dandelions or roses?

source

Back in the middle of spring, when the dandelions were blooming and we had an un-expected dry day, my son brought me 2 or 3 dandelions while we were playing outside. 

I have seasonal allergies.

I hate dandelions.

I am NOT proud of what I am about to tell you.

I told my son, who sweetly brought me "flowers" because he thought I would like them, that we couldn't take them inside because they make Mommy sneeze.  That we would have to leave them outside.

His response..."Oh."

I know I hurt his feelings.

I know I disappointed him.

Later that night I was thinking about our little exchange and I realized how wrong I had been.  Yup.  Dandelions DO make me sneeze (among other things).  But what was more important there?  My personal comfort or letting my son know that those little things he thinks of doing for me...

make my Mommy heart melt.

What do we do if someone brings us a dozen roses?  Grab our prettiest vase, add that mix that comes with them, and gingerly place the roses in the vase.  Why don't I treat his "flowers" with the same awe and tenderness?  His dandelions should be my roses. 

I am so very thankful that he has not stopped bringing me flowers!!  The next time he brought me a dandelion, he and I got out a ball jar and put it in water.  More recently he's been bringing me clover and tiny purple flowers that grow wild in our yard. 

Wanna see?

Man! I love this kid!

So tell me, are their dandelions your roses?

Sail Away Maxi Dress Tutorial

So, my new maxi dress didn't ACTUALLY sail away, but she and I sure wanted to!!  It was a gorgeous day in Annapolis out on the harbor! 

Recently I found a tutorial for a draped maxi dress.  I wasn't real sure about it but my husband thought I should give it a try.  Pretty sure it looked better on her than me :) I began using her tutorial, but I changed so much of it that it's really not even similar.  Here's what I did.  Sorry for the lack of photos.  Since I began following a tutorial I didn't see a need to do that.   

Materials needed:

1 1/2 -2 yards of jersey knit cotton (or any flowy fabric--does NOT have to be stretchy)

matching thread

measuring tape

Take some measurements! 

Measure from one shoulder across to the other shoulder.

We'll call it x. 

x +7" /2 = y

Now determine how long you want your dress.  Measure from the top of your shoulders to...wherever. :) This will be L.  Fold your fabric and cut two pieces that measure Y by L.  If you prefer a larger circumference at the bottom of the dress (ease in walking), you'll want to cut 2 pieces that are more of an A-line shape as apposed to a rectangle.  Slanting from the top to the bottom

***NOTE***

To get an idea of how wide you want the skirt of your dress, take a step that would be as long as you might walk, then measure how long that is. Mine is roughly 32" so I would double that to get my skirt circumference.

With right sides together pin down each long side.  Measure from the top of your shoulder to under your arm.  Add a half inch for ease.  If you underarm measurement is 10", then make a mark on each side of the dress that is 10" down from the top corner.  Sew down each side starting at the 10" mark you made.

Creating your shoulder straps

Measure in 2" from each outside corner along the top of your dress.  You'll be sewing a seam that is 1 1/2" long.  You'll begin sewing at the 2" mark and sew in towards the nexk.  Do this on both sides. 

Cut 3 3" wide ruffles that are twice as long as the circumference of the bottom of your dress.  To create my ruffles, I ran a basting stitch down the CENTER of each ruffle strip, then gathered each strip until it matched the circumference of the dress bottom.  Pin the ruffles to the dress.  Sew in place by sewing over top of the same basting stitch.  This creates a double layer ruffle. 

At this point, the dress is basically done.  If you want to fit it a bit more to your body, try it on inside out and pin along the contours of your body.  Sew along the lines of your pins.

I LOVE the split sleeve that is created on this dress!  I've gotten more compliments on that part of the dress than anything else.  I purchased a scarf at Walmart for $5 and tied it around my hips.  The fabric I purchased up in Amish Country for $2.99 a yd.  All together I spent $11 on this dress.

What do you think?  This dress is waaaay comfortable!

