Fabric Pumpkin Bandwagon

So I decided to jump on the fabric pumpkin bandwagon. Have you seen how many versions are out there in blogland? I used Danielle Thompson's tutorial, based on one from Martha Stewart Living November 2009 issue. Mine don't hold a candle to Danielle's but they aren't so bad and they were really fun to make. You can even get your kids involved. Lilly stuffed our pumpkins for me. When we were working on them she said "Mommy, when I grow up I want to be a pumpkin stuffer." Never heard that one before :) Hope you all are having a fun fall so far.

Meant to Be Hoodie

This fabric embellished hoodie was my weekend projectLast Thursday I was rummaging through my drawer of clothes that I have collected and saved for sewing projects. I found this girls shirt at a thrift store a while ago and I bought it because I loved the fabric. The shirt was way too big for Lilly and way too small for me but I knew I could use it for a project one day.

Later on that same day Lilly and I headed for one of our twice a week trips to Super Target. I was browsing the sale racks and found this baby... It was the exact same color as the background of the thrift shirt and it was 4 Bucks! It was so meant to be. I snatched it up and could not wait to get home and figure out what I was going to do. I had seen an awesome embellished hoodie here not to long ago made by Alisa Burke. She was inspired by some cardigans from Anthropologie. So I decided to cut out the front of the thrifted shirt and applique it to the hoodie.And speaking of meant to be...look at this dress on Lilly... I found it at a thrift store last week, it is a Lilly Pulitzer, excellent condition, it is her size and it was 99cents! Loving it!

Lion Softies

Last week I made these lions for my two nieces. They were so much fun to make. The pattern called for yellow fabric and fleece but that wasn't fun enough for me so of course I made my lions pink and green...you know I love those colors :) The pattern for the lions came from this book that I picked up at the Dollar Tree a few months ago. I was so excited about this find. There are some really cute ideas in this book.

Happy Weekend ~Molly

A Day at the Beach

I thought I would share some pictures of my Lilly at the beach today. We spent the day at Honeymoon Island State Park and it was absolutely gorgeous! She spent hours in the sand. It is so amazing how children can be entertained for hours with a bucket, a shovel and some sand. So simple. So fun. Her bucket is a $1 bucket from Micheal's that I decorated with a permanent paint marker. I make her one each year for our trips to the beach. I love this one of her eating a strawberry. Seriously, I wish I looked as hip as her at the beach :)

Obviously this photo below is not at the beach, but this is Lilly sporting a shirt I made for her this week and I wanted to share it. It was actually a dress I made her last year (I used a pillow case dress tutorial, don't remember which one but here's a good one) She had outgrown it so I cut it off a little and took it in to turn it into a top.

I hope you all are having a relaxing summer weekend.~Molly

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Better late than never I guess. I have missed blogging and I hope to fit it back into my life. I have been crazy busy but have managed to make a few things lately. I find that if I find time to make something there is no time left to blog about it :) I resolve to manage my time better in 2010.

This past weekend my friend Amy and her son Nolan came down to Tampa for Gasparilla. We had a blast. Every kid at the parade was dressed in their pirate garb. I made Lilly's skirt and shirt for the special event. She picked out the fabric herself. When she tried on the skirt she said, "It's perfect Mommy!" I was so relieved she loved it.

I actually whipped up the matching shirt the night before the parade because it had a stain on it. I just cut out a heart and pirate skull, gathered up some tulle and appliqued away.

Lilly and Nolan racked up 150 beads at the parade! We can't wait for Jose' Gaspar and his crew to invade Hillsborough Bay again next year.

