tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7945712317721994622024-03-13T09:31:10.955-05:00Dump Trucks and DivasUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-794571231772199462.post-35795402606533275952015-08-11T20:12:00.000-05:002015-08-11T20:14:39.636-05:00Ready to Get Back in the Groove!<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It's been a busy summer, and between swim lessons, Vacation Bible School, and the summer reading program at our county library...plus dishing out meals like a fast-food diner and countless hours of Legos® and Play-doh®, watching movies and more (including an upper respiratory virus that the boys contracted and "shared" with me), I have had very little time to sew. BUT...where there's a will, there's a way!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />So...I have managed to make five pair of "pajama shorts" for the boys...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">two "picnic dresses" for an 8-year-old friend who is part of our "extended family" and her 9-month-old sister...and a top from the scraps for Zola...<br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">and four "picnic dresses" for all of my nieces (three from the owl print, and one in the pink/green prints)...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">plus a pretty cute little "peasant dress" for Zola.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />I love seeing the kids' faces when they get the new outfits. Next up are things for fall...some "school spirit" shirts, some orange print for October, leggings repurposed from long-sleeved tees, and some Christmas outfits. I know...summer is fading fast, and it's time to think about fall and the holidays. They will be here before we can turn around! Stay tuned for pictures...I'll keep them coming!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-794571231772199462.post-16986851005522941862015-06-20T10:30:00.000-05:002015-08-11T19:51:26.028-05:00Summer Wardrobe!<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It had been quite a while since I made a trip to the local thrift store...but a few weeks ago, I popped in just to see what was there...and I came home with a couple of sacks of "good" items for re-purposing. So I've been a little busy - and just a tad sidetracked - with figuring out what I could create from these goodies!</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Here's what I've done so far...</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QHTdgOaNKTE/VYTe1WgeYTI/AAAAAAAAK-g/9yE7FF9Imik/s1600/IMG_1434.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="289" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QHTdgOaNKTE/VYTe1WgeYTI/AAAAAAAAK-g/9yE7FF9Imik/s320/IMG_1434.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This ladies skirt in a stretch cotton fabric...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yBTyGz_f2pc/VYV_w3nJYTI/AAAAAAAALBU/Az070E9w_Uc/s1600/IMG_1458.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yBTyGz_f2pc/VYV_w3nJYTI/AAAAAAAALBU/Az070E9w_Uc/s320/IMG_1458.JPG" width="320" /></a></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">....became these little girls' shorts.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sorry for the blurry image, but this ladies stretch seersucker blouse...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aEfXZcZAQBw/VYV_qDDNJoI/AAAAAAAALBE/9jxmWzX2WBo/s1600/IMG_1459.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aEfXZcZAQBw/VYV_qDDNJoI/AAAAAAAALBE/9jxmWzX2WBo/s320/IMG_1459.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...became this little girls' stretch tunic...looks darling with lime green leggings!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cWJ2_40Yjxg/VYWDA_6Y7pI/AAAAAAAALBc/sapx6os9Row/s1600/IMG_1448.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="312" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cWJ2_40Yjxg/VYWDA_6Y7pI/AAAAAAAALBc/sapx6os9Row/s320/IMG_1448.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This stretch cotton ladies skirt...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pZh7PLXVJ_4/VYV_tNyCyEI/AAAAAAAALBM/Tkvg6e5fm18/s1600/IMG_1460.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pZh7PLXVJ_4/VYV_tNyCyEI/AAAAAAAALBM/Tkvg6e5fm18/s320/IMG_1460.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...became these adorable little girl capris!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bd-yNsFwNds/VYTf6wg-atI/AAAAAAAAK_I/0qzOF69j8PA/s1600/IMG_1446.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bd-yNsFwNds/VYTf6wg-atI/AAAAAAAAK_I/0qzOF69j8PA/s320/IMG_1446.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This ladies cotton knit skirt...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4mz0WCjeOu0/VYWDepViB9I/AAAAAAAALBk/SBsgyBtJ7OE/s1600/IMG_1447.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4mz0WCjeOu0/VYWDepViB9I/AAAAAAAALBk/SBsgyBtJ7OE/s320/IMG_1447.JPG" width="284" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and this striped knit ladies tee...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uxWgJOw03UA/VYV91SZ155I/AAAAAAAALAA/2e_a6_YFqtw/s1600/IMG_1616.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uxWgJOw03UA/VYV91SZ155I/AAAAAAAALAA/2e_a6_YFqtw/s320/IMG_1616.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...became this Summer Picnic Dress (pattern from TheCottageMomma.com)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8X8ORL1slfQ/VYV9ytwQvjI/AAAAAAAAK_4/xIEbwlAHT7o/s1600/IMG_1617.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8X8ORL1slfQ/VYV9ytwQvjI/AAAAAAAAK_4/xIEbwlAHT7o/s320/IMG_1617.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and accent pocket tees for the brothers!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-25gfUsCb-ps/VYTfLWBYGPI/AAAAAAAAK-w/BIVll5cRWl0/s1600/IMG_1444.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-25gfUsCb-ps/VYTfLWBYGPI/AAAAAAAAK-w/BIVll5cRWl0/s320/IMG_1444.JPG" width="268" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This beaded ladies knit tee...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...became a darling knit t-dress for a four-year-old!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I don't always re-purpose everything I purchase at the thrift store...I sometimes keep things as they are. These three pieces were too cute to pass up for $1 each...and my niece is adorable in each of them. Kids require lots of "play clothes"...and for that price, you cannot go wrong!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The Summer Picnic Dress pattern was so cute and EASY that I had to try it again. I had a leftover piece of "Stacked Slices" by Spring Creative© fabric that I had used to make my cousin a dress last year. There was just enough material for a picnic dress for my niece - AND for her "My Life" doll! She is thrilled that the two will match...maybe they will pose for a picture soon!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A girl and her doll...so much cuteness!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The last time my nephew spent the night, he squeezed into a favorite pair of knit "Ninja Turtle" pajamas and declared, "They fit just fine!" Well, they DIDN'T...and I decided he needed new summer pajamas. I had a piece of train print left over from pajama pants I made several years ago for the little boys...and it worked great as pajama boxers/shorts for the boys. I put pockets on tees to coordinate. The third pair is for a friend, and I know that he will have lots of shirts that will work as a mate!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two pajama sets for brothers...and some summer shorts for a friend!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Much better than too-small "Ninja Turtle" pjs!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Not exactly sure what is next! There are still stacks of yardage and items to be repurposed...and I am never lacking ideas for them. All I need is time to sew. Wish me luck!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-794571231772199462.post-49249836278126232962015-05-30T11:15:00.001-05:002015-08-11T19:49:28.094-05:00Well, Hellooooo, Kitty!<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It's been a whirlwind marathon of sewing lately, as I tried to create several outfits for our great-nieces in Tennessee before the youngest (who just turned 1) outgrew my new set of measurements. Somebody put a rock on her head and stop this growing!!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I had bought enough grey chevron and Grey, Black and Yellow Suzani print to make Zola's Easter outfit AND something for the Tennessee nieces. So I started with the pants. I added a print border to the ruffled flounce hem. For the dresses, I used the "Party Dress" pattern from TheCottageMama.com. I used some leftover white polyester to line the bodice, but I did not have enough print to create the hem bands and sashes. So I ordered more Suzani fabric in the coordinating border print, and that turned out to be a "happy accident". I think the border print really sets off the dresses!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I had just enough fabric pieces left to make a skirt for my cousin Harper and applique a piece of the print on a tee for her. She will be adorable in this!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My cousin in her new outfit!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">As I make my weekly circle of our local Walmart, I always pass by the "Clearance" fabric table. I seem to be drawn there like a magnet! But when I saw the Hello Kitty® yardage, I knew that this HAD to be one of my next projects! Zola is obsessed with Hello Kitty®. I spotted a bolt of pink leopard print next to the Hello Kitty® fabric, and I decided this would be perfect for "ruffle hem" pants. So I bought all they had, which was probably four yards. I also ended up ordering another yard of the Hello Kitty® fabric from Walmart.com. I sew for three nieces and a little cousin, and I knew that they ALL needed something out of this fabric! So four dresses/pants sets later, this is the result...well, three of them. I made two sets with the pink sleeves on the dress and had not finished the last one when I took this picture.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Earlier in the spring, I ordered several yards of fabric that caught my fancy on <a href="http://etsy.com/" target="_blank">Etsy</a>, and I have now sewn every single piece of it. Last on the stack was the frog print for these shorts for my nephews, and some Michael Miller prints for dresses for the "Rocky Top" girls! Our church sold t-shirts that promote our children's program, and I purchased three green ones for Timothy, Zola and Nathan. The boys got shorts to match from the Michael Miller "Scuba Doo" frog and fish print. Zola got a ruffled pair from a remnant in my stash. I thought they turned out really cute!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Then I turned my attention to another set of "Party Dresses" - this time in coordinating prints by Michael Miller from the "Feelin' Groovy" and "Lily Dot Sky" collections. I added some solid blue from Walmart to trim the hems and make sashes. This was also used for the lining. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of our nieces actually modeling her new dress!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I have reports from the mommas that all of the children LOVE these new outfits. If/when I get pictures of the kiddos modeling them, I will share here. Harper's mom texted me to say that she might never take off her Hello Kitty® outfit! Now that's an endorsement!