 

Road Trip Tips and Tricks

We had a wonderful...and busy time on vacation this last week!  WHEW!!  We hit the National Zoo, 2 beaches in the area, Washington DC, and Annapolis...all in 4 days!!  At times, yes, my stress level was high, but overall, it was a good time bonding with my little honey's. 

I spent the last 4 months planning out my strategy and plan of attack.  I did a few Touring Tuesday Tutorials and posts of items that I crafted for my kids to do in the car.  Some were hugely popular, and some not so much. :) BUT, I totally expected that.  You can't let yourself get upset when you spend time making something for your kid that just gets tossed aside.  They ARE just kids and it's up to us to teach them how to react when someone makes them something that they don't particularly care for. 

Moving on...

Here are some things that we did this week to help keep kids busy, keep our costs down, keep us from worrying, and overall organizing our trip!

Keeping kids busy
-put together a backpack of goodies such as activity books, coloring books, sock puppets, I Spy bags, small pad of paper and pencil, magic coloring book, small (new) toys, leapster games, marble mazes, magnetic memory game, pipe cleaners, finger puppets, new books, stickers, white board, magnets, and tin foil. 

My kids LOVED the sock puppets.  I would talk to them from the front seat with a puppet, which they all loved.  I made each of the older kids 2 puppets.  They would put one on each hand and have conversations between their hands/puppets. 

-bring fun cd's to listen to---we had a concert of kids bible songs going on for quite a while which we ALL sang along to :)

-stop at elementary school playgrounds every 2 hours (ish) to run off some energy. (This was a HUGE hit with my kids! Ask my oldest what his favorite part of vacation was and he answers, "the playgrounds, the beaches and the zoo."  I had mapquested elementary schools before we left, but we actually didn't stop at any of those.  The first one did not have a playground (what's up with that??)...then the next time we were supposed to stop, they were all asleep.  So, be prepared to alter your plans if need be.  When all else fails, stop at a gas station and ask directions to the nearest playground.  (We did that too!)

-I bought juice boxes and pouches, and snacks ahead of time.  Each time we got back in the car from a playground we had drinks and snacks.  This helped them WANT to get back in the car again :)

-I made 3 Touring Tuesday Travel Trays to use for eating and playing on. 

Keeping Costs Down

-pack your lunches every day.  We brought a cooler with drinks then purchased lunch meat, bread, string cheese, etc...and kept it in our cooler all week.  No matter where we were, we could have lunch in the car or at a playground, etc. 

-If you can stay in a place with a kitchen, cook some of your own dinners (or all).

-buy poptarts, granola bars, etc for breakfast foods.  Ok, so they're not the most healthy things in the world, but it's just a week.  Maybe you have some healthier ideas for breakfast?  Please share!  These are just the things that came to mind...and that we brought along.

-drive a fuel efficient automobile :) We are a family of 5 so we can still fit in a car.  I had budgeted gas for our minivan and set it aside.  We saved over $200 in gas by driving a car.  Nissan Altima if you'd like to know.

-In order to be able to drive the vehicle, we only packed for 3 days of clothes.  We did laundry half way through the week and wore our clothes a second time.

Organizing your Trip

-I used the cash envelope method.  When we stopped for gas, I only took money from our gas envelope.  It helped us to NOT overspend in the spending department since I knew I had only budgeted a certain amount for the "cash to blow" department.

-I packed all of my kids things in one duffle bag, mine in one, and hubbies in another. 

-Plan out a menu for the week so you can determine ahead of time how much you'll to spend in groceries.

**NOTE**

Something I didn't acount for is that we were headed to a local that has a higher cost of living.  Groceries were significantly more expensive than what we are used to.  If you can do a little research in that department, it might help in your grocery budget planning.

I am happy to say that we made it through a road trip WITHOUT a dvd player along!  In fact, my kids watched exactly NO tv while we were gone...and they survived!  Ask them that and they would disagree :) I'm not saying that we've never used one or that we never will use one again....but I CAN say that there was LESS whining and crying on this trip than we've had with our 3 1/2 hour trips to see family when we did have a dvd player along.  I found that interesting.

