattern I'm looking for.

This time, I just let the kids look thru the patterns and pick one.
William picked Simplicity 5874.

I liked everything about it, except that I wanted the robe to be fully lined, but that was an easy fix.

William chose this light blue fleece {that was meant to be a long cape for Lucy... oh well} and this football flannel for the lining.

It's William's favorite part.

Isn't he cute!

I must admit, the hood is my favorite part.

I really wanted to make someone's robe with a hood and neither Ella nor Lucy chose a hood pattern. I also wanted to put the pockets on William's, but he wouldn't go for it.

I made it just the way he wanted it and he loves it.
Score!

***It's really easy to make a lining for a pattern without one- just cut all the pieces out of some lining. Sew the two of them separately, as if you were making two things and then sew them together {wrong sides together} I lined the arms with some silky, lining type fabric instead of the flannel so it wouldn't be as hot and so his arms would slip through easily. ***

I didn't do the boy challenge on Project Run and Play this week.
I was going to make a jacket with lots of hidden inside pockets, but I just didn't do it since my parents were here. I really thought this challenge would've been fun and I'm kinda bummed that I didn't do it... cause now I'll probably never make it. ha!
Did you see those entries, this weekend? They were great!
I love making stuff for my little boy and seeing what others make for theirs.

Today I'm working on Lucy's new princess outfit.... it's Jasmine this week!
Sleeping Beauty was last week... and I arrived for class just as it was ending... ugh... but I haven't done a photo shoot with Lucy in it, yet. In time...

Grandparents week!

2011-09-19T09:55:00.012-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posting last week!
My parents came to see us for an impromptu visit.
We had so much fun! There just wasn't time for blogging.

Mom and I made it to the fabric store one day while Dad watched Lucy and we were there for 3.5 hours!!!! Oh my gosh. No wonder I was starving when we left. We had no idea we were in there that long- but we had a blast!

We also managed to cut out and piece a quilt in less than a day and take it to the quilter in town!

My Mom bought these fabrics a while back when I made Sophie's quilt to make one for herself and she just hasn't had time to make it.
When she told me she was coming, I suggested she bring the fabrics so we could make it. I don't think she really wanted to do it, but I kinda kept warting her and in the end, she was really excited.

She thinks it's kinda busy, but I think it's really pretty. I love the fabrics she picked. We also made a little tag for the back- but I forgot to snap a picture of it.
It's really cute.

But for most of the week, we just ran around, went out to eat, and hung out.
We spent a lot of time outside, the weather was mostly pretty while they were here and definitely an improvement from the TX heat.

We took a walk each morning after the kids got on the bus and Lucy started a killer rock collection in the front yard.

Mom and Pops were experimented on for new hair-do's.

And we put together this puzzle! I love Snow White!

We had so much fun... I didn't even make anything for Ella's theme of the week {but luckily it was nursery rhymes, so she could wear this dress} or for William's Independence celebration {he was mad at me, but borrowed something from the neighbor}

In addition to a bunch of pretty fabrics, they also brought me my new embroidery machine- which I dropped off at the shop for a service. I should have it back in a week! I can't wait.

Today, I'm taking some of my stuff up to the county fair to see if I can win any ribbons. I did it a few years ago and won a bunch of stuff, so.... we'll see.

Purple Day- Marissa Dress

2011-09-13T08:31:00.010-05:00

Ella was a little irritated with me on Purple Day.
We had something planned out to make, but I just wasn't in the mood to make it.

Especially when I realized she hadn't worn this dress I made back in May.

It was perfect for purple day and so beautiful. I just love this dress.

It's made from the Marissa dress pattern by Sis Boom. I really like the style of this pattern.

It's designed to be shorter, but I wanted a maxi dress, so I just added length.

This fabric is another Wal-Mart steal. I got it for about $4 a yard.
I fell in love with it at first site.

Ella loves it, too. The reason she didn't want to wear it is 'because I've worn that a million times!' I had to convince her that even though she'd worn it a million times, that it was new to school.

Silly girl.
I made it up to her by giving her a purple manicure.

I know I'm spoiling her... but it's fun.
I just got a year worth of themes from her Kindergarten teacher so I can make her some outfits to go with what she's learning at school. I know I'm crazy... but I'm a little giddy with excitement about that.