<br /><br />I have had so much fun...and of course, I have stacks and stacks of fabric just waiting to be sewn. I made a trip to the thrift store yesterday and picked up SEVERAL pieces of clothing that just beg to become darling outfits, so STAY TUNED! </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-794571231772199462.post-78074418399132708762015-05-17T19:47:00.000-05:002015-05-17T19:51:41.890-05:00The Bat Crew!<span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Today, we celebrated May birthdays for two of the children...with presents also for the little guy, even though his birthday isn't for a few more months. But first, we went to church. When we picked up the kiddos, their mom had dressed them in their Batman® outfits. EVERYONE loved them! And I have to say, "The Bat Crew" did look pretty adorable! <br /><br />These outfits were a lot of fun to create...and I got to use some of my thrift store scraps in the bargain. I could have bought Batman® shirts, but where would the challenge/fun in that be? BTW...after I finished Zola's little top, I noticed a tiny hole in the back. So I cut out one of the Bat Signal ovals from a leftover scrap and appliqued it as a cover. So she has a tiny Bat Signal on the back of her dress. I love that quirky accent! Sassy, just like her!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><br /></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-794571231772199462.post-58207845118083856572015-04-30T10:57:00.000-05:002015-08-11T19:34:00.207-05:00It All Started With a Scrap...<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I swore I would not buy ANY MORE FABRIC until I made something out of all that is in my closet. Some of it I bought several years ago and STILL have not decided what to make with it. BUT...I found myself on <a href="http://etsy.com/" target="_blank">Etsy</a> one day, looking at new fabrics (thank you, <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/myheartandsew" target="_blank">My Heart and Sew</a>!)...and, well...several yards later, I was waiting for a package in the mail. It was like Christmas Day when that big package arrived...</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top to Bottom: Michael Miller "Scuba Doo", <br />
RBD Designs "On Our Way Main" in yellow,<br />
Michael Miller "Ring Dot"<br />
Michael Miller "Feelin' Groovy" and "Lolli Dot Sky"<br />
"Batman Symbols" fabric - I THINK it's by DC Comics<br />
Riley Blake "Lazy Day Owls" (this became a baby blanket!)<br />
Michael Miller "Dino Dude"<br />
Michael Miller "Mod Swirls" in Aqua</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I've already "made up" several pieces...a tunic top for myself, Batman shorts for the three little boys in my life...and pair of shorts in "On Our Way Main" in yellow "transportation" themed fabric by RBD Designs that were meant for my almost 3-year-old nephew Nathan (but may be worn first by Timothy - they look BIG). <br /> </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shorts in "On Our Way Main" yellow from RBD Designs<br />
Hanes t-shirt from WalMart</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">My niece sent me pictures of outfits she saw on <a href="http://zulily.com/" target="_blank">Zulily</a> with a "cowgirl" theme that she thought her daughter, Zola, would enjoy. One featured black bandana print pants with ruffled hems, and a pink top that had a cowgirl boot appliqued on it. She also sent a picture of a little top with a horseshoe applique. I looked through my scraps and leftover fabric and found RED bandana fabric. So I made MY version of the cowgirl boot outfit with red print and a black top. I have a piece of blue dot that resembles denim that will become pants and a horseshoe appliqued white top...but that will be NEXT week!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The picture my niece sent me from Zulily.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inspiration top.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My version with ruffled shorts to match!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">After I finished my sidetrack down "Cowgirl Lane", I returned to the new fabrics...in particular, one yard of Michael Miller's "Dino Dude" - a brown print with whimsical dinosaurs. I cut out two pair of shorts for my nephews. There was a decent strip of the print left over, and I considered what I could do with that for Zola. She is always telling me, "I want dinosaurs, too!" I decided that there was just enough to trim the hem of a pair of shorts. So I went to the closet and searched for a suitable coordinating fabric. Denim? Khaki? And then I saw it...a piece of Michael Miller "Ta Dot" in "lagoon"...a deep teal with lime green dots. I held up the colorful dinosaur print, and they matched perfectly, of course! Thank you, Michael Miller!!!<br /><br />I cut out a pair of "Ta Da" shorts for Zola and trimmed them in the "Dino Dude" remnant. I had a couple of scraps that showcased some of the bigger dinosaurs, so I appliqued one on the right front leg...and one on the left rear. <br /><br />I had purchased orange t-shirts for the boys, because they went well with the print colors AND also will match a yard of Michael Miller "Scuba Doo" print that will become shorts (hopefully next week!) for the boys. I had thought I would purchase a knit top for Zola. But then I realized that I had a substantial piece of "Ta Dot" left...and even a strip of the "Dino Dudes". And my wheels started to turn.<br /><br />I have a pattern that I've used several times for Zola called the "Party Dress". It came from <a href="http://thecottagemomma.com/" target="_blank">The Cottage Momma</a>, and I've made Easter dresses from it two years running. I used the bodice pattern to cut out a crop top...and made bias strips to trim the armholes and neckline. Then I ruffled the "Dino Dude" strip and stitched it to the hem. The finish was four buttons down the back - "bright green and orange 'smiley-face flowers' from my stash." I got a package of these fun buttons at WalMart few years ago.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The finished product...shorts/top for my niece Zola, and two sets of shorts/tees for the boys!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back view of Zola's top and shorts.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The bias trim pieces had to be pieced, so there was a seam right at the center front neckline. I went through my ribbons and found some green for a cute little bow accent. Honestly, I was more excited about this little short set than the shorts and shirts for the boys...but together...well...YOU decide.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">This was ALL that was left when I finished with these pieces. It's amazing what you can do with a yard of fabric and a few scraps!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">HOPEFULLY I will get the kids to pose in their outfits long enough for a "fashion photo" or two that I can post here. Either way, I know that they will be adorable. I'm off to figure out what to do with the other scraps in my stash! Stay tuned!!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-794571231772199462.post-28461545741956257802015-04-11T21:36:00.001-05:002015-04-11T21:36:14.255-05:00It's Batman, Y'all!<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Our youngest great-nephew, Nathan (age 2½), is obsessed with Batman. His mom mentioned to me one day, "If you could make him ANYTHING with Batman on it, he would go nuts." I made Timothy a Batman cape and mask a few years ago, and Nathan wears it all the time now.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So I went online and found all kinds of Batman prints. I settled on one that was black with the yellow oval "Bat signals" and ordered enough to make shorts for our two nephews, Timothy and Nathan...and a 5-year-old cousin, Owen. Then I bought black T-shirts at WalMart and used knit scraps to applique the "Bat Signal" on them to match the shorts. I used my pattern from the cape that I made a few years ago. Let me tell you, I am not an expert at applique...and sewing black and yellow and making it look halfway smooth was definitely a challenge. I think maybe I should have done the oval itself in yellow and stayed just inside the knit line. NEXT TIME, I will know better!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />I couldn't leave out Zola. Girls like superheroes, too, y'all! So I used a thrift-store knit t-shirt in yellow to make her a pillowcase dress, and I had just enough print scraps to make a tie. I covered some flaws in the dress (aka HOLES and stains) with a big black bat...and I even added a small "Bat Signal" from the print fabric on the back to cover a hole. It's not the best dress I ever made...and we'll have to put a black shirt and leggings or shorts underneath it...but Zola won't care! She will have Batman like her brothers...and that's what really matters!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I didn't get a single picture of all three children in their matching Easter outfits. I was going to do that at the egg hunt, and it rained and the children went in three different directions. Oh, well...maybe we can do better with Batman! Time will tell! Stay tuned!</span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-794571231772199462.post-47742111879443037342015-03-28T12:37:00.001-05:002015-03-28T16:31:14.841-05:00Bring On Easter!<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Last fall, I bought this darling gray, black & yellow Suzani Floral Fabric from Hobby Lobby, and a grey/white <span class="highlightNode">chevron</span> cotton from JoAnn...and these fabrics became the starting point for this year's Easter outfits. Since I don't have a clue how the weather will be, I figured Zola can wear her little yellow knit jacket from LAST Easter if necessary. The grey was also perfect for making accent pockets on the boys' tees...and I bought charcoal grey cargo shorts for them to wear underneath. I cannot wait to see the kiddos in these outfits. I'll try to get a good picture to share here.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The dress pattern is from <a href="http://com/" target="_blank">The Cottage Mama</a>...it's called the "Party Dress". It has quite a bit of handwork with a lined bodice...but this is the second time I've used it for the Easter dress, and I've been pleased both times! Next time, I think I'm going to try the alternate bodice (which finishes on the side seams instead of the shoulders - look at the pattern, and you'll understand). The pants were made from a pattern I have altered that comes from a site called "<a href="http://danamadeit.com/" target="_blank">Made</a>". Look for the tutorial for kids pants - basic pants. I calculated the overall length, and subtracted for the ruffles. My longest ruffle is 4", and the print ruffle is about 2.5". Both were finished with a "serged hem", so if you are doing a stitched hem, allow extra fabric for this!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yellow knit jacket with 2014 Easter Dress...<br />
