Mia Ballerina and the Little Box

So we are finally calming down a bit after vacation! I am so behind on getting info out to the parents at the school about Box Tops...I am hoping to get it all straight before October 1st. Hold me to it, ya'll!

Mia had her first dance class this past Wednesday night! She absolutely LOVED it! She looked so adorable while she was dancing to. I'm not trying to brag, but she was one of the best behaved kids in there. It's a class of 3, 4 and 5 yr olds, and I am amazed they can keep their attention for more than 5 seconds! Mia couldn't stop talking about the fun music and getting to tap.....She's asked me like 20 million times if it's time for dance class yet! LOL. Here are a few pics of her in her lovely leotard, ready to head to class......

Elaina had a birthday party to go to this past weekend, the first invite from a classmate this year. She was really excited cos it was at Skatetown. She wanted to make her friend a birthday present (I've created a monster!!) so I took her to Hobby Lobby and talked her into making lip gloss and decoupaging a box for her friend. While there, she decided to bead a necklace for her too. I was a bit worried about making lip gloss, I've never done it before, but the library was a great source. I'll post the recipe at the end of this post :)

Elaina had a blast decoupaging that box. Here's her finished product....I actually want one!!!

Lucious Lip Gloss

1/4 C vegetable, olive, or sweet almond oil

1/4 oz or 1 tsp of beeswax chopped into small pieces or grated

4-5 drops of essential oil; be sure it is FOOD GRADE

1/8 tsp Wilton Glycerine

heat safe, disposable plasic cup

disposable spoon or popscicle stick

6 empty, clean dry mini mint tins or old lip balm pots (we used Altoid Small tins)

OPTIONAL:

1 vitamin E capsule

Lipstick

Wilton glitter

MAKE THE BASE:

1. Pour oil in the cup and add beeswax. Microwave oil and wax for about one minute, stirring every 20 seconds, until wax is completely melted. (the cup will be really HOT)

2. Test the consistency of the base. You can do a glossy gloss similar to vaseline, or a more creamy, harder gloss. Dip the spoon in the melted mixture and let the excess drip off. Put it on a piece of foil and pop it in the freezer for a few minutes. If it's too hard, or you want an even glossier finish, add a few drops more of oil. If it's too soft, add a bit more beeswax and stir to re-melt. If the wax isn't completely melted, microwave the cup for 10- 15 seconds more and stir.

To MAKE IT AWESOME:

1. Add the essential oil and stir well (make certain you have food grade oils. I found some limited ones at Hobby Lobby in the soap making section. most health food stores have a TON of them)

2. Stir in the Glycerine. You don't have to use it, but it adds moisture and makes the gloss smooth and silky

3. Pierce a vitamin E capsule and pour the contents into the melted oil and wax. Vitamin E is a moisturizer and helps preserve the final product.

4. Take a small chunck of a lipstick and add it to the melted oil and wax. The lipstick won't add alot of color to your lips, but will color the gloss and make it look nice. ( I had to pop it in the microwave for a few secs to get it to incorporate)

5. If you want to really sparkle ( and we sure did....ALOT) add a pinch of superfine glitter (Wilton makes one for cakes in several different kinds) to the mixture

TO FINISH IT UP:

1. When you are all done tinkering, pour it into the tins or jars. Be sure to check if there are holes by the hinges (there were in our tins) Make sure you don't fill it up past those holes, and also dont fill up old lip pots too full either.

2. Let it sit UNDISTURBED for 20 minutes

Recipes:

Pink Lemonade Gloss:

gloss base + lemon essential oil + Chunch of pink lipstick + glitter

Orange Creamsicle Balm:

balm base + orange essentail oil + vanilla oil + piece of orangy lipstick

Lavendar Fields Balm:

Balm base + lavendar essential oil + plum lipstick (this is the one we made)

Cinnamon Clove Gloss:

gloss base + clove oil ( only one or two drops)+dash of cinnamon+ brownish lipstick

You can use your imagination too...if you can eat it, you can use it in your gloss or balm! Hope you have fun making this! I know Elaina and I really did. I can't wait to make more and play around with different combos of stuff!

T-shirt Recon....

