A Simple Solution... no more mixed up feet!

Very often, when these go on

 

 They look like this

So I took one of these (mine is actually a bandaid, but any good sized simple sticker will do!)

Gave it a cut

And glued it like this (I used tacky glue)

Now, putting on shoes is no longer puzzling, it's just a puzzle! 

Oh Sheet, it's a dress now!

I made Raina this dress, and I think it's pretty cute! 

I didn't use a pattern, I just used one of her dresses as a guide and sort of winged it.  It's made from part of a vintage butterfly sheet from the thrift store, and a yellow rose sheet that was my grandmother's before I stole it for crafting.  :)

Sidenote:  The rest of the rose sheet was attached with spray adhesive to my windowshades during college.  I thought it looked pretty artsy and vintage, but now I wish I had that big piece of sheet back to play with!  It is SO soft and worn in... and I can dream of so many things I would do with it!

Back to the dress.  I made a bodice, and a skirt piece that was about twice as wide, maybe a little bigger so it would make lots of ruffles.  I like to hand ruffle, but you could also do it on a machine.  The straps are from the butterfly sheet, as is the facric rose at the waistline.  It still didn't look done, so a added ribbon and rickrack at the bottom to fancy things up, and some flower trim at the top of the bodice. 

I wish there was enough fabric to make one in my size! 

Unfortunately, I made this lightweight sundress at the end of September.  Poor planning, Mama!  But I could always layer it, or, at the rate Raina grows, she'll probably still be able to wear it in the spring!  Of course, there's always little sister to pass it along to down the road!

I[m also thinking I might want to line it since there's a lot of stitching showing on the inside.  I've never done that before, though, so I'm not committed to it yet.  Maybe I'll do it on a practice dress first.

P.S. - This shot is courtesy of Super Why on PBS, playing behind the camera so that little miss two would actually look at me and humor me for a second while I slipped the dress on and snapped a picture.  Thanks, PBS - you've saved my blog once again!

Wearing my heart on my... knees?

The first day I had Raina wear these cool kid pants, she was NOT in the mood to model.  She was feeling very 2.5.  She was interested only in the flamingoes, and was pretty annoyed that the rides at the zoo had the nerve to be shut down on a weekday on October.  Nevertheless, I managed to grab a few shots of pants in action...

She is telling me to "Shoo."  Seriously.  Does it get more two than that?!

Okay, back to the pants.  These are pretty basic pants.  I traced a pair of Raina's pants onto this fabric, which I love, and which JoAnn Fabrics is now completely sold out of.  Apparentyl a lot of other people like it too.  Fortunately, I had the foresight to buy 2 yards of it, so I'm making it last!  You may remember it from my last post, where it made an appearance on a few bonnets.  You'll likely see it again soon.  Here are some close-ups of it's loveliness:

Can't get enough of it.  Any thoughts on more projects I should use it on?

Wait.  Pants.  Wasn't I getting back to the pants?  I traced a pair of Raina's pants onto the folded fabric, right at the bottom.  No hemming!  Raina is lanky, and has a pants problem.  As in, the don't fit her.  Ever.  Pants that are the right length literally fall off her bottom, and pants that fir correctly in the waist are capris.  So I make her pants.  I love the pants I make her, and she tolerates them.  :)  I sewed the front and back pieces together, inserted an elastic waistband, closed the seam... PANTS!  But they were missing something.

When I was little, I remember my mom making (what I remember being) some pretty sweet knee patches for my pants out of iron on bonding material... those patches sold to reinforce knees, elbows, and other parts of clothing that get worn quickly (are there other parts?)  Mostly, I remember them being cat patches... which seems weird looking back since my mom is totally not a cat person, but wharever.  My point:  knee patches.  I decided these pants needed some decoration in the knee area.  The heart patches are made from heavy-ish red jersey, reclaimed from a red t-shirt that's been in my "do something with this" pile for a while now, and can finally breathe a sigh of relief, knowing it will be loved again.

Knee patches, on cute pants.

PANTS!  Displayed lovingly on my kitchen floor, because my camera is dying and that's where the light is best :)

I give these pants an A+.  They are soft, comfy, and go with lots of Raina's shirts.  I especially love that they go with the Big Sister shirt.  Raina loves that they are pink and have a heart on them, thus making them "princess pants."  Whatever works, right?

Big Sis, princess pants, and the zoo Jeep... and a SMILE!