Final KCW outfits!

So I got busy the final couple days of Kids Clothes Week and cranked out a couple cute dresses for the girls!  I also got crazy and made myself a dress - with knit!  The dress is the The Casual Lady pattern.  It should've been pretty easy to make once cut out, but I was working with some really thin knit.  But I had to make it work.  And I matched all the stripes at the seams.  I never match fabric patterns at the seams.  It is pretty comfortable and I love the mint color!

I love this chicken fabric!  I don't have the name off hand, but I ordered all the kids' fabric from the fabricworm and my knit from Girl Charlee.  I made the dress using the Party Dress pattern for the bodice and then added sleeves by tracing the arm holes and adding an extra 2 inches for them to ruffle up.  I also had some red piping that I wanted to try out, so I split the bodice in half to add some chicken fabric with the flowers.  (oops, didn't line up the chickens well)  I think I was most excited to add the lace I had on the sleeves.

I forgot to add loops to the back for buttons so I put a zipper in the back.

This bee and honeycomb fabric was so beautiful too!  I stared at my materials until this variation of the dress hit me.  More lace, more buttons, and more ruffles!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had so much fun with these dresses.  They remind me of summer and going to the farm to get our veggies.  Can't wait until that starts up again.

KCW again - stamped outfits

It's close to the end of KCW and I've been trying to learn some new skills while the girls get some cute outfits.  I already posted one picture of this Cinderella stamped dress.  Here's a close up of the Cinderella and metallic blue paint.  I love the imperfections and where I put too much or too little paint on the stamp.  This paint really shines!  Not sure if it will hold up to a lot of washes though. 

I made a faux romper with the other stamped shirt.  I wanted to make a real romper, but wasn't sure if that would impeed potty breaks.  So I made a shirt with elastic bottom and some shorts to get the look.  I kept the neckline and sleeves casual by not finishing them off - plus I got a little lazy knowing that this was white and bound to get stained soon.



Not totally in love with the stamp on a white shirt.  I think the shorts are really awesome by themselves though, so I know we'll use them.

I'm finishing up the week making some really awesome dresses so pics to come!

KCW progress

Still participating in the KCW challenge and working on items for the kids at least 1 hr (usually more) a night! 

 

After making their Earth Day shirts I had to take a break and whip out a Dino Hooded Towel for a birthday party this weekend.  I was going to have the spikes go all the way down and add a tail but I'm afraid it won't wash well.  I still have time, maybe I'll change it.  I used the Prudent Baby hooded towel tutorial for a starting place.  I rounded out the hood and cut a slit to add the spikes before I attatched the hood.  Maybe I'll take pictures of the process if I make more this summer.

 

 

But I still worked on items for the kids.  I used the girls' princess stamps and some acryllic paint to begin stamping some Jerzee tshirts to make I didn't know what.  The next night I made a dress out of one of the shirts.  

 

I thought I made it way too big, but it was actually really snug.  Oh well, I'm learning.  Maybe I should use a pattern next time!  I'm thinking of making some shorts and a tshirt out of the other shirt I stamped.  We'll see how it goes!  And hopefully I can get some pics of the girls in their new (Cinderella) stamped outfits.

 

Chalkboard Placemat Tutorial

The girls think these are a lot of fun and I think they are great for passing time at restaurants or the doctor's office.  I've made these quite a few times now trying to find the best way to construct them.  I've made them without pockets for chalk and an eraser, but I like everything to have its place so it's mobile for a diaper bag.  A lot of kids have been getting my prototypes for their birthday as I figure them out.  This is actually an upcoming birthday present for a 2 yr old.

 

Materials Needed:

• 13"x19" piece and 4"x11" piece of laminated cotton
• 11"x17" cut of chalk board fabric
• 36" of ribbon
• chalk and sponge
• optional - fabric glue, sewing needle for thicker fabric (90/14), walking foot, Wonder Clips

Use spray fabric adhesive to attach the wrong side of the chalk board fabric to the wrong side of the larger laminated cotton piece in its center (you'll have a 1" border around the chalk fabric).  I don't have adhesive so I didn't use it, but it would have made the project less stressful.  The fabric moves a little and creates ripples while sewing if you're not using a walking foot or haven't clipped well enough.  You can use regular cotton fabric but I like that the laminated cotton easy to clean.

Important!  I forgot to take a picture of this step - hem one long side of the smaller laminated cotton.  It is going to be attached as a pocket for chalk and the eraser (sponge).  It's easiest to do it before it is clipped to the chalk fabric and sewn on.  The placemat can be made without this pocket or sewn on later.

So begin clipping the fabric down for sewing.  Do not use pins, the holes will be permanent!  Paper clips will work, but I'm loving these Wonder Clips I just bought.  Turn down one corner first to form a triangle.  I had already began one side when I took pictures, but the method is the same for all corners.

Then roll down the laminated cotton edge to meet the chalkboard fabric edge.

Then roll down the edge again and begin clipping, and clipping, and clipping.  You're basically just framing the chalk board fabric.

 

 

I didn't take a picture of another step, but you can see it below.  Make sure the small strip of laminated cotton is placed right side up, but under the framing and clipping.  Also make sure the hemmed portion faces out. 

  Ready for sewing!  Sew all along about 1/4" from edge.