I've been asked several times for a review of this pattern and I've been putting it off because I'm not 100% in love with it.

I have no problem giving a glowing review for a pattern that I really love, but I hesitate to write anything negative about someone else's work.

I've decided to just be honest in my review of it- take it or leave it- it's just my opinion.

Things I love:
*the modern, more mature style
*the fit- I love that it has a zipper in it. I prefer more tailored clothes, than say, pillowcase dresses and tunics and stuff.

Things I'm not so in love with:
*1/4 in seams.
Have I told you I HATE 1/4 inch seams???
Especially when it's a gathered seam and especially when I'm using something other than quilting cotton or knits. I find it difficult to gather fabrics and seam them with such a small allowance. The fabric frays and I just find it frustrating. I like a little more to work with. I find this irritating in all patterns with 1/4 seams.
Just my opinion. I'm not that worried about wasting such a tiny bit of fabric.
*I don't like the directions for the middle rouched part of the bodice. You're supposed to just smooth it out and stitch down the in a few places. I prefer a more intentional look with pleats or gathers. Easy fix, though.

I made this dress for Lucy, also and had difficulty with the fit. I had to cut the straps off and then couldn't find anymore of the fabric.
Much to her disappointment, her dress has been laying on my sewing desk for months.... sad.

Project Run and Play- Sienna Pattern Remix- Snow White

2011-09-12T07:33:00.020-05:00

Did you get a chance to look at the Sienna Dress pattern remixes over at Project Run and Play?

SO many cute things over there. I think I have a favorite designer/s... do you?

I was a little stumped about what to make for this challenge at first- not for a lack of ideas, but narrowing them down. Plus, since my outfit did so poor in the first challenge, I was trying to think of what the judges/public would like... maybe something more couture or more grown up looking.

But I talked to my Mom and she told me just to do ME. Something that I would make anyways and that the kids would love... pretty much, "Who cares what they like" and she was right. This is so much cuter than the other things floating around in my head.

It's something we needed. (I use that term loosely... we have about 1000 dress up dresses) But Lucy's Snow White dress is too small and set to be handed down to Sophie and she is in a little dance class where they dress up as a different princess each week. Last week was Snow White. {This week is Sleeping Beauty... come back to see that one!}

I rarely make new things like this for Lucy, because she's tiny and gets all the hand me downs.

It was so fun to make something especially for her.

She was so excited and helped me with the design a little bit. She requested the 'corset style' bodice, which I love!!! I also love that she was interested in the design process- usually that's just Boo's... maybe because I'm always making everything for her. Lucy has some strong ideas, but not as strong as Ella, so she was really fun to sew for. She wasn't sure about the stand up collar, but I just wanted to make it so badly and I'm so glad she let me add it- it's one of my favorite parts!

We went to the park for our photo shoot and had so much fun together. I took hundreds of pictures and had the hardest time picking out the ones I liked the best... there are SO many good ones. You can really tell how much she loves her dress. This one is my favorite... it's so Snow White.

She kept dancing around and acting out the plot. I even have a little video of her biting the apple and falling to sleep... so cute.

All the kids at the park were calling her Snow White and she told me she was the prettiest princess there.... well, she was.

I couldn't be happier with how this dress turned out. I think it's beautiful and functional. It made my kids' day. It's constructed beautifully and will endure years and years of play from all the girls in our family.

Lucy has already worn it every single day since the time I finished it. In one of those pictures- she thought there was dirt on her skirt... it was so funny.

In this one, a gust of wind blew her skirt all the way up... showing her panties.

I also made her the little slippers to go with it using the Favorite things pattern.
The first ones I made the girls have long since been grown out of. It was definitely time to make some new ones.

I love that I found some scraps of Snow White character print to line the inside with. Lucy loves that, too.

Then we made the little headband by chopping the bow off this outfit I made William {the neck was too small} and hot gluing it to a headband. Easy peasy and it looks so great.

It was difficult to cut that bow off... that's one of my favorite things I've ever made. I just had to take a deep breath and go for it.
I can always make another bow tie to fit him, right???