hoping it will be a warm day and no jacket will be needed!</td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-794571231772199462.post-44494646720926964682014-11-19T23:24:00.000-06:002014-11-19T23:25:20.595-06:00Everybody Needs a Minkie!<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So I've been busy working on a few more things for our great-nieces from Tennessee, since we learned they will be visiting Arkansas next week for Thanksgiving. Kelsey Lynn will celebrate her fifth birthday this weekend, so I thought she should have a "minkie" coat for the occasion! I also made her a red and white chevron dress - and Zola got one, too!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Kelsey and Ellie Grace will both get red velour leggings/pants...and a set of red striped pants/leggings, just in time for Christmas!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> Meanwhile, I had purchased a red/white striped knit shirt off the Clearance rack at Wal-Mart ($2), and it was perfect for creating leggings for Zola to go with her red and white chevron dress.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A while back, I picked up this piece of black and white fabric at a yard sale our friends were having. It had actually been used as a table topper for a wedding reception, so this piece of fabric was neatly hemmed (with fusible webbing) and measured just big enough for a dress for Zola. There was not enough for the length I wanted, so I added the ruffle of red and black dot...and then it begged for an accent near the neckline; hence the rosette!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />I really had fun creating all of these things for three sweet little girls...and they will be adorable in every single garment. I still have a few decent-sized scraps that may have to be turned into headbands and bow-ties for Olivia and the boys...we shall see! For now, it's time to think about Thanksgiving dinner and decorating for Christmas!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-794571231772199462.post-4846988217093533332014-11-03T22:42:00.000-06:002014-11-08T19:24:48.063-06:00Walking on the Wild Side!<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">A few weeks ago, a friend posted a link on Facebook to a website that sells darling girls' clothing. She was particularly interested in a little ruffled outfit for her toddler daughter - in "giraffe" and other coordinating prints. Trouble is...this one outfit was $74...and she said that was out of her price range. It's out of mine, too! Who wants to pay that much for one outfit for a small child, knowing fully well that they will only wear it a handful of times before it is outgrown?!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Later the same day, I was passing the fabric department at Wal-Mart, when I spotted a table of fabrics on clearance. I promise I am not making this up...there on top was "giraffe print", along with other coordinating fabrics in blue, brown dot, and yellow. It sounds crazy, but they all worked together...and they were $3 a yard! I was in heaven!<br /><br />So...here's what I made for Kelsey, her baby sister Ellie Grace, and Zola. Next up...an outfit for Stella, the toddler whose mother found this idea in the first place. Stella has brilliant red hair and will be precious in this outfit! For about $22, I purchased enough fabric for four outfits...and counting. I've even made a couple of baby burp pads with "giraffe" appliques out of the animal print fabric. <br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br />Additionally, I found a clearance bolt of this bright yellow fabric covered in multi-colored "peace signs". So I have three happy "hippy" girls now with flounced pants...and I had enough ruffles to make some toddler pants for Stella (which I apparently failed to photograph).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br />I think I am about done with yellows for a while...next up is white thread and lots of red and white stripes (for the winter holidays)...and I have a few more ideas up my sleeve. There is a stack of fabrics and items for repurposing on my sewing table that is calling my name...stay tuned!!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-794571231772199462.post-33415567981848904822014-09-14T17:33:00.002-05:002014-09-23T13:46:23.680-05:00Repurposing Fun...and What Do You Do With All of Those Scraps?<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I've had the old sewing machine whirring lately. It started with a tunic blouse that I no longer wanted to wear that was too nice to give away. It had beautiful pintucks, intricate lace at the sleeves and hem...and I could just "see" the possibilities. So I turned it into a girl's dress...and the sleeves became what else - TODDLER PANTS!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I sent pictures to our nephew's wife, Leslie, in Tennessee...would she like to have these items for her girls - Kelsey and Ellie Grace - or should I list them for sale on Etsy? She responded right away that she wanted them. A few days later, a big box of gently-worn clothing arrived from her to share with our niece Zola. I'm talking a BIG box of wonderful things that came on the heels of another box that had been shared a few weeks earlier. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Around the same time, Leslie "liked" a Halloween outfit on Facebook that was being given away by a children's clothing company. I looked at the outfit and thought, "I could make that!" The next time I shopped at Wal-Mart, there was a table of fabric on clearance, including a bright orange print and a multi-colored stripe that I thought would coordinate. The applique patterns were downloaded online, and an outfit was in the making. Kelsey, almost five, will get long flounced pants and a top with witch's shoes appliqued on it...Ellie Grace, who is four months, will get coordinating pants with a cut little hat appliqued on the bum! And I still have more fabric...and more little ones to dress!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I had this piece of yellow fabric that I had ordered last summer, and it seemed to say, "Make pants for Kelsey!" So I did...along with a little coordinating pair for her little sister. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I cannot begin to describe how many scraps I have. Some are large...some, pretty tiny...but I hate to throw any of them away. You never know when you might need a tiny snippet of pink fabric to become the ear of an elephant applique! So I went through my scrap baskets the other day and cut coordinating pieces into long strips, which I then sewed together. I serged the edges, then ruffled one edge to create a super-long strip of ruffled fabric. Then I took an old t-shirt and made a little knit skirt for Kelsey. I made lines 2" apart and stitched the ruffling to these lines, creating layers of ruffles. Then I added a little waistband out of more of the knit t-shirt...and voila! I think this is a darling skirt that will go with all kinds of tops...don't you?! Kelsey was just too tired to model this one! ;-)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Leslie is definitely a Tennessee fan all the way...with a slight tinge of Vanderbilt loyalty. But John, our nephew, is a full-tilt Razorback fan. So I had a little piece of Razorback print, and I couldn't resist making a new dress for Kelsey - and some pants for Ellie Grace.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I didn't forget about Zola! I dashed into the local thrift shop on Friday, and there was a darling printed long-sleeved tee that just begged to become leggings and a matching top. I noticed after I got the pants finished that there was a tiny hole in the backside, so I just used a bright flower from the scraps to make an applique patch! Even cuter than it would have been without, if I do say so myself! I even had enough scraps to make a little cap, also! Zola was thrilled. I'm hoping for a picture of her in the new outfit soon!</span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-794571231772199462.post-39648906535296131522014-07-01T16:32:00.000-05:002014-07-01T16:32:04.257-05:00Skirts and Tees...and an Overactive Imagination!<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A few weeks ago, I was shopping in our local thrift store and spotted a large, gathered skirt. It was black striped with an accent border of solid black. There appeared to be several yards of fabric in this skirt. I think I paid $2 for it. I could see flounced pants for the little girls, for sure...and maybe something else. I washed the skirt and carefully took it all apart...and I really did have a LOT of material!<br /></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Original thrift-store skirt.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The end result was a pair of pants for Zola - and another for Kelsey...a little ruffled "tie-on" skirt for our new niece Ellie Grace...and lots of appliques. I always have good thrift-store knit t-shirts on hand. A yellow one became a pillow-case dress/top for Zola...a lime green one will go to Kelsey. Leftovers from the yellow tee became a bumblebee applique on a onesie for Ellie Grace! I did have to purchase a spool of grossgrain ribbon for the ties on Kelsey's dress and Ellie Grace's skirt. So counting materials like the onesie, iron-on adhesive and tear-away paper for the appliques, thread, etc., I am probably into these sets for less than $10. I consider that a pretty good deal...don't you?!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_Grl3K668vY/U7Mm8GCAVzI/AAAAAAAAKjU/DIbDeBiBHlo/s1600/IMG_9420.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_Grl3K668vY/U7Mm8GCAVzI/AAAAAAAAKjU/DIbDeBiBHlo/s1600/IMG_9420.JPG" height="320" width="160" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Pants and "pillow-case" dress for Zola.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Onesie and "skirt" for Ellie Grace.<br />Pants and "pillow-case" dress/top for Kelsey.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I still have a few scraps that could become a headband...or more appliques at some point. I don't ever let a decent piece of fabric go to waste, so these will go in my "scrap bin" for a later date. Meanwhile, I think the girls will be adorable - and ready for summer - in their "flower power" ensembles!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">On a slightly different note...last week, a girl posted an ad on Facebook for some Fisher Price "Little
People" sets she wanted to sell. I've bought things from her
before, so I know she sells nice things - and she is very reasonable. I went to her house, and she had a full-sized bed COVERED in "little
people" - all for $35. I bought every last piece - 3 garbage bags full!</span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />I washed, bleached and sorted all of the "little people" and their
houses yesterday, and I cannot believe what all I have. I kept a "Zoo"
set for the kids to play with here. I have an airplane and school bus with people set aside as a birthday surprise for Nathan</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">. Then there is a
playhouse for Zola that is fantastic...Amazon lists it new for
$159! And I have all sorts of accessories for it, like a picnic set, a
"patio table with umbrella", baby carriage and playpen and more. The
house makes all sorts of noises - the washer "runs"...the phone
rings...the typewriter "types", the toilet seat lifts (but there is no
flushing noise that I can determine! *ha!*).<br /><br />THEN...there is an
"amusement park"...all of the accessories for that, 2 dump trucks, 2
"girlie" cars, some little cars, 3 tricycles, a full set of "Easter"
little people in bunny suits, an outdoor "playhouse" with 3 attachable
swing sets, and I don't know how many "little people" to go with this.
