real life snippets

Can you believe that it is snowing? Again? Spring is still on the agenda this year, right? Right?? I know that Colorado needs the moisture, but we are a little stir crazy this week. Today we loaded up and went to Target for new Legos, a new movie and some pizza for dinner. Spirits were much improved after that :)

I was thinking yesterday that I haven't blogged in awhile and that I have some lovely Summer sewing to show to you, but alas, I do not want to take pictures of my lovely Summer sewing in the lovely Winter snowstorm that is happening outside right now and I don't really have any other pictures to blog. To remedy that, I took some pictures :) I did commit to taking more photos of our everyday life here, after all, something I'm glad I've been keeping up with since starting my project life knockoff venture (see more pages below!)

So, here you have it, what we do when it's snowing in Springtime.

 The world needs more games that kids can play alone, in my opinion. This is a fun one.

 Rapunzel makes an appearance!

 Our church library had a giveaway table last week and I scored this gem along with some other old books. Corrie Ten Boom's story sure does put my own hardships in perspective. I'd like to reread The Hiding Place soon.

Kelby's two favorite things: Ninja Turtles and Legos. He builds these little sets all by himself! And then he rebuilds them over and over. Nothing keeps him busy like new Legos. Smart guy ... or sly Mommy ;)

My girls right now are REALLY into Lego Friends. As in, they save their allowance for new sets, read the books and chapter books and draw stories about their Lego Friends. They are so much fun, kudos to Lego for continuing make the most awesome toy ever!

Last week, I got busy on February 2012 in my scrapbook!

Yep, there's a toilet in my album. And why shouldn't there be? It was a part of our life, after all. I love this scrapbooking method, I never would have put a toilet in my book with my old method of scrapbooking! Ha!

Like I said, I have some awesome Summer sewing to share! Hopefully soon, but one never can tell with these Colorado weathermen ;)

Project Life Knockoff: January

I got the rest of my photos organized from 2012 and got going on more of my scrapbook! If you missed my first post about this, my new and simplified way of scrapbooking, you can read that here. I finished January on Monday night and started working on February last night. It's so relaxing and fun and the kids really love seeing what I've done. January didn't have very many pictures so it's only one spread. Other months have a TON. October, for example. Why do I have soooo many photos from October??

Anyway, here it is :)

By the way, Michael's now sells these photo inserts in a couple different layouts, which I used both of here! I was excited to have more layout options and they were inexpensive too, especially with a coupon :)

It's crazy how much kids grow up in just a year, right?? Pulling older photos out always makes me teary-eyed about how fast the time goes. Someone on the radio recently asked the question, "Is there anything in your life now that you're in danger of regretting later?" It inspired me to really focus in on the discipleship opportunities I have with my kids. Being a homeschooler, I have much opportunity for that and I have been praying daily that I will never let an opportunity slip by to point my kids to the Gospel. Because the years are so fast and I do not want to regret letting those teachable moments slip by because I'm tired, lazy or just kidded out. Ya know?

What about you?

Sundays are for sewing

After church on Sundays, I like to sew. Two Sundays ago, I spent all afternoon on a dress that did not work out. It was a bummer, even though it was just a muslin because although I wasn't upset about using nice fabric, I was bummed out to have wasted the time.

This past Sunday was much different! I had spent the evening before drafting a top pattern out by combining some existing patterns, tracing and retracing onto wrapping paper until it was exactly what I was wanting! I've been looking for a racerback tank pattern made for wovens and could only find patterns for knits, even though loose woven, sleeveless tops are all over in ready-to-wear this season!

The time spent was well worth it because on Sunday I was able to whip one out. Then I wanted out of the house for a bit, went to Old Navy, decided I could make better stuff than they're selling and came home and made another one :)

I am very happy with this pattern, it's fast to sew, flattering, loose and comfortable. Perfect for Summer!

I used Burda 7509 for the most part:

I liked the hemline and the shape, but I added two inches in length. The darts come from the armholes instead of the side seams, which I think is unusual, but made for a great fit.

But, I used the neckline and armholes of McCall's 6559 because I really love a racerback cut, I think it flatters shoulders and feels feminine and pretty.

I have used this pattern a ton. I've made the dress and two versions of the cardigan. I have an awesome knit with huge stripes sitting in my stash right now begging to be made into this pattern!

When I took these photos yesterday, it was in the 60's. I don't even want to show you what it looks like out my windows right now. Some winters just really hold on, don't they?

My Easter dress

While poking through my Style board on Pinterest, I came across this pin:

I'm sure I originally pinned this for the open-backed dress in the front, which is lovely, but since I was looking for Easter dress inspiration, the dress in back struck me this time around, when it occurred to me that I already have an extremely similar pattern, pockets and all, that I've already made successfully several times. I only needed to lengthen it!

Here's how it turned out, although I really don't think these photos are doing it justice. The shape is not showing like it does in real life. This pattern is great for making any waist look small! These are just not flattering pictures of me in general, but whatev, here's the dress:

And I'm not sure what's going on with my hem here ... that is not a design feature, hahaha!

The pattern is Simplicity 2591 and this was my fourth make of this pattern!
The first was actually my Easter dress of two years ago:

The second is still a favorite of mine to wear:

And the third was out of a vintage cotton that was given to me and that I LOVE:

Unfortunatley, when I cut the facing for this version, there was a crease in my fabric. You can't tell in this picture, but it really did affect the way the neckline lay. So it went back in the fabric stash because although I couldn't wear it, I love the fabric and can possibly make something else out of it.

Easter kids

We had a lovely Resurrection Day! I hope you did too :) Actually, the kids and I incorporated Holy Week readings and crafts into our home school last week and that made me much more aware and contemplative about what Jesus was doing each day leading up to his death. I think that will be a new family tradition, for sure.