Speaking of William... I think it's about time I made something for him.
He's 8 years old, but surprisingly, still likes Mommy to sew for him.
He's so cute.

Anyways... what do you think of my Sienna pattern remix?
Want to know how to make one? I actually anticipated winning maybe... ha... so I took pictures of the whole process.

Let me know if you want a tutorial {I know I'm horrible about getting those done} and I'll get it up.

Brown day

2011-09-09T13:48:00.012-05:00

Luckily for brown day I had these little slacks completely made except for the cuffs.

I got on a kick a few weeks ago of making Ella pants and I made about 8 pair- three of them were off McCall's 5457.

I just think these are so cute. I bought this pattern ages ago, when Ella was one year old or something like that and I've been dying to make them for her.

Ella didn't really care much for them, but she humored me and wore them anyways.
I lined the inside with some silky lining- so she liked the way the felt.
We had a difference of opinion on the styling. I wanted her to wear a sweet lacy white camisole with a brown cardigan sweater with them, but she just wouldn't go for it. I gave in and let her wear this hand me down brown t-shirt. eh. Whatever girl.

I also wanted her to wear a little brown headband, but lost that battle, too and we went with the side german braid.

It's difficult to choose your battles with kids... but I pride myself on letting them choose their own style... even though it's hard sometimes.

I'd love to dress her up any way I like and make her clothes that I'd like to wear if I was skinny and young.
I mean, she has no use for these little details- like the faux tab pockets-

and the little tailoring darts I added to the back. Oh... her little butt! So cute.

I wish I had a better picture of these pants, but this was the best one I got.
The fabric was some leftover from something or other my Mom made for my little sister and I grabbed from the goodwill pile.
I matched the plaids pretty good, but not great. The fabric was kinda slippery... but what gave me the most grief was the cuffs!

... oh, the cuffs on this pattern! Those damn cuffs!!!! I could not figure out the directions included in the pattern and of course I was finishing these up the night before she was supposed to wear them.

I have to send a big shout out to Laura from Ellie Inspired, who responded to my facebook plea for help (it was too late to call my Mommy) She called me and let me ramble on about the difficulty and we talked thru different possibilities and she also sent me a link for how to do it. Thank you, again, Laura!

I've made such good sewing friends thru this online community.
I wish we all lived next door to each other and we could just run over to each other's houses and show off our stuff instead of doing it in HTML.

Maybe one day we'll meet in person.
Until then, why don't you guys introduce yourselves.
I know some of the people who follow my blog, but most of you, I don't know.
Leave me a link to your blog or etsy shop so I can check out what you guys are making or tell me who you are and where you live, or something you'd love to see me make!

Black Day- Chiffon pink apple dress

2011-09-07T08:38:00.010-05:00

Want to see what Ella wore on 'Black Day' yesterday?

It's a self drafted, pull on, asymmetrical, chiffon dress with an elastic waist.

We both really love how it turned out.

This one was of the things I considered using for my Back to School challenge for Project Runway... which, by the way, I was kicked off of this week.

Yeah... I'm bummed, but I'm considering doing all the challenges anyways.
We'll see.

I got this adorable black chiffon fabric with little pink apples from Wal-Mart. It was only, like, $2 a yard or something and I only bought one yard- so this dress was super cheap to make. I lined it with some satin and it's super comfy because it just pulls on and has an elastic waist for fit.

I finished the edges with a rolled hem on the serger.

I keep thinking it needs something else... like a belt or a bow somewhere.
But she just wore it like this yesterday and she loved it, so I'm happy.

Mom says I'm spoiling her by making something new for every color day...
but it's just TOO fun! I can't help myself.

Green Day

2011-09-05T16:15:00.003-05:00

Not the band... but I like them, too.

This is the little outfit I whipped up for Boo's in no time on Thursday afternoon for her 'Green Day' on Friday.

I LOVE it!
I used Ellie Inspired's new Sandpiper pattern designed for knits and I couldn't be more thrilled with how it turned out. I was lucky enough to be a tester for the pattern, so this is the second one I've made and I really love that pattern.
(That reminds me that I need to show you the first one....)
Oh... and it's(and all Laura's patterns)are on sale today only. Go check it out!

