A Labor of Love

In mid-May, I started a dress for Annelise that I thought would be the perfect little summer dress for her. Little did I know I would get pregnant about a week later and spend the next 3 months taking a nap every afternoon. That left little to no crafting time for me!

Fast forward FIVE months, and I finally finished the dress. "Lucky" for us, it was still in the high 80's this past Sunday, and Annelise could finally wear the sleeveless dress I made. Here she is...

 The front. And no, the empty cable spool and Daddy's mini maglite were not planned props. I just caught her being kind of still and took advantage of the moment. This little girl is almost always moving!

 The back.

The dress without a wiggle-worm inside!

 Here are the supplies I started with in May. I think the gingham is from Hobby Lobby, the white cotton from Joann's, the buttons from Walmart, and the other things you could find at any craft/fabric store. (I've slept a few times since May and do not completely remember every shopping trip 5 months ago!!!) I also remembered AFTER I finished the dress that I had planned to use black piping between the bodice and skirt and between the skirt and bottom skirt band. Oh well.

I decided to try an old (but new-to-me) technique called chicken scratch. It's basically just like cross-stitch, but on gingham. I've done lots of cross-stitch, so I thought this would be a breeze. Well, it would have been if I hadn't napped every day for an entire trimester. I found several tutorials online, and used the pattern I found at Stitch School. I will probably use this technique again, but in much smaller doses and not when I'm prenant!

I also had to make a matching hair clip and found instructions for this cute little flower at With My Spare Time. It was very easy!

If you haven't heard, the mosquitoes in Houston have been horrendous this weekend (all the store have sold out of sprays, etc.) so I haven't been able to have a photo shoot of Annelise's Minnie Mouse Halloween costume. The little pests seem to finally be backing off today (and all her bites are finally clearing up), so maybe I can get her suited up and snap some pics in a day or two. Until then...

Happy crafting,

Julie

Minnie Ears

Well, if that's not a big enough clue to what my daughter will be dressing as for Halloween, I don't know what is! Yep, she's going to be Minnie Mouse. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse has been her favorite show for months, so Minnie was a no-brainer for me. Her birthday theme (in December) will be Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, so she may be wearing the costume then, too. I just finished the dress, so I'll hopefully be sharing that soon, but I don't have pics of Annelise in it yet.

The mouse ears were pretty easy to make. They took about an hour and about $4.00 (all supplies from Hobby Lobby, of course!). I mostly followed the tutorial on The Suburban Mom, and got a free ears template on the Disney Junior website (they have a lot of fun crafts & recipes, too).

As soon as Annelise got up from her nap and saw the ears, she wanted to put them on. Hopefully she won't destroy them before Oct 31. I'm also planning to make a few more sets for the kids at her birthday party, but I think they will all be out of plain black felt. The birthday girl should be the only one with the sparkly pair, right?

Happy crafting,

Julie

I Love Candy Corn!

So candy corn might just be the best thing ever made! (Okay, I exaggerate - but after my family, it holds a close second.) It's one of the best things about October.

I wanted Annelise to have a cute top to wear for fall/Halloween, but I'm not crazy about my almost 2 year old wearing witches, skulls, ghosts, etc. A few weeks ago, I made this dress - my 1st attempt with no pattern.

 Once I figured out that dress, I knew I would use the template again, and I thought by eliminating one of the tiers, I could make a cute top. Then I thought the 3 tiers left would be perfect for a little candy corn inspiration.

I found each color in polka dots and on sale Hobby Lobby (of course!). I used about 1/2 yard of the white, and 1/4 yard each of the yellow and orange (I used muslin I already had to line the white section). I might have spent $5 on fabric and another $2 or so on the buttons.

The only change I made from the dress (pictured above) - besides eliminating a tier - was to shorten the yellow and orange tiers. The dress tiers were all 5" long, and the tiers on the top are both about 3 1/2" long.

This is what I thought was my finished top - but I thought it needed a little something extra. So I made 3 little fabric yo-yos to put along the neckline.

So do you love candy corn as much as I do?

(It's a complete coincidence that Annelise picked up the matching duck puppet when I went to photograph her!)

And just in case you thought I was crazy for making a sleeveless top in October - ummm, it's still pretty warm in Houston. If it happens to get cooler, I can always layer a white or yellow tee underneath, or throw a jacket over it.

Now I'm working on her Halloween costume. Hopefully, I'll be able to post it before the end of the month! Until then...

Happy crafting,

Julie

Where have these been all my life?

I went on a quick trip to Walmart today. I was only supposed to be exchanging some curtains (for Baby #2's nursery!), but I decided to take a tour around the store to grab a few other things. (Get's me in trouble every time!) I love Walmart's special holiday baking displays in the main aisle next to the groceries. Today I spotted a new item, and it quickly flew into my basket.

Don't they look and sound amazing? The back of the package has a few suggestions for their use:

• use as decorations on top of cupcakes or iced sugar cookies
• spice up hot chocolate
• mix with popcorn, pretzel sticks, peanuts, and M&Ms
• nd there's a recipe for using them in rice crispy treats

I would think you could also add them to your coffee. No, I've never put marshmallows in my coffee either, but why not start now???

As soon as Annelise was down for her nap today, I had a little bowlful. My favorite way to snack on marshmallows is to nuke them in the microwave for about 8 seconds. That's just long enough to make them soft and melty on the inside without turning them into one giant melted mess.

Let me just say they are just as good as they sound. If Starbucks turned their Pumpkin Spice Latte into marshmallows, this would be it (just without the coffee flavor). Yummmmmmm.....

Seriously, look for them, hide them from your children, then eat them all!!!

Happy crafting,

Julie