Summer Staples

It only seems like summer has begun, and here we are already counting down the days until school begins. I have been trying to enjoy what is left of the break before Ms. Priss returns to school on August 11th. Which hasn't left me a whole lot of time for sewing. But as you can see, I managed to squeeze out a couple of things last week.

On the right is a sweet little bloomer set I made for a customer. If you remember I made a lot of these little crawfish tees for The Boy's first birthday, and the bloomers are like the ones I made for The Middle Child's Hawaiian 4th of July gathering. Very cute!
I really love the bloomers. They are a cute alternative to shorts. And the elastic thread on the leg hem makes it SO EASY. Of course, having a serger doesn't hurt either. I got a whole bunch of different colors in the gingham. I've already got a couple done for my girls to wear for the remainder of the summer. I think I want to dress them up a little, maybe with bows on the leg, or a ribbon around the waist? I don't know, I'll think on it for a little while. Maybe when I'm lying on the BEACH! Yep, we decided to join the girls, my mom, and my sister's family on the little beach getaway this coming weekend. I am very happy that my awesome man decided he needed a break. You know he gets tons of vacation days, but never uses them. To say he is a work-aholic is an understatement! But, he loves what he does.... can't hold that against him! I tend to be a sew-aholic at times, so I guess we are even! :)


So, in honor of all things BEACH...

Here is a hooded towel for my Godson. I love how the design stitched out. I have the Embird embroidery software that allows me to combine different designs. This is actually three separate designs, with the waves being one that was repeated. Here is a closer look.

The little ship is an applique.

And here is another cover-up made from a beach towel. You can find the awesome tutorial for it here. I just love the big buttons. This is for a size 7/8, and I'm pretty sure, that is the largest size you will get for a standard beach towel which is usually 30" wide.

So colorful, and very original! I think the next step of this pattern is to add a hood. But for now, there are a few things I have to do before it is off to the BEACH! If I finish in time, I'll try to post before I go, but if not....until MUCH later...

Tu-Tus from My Giveaway

Remember my giveaway in May? Well, I FINALLY mailed out all of the Tu-Tu's and thankfully the winners have forgiven me for my WAY lateness! I had over 150 comments, and was so excited that I decided to choose three winners. I know, there are four Tu-Tu's in the picture...we'll get to that. But first up, a bubblegum pink Tu-Tu for Michelle in Minnesota! Her daughter is all about pink, and honestly what little girl isn't at some point!


I haven't done many solid colored so I really liked how this one came out. The tulle looks light when it is just a small amount, but when you put a lot together... it ends up being a bright, sweet concoction worthy of the "bubblegum" name! And adding the ribbon, well as you can see... it just makes it!

This was the request of Tam. Her daughter is NOT about pink at the moment so she chose shades of blue, yellow, and green!

I thought the sheer green ribbon with the blue polka dots would be the perfect complement for this Tu-Tu. I haven't heard from them yet, and hope they received it! I have never shipped anything out of the country, and am not sure how long it would take to get to Australia. So Tam, what do you think?

The third winner was Amy. She loves the subtle colors and chose lavender, light pink, and white for her little girl.

So HERE is where the fourth Tu-Tu comes in. Amy was expecting a second little girl around the time of the giveaway. So of course, having two girls myself, I knew that Tu-Tu's are NOT to be shared! Each princess must have her own! :)

I decided on a ribbon shade that was somewhat brighter than the pink in the Tu-Tu, but I think the pictures make it look more pink than what I remember it being....you can check them out in action over on Amy's blog, During Quiet Time. And while you are there, be sure to enter her giveaway!! That's right, she made the cutest Itty Bitty dress, but alas her baby girl was not so itty bitty! :) Lucky for all of us! The giveaway will be open until Sunday, July 26th, so go enter!