The fabric for the top and the leggings is leftover from Ella's Strawberry Shortcake dress. Just meer scraps. The bottom is cut off of a free t-shirt Mr. Cole got from work.
I can't believe I was able to make this outfit from practically nothing. It really is a 'green' dress.

I knew I wanted to put a frog on the dress for green day. I've always loved frogs and the girls have never been into them. Ella did like this one from Lynnie Pinnie, though.

For the bows, we used ggdesigns new frog felt stitchies.
Ella wasn't thrilled with the bows... or my styling, but I think she just looks so adorable like that.

The leggings are a new pattern from Jocole that I am seriously in love with. Every outfit I make now is going to have matching leggings. The fit is perfect for my girls and they're so easy and fun to make. We love leggings! I finished the bottom of these ones off with some sweet stretch lace.

I'm so pleased that I was able to make Boos a few new things for color week this week. She's got a few more colors next week, but I'm not sure if she'll need anything new or not....

We've been enjoying the three day weekend and the weather. The cold front that came thru brought temperatures in the mid 60's this morning... and man! that is my kind of weather. We went outside to ride bikes and pick leaves and sing Christmas carols.
I did a little sewing this weekend on my Project Run and Play Challenge for next week (if I make it) and I'm pretty excited about it. I can't wait to show you guys.

Lucy's in a new little dance class that gets to dress up as a different Disney princess each week... two birds. One stone.

Happy Labor Day everyone!

Color week #1

2011-09-04T23:20:00.001-05:00

Ella had color week last week and also this week coming up.
My intention was to make something new and super cute every single day... but life got in the way of that. I was able to make her two new outfits and a few new hair thingies, though, so we were both pleased.

Red

For red day- Ella was dying to wear this little igrow skirt I made her this summer.
Nope- you haven't seen it yet... cause I wasn't able to make a shirt and bow for it yet But she found this red shirt (which I thought looked pretty cute with it) on my sewing desk and wore that with it to school. Nope- no bows or hair thingies.
I know. I almost died.
oh... and I later realized that the shirt was a size 3T boys shirt??? Who knew?

Blue

For Blue day, Ella wore this Rainbow Brite outfit I made a while back. It's still one of my all time favorites... it's not all blue, but I thought it was blue enough and so cute and colorful for color week.

Orange

Orange Day was her birthday and she wore this new outfit.
The more I look at this one, the more I like it.

Yellow

Yellow day was a drag for me.
I wanted Ella to wear this dress I made her this summer, but she wouldn't go for it.
Don't get me wrong- she loves that dress- it's just that, she didn't think it would go with her new cowboy boots from Grandma and she HAD to wear her new birthday boots. I must say... they are pretty darn cute... even with that plain t-shirt and jeans.

And I did make this in the morning before she left for school. I wanted to make these for every day in every color... but the best laid plans.

Green

I tell you about green day tomorrow. It's so cute. I love it. You're gonna love it.

Which one is your favorite so far?

Project Run and Play Challenge #1- Back to School

2011-09-02T06:04:00.001-05:00

Don't forget to go vote at Project Run and Play this weekend!!!

This is Ella's first year of Kindergarten which means getting the girl used to wearing pants. You guys know Boo wants to live in skirts and dresses, but pants are so much more practical for back to school activities, like sitting criss-cross-applesauce, P.E., and playing on the playground.

What better way to convince her to love her pants than to girly them up with some ruffles, rouching, appliques, and pockets- of course.

These pants were REALLY fun to make but very time consuming, too.
I used the Dortje pants pattern from the book Sewing Clothes Kids Love.

Adding all those ruffles, appliques, pockets, bar tacks, and subtle details really make the pants fun to make and look great, too.

I also love that they look like real pants with the faux fly- but there's actually a hidden soft elastic waistband.

The fabric for the pants is some lightweight twill that I inherited from Mom at some point and the owl fabric was just a half yard that I bought at one of my trips to JoAnn's in Dallas. I thought the combination of the owls and apples was perfect for 'Back to School'.

Back to school also means layering. I remember being so freezing in class when it was hot outside. That's what inspired the vest with matching owl applique and hand made bias.

See how I make yards of bias tape with only a fat quarter.
I love how handmade bias can punch up a simple garment, like this inexpensive fleece vest.