And I paid $35 for EVERYTHING! I'm guessing I have at least $400 or
more of "Little People" if I bought everything new!<br /><br />So I have
Christmas pretty much "set" for the kids. By the time I wrap up these
things and separate out the various pieces, they will have lots to open
and a "Little People" festival! I can already hear Timothy doing
the voices for these little guys! <br /><br />The same day that I saw these
sets for sale on Facebook, another mom I know posted a different playhouse
for sale for $35...it retails for $300+ with all the pieces. Someone
beat me to this one. Then the girl I bought from advertised a farm set -
50 pieces for $20. Someone offered her $15, and she took it. I was so disappointed. I told her, "I would have gladly paid you $20." That's when she
offered me the things I ended up buying. I really would have liked to
have that farm set, because it was so cute...but I cannot complain, and
there is PLENTY here! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I cannot believe people pay this much for kids'
toys! But I am more than glad to purchase them after the fact and refresh them for my kiddos! They may not have brand new stuff, but they don't know and
don't care. You would never know most of these little pieces are not
brand new. It pays to shop around...hit the thrift stores...and stretch a dollar...and I am living proof!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-794571231772199462.post-62205560514122608192014-05-04T14:05:00.002-05:002014-05-04T14:10:46.661-05:00Everybody Love a Good Dinosaur!<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So there I was in Wal-Mart - buying burlap to make outdoor pillows for my cousin Natalie - when I spied it...the brightly colored "dinosaur" fabric. I've watched too many episodes of "American Pickers" I guess. One of the show's hosts...Mike...has mantra that "if you see something you've never seen before, now is the time to buy it". In other words, "Strike while the iron is hot!" So...I added a couple of yard of the yellow fabric to my order to make shorts for Timothy, Nathan and Owen. It turns out... I had enough to make a dress for Zola, too - with the help of a thrift-store t-shirt! I had already used the sleeves - probably to make leggings for Zola. But I was able to get a new pair of pants and a dress bodice out of the t-shirt body, so I was pretty excited!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Burlap porch pillows for my cousin.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9xx3sFssc44/U2aOholBWCI/AAAAAAAAKec/Gxop2Xpzt9o/s1600/IMG_9189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9xx3sFssc44/U2aOholBWCI/AAAAAAAAKec/Gxop2Xpzt9o/s1600/IMG_9189.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Three pair of boys' dinosaur shorts will equal three gigantic smiles!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Girls like dinosaurs, too! Zola's outfit has <br />matching green pants (not pictured).</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Meanwhile, I'd stopped by the local thrift shop to look for toys and other treasures...and I gathered a few colorful t-shirts and dresses that I couldn't pass up. One t-top became a shorts and top playset for Zola...while a dress morphed into a maxi-skirt for the kids' mom, Jasmine.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Lw95gQIWIE0/U2aOkPy2NjI/AAAAAAAAKeo/QLmOZm8LtaE/s1600/IMG_9192.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Lw95gQIWIE0/U2aOkPy2NjI/AAAAAAAAKeo/QLmOZm8LtaE/s1600/IMG_9192.JPG" height="300" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thrift store knit shirt "before"...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Kg6-vJbr8Bw/U2aOlydJt5I/AAAAAAAAKew/uT5_eW9QStY/s1600/IMG_9196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Kg6-vJbr8Bw/U2aOlydJt5I/AAAAAAAAKew/uT5_eW9QStY/s1600/IMG_9196.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...toddler shorts and shirt "after"!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UXXNWJe95bU/U2aOuO9hh5I/AAAAAAAAKfA/JYCTRZJHG7o/s1600/IMG_9198.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UXXNWJe95bU/U2aOuO9hh5I/AAAAAAAAKfA/JYCTRZJHG7o/s1600/IMG_9198.JPG" height="320" width="167" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thrift store maxi dress that morphed into a maxi skirt. <br />
Sorry, I didn't get a picture of the "after" creation!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">What's next? I am somewhat in a "yellow" phase - cute little black and white bumblebees on a yellow background will become a cute summer outfit for Zola. Stay tuned!!!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-794571231772199462.post-60998976952143451932014-04-11T11:29:00.001-05:002014-04-26T00:11:20.673-05:00It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like... EASTER!!!<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I am so close to having the children's Easter outfits finished, and I have to say..."I'm pretty excited!" It all started with this adorable yellow print fabric I spotted on Etsy and HAD to have for something for Zola. I used a free online pattern for </span><a href="http://www.u-createcrafts.com/2010/11/creative-guest-party-dress-by-cottage.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The Party Dress</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> (modified for my "little princess"). For the contrasting trim, I purchased a man's chambray shirt from the thrift store ($1), and carefully cut the fabric along seam lines so that I had big pieces to create the sash and trim. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Chambray "flowers" accent the hem of the dress, and I had enough leftover material to create bow-ties for the boys (photo coming soon!). The sleeves and pockets became a pair of "cargo pants" for Nathan, and I salvaged all of the pretty buttons for a future project. I dug into my stash of buttons and found four pale yellow ones for the back of the dress. Yippee!!! (See...it pays to save those buttons!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />Since the forecast is for cooler weather to return, I decided that Zola might need a jacket to go with her dress. I thumbed through my stash of thrift-store t-shirts and found the perfect shade of yellow, then found my pattern for a </span><a href="http://www.noodle-head.com/2011/10/bias-trimmed-knit-cardigan-tutorial.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">girls' raglan sleeved jacket</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> and modified it, adding trim around the neck and front openings that I top-stitched with a flower motif...and lace edging on the sleeves and hem. My mother-in-law gave me a huge bag of lace trim...including many yards of pastel yellow, blue and pink lace. This was the perfect accent for this little jacket. A matching "flower" trim at the neckline to cover the snap fastening provided the finishing touch! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I cannot wait to see how pretty Zola looks - or how adorable Timothy and Nathan will be in their coordinating (store-bought on clearance) button-down shirts with matching bow-ties! Maybe they will stand still long enough for me to get a photograph to post!<br /><br />I think our kiddos will look pretty darn cute on Easter Sunday...and I didn't break the bank for these outfits. Since I splurged and bought the two shirts and a yard of fabric for the dress, total cost was somewhere around $30. For a one-of-a-kind "look" for three children...I'd say that's pretty hoppin' good!<br /><br />TA-DA!!! Don't they look adorable?!</span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-794571231772199462.post-33529791277901987922014-03-18T17:28:00.001-05:002014-03-18T17:30:37.479-05:00Somebunny's Gonna Look Darling!<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">A few weeks ago while shopping in west Little Rock, we passed this outfit in the window of a shop that sold children's clothes. Well, you know where <strong><em>my</em></strong> mind went! I snapped a photo and went in search of pink fabric. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Since chevron is so "hot" right now, I opted to use this instead of the "windowpane" fabric used in the outfit modeled in the window. I also found a bunny outline I liked a little better - and a couple of long-sleeved t's on clearance. <br /><br />Here is the "before" - and the "afters" for my niece Zola and my cousin Harper, who are about 4 months apart in age. I think they will be darling little "bunnies"...don't you?!</span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-794571231772199462.post-64131784376518655792014-03-06T18:48:00.002-06:002014-03-06T18:49:37.220-06:00Nothing Short of Scraptastic!<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I recently spent almost three days in my laundry room, sorting, cutting, pressing, folding and organizing my fabric scraps! I tried to be ruthless...but you never know when you might need a less-than-one-inch square of black fabric for an "eye" in a character applique...or that tiny piece of paisley for a flower petal! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Anyway, I got everything packed in containers in a manner that I can hopefully understand and utilize...and I even created a basket of "big" pieces with specific projects in mind. Now I have a LOT of projects! And yes, I previously had a LOT of projects, but now I really REALLY do!*lol* <br /><br />One of the pieces in my "project" basket was the body of a ladies knit shirt in hues of emerald green, aqua, and white in a "peace sign" motif." I had made the sleeves of this shirt into leggings for my niece Zola about a month ago. Now it was time to use the rest to make a dress or top. I had aqua knit scraps and a new pattern for a toddler t-shirt that I had downloaded for free on the Internet. So I made a "yoke" out of the aqua, gathered the green print to it, and voila... I had a dress to go with the leggings!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before...the large piece of fabric and a few scraps.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After...a dress with contrast yoke and bow trim...fit for a princess!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Next on my list of projects was a really cute red patterned ladies knit top I purchased at the thrift store for $1. I thought the pattern would make interesting leggings. But I couldn't stop there! I used virtually every piece of that shirt to create leggings, a jumper with floral rosette accents, and even a hair "scrunchie" from the neckband! I went through my button jar and found three darling heart-shaped buttons to accent the little rosettes. And here are the "before" and "after" pictures... including one of Zola's mother sent me of her modeling the new outfit!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9nZDbtLy4kE/UxkVfo86CDI/AAAAAAAAKQ4/_FQDidoo5fY/s1600/IMG_8832.