So I have a new passion....it is called t-shirt recon (or t-shirt reconstruction). It is really fun to do, and doesn't take long, and has endless possibilities. I am adding to my wardrobe for fall...so far I have made a cute scarf, and a shrug. I also could not help myself and made a couple of halter style shirts too(hey..that's what a cardigan is for). I wish I had some pictures for you to see, but I haven't had the opportunity to have another person photo me wearing some of the stuff I have been making earlier.

I don't think i will ever look at a t-shirt the same way again. It is cool to take something totally unflattering and boxy, and turn it into your favorite item in your wardrobe! Not to mension, IT"S FREE, or close to it. Goodwill is FULL of t-shirts for CHEAP. I have been confisicating ones from my closet, as well as my husband's too...T-shirts, be afraid....be very afraid!!!!!


Here's a link to a site I like... I made the two halter style shirts on there. I LOVE them! I also checked out the book at Books A Million too, I am not ready to buy it just yet.....I am not sure I am THAT serious into this!!! LOL.

Enjoy!

All I Want for Christmas.....

is my two front teeth! Well, not quite. I am sure her two front teeth will be here well before Christmas.

Just thought I would share a few pics from my nieces 7th birthday party. They had horses there for the kids to ride...Cant remember the name of the group of people, but they were great. The kids enjoyed riding the horses and they even did a little demonstration of what the horses could do.

Of coarse, these beautiful pics were taken by my sister in law, Lisa of B & L Photography. Check out her site here. You need pics, she's the gal to go to. Thanks, girl. You always take wonderful pics.

I have been busy busy for the last two days. I ran errands literally ALL day yesterday, and then today, had a comittee meeting for the school's PTO. I am excited about beginning a new year again, with new opportunity to make a difference.

I have started working on my Christmas gifts already. I always see things that I would like to do for my friends, but never have enough time to get them done in. So I decided I was going to begin very early this year in hopes of being able to share my love in the form of a gift this year. I am debating on putting pics of them up here, but I guess they wont be able to figure out who's is who's. HEHEHE!

As always, Love,

Bubble Skirt Tutorial

Okay, so here goes. This skirt is made from 60 inch wide taffeta. Basically, the skirt comprised of a pencil skirt, a full circle skirt, and a waistband.

1. How to cut out the pieces.

The measurements you will need for this project will be the waist, hip and finished length. For mine, the waist was 22 inches, hip was 24 and length was 9 inches. I also overcast all of my seams so that I wouldn't have fraying.

1. First we will cut the inside skirt. Measure the hips and add two inches to that measurement. Then determine the length. You will want the lenth to be about two inches shorter than the length that you want the skirt to be when you are finished. Cut out your fabric to those measurements. For instance, mine was 26x9. Sew the sides together with 1/2 inch seams to make a tube, Overcast seam, press to one side. ( you may also cut this out on the fold by dividing the waist measurement in half. Then you will only have one seam. This is how I did mine. So it would be 12x9, then when you open it up, it will be the correct size)

2.Next we will cut the waistband. Take the same hip measurement, and cut a rectangle to that width, with a length of 5 inches. This is also better if you are to cut it on the fold. So again, the rectangle would be 12x5, upon opening, it will measure correctly.

3. Now we will cut the circle skirt. Take your fabric, fold it in half. Then fold it in half again. Divide your waist measurement by four. Then cut a quarter circle to this measurement so that if you were to open the fabric up, you would have a hole in the center. (don't open your fabric tho!). Next you want to cut the length. The longer you make it, the more pouffy it will be. I only made my skirt one inch longer than the inside skirt. You may want to make yours a few inches longer. So mine was 10 inches long.

4. Gather the edge of your circle skirt. Set your machine to the longest stitch length and sew 3/8 inch in from the edge. Sew around again about 1/4 inch from that stitching. You will have two rows of stitching. DO NOT BACKSTITCH EITHER END. Pull the thread to gather until the edge measures the same width as the inside skirt. Overcast seam

5. Sew the gathered edge of your circle skirt to the inside skirt, having raw edges even. Use a 3/8 inch seam. Overcast seam.

