tinkerbell ... PLUS!

I've been a little absent from blog-land this week - working on a bunch of hair clips, some mending & some monogrammed towels. (Interested in the hair clips? Check them out on Facebook & let me know if there's any you'd like! I haven't listed them on ArtFire yet.) Anyway - I haven't been working on anything really magical or picture-worthy. (Let alone laundry, packing for our big trip, and other boring house stuff.) But there's a birthday party on Saturday - and I need a little more magic I think. So I made time for some fun stuff, too! Just giving her a Tinkerbell dress wasn't going to be enough. It's all about the accessories, right?


I started off by making a couple glittery clippies - pink polka dot ribbon & green leaf buttons - then a heaping pile of light pink glitter!Next - a diaper cover to match the dress.
Lastly - a little Tinkerbell purse. It is fully lined with the pink polka dot fabric. I made it with boxed corners on the bottom. I used pink polka dot fabric for the straps, and used some turquoise twill tape for embellishment. At the seam where the pieces together - a little bit of white eyelet trim and more twill tape. Voila! An adorable little purse for an adorable little girl.

{anyone interested in a tutorial on the purse? let me know!}

project runway

Did you watch it last night?

I know there's no way to prove it, but for the longest time I've been thinking they should do children's wear!!!! Redo-ing wedding dresses, ok. "Real" women, ok. But children's wear - now there's a challenge! So when I sat down to watch it, I could barely stand it.
Seth Aaron's outfit was pretty funky for my personal style - but I can see why it won. Perfect stylish kid's clothing! Jesse was probably my 2nd choice too. Some of the other outfits... uck. What were they thinking?!! The little girl's petal dress (by Amy) was cute enough, but the adult one...I'd have to agree with them about the circus thing. And even though he wasn't bottom three - Emilio's children's pink poofy dress? Not exactly cutting edge or new design.

What was your favorite? Which one ends up at the bottom of the heap?

tinkerbell

One of my nieces is turning 1 soon... and something Tinkerbell-ish was a special request. So my mom loaned me a petal dress pattern she'd bought from Sew Baby & I got busy. I used a pink polka dot as my contrast fabric.
It was so easy to put together! I didn't attach the petal skirt the exact way the pattern said, so there's a little bit of weirdness in the front by the buttons - but I think it is barely noticeable.
I think she's going to have so much fun twirling & spinning in her fairyland!

knit...and ruffles

I don't have a serger, and have been pretty nervous to try sewing with knits. But... it's a fear I want to conquer so I went for it in a big way.The hoodie is a cropped top with a lined hood, ruffled sleeve & edge, and ribbon tie to close. I used a navy knit with turquoise polka dots.
The dress is sleeveless with a comfy three-tiered twirly skirt. I did a tight zig-zag on the bottom and pulled it as I went to make a ruffled/lettuce edge.
She was happy to strike a pose!
I definitely still have a serger on my wish list!! But I know I can do it with my "regular" machine, and am ready to refine my skills & try some other things!

{want to see some other cute sewing projects?}

miss mary

Have you all visited The Handmade Dress? Samantha designs the sweetest dresses. Here's her latest that I tested... Miss Mary. It's a beautiful wrap dress - V neckline and gathered skirt. The other pattern view (that I haven't sewn yet) has an A-line skirt.
I'm not really happy with my sash-sewing and tying abilities, but I love the neckline & length of the dress. Her pattern is well-written - it's just my own issues.
Most importantly, Abby loved it! She twirled around, danced with her brother, and generally grinned her little head off the whole time she was wearing it!

shower curtain

Looking for something to liven up your bathroom? This was a special request shower curtain for a customer - but after hanging it up to take pictures, I'm thinking I need a re-do of my own!
She has two boys, and LOVED the robot fabric. So we went with an orange background, and a bunch of large bold colored squares mingled in with the robot fabric. The lighting in my bathroom doesn't show it off well, but the squares are red, blue, lime green and black. It is such a nice bright burst of color!!

jillian's jumper

Check out this cute jumper! Another easy, beautiful design from Dawn at Olabelhe.

It has an overskirt and a ruffled underskirt.
The lined bodice has an optional pocket for the front.(Have I mentioned I'm totally on a turquoisey kick lately? Watch out!!)

After doing the cotton version, I decided to try it in corduroy with a muslin lining and muslin underskirt. I chose and cut the corduroy carefully and didn't use the pocket on the bodice.The one above was sized down from her original pattern, and fits my 11m old niece. The hand pleating was trickier (but still manageable!) with the corduroy. I also realized after I did the buttonholes that they didn't really line up how I would have liked, but that's my fault - not her pattern.
The one below is for her older sister, size 3.
They were Christmas presents, and they wore the dresses to Conner's birthday party. I must say - they were adorable!!!! Unfortunately, no good pictures (yet) of them together in the dresses.

Hop on over to her shop for your own pattern!