Thursday, March 21, 2013

McKenna's Pony Birthday Outfit


Every year I try to make my kids a special outfit that they can wear at their birthday party.  When McKenna requested a horse/pony party, I really had no idea what I was going to make.  I looked and looked for cute horse or pony fabric, and couldn't find anything that really spoke me.  I was almost to the point of just buying something when I had a sudden pinsiration!

I came across that skirt on Pinterest, and knew it would be perfect!  I grabbed an old pair of McKenna's jeans (one that had holey knees), and a scissors, and away I went. It turned out so cute!!  I pretty much followed the tutorial I linked above, minus all the cute buttons.  The bow I made following another tutorial--I can't remember which one I used, but if I find it again, I'll update this post.

For her shirt, I used a white tee-shirt that I picked up at Walmart for $1 on the clearance rack, and my Silhouette plus heat transfer vinyl.  It's a little complicated doing designs that require layering, but the result is so worth it!

Isn't she the cutest?


If Spring ever decides to arrive I may be taking a scissors to some more of the girls' jeans! They both have several pairs that have holes in the knees, and this is just so much cuter than patches!

Project #7 in my 52 in 2013 personal sewing challenge!
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Pink and Brown Pony Birthday/Baptism Party!!



This past weekend we celebrated my youngest daughter, Cecelia's baptism, and my middle daughter, McKenna's 6th Birthday.  I decided to roll both events into one so that our family only had to travel once.  It worked out pretty well, with the exception of a few family members who weren't able to make it because of weather.

I don't have the budget to throw parties like those I see elsewhere around the blogging world, but I at least try to add a few home-made touches that add that little extra.

McKenna (my 6 year old), really wanted a horse party this year. I decided to use pink and brown as the colors for her party, and found I could easily tie them in with a baptism too.   I posted a few teaser pics and their invites last week; you can see them here.

The decorations were pretty simple.  I used white tablecloths, and then cut a yard of light burlap in half to make two table runners (I only got pics of one table though--we had to set up quick before church on Sunday, since everyone was going to the baptism, then following us back to our house for the party.)  I grabbed a few stems of fake flowers from Walmart ($4 for 4 bunches), and a few canning jars from my pantry, toy horses from my daughters room, and wooden letters from down in my craft pile (they were letters that used to hang in the girls' room. I just had to repaint one!).  We used light pink tulle and ribbon to dress up the white curtains in the background. It was really hard to photograph how pretty it turned out with the light blazing in, so you'll have to trust me that it looked awesome!




 
 I made the popcorn boxes using my Silhouette and colored cardstock.  The horse art was made using scrap wood from Menards.  My husband used a plane to break the edges, and then roughed up the wood using a hammer and some elbow grease. :)  Then I stained it using  walnut colored opaque acrylic paint.  When that dried, I used my Silhouette again to cut the horse out of vinyl.  I centered the horse on the boards, and then painted over everything roughly with pink acrylic paint.  I wanted the piece to look a little rustic, so nothing was done too perfectly.  Then I peeled up the vinyl and gave the whole piece a good sanding to rough it up a bit more.  McKenna is very excited to hang it up in her room now that the party is over!

Our party menu was simple (again, had to be ready before we left for church!), and then I also made a horse cake using a Wilton pan, and some chocolate cupcakes with yummy raspberry cheesecake frosting! 



Getting ready to blow out candles!


One of her favorite presents!

My beautiful birthday girl!

I also made McKenna's outfit, but more on that in another post!  Until then, Happy Crafting!
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Cecelia's Baptismal Gown



This weekend my youngest daughter was baptised. It was a beautiful ceremony, in a church filled with our family and friends.  Cecelia finally kicked her bout of RSV and was such a little ham! It definitely was a joyous day indeed!  Welcome to God's family baby girl!

I wanted to share the baptismal gown I made for her. Of all the things I have ever made, this will go at the top as one of the proudest! No, it wasn't overly complicated or super expensive, but so much love went into the making of it, and to see my baby girl wearing it on such an important day filled me with such overwhelming joy and pride. 


