Gift Giving -White and Navy Blue Chevron Dress

A family in our church just had a little girl last week. I made her big sister a Navy and White Chevron Maxi Skirt in the spring, so I thought it would be fun if they could match. :) 

A white knit bodice and lined chevron skirt. I added gathers to the shoulders for a more feminine look. I tried something new by adding the opening at the back. I think I like it. The hem of the skirt is left raw, so the stretch is kept, and just to add a bit of extra detail. :)

In the end, I love how it turned out. Simple, yet super cute. The best part is that the sisters match, but aren't totally the same. 

Congratulations Adrian and Katie!!! May your little lady grow up to bless many around her. May she become a woman who follows the Lord. :)

Re-Fashion: Cardigan Re-sizing

My sister and I bought these really warm cardigans at Tommy Hilfiger a couple of winters ago. They are the warmest ever, and yet so versatile and classy. I got the navy one in a size smaller, my sister got an oatmeal-grey. My sister’s didn’t fit very well, as it was a size too big, and was going to be donated. I wasn’t going to let the opportunity pass, so I re-sized it.

I followed simple re-fashion steps, taking in the side and arm seams. There are oodles of tutorials out there, you can also ask me questions if I am not clear enough.

I laid out the smaller one on top of the bigger one, and pinned where I would have to sew.

 

Don’t cut your sweater, just sew down the sides. You can trim off the excess, but be careful. Because these are knitted sweaters they will unravel easily; I would suggest using the serger.

I’ll admit it… I truthfully didn’t even cut the excess off, and you can’t even tell. I made it a bit looser for a more comfortable, relaxed look anyways.

The bigger one is a bit longer on both the body and the sleeves, but I don’t mind. :) Sleeves are usually too short on me anyways, so this is perfect.

Pair this newly-fitted cardigan with a jean skirt, a scarf (that is actually not a infinity scarf, but was tied into one), fleece-lined tights and boot socks.

The result: I super warm, yet classy outfit for these freezing cold temperatures we have been having.

*sorry for the horrible pictures. Frustrating problems with my camera*

Gift Giving – Jumper Set

Close friends of mine had a little girl at the end of January, so I wanted to give them something really special. And what can get more special than handmade, right? ;)

I took a size 3-6 months jumper from the shop, and added a diaper cover. For the diaper cover, I again headed over to Dana’s awesome tutorial. I love how her tutorials are so simple and easy to follow, and give you lots of room for creativity. I went simple on this outfit, but I love the fabric and the extra detail on the hem of the jumper. And you truthfully can’t get any cuter than a diaper cover. :)

A special gift for a special little girl!!! Congratulations Matt and Jess!!! :) May the Lord continue to richly bless you as you strive to raise your little lady in the fear of the Lord!!!

Needed: Advice for My Spring Line

So… moms/Grandmas/Aunties out there… I need some advice.

What are you looking to dress your little people in this coming spring and summer? What colors and styles? Casual, dressy? More boys clothes? Would you like extended sizing… so up to kids size 12 for example?

I am willing to take specific styles and suggestions… such as ‘pintucks on the hem of a skirt’ for example

And, I am also still accepting custom orders of any kind. Just let me know what you have dreamed up, and I will see what I can do to make it happen!!! :)

It is all as simple as leaving me a lovely kind note. Who knows, if you idea ends up in this new line… you could win something lovely!!! ;)

Gift Giving –Baking Set

My cousin’s birthday was yesterday, and so I thought I would give her something fun, yet useful. I used one of the aprons from the shop and added a pocket. The wooden spoons are from the dollar store.

I made some oven mitts based on a small pair in the cupboard, using some quilt batting so they are insulating.

I had a bit of extra doughnut fabric, so I created a bag to not only hold the whole set, but also so I didn’t have to wrap it!!! :)

All set and ready to be given!! :) Happy Birthday Daniella!!

Gift Giving –A Little Man’s Outfit

My cousin and her husband had a little boy a couple of weeks ago, and I wanted to give them something special. I went for partly handmade, partly store-bought. I know, I should have gone all the way handmade, but sometimes it is just easier to buy part of it.

