The $1.50 Dress

You might be like some people and think you can't sew. Or you might be like me and know you can't sew but refuse to admit it. Well, cute Kathy (who can sew) posted this tutorial for a sundress and I thought, Hey! I can do that! So I did. My first attempt was slightly less than incredible and will remain a mystery for both of you that read my blog. Let's just say I made it while Princess Ricochet was asleep so I couldn't try it on her (so it hit the floor) and that it did NOT shrink up by half when I did it and she's the thinnest stick this side of Texas (so I had to pin it three times to make it tight enough) and the sleeves weren't in quite the right place (so they kept slipping up off her shoulders). And of course it was Sunday morning when she saw it and had to try it on and loved it and had to wear it to church. Did I mention pinning it three times? Just checking.

ANYWAY, being the persistent person that I am, I had to give it another go. That and I have a lot of fabric just lying around that needs to be used for something. This is try #2:

I cut the width down to just under 1 1/2 times the width around her chest (not quite wide enough...), only sewed the outside edge of the sleeves with elastic and made it much shorter. I also placed the sleeves a little further to the outside (if that makes any sense) and they seem to stay put a little better. This one is made from a jersey-type fabric and I think I like it slightly better than the regular ol' knit I used first. And it took me less than 2 hours from start to finish.

So, $1.50 for a spool of elastic thread, fabric I already had, and less than 2 hours work for a look this priceless:

Not bad, eh?

Pay It Forward

So, here's how this game works-the first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive, at some point during the year, a handmade gift/treat from me. What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise! The catch is that you must participate as well. Before you leave your comment, write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going (or be lazy and copy and paste like I did). Then come back, let me know you're going to play and sit back and anticipate the arrival of your gift!

A Little Hair Garden

Dear Charlotte,

Here are a few hairdos we've done over the last couple of months. No, I do not ALWAYS do updos and put flowers in, but apparently that's the only time I take pictures. Enjoy!

These next two are from a Sunday when my niece and nephew were visiting, so I got to do her hair too. She has long, thick hair (much unlike my own little princess) and it was fun to do her hair, although it took longer too. They both wanted hair flowers, so they got 'em.
And lastly, this is a sneaky little way to do a curly hair-looking do without having to curl and trying to get the curls to stay in (a real challenge her at our abode). Here is where I learned how to do it. Ricochet's hair was a little short for it, but I'm thinking that if it's longer by my sister's wedding, this might be the way we go.

I've Been Up to Something

Can you guess what I've been up to?










FLOWERS!
In the last week or so, I've started making flower hair clips because Ricochet kept seeing pictures of girls with flowers in their hair and just HAD to have some. Turns out I'm a little addicted. Here is what I've made so far:
Some of them are for Ricochet and some of them are for an auction for the private school where my sister teaches. And there are more in the works, of course. I'm thinking I might start selling them on my jewelry website as well.

Here are pics of a couple of quick hairdos I did on Ricochet with some flowers. Don't mind the messy hair with the purple flowers - I was trying to give her a little boof by backcombing it, but apparently I didn't smooth the top out so well before I put the ponies in.

"Geeze Mom! Could you stop taking pictures now?!"
Isn't she a darling?

Sneak Peek

I just finished taking some pictures of jewelry that I've made and will be listing on my website soon. (If you didn't know I sold jewelry - SURPRISE!) Since I'm away from home and don't have everything I need to accurately list them, I've decided to give ya'll a sneak peek. I'm excited about how some of these turned out. Let me know if there's anything you love or hate!

What I Should Be Doing...

Here are a few things I should be doing today instead of blogging:
1 - Feeding my children breakfast
2 - Renewing my library movies (so I don't have to go there today)
3 - Grocery Shopping (I just can't put it off any more!)
4 - Cleaning the bathrooms (who knew Halloween could be so detrimental to the countertops?)
5 - Packing for our quick jaunt to Idaho
6 - Uploading our Halloween pictures
7 - Editing a story
8 - Making Christmas presents
9 - Fixing the Primary Program
10 - Kissing my kids!

Seasons of Love

You may not have known (or maybe you did) that I have several loves in my life (aside from friends and family of course). These include scrapbooking, making jewelry, writing children's books, and the occasional sewing project. Not to mention singing and dancing and reading! Ben says I try to do too much. He's probably right. I always have to have at least one thing going, so this is his suggestion: Devote each season to a different hobby. So in winter it's jewelry, spring it's scrapbooking and so on. Too bad I'm just not that kind of person! When a story idea or a new jewelry design or the urge to scrapbook hits, I've just gotta do it - I can't wait for the right season to come along! But maybe I will be better about not taking time I should be spending with my family to do these things. Maybe. We'll see.