I got the design file for the applique on etsy and it stitched out wonderfully. I love when I find 'made to match'
files for the fabrics I have.

And I loved using this old desk I found at Granny and Grandaddy's for our photo shoot!

Project Run and Play!

2011-09-01T20:07:00.003-05:00

Have you heard of this competition?

I'm one of the 'designers' this season and I could not be more excited.
I was invited to do it last season and was so bummed out to decline, because I had already committed to So You Think You're Crafty. I loved being a part of that competition and the challenges it threw at me, but I really think this is more up my alley.

I'm not really crafty... but I LOVE TO SEW!!! AND ESPECIALLY KIDS CLOTHES!!!

I really felt like a Project Runway contestant getting ready for this first challenge (which is back to school). I started with one design and was loving it until I was done... then I just thought it was so-so. So, I moved on and chose another design and got it 1/2 way cut out when I was called out of town for several days. When I got back, I quickly made a fully lined wool coat and a self drafted chiffon dress...the day before the challenge was due- and I was sick with a fever. Like... if I didn't have a Kleenex handy- the snot would run out of my nose- sick. ugh....

and it was Ella's birthday, so in addition to finishing the Project Run and Play submission, I also had to complete an entire birthday outfit, plan a party, shop for stuff, wrap presents... all the while sick as a dog.
The morning my submission was due, I went out with Ella to model and guess what??? It started raining.

oh my gosh- you guys... I was struggling.
Mr. Cole was making fun of me... wondering why I was stressed out..."hahahhahahah... you don't even have a job!!!.....sigh.
So, I scratched the coat and dress.... sigh... and went with the original design- since it was already finished and modeled.

I just really wanted to be proud of what I sent down the 'runway' and I do like it... it's just not what I really planned. Sometimes life happens that way.

I just hope I don't get kicked out the 1st week. I'm so excited about all the challenges and have already sketched out about a million things.

I should be working on the next challenge, but I was busy tonight making a 'green' outfit for Ella for school tomorrow.

Will I ever learn? I think I must work better under pressure.

Anyways... if you're still reading this... go vote for me tomorrow.
We don't have to 'hide' who we are, so look for Boo's and place a vote- for me- or whoever you think is the best. I can't wait to see what the other designers came up with!

I'm so proud to be a part of this competition!

Brother-Sister Dallas Cowboys outfits

2011-09-01T09:18:00.010-05:00

How cute are these two?
They're my best friends kiddos and I made these outfits for them this summer for their birthdays.

I started with Maddie's, cause her birthday is in April.
I just made the little dress from rectangles and then shirred the top.

It would have been super simple if I remembered the settings for shirring... but I couldn't remember them and had to keep trying different things and pulling it out.. ugh.
It was a nightmare... until it was finished.... then, I loved it.

Someone else loved it, too.

And William loved Caden's shirt, also.
{I love his little poses}

I used Carla C's bowling shirt pattern for the shirt.

The applique on the back took over an hour to stitch out, but I'm so happy with how it turned out.

I just love making matching brother/sister outfits.

I should make some Dallas Cowboys outfits for my kids!

Look whoo's 6!

2011-08-31T09:46:00.007-05:00

It's been a rough couple of weeks for our family...
dealing with the loss of a loved one always is. It's so hard to get back into the swing of things...

But today is Ella's sixth birthday and despite a few major colds in the house, we're ready to celebrate.

But why do kids grow up so fast? I can't believe my little Boo Boo is 6 years old!!!

I stayed up last night to make this birthday outfit for her to wear to school.
They are doing a color theme this week and today was orange, so we had to coordinate her birthday outfit with the color orange.

I found these orange leggings in the drawer and a little under a half of a yard of this adorable owl fabric. {I have no clue where it's from... or how long I've had it, but it's cute!}

I used Planet Applique's birthday owl set for the shirt and ggdesigns owl felt stitchies for the bow.

For the skirt, I used Ellie Inpsired's Dancer skirt pattern, but hemmed it instead of bindng it. I really love how her birthday outfit turned out and so did Ella!

Happy Birthday, my sweet girl.
I can't wait to eat lunch with you at school, perform the million tasks you asked of me, and celebrate your birthday tonight as a family.