6. Turn your pieces right side out. Now you may need to repeat step 4 on the upper edge of your circle skirt to make it fit your inside skirt, but I think I goofed on mine. It should measure the same. With your stitch length set to as long as it will go, and raw edges even, stay stitch the upper edges together. Overcast seam, Set aside.

7. Now to the waistband. With right sides together, sew the edges. Form a casing on one of the edges big enough to fit your elastic through. Be sure to leave an opening to feed your elastic in. Once you have your casing stitched, place the waistband right sides together with the skirt, having raw edges even and sew with a 5/8 inch seam. Overcast seam.

8. Feed your elastic in, and stitch the opening shut. VOILLA! A bubble skirt. You can always comment me too! HAPPY SEWING!!!!

Bubble Skirt Pics and Tutorial

So here it is...I dressed Mia up this morning and took her pic in her bubble skirt. It didn't come out quite as puffy as I wanted, but it was due to a small error on my part (everything was going a little too smoothly). I was suprised at just how easy it was to do...took me around an hour or so, but I've been sewing for 14 years. This will be my first ever tutorial, so I hope that it is easy to understand. I will be happy to answer questions, or try to clarify anything that needs clarifying... just leave me a comment. When I do another skirt, I will be sure to update with much better photos! Happy Sewing!!!

http://melyb.blogspot.com/2009/08/bubble-skirt-tutorial.html

Bubble Skirt

So I got a new catalog the other day and seen the most adorable outfit in it! Of coarse it is a boutique catalog, and everything is super rediculously expensive. I set off to Hobby Lobby in search for some Bamboo Crochet thread, and ended up in the fabrics. I found the prettiest chocolate brown taffeta!! So I grabbed a few yards, and planned on making Elaina a pair of ruffle pants, and Mia a bubble skirt. I went through the patterns to probe my theroy of how to make a bubble skirt, cos I don't like to have to think and figure out something if it's already been done for me! LOL. No luck there. I was certain the internet would have something. It did, of coarse, but I still didnt' get out of thinking and figuring..... I had to take the basic idea of the tutorial, and then correct some little ameture mistakes. I will be posting my corrected tutorial on here, unfortunately it won't have pictures, as I have already completed my goal. But I will try to make it as simple as possible, and include diagrams for you...cos if you are like me, you HAVE to see it done, or at least be able to see what the person is talking about. Since it's late, and Mia's already in bed, I'll take a few pics of her in it tomorrow for you to coo at!

On other news, the girls finished their Bengal Belles dance camp today. We got to go and enjoy a little mini recital they put on for all the parents. Mia was so stinkin cute, and Elaina did wonderful as well! I am going to try to get a vid up on Facebook if I can make it work...no luck so far...but I reeeeeally want to post them!

~Till next time~

Long Time, No See

Well I know it's been a while since I've posted anything. Time has just flown by, and I have been incredibly busy. Things have gotten a little hairy at times. I feel awful cos we haven't been to church in three weeks. Seems like Sunday is the only day we can grab some much needed rest from the crazy week. Kevin is off today, so I am itching to get out my sewing machine and do some stuff.


I recently did some hats for a photographer friend of mine. I only managed to get pics of the first one I finished...See what I mean...crazy!
As you can see, I've recently perfected the art of knitting...something I never thought I'd be able to learn to do. I had been conditioned in crochet for so long. I found the best way for me to do it was to keep picking it up and then putting it down over and over until I finally got used to doing it. Voilla! I can knit! I have always loved the way knit looks over crochet. Now I am having a blast doing it!

Well, I am off for now. As you can see, I spiffed up my blog. Took a while, but I like it tons better now! Enjoy!

Cocoon Pod

So I have totally been wanting to do one of these for quite some time. Thankfully I have finally learned how to knit, so now I am just awash with tons of stuff that I want to do. I have always LOVED the way knit looks, but never had the patience to do it. I still get pretty frusterated with it, cos I allow myself to think "I could have crocheted about three of these in the time it takes for one!"

I am going to be going on a photoshoot with my sister in law to take some pics of my new baby cousin, Dakota either tomorrow or thursday. I am excited I will get to try these out on him! I can't wait!