I gave them a pair of my Light Grey Tweed Pants. They are super cute, and super comfortable, as they are fully lined with blue, white and grey plaid flannel. I bought the shirt at H&M. She already bought the blue bowtie from me before the baby was born. :)

All wrapped and ready to go!! Because the wrapping is all part of the fun. :)

Gift Giving –Purple Ruffle Dress

A little friend of mine LOVES purple!! :) So, just for fun, I made her a lovely purple ruffle dress.

This dress is based off of a couple of ideas from two dress Tutorials. The asymmetrical bodice comes from Jess over at Craftiness is not Optional. Her Emma Dress planted the idea in my mind, except that I accidentally put the buttons on the wrong side. Oops. :) The pattern I used for the bodice came from the Spring Fever Dress from Me Sew Crazy. I used the size 4, and took it in slightly, keeping the length.

I added small flowered buttons down the asymmetrical front and larger pearly buttons down the back.

And then I headed over to Bonnie Togs and found a cute cream onesie with a peter pan collar and small black dots.

Skirt Re-Fashion

I made a gift for a little girl I baby sit. I had this skirt from somewhere in a size 8, she is a skinny size 3/4. :) I simply followed some basic skirt re-fashion steps, and voila!!! :)

Here is the original:

I cut a number of inches off the top (leaving enough fabric for the new elastic casing) and an inch off of each side. It did end up a tad big, but that can always be fixed. (sorry for the blurry picture)

And Finished!!! :)

  

Add a sweater and you have a cute half-homemade outfit for a special little lady!!! :) (again sorry for the blurriness) 

Gift Giving: Toiletry Bag

It was my sisters’ birthdays last weekend, and one of them didn’t have a toiletry bag… and I had happened to have some extra fabric and cosmetic bags…

Well… I can always use extra fabric in some way or another, right? ;)

I used some lovely eggplant-colored cotton twill, some light grey broadcloth and a pretty white marbled button. In half an hour I had a gift worthy of giving and worthy of using.

I had a clear bag with shampoo bottles and such from an Aloette meeting and a small grey and white dotted cosmetic bag from the dollar store.

Bag with bottles - $2.50

Cosmetic bag - $1.00

Fabric and button – Free

Total: $3.50

 

Modest Mondays #1

I am starting something called Modest Mondays where I share outfits I have worn in the last week that are comfortable, modest and what I consider cute. You can decide if you agree with me. ;)

I wore this outfit to school on Wednesday. The weather was really nice, so I wanted to wear something summer-ish

Skirt – Really old, like from grade 7 (???) Don’t ask me how it still fits

Black Sweater – also something old-ish. One of those staples that stays in your cupboards for years

Aqua T-Shirt – A Smart Set plain tee. I have so many of those shirts… they are kinda my wardrobe essentials.

Lace Infinity Scarf (see below) – made by me!! Probably one of my new favorites.

(It also probably cost me about less than $1.00. Something else I got when I worked at Fabricland.)

 

*Linked up at the Growing Home*

Doughnuts–Gifted Item

I am doing a placement in a Kindergarten class this semester and they have a ‘Tim Hortons’ center in their classroom. They were using Playdough as doughnuts and timbits, bit they always dried up. Today they made the comment that there was no Playdough left to make food anymore…. little did they know.

I made a bunch of doughnuts and timbits out of felt last week. Not only is this class going to be able to use them, other classes will too. And they have the whole shabang in that center now!!! :) They have boxes and cups from last year, and a parent donated a couple of shirts and hats. Now they have food too!!!

The looks on their faces was the best part. Oh, and the hugs were too. :)

Baby Girl’s Outfit–Gifted

A friend of mine had a little girl about a month ago, and I wanted to make something really special for her.

I went to Children’s Place and got an adorable little cardigan, size 6-9 months, and then based the rest of the outfit off of that.

A cute little jean dress lined with lavender and white – checked sweet sucker and a matching diaper cover with the same material.

Here are some of the details.

Again, the doll comes in handy. ;)

I am glad you loved it Rebekah!!! :)