Pigtails

I absolutely love this picture of her!  She is growing up so fast and is turning into a little girl before my eyes!  This is a picture of her first "real" pigtails.  What can I say, I love having a little girl!

Halloween

I had great intentions this halloween to make another homemade costume but could not find a yellow rain jacket or rain boots (you'll just have to wait and see who she'll be next year)!  So, we decided to revamp last year's costume--

a hot fudge sundae

Imagine, if you will, a scoop of vanilla ice cream with a large drizzle of hot chocolate (which pools at the bottom of the bowl) along with whip cream and a cherry on top! 

The hot fudge drizzle is an old shirt of mine that I took in and cut to create "drizzles."  Although you can't see it, I weighted the drizzles with some brown beads so the material wouldn't curl up.  The tutu is about as simple to make as they come- I used this tutorial.  The whip cream hair clip is my own creation- I made a tube of white material, stuffed the front part of it with batting and curled it around itself (like a snake) to create the whip cream.  I used red felt and a little brown ribbon for the cherry.  Really easy.  Paired with a white onesie and brown pants, this costume cost me about $5.00 (for the beads and tulle).

Ever seen a hot fudge sundae go down a slide-- well, now you have!

She's a girly girl

for sure!  I love how she has (on her own) found a love for shoes and accessories!  I like to put a little thought into her clothes, but have never emphasized shoes or bows.  She takes it upon herself to do that now.  One of her first words was "shoe."

Every time we go to her room she runs for her closet of shoes and tries to put them all on.  She even asks for bows in her hair (although they rarely stay in there long).  She cracks me up this girl. 

She has accessorized herself with bows and bracelets!

Hello out there.

Sorry, I've been MIA for awhile.  No excuses really.  Just haven't had much too blog about. 

I haven't been crafting too much lately.  Although, there is one project that I'm dying to share with you-- I receive the Martha Stewart magazine and they had this neat article on creating a cross stitch portrait of your family.  I used to cross stitch all the time and thought a family portrait would make an adorable wall hanging.  So, I got out the graph paper and started drawing our family. . .  


Here is the finished product--

Oh, yes, you've noticed the little addition in yellow-- he/she will be here sometime in April!  I shall call him/her Baby L2.  I guess that little one may have prevented me from crafting and blogging recently.  We will have to do better Baby L2 if we want any readers!

Definitely more crafting to come!

Special Baby Quilt

Although, I've taken a small break from quilting I was able to create a very special quilt for a friend recently.  I used fabric from two of her baby blankets to produce a new quilt for her little girl.  I will admit that I was nervous taking someone's special treasures and cutting them apart, but I knew I could do it and create something really special in the process.

The finished product. 

Her little girl's name surrounded by applique flowers from her baby blankets.

 The center piece was an applique elephant that was the primary focus of one of her baby blankets.  I made it the center of this quilt as well.

I used pink gingham and the light pink bunny fabric from her original baby blankets and filled in with other coordinating fabric.  I did get some help from the ladies at the quilt shop and found them to be very helpful.  If you ever have questions about scale and color, ask the workers.  They know what they are talking about and it was very reassuring to get their advice.

I love the back print because it incorporates all the colors of the quilt.  The mom-to-be's designing the nursery in pink and brown and her baby blankets had light pink, yellow and turquoise colors.  I wanted to make sure all the colors were represented. 

 I also got new tags from here.  Super reasonable and very nice quality!

What do you all think?

Hello

Uh, yeah, so it's been awhile since I've updated.  Let's see, not a whole lot has happened lately except I ran the 10K MS Mud Run this past Saturday.  It was a blast!!  I think we were all super nervous the whole time because we just didn't know what to expect, but it was a blast and I would definitely do it again. 

Here we are all clean and shiny.  Our team was the "Muddy Mamas . . . It's Our Turn to Make a Mess."  Note the bows!

I'm wearing the orange bow and sliding down the mud hill.

Jumping off a 10 foot platform into muddy water. . . fun!

One of the obstacles.

6.2 miles and around 40 obstacles later . . . Here we come (I'm the one in the back waving)!  We made it!

 

People are still uploading pictures, so I'm sure there will be a few more to show.

Sorry for the long lapse.  I'm alive and I'll do better!

Our First Protest

Coraline and I experienced our first protest last month.  Without getting into too many details, my beloved Alma Mater, Peace College, which has a 154 year history of being a women's school has decided to change the name of the school and become co-educational.  I am very disappointed in the direction the college will be taking and feel very misled by the Board of Trustees. 

