Pumpkin Patch Dresses

I don't plan on my girls having matching outfits for the rest of their lives, but while they are still too young to protest - I'm going for it. We had plans to visit the pumpkin patch this week, and I had just bought some fall plaid fabric, so matching dresses were in order.

It was not easy to get a lot of great pictures - especially since Caroline would not let me put her down and Annelise is in a weird-face-making phase. But we got a few good ones. (I also played a little with overlays on picmonkey - the photos aren't dirty!)

FYI - just in case you're concerned about Caroline's bare toes - it was about 80 degrees outside!

Those adorable dresses (if I do say so myself!) were made from the Charlotte Dress pattern from Mama Stellato. It's $6 for the e-pattern, which includes sizes from 9M to 5T. I'm getting years worth of use from that $6! I've used this pattern several times before, including here and here. The plaid fabric is from Hobby Lobby, and the floral fabric is from Joann.

I used the 3T and 6-9M sizes and made just a few modifications to the original pattern. I put elastic in the sleeves on the little one, added a slight ruffle to the bottom of both, and put a 1" cuff on the 3T dress. (The 3T sleeves were going to be about an inch too short, and the cuff was a really simple addition. Next time I'll hold the pattern up to my daughter before cutting the fabric!)

Happy crafting,
Julie

EASY Tulle Autumn Wreath

So it's October 15 and I have ONE fall decoration up. Pitiful, I know. But my 7 month old doesn't even know what fall is, and my almost 3 year old doesn't seem to care. To decorate, that would require me asking my husband to get my stuff out of the attic and - the key thing here - I would have to do some major cleaning. Yeah, like that's going to happen!

Anyway, on to my one fall decoration...

I made a super-simple tulle wreath, inspired by this one I saw at Nap Time Journal. Here's how to make one for yourself!

Supplies:

12" wire wreath base ($2.47 - Hobby Lobby)

6" spool of tulle in chosen color(s) ($4.99 each at Hobby Lobby - 50% off when I bought them.)

I used olive green, brown, gold, and glitter orange. You won't even come close to using it all. You could make a one-color wreath and use most of one spool.

 

You need a bajillion pieces of tulle that measure 6" (spool width) by 2 1/2". To simplify the process, I cut 20" strips and stacked them - 4 strips of each color at a time, for a stack of 16 strips. Then I cut each stack into 2 1/2" pieces. You could use regular scissors or a rotary cutter.

Starting on the inner ring, tie a single knot in each tulle strip until they fill the ring. I alternated each color, but you could tie several of one color in a row for more impact.

I skipped the next ring, and continued tying pieces on the 3rd ring.

Continue tying the 4th (outside) ring. I skipped the 2nd ring, and it turned out perfectly full.

Here's a side view. I don't think the colors look right on screen. The green shows up a little better in real life, but I wish I had put more of the green strips side by side to make the color a little more vibrant.

This is what the back looks like. After you finish tying all your knots (took me about 2 nap times!), flatten out the back to fluff everything toward the front. (Does that make sense?)

The last thing I did was to tie a bow on the front - no pic of this step. I cut two 3-foot lengths of the green tulle and tied them around that unused ring. You could position your bow at the top, bottom, side, or leave it off altogether. All that remains is to hang it up and enjoy! I also used a clear suction cup wreath hanger (about $2.99 at HobLob) since we have a mostly glass front door.

Here's one more look:

I hope your fall decorations are coming along better than mine. Maybe I'll try to do some of that this week. Don't hold your breath!!!

Happy crafting,
Julie