Lucky Charm tee

Yesterday, I decided to make a tee shirt to match the St. Patrick's skirt I made K* last year. 

I used the font Kayleigh cut out of vinyl with my silhouette for a stencil and black fabric paint.

I do think it would look a little better with a stem for the clover and the words running along the stem, but oh well, how many times is she really going to wear it anyway.

Onion 20026 in Sophie

Last Fall, I came across a post on Sew Pretty Dresses showing this onion dress.  I loved the look of the pattern and decided to order one to make dresses for K*.

The dress was easy to sew together and I loved having my serger to finish all the seams with.  Nothing was too tricky and I just spent a little time here and there sewing it over the course of a week.  I will definately be making more.  Maybe some tunic length, some with binding on the sleeves, thin binding on the bottom, the pattern also has a long sleeve option. Lots of options for slight variations.  I made this dress according to the pattern/directions {the only change being the waist tie I added at the end} just so I could see how it went together without any modifications.

And after sewing this dress and S*'s pjs for Christmas that use buttons, I've decided when it comes to buttons or a zipper, I think buttons might be my favorite of the two.  Why have I avoided buttons for so long?  So far they have caused me far less grief than zippers have.  Which is a bit funny 'cause sewing button holes seemed "scary-ish" until I got over it when I made S*'s pjs in December.

 

Yesterday it was a bit windy when I tried to take pictures of the dress, so today I had K* wear it so I could snap a few shots.  She wanted to wear her jeans and not the leggings I suggested, so I just let her be. 

The leaf pile was calling her name to play in....

Pattern: Onion 20026

I made a size 5/6 for my average size 6 yr old

The pattern doesn't come in English, but I was emailed an English translation of the pattern instructions with my purchase

Fabric: Sophie by Chez Moi for Moda

And, because maybe only my sister and mom might understand me, I'm mailing this dress to my niece in Utah.  I love the dress pattern, I love the colors of the fabric, but I don't love the main fabric print.  I tried to step out of my comfort zone a tiny bit when I bought the print, and kept telling myself, "I like all the colors, I like all the colors, and some of the flowers", but I just don't love it still, even though I know it looks cute all finished. K* is my only girl.  She's my life size doll whether she likes it or not, so I want to dress her in things that I really like as long as she'll let me. Yes, I'm quirky.  So with another reason/excuse to sew, I'll make K* another one {or five} and hopefully my sister wasn't lieing when she said she liked this one.

Paper Airplane PJs

I made these paper airplane pjs for S* for Valentine's Day.  I actually made the pj pants in December when I was sewing their Christmas pjs, but decided to wait to give them to him since I wouldn't be able to sew K* something also.  The fabric for the pants is so fun, I love it, showing how to fold paper hats and paper airplanes.  I think I have enough fabric leftover to make a pillowcase too!

I totally copied the idea from Probably Actually.  As soon as I saw her blog post, I knew I had to make a pair for S*.

Fabric is Children at Play Making Paper Hats by Sarah Jane for Michael Miller fabrics.  The yellow is Farm Fresh Yellow Plaid by October Afternoon for Riley Blake fabrics.  The pj pant pattern is Bedtime Story by Olive + S.  The pants are long for him, buts that's okay 'cause they'll fit longer.  I drew the paper airplane applique based on a flickr photo mentioned in probably actually's post.  I made it yesterday afternoon really quick before the kids came home from school.

And although I didn't specifically sew something for Valentine's Day for K*, as if at least half of everything I sew isn't for her.....  I did get her this adorable umbrella.  She's been wanting one for a few years, and when I saw this one and I decided it was the one. {I may have also bought some of the super cute clothes that this umbrella goes with and it's silly how excited I am for her to wear them soon}

Goldfish Valentines

got the idea for these goldfish valentines at faboolous

Last week I bought some mini bags of goldfish at Target for the kids to hand out at school on Valentine's day.  I was looking for swedish fish, but decided this would be a better option.  On Friday I figured I better get going on the valentine part, so I turned these drawings into silhouette files for my silhouette to cut out using the trace function.  I've never done that before and I'm pretty happy with how they turned out.  I finally created my own silhouette file!  I started out with it as a fishbowl card, but that was going to use up a lot more white paper, so I made tags instead.  And it was really nice to not cut out 40 fishbowls & water and 80+ small goldfish by hand.  The font for "glad we're in the same school" is pea noodles.

Saturday, I had the kids write their classmates names on the front and then their own name on the back under the "school" saying.

