Halloween Recap...Better Late than Never!

Ugh. How on EARTH is Thanksgiving next week??!!

Here is a little catch up from, oh, Halloween. Even though half the free world has already decorated for Christmas.

I was afraid Levi wouldn't like his penguin hat and refuse to wear it. Boy was I wrong! He LOVES it and wants to wear it all the time. From sorting laundry to taking notes, ha ha.

He likes the costume too, although he did put up quite a fuss about the orange feet. At least I got some cute pictures with them on first. :)

I was definitely inspired by Make It- Love It's version, but then put my own spin on things and I'm thrilled with the outcome.

Love this view!!

All I did for Mary's costume was hot glue some flowers from JoAnn's on the hat (found here on Amazon) and tie the red ribbon around her neck. I ordered the Peter Pan collared shirt and black pleated skort from The Children's Place during a 50 percent off sale, and she can wear them again for school concerts. Win win!

They looked so cute together!!

I just remembered that I've got several still on my phone...but I'm in a hurry and need to get some orders done before Tiny Tornado wakes up from his nap. :) Hope you're having a good day!!

Friday Favorites...Dreaming of Spring!

Guess what just happened?? Little man has discovered how to hoist his little self up onto the couch! That part is fine, it's the standing and jumping up and down on the cushions that is terrifying me. Maybe I should just move the coffee table right out of there because I foresee some bumps and bruises with this new milestone.

Anyhoo.

I was looking through some old Easter pictures earlier this morning when my stomach just got all twisted up and I had the sharpest pain in my side. It was AWFUL. Like, it made me cry it hurt so bad. And then I got sick, but by that point I was actually hopeful that if I threw up already I might feel better. Not quite. However, as the morning progressed, I did start to feel okay. So weird!

One of my favorite Easter traditions has always been making Isabelle's dress each year, just like my Mom made a dress for me every Easter growing up. I haven't decided on the style yet for this year, so I'd better decide soon! I may make a coordinating one for myself, too. :)

Those photos above just melt my heart! That was our first Easter with Isabelle home (2009), my first Easter as a Mama of a little girl. I made her three separate dresses that year for all the different celebrations and parties, ha! I loved every minute of it, too.

 I think I must have had a five year old taking this picture, ha ha!

This picture gets me every time as well. That's my Dad, and those smiles just mean the world to me...my favorites! And I LOVED her dress that year.

Fussing over my kids on their birthdays is my favorite thing! We celebrated Jonah's 17th birthday, eek! The second son to hit seventeen. It seems so hard core, so...not little kid anymore...duh because it isn't! And yes, it makes ME feel old too, sigh.

Taken a few summer back, but I just love this picture. Look at his eyes! They are incredibly gorgeous!

Levi and I stole Jonah away from school for a bit for a little Dunkin' treat. We had a great day!

Putting up happy little touches of SPRING inside and adding Easter decor is my favorite! (I'm going to do a full post on our dining room next week, so check back if you want to see and read about my most meaningful treasures.)

...to match all the spring going on on the outside, ha ha

Yesterday was a snow day and Isabelle made this. She is a great snowman-maker!

Mommy and me time is my favorite- sometimes I think poor Levi gets the very short end of the stick having to be stuck with poor Old Mom day in and day out, but most of the time, he doesn't seem to mind. :) Just this week, he put a few puzzle pieces together at the library- I was really excited about it, ha! And I've decided that I'm wearing spring colors regardless of the actual weather, so I put on lots of warm corals and peaches this week. I laughed when Isabelle dressed her snowman (girl?) similarly.

I have to catch up on some orders today and this weekend as well, though you will never hear me complaining about working with these pretty pink prints. Isn't this combo so sweet?!? It's my current favorite!

If you want to visit my shop, click HERE

Thanks for visiting! I hope you have fantastic weekend!

I'm sharing with Friday Favorites and Five on Friday today!

Transforming Basic T-shirts into Something Special

I hope everyone had a lovely Valentine's Day yesterday. We sure did! You can see some of our favorite ooey gooey chocolate recipes in this post.   I made our Valentine's Heart-shaped Meatball Subs and Brownie Volcano for my crew last night. Delicious!

I'm sharing another older post about making basic store-bought t-shirts into something much cuter. Now that Isabelle is older, I don't typically embellish her clothing like this, but when she was little, it was absolutely adorable. You should try it!

The easiest method is to attach a single or double ruffle along the hem. If using a knit, don't even worry about hemming the ruffle; otherwise, make a narrow hem along the ruffle edges before sewing onto the shirt.

One ruffle was about 3 inches, the other was 5 inches, but you can make yours however long or short you like. Mine was cut from a fat quarter. It doesn't need to be super long because you don't want a really full ruffle. Here I simply cut two separate long ribbon strips, hemmed the edges, and then sewed each ruffle edge, forming a circle. Next I basted the ruffle pieces together, one on top of the other and pinned right sides to the right side of the t-shirt, adjusting for fullness. (You can certainly gather the ruffles with basting stitches, but I opted to gather using my fingers as I sewed, since there wasn't much fullness.)

Add two bows if you want, tack them in place by hand, and you've got a very sweet t-shirt for a little girl. Be sure to put some Fray Check on the edges of the ribbon so they don't fray.

The next shirt was slightly more complicated because it involved having to keep a straight line while sewing. I marked off where the ruffle was going with some chalk, so it was no big deal. The biggest difference with this method is that you can sew the ruffle directly onto the shirt without first having right sides together. Simply sew the ruffle onto the shirt as it appears above- you're going to cover that raw edge with the ribbon!

After you've sewed the ruffle onto the top of the shirt, place the ribbon along that raw edge, making sure to cover it completely; top-stitch the entire way around, both top and bottom of the ribbon.

We also went through a big rosette phase, ha. This can be omitted, but it does look really cute. You cut a rectangular strip of cloth, fold it down, and then cut tapering curves each end, like a stretched out "C." Run a basting stitch through the raw edge to gather up the rosette. I do this by hand. Then, getting the center as tight as you can, tack it by hand to the shirt. I usually place a small piece of leftover fabric or some interfacing to the inside of the shirt where I stitch something heavier to give it some support. Leave as is or finish with a button in the center. So, so cute!

I cannot find a picture of Isabelle wearing them, and learn from my mistake: don't bother trying to embellish a too-small shirt. I do remember that they were already a bit small, and so she really didn't get much wear out of them afterwards. Oops.

Lastly, this was a fun, easy little addition. Using the same method as making the ruffles above, cut shorter ones to sew onto the wrists of the shirt. It's most helpful to use your narrow arm of the sewing machine, as the sleeve will fit right around it. Otherwise, just be careful not to sew the edges of the sleeves closed when sewing on the ruffle. Sew them right sides together, or use the method with the ribbon for a different look.

Happy embellishing! Let me know if you have any questions. :)

Oh! I extended the FREE SHIPPING SALE over at Rose and Ruffle, so be sure to check it out! Herer's a link to my shop:

ROSE & RUFFLE 

I'm sure you're feeling heartbroken and overwhelmed with the news of yet another senseless tragedy, so let's remember to be the LIGHT in our dark world. Be thoughtful and kind, no matter whether others deserve it or not.