Other random recent projects

Let me start first by declaring that my next project MUST be to learn to use my new camera properly! I would love to take beautiful pictures like those I see in other blogs, but it certainly hasn't happened yet. I have the camera to do so, but definitely not the knowledge. And Spring needs to hurry and get here, so we can go outside!!!

Anyway...


When I bought my sewing/embroidery machine a month or two ago, the first thing I wanted to do was make something for Hudson, since it seems like I'm always making girly things for Holland. Since the machine came with Disney Pixar patterns, I decided on a Mike from Monsters Inc. scarf. How bad is it that I have a picture of the cat in it, but not the kid I made it for? But my big fat cat sits more still than my rambunctious 3 year old.




This next scarf was like the easiest thing ever. I cut squiggly shapes from an old t-shirt (should've used a newer shirt, but oh well), ruffled them by sewing with a long stitch, then sewed them onto the end of a Dollar Tree scarf. I intended to make it for myself, but a certain little diva woke up right as I was finishing it, and insisted that it was hers by grabbing it and trying to wear it. I've never gotten to wear it since...






One of my next embroidery projects was this dress that I put Holland's initial on. I'll leave out the shirt where I embroidered her name upside down...





This next project is one of those things that seemed like a cute idea, but I rushed through it and it's just kind of okay at best. It was supposed to be a kitty shaped taggy blanket thingy. Holland is definitely not impressed!




And since my poor Hudson is always left out, I will close with a few goofy pictures of him.

Lil Blue Boo / Dharma Trading Design Challenge

Well, here goes nothing. I am entering the LBB/Dharma Trading Design Challenge. I am somewhat a beginner at sewing, so I may be in way over my head here, but I love Ashley at Lil Blue Blue's Recycled T-shirt Sienna Dress pattern (available in her etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/lilblueboo), and have made 5 dresses, so I figure why not? The pattern is so easy and so adorable! You can find Lil Blue Boo's blog here: www.lilblueboo.blogspot.com

My very first attempt is my favorite, I think. When I'm doing laundry, Holland loves to put Hudson's undies on her head. So when I saw this "be weird" shirt at the thrift store, I had to have it for her! Another significant thing about this dress is the brown floral print fabric. It's part of a shirt I wore when I was pregnant with her. Since this was my first attempt, I was nervous about trying any kind of embellishments, so I did a very small star stencil with freezer paper on the sleeves.









My second try was using my mom's old "I've got a black belt in crazy" shirt. Because Holland certainly is crazy, but of course in a good way! My grandmother recently passed away, and I used one of her shirts for the ruffles and collar. I used freezer paper stencils on the back for the gold flowers. I also made a pair of capri leggings using the remainder of the striped shirt.






The title of this dress pretty much sums it up: "Buy Now, Tell Dad Later". So very true. The blue printed fabric in this dress was also one of my grandma's shirts. The shirt that had the words on it wasn't big enough to use for the pattern, so I cut it out and used it as an applique. I made this one in a 3T, so it's too big for my baby to wear yet.




I wanted to try something different for the next one, so I decided to use all solid colors and do a deer stencil with a fabric flower. I was a little scared about how the deer would turn out, but I love it! This one is also a little big for my girl, so she couldn't model it, but I can't wait for her to wear it.





And the last one probably isn't eligible for the contest, because I didn't have time to embellish it. I plan to add some red hearts to the back where it is all white (would've been good for today, Valentine's Day). I thought the Saved by the Bell shirt was too funny. I added bands to the sleeves to change it up a little. Please excuse the crazed look on her face and blurry picture. I sure do love that silly little girl! (And her brother too, but I didn't make him anything for this challenge, so I'll share his silliness in another post).







Sooooo.....wish me luck! I'm sure I'll need it!

Adorable Ruffly Jeans Outfit

I saw an outfit like this for sale once and thought, "I can make that......maybe". At that point, I wasn't very confident in my sewing abilities, so the fabric sat in my pile for a while. Finally, I got up the nerve to try it a few weeks ago, and I love how it turned out. I just cut off the cuffs of the jeans and the bottom of a onesie, then hemmed and added long ruffles. And of course I made matching hair clips, which she apparently did not care for! I was going to do some sort of ribbon or rick-rack at the seams, but couldn't find anything I liked, and I actually like how it looks without it.