~Little Girls and Lollipops~

When given a HUGE lollipop, you find you cannot eat it all in one sitting. (or standing, whichever the case may be)

So you must find a safe place to put your lollipop to await the next time you want a lick. (or bite)

If your Mom has a coffee table that has some wiggle room between the boards that make up the top and the metal that makes up the frame you find that it is the perfect spot to place the stick to your lollipop!  Just push it in and leave it there.  Instant new decor along with a lollipop storage spot.  Seems like a win-win situation!  That is, of course, if your Mom WANTS her living room decor to include lollipops!

And really it adds a pop of color right?  So why would any Mom object?

(They have been there for 6 days now.  Maybe they will soon decide to eat them?)

Baby Shower

I recently went to a Baby Shower.  It had been years since I'd been to one.  Little Sister had no idea what I meant when I said a 'baby shower'!  She thought it was to give the baby a shower.  Can't blame her, that's what it sounds like!  She thoroughly enjoyed it and stayed right beside the mom-to-be the entire time she opened her gifts. 

I enjoyed it immensely too.  It was by far the cutest baby shower I've ever been to.  Great decor, great food, great friends, great venue, great everything!!

This was my gift.  I forgot to take a picture of it before I wrapped it.  Never fear, I took one after it was opened!  I think I spent more time wrapping this than I did making it!  So fun to fix it up with fun stuff:)

Lovely Mom-to-be and her lovely Mom and sisters:)

Cake Pops.  If you've never had them you are missing out. Truly delightful!

Fun newspaper banner.

Pink Vintage Baby Scales.  Does it get any cuter than that?

She got some really really fun stuff.

 This is what I gave her.  I made the skirt with attached leggings from ruffled fabric from here.  The darling embellished onsie shirt I bought from m.blooms.  Check out her Etsy shop!

 Kara gave her this.  Love the way she used a twig for the hanger!

I wanted to bring this quilt home with me in the worst way!  BEAUTIFUL!

Vintage Elephant toy.  In pink!  Can't beat that!

Cute card.

Lovely little girls playing after the gifts were opened.  The blonds are triplets, the darker blond with longer hair is one of their big sisters.

The cake pops were a big hit with Little Sister.

This is the face she does when she thinks something is absolutely wonderful!

More Wedding Stuff

I was privileged to sew for one of the most beautiful weddings ever!  I can't wait to see some more pictures of the wedding sometime.  You can go to Wool and Flax to see a few more pics than I have at the bottom of this post.

 There were 2 of these for the lovely little flower girls.  They made flower pins to add to the waist piece.  See pics below to see the flowers on the dresses.

I love the scrunchy waist on these.  And I absolutely adore the colors.

 The other 2 dresses for the 10 year olds were made from this dress pattern.  We added a 'few' inches to make them floor length.

 This jacket pattern was used to create chocolate colored jackets to go over the champagne colored dresses.

 This was the brides inspiration for what she wanted added to the jacket.

 Dress during the fitting stage.

 Finished and with the jacket!

 I shortened the jacket in front to make it more of a shrug than an actual jacket and to show off the added 'ruffle' and to show off the dress a little more.

 The result was absolutely stunning - if I may say so myself!  It was all the brides ideas, I just put it all together the way she wanted it!

 Aren't these little ladies just darling??

 So who do you think is happier here?  The bride because she is marrying the man she loves or the little girls who get to be in the wedding??!!!!

The brides dress and the bridesmaids dresses were just dreamy too.  The brides Mother is a topnotch seamstress - she made the brides dress and a couple of the bridesmaids dresses too I think:)

Thank you Lisa, for sharing the pictures with me!  I so appreciate it.  The dresses look so much better on the wearers than hanging in my sewing room!

Little Girl Skirts

A month or two ago a friend sent me some fabric and measurements for her daughter and told me she wanted some skirts for her.  She included a couple skirts that belonged to her daughter and fit her well.  She said she didn't care how I made them.  This is what I came up with.  They were lots of fun to make!

Sewing shoes - yes! Shoes!

Little Sister and Middle Sister needed new Sunday shoes this fall.  And I was not finding anything that suited me, their likes, and their dad's preferences.  He is a firm believer in all leather - at least the uppers and the lining.  And I've come to think like he does!  They are more comfortable, they look nicer longer, and they last longer.  But I find it very hard to pay the money for children's shoes that they will wear one season and then outgrow.  So I searched and I searched and I stewed a little!  I finally decided on these flats from Mini Boden.  They are leather with leather lining, they were the color of brown I wanted and with a coupon I got them for $33 a pair.  Much better than $80 and up for most of the others I drooled over!  Now I know I can go to P*yless and get shoes for $15 or less but they are not real leather (even if they say they are!) and besides I don't like anything they have right now!!  So don't tell me how ridiculous it was to spend over $30 on shoes for each child;)

 Aren't they adorable?  And let me tell you they look like the cat's pajamas on my two little darlings!!

 We did have a slight problem with Little Sister.  She couldn't keep them on!!  I was worried about that because it seems my girls have all had that problem with shoes that don't have a strap to keep them on.  I was hoping she was old enough to learn how to walk in them anyway.  But, alas, she just couldn't do it.  So... after debating on whether to send them back and exchange them for a size smaller, I decided to bring some sewing skills into the picture:)  Enter some chocolate colored bias binding and a scrap of elastic, and voila!  A strap to keep them on!

 Because they are made of suede leather the sewing part was really quite easy.  The hardest part was getting the side of the shoe and the binding under the machines presser foot at the right angle.  But I was determined and figured it out:)

Little Sister loves them!  And she can keep them on her feet.  So the next time you buy a pair of flats for you little girl and she can't keep them on, don't despair.  A little time, some bias binding, a scrap of narrow elastic, a sewing machine and some thread to match your shoes and you have a cute little strap to keep them on her feet!

I would also like to share a couple links to a couple people who actually MAKE the entire pair of shoes!!  I am in awe!  Now I probably wouldn't wear these to town and places that would be hard on them but for a wedding?  Or special occasions?  DEFINITELY!!  They are on my 'wish' list and I am just amazed at the talent and ingenuity that goes into these.  Check them out!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheGeneration  this is my favorite pair on this site: http://www.etsy.com/listing/62064053/oriental-chic-vegan-mary-jane-style-b

And another site:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/HydraHeart?ref=seller_info  and this is my favorite pair on this site:  http://www.etsy.com/listing/57883024/lotus-mary-jane

Recently made skirts - and a few other things.

 kimono dress

 kimono jacket made for a baby shower gift

 shirt and stuffed bunny for a birthday gift

  my hot mats were in SAD shape.  Embarassingly sad.  So I whipped out a new one...

...and liked it so well I made a few more!  Anyone need some?  I could probably part with one or two!!

new skirt for me:)

skirt for a friend.  Made on the bias.  Looks so cute on her!

Barcelona skirt - made for a lady I met on my shopping excursion to Columbus!

Another skirt for the lady from Columbus.

Ready to go in the box and head to Columbus!  She should get them tomorrow.  I'm nervous.  What if they don't fit??!!!  I measured and remeasured.  And compaired and recompaired with the skirt she sent me to go by.  Oh well, if they DON'T fit guess I'll get to make another trip to Columbus!!

Dresses made for Little Sister and Middle Sister

From an Oliver and S pattern.  Best patterns ever.

Another skirt for a friend.

another new skirt for me

closeup of the topstitch detailing.

and yet another skirt for me.

ribbon detail

and more new dresses for Little Sister and Middle Sister.