Thanksgiving Outfits....take two!

I'm still being a little lazy this week...here it is already Wednesday and I don't have much to show for it! But I have been working "behind the scenes", so to say. I have been busy getting things ready for next week's whirlwind of monogramming, sewing, and cutting....not necessarily in that order. You see, my AWESOME folks are coming Saturday to take ALL THREE of my children until Thanksgiving!!! WOOHOO!!! My husband and I have BIG plans!! We are not sure what they are yet....but having the freedom to go to a movie, or a restaurant, or just sitting on the sofa and have a conversation WITHOUT CHILDREN is sounding so GOOD!! :) Now....anyone have an extra bed for my MIL??? HA!

So anyway....with all of the "Wardrobe Re-fashioning" going on around the sewing blog world lately...I just had to get in on it!! Instead of doing ALL NEW outfits for Thanksgiving, I took a second look at the outfits I did last year. This first one is for Ms. Priss. I did the shirt, but didn't have anything to go with it so decided at the last minute to do a quick skirt. It was long and straight and not very flattering, but she wore it because I made it for her.


So this year, I wanted to make the skirt a little more "girly" and a little less "maw-mawish".
Cute huh? I cut it off above her knees, and added a long ruffle to it!! She is very happy with it!

Next up, the Middle Child's outfit:

The shirt was just a little t-shirt that comes in a 3 pack, yes a boy's undershirt 3 pack....sigh! And it was REALLY short this year!! But the turkey applique was a little too "girly" to hand down to The Boy this year....so what to do?

Viola!! I added a ruffle to the bottom of the shirt to lengthen it! Now, I have never done this before and the knit tee stretched a little as I was serging the ruffle on and made it a little "out of shape" looking. Any suggestions for this technique?? I really like the concept of adding a ruffle to an existing T-shirt, but don't want this to keep happening, so if anyone has done this with more successful results....TIPS are WELCOME!! :) As you can see, I also used my serger to "cut" the armbands and neckband, and added a little more "girly" to it!! Now the pants were actually the Boy's from last year...but too short for him to wear again. So I added ruffles to the bottom hems to add full length for the Middle Child!! It is so cute on...she has a Thanksgiving Feast tomorrow at her Pre-K, so I will take pictures of it on...then you can see all of the "cuteness" for yourself!!

Now, all I have left to do is a shirt and another pair of pants for the Boy!!

I also have something else in the works. But first let me tell you about my GENEROUS and TALENTED friend Amy......she sent me this:

Look at that awesome stencil cut!! Is she good or WHAT!! I am an AWFUL cutter, and would never had been able to do this for myself...so she so graciously sent me this care package!! THANK YOU AMY!!! YOU ROCK!! I have it all done, but am doing a little more to the shirts to "girly" them up....yes, I am doing that alot!! Go check out Amy's blog...she just did the sweetest Storytime Quilt for her little girl, but shhhhh....it is a Christmas present!! :) Well...I am off to finish my "behind the scenes" stuff...gathering fabric, altering embroidery designs, washing fabric, cutting patterns...you know the things that go along with great creations, but take more time than the actual CREATING!!! Have a good Wednesday! Until later....

I'm BACK!

What have I been doing? Well, where do I begin.... This week was Symposium Week at Ms. Priss's school. And the AWESOME PTC put on a GREAT one. This year's theme was Science. And I got to be in Dr. Loopy's Laboratory!! Yes, I actually went out in public dressed liked this and had my picture taken! But it was loads of fun and for a good cause!! We worked our collective bottoms off getting things ready for Tent Day, which was Friday! We had 5 tents this year, which is less than usual, but the kids spent more time in each tent, so it worked out great! As I said, I was in Dr. Loopy's Lab, where the classes came through and did an experiment. We did the Cabbage Test, which involved lemon juice, baking soda, Fabulosa, and 409 each dispensed in separate containers. Then the kids added stinky red cabbage juice to each one and depending on which color it turned, learned which was acidic and which was basic! The other experiment, which was for the older classes, involved putting Calcium Chloride and baking soda in a ziploc then adding Red Phenol to it. The mixture bubbled then turned hot and air expanded in the bag so it had to be "burped"!! See, LOADS of fun!! The kids got to wear goggles and gloves during the experiment, then when it was done walked out back to watch what happens when you mix Mentos and Diet Coke!

Here is our tent...

We also had a Weather tent.

The kids learned about volcanoes, clouds, tornadoes, snow, and hurricanes!

In the Human Body tent, the kids learned about organs and blood and various body parts. They got to sit in an Ambulance and a First Responder vehicle and learn their jobs. There were also some kids from one of the High Schools that volunteered to give "check ups".