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9nZDbtLy4kE/UxkVfo86CDI/AAAAAAAAKQ4/_FQDidoo5fY/s1600/IMG_8832.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before - the basic long-sleeved tee.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BBreuOOB9OE/UxkVfXHEDOI/AAAAAAAAKQw/vIF7PBK139w/s1600/IMG_8834.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BBreuOOB9OE/UxkVfXHEDOI/AAAAAAAAKQw/vIF7PBK139w/s1600/IMG_8834.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After... leggings, a top and a scrunchie!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2HhbeSpanvY/UxkVevUmgWI/AAAAAAAAKQk/xCjbkRW1MY4/s1600/IMG_8836.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2HhbeSpanvY/UxkVevUmgWI/AAAAAAAAKQk/xCjbkRW1MY4/s1600/IMG_8836.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was pretty much all that was left!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She loves it!!! Isn't she darling?!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I couldn't leave out the boys this week! So I took a flannel shirt that belonged to my husband (one that had shrunk in the wash so that the sleeves were too short) and created pajama pants for the boys. I wish I had remembered to take a "before" picture of the shirt, but I think you'll get the idea. It was your basic button-down. And BTW...I saved the buttons for another project (well, except for the two I used to mark the fronts of the pj pants!). I turned the sleeves into pants for Nathan, and the body of the shirt into pants for Timothy...complete with front pocket (the chest pocket)! I left the cuffs on the baby's pants. They can be turned up now...and turned down later for extra length! We really don't waste anything around here if we can help it! I added a few flannel scraps to my stash...you just never know what they might be handy for later!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Each of these projects took me a few hours to complete... time well spent to clothe the kiddos and recycle old items. I think a velour shirt is next...we're still having cold, icy weather, so the warmer fabrics seem appropriate. But I have my "spring stash" ready...and maybe by then my "project" basket will be a little less full!</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-794571231772199462.post-50233543132198056702014-02-27T12:02:00.000-06:002014-02-27T12:02:37.879-06:00Catching Up...<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I know it's been a while since I posted, but that doesn't mean I haven't been sewing! Many of my projects during the holidays involved hand-made gifts for the kiddos...dolls, doll clothes, toy organizers, and tons of rice bags (which our kids call "owie bags"). I have created a "look book" file of ideas that far exceed my time constraints (the girls will be in college before I make them all!), and I've organized my fabrics and scrap stash so that I know what I have available. I also can't seem to resist purchasing more fabric from time to time... yes, I truly am a "fabric junkie"!<br /><br />I also have acquired a serger, which is making life so much simpler, and neater...and I honestly don't know why I resisted for so long.<br /><br />Just for grins, I'm throwing in a picture of a birthday card I made recently for one of my cousins. I bought a Cuttlebug last fall for card making (and have even used it to create some iron-ons, like the Halloween spiders for the boys' t-shirts). I LOVE hand-made cards...making them and sending them, so I have to hand over a few hours here and there from sewing to card-making projects. It's all about balance...and some days I do better than others! Thanks for stopping by to look at the things I've created... and stay tuned!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What do you do for "clown shoes" for a 4-year-old?<br />
You use Duck Tape and an old pair of sneakers. I added<br />
egg cartons and some thin foam padding to shape these<br />
oversized feet (and elevate the padding above the soles so<br />
that my little clown could still walk!) and this was the result!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pants and suspenders made from a thrift-store pair of<br />
pajamas, a bow-tie made from two sheets of colorful<br />
felt, an old pair of ladies gloves stuffed with fiberfill,<br />
and a rainbow wig purchased for $1 at the thrift store<br />
(plus the afore-mentioned shoes and a foam nose from <br />
a clown make-up kit purchased at Wal-Mart), and we <br />
havea great little clown! The princess dress was a garage <br />
sale find, paired with some sparkly "Mary Janes" and a cute <br />
little princess who completed the look quite nicely!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wasn't he a cute clown?!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meet Ellie the Elephant! I purchased the pattern for this darling stuffed doll and her clothing and accessories on Etsy from a shop called Ruby Jean's Closet. I have the pattern for a zippered carrying case, but I have yet to get one of those made. However, I did use thrift-store wool skirts and my own fabric scraps to create two of these elephants for my niece Zola and my cousin Harper. My mother-in-law had given me the strawberry-print knit, so I made dresses for the dolls and matching skirts for the girls. The sparkly snow-flake tutus were made from fabric scraps in my bin. The girls loved their new dolls. Someday, I will make more clothes for them - and maybe even the zippered cases! Whew!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">For Christmas, my cousin Olivia got cheerleading outfits for her two American Girl dolls. I used black knit pull-on skirts that I purchased on clearance at Wal-Mart last fall, and accented them with red pleats and bloomers made from an old pair of knit pants my mom gave me. For this project, I had a sewing pattern that I picked up at a local church bazaar...for ten cents! I have fabric scraps and dreams of creating more of the styles included in this pattern package. Someday, Olivia... someday!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">My cousin Owen likes to be organized. He also likes to take a few things along to church service on Sunday to keep him occupied during the sermon (he's only four!). So I used an old "ultra-suede" jacket to make him a bag with a drawstring top and even a carrying loop. Then I used free patterns I found via Pinterest (and fabric from my scrap bin) to create a "car roll" and a "crayon roll". The cars for the roll came from the Dollar Tree (3 cars/$1), but Owen can substitute his favorites from his own collection as desired. The bag was big enough to include a puzzle, a coloring book... and even a lightweight jacket and snacks if his mom desires!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I LOVE "minky" fabric. It's not the easiest to work with, but the results are fantastic...so soft and snuggly. I made all of the kids flannel pajamas for Christmas, so I used the scraps and rectangles or squares of white "minky" to back "owie bags" for the kids...incredibly cozy and cuddly! This chocolate brown "minky" fabric simply begged to become a coat for Zola. With her dark hair and coloring, I knew, she would be nothing short of a diva in it! She loves it so much that she almost cries when we try to get her to take it off! And like all "divas-in-the-making," she even wore her "minky" coat to play at the park!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And here is the card. I used a piece of grey card stock for the base of the card, then added some really interesting geometric scrapbook paper pieces in a dark chocolate/cream color palette. Accented with a strip of red scrapbook paper, I printed a greeting on tan card stock, used a die-cut to create the neat scalloped outline, and voila!...a beautiful card suitable for anyone. This one went to my cousin Darrell...the geometric pattern and color scheme seemed masculine to me, and I hope he will agree!</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-794571231772199462.post-37718556365528025082013-09-26T12:07:00.000-05:002013-10-02T15:00:39.163-05:00Happy Fall, Y'all!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">t's almost October, and I've been working on holiday shirts and outfits for the kiddos. I decided early on that I did not want to spend a lot of time and energy on shirts that could only be worn for a few weeks. So for the most part, I tried to choose styles that would be suitable for wear before or after Halloween, as well. So far, so good!<br /><br />I used my Cuttlebug and a die-cut to create iron-on spiders for the boys' shirts. The hardest part was peeling the paper off the back of these tiny spiders! I am hoping they hold up well in the wash... if not, I can make more spiders! Don't you think they look realistic?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">For Olivia, I took an idea I'd seen on Pinterest for a ruffled cat applique and put my own spin on it. With a free, online template for a cat applique in hand, I used remnants of a polka-dot ladies camisole (purchased on Clearance at Wal-Mart) to create the body. I used another remnant of black knit to create the tail... carefully cutting a strip into fringe and stitching it onto the shirt over the tail outline.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">The outfits for Zola and Harper featured holiday cats. I purchased a long-sleeved ladies knit top at the thrift store. It already had the applique of the cat in the jack-o-lantern on it, so all I had to do was cut down the shirt to fit Zola. I used my handy-dandy 3T Toddler T-shirt pattern and followed the existing neckline. The sleeves were cut from the bottom of the shirt so I could use the existing hem.<br /><br />For Harper's outfit, I turned the long sleeves into leggings, and then I used scraps of the bodice to create the cat applique on a purchased child's t-shirt. Pretty cute, eh?!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">These are not for the kiddos, but in the spirit of autumn, I went in search of materials to add a couple of new pillows to our couch and chair for the season. I saw this idea online for turning old sweaters into pillows... and I found some really great ones at the local thrift store. This is the result of Sweater #1... whaddya think?<br />
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Happy Fall, Y'all... and BOO!<br />
