Little E's big girl bed!

Happy New Year! I have a serious goal to post more on this little blog. We are planning on buying a house in the next few months, so I'll have plenty to share!

My little E. won't be moving out of her crib for a few months, but I wanted to start thinking about the vibe and style of her room. I want a calm, neutral atmosphere, with a vintage-y, romantic feel. BUT... she is a little kid! I also want some whimsy and bright touches of color. E's bed is mostly neutral, but don't worry, her room won't be all bland!

I love LOVE this wrought iron bed frame. It was mine growing up, and I'm keeping it forever. The vintage quilt at the foot of the bed was also mine. (I'm sorry I didn't notice all the wrinkles! E was trying to get her stuffed turtle while I was taking pictures.)

I made her bedspread from cuddle soft fabric (found at Joanns,) and some fabulous paisley-print minky. If you live in UT, Nuttals has a huge selection. The minky was expensive even on sale, but it holds its softness and wears so well, so I splurged. I got 2 1/2 yds of each fabric, so the pieces were 90" by 60".

To make a the scalloped edge bedspread, lay the fabric down, right sides together, and pin together in lots of places. Find a bowl that is as big as you want your scallops to be, then mark the halfway point on both sides of the bowl. Trace the bowl along the edge of the fabric, stopping each scallop where your halfway marks on the bowl are located.

Cut out the scallops and pin each one close to the edge. With a 1/4" seam, sew around the entire blanket, leaving a 5" opening. Turn blanket right-side out, and poke out each scallop. Top stitch on the outside to give scallops a crisp look. (Make sure to tuck in the 5" opening before stitching.)
Here's the finished edge! Cute! I love the colors in this pillow. I found several cute examples on pinterest, which is where I got the idea. The embroidery was a little time-consuming, but a perfect movie-watching activity.

Ahhh! It looks so cozy, fuzzy, and inviting. Elsie likes this bed already!

** Linked up to these show-off parties: 30 Handmade days, Tatertots and Jello, and Lolly Jane.

Handmade Vintage-y Tea Towels

Wonderful pinterest gave me an idea to hand make some cute tea towels for the recent craft exchange I participated in. These towels are cheap and easy. You could buy some already made towels from Joanns or Hobby Lobby, or make your own like I did. Just cut the fabric to the size you want, and double iron the edges over and sew.Then, out of paper, I made my own stencil to place on the fabric, and apply pretty metallic paint.

Then sew on the pom pom embellishment.

I think they turned out pretty cute, don't you? They are strictly for decoration, I wouldn't really use them.

Winter Delights and Shabby Apple Dresses

Hallelujah, I have a computer again! I've been going through some serious withdrawals. Even worst than no computer, we had a big snowstorm and had no power for 36 hours. Dang, was it cold. Little E slept between us, with at least 10 blankets stacked on us.

I have been loving the stay-inside, cold-weather fun E and I have been having. Last night she helped carve her first pumpkin!

With fabulous Pinterest as our inspiration, here are some fun things we've been doing:

** This Jello Playdough was easy to make and the smell.... YUM. We made some cherry that smells just like Poptarts! This creamy Tortellini Soup is a perfect cold-weather food.

These ooey-gooey smores bars were delightful too!

On another note, I've been looking at the brightly colored, fabulous dresses on Shabby Apple. Ahhh... isn't this Fushia Aloha dress beautiful? These dresses are top quality, and I love that they're all so different. If you live near Holiday, UT, they're having a trunk sale next week on the 3rd. Too bad I can't teleport. I'll have to save my pennies and buy it for spring. Get ready for a blogging overload next week!

No-Sew Adorable Owl Costume

My little gal isn't a fan of anything restricting, so I knew her costume this year would have to be simple and adorable. She loves birds, so a whimsical owl is very appropriate. Plus, a glue gun is all you need to piece it together!
I used:
*A hoodie I got on clearance last year. ** Check thrift stores or walmart for a cheap one
* About 1/4 yd each of three coordinating fleece solids to go with the purple hoodie. (Joanns has them on sale all the time)
* A small square of felt in white, black and yellow, for the eyes, stomach, and beak.
* A glue gun with lots of glue 1. Here comes the cutting! Out of the white felt, cut an oval for the belly, as well as two circles, and small half-moon shapes for the eyes. Cut smaller eye circles from the black felt, and a beak from the yellow. (It is not shown in the picture, but I also cut out some feet shapes, with holes just big enough to slip around her ankles)
Make a feather template from paper (my feathers are 5" tip to tip, and 3 1/2" across.) Start cutting out feathers till you have enough. ** I used 20-25 of each color for a toddler-size costume.
I cut the stomach oval in half and glued one to each side, keeping space open for the zipper. Then starting at the bottom, glue one color of feathers in a row, their sides barely overlapping. Make sure to only apply glue to the top half of the feathers, so they can flutter about as your cutie is moving. Continue layering up, in different colors, making sure each new row is placed adjacently, filling in the spaces between the feathers underneath it.

When you are finished with the body, start at the bottom of each arm and work your way up. Then, finish the back the same way. Fill in additional feathers wherever needed.

Lastly, glue on the eyes and beak.