About 150 alumna decided to "peacefully protest" the changes by circling around the fountain, singing the Alma Mater and throwing a red rose into the fountain (a very old graduation tradition).  Tame enough for a 15 month old to attend!

She's got her red rose ready.

 Here is a picture from the N&O- I'm in there, but my head is turned away.

 Here we are singing the Alma Mater around the broken fountain and throwing in the roses. 

So beautiful!

 Got my Peace gear on and ready to throw the rose in.

 My little protester!

 Me and my friend, Susan, around the fountain.

Then it started pouring down rain.  She was totally into it!

It was so bittersweet to be on the campus and to know that it will never be the same again.  Sounds dramatic, I know, but it's hard to understand unless you went there.

Preserve Peace College's Legacy!!!

Laird's Quilt

Here is another quilt for Mr. Laird.  He's a very lucky boy to get two quilts!  One for summer/fall and one for winter/spring.  Remember this one?

Alex, Laird's mom, picked out the fabric.  I think she's got great taste!  Super modern, great colors and very boy-like.  This one had cars, surfboards, ducks and ukulele's.  Most of the fabric is from the Monaluna Circa 60 Beach Mod for Birch Fabric line and a little Joel Dewberry and Timeless Treasures.

We kept the back of the quilt very simple with a single strip of 8 x 8 fabric squares running through the back.

Some of the fabric up close.

It's another big quilt (51 x 51) so he'll be able to use it for a long time!

I have no idea what I've been doing lately that prevents me from blogging, but I sure am keeping busy around here.  I've joined a playdate meetup group and Coraline and I have been busy several times a week walking around the lake, meeting new friends, swimming and going to gymnastics!  It's been a fun summer.

(on the balance beam)

(in the foam pit)

(this was her favorite- the trampoline)

(at the pool)

I have been sewing some too.  I finished two quilts and some baby treats for a friend's baby girl, so I will post pictures in another post.

Hope I still have some readers left!!

New Outfit

I wanted to tackle a few of the cute tops that I have collected on my Pinterest site for Coraline.  There are so many cute ones to choose from! I found this material at Joann's and thought it was perfect for her.

Here is the link to the top.  I found it very easy to construct.  I followed her pattern which is for a 12-18 month size, but it was a little snug on my 15 month old, so I tried it again and added 1/4 inch all the way around the pattern and it came out to be a much better fit for her.  I made it a top, but you could easily add some length and make it a dress.

I've gotten some compliments on it, so I think it's a winner!

The bloomers are my own pattern- hopefully, I can make a tutorial for you on that soon.  However, you could do a search for bloomers or diaper covers and come up with lots of tutorials.

Happy sewing everyone!

10K Mud Run

Call me crazy, but I'm doing something totally out of my comfort zone- a 10K Mud Run!  A 6.2 mile run + mud + military style obstacles = crazy me.  It's a wonderful fundraiser for Multiple Sclerosis and a great challenge for me!  What am I thinking!

A group of mommies are forming the group "Muddy Mamas-Its our turn to make a mess."   We will be doing some training together and will participate on September 24, 2011.  Not much time to train, but we are in the mere mortals division which is not a timed competition- the goal is to just finish!

I think this will be hilarious and challenging!

We, as individuals, need to raise at least $100 for the cause.  I'm putting my personal page information here- if you would like to donate anything, it would be greatly appreciated!  No donation is too small or insignificant!

Wish me luck!

Coraline's Jungle Gym

Gymnast perhaps? 

Oh, and yes, it is 2011 and I've just discovered the awesomness of Youtube. 

If I Should Fall Behind

Sometimes, I don't know what to think of myself!  I have never been able to pinpoit my music style.  There are very few things I actually like to listen too and much prefer to listen to books on tape when I'm in my car.  I never know what to pick on the music on demand channels because most of the stuff I don't like.  It's frustrating to say the least!  I have a strange, eclectic assortment of songs on my mp3 player (which, sadly, doesn't get used as much as it should).

With that said . . . there is one person/band that I love and have always loved and will always love since I was 5 years old.


Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.   I have my dad to thank for that.  He would blast Born in the USA while he had me and my sister in the back of his jeep (with all the windows down) driving to Waimea.  I will never forget how "big" I felt listening to his music.  Rhea and I only remembered the line "Born in the USA" but we sang it proudly!  I have that CD and occasionally roll all the windows down in my jeep and blast the CD- it's great! 

Here is a song that my dad found--  I LOVE the message and the lyrics. 