A Frog Prince Fairytale Dress

2011-08-22T08:56:00.011-05:00

I've been saving this fabric (that I bought at JoAnn's) for a while now and thought it would be perfect for the testing of the Fairytale Dress by the Tie Dye Diva. Ella wasn't that crazy about the frogs and Lucy loved it, so she gets the dress.

That's how it works around here... and BOY! did this dress turn out adorable.

Someone ended up loving it, too, and wanted to wear it as a top with leggings.

I love it as a top, too. I didn't make the leggings, though. I got those at the GAP, but I will be making all future leggings we own as a result of another amazing pattern I got to test last week. More info coming soon.

{These pictures show the dress as a tested product. The final copy of the pattern will have a narrower bodice and longer length}

My favorite thing about this pattern is the corset bodice.

I'm a huge fan of corset styles, but think they can look a little 'grown up' on little girls sometimes. This one doesn't at all! It's laced all the way up- with no gaping fronts and it's just so sweet and 'princessy'. I would recommend shopping for ribbon for the bodice while you're choosing fabrics. This is the second ribbon I tried and I'm still not crazy about it. I like the color, but wish it was a bit narrower.

Next time, I'll make sure I have a perfect ribbon first!

This dress had a couple firsts for me. I've never done a handkerchief skirt before or one of the new {all the rage} buttonhole ties in the back.

That is wonderful for sizing. I can see this dress/top fitting for a long time.
I like that.

And I know these cuties do, too.

Although the girls seem to be falling out of love with their bows and more into headbands and plain ponytails and flowers... I just had to make a bow for this one.

I told them they couldn't wear it unless they wore the bow.
hehahahhahahaha... evil laugh.
What????????

so what.

Ella's 1st day of Kindergarten

2011-08-17T10:21:00.013-05:00

I can't believe it.
I've been dreading this day forever and it's finally here.

I held her back as long as I could, and I'm still glad I did that, but she is so ready for school, now. She's anxious to learn and make friends. She's so excited about reading, riding the bus and eating lunch at school.

Within minutes, she had a group of little girls around her; introducing herself, complimenting their outfits and backpacks, reassuring the timid ones and pretty much organizing a pep rally in the cafeteria.

She has a confidence that rivals mine as an adult, but that I never had as a young kid. I find it admirable and comforting but also a little scary. I hope that she will behave , be polite, courteous, and respectful and also kind to all her classmates.

I worry about her like I never worried about William. He has always been so well mannered and mild tempered. Ella is my little drama queen. I hope her day goes better than William's 1st day of school.

The poor thing was laid up in bed.
His second day was great, though, and we are just thrilled with his teacher for this year. His only complaint was that, "No one told him his new shoes were awesome."
My sweet sensitive boy.

It was a huge decision for Ella to decide what to wear this morning. I was so thrilled that she chose her new Pixie Girl Dress.

I had the honor of testing this Ellie Inspired pattern this summer and I just love how it turned out.

The fit is perfect. I love the length. I love the flounces. I love the bodice.

I love the little buttons on the back.

And I really love this dotted swiss I found in my mom's stash.
I finished the edges of the flounces with a rolled hem.

I think it's a massive compliment to Laura that Ella picked this dress out of the MANY things that I've made her for school.

Oh... and if you're wondering how Lucy is doing with her siblings at school.

She's great- happier than a pig in... mud.
At least for today.

Pink, black, and zebra apron

2011-08-16T08:17:00.010-05:00

Another installment of the summer of apron making with my cousin.

This one turned out so cute, she decided to keep it for herself instead of gifting it to the bride. ha!

...don't worry... we made another one for the bride...

I used McCall's 5997 and I think it turned out so cute.

Here's my littlest sister modeling it.

Isn't she beautiful?
I love having such beautiful models.

We all really liked the pockets on this pattern.
I really like apron pockets- for stashing my MP3 player or bits of stuff I pick up from the floor when I'm cleaning.

I wanted more pink on the apron, so instead of turning the pocket seam allowance under- I chopped it off and binded the edges with this handmade bias tape.
I really like it!

And... the back of the apron:

super cute!... but I'm not sure how practical it is to get on and tie yourself up.
I guess if you're wearing an apron like this, it's just for looks anyways.

