Guest Post today! DIY felt hair clip

Come visit Welcome to the Mouse House for a guest post on how to make this adorable hair clip!  Thank you, Hayley for hosting my tutorial!!!

PR&P Week 4 - Bees are Buzzin' and Love is in the Air!

I am looking forward to sharing this look with you this week!!!  I had a lot of fun and many "grrrrr" moments while putting the look together!

 

The final product is a reversible a-line dress (one side has an applique and one side is plain) and a chiffon peasant dress with a sash.



The "grrrr" moments came when I was trying to work with the chiffon.  I've never sewn with it before and I had two ideas in my head before I finally gave up and decided to go with a peasant dress.  One idea was to create a simple bodice and attached gathered skirt.  I cut out a silky polyester light pink fabric that I had in my stash and basted the chiffon over it.  However, when I was trying to do the bias on the arm holes it started looking reeeeaaaallly bad! lol!

The second idea was pretty close to the first, but I was going to follow an Ottobre pattern.  Again, I wasn't happy with the way the sleeves looked so I trashed that design too.  It's a good thing I bought a bunch of this chiffon print!!!  (Super cheap at JoAnn's!)

Finally I figured that I could get away with a peasant style dress and it sewed up super easily!  I even used shirring on the sleeves!  I have some left over so I may try to come up with some other shirred chiffon top - maybe a halter or swimsuit cover up for the summer!

\

I knew that I needed something to go under the chiffon so I had some left over pink polka dot cotton in my stash.  I even re-used the sash that I made for week 1! (See it here!)

Since I was going to make the a-line dress to go under the peasant dress, 

I figured I would make it reversible AND

......................get ready to read the next part in monster truck commercial voice........

Get TWO, TWO, TWO looks in one!!!

:-)

Little Miss Futie (Singer Futura) helped me create the adorable 

"Bee Mine" design on one side of the a-line dress!

 

I originally bought a Singer Futura 200ce in April or May last year.  (you can see my sewing room set-up with the old machine here)
And as soon as I finished the stripes and polka dot look for week 2 it decided to quit on me!!!  The power wouldn't turn on no matter what I did.  I took it apart, tried plugging it into different outlets, etc.  It's in a box waiting for an electrician to take a look at it.  I'm thinking after I get it fixed I'll probably try to sell it or maybe use it as a back up machine.  Fortunately I have a super supportive hubby and he was totally fine with me upgrading to the new version of the Singer Futura!  This one is the XL-400
 

I bought it the day after my 200ce busted and Amazon had it delivered 3 days later!  There are two things about it that I LOVE
1.  I can control the speed of the stitches
2.  I have a 6x10 hoop which means more embroidery area!!!

It's really fun to find cute applique designs to embellish t-shirts or clothes that I make!  I love this little "Bee Mine" design from Planet Applique and it is perfect on the dress!  And again, since the dress is fully lined/reversible I can just turn it inside out so it's plain pink underneath the chiffon!

 

And I'm a sucker for big buttons!  I love the pop that it gives to this sweet dress!

 

Thank you so much for reading!  I love to read your comments and I would be ecstatic if you wanted to follow my blog!  I have two upcoming guest posts in the next couple months!  (Sumo Sweet Stuff and Welcome to the Mouse House!)  I would love for you to get an update when they are posted!  Feel free to follow with RSS, Google Friend Connect or e-mail!  The links can be found on the right side of my blog! :-)

I can't wait to see what adorable Valentine cuteness pops up on the Project Run and Play link party!

PR&P Week 3 - Super Sweats!

 


I'm so glad that PR&P does a "Boy's Week" challenge so that my buddy will get something new for his wardrobe!!!  I can't wait to see the fun outfits that all the contestants and sew along friends will post!

Last year I challenged myself with making some pants from Blank Slate Basics and a vest.  This year I wanted to challenge myself with sewing a t-shirt!
 
Here's the pattern I used - the top left picture in the Ottobre Magazine (summer 2009)

I didn't have any knit yardage so I pulled some old t-shirts out of the closet to chop up!

The difficult and intimidating part of following an Ottobre pattern is finding what you need in the charts and tracing your pattern pieces on butcher paper (or other tracing paper)

 
I didn't take any pictures during the process but everything came together super easily!  I love the shoulder stripes!  The pants are just a simple pants construction with elastic waist!