As for me... I have been sewing some, but not finishing anything. And I have been trying to spend more time with my children, which is always a good thing! The girls are going to the beach next weekend with my sister's family and my mom, so I am doing some cover-ups for them, and new hooded towels. I am also working on a request for my dad involving t-shirts and slanted pockets.... stay tuned..it maybe the new rage!! And speaking of t-shirts and the new rage... you have got to check out Stephanie and Carlos at MooBear Designs, in a short period of time they have managed to cause a lot of commotion in their corner of the world. Soon, they will be ALL over and won't you feel smart to have your very own design BEFORE everyone else! I know I'm getting to that point! So I'll be back hopefully by the end of the week with posts of something newly made! And thanks to my SUPER SMART friend Allie, I ordered and received my Teflon presser foot this week!! Look out vinyl...no need for that tissue paper anymore!! :) Until later...

Wrap Skirt for my Mom

I have been wanting to do a wrap skirt for a while now, so I decided to make one for my momma. Now, I love the idea of patterns, but rarely follow one the way I am supposed to. It is definitely more out of laziness than me thinking I know better than the pattern maker. In fact, whenever I hear of a $1.99 or even better 99 cent pattern sale (Hell-O, Hobby Lobby), I AM there!! So I have tons of patterns that I flip through for inspiration, but rarely use after I have read through it and see any of the following words....facing, interfacing, zipper, HIDDEN zipper, darts, etc... I know, I know, these words are usually in most patterns. But they just terrify me! The thing is, I know how to do all of these things, they are just time consuming and sometimes tedious. When I am sewing in the middle of the night or even during the day having to stop every 15 minutes to do a child napping check, my brain is too scattered to think about how to do it or I just forget to do certain steps and then have to go back and redo it!!! UGH! So, I tend to stay away. If you haven't noticed by now, most of the things I do are quick and easy!! So anyway, I pull out this pattern:

McCall's M5430

Can you see on the package that it says 1 Hour Skirt, yeah... not for this novice!! This skirt has the words facing AND interfacing. So I cut all of the pieces and iron on the interfacing. I serge all of my skirt edges and that's about as far as I make it in that sitting. Next time I have a chance to work on it, I make the pockets and sew the skirt together. Now it is time for the waistband... well, I'll just do that later. So it is now later, and I am ready for attaching the waistband. I sew and turn the tie that will be sewn into one of the waistband seams, sew the front waistband to the back waistband piece, remembering to insert the tie, thankfully! Oh, but look, the waistband is not matching up with the skirt and is all puckered....so I get the seam ripper. About 20 minutes later....I'll just do this tomorrow when I am not so tired. Tomorrow comes and goes. And the next day. But the next day is the last day I have since I want to give it to her that weekend, so back to the waistband. This time it matches up better with just a few gathers. I try it on, but can't really tell since it is not my size and I don't have the facing on. So I decide to bring it to my momma for a fitting. She likes it and says it will fit fine, quit worrying and finish it. So two weeks later....

And the pockets....

Putting the facing on was not as bad as I thought it would be. But I did not do a button like it said to because I didn't want to put a button hole without knowing where to put it on for her waist. Instead the next time I visited I brought the almost finished skirt with a metal hook/ eye set to sew on once I had a good placement. But time got away from us, and I just left it for her to do. Sorry momma! It is hard for me to say whether or not I like this pattern. Once it was done and everything kinda came all together, it didn't seem as bad as it did when I was actually doing it! Can you relate? So, I found this book at the library and it has a wrap skirt pattern I will try on a skirt for me, come to think of it, this will be the first time I am making something for me to wear. Huh! Anyway, it is called sew what! Skirts and I will be sending you to Lisa at U-Handblog since she did a review and has pictures of the book! Thanks Lisa! So once I finish it and have something to compare it to, I will decide whether or not I like this pattern! :) And then I'll think more about making more stuff for me!

Well, I am especially scattered-brain tonight so I will leave you with a link to Amy of During Quiet Time, who was one of the winners from my SMS May Giveaway day. She did a sweet post with her sweet girls wearing the tutus she won! I FINALLY made it to the Post Office last week....yeah, I know, I am a MONTH behind, but they forgive me so all is well! As soon as I hear from Tam on the Gold Coast of Australia, I will post pictures of the tutus I sent out! I got an email from Michelle in Minnesota confirming that she received hers. She is thinking about starting a blog about the wooden toys she makes, which I am sure are beautiful. But I think all things wooden are beautiful, so I'm easy! So hurry up Michelle, we are waiting to see your creations!! Until later...