My Latest Christmas Creation

This is the second Chirstmas dress I have made for Lilly in the past 2 weeks ( I don't have a good picture of the other one yet). I thought I was only going to make one but I found this fabric at Joann's last week and loved it so much I almost cried (click on the photos to see the fabric better). It is the sweetest fabric I've ever seen! It's little vintage angels making Christmas cookies, candies and gingerbread houses. It was on sale and I yanked it off the shelf as fast as I could and was shrieking out "Lilly isn't this the best fabric ever?!" She was too into her lollipop to care that much. I used this tutorial at Joy's Hope and made it my own by sewing gingham fabric straps/bow instead of ribbon and I added the fabric flowers with fabric covered buttons along the top to make it even more yummy. I wish I could get away with wearing this dress/fabric. Aren't you glad I have a little girl and you didnt have to see a 34 year old woman wearing angels and cookies on her dress?

Here are some more pictures of Lilly modeling my Christmas creation. She wore it all day! Mommy's so glad she loves it! Hope your Christmas season is filled with sweets! Love, Molly

Something New

A few weeks ago my friend Christie asked me to make a garter for her cousin's wedding. I had never made a garter before but it sounded fun and I always love a new sewing/crafting challenge. I searched the web for some garter tutorials and went to Etsy for some inspiration. I combined some ideas and this is what I came up with...

one for the bride to keep... and one to toss... I used this tutorial for the folded rose.

P.S. Check out Garter Lady on Etsy. Her shop is amazing!

Halloween Fun

I hope you all had a night full of Halloween fun and lots of candy! Here is my Lilly as Little Red Ridinghood. I made her red cloak using a pattern from marthastewart.com. The apron she is wearing was my Mom's when she was a little girl. She loved it all and had a blast getting all dressed up.

Fall Onesie Remix

I know it has been a while. I miss the blogging world. Last time I wrote I had all these big plans to create but the very next day I came down with the flu and it went on for a week. Then when I got over that Doug and I flew to Dallas to visit some dear friends. We had a great time but when I got home I had to regroup and get our house and life back in order so I have had little time to do anything fun or crafty. After church today I decided to take some time and sit at the sewing machine for a little bit. I took one of Lilly's onesies and a fall dress that I made for her last year (that didn't come out as planned) and put them together...and voila! (if you click on the photo below to enlarge it, you can see the dress a lot better).Hopefully I won't be gone on such a long break again any time soon. I am putting out my halloween stuff next weekend and I can't wait to share it with you. I love puttin' some cute spook around our nest. Love and blessings to you all.

fabric flower belt

Whew! I'm back. Sorry I have been away so long. Going back to work and getting a toddler ready for preschool has been keeping me busy. I thought I would share something with you that I whipped up last weekend between buying a backpack, finding school shoes, writing lesson plans and cleaning house :)

I had this white shirt from Anthropologie hanging in my closet but I haven't worn it in a while. I actually wore it when I was pregnant. It came with a little thin white belt but I never wore that because of my big belly. I lost the belt so I decided to make a new one and wear the shirt again. I was inspired by the corsage belts at J.Crew. I found the pattern for the flower at Wise Craft. Instead of putting a button in the middle I just drew up the petals and tacked them on the back so the flower was fluffier. I used thin white grosgrain ribbon for the belt and cut it long enough to wrap around twice and tie in a bow. I like that look, it adds layer and interest. Promise it won't be so long before a blog again! Blessings to you all.

My New School Bag

Tomorrow is my first day back at work after a 3 year break. I am really excited about going back to teaching. It is the perfect situation too...teaching preschool at my church, lilly will be just down the hall and it is only 2 half days a week. I feel like this job was meant for me and it is a true blessing. I blogged last week about Lilly's back to school pants. Well I need a back to school treat too, right? I really have been wanting a new purse/bag lately. I decided I would make one for myself. After all, I have always looked forward to getting a new backpack or bag for school. I thought about going out and buying some cool new fabric but then I thought that was a crazy idea because I have drawers of fabric and ribbon. So I decided I would make this new bag only out of things I already had on hand. Very green and economic of me, dontcha think? :) I used some tan gingham fabric left-over from a chair cushion re-covering project, I lined it with some turquoise plaid that I bought from Walmart years ago because I liked it, and finally, my favorite part, I embellished it with a vintage embroidered table runner from a thrift store. I actually came across this runner in the bottom of my hamper yesterday when I emptied it to do the laundry (I had forgotten I had it, also found some of Lilly's baby booties and a vintage apron...my hamper is like a black hole) I used some instructions I found at Wipster (via One Pretty Thing). I worked on it off and on all day in between cleaning and playing with my Lilly. I am so happy with how it turned out. Can't wait to take it to school tomorrow and fill it with books and lesson plans. P.S. it is actually gathered with elastic that I stitched ribbon to the end of, on "wipster" she made hers gather with ribbon but I wanted to use thick elastic that would hold up to the daily wear and tear of books and binders.