Thanks for reading and coming back after a week of no posts! 

*Do you like my dress? Come back soon for a tutorial!*

Do you have any great ideas??  I am constantly adding to my arsenal of travel tips.   

Ahhhh....

I WISH I could say I am heading here to spend some time with my honey!



But alas, I cannot.

I CAN however say I am headed here...



to spend some time with my honey and little honey's :)

We have never been and the opportunity came up, so we are headed to the DC--Annapolis area for the week!  I am pretty excited to see sites I have never seen...and the little honey's?? 

Well,

they are over the



EXCITED!!

So, if you think of me :) that's where I'm at!  I'm planning to get some good photos of my 2 newest maxi dresses!  Keep an eye out this week for those to appear.  One of them, kinda different, so I'm thinkin' about a tutorial.  We'll see!

Happy Father's Day everyone!!

Crossbody Hipster--the long awaited and not forgotten...TUTORIAL!

Last summer, as I was contemplating our vacation, I decided to make myself a crossbody hipster type of bag.  I had a number of people ask for a tutorial and well, sadly, I am just now getting to it! 

NOTE TO SELF:

If you decide to use your own bag for display, expect someone to ask if it's for sale.  Yup, I sold my crossbody bag so now I need another one! 

If you'd like to make one for yourself, here are the detailed with full photo instructions.  :)  If you would like to have one and don't know how to sew, I accept custom orders!  These sell for $25 in my etsy shop!.

Materials needed:

1/2 yd of outer fabric


1/3 yd of lining fabric

1   12” zipper to match outer fabric

Coordinating thread

1/3 yd fusible fleece

1/3 yd of fusible heavyweight interfacing (optional)

NOTE:

*(I interface my lining with heavyweight fusible interfacing just for a bit more added stability. You really don’t HAVE to interface the lining though. Fusible fleece is pretty stiff all by itself!
Directions

1. Cut from the fabric and interfacing...

2 outer fabric (your choice) 8 ½” x 10 ½” or 9 ½” x 11 ½”

2 inner fabric to the same that you choose above.

2 fusible fleece to match the outer fabric size

2 fusible heavyweight interfacing (optional)

2 outer fabric pocket pieces 2” shorter than your outer pieces. So 6 ½” x 10 ½” or 7 ½” x 11 ½”

2 lining fabric pieces 6 ½” x 10 ½ or 7 ½ x 11 ½

2 outer fabric 1 ½” x 44”

Interface the 2 outer fabric pocket pieces

2. Iron your interfacing to your pieces per the manufacturer’s directions.

-Cut a 1” square from each corner of the bottom of all four rectangles and all four pocket pieces.

3. Assemble the pockets (or do one pocket if you prefer)

-With right sides together, sew along the length of the fabric on the side that does not have the squares cut out.

-Turn right side out and iron seam flat. Pin in place and topstitch along the same seam.



-Pin your completed pocket to one of the outer fabric pieces with the raw edges touching. The right side of the fabric should be facing outward. Baste stitch along the bottom to hold pocket in place.

-Measure from side to side of the pocket with a tape measure to mark a middle point on your pocket. Repeat this step one inch above the mark to make another mark. Draw a line using these two marks as a guide, from top to bottom of the pocket piece. Sew down this line creating your two pockets. Backstitch at each end a few times. The more support the better!

4. Assemble the handle
-Fold over about ½” on the long side of a handle piece and press all the way down the length of the handle.

-Do the same for the other side.

-Fold the strap in half length wise and pin in place. The strap is very skinny so this can be awkward.

-Sew all the way down the open side of EACH handle. You should have two long skinny straps.

-As you near the end of each strap piece, gently unfold the end as you see in the series of photos. 

fold a short end of the handle piece over ½”.  Sew this seam in place. You only need to do this to one side of each handle as the raw side will be sewn into the bag. Follow these same directions for the second handle piece.

