Only a Year Late.

Soooo Halloween is coming. It's been a non-stop-sew-fest at my house the past few weeks getting ready for Halloween 2014. And it shows. The dishes are taking over the sink, the laundry is piling up, and my kids have eaten cereal for just about every meal. But if nothing else, my kids will have a costume this year gosh darn it. 

I must admit, messy house aside, it feels really good to get back to sewing projects. Since it's been almost a year since I've sewed something for my little ones, I thought I'd kick off a few project sharing with some gems from Halloween 2013. 

First up is our little Southun' Belle.

For the gown I used 5 yards of floral chiffon, a queen sized sheet for the lining, and a velveteen fabric for the sash. I made a hoop skirt out of an old garden hose, duct tape, and a lot of cursing. : )  Over the hoop skirt I made a tulle pettiskirt to add additional fullness. It was a TON of work, but seeing how happy it made the little one, it was all worth it.

The dress was simply divine on her.

I'm disappointed that I didn't take more photos of her in the dress; but this one in my empty dining room was my favorite. Of all time.

 Happy girl.

Next up, I have my Wittle Wumber Jack. The little one managed to collect the most candy last year. I think it was that beard. And the smile. Aaaand the super tight skinnies he borrowed from his sister (yikes!). Either way, it worked out in his favor. 

The beard was made with yarn attached to a piece of felt. Pretty simple.

 Hopefully I'll share this years Halloween pics sometime before 2015, but no promises. ; )

Valentine's Treasure Rock with Free Tag Download

Happy Valentine's Day!  

So, I wanted to give my son something other than candy to pass out to his young friends for Valentine's Day, so after many ideas we settled in on making a treasure rock. And let me tell you, these rocks are much fun!    

They look just like real rocks, but break it open and out pops a little treasure.  Fill the rocks with money, bouncy balls, plastic animals, really anything!   My son was so excited to pass these out to his classmates. Let's hope they love them as much as he does.  : )

Tag Front: "You Rock! Have a happy Valentine's Day. "

Tag Back: "Break open your treasure rock for a Valentine's surprise."

Break open the rock and SURPRISE! 

To make the rocks, I used a great recipe found on The Kitchen is My Playground.   It's made with coffee, salt, flour, sand, and water. Easy, easy, EASY. My kids were even able to help.  

For the tags, I've included a free download for you to enjoy. Cut the tags out and mount onto cardstock of your choice. Have your little one sign the back, hole punch the tags and tie it to the rock with bakers twine.   

To download the tags, just click below for the link!

Project Run and Play Party Dress Remix

Why hello! It's been a while. I've missed posting on this little blog. 

Life is finally settling down in our little household. Thankfully. 

And what that means is I have some free time to whittle away at my fabric stash. : )  Project Run and Play has started up again and I plan on sewing along for a few of the challenges. 

This week's challenge is to remix Lindsey of the Cottage Home's The Party Dress Pattern.  

This is a GREAT basic pattern.  With a little creativity you can do so much with a basic pattern like this.  I almost sewed up a plaid coat with the pattern but opted to go for this Brocade dress instead (Winters just aren't long enough in Texas!), and my oh my I'm so glad that I did.  I'll get to that coat soon enough... maybe.

                                            

The fabric is a brocade-type purchased from Joann's (purchased for around $10 with a coupon). It has a lovely aqua blue hue with gorgeous gold running through it.  It is a little itchy so I opted to line the whole thing with a light weight cotton.  I must admit, when I purchased this fabric from Joann's a few months ago, I told the lady at the cutting counter I was making a dress for my Little One. She looked at me and then looked at the fabric and said, "I hope it will be a costume."  I quickly and ashamedly lied and said it was indeed for a costume of sorts (no judging! haha!).  I did doubt my fabric choice for a while so in my fabric stash this sat for quite a while.  : )

The truth was as soon as I laid eyes on that fabric I knew it was destined for a short and sweet party dress.  So when PR&P had this challenge it gave me a great chance to sew the design I had in mind and to use that darn fabric. I love the finished product and so does the Little One. 

For those of you who care, I have detailed the changes I did to Lindsey's pattern to make this sweet little number.

I wanted a shorter waistline and a lower neckline then what Lindsey's pattern called for so I just shortened the bodice pieces and used a bowl to trace a larger neckline.

Lindsey's dress pattern is a sleeveless pattern, but I felt this design really needed short sleeves.  So I drafted some sleeves and sew that to the bodice pieces.

Because the fabric is so busy and ornate, I wanted a very simple narrow sash in the front that would widen to make a nice bow in the back.  I also attached the sash to the front of the bodice.  It was a pretty simple change from Lindsey's original pattern.

Also, for the buttons I decided to not use her technique for button holes. I will use that in the future, but for this dress simple was better.

The only other change was that on all my seams I used flat felled seams which gave this dress a professional finish from the inside out. 

That's it. : )  A party dress for the Little One, thank you to Lindsey from the Cottage Home, you rock!

Loves,

Amber

Quick Gift Idea..How to Make a Fabric CD or DVD Case

It's already the end of August. YIKES!  The holidays are on their way. Can you believe it? 

I feel as though I'm often scrambling to prepare everything. But not this year.  Yes, this year I'm starting early.

 During the holidays, my go to neighbor gift is a CD of our favorite holiday tunes.  

This year I wanted to improve the presentation of our gift so I searched online but didn't find anything that I loved. So I headed to the craft store and came up with this... 

 

This would make a really easy and amazing holiday gift, wedding party favor, or photographer packaging. Just slip a CD or DVD with anything  your heart desires and you're good to go.   

Despite the lengthy tutorial, it is a quick and easy project that can be done in no time! 

Click below for the instructions!