Carefree

Before I had kids, I didn't think that I'd be one of those moms who cried like a ninny muggins when their babies go off to school.  But before I had kids, I never thought I'd be a human spit up rag or say things like, "Please don't dip your feet in your food" during dinner.  Mom-hood makes you do or say things that you never thought you'd do or say.  So its safe to say that I'm going to cry when Lila goes to kindergarten.

After Sophia was born, I decided that I really just want to relish this last year before Lila starts school.  I'm not dreading sending Lila, but I just know that it will open up a different chapter for my little family.  One that will have to be a little more scheduled and a little less "let's hang out in our pj's and not go anywhere today."

So I've been trying to let this year be a little more free and easy and carefree.  When the house is messy, I'm just rolling with it.  When the kids want to color, I try to stop what I'm doing and color. When Madelyn has to go to the doctor to get stitches, we go get stitches. That was yesterdays adventure..... :)

And when Lila is being a weirdo, I let her be a weirdo.  Sometimes she gets so silly and I have to remind myself that five year olds giggle whenever you say the word "poop."  Not really what tickles my funny bone, but hey, she's five, right?  Right.....

Naturally, I had to make a dress that embodied my  "carefree" year mood.  It's a geranium with a twist.

This biggest twist being, I added sleeves.  I love this pattern as is and my only complaint is that it's not as winter friendly.  But drafting sleeves made for a quick fix and a dress perfect for chilly weather.


I also switched things up by curving the front bodice upward.  I wanted to round it out and make it a little playful.  I sewed a 4T bodice and a 5T length.

I bought the fabric from Joanns a couple years ago.  It's corduroy and perfect for winter weather.

The buttons are also from Joanns.

Overall, I loved the final result and Lila is always happy to get a new dress that fits.  Here's to a relaxed rest of the year!  

February Free for All: Free Mary Janes Pattern

We've been having unusually warm weather here.  But I'm resigned to the fact that we'll get snow in June or something.  So it will all even out in the end.  For right now, we're enjoying early spring.  

Either way, Sophia is at the age where she should have shoes of some sort.  She's not interested in moving at all, but those chubby little toes oughta be covered.  So I decided to make some baby shoes as a part of the FranceSuzanne's February Free for All.  

Tons of free patterns for the month of February!  What?  A month full of all the free patterns in all the land is something I can easily get behind.  Easily.  And free baby shoes.  Perfect use of the scraps in my stash.   

I used the free Mary Jane Shoes Baby Pattern  from The Cottage Mama.  

I've come to the conclusion that sewing tiny-ish things is not my forte.  However, if you're going to sew some, this is a great pattern.  

The pattern comes in 6-12m, but she tells how you can increase the pattern up or down a size.  I found that the size as is fit my 7 month old.  My apologies for not being able to give you proof of that.  My model was napping.  ;)

I did a band of elastic of the gray ones, just for fun.  They're a little bit harder to get on, but they still work.  

I covered the buttons with fabric on this. I kind of love it.  

And these are my personal fave.  All the fabric was linen from Joann by the by.   

So a real quick run down of pros and cons.  

PROS:

>The finished product is very cute and it's true to size in my experience.  

>Fairly easy to sew once you get going.  

CONS:

>It's harder to sew small things, so it makes the sewing a little more difficult.  

>You have to be extra precise.  That might not be a con for someone else. :)

Some tips I have after sewing these:

>When I printed, I made sure that I didn't fit the pattern to the page.  I think it made a difference in the overall size of the bootie.  

>Use the interfacing.  Stiff fabric makes for a sturdier shoe.  

>Follow the instructions.  Just follow them.  Sometimes I try to veer off the pattern path and do my own thing, but baby shoes are so tiny you don't have as much room for error.  

Overall, I feel like these are worth it to sew.  Especially because it's a free pattern.  Nothin' beats free, my friends.  

You can check out all the FREE patterns over at Frances Suzanne!

Blue Ombre Heart Skirt

One of my favorite ways to upcycle is to add a little fabric paint.  I feel like it breathes new life into a plain shirt or skirt.  That being said, I don't like to go too crazy with paint because I've learned that too much paint can feel heavy and unnatural on some fabric.  And now reading that paragraph over again, I can't believe I spent that long typing about upcycling when I have 12 loads of laundry to fold. Priorities.  Honestly.

As part of the current de-stashing kick I'm on, I found the bottom half of a t-shirt.  Ya, just the bottom half.  What's up with that?  I'm honestly not sure why I had the bottom half of a t-shirt just hangin' in the stash.  But you know me.  I just can't throw anything away. So I made it into a quick little skirt for Lila.

And we love it.  ;)

The shirt wasn't very wide to begin with so it doesn't have a very full gather, but that's ok with me.  It's a little less frilly which is what my growing up girl has been liking more lately.