My favorite details:
The "POW" embroidery patch!  I used my new Futura XL-400 to do the design and there were three designs - "Pow" "Wham" and "Bam" but after doing the first I decided that I need to figure out a better stabilization or thread process because what should have taken 10 minutes took like an hour!!!  Constant thread breakage!! :)  (And the 3 designs totaled up to 35,000 stitches!!!  With just the "Pow"  I probably did 9-10,000!)

 

The pockets!  I added my own pockets to the shirt with some Superman fabric!  I thought he could keep his little Superman Imaginext figures in his pockets!

 I think the pants are so fun!  When Christian put them on he said "Is this my black leg?  And is this my yellow leg?!"  So cute!  The pockets add a little more spunk with the top of the pocket sewn with the same Superman fabric.

 

I'm so glad my little guy approves!!!  Check all the other looks here!  And thank you for visiting!  I would be so honored to have you join my blog - click over on the right column to follow with your RSS reader or Google Friend Connect!

  

   

Future Seamstress?

Here's mommy's little helper today!!!  Think she has a future in fashion design?
 

 

Have a happy weekend!  I can't wait to post my boy's look next week for PR&P!  I made my little man very happy with his new outfit!

PR&P week 2 - Polka dots and stripes!

So as I made this outfit I kept humming - "da da dadadada da da circus, da da dadadada da da afro, circus, afro, circus, afro, polkadot-polkadot-polkadot afro!"  Hopefully you got the reference! lol!  It's what the zebra sings on the latest Madagascar movie!



One of my goals during PR&P is to sew through my stash and complete the challenges without buying new fabric!  I'm really torn about next week because my mom said I should do a sweater vest and skinny jeans for Christian but I have no yardage in those materials.  We'll see if maybe I can raid my closet and upcycle something!

**Edit** - I just read through all the posted links and I think everyone has a theme of destashing with their challenges!!! haha!  I hope I don't sound like a broken record if you've been clicking through the linky party!

I also didn't have the greatest day to photograph.  It's nasty outside and little girl was not happy so I had to bribe with cheerios.  Hopefully the cuteness of this outfit is translated in the pictures I was able to snap!

My favorite part of the ensemble is the ruffle bloomers!  I took a panty pattern from the CC pattern Frannie Baby and added my own strips of ruffle to the bottom!  I love my new serger (Brother 1034d) and it's a huge step up from the White serger I had been using.  I put a narrow edge stitch on both sides of the strip of fabric and then gathered and sewed it to the panty back before sewing the side seams together.  Super easy to do!  I'm sure there are plenty of free patterns out there!

The top is just a simple pillowcase dress with an appliqued heart on the front in the stripe!  I searched around for several appliques that I could add and thought about doing a Minnie Mouse but decided that I would go ahead and get started on a Valentine outfit for her!  (I still plan to do a different Valentine outfit for a future PR&P challenge - I think week 4 or 5?  A little girl can't have enough ruffles and hearts in her wardrobe!)

The leg warmers were a Pick Your Plum deal that I HAD to incorporate with the outfit! lol!  Baby legs in leg warmers are the best!  I need to get some sweater knit to make my own!  I made her little hair bows out of some ribbon and glued them to alligator clips.  I'm so glad her hair can go in ponytails and pigtails now with her little baby hairbands!  It makes putting a bow clip in her hair so easy!

She is definitely my little love bug!  Thank you so much for visiting!!!  I can't wait to see all the other sew along projects this week!

Liebster Award!

I just opened my inbox to find out that Sally at Daisy Chain Creations nominated me for a Liebster Award!

Here is Sally's "acceptance" post from her nomination by Frances & Suzanne!

What is a Liebster Award??????  Here is the description:

"The Liebster Blog Award is an award given by bloggers to up and coming bloggers, most of whom have less than 200 followers (or have been blogging for less than 6 months). It is to show newer bloggers that they are appreciated, and to help spread the word about new blogs. It was created to promote appreciation and recognition among the blog world. Liebster translates to “dearest” (or favorite/best) in German. It is also known as the Love Blog Award."

What a fun way to keep the ball rolling on some crafty blogs!  I can't wait to spread the love to some of my other blogging friends!  Sally has always been so sweet to comment on some of my projects and I love seeing the pictures she posts on her blog and flickr!  

