Instagram Dumpage

Here is a little bit of Instagram dumpage from my phone.

My computer at home is being hateful and not letting me upload some tutorial pictures!! UGH.

So in the meantime, here is an adorable face to look at....

Loving some time at YoGo! She knows when we pull in the parking lot it's time for ICE CREAM!

Gray is all I take pictures of with my phone. Maybe I need some more "daily life" pictures. Oh well. Maybe next time.

Kids Poolside Dress {Tutorial}

Today I'm bringing home a tutorial I did for Coats & Clark.

You can find the original tutorial at their site HERE.

Gray has loved wearing this little cover up this year at the pool and at the beach!

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Today I'm going to show you how to put together a simple and adorable swim cover-up for a little girl.

Adjust the measurements and make one for you too! You can find an alternate swim cover up tutorial HERE at Grits & Giggles if you want one with sleeves!

Materials:

1/2 yard of lightweight cotton (for size 2T)

Coats and Clark Dual Duty Thread

elastic thread (found in your notions section)

Measure your child's chest and multiply it by 1.5. For example, my child has a 20" chest, so my measurement was 30". This will allow a comfortable fit with the shirring. This is your width.

Measure your child from their chest down to where you want the garment to fall. Mine hits my little girl above her knee. This is your length.

Cut out a rectangle of your fabric with those demensions.

Hem the top and bottom of the rectangle using a serger or a rolled hem. Turn under 1/4" then another 1/4" and sew to hide the raw edges.

Leave the short sides unfinished.

Now we're going to add the shirring. Hand-wind your bobbin with your elastic thread, making sure you don't stretch it while winding. You will leave your coordinating Coats and Clark thread in your needle.

Starting 1/4" below your top hem, begin sewing with your elastic thread, sewing on the right side of the garment. You want your elastic thread to be on the wrong side. Be sure to backstitch when you start and stop a row.

Continue sewing lines 1/4" apart as far down as you would like to go on the top. The shirring will get tighter and more noticeable as you add more rows. I added 8 rows to my garment.

To gather the elastic even more, place the garment under a steam iron for a few seconds. The heat and steam will really draw it up!

Once your shirring is done, place the body right sides together and sew up the back seam making a tube. Finish the raw edge with a serger or wide zig zag stitch to keep it from fraying.

For straps, you can use ribbons, sewn bias tape, or make your own with your material. To make your own, cut strips 10" x 2 1/2" . Fold the strips in half, then fold in the raw edges and sew.

Attach them to the body of your garment with a few stitches across the top and you're DONE!

Now your little girl has a sweet, light, and comfortable swim cover to wear to and from the beach or pool.

Beautifully stretchy and shirred.

*Happy Sewing*

Renovation....done

The renovation on the house is finally finished!! It didn't take too long to actually complete the construction, but organizing is proving to be another story. We're trying to move things from room to room while keeping this new room neat and clutter-free.

We closed in an existing screened-in porch behind our house. This was nice because the roof and foundation was already there. Here are the walls with the new windows cut out. I was so excited about all of the windows.

While Hubby did most of the planning, I had a hard time envisioning how this room would actually look.

Once the dry wall was up and  the windows were in, the vision started to make sense. We put my new couch out there for inspiration.

The outside matched perfectly with the rest of the house.

Soooo many windows!

The view from our bedroom. I love having our own little sanctuary...with a DOOR...coming out of our bedroom. The actually door is a sliding glass door, but I have our curtains partially closed, so it looks tiny here.

The wall color is soothing, the couch is comfortable. There's a TV mounted on the wall, and our computer is there too. A perfect grown-up space.

And best of all....my sewing corner!! No more sewing in a dark corner with no window and one tiny light. Oh the light in this room is just remarkable. There's overhead lighting, and task lighting...all compliments of my adorable Hubby. He wanted to  make sure we could SEE.

I just can't get over how much space I have to work with now.

