Just In The Nick Of Time!!!

Here is my project for the July Dress Challenge! This one is for my daughter, who will be turning three soon. This dress was made from an older McCalls pattern, one I actually bought back in high school or college. I bought it thinking that someday, I just might have a special someone to make it for! I did make several alterations to the pattern, including changing the closing from zipper to buttons. I had the perfect buttons from my Grandma C.'s button box, and I just had to use them for this dress. The other alteration I made was to eliminate two additional panels in the skirt. I can't imagine sewing it with all the panels. It was hard enough sewing all the layers; I can't imagine if it had been bulkier. The reason I left out a few panels was that I made the dress using two curtains I found at a yard sale for about a buck a piece. I was able to carefully arrange the pieces so I had exactly enough for the dress. There was not a scrap to spare, I tell you, not even enough for a matching purse! The band on the bottom of the skirt front was part of the curtain. Of course, I used the existing curtain hem so that I didn't even have to hem this puppy! To compensate for the lack of extra panels in the skirt, I am making a petticoat (?) to go with it. I cut apart the layers of the slip from my wedding dress (NOT the dress itself!) and will be using that for the petticoat.

Easy Kid Craft

These magnets are really easy to make with kids. I found the idea in Family Fun magazine, and of course, improvised a bit. To make them, collect bottle caps or root through your beer drinking neighbor's trash bin. ;) Pick out pretty scrapbooking paper, magazine scraps (from a seed catalog?), or even photographs, and cut in circles using a quarter for a template. Glue the paper into the bottle cap and paint with a thick coat of Modge Podge. You can add glitter, sequins, or other small trinkets. To finish, glue a magnet to the back (E6000 glue works really good). The bottom two magnets we mixed food coloring and Modge Podge, but I wouldn't recommend that. The one on the right has already faded out. Maybe acrylic paint would work better?

Why I'll Never Be A Cake Decorator: The Lawn Mower Cake

All my cake ideas look nice in my head. Almost none of them turn out like originally planned. This one is no exception. But a combined lack of tools and uninterrupted time leads to improvisation and the eventual deterioration of the original plan. What can you do!?

Ideas??

I recently scored this roll of trim from a yard sale for fifty cents. For a brief moment, I thought it was ugly but quickly came to my senses. (I can see you rolling your eyes, Dad. It is NOT ugly!) So the question is, what should I do with it? My thought is to make a skirt for my daughter with it, with layers of ruffles. If you have any ideas please leave a comment!!

Food Crafting

In the last week or so, I was able to make double batches of Blackberry, Kiwi, and Blueberry Lime jams. Mmmm! By the end of summer, we just may have enough jam to last from now into eternity.

Chop, Chop!

(My apologies for the lousy picture)

I had a dress that I didn't wear very often. I liked it but it just wasn't quite right. Now, I think I paid something like $9.99 for this dress at Ross so I wasn't exactly indebted to it...but still. I hated to get rid of it after only wearing it a few times. Then, inspiration struck! I chopped off the bottom, hemmed it up, and had myself a shirt. I even have enough fabric I might be making a cute skirt for my daughter!

Who Is That Sassy Lady?

Well, I'm glad you asked. That is our mother, the lady that started this mess! :) She taught us how to sew and is our go-to for all technical sewing issues. We've even coerced her to get back into sewing in the last year or so, and to participate in our July dress challenge. She whipped up this spiffy little number after seeing the pattern modeled on a mannequin at the fabric store. Now both Rachel and I want to try out the pattern for ourselves!

Stocking Stuffers

In the interest of being prepared for Christmas, and keeping with our crafty Christmas Challenge, I made a few hair clips to stash away for my daughter. Very simple and easy.

Name Book

This book was made for my son's first birthday. While I am happy with the finished project, there are a few things I wish I would have had the time to do. Oh, well, he'll never notice. :) In case you are wondering, the back page (with photo) was made with a square of tablecloth vinyl. If you ever sew with it, lay a piece of paper over it so that the presser foot slides along the paper, otherwise it will stick and stretch. (FYI) The denim was from an old pair of jeans and the cover fabric came from Rachel. I used felt and cotton scraps for the appliques and embroidered the words. I could really get into making these if I had the time (ha, ha!).

Kitchen Flair

The last two years I have ordered seeds from Baker Creek for my garden. Reading through their catalog for me is like running through a candy store (or a fabric store for that matter). I was even more thrilled to find that most of their seeds come in these awesome packets. To frame them, I bought cheap ($1.99/3) IKEA frames, painted them white, sanded them a bit to look worn, and voila! I have them hanging above the back splash in my kitchen, and plan on adding to it each year.

Another Dress

Here's one of my latest dresses, although I don't feel that it should count toward our July dress month challenge because it was mostly made a while ago. And by a while, I mean about 4 years. Sad, but true. I started it and never finished it. Two more babies later and I am back to work on the dress. Thanks to my trusty zipper wizard (thanks, Mom!) it is finally ready to wear.

And while this photo has nothing to do with anything, this is how I feel after trying to get blogger to upload my pictures today!!! Argh!


Oh, the humidity!

Dress Month Continued - The Danielle Dress

Here is my first official July dress. I used a free pattern from Burda which you can get here. A few months ago I picked up this quilting fabric and it reminded me of the curtain clothes from The Sound of Music and everytime I look at it I want to climb trees and break into song. I've had the Danielle pattern for a long time now and on a whim the other day I decided to sew it up using this fabric even though it strays from the normal colors in my wardrobe (black and gray). This is an easy pattern with lots of darts and a couple of pleats on the front. I like the neckline and the high, fitted waist and the invisible zipper up the back. I really enjoyed making this dress and am happy with the way it turned out so much so that I am currently making another one in red crepe de chine. If I ever vanquish this unruly material I will post the second dress!

Quick Date Bag

My husband decided to take me on a fancy date last night and I realized that I didn't have a bag to match my dress. I dove into my trusty stash and found just enough scraps of fabric and piping to crank this out just in time! I used the trusty buttercup bag pattern that you can get for free from Made By Rae here. I used fusible fleece and lined the bag with a green, leafy print.