I'm excited to show you some of my Easter sewing! I am now "that mom" who makes her daughters' dolls dresses to match their own. At least I didn't make my own dress to match too, haha! No Daisy Kingdom for me!

 He had just taken a little tumble, I am not camera-torturing him ;)

Layla's new doll, which we gave her as an Easter surprise is the one I rescued from Saver's. I fixed her hair up with fabric softener mixed with water, a wig brush and some foam curlers. Layla's in love :) I am thankful to have daughters who think a doll from the thrift store is just as special as one from the American Girl store would be.

I made my own dress too and absolutely LOVE it. I will share more pics and details tomorrow (or let's be honest, a couple days... or more.)  See ya then!

Is it Summer yet?

I want to sew Summer clothes! They're just more fun. Of course, in the Fall, I think Fall clothes are more fun. I guess I'm lucky to live in a state that gets all four seasons :) I made McCall's 6694 a few weeks ago and wasn't thrilled at first. Here she is:

I do like it now, but only because I took almost 3 inches out of the center back to make it so it didn't literally hang off my shoulders.

I knew going in, though, that the bodice might be big because the model on the pattern envelope looks like she's swimming in it:

One never can tell if these models are just too thin for the clothes or if the patterns are drafted to hang like that. To get it to stay on my shoulders, a huge drape was created in the back neckline. After my alterations, I really do like the dress. It's cute with the belt and boots and it is also cute with no belt and sandals, which will be great for Summer! 

I lined my skirt part with rayon jersey, which is my absolute favorite fabric to line knits with and also to make slips out of. I didn't line the bodice even though my fabric was somewhat sheer, because I knew it would need a cami under it anyway, with that neckline and the wider arm holes. I would have liked to add the ruffles too, but they require a crazy amount of fabric! 

I just bought and downloaded Colette's newest pattern, the Laurel dress!! I have the perfect fabric to try it out with. The selling point for me was the free ebook with instructions for several details to add to the simple design of the dress! Check it out! Funny too because my Mom and I were just talking about trying out shift dresses the other day! 

too pouf, or not too pouf?

I finished my Easter dress sewing and went to work on my little bin of garment fabrics. I've been holding off making things with the more summery fabrics until the Summer pattern lines came out, because I was wholly unimpressed with the Spring lines, for the most part. But, the new Summer lines are not disappointing, I have a running list ready, just waiting for those sales!

I bought Butterick 5892 a few weeks ago, but was unsure of this style on me. In the spirit of branching out, though, I grabbed a lightweight fabric from my bin that I like, but don't love (it's a mystery fabric, but I'm pretty sure it's polyester, which accounts for the not loving part).

I whipped it up and tried it on last night and Casey said, "It's a little too ... poufy?" So I put it aside and tried it on again this morning, with the right kind of top and I decided I like it! (It draped on the step there, in that pic, without me realizing it, it does not stick out like that normally, haha!)
While I don't think it's the most slimming silhouette for me, with a fitted top,  I think it's really pretty and it feel flowy and comfortable. And a bit regal when I walk down the stairs, hehe.

Part of the problem is that I grabbed the wrong size pattern and so was forced to cut a size larger than I would have if I'd bought the Medium size. Duh. Think I oughta know by now, right?

The new Simplicity patterns are up on the site and look great! Unfortunately, there are zero pattern sales in the current JoAnn's flyer. Bummer.

Project Life Knock-off

I am SUPER excited to share this with you. As I gutted my house of junk last month, I was able to put all my finished scrapbooks in one place. Looking through them, I got nostalgic and realized that I really miss scrapbooking! The kids absolutely love looking through the books, I miss the fellowship of scrapping with friends and I just miss the creative process in general. I also really don't like having my photos only on the computer. When I gave up scrapbooking as a hobby several months ago, it was because the stuff and the time and feelings of being behind at something that was supposed to be just a hobby, were becoming overwhelming.

But, I missed it. So, I started brainstorming ways to get back into it with less stuff and less guilt. (I did get rid of a LOT of the stuff, keeping only paper and stamps and tools. All the stuff I have left has a place and gets used by the kids and me or my co op class often).

After searching for ideas online, I was reminded of the Becky Higgins Project Life line of products and got really excited. But, I wasn't going to pay her prices (it's a fast $90, just to get started if you buy those specific albums, inserts and journaling cards!)

Instead, I went to Hobby Lobby and bought an album and photo inserts (all half off). I think this album is just the cutest:

I decided to just start with last year and not go too far back. Organizing pages by month rather than giving each event or group of photos its own page with a complicated layout was very liberating for me! I got some photos printed and cut up a paper "stack" I already had into 4x6 pieces to make it easier to get started. Here's what I did yesterday:

I started with April because that's the month I had all the photos for. I have since began uploading other months to Snapfish to place a big order and have all the photos ready to go.

What I love about this photo album scrapbook idea is that the creative process can still happen--I can decorate (or not) to my heart's content! I can add captions and journaling if I want to and even though I've only done two pages, my kids are already loving looking at those pic from Nebraska last year! I still need to do the Easter photos before April is done, but other months only have a few pictures.

I'm thrilled that this is fun for me again. If you're curious about Project Life, you can order those products on Amazon--the photo inserts aren't too expensive and come in more layouts, but I wanted to keep it simple for now and use what I could get cheaper at Hobby Lobby. There is a lot of inspiration for this concept on Pinterest too! Check it out here :)

As an added bonus, my girls are getting into scrapbooking too, so this can easily become something we do together! Scrapbooking at home when my kids were little was next to impossible, so this is exciting for me :)