Summertime Bucket Hat

I've wanted to make a bucket hat for Coraline for awhile.  I think they're adorable and perfect for keeping that head covered during the summer.  The problem is that she won't wear a hat (or any hair accessories) right now.  Oh well, I had some extra fabric, so I went for it anyway.  It's a two-in-one hat (reversible).  It's a little big because I followed her pattern which is for a 2T.  But, I figured if she wouldn't wear it now she may in the future. 

Here is the tutorial I followed.  Very easy.  I did include one side of interfacing to stiffen it up a bit and I did do 1/4 inch seams all the way up the brim.

Since I just used boring old white fabric for the inside (more of a liner), I may add straps so she'll keep it on.  This will take away the reversibility function. 

Oh how much fun I could have with this pattern!

What to do . . .

When your baby has a diaper rash that needs a little airing out but it is too blazin' hot to go outside and besides said baby likes to eat handfuls of dirt.

*    *    *

Why you bring the pool indoors (minus the water) and let her have at it.  BTW, it did help the diaper rash.

Culotte Tutorial

My niece is going to her first overnight camp this week and they require that the girls wear culottes.  According to my sister, culottes can run around $25 a pair.  That's a bit much for some fabric and elastic, so she asked me to make her some.  My niece got to pick out her favorite fabrics and we were off!  After looking at the construction of a culotte, I realized that it is a pretty simple construction. 

Some interesting facts about culottes- they are supposed to look like a skirt, but really are "baggy" shorts and they are to have an elastic band (no zippers or buttons). 

My niece is a children's size 6, but you could easily make this smaller, larger, longer, etc. to fit the size of your child.

You'll need:

1 yard of fabric
22 inches of 1 inch elastic
basic sewing materials

First, I took a pair of her culottes and made my own pattern out of it.  Here are the dimensions that I used:

Skirt/Short part.  Place the long side (14 inches) on the fold of the fabric.

Basically you want to start out with a rectangle.  Measure in 8 inches from the top and make a mark.  Measure 6.5 inches down and make a mark.  Now you are going to cut a "J" (this is the crotch).  Bottom notch is similar.  Measure 3 inches up from the bottom and make a mark and measure 5.5 inches from the left and make a mark.  Cut an angle.  This is part of the bottom of the culottes.    

Waistband.  You will want a total of two pieces. 

You have a total of two pieces.  This will be the skirt/short part.

Place the right side of the fabric together and, using a 1/4 inch seam, sew along the long side (14 inch) and the inseam (4.5 inch).  You will want to serge or use a zig-zag stitch on the raw edges so it won't fray.

One part of the culotte done.

This is what it looks like when you turn it right side out.

Now, pin the two legs together and sew using a 1/4 inch seam- this will be the crotch part. Set these aside for now.

Onto the waistband.  You should have two pieces.

Place right side together and sew along the short sides (6.5 inches) and create a tube.

Now we are going to create the tube for the elastic.  Fold down 1.5 inches, and then fold the raw edge under another 1/4 inch to create a tube for the elastic. 

Sew right on the edge of the bottom fold.  Make sure to leave a space to thread your elastic through.  Set this aside for now.

Now on to the pleats of the culotte part.  I put three pleats onto each leg of the culotte.  One at 2 inch, one at 6.5 inch and one at 11 inch.  My pleats lines were marked at 1.25 inches apart.

You will want to overlap the third pleat on each culotte (front and back) so that it hides the shorts part of the culotte.  This is the step that makes it look like a skirt.  If you look at the picture above, I've put the pleat on the left side of the culotte over the crotch seam.   

Now, I've placed the third pleat on the right side over the third pleat of the left side, so that you can't see the left side pleat anymore. 

This is what it will look like after you pin it.  (Looks like a total of 5 pleats, but really it is 6 because one pleat is hidden).

Now, make sure your waistband matches up to your culottes (you may need to adjust your pleat sizes) and then place your waistband over the culottes (right sides together), pin and sew together. 

When you are done, it will look like this.

I topstich the waistband into place.  It looks cleaner to me.

Now, time to thread your elastic into the waistband.  Sew together elastic and then sew the opening shut. 

On to the hem.  Make this whatever size you need too.  Mine ended up being 1/4 inch hem.

Finished!! 

I made four culottes in a span of two days.

A good view of the shorts part.

See how it resembles a skirt when layed out.

That little cut out in the leg helps the hem stay all the same length and makes it look like a skirt.  Without it, that piece hangs lower than the rest of the hem.

This is my first tutorial and I apologize in advance for anything that doesn't make sense.  Please ask me any questions.