Although I didn't make a tutorial, it's pretty straight forward.  Measure the waist, add an inch, cut the elastic that length, sew a casing, thread the elastic through, sew the casing closed and boom you're done!  It helped that the shirt was already cut the perfect length for a skirt too.  You might wanna take that into consideration if you make one too.

For the heart I just used freezer paper, cut a heart and a little blue fabric paint. I kept adding white to each layer to give it the ombre look and once it was dry I sealed it with the iron.  Hot dog!

One more item to check off the project de-stash list!

A pink Valentines Dress

Look!  Superman and I have other children besides Lila!  It probably seems like I favor her handmade clothes wise.  And I do.  Sort of.  But I'm really thinking of all of the girls when I make something. Because Madelyn gets the hand-me-downs and Sophia gets the hand-me-downs of the hand-me-downs.  {It's the lot of the third girl. And being a third girl myself, I'm well aware of hand-me-down-downs.}  Ezra of course, is a different story, but that's a post for another day.

But today is a Sophia day.  Because every once in a while, every girls needs a new dress.  That hasn't been hammered by an older sister.  Plus a pink one for Valentines Day and throw in a book to chew on. This girl's in heaven.

I think the last time I did a Sophia post was when she had loads of hair.  Well now, she has a spout.

Hair loss is common with my girls.  But I'll take it because it usually comes in curly and I love that.

Thanks to a push from KCW and Project De-stash, I found this old pink t-shirt that I bought for $1. A dress for a buck is a steal of a deal I'd say.  I used a dress Sophia had to make a little pattern and viola, a little tiered dress for my love chub.

I didn't do a tutorial, but I've looked up a few references for making shirts and tiered skirts. Just combine the two and you're in business my friends.  Anyway, back to this baby. She's just so sweet.  I wish I could put it into words.  She's just precious to us.

I know it's common for mama's to think that their baby is the sweetest in all the land, but this one is definitely a keeper.  :)

Can't help but love her, drool and all.  

On Stripes, Leather, & Go Set a Watchmen

Their comes a time in every mothers life when she realizes that what once looked good on her would look so much better on her daughter.  Ok, maybe not every mother, but this mama right here knew it was time and as part of my project de-stash, this gray and white stripe shirt was the first to go.  {Also it's Kids Clothes Week and the theme is "upcycle." Perfect!}  This was one of my very favorite shirts back in the day.  Because gray and white stripes=all the heart eyes in my book.  But it was always too small for me and I knew that when I bought it, but I knew it even more when I tried it on recently.  Whomp Whomp.

So I picked it apart and reconstructed it to make a shirt for Lila. 

{I daresay it could even work for Ezra as it's a little more boyish, so I guess that's a good thing?  Long live this shirt.}  

Either way, I think I like the shirt much more than Lila does, but she's sweet to let my favorite shirt live on through her. #firstchildobedience

I love elbow patches and this was the prime time to use some leather scraps that I stole from found in my moms stash.

I used one of Lila's shirts to draft a quick long sleeved t-shirt pattern. If you don't know how to do that, check out this how to or if you'd like an actual pattern, here and here are some that I've heard a great!

Can I just say that this picture melts my mom heart.  Making Lila giggle is one of my favorite things.

I think it would be hard to be the oldest.  Lots of pressure, lots of "my parents have no idea what they're doing" moments.  But boy am I glad Lila is our first.  She is so sweet and patient with us.  

In other news, I'm majorly excited for Harper Lee's next novel Go Set a Watchmen.  And I know some people are saying she's old and someone forced her into publishing it, but thank you either way!  I don't expect to love it as much as To Kill a Mockingbird, but still.  Just felt it was important to give my input.  Because I'm sure the publishers care.....

A tough DTR and Project De-stash

I had to have a real heart to heart with some of my clothes recently.  It was tough.  I sat them down and I was like, "Guys.  Listen.  I really like you.  You're great.  I just don't think either of us are getting what we need out of this relationship.  It's not you it's me.  I've changed and you guys have stayed the same.  I think it's time to let go."

Of course we had lots of crying and we spent some time walking down memory lane.  "Remember when we spent so much time together in high school together?  You were my favorite.  And remember that college class.  Good times....but seriously.  Get out of my drawer."  

I kid, but really.  After four babies and fluctuating sizes up and down, it was time to face the music that my body has changed.  And even if I still squeeze into some of the same clothes, they just don't quite "fit" in the same way they used to. Plus, quite frankly, some of them were never that flattering to begin with.  Hip hugger jeans, I'm talkin' to you. 

So I made two nice little piles of clothes.  One pile to be given away and one to be cut up and made into clothes for the kidlets.  

And so I thought I'd show you what I do with my clothes.  In hopes that it might inspire someone else!  My very own little:

Tune in tomorrow to see who's on the chopping block!