Enjoy

Busy Busy Busy

So things have been really crazy, plus I've been lazy about getting on here. Well, I've made a bunch of new stuff, including a dress that I seen in a magazine that retails for $190!! I've also knitted a bodice and sewn on a skirt too for Mia. Just haven't put up any pics yet. I've done a diaper bag and a few pair of cotton pants with matching kimono shirt for a friend of my mother's. She also got some adorable Heather Bailey fabric to make another bag and some accessories for another couple at their church. I can't wait to delve into that. I am also working on a pair of ruffle coulates, and a few other things that I just have to have the time to think through. More to come soon!! Enjoy!

The really "expensive" dress I made for Elaina. I had to wash it about 3 or 4 times because she wanted to play and twirl in it!

Mia's Pettiskirt

She loves to twirl and prance around in it!

Spring-a-licious

So I was feeling a bit dumpy today. What usually makes me feel better is a nice clean house and just getting to relax. I got my self together and got my whole house cleaned and fresh. It is such a pretty day out, my windows are open and I am loving the fresh air billowing in.
Apart from a few run ins particularly with Mia, things are really going quite well today.

Now, on to my latest project. A friend asked me to make an Easter dress for her daughter to wear. She wanted a pillowslip dress, and I got to pick out the fabric to do it in. I knew I wanted it to be very "Spring" like and pretty. I scoured the stores and found this great rose fabric. It looks a little "hot" in the pics, but it really isn't. I have found some other fabric similar to this out of different flowers that is yellow I am thinking about doing for one of my girls. I love the peek-a-boo lining and how cute it looked monogrammed.

I was visiting with my monogrammer today and she was telling me about their new website that she put together. It has online ordering and everything! Check it out here!

Elaina's going to be 7!!!

So I have been in a sewing mood lately. I guess cos of the weather being a bit warm on occasion. I have definitly got spring fever. I went online and ordered the kids a bunch of spring-ish clothes today.
Well, my not so baby girl is turning 7 this weekend! I decided to make her an outfit out of the fabric she picked out last summer for me to make her a dress ....oops! I love the font I found online for the E. I thought about having it monogrammed on, but I decided to applique it on at the last minute. I made the skirt really full and put some peek-a-boo tulle on it for cute-ness! She absolutely adored the skirt and the first thing she did was twirl in it! I am going to take her shopping this evening to get her some high tops to go with it and complete the outfit. She is so excited for her birthday, and I am too.

Ruffle Pants

So I decided to try my hand at a new technique a friend showed me (thanks Stacy) it was fun but seemed to take forever to do . I think my labor paid off. Now I just need a shirt to go with it! I think these would look cute as capris too....I think I may try that next. Enjoy

Teddy Bear Hat and Mittens

So I have been doing up gifts this past week for a friend of mine's baby shower comming up tomorrow. I can't wait for her to see this adorable little set I crocheted for her new baby! It's done with soft chocolate brown yarn, and the mitts have black detail on them making them look just like a little bear. I can't wait to see her baby in this adorable set!!

Gifts for Jayden

See, I told you I would still be doing new stuff......the holidays have left me pretty worn out, but I am back into the swing of things now. Abagail's baby Jayden Elijah is soon going to be here. I was thinking I would have about another two weeks to produce the gift ideas I had planned to make for him. Well, all of a sudden the shower date got pushed up and I find out Tuesday that the shower was this comming Saturday. For some reason, my invitation never got delivered. I am glad we went to their house for dinner, otherwise I would have still been thinking I had two weeks.....

So here is my latest creation....The Airplane hat. It is crocheted in baby blue yarn and lovingly hand embroidered with felt. So cute!
























Detail of the airplane





Now on to these....these unfortunately are not for sale. This is my version of "Bitty Booties". I found the tutorial on a blog a couple of years ago. It too, is made from felt, and they are completely hand embroidered and sewn....it took me a few hours to get them done. I would rate them as 'easy". The instructions are easy to follow and the stitches are simple to learn. You just need a couple sheets of felt, a needle and some matching/coordinating DMC embrodiery floss. You need to know a running stitch and blanket edge. Both you can google and find tutorials. These are very inexpensive to make. You can find the tutorial here on Heather Bailey's blog. Thanks Heather! Ya'll should try it!