30 September 2013

PR&P Week #4: Simple and Special

It's the last week of this season's Project Run & Play.  Boo has certainly loved week one's Belle Dress and week two's Easy Starburst Dress.  I was teaching Boo's preschool during week three, so even though I already had a project done (I didn't make it for PR&P, but it fit the theme), I couldn't manage to get it posted!  Life was crazy that week.  I'm hoping to post that project later.

This week's theme is Your Signature Look.  At first I thought, "I don't have a signature look.  I just do whatever I feel like at the time."  

But I don't sew shirts.  

I don't sew pants.

I rarely sew skirts.

I mostly sew dresses.

It's not like I'm necessarily opposed to sewing shirts or pants, they're just never what I feel like doing.  Because they're less special.  If I'm going to take the time to make clothes, they're going to be something a little fancy, and a little special.  Which works, because Boo loves fancy.  She wears dresses/skirts almost every single day.  I like dresses better than skirts because a dress is a complete outfit.  Simple and done.

I also like the designs to be fairly simple.  This may change as I sew clothes more, but for children's clothes, at least, I don't really want to be fussing with little details.  Cute, but simply executed details, simple to put on/take off (especially for wiggly babies!)--that's what I like to make for my girls.

So here is my Signature Look:

Simple and Special
Easter Dresses

Jill Made It | Easter Dresses for My Two Little Girls

I never did get around to posting my little girl's Easter dresses, and since they fit exactly into this week's theme, I thought today was a great day to show them off.

Jill Made It | Easter Dress for My Baby

Daddy's Girl's dress was another variation of a pattern I've used several times before.  I change the pattern every time!  Here are the first two dresses I made from this pattern.  This time, I made the dress fully lined, instead of using bias tape (blue dress) or facings (orange dress).  I lowered the neckline and thinned the straps, like I did for the orange dress.  I used a hook-and-eye closure instead of the zipper, which was a new alteration.  

I also added a contrast band around the bottom.  That was a really fast and easy alteration, and it made so I didn't even have to hem the dress!  I'll have to do a quick tutorial another day, so you can see how that worked.

Jill Made It | Baby Portrait

Aww, isn't she so pretty?  I love yellow on her.

Jill Made It | Beautiful Little Girl's Dress

Boo's dress is the same style, with a sash that ties in the back, hook-and-eye closure, and contrast band. This dress, I actually spent a lot of time on, and did a lot of work by hand.  (For Daddy's Girl's dress, which I did second and whipped out in one late night of sewing, I figured out how to do it without the handwork.  Good thing, too, because it was the night before Easter!)  

Jill Made It | Easter Dress

Easter morning, I gave Boo her new dress I'd spent so much time on...and she wanted to wear a different dress to church!  (Cry!)  But when I showed her she would be matching her baby sister, she became excited about this dress.  I'm doubly glad I got Daddy's Girl's dress done in time.

Jill Made It | Easter Portraits

After church, we went to the park to take family Easter pictures.  Boo actually didn't like being up in the tree, even though her Aunt Kelli was right there, making sure she stayed safe.  (I actually photoshopped her out of this picture--she was really right by Boo.)  But Boo was a good sport anyway, and let me get a few good pictures of her in the tree.

Jill Made It | Easter Dress

So here's the back of the dress.  The contrast band was actually a necessity, not just a design choice.  I'd bought the two fabrics for this dress one or two years before, intending to make Boo a dress for Christmas, but then the holidays rolled by without the dress being made.  This year, I realized I had to get the dress made NOW or Boo would be too big for the amount of fabric I'd bought.  I had to add the contrast band to the bottom of the skirt to make it long enough, even now.

Jill Made It | Baby Portrait

So that's it; that's my signature look.  Simple to sew, simple to wear, but also special.


And they make my little girls happy.  That's really what matters.

17 September 2013

PR&P Week 2: Easy Starburst Dress

The Easy Starburst Dress

This week's theme for PR&P was "Candy Inspired."  I had some cute ideas--a dress with an orange-ish top and pleated skirt (Reese's Peanut Butter Cup)?  This cute orange striped adult's dress I found at Goodwill, cut up and pieced together into a cute chevron skirt (Starbursts--the connection being the color and the angles)?  I loved the orange stripes, so I went with that one.

That thrifted dress had a cute flower-and-hearts pattern on the bottom, so I wanted to make a quick dress for Boo with it before I used the rest to make the chevron skirt.  I knew Boo would love the dress, and she even hugged the fabric before I made it into a dress!

My Happy Little Girl in Her New Dress

Just look at that happy face!  Boo loves her new dress, which is just the Popover dress again, virtually unaltered this time for simplicity.  She's worn it three times so far, and I just made it on Saturday.  :)

I realized my children have plenty clothes, so I decided not to make the second dress.  I know this simple dress won't win this week's contest, but I'm okay with that.  Boo LOVES the dress, and that's what really matters.

11 September 2013

Project Run & Play Week 1: If Belle Was a 20's Flapper (aka Drop-Waist with Ruffles)

So, does everybody know about Project Run & Play?  It's the kid version of Project Sewn, which I participated in earlier this year.  (I made a date night high-low skirt, a 50's inspired sundress, an asymmetrical draped knit shirt, and a button and ruffles dress.  You could go and check them out; I'll wait for you.  ;)

The theme for week one of PR&P was to remix the Popover Dress.  (It's a free pattern--HERE.)  This is my interpretation.