The Paint Job

Ok, for those of you who asked....here it is:

Now remember our deal.... we are IGNORING the messy room!! The black paint is magnetic primer, and I am sorry to say that I cannot give this a good review!! It is recommended on the packaging to stir for at least 10 minutes before using. I did that. It is also recommended to apply at least 2 coats, with 3 thin coats being better than 2 thick coats. I applied EIGHT coats, with still minimal results. That is why I have not put the color coats over it yet. I am going to have to apply a couple more coats if I want it to hold up papers or heavy magnets. I also put it on the big panel on one of the closet doors with the intention of applying chalkboard paint over it so we can use it for calendars, schedules, reminders, etc... It still needs more coats, because NO magnet is sticking. If you look closer in the photos, you can see little magnets sticking to some of the areas I've painted the primer on. But it is only holding the magnets, if I try to put up a coloring book page to "display", it falls off. Maybe I am trying to use it for more than what it is supposed to be used for, but I am just not happy with it! It will be ok for ABC magnets or the princess "dress up" magnets, so I guess I will have to be satisfied with that for now! *sigh* I hate when things don't work out the way you want them to! I did get an awesome inspiration from my sweet friend at Kindershop Online. She was on a two week beach vacation...far away from her sewing machine, and still managed to make the cutest felt flowers. AND she even sent me an email of some flower clip art for me to use to make my own! I am going to let Ms. Priss make some and attach magnets to them so she will have cute flower magnets!! Check out these beautiful creations and more at Kindershop on Etsy! I am going to put paw prints going up the stairs, to tie in the whole LSU theme!! Did I mention that my awesome man built this bed? Aren't we LUCKY!! So as you can see, still more to do. It will be another time, maybe when the girls are on their mini beach vacation with their Grammy and Aunt! Unless I decide to sneak away and join them!! Until later...

TAG! I am IT!

Just a quick post to make a list of 6 unimportant things that make me HAPPY! I was tagged by Elizabeth, and will "borrow" some of her answers. Care to compare? Check out her blog and all of the beautiful things she makes...that is now including her precious baby boy!

1. COOKIES *doesn't matter what kind, I am NOT a cookie snob!*

2. ZELDA *before children and sewing, I would stay up ALL night to play this video game, now... let's just say I got the "new" Twilight Princess TWO YEARS ago, and haven't made it out of the first village!!*

3. Satellite Radio *Hair Nation, 80s on 8, The Pulse, Radio Disney, Simply Sinatra all on my pre-sets*

4. Swinging

5. Coffee

6. KILLER FABRIC SALE

Ok, there you have it. Just a little bit more info about me...that is *almost* not about sewing, or my #1 all time favorite thing that makes me HAPPY! My family!

I am tagging: Allie, Amy, Chelle, Marguerite, Stephanie, and last but certainly not least, Rebecca.

Ok girls....here are the rules:
List Six Unimportant Things That Make You Happy
Mention and link to the person who tagged you
Tag six of your favorite bloggers to play along

Have fun! Until later...

Gifts for my Sisters

Wow!! This week has FLOWN by! And all I have to show for it are these:

This is for my younger sister. Her birthday was in June... and I am just finishing it! But I was a little busy with things for the Middle Child's birthday! So anyway, this is the same style bag I did for my mom, here. It is the same style fabric, just different colors. My sister is a self proclaimed "River Rat" and loves the water so I used this fabulous Redwork design I got from my favorite embroidery site, Sew Forum!
I was so happy to have the aqua and green dot print in my stash since it went so well with the whole seahorse/ bubbles design! This was a great tutorial from tiny happy, she has some very pretty things on her blog and lots to share! I decided to use a snap closure instead of a button because... I FORGOT to sew in the loop when I was putting the outer bag and liner together!! Yeah, I've been having THAT kinda week! I thought only having the Boy would make it easier for me to get things done. HA! He is a HANDFUL and when the sisters aren't here to play with him.... guess who has to give ALL of her attention, ALL of the time!! So, although the snap closure is not as cute as a button ;) it will serve its purpose!