Staple them to a valentine mini bag of goldfish and we're set.

Some free printable ideas here, here and here.  I know there are loads of other ideas and freebies out there, but I thought I'd just mention these few since they were found through the site I got the goldfish idea from.

Oh Yeah.  I also made these two valentine cards really quick Thursday (15 minutes before school got out) so my kids could mail them to their aunt on our way home from piano.  I copied a pin on pinterest to make them(or see below).  I can see how red (or any color) not white is a better choice for the paper the peeks through the hearts.  But they were quick, easy and cute as I was heading out the door.

before you speak THINK

Printed this out and hung it up in the kitchen and S*'s bedroom to help him remember the kinds of things we should say.  K* wants one for her bedroom too of course.

 A great reminder for all of us really.

Something might be true, but does it also fall in the other categories?  A good way to think about things before saying them to a sibling (or anyone).  Also to help our little story telling guy, remember when we should tell a story and when we just need to tell the truth.

Get it from Sweet Blessings

P.S.  I finished the book The Happiness Project and recommend reading it.
happiness project website

Family name {conversation hearts}

Family name conversation hearts

Last week when I was painting the birthday blocks, I also painted these conversation hearts.  I copied the idea from a pin on pinterest from the peanut paint shop.  I found the hearts at Hobby Lobby for $1.50 each.  I have been trying to be good and use the crafty supplies I already have.  So, I picked the paint colors I had on hand that would work best and didn't spend time trying to mix colors together to get a better color, I just went with it.  The colors are: lemon chiffon, heather, baby blue, and think pink.  I cut our names out of burgundy vinyl using the font poornut.  Then I used C*'s stapler from the garage to attach white grosgrain ribbon to the backs of the hearts, my grommet thingy to make a place in the ribbon to hang it on a nail and pinned a bow on it. Ta da!  It was fun to make (and pretty simple too).  It's hanging in our little hallway near the kitchen, so it was a bit tricky to get a decent picture.

After hanging it up, I think I should have made the names a bit bigger and I wish the vinyl was a bit redder/brighter so a red ribbon would match.  Oh well, I can always change it next year.

Aren't tulips just so happy!

A friend gave these to me for my birthday and I just love them.  They make my kitchen/table look happier and add to my Valentine decor.

Fantasia Apron

I made this quick little apron for a friend's birthday.  It's based on a super easy tea towel apron pattern.  If you have a tea towel, you just add two pleats and waist ties.  I didn't have a tea towel on hand to use for this purpose, so I finished the edges of a rectangular piece of fabric roughly the size of a tea towel (around 20"x28"), then add the pleats, ties and some ribbon for fun.  I can't say I'm a fan of trying to sew to strips of ribbon parallel to each other.  I'll have to remember that when ideas pop into my head for K*.

The fabric is fantasia for red rooster fabrics.  It's one I had in my stash that I picked up on clearance at It's A Stitch last year.   The colors are a little more vibrant than the picture shows. The ribbon color is lemon grass and the waist ties are made from 1" white twill tape.  I used about 2 1/2 yards of twill tape, I think.

I don't know if others like to wear aprons too, or if I'm just weird.

Happy Birthday {to me}

I'm currently reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. One of the thoughts/quotes I like from it is, "The days are long, but the years are short".

Today I am 33

I graduated from high school almost 15 years ago

I've been married for 13 1/2 years

I've lived in Kingwood, TX for 12 1/2 years, my house for 11 1/2 years

S* is 10 1/2, K* is 6

They are halfway through 4th grade and Kindergarten

S* won't be living at home in another 10 years, K* will be learning to drive

I finished these wooden birthday blocks and presents Thursday night.

They are from the wood connection in Utah. My mom sent them to me in September and I tried to get them done before K*'s birthday, but getting some other things done before having my wisdom teeth didn't leave me the time to.

I started out painting the blocks multi colors like this one here on the happy scraps blog but I just couldn't get the colors right for what I was envisioning. When I pulled it all out earlier this week, I decided to paint all the blocks white.  I'm so glad I did.  I picked out the paper in September, which was nice to already have that decided. The paper is: a walk in the park by echo park, it's such a fun paper collection. The font I used for happy birthday is pea missy. I also used some glitter on the three presents and am still deciding if I like it. Not sure I can change it if I don't though.

It felt a little silly to be finishing a birthday decoration for my own birthday, but when I wasn't able to finish it before K*'s birthday I promised myself I'd get it done for mine just so I could have it ready to use for everyone's birthdays.