</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-794571231772199462.post-30834964242250740862013-09-14T19:17:00.001-05:002013-09-14T19:23:32.182-05:00Aunt Debbie Made It!<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">When I was a little girl, my sister and I could not wait for the new catalogs to arrive each season. We would pick out what we liked, and my Mam-ma Polly and my mother would do their best to make us something very similar. I remember one year when I had an orange double-knit "shift" dress with a pocket near the hem that held a black and white polka dot scarf. I also had a beautiful white knit peasant-style dress that featured button holes around the neckline and wrists. Black velvet ribbon was threaded through these button holes and created an accent. All of my friends coveted this dress!<br /><br />So I guess it's only natural that I would want to create the fashions I see online for Zola and Olivia and the boys. I have started saving photos of cute outfits and ideas (and of course, Pinterest is a plethora of material!). The end results are starting to come to life.<br /><br />Our high school mascot is the panther... colors are red and black. So I made all of the children "panther" shirts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Then I started on my stash of saved photos. I went through the thrift-store t-shirts I had purchased... as well as a couple of polka-dot camisoles I purchased on clearance at Wal-Mart... and I started sewing. I also bought several bandeau tops at Wal-Mart on clearance ($2-$3 each) and made skirts... zebra print and solid black. Some of this material also became accents for other projects - and even a pair of pants for Zola.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />This was a cute little outfit I saw on Zulilly. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I got this knit shirt at the thrift store (it even had the flowers I used in the finished product).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And "Voila!" My version!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This was a shirt I retired from my closet... a solid shirt from the thrift store... and an idea I got online...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">... and these are my versions for Zola...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And finally... I took this thrift-store knit top, a screen-printed t-shirt from a local nursing center (also purchased at the thrift store)... and created my version of another little outfit. I have a stack of ideas yet to come... but I may have to stop and work on Halloween outfits next! Stay tuned to see what else my kiddos will be wearing. I'm only limited by my imagination!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Oh, and Thank You, Mom and Mam-ma Polly... for your inspiration and for teaching me to sew! I know that Mam-ma would LOVE these outfits... I can just see her fingering the details of each one... and it makes me smile.</span></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-794571231772199462.post-79497038426516767202013-07-30T09:56:00.000-05:002013-07-30T09:57:44.043-05:00A Dress a Day?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Between Vacation Bible School, play dates for four-year-old cousins, and life in general... I've had little time lately to sew. But boy-oh-boy, am I ever ready to get back to it! The only thing I've done lately besides some mending is to create this dress for my 9-year-old cousin, Olivia. But I'm gearing up... the counter is piled high with pieces to repurpose... I have fabric stashed in the closet... and I just bought a stack of vintage linens at an estate sale to create dresses, collars, bibs and more! Whew!</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Yesterday, I printed out all of the pictures of cute outfits that I have been saving in a folder on my desktop for months! I had 7+ pages...9 pictures per page... almost 72 ideas! WOW! Now if I just made ONE outfit per day... I'd have them all done before Halloween! Yeah... probably not gonna happen! But it could..... Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! Stay tuned to see how I did!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-794571231772199462.post-44631584423786946432013-06-29T22:54:00.003-05:002013-06-29T22:57:57.988-05:00The "Sewing Room" is Open!<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It took me a while to get back into the "sewing groove" this spring. My grandmother taught me to sew, and I took everything I made to the Assisted Living Facility to show her. She couldn't say much, but she would carefully finger each garment or project, grin and shake her head with pride. After she passed in March, I was pretty busy. When I started sewing again, I wondered, "Who will I show the finished products to now?" The answer???? YOU!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This is a fuzzy photo taken with a camera-phone, but I wanted </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">to show you the tunic I made for myself out of deep purple</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">"tie-dyed" fabric that features splatter accents of pink, lime</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">green, turquoise and yellow. My niece LOVED this fabric,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">(which you can see better in the next photo), and so did Timothy!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Zola got a dress and matching knit pants (from an old t-shirt)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">made from the scraps of my tunic fabric. My niece liked the fabric,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">so I bought more, and she got a summer sundress... can you</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">say "Mother-daughter"? or maybe "Aunt/Mother/Daughter"???</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Timothy loved the fabric so much, and he BEGGED for something</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">made from it. I thought it was a bit "girly" even for shorts, so</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I decided to make "muscle shirts" for him and his baby brother,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Nathan. I can't wait to get a group photo of all of us in our "tie-dye!"</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vEXS-2wSaqE/Uc-eXYhn7JI/AAAAAAAAJA0/TNdymF9w8mI/s1162/IMG_5976.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vEXS-2wSaqE/Uc-eXYhn7JI/AAAAAAAAJA0/TNdymF9w8mI/s320/IMG_5976.JPG" width="243" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I purchased a beautiful vintage golden yellow linen </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">damask tablecloth at an estate sale. It became dresses</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">for my nieces Zola and Kelsey. The flounced pants</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">were made from a vintage lace tablecloth.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KuwguIIAP9I/Uc-eXD1XZqI/AAAAAAAAJAw/LsMy6tmi6UA/s1139/IMG_5977.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KuwguIIAP9I/Uc-eXD1XZqI/AAAAAAAAJAw/LsMy6tmi6UA/s320/IMG_5977.JPG" width="241" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Back view of the dress and pants. This outfit is </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">so much cuter on the little girls. The pictures do not</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">do it justice. This was a purchased Butterick </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">dress pattern. I will be using it for lots of dresses!</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GJyDKyUiw3Y/Uc-eZBbsn3I/AAAAAAAAJBA/2__pzImVbHQ/s1162/IMG_5978.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GJyDKyUiw3Y/Uc-eZBbsn3I/AAAAAAAAJBA/2__pzImVbHQ/s320/IMG_5978.JPG" width="282" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Zola's mother asked me to make her a cape of her very</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">own so that Timothy could have his Batman cape back!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">She is now "Princes Zola" or "Super Zola" - depending</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">on her mood. This is pale pink taffeta and a scrap of lacy</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">pink overlay I had in the scrap bin.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OSFcMd6_Q34/Uc-eZk64cyI/AAAAAAAAJBI/37b6L6qf5nM/s1091/IMG_5980.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="318" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OSFcMd6_Q34/Uc-eZk64cyI/AAAAAAAAJBI/37b6L6qf5nM/s320/IMG_5980.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Back view of the cape!</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HhLMbhRZyWc/Uc-eoVc2jzI/AAAAAAAAJBQ/sPaJgl1K_qU/s1600/IMG_20130523_200538.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HhLMbhRZyWc/Uc-eoVc2jzI/AAAAAAAAJBQ/sPaJgl1K_qU/s320/IMG_20130523_200538.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This is Timothy and Zola sitting with my mother (their great Granny)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">on the porch at a restaurant - after a very long day! Timothy has</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">on his "monster pants" that I made him. Zola's outfit is striped</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">pants and a shirt I made by cutting down a ladies t-shirt that had</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">contrasting border trims at the neck and sleeve hems.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bKkuV25MaKg/Uc-fHJbe0XI/AAAAAAAAJBg/9VLbwfkDF54/s1600/IMG_6233.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bKkuV25MaKg/Uc-fHJbe0XI/AAAAAAAAJBg/9VLbwfkDF54/s320/IMG_6233.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It was all cars one day last week... car shorts for Timothy and</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">my cousin Owen... longer shorts for baby Nathan, plus a t-shirt</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">to match. I used my copy machine to enlarge one of the cars</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">in the print for a pattern, so that the "car" on the shirt would</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">match the cars on the pants. I was pretty pleased with the results!</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lXHwxbDgP60/Uc-fHjcNqSI/AAAAAAAAJBo/J1haOr5wXf0/s1600/IMG_6234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lXHwxbDgP60/Uc-fHjcNqSI/AAAAAAAAJBo/J1haOr5wXf0/s320/IMG_6234.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I think the contrasting striped pockets make these extra fun!</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-apmEMBYYIKY/Uc-fdO1OUSI/AAAAAAAAJB4/RU09PGmyCKo/s1216/IMG_5593.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="302" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-apmEMBYYIKY/Uc-fdO1OUSI/AAAAAAAAJB4/RU09PGmyCKo/s320/IMG_5593.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This watercolor outfit started its life as a ladies novelty knit top. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The sleeves became pants, and the bodice became the skirt for</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">this little dress, trimmed with leftover black knit from a t-shirt</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">and complimented by a "scrap flower" on the front! Zola looks</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">simply adorable in this outfit. One caveat... the top was beaded </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">and sequined... our little 2-year-old princess picked the beads</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">and sequins off so much that we finally removed the rest!</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1kOpjbFcmB4/Uc-fcGkpRkI/AAAAAAAAJB0/XUu0UiOfbng/s1200/IMG_5594.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1kOpjbFcmB4/Uc-fcGkpRkI/AAAAAAAAJB0/XUu0UiOfbng/s320/IMG_5594.JPG" width="284" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This lime green and yellow hoodie was purchased at the </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">local thrift shop for $1. The pants were made from the</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">scraps of a ladies x-large knit top... also purchased at the</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">thrift shop for a dollar. Results? Pretty cute outfit for pennies!</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tJhnyU7sR8o/Uc-ny7VKj6I/AAAAAAAAJC4/g7oCXKARVU8/s486/1364247782175.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tJhnyU7sR8o/Uc-ny7VKj6I/AAAAAAAAJC4/g7oCXKARVU8/s320/1364247782175.jpg" width="246" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">My cousin Owen outgrew some of his jeans,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">including this pair, which was almost brand</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">new but had a hole in the knee. The solution?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Cover that hole with a "monster face"! Timothy</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">loves these and wears a red polo with them. He </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">told me, "Aunt Debbie, you need to make me</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">more monster pants!" I am thinking I will make </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">denim shorts out of thrift-store denim and add</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">a scrap "monster" to the leg! He will love it!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">One hint... little boy's jean legs are narrow and </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">hard to stitch. My mother-in-law suggested that</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">next time I open whichever seam does not have</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">topstitching, do my applique, and re-seam the jeans!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kxrvjsazLF0/Uc-n1EMb96I/AAAAAAAAJDA/Ke9nhC6_rfo/s384/1371783470014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kxrvjsazLF0/Uc-n1EMb96I/AAAAAAAAJDA/Ke9nhC6_rfo/s320/1371783470014.jpg" width="285" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I made THREE of these...found the pattern on</span><br />
<a href="http://allfreesewing.com/"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">AllFreeSewing.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">... you start with a boy's</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">t-shirt and use the main part of the shirt for the</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">dress. The sleeves are cut from the sleeves of</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">the tee-shirt. What MAKES this dress is the</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">red ric-rac trim on the sleeves and the white</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">trim at the hem. The pattern used plain white</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">trim, but I had plenty of ric-rac, and chevron is so</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">IN now that I decided to use what I had. A red and</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">white polka-dot bow completes the dress. Pretty</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">cute and comfy for the Fourth of July... right?!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DF3dokLCU9E/Uc-nw7AyrYI/AAAAAAAAJC0/4v2Ar-QBbkU/s1600/IMG_20130629_163301.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DF3dokLCU9E/Uc-nw7AyrYI/AAAAAAAAJC0/4v2Ar-QBbkU/s320/IMG_20130629_163301.jpg" width="226" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">My cousin Olivia loves things with her name</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">on them... but OLIVIA is a big name to </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">applique on a little girl's shirt. Since her </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">nickname is "Livvy" - or "Liv" - we decided to </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">use this for her July 4th creation... complete </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">with a firecracker for the "I"!</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v70QSRzy9vE/Uc-nDWOlZAI/AAAAAAAAJCo/qNYbhnPie2I/s393/1371783512201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="252" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v70QSRzy9vE/Uc-nDWOlZAI/AAAAAAAAJCo/qNYbhnPie2I/s320/1371783512201.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">You know my penchant for scraps! I used the leftover</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">fabric from Liv's shirt to create this ruffle skirt. The </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">base of the skirt is the bottom of a ladies' t-shirt,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">once again purchased at the local thrift shop. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I used the shirt hem as my "casing" for the elastic waist, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">then sewed the ruffles to the other end. She loves it! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">She calls it her "sassy skirt!" It looks great with the tee!</span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I have so many ideas... and a closet-full of fabric - and still I sit and drool over several online fabric shops' offerings. My cousin Natalie gave me a wonderful new book for my birthday... <strong><em>One-yard Wonders</em></strong>... and I cannot wait to try out some of the cute things that are featured. Stay tuned... I'll be back to "share" again soon!</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-794571231772199462.post-18214569780494326522013-04-13T12:06:00.000-05:002013-04-13T12:09:58.019-05:00Ready or Not... a "Shoe Diva" Is in the Making!<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3XSRWf-uBM0/UWmN0GZ5JqI/AAAAAAAAI1Q/dyZD9CYTGOI/s1600/IMG_5650.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3XSRWf-uBM0/UWmN0GZ5JqI/AAAAAAAAI1Q/dyZD9CYTGOI/s1600/IMG_5650.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3XSRWf-uBM0/UWmN0GZ5JqI/AAAAAAAAI1Q/dyZD9CYTGOI/s320/IMG_5650.JPG" width="320" /></a>Spring has finally sprung here (hopefully), and garage sales are starting to pop up every weekend. This means the hunt is on for great bargains on barely-worn kids' clothing! For the moment, Timothy's cousin Owen (who is six weeks younger) is just a tad taller/larger, so his quickly-outgrown hand-me-downs find a new home in Timothy's closet... and these are GREAT clothes! The best part of this is that Nathan will wear them, too...in a year or so! Since the boys are almost the same size in shirts, I did have to supplement Timothy's shirt wardrobe... and it was Dollar General to the rescue! Our local store was having a major close-out sale on boy's screen-printed shirts, so I racked up a great deal on several that Timothy loves... a bright-colored "T-Rex" roaring on one... the open mouth of an alligator on another, a camouflage print Batman logo, and even a Spider Man print that had Timothy reeling with excitement!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zola is wearing one of her "garage sale"<br />
outfits... Timothy's shorts and Nike shoes<br />
came from his Cousin Owen, and I purchased <br />
the t-shirt at Wal-Mart on clearance!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Not to leave out Zola, I discovered a table of great little outfits at a garage sale, and a wonderful Baby B-Gosh snow suit for next winter... for $3!</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VOPuTGCqbYg/UWmOt2F2oLI/AAAAAAAAI1k/4Ys0aprfDYI/s1600/IMG_5656.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VOPuTGCqbYg/UWmOt2F2oLI/AAAAAAAAI1k/4Ys0aprfDYI/s320/IMG_5656.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Then, someone locally advertised shoes for sale on a Facebook "garage sale" page... and I was IN! I purchased all of the shoes shown in this picture - for $10. Yes, that includes the Columbia snow boots, two pair of Skechers, a pair of Hello Kitty Mary-Janes, and a pair of Converse high-tops! All it took was a gentle washing, some elbow grease and an X-acto knife to clean the soles, and a Mr. Clean eraser to get the white rubber topsoles shining like brand new!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y74V01oXLjQ/UWmPGrVRmOI/AAAAAAAAI1o/GqCsi1fJ7HA/s1600/IMG_20130412_130856.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y74V01oXLjQ/UWmPGrVRmOI/AAAAAAAAI1o/GqCsi1fJ7HA/s320/IMG_20130412_130856.jpg" width="249" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Why anyone would pay full price for these clothes is beyond me... but I'm so glad someone does this and passes the savings along! I know I'm creating a "shoe diva" by purchasing Zola so many pairs, but at this price, who can resist!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Finally, I promised my cousin Olivia a "monogrammed" t-shirt... and since she got ALL A's and made the Honor Roll, I thought this was the perfect way to congratulate her!</span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-794571231772199462.post-9509242254542730272013-03-06T17:56:00.003-06:002013-04-04T16:19:02.119-05:00Lilly Pulitzer Rewind<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">My friend Melissa gave me a darling Lilly Pulitzer sheath dress that she could no longer wear, because it had a stain across the bodice. She said, "Do something fun and creative with it." I am quite certain Melissa paid a lot for this dress... and she got her money's worth - and then some! The material was a high-quality, tightly woven cotton. The dress was lined, hemmed with lace hem tape, and had all the special touches like little ribbons on snaps to hold your bra straps in place. There were pockets on the front that had a picot trim.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bZrEgipQYuE/UTfWyqQB4ZI/AAAAAAAAIkA/4DabbYZKQE4/s1600/IMG_5326.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" jsa="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bZrEgipQYuE/UTfWyqQB4ZI/AAAAAAAAIkA/4DabbYZKQE4/s320/IMG_5326.