Next up, a handbag for my OLDER sister! Yes, I love saying that! She is OLDER than me! :) Actually come to think of it, she will be FORTY on her next birthday! Man, only a year left to say, " you are almost 40!" (I've been saying it since she was 38!) But you know what that means... after next year, it will be her turn to say, "HA! you are almost FORTY!" I guess that is fair! But, so far, she doesn't have a blog to tell everyone about it! ;) So enough of the sister-bashing, and on to the sister-love!

Happy belated birthday sister!

This is the Angel bag, I got the inspiration here. I say inspiration because, sadly I did not print out the actual instructions for making this bag, only the pattern pieces! Maybe if I wasn't so scattered-brain this week I would have and my bag would look HALF as nice as Lola's! But in my defense, wait... I have NONE!! Anyway, I did this bag with some remnants I had in my stash, The bottom overlay is off-white denim, and the top is linen! I love this fabric and wanted to make a skirt, but didn't have enough of it so it sat and sat and sat in my stash waiting for the right inspiration!

I decided to do a snap closer for this bag also, but didn't think the linen fabric would hold up very well with all of the opening and closing. So I used an idea I got from an Amy Butler book, and made a flap. To "dress up" the flap I used an idea I got from the awesomely talented Stephanie of MooBear Designs. Now had I stopped and actually used this tutorial, perhaps mine would have been as FABULOUS as Stephanie's. Oh well, next time!

Stephanie and her husband, Carlos make the most awesome clothing using artwork from their oh-so-talented children, then sew it on organic cotton tees using recycled materials! Check them out!

I did not use any type of interfacing for either bag because when I think of summer bags, I think... slouchy. You know, just throw in a few things and go! I am sure I will get LOTS of feedback from my sisters about what they like and especially DON'T like about the bags. But, that is how I learn what works and what doesn't.

So I am off to hopefully finish painting the loft beds before it is time to go pick up our girls from my folks. Maybe I'll take a picture to show you this MAMMOTH of a creation my awesome man made for our children. But only if I can do it without showing how extremely messy the room is! Have a great weekend! Until later...

A Week of Birthdays

The first week of July is always a BIG celebration around here! My sister and niece have birthday's on the 3rd, my middle child's is on the 4th, our good family friend's is on the 5th, today is my momma's, and tomorrow will be our 8th wedding anniversary!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMA!! I love you and I am so LUCKY that you are my momma! You taught me how to be the BEST momma I can be! The long list of lessons include: Patience, Understanding, Endurance, Loyalty, how to be a Referee, Discipline, when to SAY NO, when to SAY YES, and most importantly LOVE and WISDOM! I still learn from you everyday and know that when I need you, you are only a phone call away! Have a great birthday and thanks for keeping my girls this week, maybe I can get more accomplished!


Now, on to the sewing stuff...

My middle child turned 3 on the 4th of July! We didn't have a big party, just some burgers, brats (the sausage kind), and swimming in my sister's pool! But to make it a special day, I made a felt crown fit for my birthday princess!
I was kinda scared to make one of these, which turned out to be silly since it was so easy! Just figuring a pattern and cutting it was holding me back, because I am not the best at drawing and cutting! But I did alright and once it was cut, I was fine. I checked out some blogs and craft sites to get ideas, and they didn't let me down! I didn't find any tutorials, but just looking at the creations gave me enough inspiration! The embroidery is from The Yummy Factory, she has the cutest fonts and is a regular contributor to Sew Forum, which is my all time favorite embroidery site! I used regular craft felt for the front and the backing. I just sewed the pieces together, then top stitched around each piece. I added the little flower trim per request..."use this mommy!" How could I not! I reinforced the stitching on the elastic band in the back to make sure it didn't pull out, and added cute little "diamond" buttons. And that was it...so easy!

And of course she needed a new outfit to go with her crown

And one for her sister...

And a couple of babies...

and some for the boys...

and don't leave out Poppie...

So, as you can see....another busy week! This week will be just as busy since I never finished a bag for my younger sister's birthday that was at the end of June, and I am going to do a surprise for my older sister for her birthday. And with the girls being gone this week, I am going to attempt to finish painting the loft beds that my man built for them last year!! Have a great day, until later...