Flower Power!

My sizing for little girls clothes is slightly limited, seeing as how I currently have only two sizes. Of course, I have occasionally sewn for a couple of smaller friends, but generally, I'm stuck in a 4/5 or very slim, tall 7/8. In order to branch out my skills, I enlisted the help of my beautiful niece, L!




I made this for her from a Simplicity pattern (that the number is torn off of!). However, it is really only a two layered circle skirt that is gathered on one side. This was also the first time I "made" bias tape to trim the bottom, so that was something cool to learn!

If you need a great tutorial on how to make a circle skirt, check out Dana at Made. Very simple!

I made a huge fabric flower at the gather, and of course had to make a matching headband! To make the flower, I just rolled and glued. If I ever recreate it, I'll do a tutorial.

The fabric used was from Michael Miller Gypsy Bandana collection. I love the pinks and greens! I also love how her bag that she already had matched perfectly!




Thanks, L! I look forward to you helping me out again, soon!


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So comfy!

I told you yesterday that I would show you my MOST favorite handmade gift today, so I am!

I loved these pillowcases so much that I'm going to make my self several pair. As a matter of fact, I'm really wishing I had one right now to nap on since I'm hanging out in a quiet hospital room while my dad is recovering from hip surgery (the reason I made the comfy pants).




I stumbled upon this tutorial at The Cottage Home and they are super simple. The Cottage Home is full of delightful tutorials, patterns and recipes. I find myself going there quite often!

I used a variety of designer fabric I had started to accumulate. I now know how people feel when parting with lovely fabric. They were so beautiful and soft that I had a hard time giving them up! I used some Michael Miller, Amy Butler, Oliver + S, Art Gallery and Riley Blake. All so lovely!

I think these are going to be my new go to gift for weddings, housewarmings, etc. They really are easy and are beautifully finished with not a seam showing. You spend most of the time cutting your fabric (straight is the key).

I already have plans to make some for myself and my girls because who doesn't love a good, comfy pillowcase?

Enjoy!

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A Little Pampering? Yes, Please!

A couple of the gifts I put together were items that would hopefully help with relaxation and one of my favorite comforts - food!

Both of these ideas were taken from Pinterest - one of my new favorite addictions and I'm sure it's yours, too!




The first was a Peppermint Scrub made primarily with sugar. While it goes against my feelings about food coloring, it was just a drop for color and it wasn't being digested! This was SUPER easy to put together and smelled and felt delightful! I got the jars at the trusty dollar store and printed out labels, backed them with card stock and finished it off with a ribbon and a stir stick! There are many homemade scrub recipes out there, so take a look around. I'm going to try a brown sugar one next!

The next one was a hit with both the ladies and the gents. It was a Spice Rub for any meat. Being primarily paprika and brown sugar based, it smelled delicious while making it and works like a charm....there was some test kitchen on this one! One again, I turned to my dollar store for spice jars (not the best quality, but they work) and then applied some labels. They didn't stick well, but I think that was because the quality.

These were a couple of my favorite gifts because they were so quick and very useful! (Plus, the personal testing was a bonus!)

I also made my dear dad a couple of pj pants. These were pretty basic that I whipped up from an old Simplicity patten I had. Simple, but practical!




Tomorrow, my newest obsession!

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Post Holiday Post - 1

One lesson I learned this Christmas is that when I decide to semi-handmade almost ALL of the gifts, I need to start in September! I was so scrambling at the last minute and had to make some adjustments due to time. But, in the end, everyone got their presents (and I hope they liked them!)

First up were the gifts I made for some dear little girls that I have the pleasure to know! I wanted to make them something from this awesome Riley Blake print I had.




I ended up complimenting them with some Moda fabric I had laying around (sorry, I can't find the link, but I'm pretty sure it's from the Hoopla collection). I wanted them similar, yet different, so I ended up bustling one in the front center and the other one on both sides.




The ribbon trim i had laying around as well (I THINK I got it last year from the Target Valentine's dollar bin!) I loved how they both looked kind of circusy and like stage curtains. I paired them with simple white tees and leggings from trusty Target!

They were also quite a twirly hit with the little princesses - sorry, no pics of that.... : (




Tomorrow, a simple pampering present!


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