Jill Made It:  If Belle Was a 20's Flapper--a Popover Dress Remix

When I showed Boo the mostly-completed dress, she said, "It's a Belle dress but it has sleeves!"  Really, to Boo, any yellow dress is a Belle dress, but I thought it was a Belle dress, too...if Belle was a 20's flapper.  :D

Jill Made It:  My Little Girl Dancing in Her New Dress

The original dress is a simple A-line with a small yolk and tie straps.  While my version of the dress looks significantly different than the original, structurally speaking, it's altered very little.  The straps no longer tie, and I added sleeves.  Besides that is the obvious drop waist and ruffles, but those were just sewn on top of the A-line dress--no structural change.

Jill Made It:  Bare Feet and Ruffles

So it was a really simple alteration.  But I learned something important in the process:  I really don't like making ruffles.

I love the dress.  I think it's adorable.  Boo loves the dress.  But Daddy's Girl will not be getting a matching dress.  Ugh, the ruffles.  So adorable, yet so time consuming.

Jill Made It:  Sunshine and Ruffles

But look at this happy face.  Totally worth it.  And speaking of "worth it," this dress was completely free.  There's the obvious free pattern, plus the blue fabric was leftover from a project I completed ... two years ago? and haven't posted yet.  (Hmm, might should do that...)  And the yellow fabric was leftover from this summer skirt I posted two years ago.

Jill Made It:  Beautiful Morning Sunshine Backlighting

And as a side note, I've been wanting to get a picture like this (with the sun behind the person's head, lighting up their hair so prettily) for just about forever.  But it's hard to get out to take pictures when the sun is low enough.  So I'm really excited we could take pictures early enough in the morning to get this shot.  And isn't Boo beautiful?  Awww...


06 September 2013

Boo Starts Her First Day of Preschool!...How Did She Get So Big?

First Day of Preschool

Boo started preschool this week!  She is so excited--she would love to go every day if she could.  (It's twice a week.)  She didn't seem to be nervous at all, even on the second day.  The first day, I stayed to see how it's done, but the second day, I dropped her off and went back home.  

Boo has gotten so big.  Who said she was allowed to do that?

One Year Old Portraits

It doesn't seem that long ago that she was a one year old baby, toddling around everywhere, carrying Baby the baby doll, and wanting to be right by me at all times.  (She's still sometimes that way, so I was just a little worried that she'd have a hard time when I needed to leave her at preschool.  But she did great!)

Two Year Old Portraits

Then there's my sweet two year old Boo, with her beautiful bright eyes, adorable pig-tails, and love of Toy Story (all three movies, and she'd go in spurts which one she liked the best).

Three Year Old Portraits

And my precious three year old.  She is so smart, and so loving.  She takes good care of her baby sister, and loves to help me.   She asks questions about everything.  (Really, everything.)

Not too long and my three year old Boo will be gone, too, leaving a four year old in her place.  I'm not really sad my baby's growing up--I love watching her grow and helping her learn.  And I really love that she is learning do do things by herself.  So I guess what I'm saying is, I love all the stages.  Sometimes I wish my girls were little snuggly babies, but at the same time, I'm thrilled Boo is starting to draw people, rather than just coloring abstractly.

First Day of Preschool 2

Good luck at preschool, my darling girl.

{By the way, five other moms and I are taking turns teaching preschool for our combined six munchkins.  (Which is why I needed to watch and learn that first day!)  My first turn is in a few weeks.  I'm a little nervous.  Wish me luck, too!}

04 September 2013

Birthday Bash, Cake Smash, Pool Splash

Birthday Cupcake:  One Year Old

Daddy's Girl is one year old!  She actually had her birthday a while ago, but I decided to wait to post about it after Summer Swimming was over.  So now it's finally time!


Boo and Mr. MadeIt both helped me make Daddy's Girl a birthday banner.  Boo loves to help me with my projects.  Even though she makes things go slower, I love that she likes to do these crafty projects with me.

One Year Old Birthday Party:  I Love the Swimming Pool!

 We had Daddy's Girl's birthday party at the swimming pool, because she LOVES to play in the water.

One Year Old Birthday Party:  Unenthusiastic Cake Smash

We had the traditional cake smash.  (In case you're wondering what's up with the pattern-less spots on the birthday banner, they're where I blanked out her name, since we don't do real names on this blog.  Well, my name really is Jill...or is it? ;)
  
One Year Old Birthday Party:  Unenthusiastic Cake Smash 2

Daddy's Girl didn't like the cupcake.  But she's adorable anyway.

One Year Old Birthday:  Love the Cake Smash!

Turns out, she just didn't like the frosting--She DID like the cake!  Once I flipped her cupcake over and showed her the cake part, she loved it.

One Year Old Birthday Party:  Cupcakes from Scratch

And we all got cupcakes, too, of course.  I used the recipes HERE and made yellow and chocolate cupcakes from scratch.  The yellow cupcakes turned out yummy, but the chocolate were a little dry.  I'll have to tweak the recipe and try it again.  (Here's the pin, if you'd like.)

One Year Old Birthday Party:  So Much Fun in the Swimming Pool

Some of my family got to come, so that was nice.  Doesn't Daddy's Girl just look like she's having the time of her life?  Swimming pool, grandparents, and a ball--what more could a baby ask for?

One Year Old Birthday Party:  So Much Fun in the Swimming Pool 2

Boo had lots of fun swimming around, too.  Note to self, though:  Be sure to take more pictures of the not-birthday child.  I only got a few pictures of Boo!  Sadness...

One Year Old Birthday Party:  So Much Fun in the Swimming Pool 3

I love Daddy's Girl's face in this picture!  "Come back here, Ball!  I'll use my Jedi Mind Powers on you!"

It was a great party.