Happy Monday

So I did it.  I have been wanting to participate in a Boutique for quite some time and finally got around to sewing up enough stuff to do it.  I wish this could explain my long absence from blogging, but in reality, I made everything I took to the boutique in the one week previous to it.  CRAZY.  I know.  Last week was a lot of late nights (which is fine because my 37 week pregnant body hates sleep anyways) and lots of house neglect.  My poor, poor family.  It's ok.  They still love me too.  It was actually quite a bit more successful than I thought it would be and I would do it again ( I just need to find another venue that doesn't charge for the booth and other overage fees...that part was nice).

I saw a few blogging friends, including Amy from Naptime Crafters who stopped by to say hi.  Thanks Amy.

Other than that, things are great.  I'm considering putting together a tutorial for a skirt I designed last week.  I actually posted a picture of it on the last post.  It's a cute little skirt with pockets and lace and perhaps my favorite design as of yet.  It looks so cute on little bodies, but I'm pretty sure it would look good on me-sized people too.  So far, I have only made the pattern pieces for sizes 6-12 months and 12-18 months.  I would like to expand the options and then I'll have it ready for you.  I may need some pattern testing done in the next little while.  Probably after the holidays.

Other than that, I am feeling ready for baby #2.  Not sure if she is ready yet, which is fine (she can bake as long as she needs) but my skin is not loving the stretching out and my stomach is getting tired of the heartburn.  Anyone have suggestions for really bad heartburn?  I already take the max amount of pepcid and tums and it really doesn't help.....I would love to know what works for you.

We are also in the middle of moving (will hopefully be done before the baby arrives) and getting ready for a family wedding (also hopefully before baby arrives).  Busy busy.  Christmas seems hours away and I am not at all ready.

Hope your Christmas season is rolling in with lots of Joy and lots of Fun and lots of yummy treats.

Happy Monday!

Mrs. Clause Boutique

Here's where I'll be on Saturday:

The first person to come and find me (and mention this post) can chose any item 10$ or less from my booth free of charge!  Family and friends excluded....sorry.  Think of it as a little thanks to those of you who have stuck out my long absence or just an early Christmas present!

What will be at my booth, you ask?  Here's a sneak peak:

and there's a lot more where that came from...

A cape, a hat, and a skirt.

I can't seem to do much on time these days, but I thought I'd share our little one's Halloween costume anyways.

The inspiration for this little costume was this hat I found via Pinterest.  I didn't have enough felt on hand to make the hat following the tutorial exactly so I used the pattern pieces (adjusted slightly to fit a smaller head).  I cut out 2 of each pattern piece from an old black skirt and one of each pattern piece from interfacing to make it slightly stiffer.  I ironed the interfacing onto one of the rim pieces and one of the hat pieces then sewed same pieces together with right sides together.  I clipped around the curves of the rim and turned each piece so the right sides were facing out.  Once I got here,  I was able to follow the rest of this tutorial to finish it up.  I love how it turned out.

The cape was made from 1/2 yard each of two contrasting fabrics.  I sewed the two pieces right sides together around three of the sides with 1/2 inch seams leaving one of the long edges completely un-sewn.  Then I clipped the corners and turned it right side out.  With a gathering stitch (longest stitch length, highest tension) I sewed along the long end that was left un-sewn and then gathered the cape to the desired length by pulling the bobbin thread.  It was about 21 inches long for my 17 month old.  I made some thick black bias tape (about 1 yard in length) and pinned the cape inside of the bias tape right in the middle so there were two tails on either side of the cape of the same length.  To finish the cape I sewed the bias tape together along the open end to enclose the cape inside.  