The Bug Cafe was cool!! Besides learning about bugs, the kids got a treat of mud, dirt, and even a juicy worm!! Of course it was chocolate pudding, crushed oreos, and a gummy worm....but still!

Ah SPACE!!

This was by far, the MOST elaborate of all the tents!! These moms and dads worked well into Thursday night setting this tent up!! It had to be completely blacked out with Visquene in order for all the cool glow in the dark stuff and projections they had going on to work properly!! See that Sun...I did that!! As well as one of the rockets and some of the wording on the tent!! LOTS of work!! We are so grateful for all of the parents who put this together, and our AWESOME PTC that gets all of the help and donations from local businesses! We also were grateful for the Lafayette Natural History Museum and Planetarium who did all of the computer set ups, projections, and told us what we needed to simulate things on different planets!! Another successful Symposium....DONE!!! Now, back to sewing.....

I got my embroidery machine back, but haven't tried it out to see if they "fixed" my tension problems. I also managed to get my serger working properly and have decided to become a sewing machine repair technician!!! Hey at $100 a pop....I can SO LEARN TO DO THAT!!! :) Until later....

Autumn Banner

Here is the banner Nicole chose for winning my giveaway!! I love it! Congratulations Nicole, and thank you to everyone who participated in my 100th post giveaway!! I have the BEST "sweeties"!! Have a good Tuesday...I am off to the sewing machine "dr." to bring in my embroidery machine. Until later....

A few more baby items...

So I make it to 100 and then don't show up for a WEEK!!! Sorry, I have been very lazy this week! In between sinus FACEaches and fighting tension problems with my embroidery machine and lower looper problems with my serger I have just been wiped out!! But even though there is a Hurricane a'coming, the skies are looking bluer!! I think I FINALLY fixed my seger and I am going to bite the $100 bullet and bring my embroidery machine in and hope that it is just some minute piece of thread stuck somewhere causing my tension to be OFF!! So now that THAT is decided....on with what I have been doing!! Well, what I did before my machines went down...

First up, my first crib skirt!

It was much easier than I thought it would be and BIG thank you to Amy Butler's little stitches for little ones. I followed the pattern and instructions and it was super simple! This was for my new bloggie friend Elaine. We met at JoAnn's and she picked out this fabulous black and white print. And I had enough left over to make a little pillow and an 8" x 10" piece that I monogrammed for her to put in a frame for her little one's room. Too sweet!

I also finally finished this order and got it to my friend!
The bloomers with the band are courtesy of a super talented girl which I found through Made by Rae. I loved the look of the banded legs and wanted to try it. Her tutorial is for a newborn size and I needed a 9-12 mo size, so I used my favorite bloomer pattern and added the bands. It came out a little bigger than what I wanted, so I tried again using a 6 mo bloomer size. Still a little big, but definitely better than the first attempt.

So that is it for now! I will be finishing up the banner for my 100th post winner Nicole now that my serger is back up and running and hope my embroidery machine will do well enough until I bring it in Tuesday! I have a TON of things on my LIST of to do, so I will be checking in from time to time. But there is SO MUCH going on in the sewing world with the holidays coming up!! Sew Mama Sew is hosting another fabulous Giveaway Day, but I think I will sit this one out. I so enjoyed meeting everyone who visited, but didn't get hardly any time to visit any myself. SO I will be GREEDY and try my luck at winning....and you should too! :) Also, the sweet girls at Wee Folk Art will be compiling an AWESOME list of bloggers who have Etsy stores so I encourage you to check them out and get the word out to BUY HANDMADE this holiday season!! It will make you feel so good to know that you are supporting families and there are just so many TALENTED people out there! Just click on the cute little button on the left and it will take you to the list!! And while you are there, grab your own button to put on your blog!!

The weekend was filled with fun, we went to Movies in the Parc and watched The Wizard of Oz under the stars. And today, I finally took down the summer gels that were stuck on my back windows and let the kids go wild....

Until later...

And the winner is......

Here are your random numbers: 7
Timestamp: 2009-11-03 21:42:32 UTC

Congratulations Nicole!! I will be emailing you soon!

Thank you everyone for participating, and helping me achieve my 100th post! If it wasn't for my sweeties, and a few random visitors every now and then, I might have given up some time ago!! You all mean so much to me!!

I have not one, but TWO machines down this week so I might not be back this week. My poor serger has a bent lower looper slide thingie, and my embroidery machine is having MAJOR tension issues! Thankfully my sewing machine is doing fine and dandy!!

Sew Mama Sew has already begun their Handmade Holidays, so check them out for giveaways, tutorials, recipes, gift ideas, and as ALWAYS tons of INSPIRATION!! Until later...

My 100th Post Giveaway!!!

YAY!!! I made it to 100!! It was touch and go for awhile....I thought I would NEVER get this done! Without further ado....here is what I am giving away.....







