Pleated Top

I've had this little top pinned for some time and finally got around to making it.  It is really adorable and Chess loves it.  The tutorial is very easy to follow, as well.  I love her whole website.











-Alison

Tackling a shirt/dress pattern

My mom was in town from Arizona and she just happens to be the sewing queen. I knew this would be the golden opportunity to tackle a pattern that I knew I'd need help with. We started with the dress below. We worked on it together and when I felt confident enough, I made the shirt all by myself! I'm pretty sure I can do facings now, which I had no clue about before. the pictures are a bit funny, but what do you expect when you have a 4 yr old who NEVER stops moving? Looking forward to many more sewing adventures. With every project, I get more confident.

This pattern was by McCalls. 

Easter Outfits

The first set of outfits was for Easter egg hunts. I did a bunny applique on the shirts, but you can't see it very well in the pictures. I made my older daughter's skirt from this tutorial. It's very fun and twirly. I used vintage rose fabric that my grandmother gave me when she cleaned out her sewing stuff.









The second set of outfits was to wear to church. I wanted them to be coordinating, but not the same. For Lera's dress, I used this pattern, just made it bigger. For Chess's I made it up as I went. I got the idea from a ruffled dress I saw at Old Navy, and I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.

Boy Ties

Here are my boys sporting their new ties for Easter.

The pattern was pretty simple although I had a few adjustments to it.

It would be easy to do this one as a group sometime.
*Pattern can be found here.

Not Your Ordinary Betty Crocker

This past Tuesday was our Monthly Girl's Craft Night. We made homemade bread and cinnamon rolls in less than 1 hour! We used soy lecithin from Pantry Secrets and it was so easy...minus some mechanical issues. So here are some of the products of that evening. Girls and I will be happy to say the bread is still soft, moist and fresh as of today. We made a loaf of white and whole wheat bread.

And a batch of white and wheat cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting: Yummy!

I have been slacking in the crafting department lately, but this is a ruffled apron that I made for a certain family member for easter. I fell in love with the retro pattern on the fabric and had to get it.

Skirt Refashion

So my 4 year old had a pink twirly skirt that she just loved, wore it everywhere. It lasted all of three months before it was torn while playing outside. I never threw it away and instead salvaged some of the ruffles for a new skirt. The flower fabric was on clearance for less than $1. And miracle of miracles, I think this was the first piece of clothing I've sewed without using a pattern or online tutorial to guide me through. Woo hoo! Does that mean I've passed basic-elastic-waisted-skirt 101?

I added a little fabric rosette to the side just for fun.

Girls Skirt

My 4 year old is all about fashion these days. She fights me to wear anything other than a skirt to preschool, which has been a definite 'no' given the incredibly cold winter we've had this year in Georgia. But I'm determined to fill her wardrobe with skirts galore for this coming spring and summer so she can prance around to tea parties and frilly delights til her hearts content.

I'm a VERY novice sewer, so it's exciting to see so many great beginner tutorials online. I found a tiered skirt tutorial from Kuky Ideas that was very easy and super cute. I loved her precise measurements so there wasn't any guessing involved and you could tailor it to fit any age. I used some silk satin found in the fabric clearance bins at Joann's so in total, the entire project cost about $2. I also made a couple felt rosette clips to match.