Sally, I read that you love German, so imagine me singing

"Danka shoen, darling, danke shoen......" 

There are some rules though:

1. You must post 11 random things about yourself.

2.  Answer the 11 questions given by the nominator.

3.  Create 11 new questions for those you nominate.

4.  Choose 11 new blogs and link to them in your post.

LET'S GET STARTED!!!

11 Random things about me!

1.  I have created an alternate universe for my son.  In it, Mogley the Bear is his alternate self and we have fun coming up with new adventures for him!

2.  I am a piano teacher and have a WONDERFUL group of students that are learning and growing each week!  I absolutely love seeing the progress they each make and seeing their beautiful faces!

3.  I hate trendy clothing stores and pray reeeeeaaaallly hard that my daughter will never want to shop in one!

4.  I know the difference between "there", "they're" and "their" - but normally don't correct my facebook friends that don't.  (And a freebie - I like to put 2 spaces after a period.)

5.  I grew up on the Muppets and have a pretty good repertoire of puppet voices to entertain my kids!

6.  I was homeschooled all through elementary/middle/high and graduated from Lee University in Cleveland, TN with my music education degree!

7.  I plan to homeschool my kids - in fact, my 3 year old loves doing "school" with ABCmouse.com!

8.  I have hundreds of machine embroidery/applique designs and my New Year's resolution is to try to use some of them on my ever increasing fabric stash!

9.  I have two nieces that will be born in April - both will have the name Elizabeth! (one on my side of the fam and one on hubby's side.)

10.  I love Jesus and try to live my life to be a light - I thank HIM for all of my blessings!

11.  My newest sewing purchase is a Brother 1034d serger.  I have my mother-in-law's White serger as backup!

Answers to Sally's questions!

1. What's your go to place when you are stumped and need a solution when it comes to sewing/crafting?

Most often it happens when I go to bed!!! And I've been known to get back up to work a little longer in the sewing room when inspiration hits. (As long as there's coffee in the morning!)

2. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?

I would choose Italy.  We've been several times and I love the language, food, art, music, etc!  It's such a beautiful country and so rich in culture!

3. Who taught you how to sew and what do you wish you could ask them now?

I'm mostly self taught but originally my grandma sat me down for lessons when I was around 12.  I'm so thankful she was still living when I began sewing again!  She was able to see some of my first creations for my little guy before she passed away.  We were so close and I know she is watching us from heaven.  She is my daughter's namesake!

4. If you were able to pass on your love of sewing to someone, what is the first thing you would tell them/teach them?

I have a lot of local mommy friends that I've taught.  We start with winding the bobbin!  We've made pin cushions, fabric headbands, tote bags and a jon-jon!

5. What is the must have by your sewing machine/craft table when it comes to snacks?

Ugh - don't say snacks right now.  I'm trying to diet! lol!!!  I'm fortunate that my sewing room is far away from the kitchen but if I do bring something upstairs it's usually a beverage.  I've been known to ask - "Does my sewing machine qualify as heavy machinery?"

6. What is one time period you wished you lived in, if only for the clothes they wore?

Roaring '20's for sure!!!  I love the Vaudville look but I could never pull it off!  2nd choice would be the '40's.  I have several dresses from the '40's that were my Great Aunt's when she was a young woman!

7. Favorite thing to do/favorite hobby, non sewing related?

Obviously be with my kids and play!!!  But music is always my first love! (Piano)

8. If you could indulge yourself in something sewing related, what would it be and why?

MORE FABRIC!!!!  However, my stash is busting at the seams!

9. Milk or Dark Chocolate? Why?

Dark - better for your health!

10. What is the funniest thing you have seen or heard lately?

The importance of a camera angle <----funny stuff!

11. Sunrise or sunset?  What is your favorite time of day?

I love both!!!  I think sunrises are my favorite though - it's a new day that brings new blessings!!!  I'm always sad to see the day end and my kids get one day older.

11 new questions!!! (For my blogging friends!)

1. Bias tape - buy it from the store or make it yourself?

2. How do you drink your coffee?

3. If you were a Muppet, who would you be?

4. Best party dance - Cupid Shuffle or Electric Slide?

5. If you could create a machine to do one menial sewing task, what would it be?

6. Peanut butter - crunchy or smooth?

7. What is your favorite style of music?

8. What are some of your favorite recipe websites?

9.  Favorite reality TV show?

10. Tell us something cute that one of your kids has recently done!

11.  What is your favorite crafty/sewing blog? (excluding mine, of course! hee hee!)

Here are 11 blogs that I am nominating!