here is the back..

Back to School!

Yep, I'm going back to school and Lilly is starting preschool. I taught elementary school for 6 years before Lilly came along and I loved it. I was born to plan lessons and be bossy(just ask my "little" brother who used to have to sit with my dolls while I played teacher everyday after school, I even had a blackboard in my room). So this year I decided to enroll Lilly in the preschool at our church 2 half days a week. Come to find out they were looking for a teacher and asked me if I was interested. I was. They interviewed me, offered me the job, Iaccepted it and so here we go...Lilly and I are off to school together this year. Very exciting. So of course I had to start thinking about what she was going to wear on her first day of "school", that's just the fashion obsessed momma I am. I decided to get some little khakis for her and embellish them with a school theme. Here's how they turned out...I cut out and appliqued the tree and apples from small scraps of fabric and hand embroidered around them. I didn't turn under the edges because I like that frayed edge look. I used a navy embroidery floss for a contrast. Pretty cute huh? Yeah that's what I thought, but little miss prissy britches won't wear her back to school britches. She only wants dresses and skirts these days. I have tried for 2 days to get these pants on her to no avail. Hopefully some time in the next 2 weeks I will be able to convince her to wear them...I wish they fit me. Come to think of it, I don't know what I am going to wear the first day. hmmmmm...I don't know, but I promise I'll refrain from stitching apples to my clothes:)

the "made" dress

This is a photo of my version of the shirt dress over at made. I promised to share this dress many posts ago. I refashioned it from a long-sleeve women's shirt I picked up at a thrift store. The fabric is swiss dot, one of my favorites. I love the texture and it reminds me of old chenille bedspreads. Lilly looks lovely in lavender. I call her "lavender blue dilly lilly" when she wears it because it is so pretty with her blue eyes.

Fabric Fruit

I have been whipping up some fabric fruit this week. I am making them to go in a basket on the center of my mother-in-laws dining room table. I am helping her do some decorating and I am going for a French country/folk artsy look with reds, golds, roosters, etc. I think these strawberries and pears will be a cute touch. I think I might attempt some apples too. We'll see how it goes. Sewing a spheres intimidates me a little. I sewed the fabric flowers in the background about 5 or 6 years ago. I have always liked them especially in the thrift store vase they are in. The beautiful doily was crocheted by my talented "Maw Maw Jean" (my husbands grandmother). I have quite a few of her creations and I love them all!

I found the patterns for the strawberry and pear in this book...

Check it out. It is a lovely book.

Summer Ruffle Blouse Remix

Alexis of My Mama Made It inspired me to do a remix of a long sleeve women's shirt. I headed to the thrift store and found this maternity shirt...no it was an accident and I just liked the print. Don't any of you get any ideas :) I hacked off the sleeves gave it a fitted, more feminine shape, made a coordinating ruffle (you know I have a ruffle obsession) and a skinny belt. I can't wait to wear it! I think this print is so summery. I love the olive, turquoise and orange together. It is such an unusual color combination but it works. This was such a fun project.

Faux Petticoat Skirt

Last year I made a little dress for Lilly out of this fabulous fabric my girlfren Critty gave me. The dress never fit Lilly right so I decided to chop off the top part and make a skirt out of it. I added 3 1/2 inch eyelet lace to the hem (it is a wide 2 inch hem). I attached it to the wrong side of the skirt about 2 inches (the same place as the original hem) above the bottom of the skirt so it has the effect of a lace petticoat sticking out underneath. I love the look of it. So girly, so Lilly!