To make the tulle skirt I used 4 yards of tulle (I got it on sale at Joanne's so it only cost me about 4 dollars).  Rather than cut strips and tie around a waist band as I've seen almost everywhere else, I made mine similar to the way I made this three tiered skirt.  To keep it super easy I folded the tulle evenly until it was 1 yard in length and then cut the three tiers out of the folded tulle.  This gave me 3 tiers that were actually 4 pieces of tulle (folded over) each.  Then I sewed my gathering stitch along the top end of each stack of 4 layers to get each tier.  Once I had gathered the 3 sections, I pinned and sewed each section onto the skirt piece really close together.  I wanted the tulle to add volume more than I wanted the tiers to be distinguishable.  It worked exactly as I planned and made a super cute skirt with tons of volume.  I made the whole skirt in about 30 minutes.  

We took most of the pictures in the dark, but htis one is a good shot of the skirt and cape.  I'm excited because each of these pieces make really great dress up's and the'll fit her for quite a while too!


For kicks, here are our last years Halloween Costumes:


I got my inspiration from this little stop light I saw on MADE and went from there.  The two street signs are made of felt.  I free handed the shapes and traced the letters, cut them out and sewed them on. The traffic signal jumper is made of fleece with felt circles sewn on top.  Super easy.  Sorry i'm late in posting....you can always pin it for next year :)

Ruffled Cards

I can find a way to add a ruffle to just about anything.  Currently, I am loving these ruffled cards.  I originally sent them out as part of my gift for the Craftaholics Anonymous Handmade Gift Exchange this summer (which I only sent over a month late....what is wrong with me people?)

They are super simple to make.  All you need is a stack of precut cards (I bought a box of 200 from target about a year ago for 10$...they even came with envelopes) and scraps of fabric.

Cut a 2 inch strip of fabric that is double the length of your card.  Ruffle it on your machine with a ruffling foot (if you are lucky enough to have one) or the old fashioned way (like me) using your longest stitch length and highest tension.  Pull the bobbin thread to finish gathering to the exact length of the card.  Pin the fabric to your card at the desired location and then sew the fabric to the card directly on top of the gathering stitch you already made.  I used contrasting thread for the purple card and love how it turned out.  There are tons of variations you could do with this.  I think some ruffled flowers would be cute (strips sewn in circles), or multiple rows?  Options are endless.

To hide the ugly stitching on the back, I sewed another card to the back of the first.  Be sure to switch your machine back to it's normal setting or you will not have pretty stitching.

Done!  you can easily whip up a stack of these in under 10 minutes.  Not kidding.  So easy and so cute.  They would make great neighbor gifts this holiday season, or a great addition to your handmade gift....there's another exchange coming up next week I believe!

Here are some other cards I've made with felt.  They usually turn out pretty well too, but I still love the ruffles the most.

Back with some NEWS.

Hello friends.  Well, it's been a good two months since I've posted.  And while I feel like I have good reasons, I also feel like I've been missing my friends in the blogging world and letting you guys down for some reason.

First, I received a Jury summons at the end of August and was selected for the Jury Duty on a 4 week trial.  It was a really interesting experience (one that I'm sure would have been just as interesting had it lasted only 2 days....but you do what you have to do).  Our legal system is incredible (not without flaw, i'm sure) but I have experienced first hand just what it can do for people and I'm grateful in a weird way for the experience.

Second, for the last several months, I've been keeping secrets around here.  In about 8 weeks, we are adding another little girl to the family!  We can.not.wait.  Really.  We are so excited.

Here is me 3 weeks ago (at about  29 weeks)

I don't feel like that's an excuse for my lack of blogging....because I have felt pretty good this time around, but I have lost all sorts of motivation when it comes to doing the essentials (like housework, making dinner, and crafting....you know, the important stuff...haha).

So there you have it.  I have actually been sewing and making things, but they usually end up being for someone else and I keep forgetting to take pictures before sending them away.  I do have some things to show you guys, including a tutorial if I can get it up this week, so stay tuned if you are still around and I'll try to get back on the horse.

In other news, I've been using Pinterest for the last few months and would definitely call my love for it an addiction.  You can see my boards by clicking the button at the left or below.  Don't be surprised when you see that a lot of them are food related.....I think about food a lot these days (actually, that's normal for me even when I'm not pregnant).

Hope you all had a great weekend.  Thanks for sticking around.

Ellie