Hippo Dress

Even though we are still needing our a/c out here in Arizona, it is starting to cool off! In the morning when I take my son to school, we all have to at least wear jackets. That's something, and I will take what I can get!

With the weather changing, we need to start looking at colder weather clothes. I bought a pattern from Dear My Kids to make my daughter some long sleeved dresses. I have been buying patterns on etsy here and there because for the most part, the sizes tend to range from tiny to larger, which makes it a great value since I can just print them out as each size happens. I originally bought this for the tunic to match up with those cute leggings I can't stop making, but I thought for the first attempt, I would go for the dress. I also skipped the inside pocket and the elastic sleeves.  I like the bell sleeves on this.

It has a fun button closure on the back

and its reversible! I lined this with corduroy so its a bit heavier and stiffer than I normally would have done.

I am about 3/4's done with another dress from this pattern that is a lot lighter and flow-ier (is that a word? because it is now!) and I added elastic to the sleeves this time. 

Happy Sewing!

Outfit for my Night Owl

Remember that tutorial I said was coming soon? Well, sad story, my laptop died, and took those pictures right along with it! Thank goodness I had kept up on backup up pictures up to that point!

I thought instead, I would show a picture of what I was going to write the tutorial on, and just explain it here!

This entire outfit was handmade, from the bows to the toes :) Well, the leggings anyway. I'll break down how you can do it too.

Bows: two pieces of fabric right sides together, sewn into a rectangle, leaving a small opening to turn right side out. Once, it is right side out, close it and top stitch around. Accordian fold it in the center so that you can wire it for that nice pinched center. Cover with a ribbon and glue onto barrette. 

Onesie: I love decorating onesies, but white ones tend to get old. Instead, I dyed this that fun caramel color using tea! I used about 6 teabags and made tea, and then soaked the onesie for 30 minutes. To help keep the color, soak onesie in fabric softener first. Then once desired color is achieved. rinse in cold water until water is clear. Different flavors of tea produces different shades. This is great to antique something as well!

The skirt: was made from a tutorial here and is the same material as the owl on the onesie as well as the bows in her hair.

Finally, the leggings were made from an old  tshirt I had here using Lil Blue Boo leggings pattern here: I can say I have used this pattern in a variety of ways and it has definitely paid for itself. This way was ruched legs :)

 Sorry for a lack of pictures, but hopefully the links will help! Feel free to ask questions as well! 

Happy Creating!

Let's get personal here.

Hi everyone!  (if anyone is out there anyway :))

For a few days now, I have been struggling with keeping my blog or deleting it. We have a family blog that I post pictures on and keep things up to date pretty regularly, but I miss this one. My little tiny blog.

Sometimes, my time is questioned as to how I spend it. Isn't that silly? Anyone that knows me knows that for the most part I am pretty busy. I don't really need to explain that. I guess because I "stay at home" with my kids makes me susceptible to scrutiny. I sure do see that happen a lot in real life. I think the worst part about it all is that I actually took it personally. I let someone judge me and let it affect how I am living.

Truth be told, it doesn't matter what anyone thinks of how I am living. I have nothing to be ashamed of. First and foremost, God does need to come first in my life. Then my husband. Then my children, Everything else will be taken care of. Each day, I strive to be a Proverbs 31 woman. We make sacrifices so that I can stay home and raise our children. Each day I strive to learn more about God's love, so that I can let HIS light shine in me; not someone else's idea of what that light should look like. Daily with my family alone, I pray, teach my children how to pray and love God, keep up on my household responsibilities, drive with small three children back and forth to my oldest's school, make meals, and support my husband as he works fiull time and seeks his role in our faith, ministering to those who don't know Jesus...and those who do too. And thats just the normal stuff that happens within our family.  Can things change for the better? Of course. Everyone has things that they need to change.

No longer am I worried about what people think of me, or what I should be doing. As long as I am living how Christ instructs us, and as long as I am doing everything I can to reach out to those who need to see Christ as well, everything will fall in place.  Really, I didn't have to sit down and explain what I do during very short nap times (while listening to sermons on podcasts or praise music), or when my husband is home watching football. My blog never is first priority (anyone that does read on a regular basis knows that!) I don't have to explain anything at all. God knows my heart, and He judges me. (Which is a scary thought on its own and not to be taken lightly!)

So I will continue to sew, to capture my family's memories, to cook and maintain a happy and clean home. I am not super woman. I don't ever claim to be. But if I want to blog about how I do those things, then I will.

Til next time! :)

Pullen Pleater

Today, my mother in law dropped off something that she came across while yard saling.

 I have been wanting to make a smocked dress for Ellie for awhile, and I have a cute apron here too that has smocking on it, but I never took the time to sit down and figure out the process.

So I was pretty excited to see this little machine that does it!

I hopped on Google and came across a link that was selling them new. 160.00! I called her up and told her how much it was selling for. She told me she bought it for 5 in box and all the pieces with extra needles were there! Fabulous!!

I am still looking around for some how-to on this, but I am excited to figure it out. Anyone have any tips or tricks or even an explanation?

I have a fun little mini tutorial in the works as well for something completely unrelated and probably not even needing explanation. See ya soon, I am off to a play date.

Enjoying the little things

Allergies have hit my oldest and I full blast yesterday and today. Thank goodness it is Fall break here and he can hang out and have some downtime! We decided that we should stay home and have a movie/baking day.

I thought I would share some of the things I am enjoying today, despite not feeling the best.

Happy Baby! She has a stuffy nose but is handling it like a champ!

Dinner is already made for the evening! Love my crockpot. Tonight's menu is Chicken and Rice.

Fun bright pumpkins...they are the boys' but they look good on the table. Love bright colors.

Sun tea! I made some yesterday and poured myself the first glass just now.  It's nice and sweet. 

Sunflowers. They are just so cheery!

Crisp apples. I made a half batch of apple dumplings last night and everyone gobbled them right up!

Nap time! This is very rare...she is actually napping in her crib!

A lazy boy. Seriously, lazy today. Not the best picture, but it really portrays his mood.

Play Dough. My little guy has been entertained for about 2 hours now.

Now its time to enjoy some mac and cheese!

9 months ago

and now....