*All fabrics are from JoAnn fabrics. I love JoAnn fabrics. I miss JoAnn fabrics... I can't wait to visit her again...*

In other news- William is feeling better and went to school today. He was so excited, he actually made it onto the bus this morning. The first time in 4 years that he's been ready in time for that.

Ella's first day is tomorrow and she can NOT wait.

School is in session

2011-08-15T15:07:00.009-05:00

At least it should be.
It's the first day of school, here at home, but William woke up with a raging fever and the pukes.
yeah. gross.
And Ella only got to go for a short evaluation session.

So... besides the million dollars I've spent on school supplies, nothing's really changed around here.

I've been a busy bee sewing clothes for Boos for school and making up for lost time on the machine.

We had company here last week and I only touched my sewing machine once.

I let the kids have a go at the machine and they loved it. They each made a travel sized sausage pillowcase with a little help getting the measurements right.
They sewed every seam... well, all three... those sausage pillowcases are so easy and fun to make!

We started with my niece Emma, who chose Hello Kitty cheerleader fabric- a favorite of mine- and pink and white polka dots.
How cute!

I think Emma's favorite thing was ironing.

Ella's favorite thing was definitely the sewing. She took her time, being careful to stop when she came to the pins and making sure her seams were straight.

Lucy was more interested in playing than sewing and definitely didn't want to pose for pictures... but I made her. :)

The boys picked the same main fabric and different contrasts. I think I like Dylan's combo better. Isn't he the cutest?

William was a little less than thrilled about doing the sewing- he just wanted me to do it... but I made him, too.

And last, but not least, are the ones I made for my nephew, Jacob.
He really liked them, too.

What a cutie patootie!

Then I tortured them even further and made them come outside for a photo shoot.

Fake sleeping pose and all.

If you want to make your own sausage pillowcase, you can reference my tutorial here. They're so fun to make and great for beginning sewers.

French Maid apron #5

2011-08-04T08:49:00.007-05:00

I still haven't perfected that french maid apron, dang it.

Every time I make them they look different.
I'll get it one day.

I have to, because they're just so cute and everybody wants me to make them one.

This one is another gift for my cousin to give-a-way- complete with the bride's future name on there.

See what I mean about that dress form..... my other apron looks so much better than this one thrown on the bed.

Luckily, my cousin snapped a picture of her wearing it for me.

Come to think of it.... I made two aprons for her that I didn't photograph at all.

Retro Sweetheart apron

2011-08-03T11:03:00.009-05:00

Are you ready to see a bunch of aprons I made this summer for my cousin?
She's at that age where all her friends are getting married, so we worked together to make some aprons for her girlfriends bridal showers.

I really, really like this one.
I didn't have my french maid pattern with me at Mom and Dad's, but I found this Butterick pattern in Mom's pattern stash and thought it was really cute.

Not only was it really cute but also VERY easy! It went together fast- except for making all that handmade bias tape and it took a lot less fabric than my traditional french maid apron.

I really like the ric rac and the ruffles (which I added) and the neckline.
I'm a sucker for a sweetheart neckline!

On the bottom of the apron I appliqued this love bug heart ommitting the words and adding the future name of the bride on there.

I love that the lace around the heart mimics the ric rac trim.

I heard that the bride loved it and wore it all night, which makes me happy.

I wish I had a better picture of her in it... but I do have a great one of my sister in law modeling for me.

Isn't she cute!?
I loved using Mom's dress form and I really want one for myself, but there's nothing like a live model to make your creations come to life!

Thanks Sharon!

Summer jammas

2011-08-01T23:21:00.004-05:00

William really shot up this summer and I had to cut off ALL his pajama pants into shorts.
Not really fun sewing, but it means that he'll need all new pajamas for the winter....

and I'm kinda syked about that.
I love making pajamas.

My little boy is growing up.
I'm pretty sad about saying good-bye to the bunny rabbit pajamas, though.

Very Easy Dress for me- Vogue 8724

2011-07-31T17:53:00.009-05:00

During my 'sew'cation with Mom, we started this dress and I just finished it up this morning to wear to church.

I really, REALLY like it.