**If you prefer, you can fold and sew the short ends down before you press the length of the handles.  I chose to do it this way because of a lack of time**



5. Attaching the zipper

-You’re going to make a fabric/zipper sandwich. Lay one of your outer pieces right side up. Lay your zipper on top, with right side of zipper facing downward as shown in the photo. Take your one lining piece of fabric and lay it on top of the zipper right side down. Pin all three in place.

-NOW you have a zipper sandwich. You can use a regular foot or a zipper foot but sew close to the zipper teeth. (If you get too close, your zipper gets snagged on the fabric, if you get too far, it won’t catch all the fabric layers…it can be tricky, but just keep at it!)

-Pull the outer fabric and lining fabric away to reveal your zipper on the inside. Pin the fabrics back and away from the zipper, and together. Top stitch along the zipper with 1/8” seam allowance. This makes it look much nicer and holds that outer fabric down. Follow these same steps for the other two pieces of fabric.

6. Assembling the Bag.

Don’t forget to unzip your zipper before this next part!
-Pull the outer fabric pieces away from the lining. Pin the outer fabric pieces in place with right sides together. Now pin your lining pieces together. You should have a long rectangle with your zipper in the middle.

-Pin one end of one handle just below the zipper between the two outside fabric pieces. Sandwich the rest of the handle between the two pieces of fabric well within the edges of the bag so as not to get them caught in your machine while sewing the edges down later. Take the other strap and pin it in place on the other side of the zipper between the two outer fabric pieces. Be sure to sandwich this strap nicely between the two outer fabric pieces. As you can see in the photo below, I also angle the strap up towards the zipper.

*NOTE*

(When I pin the straps, I let them fall out the bottom of the lining pieces because this is where I will leave the hole in the lining for turning later)

-Start at the bottom of the lining, about 2” away from the corner. Begin sewing all the way around the bag. I backstitch at the beginning a couple times.

-When sewing over the zipper and handle, I stitch back and forth 5-6 times for stability.

-The bottom, top and sides should be secure now but you should have 4 squares still open at each corner of the bag. Pull the two fabrics away from each other and line up the edges. You should have a straight line instead of a square now. Pin and sew this in place.

-Repeat previous step for the other three squares.

-Trim excess seam allowance from all four corners and along the sides.  Be sure not to clip into the seam itself!!

-Pull the body of the bag, straps and everything through the hole in the lining. Give the bag a good once over for any places you might have missed the fabric.

 If all is as you want it to be, pin the hole in the lining and tuck it into the bag. VOILA!!

A Crossbody Hipster!

Touring Tuesday...er, Wednesday

So, it has been a while since I've done Touring Tuesday.  Mainly because, time has gotten away from me! 

Our vacation is in two weeks and something that our children seem to enjoy are puppets.  AND my husband suggested sock puppets when I was asking him what kinds of travel surprise toys I could make the kids. 

In my search for a great tutorial (sorry ladies, there weren't many), I came across this one.  The question my friend asked me when I showed these to her was, "Did you have to sew anything?" That is one great perk of this tutorial; it is a no sew!!

Here are my 4 versions made from discarded knee socks of mine.

Googly eyes starin' at you!!

This one's my favorite!  I loved how the hair turned out.  The only thing I bought for this project was the googly eyes.  My kids think they're hilarious and I didn't have any on hand.  Everything else I had already.

Is it me?  Or do those eyes follow you wherever you go?  Like those attractions at a carnival!

This one has been named "Red."  We are an original bunch here :)

The hair on Red didn't come out as well as the others.  I had not yet come up with the ingenious idea of taking a small piece of yarn and tying it into a bunch.

This one just strikes me as a "Fred."  Messy hair and ears that stick up! 

You can see in this photo how I tied a bunch of yarn with a smaller piece of yarn.  By doing that, you have a more solid piece to hot glue to the puppet. 

If you have any questions on how I did anything on these puppets, let me know.  The tute is great for the construction of the puppet, but doesn't show you how she made any of the accessories.  That's why the hair on my first one turned out a bit off.  I didnt' really know what I was doing.  When I came back for the second one, I had thought about it a bit.  Tying the yarn worked beautifully for the pink haired pig tailed puppet!  :) 

What do you think?