Now if we could just get my craft stuff into the room we'd be going somewhere.

In time. In time.

Cupcake Express Party Supplies

I want to introduce to you one of the sweetest companies I've gotten to work with!

Cupcake Express

They are who I turned to for Gray's adorable birthday invitations this year.

Even with personalization, their turnaround time on invitations is great, and the finished product is beautiful.

I printed her invitations from home, and the quality of the file was perfect.

I even used their "Thank You" tags on our party favors! Everyone loved that they matched the theme and the invitations. They were so easy to use.

They offer banners, cupcake wrappers, food cards, invitations, cupcake toppers and so much more in any theme you can think of. Everything coordinates perfectly.

Check out their shop for all of your invitation and party planning needs!

Party Time

This weekend was Grayson's 2nd birthday party! I had finally gotten over the shock that my baby was turning 2, and could really enjoy putting together a party that screamed "Grayson".

My child loves pink. I hate pink. Like, hate it with a passion. I own one pink shirt that I wore twice last week at the request of that precious little girl. I did, however, get over my hatred long enough to cover my entire house in hot pink and zebra. I have to admit....it was pretty cute, and most of it has yet to come down.

Here's a little peek into the party....

The cupcake tree was one of my favorite parts! I got the actual tree from Hobby Lobby (with a coupon of course), and it will definitely see it's worth in use.

I made the cupcake toppers, cutting a 2" scalloped circle out of zebra paper, using a hole punch. I printed her name, and "2" onto pink paper and cut those circles out, then glued them together. The finished circles are glued to a thin wooden stick and stuck into the cupcakes.

This was my first attempt at piping icing onto cupcakes. Those stinking people on Cupcake Wars make it look soooo easy! Clearly, I'm not ready to compete in decorating, but they tasted good, and that's what really matters.

No party is complete without tissue poms. These are cheap and easy to make. You can find lots of tutorials on the internet if you need help putting them together.

The party favors were zebra-striped Chex Mix. There's a tutorial coming soon!!

How cute are these "Thank You" tags from Cupcake Express?? They really added some extra cuteness, and were so easy to print and use.

I wanted to keep the theme going with the drinks too. Now that you can find adorable patterned duct tape....it's perfect for bottle labels! I just cut a piece of tape to fit around a water bottle, and wrapped it around. Simple but fun.

But most importantly....this little girl loved her party.

She had so many friends there, along with good food and lots of fun gifts!

She is so loved!

Don't grow up so fast Baby.

Happy Birthday Baby

Happy Birthday Grayson

My sweet little girl is 2 today.

She may never know the joy she brings to our lives...

especially mine.

Just one year ago....

4 teeth and strawberry blonde curls

Then at 18 months....still has that sweet baby face.

Today she looks more like a little girl, and less like a baby.

Blonde curls, blue eyes, and the sweetest smile I've ever seen.

I hope you have the best birthday sweetheart. You deserve it.

We LOVE you!!

Giveaway Winner

The winner of the Southern Fabric Charm Pack giveaway is

SMGajus

I have given your information to Southern Fabric!

Congratulations and Happy Sewing!!

PB Teen Knockoff???

While browsing the internet the other day, an ad for Pottery Barn Teen popped up.

And I saw my Memory Quilts!!

Mine.....

Theirs....

Guys Patchwork Quilt

C R E E P Y....I know.

A lot of the plaids even LOOK the same!

All 4 of my quilts folded sweetly before gifting.

I take some comfort in knowing that even though their quilt is beautiful....mine is stitched with love from the most well-worn, softest vintage cotton a closet could find.

I'm no Pottery Barn....but I like mine better.

Just sayin.

Kiddie Poolside Dress

I'm back at Coats & Clark today sharing how to make this adorable Kiddie Poolside Dress for your little one to wear this summer.

Click HERE for the tutorial!!

Gray loved hers at the beach and by the pool!

Make sure you check out some of their other tutorials and Sewing Secrets.