Your little one is sure to be cozy warm and flying in style the Halloween.

**Although she didn't mean to do it, the bulk of this costume made little E hold her arms out, just like a soaring birdie! Oh how I love her!

Easiest Ruffle Dress Tutorial

**** Originally posted on Lolly Jane****

My Princess E. is already all girl. She loves putting on mommy's jewelry and filling her purse with "treasures." I'm always on the lookout for new "pretties" to make her. Today I want to share a super simple tutorial for a boutique-looking baby/ girl's dress. This dress will look so fancy on your little sweetie, and it will take 1 hour at the most to make. I found this already ruffled, beautiful fabric at Hobby Lobby for $7.00 a yard, and knew it would be perfect! Just look at those yummy ruffles!
1. For the dress width, I measured E around the chest, (19"), then added 2" for seam allowance and a little room (21".) Since I cut a front and back panel, I divided 21" in half and made each panel 10 1/2" wide. I decided how long I wanted the dress, and added 1" to be able to hem the top and bottom when finished. For the straps, I cut two pieces 9" long by 5" wide. (They'll be sewn into tubes)
2. Lay both dress pieces right sides together, making sure ruffles are facing the right way. To ensure that, after each pin, pull up the dress vertical and shake it to help them fall the right way. Fold the strap pieces in half, with the right side of the fabric on the inside. Sew the straps to form two tubes, and turn right side out. Sew both sides of the dress together, making sure to start at the top, to make sure the ruffles are sewn down correctly.

Keeping the dress inside-out, fold out the top and bottom openings 1/2" for hems, iron, and pin.

Then pin the straps to the front and back of the dress, 1" from side seam lines. Make sure you can see the seams on the outside, so they'll be hidden when the dress is right side out.

Sew the bottom and top seams, making sure not to catch any ruffles in the stitching. (Mine didn't turn out quite perfect, but it's really hard to see on this fabric!) Turn right side out, trim threads, and iron if needed.

Now what's a plain old black dress without a pop of fab color? I rolled a few fabric rosettes and made a matching necklace and hair clip set with them.

Isn't she such a dolly? It's easy to make things when you've got someone cute to wear them!

Super Saturday Centerpieces

Once a year, the women at church gather for an all-out crafting bonanza called Super Saturday. I had the opportunity to plan several aspects of the day, including decorations for lunch tables. With no money, I had to use already accrued items. Since I love glass jars, I thought it would be great to fill them with collections of cute craft items. Here are a couple examples. Didn't they turn out cute?

Making a Terrarium

One of the biggest reasons I dislike winter is because of the lack of lively green. I get so much energy from being outside with the sunshine and plants. While I can't change the whole winter lack-of-sun situation, I can brighten up our house with some green.

I've wanted to try making a terrarium for a while now, and I finally found a good glass container and some cute little plants on clearance at Lowes. Hurry quick while they still have some plants!

I chose two varieties: the one on the right is a Creeping Fig Ficus, and the one on the left is Irish Moss. I was told that slow-growing mosses, ferns, and some other plants are the best for terrariums. I think the Ficus might grow tall to fast, and I'll just have to trim it. (Little E loved running her hand over the fuzzy moss!)I found this egg-shaped glass container at the thrift store for a dollar. A container with a lid works best so the moisture can be sealed in. First, layer the bottom with rocks so the water will have a place to drain. Then, add a layer of potting soil. Add the plants and enjoy your little beauty! Mine lives on the windowsill because these plants love sun!

Colorblock Maxi Skirt

There's something so feminine, yet comfy and casual about maxi skirts. Plus, I like not having to shave my legs for church. I'm loving the color block trend right now, so I decided to make a nice, medium-weight skirt, perfect for fall weather.

I wanted the skirt to be 36" long, and about 36" circumference. (Does that make sense? So each strip is 18" wide.) I decided which colors to use, and how thick a stripe I wanted of each. The strip lengths for mine were:

Grey=19 1/4"

Green= 6"

White= 2 1/4"

Blue= 7"

Grey= 5"

Decide what length you want, then make sure to add 1" for top seam, 1/2" for bottom seam, and 1/2" for each strip (accounting for seam allowance.)

**Also notice that I angled the top grey fabric in so there was less bulk at the top.

Complete the front and back panels first, sewing together all of the strips.Pin both panels, right sides together. ** Be careful to match up the seams so when the skirt is finished, each color stripe matches up front and back.

Iron the bottom up 1/2" and hem. I went with two lines of stitching for a more finished look, although looking back, I would have used a different color of thread than cream.

Now, iron down the fabric at the top opening, about 1 inch.

Unfold the fabric, and cut a 3/4 opening in the middle of the front. (Where the drawstring will go through.)

Buttonhole stitch the opening.

Refold down fabric where you previously ironed, then sew a casing around the top of the skirt with a 3/4" or 1" seam allowance.

To make the drawstring, cut a long strip of fabric (about 1" by 40", depending on how long you want the string.) Fold it in half and sew lengthwise, then turn right side out. Thread through the casing, then knot the ends.

Ta Da! Finished product. I love the grey and bright colors! And... thanks hubs, for being the cameraman. (He's still learning!)