So I decided to use my walking foot for the first time.  I think I installed it wrong or something because it made a lot of noise.  But it worked really well so I just went with it because I was too tired to figure it out.  (update: figured it out, didn't put the arm on the needle screw)  You can use a regular foot, but you'll have to gently pull the fabric behind the needle while feeding the fabric so that it doesn't get stuck.

Ignore my less than straight lines!  Now to work the pocket.  Insert the chalk you will be adding into the pocket to estimate how big the slot will need to be.  I usually can fit four slots for chalk, spaced 1 1/4" apart.  I didn't take pictures of the progress unfortunately.  The remaining space will be for the sponge eraser.  All that is needed is four straight lines sewn from the frame to the pocket opening.  Remember to backstitch in the beginning and end of each line.

A view of the finished pockets side.  My pockets for the chalk aren't all the same size since I decided to just guess this time.  You can add more chalk pockets and downsize the eraser pocket.  Just cut the sponge to the size needed.

Fold the ribbon in half and attach it to the opposite side of the pocket so the mat can be rolled and tied up.  I've attached it to the pocket side before on accident and it didn't look as nice.  And don't forget to seal off the cut ribbon edges with a lighter so it doesn't fray.

Prime the mat by rubbing an edge of the chalk horizontally and vertically and then erase.

And you're done!

C'est fini!

Also linked at:
Go to Sew - Oh yes, I sew!

Happy Earth Day!

This past weekend I whipped up some outfits for the girls to celebrate Earth Day.  Themes help with inspiration so these were sewn relatively quick.  I even made one by upcycling! Ha.  I also made these because I'm participating in Kids Clothes Week, where you try to dedicate 1 hour per night sewing for the little ones!

This fabric was picked out by the girls a very long time ago and I wasn't sure what to make with it.  I used the Party Dress tutorial from The Cottage Home for the bodice and added a circle skirt to make it a peplum-ish top.

I added some giant buttons to the back with elastic loops so it would fit comfortably.

She LOVED it thankfully.  I made the circle skirt a little big so I added some pleats to the front and back.  I think it made it even better.

The other dress was made using two Jerzee tshirts and the Let's Go Fly a Kite Dress tutorial from Craftiness is not Optional.  I added some lady bug buttons that I had sitting around.

I think she loved hers too which makes me VERY happy!

Strawberry Lemon Trifle

This is a fun Sunday treat!  I make a trifle similar to this quite often, and love it.  But I decided to change it up very slightly.  So the components to this are:

• Angel food cake made using Alton Brown's Angel Food Cake 
• Lemon instant pudding 
• Strawberries
• Homemade whipped cream

Easy!  I usually use cheesecake pudding but only had lemon.  Worked out well.  When I make this angel food cake, we normally make homemade ice cream with all the yolks.  But I bought a carton of egg whites and used 2 1/4 cups instead of 12 eggs.  I also like to add almond and vanilla extract instead of orange.  Next time I may try using lemon extract and no pudding for a lighter treat.  The whipped cream is just 2 cups of whipping cream, 1/4 cup powdered sugar, and tbsp of vanilla extract whipped in the Kitchen Aid mixer.

:)

Also linked at:
I'm Crafty Party

Toddler Jeggings

A while ago I found some four way stretch knit at the fabric store that I thought would be perfect for capri jeggings for the girls.  Now that it's finally warm out, I got up the courage to try to make some and  love the results!  I made a couple different kinds, but just have photos of one that I like the best.  I constructed them using some leggings they already have as a guide for a pattern.  The fabric was very forgiving.  This is probably the easiest and fastest clothing item I've ever made.

I added a bow topped with a button for some detail.  Next time I may try a cluster of buttons or flower, all things they love to have on clothing.

Spring!

The trees are finally blooming outside and I thought it would be a perfect time to get pictures of the girls  in their Easter dresses.  Since it was pretty dreary and windy out on Easter, we didn't get great pics that day.

The dresses they are wearing are made following two free online tutorials.  One is The Cottage Home Party Dress and the other is the Let's Fly a Kite Sundress by Craftiness is not Optional.  I followed the party dress tutorial for a 2T and it came out a little big, but the tie in the back helped fix that.  The sundress was drafted from a 2T shirt, but I probably should've used a 3T so it could slide on and off easier.  I added on some pink flowers hoping they'd be more likely to wear the dresses willingly, since they love all clothes with flowers.

I love this party dress.  So simple, but the back is gorgeous with fabric covered buttons...though you can't see them since all her long hair is covering them.







I added a green bow in the back of the let's fly a kite dress so they'd match better in the back.

I also added some pockets to the let's fly a kite dress.  They LOVE pockets!  And I love these dresses.  The fabric is from Riley Blake designs and I have to hold myself back from buying more.  I plan using the dress patterns again since they were so easy to understand.








HAPPY SPRING!!!

New blog!  Everyone has one now so why not, right?  I'll keep it short.  I think blogs are great resources for new recipes, sewing tutorials, crafting, and everything else.  So I intend to post my experiences trying out those things and maybe some other general updates of what's going on.

As soon as I get some pictures loaded and my act together I'll churn out some posts.  I've been working on so much lately!

Oh, and the blog was named by my girls who are twins - not just because they are twins, but because anything past two is two many.  I hear it a lot from them and it reminds me of them.
:)