Made a hooded towel

Today I serged up a quick hooded towel out of a scrap remnant I had. It is definitely not a fancy project, but Sophia loves it.


These pictures don't really do it justice but I could hardly get my daughter to hold still for a second. She wanted it tied like a cape so that is what we did here. She is also waving her hand inside the bath washcloth mitt I made for her too.

O'fallon Public Works Fair

We went to the O'fallon Public Works Fair. I forgot my good camera so all I had was my iPhone.





Sound proof headphones, wait a minute, I can use some of those.


Driving the construction trucks.


Sophia, it is probably not a good idea to play in a snow plow.


Okay, she decided to drive the snow plow instead.


Whoa! That is a huge truck.


Sophia beeping the horn and driving.


Had to take a photo here. Sophia loves these things.


My daughter looks so tiny in this truck.


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The ladybug and polka dot ensemble

Matching accessories for the ladybug pillowcase dress.





Every three year old needs some fancy bloomers since they don't understand that you just can't lift up your dress in public. Sometimes they want to run around splash in puddles, climb ladders, or swing on swings at the park and having your panties show just won't do.






And a floppy hat to match...





Oh, and of course it is reversible for those days when you feel like you need more polka dots.





"Sunbonnet Sue"  or maybe "Holly Hobbie"comes to mind in this photo, but I think with that fancy hat, she could give the fancy bonnets worn at the Kentucky Derby this past weekend a little challenge.

This has been a busy week for me. I taught myself to install a zipper in the fly of a pair of dress slacks because a best friend of mine needed help and well let's just say, I have a sewing machine or two so we figured it out.






Then, last night I had a couple hours to myself while my husband worked and decided to make bloomers or as my darling Sophia likes to call them pretty panties covers and a reversible hat to match the pillowcase dress.

I love using my serger to make these adorable floppy hats and my sweet girls love wearing them so that works out pretty well. Sewing these hats on my serger is a snap. I made this whole hat including cutting the fabric and ironing in the waterproof lining that gives it it's shape in a little over an hour.

Next on the list is making the mini me version for little Kaylee baby. If you ever wondered why I usually make the bigger version first, I can tell you why. There are two reasons. It is easier to size a pattern down that I make than to size up and the smaller version takes less fabric in most cases, unless I make a mistake and have to start over, so I can use the leftovers to make the smaller version.

If you know any little girls who need a super cute outfit like this, let me know.  If I can find the fabric again, I can make one for you.

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Daredevil taking risks

Kaylee got her first black and blue bruise when she took her first big tumble yesterday. She snuck into the bathroom while I was throwing out her diaper and got this lovely little black eye. I am not sure what she was trying to do but I suspect she was trying to climb into the tub based on the way she was laying between the tub and the toilet. I heard a huge thump and ran to see the situation. "She loves baths and probably thought hey I will go play in the tub."


The good news is that it looks better than I thought it would this morning. She has a tiny cut about a Quarter of an inch long above her eyelid and a couple bruises on her cheek. Poor baby was more surprised than anything. She is definitely more of a risk taker than Sophia. We will be keeping the bathroom door shut from here forward to prevent any more climbing injuries in there.

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Sophia's pillowcase dress

Pillowcase dresses are everywhere and every little girl needs one right?

So I set out with that thought in mind.
1. Obtain cute pillowcase.
2. Cut out armholes
3. Fold over top cut edge and sew a simple casing.
4. String fancy ribbon or cording through casing and let your little girl delight in wearing a new dress.

Sounds simple enough. Sure, I can make a pillowcase dress today while my girls nap.

So I searched high and low in my home. A cute pillowcase was not an option so I went searching through my favorite fabric stash.



Ta da! As I thought about making this I thought I better use a super cute fabric to make the pillowcase dress because honestly, what little girl wants to walk around looking like she is wearing a flour sack! Not my girl!



She wants a detailed super cute dress that people compliment her in when worn. So Debbie got caught up in the Details and made Sophia a dress I would have envied when I was a little girl with lots of ruffles, details, and bows in a bright contrasting fabric colors. Now that's a dress my girl will love and wear.



Wow! Mom you made a dress for me.



Here is the back view.


Twirling around makes those ladybugs zip by..


Showing off mommy's work

Notes for me:
I used a pillowcase for the basic size and hemmed for my three year old size, roughly a 5T since a pillowcase length would be about right for an average height seven year old.
I cut armholes at two inches from the sides on the top edge and serged them with a three thread rolled hem.

Then, I cut strips two inches wide and about 21 inches long strips out of the polka dot fabric and serged all raw edges with a three thread rolled hem. I stuck that polka dot fabric back in the serger and set the ruffling foot in motion and like magic lots of ruffles appeared. I sewed those onto the neckline and the bottom edge hem and serged up the side seams with a normal four thread straight stitch and there you have it, a new dress.

Now, I have to get started on the accessories to match and one for Kaylee too.



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Ruffle polka dotted fancy pants

So, I finally got around to serging the ruffle pants to hide the diaper under Kaylee's dress. It has been in my mind for weeks, but I just couldn't squeeze any more time into my day to make these little pants to disguise the diaper under the matching coordinated dress.




Here is the ruffle bum backside of the pants. I am not sure why my iPhone is disorienting the photo sideways. Ugh!

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The Egg Hunt

The Easter egg hunt that didn't really happen.

Sophia and Kaylee refused to hunt the Easter eggs the bunny hid in our house. It was a little frustrating since the eggs were full of candy. I hoped they would load up their baskets and eat some of the candy so I could confiscate the remainder of the candy so my little baby wouldn't choke. It never happened and mommy ended up finding all the eggs.

However, Kaylee did manage to get her hands on some of the candy and eat it. Here she is stealing a candy-filled egg out of the basket.

All the Easter eggs have been sent back to the bunny and the candy has been hidden to be given out or eaten at my discretion. Ha ha ha!


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Easter morning - the baskets

"Wow, mommy! The Easter Bunny came and left surprises." exclaimed Sophia on Easter morning.







"Look Kaylee, we have Easter baskets filled with presents!"



Sleeping beauty mini princess.



Kaylee checking out the bunny.



Kaylee intrigued by her basket.



Sophia and Kaylee opening their baskets.







"Look mom! The Easter Bunny remembered I wanted Squinkies!"



I love this sitting opposite photo. I wish I could have convinced Kaylee to keep her floppy hat I made for them on a bit longer.



"Mommy! I got a game for the red DS game."







Ooh, a dress was hiding in that basket under the floppy eared bunny.



Still digging through their loot in their baskets.



Happy Easter!

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Polar Bear loves

"Mommy, I love my polar bear. He is hungry.".

"Really? What do polar bears eat?" I asked.


"I make him some fish and a cup of water to drink," answered Sophia.

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