This is the fit right out of the envelope, which is really amazing.
Nothing usually fits me this good straight from the pattern.

It's Very Easy Vogue 8724 with the custom cups.
I guess that's why it fits so good.

The only change I made to the pattern was doing the neckline and armscyes different. It called for a narrow 5/8 inch hem on them, but I did a binding leaving about 1/4 inch showing- for a little extra coverage.

I still think it's a little showey in that area and I aim to try to fix it when I make this again.

Here I am asking Mr. Cole if my boobs are hanging out too much.

ha ha.... he thinks it's really funny to take pictures of my boobs. sigh...
but this time, I'm actually grateful, because you can see the binding I did on the neckline... and how low cut it still is.

The pattern is really easy and, also, is SUPER cute in the back. I didn't think to get the Mr. to take a picture from behind... I'll do that next time I make it.
I already purchased some fabric to make it again and it's really pretty!

The fabric on this dress isn't anything I would have ever picked out. It's from Mom's stash and since we were doing a muslin... I didn't care what it looked like, but I actually love it on. It's a thicker, great feeling ITY. I have no idea where she got it, but my guess would be fabric.com.

So... can you believe it... a dress for me!
I love it.
If you've been wanting to make something for yourself and haven't- go pick this pattern up. It's simple, takes very little fabric- not even 1.5 yards, and fit is great!

I have a few other things I made myself (with Mom's help) to show you guys, too, but I have to model them.... haven't done that yet.

Matching monogrammed pillowcase dresses

2011-07-29T12:10:00.009-05:00

One of my favorite things to make, lately, is doll clothes to match little girl clothes.

So, I was so thrilled when my cousin requested a matching doll dress to match a pillowcase dress for her.
Isn't she adorable with her little bitty baby?

I drafted the pattern for the baby myself... and was going to make it a free download on the blog.... but with all this computer mess and not having a disc drive... I've been a little slowed down in that dept.

Hopefully, soon.
I just completed my last custom order this morning. So, I'm hoping to have a LOT more time to work on those patterns and tutorials and fixing up the blog.
I've been so unorganized.... I mean, I think I made this dress in April or May???
and I have so many other things I haven't shown you guys, yet.

So much on the list of things to do.

I love how this little dress turned out, though, with the matching fabrics and ribbon from Hobby Lobby.

http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Ella loved it, too... and I'm pretty sure I was supposed to make her one. ooops.

The monogram on the dress is from Lynnie Pinnie and the hair pretty on the bow and the baby dress is from Pickle Pie Designs.

I handmade the bias tape and added some of the leftover into the bow. I really like that!

It's been a while since I've made any bows... I need to make some more.

Little Lucy

2011-07-28T14:21:00.008-05:00

Lucy is the tiniest of the 5 cousins in a row.
Sometimes it's tough being the smallest of the big girls.

Most of the time, I forget that Lucy is the same age as her cousins...

and she definitely gets the end of the stick on getting clothes made for her.

But... the child doesn't need anything. She gets all of Ella's hand-me-downs, plus the few new ones I make/buy her and also, all of Emma's hand-me-downs.

Sometimes, it's hard for Emma to get rid of her old dresses, so I like to spruce them up for Lucy and change them for Emma.

Look how happy she is!

She just loves her 'new' dress.

I just took this sweet polka dot hand me down dress from Emma (it's from The Children's Place) and put one of these new Crazy Cat Appliques on there.

I used Mom's 6 X 10 and let Lucy pick the design she wanted.
I couldn't believe she didn't pick one with a bow... but I like the sleeping one, too.

I made it look like her kitty, Sarafina.

What an easy way to spruce up this hand me down.
Happy kid. Happy Mom.

Dodie Dress Pattern Winner

2011-07-27T13:30:00.002-05:00

Thanks to Random.org- the winner of the Dodie Dress Pattern Give-a-way by Nanoo Designs is Emily C.

Anonymous said...

What a cute little dress. You always make me want any pattern you use. Now I have to have this one too!

Emily C.

July 20, 2011 1:51 PM

Please contact me and I'll have Nanette send over your new pattern! I know you'll love it.

I'm sorry for those of you who didn't win. You'll have to go get a copy here.