Mermaids

I have had these mermaid embroidery patterns for a few years now and I have been dying to use them. I finally decided to make Lilly a little drawstring bag for her bathing suit and embroider a mermaid on it. I thought it would be perfect in her "mermaid bathroom".

While I was hanging out in the "Mermaid Bathroom", I decided to shoot some photos of it to share with ya'll. I made the shower curtain out of a Ralph Lauren sheet. I just used a grommet kit and added grommets to the top after I cut and hemmed it to the right size. The curtain rings are shabby chic from Target from years ago. The vintage bathing suit is something I always wanted in my bathroom. I found it in the perfect shade of pink with daisies at "La France" a vintage boutique here in Tampa. The tiny blue bathing suit in the shadow box was Lilly's first (also Skylar's first). I put it in a shadow box from TJMaxx and backed it in pink terry cloth. It is topped off with one of my favorite Mary Engelbreit Illustrations. I use tin beach pails to hold shampoo, bubble bath, and soaps.

This is a close up of the vanity. I found the ceramic boat at a yard sale. The intricate mermaid was a gift from my loving Critty eons ago. It has moved with me many times.

Hope you enjoyed a look inside one of my favorite rooms in the house. It is one of the few places I could go pink crazy. I will share some other areas of my home soon. Have a great rest of the week!

Lilly Sews!

Today was a very special day around here. Lilly, now 2 and a half, sewed for the first time. I have to say I am proud as punch :) She loves to watch me sew. She has been taking pieces of fabric and little pieces of thread that fall on the floor and pretending to sew. Since she is so interested I decided to let her give it a try. I put a little scrap between an emroidery hoop and gave her a needle threaded and knotted with pink embroidery floss. I showed her how to put the needle through and pull it out on the other side. She kept saying "up, down, up down" in her cheerful, enthusiastic voice. I took a couple of pictures and I will be saving that piece of embroidered fabric forever! Hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July!

Onesie Remix

Lilly had this pink polka dot onesie (her cousin sky handed down to her) that fit her everywhere except the length. It was too short to snap plus snaps aren't the easiest thing when potty training. So I cut off the bottom of the onesie (that I wasn't ready to part with) and attached a gathered skirt I made from $2 a yard Walmart fabric. She won't take the thing off. It's a hit. Also notice she is still wearing her new sandals. That was one of the first things she did this morning, put on her saltwaters.

Red, White, and Blue Paper Fringe Tutorial

I have decided to celebrate the 4th with my first tutorial. I want to share with you how I make crepe paper fringe trim. I have seen it a lot on the edges of party hats and on decorations in gift shops and I love the look of it. It is so festive. It is hard to find though. You can buy it on etsy but I thought it would be fun to make myself, not to mention it is economical and I can make it in any color I want. I made this trim in red white and blue and used it to edge a platter that I am serving cupcakes on. I think it adds so much. I hope you give it a try and use it at your Independence Day celebration.

Step 1: Gather rolls of red, white, and blue

(or any colors you choose)crepe paper.

Step 2: Layer 3 or 4 pieces or crepe paper

(the length you will need for your platter).

Lay them directly on top of each other.

The more layers you use the fluffier your trim will be.

Step 3: Sew directly down the center of the crepe paper strips,

sewing all the layers together.

Step 4: Fold the strip in half lengthwise along the stitching.

Use scissors and trim fringe the entire length of the strip.

When making fringe, cut almost to the stitching but not all the way

or your trim will fall apart.

This is what your trim will look like after you have finished fringing. Step 5: Carefully separate the layers of crepe paper and gently scrunch/crumple and fluff.

When you are happy with your trim and it is fluffy and festive, use double stick tape to attach it to a platter, cake plate or other serving dish. You could also drape it around a mirror or have it streaming from a chandelier. Happy 4th of July!

*you can print out the flag cupcake toppers here*