"It's All About That Place": Aloha

A few weeks ago, the girls' school had Hawaiian Day, but only told the parents the afternoon before. I don't really buy/make the girls much in the way of tropical clothing.  So cue me sewing like a crazy person all night.  Since Project Run and Play's first week's theme is "It's All About That Place" I thought I would enter Laurel's dress. 

For her dress, I used the peasant dress from the Sweet Innocence pattern by My Treasured Heirloom using a random tropical floral fabric someone gifted me.  Laurel loves this pattern since it is "puffy" and twirly.  

As you can see, we definitely haven't entered Spring yet.  So tropical getaway sounds like a great idea to us.

The Cottage Mama: Party Dress

This last weekend we went to the park right after church and I realized that I didn't blog about the girls' Easter dresses, so I took a few pictures before having them change into play clothes.

I used The Party Dress pattern.  It is a free pattern by The Cottage Mama.  I love the look of this dress.  It is a very easy sew, though it is a bit of a fabric hog.

I love this picture of Eleanor.  I just wish I knew how to edit the hair out of her face.

4th of July Outfits!

See, I don't always use Ottobre Design.  For Fourth of July of weekend, I made my girls and niece some fun matching outfits useing the Sweetheart Halter by Peek-a-boo Patterns.

This is such an easy pattern.  All the pieces are rectangles.  I lengthened my girls' to be dresses and left the baby's as a tunic for ease of crawling.

I even tried making stars in the girls' hair.  Eleanor's is made from braids and Laurel's has twists.  I found the idea on Pinterest.

The tunic needed a diaper cover so I used #7 Tiny Toes Bikini Bottoms from issue 3/2016 of Ottobre Design.  I love the little bows so much.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Fourth of July!

Sew What Club: Butterfly Dress

I hope it doesn't feel like all I sew anymore is from Sew What Club.  It just happens to be what I either need to take pictures of (for testing) or what I want to blog about.  I used their free pattern (for signing up for the newsletter) Butterfly Dress for the girls' Picture Day dresses.  I love the bows!

It was a really fast sew.  I was able to get both sewn in one day.  The fabric for Laurel's is Castles and Carriages and feels amazing and so soft.

  The girls love them and they turned out so cute. 

I've decided that this dress works best with a large print.  Without the belt, Eleanor's looks like a hospital gown.  It is still cute though.

Eleanor decided to get a little goofy at the end.

Project Run and Play May:Summer Chevrons Shirt

This month for Project Run and Play, everyone is working with Crafty Cupboard's Summer Chevrons Shirt.  

For my version, I used knit and left off the elastic waist, because shirts like that tend to get caught on her little belly.  Since it was for her and I wanted a few minutes quiet while she rummaged, I let Laurel pick the fabrics.  The kitty knit is from an inexpensive 3xl tank top that I got to make something for the girls.  

By the time I took these pictures, she had already worn it several times (and at the end of a full day field trip with kindergartners).  I probably should have ironed it, but it is a shirt for a child and who has time for that.  I also only got these few pictures, though a couple are from the field trip, because the battery on the camera died.  It has been a long day.

The changes I made was to curve the neckline and not include the waist elastic or the button closure.

Sewing Rabbit: Knot Dress/Julie's Dress Mash Up

This month, Project Run and Play's challenge is to make something with Sewing Rabbit's Knot Dress.  I used it to make the girls' Easter dresses with some sweet rosebud fabrics.

Both girls were made a size 4 bodice and then for the skirt I used both skirt lengths and had a layered look like Sewing Rabbit's Julie's Dress pattern.  Laurel's is the size 4 lengths and Eleanor's is size 5.

Eleanor's dress is white lined in the pink fabric and Laurel's is pink lined in the white.

They loved the dresses so much, they insisted on wearing them and their crowns to buy milk after photos.  Such silly girls!

The crowns were made using this darling tutorial.

Project Run and Play "Signature Look"

For this week, I took care of two birds with one stone, Project Run and Play and Easter dresses.  My girls love wearing dresses and I love them wearing dresses.  One of my favorite dresses I made for Eleanor was the one I made for her to wear as a flower girl.  I used that pattern again.  It is Julie's Dress by Me Sew Crazy.  It doesn't seem to be sold anymore.

