Sewing the party dress times 3.

Hi friends,

I am kind of excited to share with you what I've been up to the  

past two weeks.  In order for me to get through these past few weeks of winter, I needed to

find a project that would remind me of spring.

And along comes the party dress, a free pattern by the Cottage Mama and I was sold.

I was pretty sure it would make the perfect Easter Dress.

I needed to put my thinking cap on though.  The bodice is lined

and the skirt is quite full.  But after struggling a bit with the first

dress I made, the next two went together much more quickly.

This is the first one I made.  The fabric line is tutti frutti, and I think the name is fitting don't you?

 One of these dresses is heading to my little Arizona grand--daughter.

A bit of the messy hair, it was getting towards bedtime and she had been playing hard.

However in between some bed jumping, she was a sweet little model.

 A back view.  The skirt is quite full and it has a lovely sash perfect for bow

making.  I found the flower buttons at Jo-Anne's and thought they went

perfectly with the dress!

And this last number I made for a good friends new little grand-daughter.

The size is six months and it was so tiny compared to the size 3 and 4 I made

for my own grand-daughters.

I made it so she could wear it with or without a sash, giving her the option for

two different looks.

And I added covered buttons, a first for me.

I sure hope she likes it!

 Finally.. we have had some beautiful spring days.

Most of the snow is gone, just a little bit in the shady areas near the woods.

And soon I hope to be doing another kind of sowing.

Take care and think spring my friends!

Cindy

Joining:

Met. Monday  Between Naps on the Porch

Spring Mantle and other spring projects.

We are still in search of spring around here.  We have had a few nicer days, but this weekend has been ridiculously cold.  So I guess I will have to create my own spring... inside for now. 

My first project was our mantle.  I became sick of looking at wintry items but there wasn't much in the budget for decorating.  So I made the banner out of some scrap fabric I had on hand.

I also made a new burlap wreath and found the metal Home sign at Hobby Lobby for just $10. Everything else I had on hand.  All in all a pretty cheap and refreshed mantle for spring.

And I've been sewing too!  I made this little skirt for my grand-daughter Callie. She can wear it as soon as I get it in the mail because it's 80 at her house.

And I made this one for little Addison who has grown like a weed this winter.  Instead of lace I added teeny pom-poms around the bottom edge of her skirt.

I am also working on a dress for her and I am almost done.  I figure when or if it ever does get nice outside I will just put my sewing machine away for awhile.

We did see our first robin yesterday.  But the poor thing looked cold.   I just hope he doesn't turn around and head south again.

Although I couldn't blame him.

But hope springs eternal and that my friends keeps me hopeful for spring.

Have a wonderful week,

Cindy

Simple pillow tutorial

I've been on a sewing kick lately.  Not  complicated projects, but several smaller ones.

I love new pillows but I don't like the price of the ones I usually want.

I bought this fabric last summer when it was on sale. 

I love the pastorial scene. 

For my pillow project I am using a 18x18  down filled pillow form.

I cut one panel for the front of my pillow.

I cut it 18" by 18" for a snug fit.

You will need two panels for the back.  I used a navy cotton that I had on hand. Cut one panel the width of your pillow and add 6 inches.  For mine it is 18 + 6 for a total of 24".  Cut the length the same as your pillow.  Then cut the piece in half.  

Next step.

Make a fold on the length of your fabric, about a  half inch and iron.

Do this for both pieces.

Then sew each panel along the fold.

Now your ready to pin your pieces, right sides together.

One panel will overlap the other in the center.

Then sew close to the edges around the entire outside of the pillow.

Now iron, trim your edges and turn your pillow case right side out.

 It will look like this.

 Insert your pillow and ..

there you have it!  I made two, cutting the panels from different sections of the fabric.

Not hard at all.

Soon you can be whipping up all kinds of pillows.

I am going to start working on some Christmas ones next.

And pillowcases for my grand-daughters too.

Here is one I made for Addison.

And I just finished one for Calista as well.

Take care friends,

Cindy

No sew poncho and Autumn

We are still having beautiful sunny days with highs in the 70's.

But our evenings are cool to cold.  Last night it dipped into the 40's.

We need in between clothing.  So with that in mind I made a little poncho for my almost 3 year old grand-daughter.

And it's just as easy as can be too.

There is no sewing, just cutting and the price is right too.

Getting her off the swing-set is no easy task.

She is a real outdoorsy girl and she loves her swings.

The material to use is fleece and i bought mine on sale for $5.50/yard.

A yard will make 2 for this size which is like a 3-4.

One is also going to my little grand-daughter Calista who lives in AZ. however she probably won't need it until Dec. or so.

Addison likes her little poncho.  It's a little snugly blanket she can throw

on and throw off quickly.

The blogosphere is full of tutorials for them.

Just try typing in no sew poncho in your search engine.

I have just started my Autumn decorating and I need to get on the ball.

I set this table a few years ago and I am sharing it because I love the pumpkin centerpiece.

I used a real pumpkin for mine but I have seen several now that use a foam one and that works well too.

Is it fall like yet where you are?

Time for me to head out and enjoy our beautiful Autumn weather while it lasts.

But first I want to thank everyone who left comments on our kitchen cabinet post.

My husband Dan was so appreciative.

Have a wonderful week!

Cindy

Sewing, crafting, anything to take my mind off of our rotten no show spring!

Little Addison modeling the skirt I made her.

I am using that term loosely here for she was way into her Dora movie and not in the mood for my modeling idea.

You can see by the expression on her face and her desire to bolt at any moment.

She is two after all, and sweet and smart as can be, but those two's still come through loud and clear.

I also made my niece Chloe who turned 4 on Saturday a little skirt as well.

Now one more to make for little Calista and then I will take a break from little girl sewing.

Anything to keep my mind off of our awful, horrible, no show spring!

On Saturday we celebrated my niece Chloe's 4th birthday with a trip to Chuck E Cheese.

The two little girls had a ball!

Rocking the house down!

Chloe is my sister Susie's youngest and my Mom's youngest grandchild.

Addison is my grand-daughter and my Mom's first great-grandchild.

She has 3 greats now.

Sweet cousin love!

This little decoupaged box is another little project.

I used pansies that I had pressed back when we actually had pansies.

I made sure to grab these when they were at their peak.

I bought the box unfinished at Hobby Lobby.

I painted and then I added the pansies on top and decoupaged.

I then added some pansy scrap book paper that I had in my stash.

And I decoupaged over that.

Quick and easy craft.

The pictures are dark, but they are of my daughter Katie when she was little.

 We just can't win this year as far as weather goes.

Yesterday we added 4 more inches of snow.  Most of it had melted but now it's back!

How ironic that I see my first robin of the season too.

Poor bird, just looking for something to eat through all that mess.

So you can see why I've been a sewing and crafting.

I would rather be outside but like my hubby says, "Cindy you can't control the weather".

Yes dear, I know.

On a brighter front I am going to visit a girlfriend later this week.

We haven't seen each other for 20 years!

Oh my, I am looking forward to it.

Take Care all and send weather prayers my way.

Cindy

joining:

Inspire me Tuesday 

Tweak it Tuesday