This banner is made using burlap, felt, tulle, ribbons, and a thick "rustic" twine.




The leaves were cut using a pattern from my sweet friends at Wee Folk Art, then monogrammed with family names. I used a thin wire threaded through the back to help "shape" the leaves, and to make them stiff.
The banner is approximately 78" long...that's over 6 ft of burlap goodness!! The individual pennants are about 8" x 10", the 8" of course, being at the top of the pennant. The ends have been serged to keep the weave of the burlap from coming undone!



Here is the Giveaway info:

The Giveaway will start NOW and go until sometime Monday, November 2nd. I will be out of town this weekend and possibly away from my computer so if I don't get a chance to thank each of you for visiting.....THANK YOU FOR VISITING!! :)


All you have to do is leave a comment...interesting ones are the BEST...tell me what your plans are for Thanksgiving....tell me what you did for Halloween...and for all of my "out of the States" visitors, tell me what SEASON it is!! :) (YES! I am shipping internationally!!)


Make sure you leave an email, blog link, or some other way for me to get in touch with you if you are the winner!!

The winner will receive a Burlap Banner. If you like the FAMILY one...great, but I would be willing to do FALL or AUTUMN. If you prefer all one color on the letters...I can do that too! Tulle and ribbon colors can be your choice also. I'm always open for suggestions, so tell me what you like!



Well, I guess that is it for now! I will be back Monday to announce the WINNER!! Thanks again for visiting and Good LUCK!! Until later...

Halloween Costumes and a Treat Bag

When my SIL asked me to do a treat bag for my sweet little niece...it was a no-brainer!! OF COURSE I WILL!! For one thing, she is my niece and I love doing things for her, and the other is that I knew I would not have to THINK about it!! My SIL is excellent at knowing exactly what she wants!! She knew the color of the bag, the color and size of the bows, and which design she wanted on it!! She even sent me a link to the embroidery website she found the design on! Awesome. You know being creative all of the time is HARD WORK!! Sometimes it is nice to have someone tell you what to do because after that, your own creative juices are refilled!! I guess that is why I am addicted to so many other sewing blogs! I can just look and look and get the best ideas and inspiration. And if I am lucky, there is a tutorial that tells me what to do! :)

So this treat bag was made using another bag as a template. I just cut all of the pieces of felt, sewed them together, then did a good top stitch all the way around for extra reinforcement. I did two layers on the front and back panels and sandwiched the straps in between, and also added a second layer on the bottom, for extra support. Very easy, and such a cute outcome!

This is what Ms. Priss picked to be her costume this year. I said, "Sure! I can make that!"

So what do you think? No pattern, just a picture to look at! Not bad, eh? The flowers were made courtesy of the MANY blogs I read, and would never have thought of doing had it not been for the inspiration I receive from them! Thank you!

Here is the back, with a beautiful action shot!

For the flower in her hair, I threaded some embroidery floss and added some seed beads in the middle of the petals. Then ran the floss through the flower a couple of times, and tied it around a rubber band. She loves it!

The Middle Child chose to be a witch, so of course I thought....TuTu!!

I made a pair of pantaloons for her to wear under the Tutu, and used elastic thread around the leg holes for the easy "ruffled" effect. I wasn't going to do a top at first, just a black tee with embellishments on it, but decided at the last minute to "try my hand" at it! I loosely used a Simplicity pattern just to cut the pieces, and figure out how to add the "V". Once it was all together, I added a little sparkly around the "V" and pink ruffles at the bottom of the sleeves. I probably should have made it a little longer, but the Tutu does a good job keeping her shirt from rising up! For the hat, lots of embellishing on a $1 hat from Target!! I sewed the pink marabou boa around the rim, then hot glued the ribbon, pompoms and rhinestones! I guess that means I am friends with my glue gun again! :)

Here is another beautiful action shot!

For The Boy I was just going to buy him something, but again...at the last minute came up with the idea for him to be Ms. Priss' dance partner. The black pants were the ones I made for my cousin's wedding. His cummerbund is a satin ribbon joined in a circle with a 1/4" elastic piece. And his "ruffled" shirt is a long-sleeved white onesie with 6 strips of red satin ribbon with 1/4" elastic zigzagged down the center then joined to form a ring. Slip them up the arm and VIOLA! Instant Flamenco Dancer Shirt!! I SO love EASY!

Yes, his cummerbund is crooked...he was sleeping when I measured his waist!! :) We had so much fun at the Boo At The Zoo today! And everyone was very impressed with my costume making abilities! Sometimes I surprise myself!! :)

So, guess what? My next post will be my 100th!! Make sure you come back and leave a comment to enter to win my FABULOUS giveaway!! Until later...