Let the Matching Outfits Begin!

I've never really been into matching dressing. My husband hates it - so we certainly never have as a couple. But now that I'm about to have TWO little precious girls in my house, I think a few matching outfits are in order. Don't you?

Caroline Rose, aka baby #2, is due on February 13, so who knows if she'll actually arrive in time for Valentine's Day. But just in case, she and Annelise have matching dresses to wear.

The fabric was a sweet pink & white knit from the clearance table at Hobby Lobby (shocker!), and I managed to cut the pieces from about 1 yard, costing me a whopping $4 for 2 dresses! I thought about getting some Valentine's-specific fabric, but just in case Caroline takes her time (like Annelise did) they can wear these any time.

Caroline's dress (I've forgotten how utterly darling little newborn clothes are!) was made from a free pattern I just found a couple of weeks ago. Sew Much Ado offers the printable pattern pieces and instructions for FREE. 

Annelise's dress was made from the Charlotte Dress pattern I purchased from Mama Stellato. I bought the pattern last year for $6, and you get a PDF file emailed to you that has sizes from 6M to 5T. (You can reprint as many times as you need to cut each size.) I used this pattern before here and here.

I'm also starting to cut out the same 2 dresses for St. Patrick's Day. Again, I didn't want something holiday-specific, so I found this green/white/black print at Hobby Lobby and plan to accent it with a B&W polka dot scrap I already had on hand. Stay tuned...

Happy crafting,

Julie

Caroline's Car Seat Canopy

I finally got around to my first sewing project for Caroline, our 2nd daughter, who is coming in less than a month! When Annelise was born 2 years ago, I had never heard of a car seat canopy. Everyone just draped a blanket over and constantly adjusted it.

I came across this post from Sew Dang Cute Crafts almost a year ago, and thought maybe I would make a canopy for our 2nd child, if and when that came about. Two months after I saw the post, I was expecting #2. So I waited 5 months to find out our baby's gender, then waited another 3 months to actually make the canopy. (Yep, I'm a procrastinator!) And now that it's been finished for weeks, I finally took pics and am sharing it with you.

Here's Caroline's Car Seat Canopy:

Of course, the fabric came from Hobby Lobby - I can never get enough of their coordinating sets! The ric rac is from Joann. (If HobLob would just expand their notions a bit, I would be grateful for the one-stop shopping.)

 I think I'm going to love this little window!

When Annelise was a newborn, I didn't get out as much with her as I probably will with Caroline. I was pretty protective of morning naptime with #1. But now that Annelise is used to going to the zoo a couple of times a month, and we're just generally busier, I think I will get a lot of use out the canopy. Keeping out the elements, giving Caroline a little peace and "quiet" to nap when we're out and about, etc.

The tutorial on Sew Dang Cute Crafts was really easy to follow. If you want/need a canopy for yourself, please check out the link at the beginning of this post. If you know me personally and want one, I'll totally make one for you. I can't remember exactly how much I spent, but it was definitely about $10-15. Might have to keep this in mind for baby shower gifts, too!

Happy crafting,

Julie