Thing after thing came up to keep me from getting this done, including a cold when I was trying to finish up.  Then it was raining so I couldn't get any outside pictures and this house has zero natural light.

The pattern calls for twice as much fabric for the skirt width, but apparently I can't read and was working from a half yard bundle.  I used Michael Miller's Glitz.  Laurel's is Mist and Eleanor is Glitz.  For the binding I used some glittery gold quilting cotton.

For the buttons, I used some beautiful gold and ivory floral buttons that were my grandma's.  The girls really love their new dresses.  Laurel even threw a tantrum when I tried to take it off.

Project Run and Play "Design Your Own Fabric"

This week's challenge was difficult for me.  I came up with a bunch of ideas, but reluctant or unable to get supplies to do most of them.  It finally occurred to me that I have a roll of tulle I needed to use.  I thought about making a bunch of little flowers to sew on but didn't want to take the time to make that many flowers.  That is how I decided to make tulle ruffles.  

I found a large scrap of gray leftover from a shirt I made me, which was plenty large enough to make a basic skirt for Laurel.  I sewed the tulle ruffles on in a wave pattern and with the remainder of the roll I made a layer of tulle under the cotton fabric then constructed the skirt.  Basically this outfit is just covered in gathers and ruffles.  I love how poofy it is!

The gray made me think of elephants so I made a shirt with an elephant holding a balloon.  I used Terra's Treasures pattern for the peasant knit top (it doesn't look like she still sells that exact pattern anymore, but there is another one that is similar but with more details).  It would have been a very easy shirt if my serger would have cooperated and then the bobbin elastic.  The knit came from the scraps of a clearance shirt that I cut up to make the picnic shirt.  I appliqued the elephant and balloon on.

This is one of my favorite outfits I have made.  Laurel loves it too; she didn't want to take it off. 

Little Rain Clouds

I meant to blog about this a while ago, but forgot to get pictures.  Then today the girls just happened to both be wearing them at the same time so I took some quick shots.

Every year, on the first weekend of November, the youth group we help out with has a leadership retreat at the camp we live/work at.  On Saturday night of the retreat they always have a dress up (costumes rather than formal) banquet.  Each year is a fun theme and this year's theme was rain (thanks to a VERY wet camporee).  The attendees were supposed to dress prepared for rain or the opposite.  I thought it would be cute to dress the girls up as rain clouds.  So right after everyone else was finishing Halloween costumes, I was starting these.

I only made the skirts and leggings.  The bubble skirts were from a pattern from the book Making Children's Clothing.  It is a really cute book, but I've found the sizing to be all over the place.  This is the book that got me started on making clothes for my girls.  I had wanted to make the skirts using the same fabric I used for my ironing board cover, but I had less than I thought I did, so I used an old bed skirt.

I used an Ottobre Designs pattern for the leggings, but I don't remember which one.  I appliqued nearly 50 raindrops between the two pairs.  I highly suggest getting fabric paint if you are going to do something like this.

I thought about embroidering "I'm just a little black rain cloud..." or "Tut tut! It looks like rain!" but I was too lazy.  In the very least, I tried to get the girls to say it whenever I could.

This is what they wanted to do instead of standing still for me.

This Year's Family Photo Shoot

This post is going to take care of a few birds with one stone; I get to show off our family photo shoot and I made all three of the dresses.  These pictures were taken by L'amore Photography and once again we love what she did!

I made both of the girls' dresses last summer for a wedding and can't believe they still fit!  Eleanor's is a pattern by Me Sew Crazy called Julie's Dress.  Super cute!  I love the two layers making it extra puffy and giving it a vintage feel.  I'm just sad the pockets turned out too small.

Laurel's dress is a peasant dress from the pattern I mentioned here.  I keep thinking I really should make her more peasant dresses.  They are just so darling!

My dress is Crepe from Colette Patterns.  It was one of those patterns I knew I had to have from the moment I first saw it.  I really loved it.  The pattern was beautiful and wonderful to follow.  Though next time I make it I'm going to do the bodice fully lined rather than use the facing pieces they suggest and make it a size smaller (still looking for my size since I've lost weight, so probably nothing to do with the actual pattern sizing).