Veronica at SewVery

Vanessa at Designs by Sessa

Adrianna at Crafterhours

Caila at Cailamade

Stacey at Boy, oh Boy, oh Boy

Zoe at Sewitgirl

And to complete the list - these are new blogs I just started following since the sew along season started on Project Run and Play!  Can't wait to see what they create!  I hope they don't mind the nomination!!!

Jen at Sewfabulous-now

Michelle at Handmade Martini

Deborah at Sew Much to Give

Mae at The Life of a Compulsive Crafter

Little Ella Lu

Thanks again, Sally!!!  I would love to have some new followers for my blog in 2013!

UPDATE!!!

Liebster x2!!!!  Dimples and Pig Tales were so sweet to nominate me from their blog!

http://dimplesandpigtales.blogspot.com/2013/03/liebster-award.html

Here are the questions she posed to us!!!

11 Questions for My Nominees to Answer

1. Why did you start blogging?

I had been posting pictures on Facebook and decided to try to create tutorials for others to try - blogging was the popular place to do it so I created a sewing blog!!!

2. Whats your favorite part about blogging?

Meeting new cyber friends and seeing the creativity of other moms!

3. Do you have a favorite place to thrift/shop?

It's hard to get out during shop hours with 2 little ones but I will say that Textiles in Nashville is my favorite fabric store!

4. What do you wish you knew more about? ( photography? web design? upholstery?)

I have always loved the Italian language and wish I could practice speaking it with more people!

5. What is your favorite item in your house?

My piano! :)

6. What do you do when your not blogging? ( activities?)

Teach piano lessons

7. Whats your best yard sale/ thrift store find?

Our computer desk!

8. Do you have a talent? What is it?

Playing piano! :)

9. What inspires you on a daily basis?

Prayer - I just downloaded youversion on our new computer and I look forward to devotion time before the kids wake up! :)

10. Do you have a favorite blog? Why do you like it?

I would have to say my favorite is still Jessica at Craftiness is Not Optional.  Her parties are so so so so so amazing and her style for kids clothes is very similar to mine.

11. What is your favorite pattern? (stripes? chevron? damask? ikat?)

The ladies at the fabric store call them "thirties" - the 1930's reproduction prints are my favorite!  I love the vintage look!  (small florals, line drawing type print.)

Project Run and Play Week 1 - Pleated Party

 

Woo hoo!!! It's Project Run and Play time!!!!



This is my second season sewing along - I think I missed one or two weeks last season and we'll see how this year goes - hopefully I'll be able to create something each week!!!  We'll see how crazy life gets!
This week the challenge is to remix the pattern The Party Dress by Lindsay at the Cottage Home!

I chose to change up the way the bodice ties at the shoulder and the bottom sash!

 

To show you how I created the finished product I'll start with the skirt:

I made the bottom contrast band longer so I could pleat at approximately 2-3 inches away from each other.  Just iron and pin along starting from the center of the skirt material.
 

After attaching the contrast band hem the bottom and top stitch the seam.

Here's what the skirt looks like before attaching to the bodice!
 

Now for the changes in the bodice:

 I kept the concept of the lining and button ties the same but I added about 4-5 inches in length in the shoulders.  First, sew the bodice front and back together at the underarm seam.  Do the same for the lining.  Then, put the bodice and lining right sides together and sew from one end, up the top of the shoulders, arm and neck curves - LEAVE THE BOTTOM OPEN!  Make sure your ties are encased on the inside (right sides together) when you're sewing!  Then, turn the whole bodice right side out from the bottom.  Press well!

 

Follow all the other instructions on Lindsay's site to attach the bodice to the skirt!

 

I'm in love with all the little details like the pleats at the bottom (kind of reminds me of a tennis skirt!)

And the button ties are just darling!

And the shoulder ties give it a cute whimsical look! 

And of course my sweet little Southern Belle needs a matching bow!  If you haven't seen my boutique bow tutorial click here

 

Thank you so much for visiting and I hope you'll stop by each week for another post on Project Run and Play!  Check out all my fellow "at home sewers" that are sewing along during each week of challenges!