 The pattern I used was the Heirloom Baby Ensemble from Texture Magic.  Texture Magic was a new product to me, and I'm so pleased with the results!!  I altered the pattern just a bit--left off the cuff at the bottom (but added 4" in length), and I had to add 1" to the arm cuffs in order to fit my chubby baby girl. I originally cut the cuffs from the textured fabric according to pattern measurements, and they didn't fit. I had to re cut the cuffs with the solid, and while I was a bit disappointed, the dress still turned out beautifully.


To do the texture, I used 1/2 package of Texture Magic (18"x47" package).  I make cross-hatching marks (going on the diagonal) every 1/2" across the entire sheet.  Then, with the texture magic on the backside of your good fabric, I sewed every line. This took an hour or so, and lots of white thread! My main fabric was bridal satin, and it sewed beautifully!  After I had all the lines sewn, I used my steam iron to steam the fabric, and voila! The texture magic shrinks 30% in all directions to create this wonderful textured fabric. 

I left the dress fairly simple, but I did add some beautiful rosettes from Riley Blake along the bottom bodice, and lace along the skirt hemline. 

This was the most hand sewing I have ever done as well. The bodice is fully lined, and is all hand sewn. The rosettes, and lace also had to be hand sewn, along with the snaps on the back.  Like I said, a lot of love poured into this dress! 

I am absolutely smitten with how it all came together, and my beautiful baby wearing it makes it all the more perfect!  This is also project #6 in my 52 items in 2013 personal sewing challenge! Happy Thursday everyone!
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Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Birthday/Baptism Teaser Pics!

This coming weekend my youngest daughter will be baptised, and we are also celebrating my middle daughter's birthday.  We are having a joint celebration, and this week I've been working on finishing a few things up for the big day. 

My middle daughter loves horses, and wanted a horse party--so I had to figure out how to combine that with a baptism--I decided the easiest way  to tie things together was with colors.  I chose pink and brown. 

First I made their invites using photoshop.


And here are a few things I've made for their party:



I will post more details after the party, but I can say I love my Silhouette machine!! It makes crafting for parties so much fun, and so much easier!!

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Matryoshka Katie Jumper

Project #5 of my 52 items in 2013!

I finished this last week, but am just now getting around to posting pics.  This is another Katie Jumper from Fishsticks Designs patterns.  I love love love Bonnie's patterns, and this one is no exception!  The first one I made fit Cecelia great, but was a bit hard to get on.  It's tough getting her arm through the arm holes without straining the side seams.  I'm sure it's because my lil chub is well, a lil chub! She's just barely 6 months, and I'm sewing 12 months for her!  I modified this second one slightly in hopes of easing the dressing process; I added length to the straps (1"), and also added snaps and an opening to the back. Unfortunately, they didn't help.  Oh well, it's still super cute, and definitely wearable! 

Pattern Info:

Fabric Info:
Bodice and straps: Kona solids
Skirt: baby corduroy from JoAnns (part of the Doodles collection)
Embellishments: Vinyl cut using my Silhouette, design from the Silhouette online store.




Not the best modeling shot of my peanut, but she's been battling RSV for 13 days now, so she hasn't been the most cooperative little girl lately.  :)  She still looks cute when she's sleeping though!

Happy Thursday!
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Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Ruffled Cupcake Shirt

My middle girl turns 6 this coming Friday! I can hardly believe it's been 6 years already!  To celebrate, I wanted to make her a special shirt to wear to school tomorrow (our district has a four-day week, so Thursday is the last day of the week).  I had pinned a shirt from Positively Splendid, and set out to recreate it.  I actually used the ruffle tutorial from her Ruffled Easter Egg shirt instead though.

This was a super easy project--I cut the cupcake liner and candle/number using my Silhouette, and then spent a few more minutes cutting and ruffling.  The end result is cute, and my little girl loves it!  Mommy-win!

McKenna cupcake 3a

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Now I just need to finish baking treats for her to take along with her tomorrow!

This is also project #4 in my "52 Items in 2013" personal challenge.
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