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Lilly Pulitzer Sheath Dress - Before</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I carefully removed the pockets, then I removed the lining and the zipper. I cut out a dress for my almost 2-year-old niece, Zola. Then I looked at the scraps. IF I could get the stain out with bleach, I would have enough to make something for Melissa's nearly 6-year-old daughter, Ada. I had nothing to lose, so I got out my bleach and a cotton rag and went to work daubing at the stain. It all came out beautifully, with no fading of the colorful fabric!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So... I looked at my fabric stash and found a piece of hot pink knit, which became the base for a blouse for Ada. The dress fabric scraps became the straps and bow... and the pockets were reattached "as is." And here are the results. The dark spot on Ada's dress is not a stain... I had used a washable marker, and I was rinsing out some "dots!"</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After... a 6-year-old's blouse and a 2-year-old's Easter dress!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I even had enough scraps for hair bows to hot glue to clips. Ada is already wearing hers! She plans to wear the blouse with leggings. Zola has a cute pink cardigan sweater with little embroidered flowers that I purchased at the thrift store for $1... in case it happens to be a cold Easter this year! I think both girls will look adorable... maybe I'll post pictures soon of them modeling their frocks!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">April 4th Update... Here's our little Zola in her Easter dress!</span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-794571231772199462.post-20444009677698141452013-02-11T20:04:00.000-06:002013-02-11T20:11:17.644-06:00Can You Really Wear Out a Sewing Machine?<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The short answer is... YES! In the middle of making superhero capes for my nephew, Timothy, and his cousin, Owen, my 2-year-old Brother locked up and refused to budge. We tried replacing the belt. My husband and I took the machine apart and gave it a good cleaning. Nothing worked. We decided to cut our losses and buy a new machine, since you can get a good basic model for less than $150. I have not even asked what it would cost for someone to look at the Brother, but I may ... just for backup purposes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Meanwhile, I ordered a Singer (better warranty - more metal parts) and by January 1, 2013, I was back in business! So far... things are running along pretty smoothly, and the creative juices are flowing. This machine lacks a couple of fine features the Brother possessed... leaving the needle IN the fabric when sewing stopped, and three speed choices in addition to the foot pedal... but overall, the stitches seem nicer and more consistent, and the satin stitch for monogramming is dreamy!<br /><br />I finished the capes and matching masks (Thanks, Pinterest!)... and moved on to sewing for my niece, Zola. I was searching for something in my scrap basket one day, and one thing led to another, and soon Zola had new pants and tops, appliqued tees and more!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Before... a pink ladies sweatshirt and snakeskin print knit turtleneck...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">After... a pink jumper, pants, (and striped pants from a scrap); </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">and a red print jumper and leggings!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">My mother-in-law gave me a book from the Singer Sewing Library called <em>Sewing for Children</em>. It has lots of tips and ideas that I can incorporate into making children's clothing. I have already utilized several ideas... and these four bibs were part of the results!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Finally, I utilized several scraps to create a "Toy Story" outfit that is suitable for my niece, Zola... and Nathan can wear the pants later. I also made Zola this adorable T-shirt. Thanks again, Pinterest!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Pinterest also was the source of a darling set of fabric scrap "quilted" ABC's. Timothy is loving his "letters!" I still have lower case and numbers to do, but they are super easy - and a great way to utilize smaller fabric pieces.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I don't have a photo, but I have also turned a red fleece scarf I purchased at the thrift store for $1 into more than a half dozen "Valentine Owie bags" - rice bags that can be heated in the microwave or frozen for those "owies" that happen to all little kids! These are heart shaped, super soft and cuddly - and sure to please all my little kiddos!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Next projects? A coat for Zola, Easter outfits, more scrap projects... and yes, more applique. When I look at all I did in the last two years, it's no wonder the Brother quit working. Let's hope the new Singer is up to the challenge of all these projects! Stay tuned!</span> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-794571231772199462.post-7609641530059529362012-07-21T23:34:00.000-05:002012-07-21T23:54:36.244-05:00A Skirt, a Shirt, and an Overactive Imagination... Oh, My!<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lfBACYyec4M/UAt5fUXpmRI/AAAAAAAAIDQ/V6LsupBxGfg/s1600/IMG_2734+(640x522).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="163" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lfBACYyec4M/UAt5fUXpmRI/AAAAAAAAIDQ/V6LsupBxGfg/s200/IMG_2734+(640x522).jpg" width="200" /></span></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DUPmSGEscW8/UAt_SJ7kDbI/AAAAAAAAIDw/VNBftfmhTxM/s1600/IMG_2764+(640x600).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="187" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DUPmSGEscW8/UAt_SJ7kDbI/AAAAAAAAIDw/VNBftfmhTxM/s200/IMG_2764+(640x600).jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Okay. So, I admit it... I got excited. Again! And in my excitement, I failed to get "before" pictures of the lace table runner that became two darling pair of toddler leggings. And really, folks, I <strong><em>thought</em></strong> I took a picture of the madras plaid skirt that ultimately became this cute little dress/top... but I can't find it anywhere! Sooooo... I promise to do better next time!</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--vAZNfppm5c/UAt6aBnHj_I/AAAAAAAAIDY/oN9RmgPdoy0/s1600/IMG_2766+%2528480x640%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--vAZNfppm5c/UAt6aBnHj_I/AAAAAAAAIDY/oN9RmgPdoy0/s200/IMG_2766+%2528480x640%2529.jpg" width="150" /></span></a><span style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j4DEXMROD_U/UAt_19o06oI/AAAAAAAAID4/A2Aw1ngdKYo/s200/IMG_2765+(569x640).jpg" width="177" /></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Meanwhile, look at these cute little ruffled pants, made from a ladies t-shirt. They compliment this little dress/top perfectly. I even used some of the scraps to make a headband with plaid petal flowers!</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zD9g62M2Vu4/UAuFVhwx17I/AAAAAAAAIEM/SrqfN3zYIPg/s1600/IMG_2762+%2528621x640%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zD9g62M2Vu4/UAuFVhwx17I/AAAAAAAAIEM/SrqfN3zYIPg/s200/IMG_2762+%2528621x640%2529.jpg" width="193" /></span></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BP8ujkoa9Lw/UAuFD5k-SGI/AAAAAAAAIEE/Q9sToWkSzmI/s1600/IMG_2760+(596x640).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BP8ujkoa9Lw/UAuFD5k-SGI/AAAAAAAAIEE/Q9sToWkSzmI/s200/IMG_2760+(596x640).jpg" width="186" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">After I finished THOSE projects, I made this cute little "criss-cross" strap sundress. I've wanted to make this for a while now, and the fabric has been calling my name. I have enough to make a smaller one for my little cousin, Harper. One caveat... this little dress was <strong><em>supposed</em></strong> to have orange ric-rac trim all the way around. BUT... my one package (2½ yards) was NOT enough to go all the way around by about 18 inches! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Yikes! I think it might work for the smaller version for Harper, but I will make a quick "pin-it-and-eyeball" before I start stitching this time! So this one is accented with some top-stitching and cute hot pink flower buttons. I can't wait to see how it looks on my niece, Zola! I'll post pictures, for sure!</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SipO1GAlDIM/UAt2hD6_vPI/AAAAAAAAIDA/jY5wDWJB3Mw/s1600/IMG_2738.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="169" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SipO1GAlDIM/UAt2hD6_vPI/AAAAAAAAIDA/jY5wDWJB3Mw/s200/IMG_2738.JPG" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Finally, I used some of my scraps this weekend to make "boo-boo bags" for the kiddos. They are filled with rice, and once put in the freezer, they make the perfect soother for any "boo-boo." If you like, you can put them in the microwave when you need a heat pack. I read where one creative mom makes small ones to heat up for the kids to wear in their gloves while waiting for the bus in winter! Hmmm... I still have scraps!!!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-794571231772199462.post-82369100038731715722012-07-15T13:15:00.000-05:002012-07-15T13:18:23.784-05:00Let's Go Driving in a Car!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PEXeyYCAnCc/UAMGRSAgMQI/AAAAAAAAIBg/08BFYZ8Oqu4/s1600/IMG_2700.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img $ca="true" border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PEXeyYCAnCc/UAMGRSAgMQI/AAAAAAAAIBg/08BFYZ8Oqu4/s320/IMG_2700.JPG" width="261" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">I fell in love with this car fabric from the moment I spied it on Etsy. I had plans to create more boxer shorts for my nephew, Timothy, and my cousin, Owen. However, as I began working on knit shorts - the orange ones and then the lime green pair, I realized that this print would be adorable as a camp shirt... and I was right! Timothy loves a song on Sesame Street called, "Let's Go Driving in an Automobile... Let's Go Driving in a Car!" This is the perfect shirt to wear when he sings it!</span></div>
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The little "bubble" print just makes me smile. Timothy and Zola will soon have a new baby brother, Nathan... and he already has pants made from this fabric. It coordinates with the stripes and "Groovy Guitars" fabric I used a few months ago to make the children all sorts of things - even a burp pad! - so they will be darling in their matching outfits... and the new knit ruffled leggings will carry this right on into the fall season!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0