A Big Bow Dress

Well, Tuesday Transformation didn't take place because Lily's crud came back full force and she had a fever of 103. While getting her checked out at the local doctor's office, the doctor heard my barking cough and asked to take a look at me too. Something in our lungs. Translations are not always the best, so they just keep it simple, I nod, and take the prescriptions to the pharmacy. Both of us are now on antibiotics and are on the mend.

I did manage to sew again last night though and made a cute dress for Lily. Can't wait to try it on her, but the temps are diving back down to freezing this weekend. Seriously! Not looking forward to it. So, don't know when I'll have the chance to see her model it. 

I used an awesome tutorial from The Cottage Home for the Happy Day Big Bow Dress. It looked easy enough, but alas, I messed up again. That big blue patch on the front is supposed to be a pocket. It is TOO big for this size dress (I should have made it smaller for sure), and I put it up too high. Sigh... I didn't embroider on it, but think I will make this again with simpler fabrics when they come in the mail and get the dress right. I am proud though because I learned how to make button holes with my Ikea sewing machine. Wasted about an hour trying to get the threading right, but at least I know how to do it now! And I learned how to make my own ribbon. Tackling something new each time I sew and it really is so fun!

 

PS. Here is a cute video of the kiddos at the park.

15 months

Can she really be 15 months already! The months are going by much faster with Lily than I remember them passing with Cooper.  As much as I am trying to SLOW down, the world isn't slowing down and I'm finding my precious time with my kids as babies much too short! 

Can I have a bite?

Love how he opens his mouth too when feeding her.

On Mothers Day, I found this picture of me with my mom. Gosh, I feel like I am looking at myself holding Lily. This must have been about 31 years ago... Not sure why, but I just can't stop thinking about time and how quickly we are aging and how fast it all goes. Just a few years ago, a lifetime seemed so long. Now it seems so short. I tend to think it is watching my kids grow up so fast and change overnight that is making me realize the fleetingness of it all. However, those of you without kids, did life speed up for you too in your thirties?

I took Lily on her first bike ride Friday. As I was pumping up the tires, she sat in there and clapped and was already so happy with the trailer without it even moving. So cute. Cooper was an ol pro at riding in the trailer and I could hear him talking to her in the back as I rode up to the park telling her to "hang on, here comes a bump", and holding her hand. Too bad I didn't capture that in photos.

Saturday and Sunday we went climbing outside. Unfortunately, I was a bit of a grumpster all weekend because I got sick with the kids crud. Aches, fever, cough... I tried to enjoy the sunshine and just being outside with the kids however, climbing with the kids still has its challenges. Cooper does great. He likes to climb when we go, but he mostly entertains himself looking for bugs and sticks the whole time. Lily is in that hard stage where she loves to explore, but is so unbalanced walking over sticks and rocks, that she tumbles every other step it seems. She got the worst bump ever on her head this weekend and cheek. But she loves it. She loves to play outside and smiles and giggles all day long. Seriously, she is the happiest little baby. Even with only a 30 min car nap. I don't know how she does it. This girl loves her daddy. She gives him unexpected kisses all the time. Seriously adorable.

Matilda Jane Knock Off Pants

Last week, in my sewing craze, I tried to make a pair of Matilda Jane knock off ruffle pants. I LOVE the clothes on that website. Never been to a  trunk show, but I'd only dress Lily in those clothes if they were affordable. Unfortunately, they are pretty pricey, and I never see stuff that looks like their clothes in the stores around here. So, I attempted to make a pair to look like these below.

This is what I came up with.

Cute huh! I loved the way they turned out, even if a little loud. Understatement. They are pretty wild, but I still think they would look adorable on Lily. So, where are the modeling photos you might be asking? Yup, you guessed it, I made these too small. So frustrating! Lily has chubby thighs and quite a chubby belly. I suppose if I had used a forgiving fabric, it could have worked. A knit... I'm learning.  So Missy, these are coming your way in the mail in hopes that your skinny minny Ella Jane will be able to fit them!

And if you get the inspiration to try to do a knock off, here is a tutorial from Modest Maven I used for making the pants. I tried to make my own pattern based on a pair of pants of Lily's. I suppose I didn't give myself enough seam allowance though. Good luck! Time to order some stretchy fabrics...

A Sun Hat for Lily

We're getting ready to take a trip to Spain in a few weeks, so I decided to make Lily a sun hat and started searching for some tutorials. I found two more awesome/harder ones I want to do, but I started with this simple one from the blog Grossgrain Fabulous. It is actually a Prudent Baby Tutorial, and they have a lot of wonderful, easy to follow tutorials for beginners.

This is only my third attempt at sewing. I started with pillow cases, then a dress for Lily, now a hat. It is getting easier each time and I am following the instructions a bit easier at last. If you have ever thought about starting, do it! It really is so fun and not that hard once you sit down and make yourself try it out a few times. I bought the IKEA sewing machine, a real basic machine, but it works great for me. It was only 60 euros.

This hat was pretty easy. Only took 1.5 hours and that was with a mess up (had to pull out some stitches). I increased the size of the petals by about a half inch since Lily has a big head and is going on 15 months, and it fits pretty perfectly. Not too loose, so she can't pull it off too easily, and it doesn't fall off when she bends over. 
 
My only problem is finding fabrics right now. We have a store on base, but they only carry cotton. They had two canvas cottons (the green and yellow you see below) total. I thought  heavy weighted fabric would work better for a hat, and I'm glad I used it.  Whats nice is that the canvas is double sided, so technically the hat is reversible. I want to try some knits for some future projects. I finally bit the bullet and ordered some ribbon and fabric online. Can't wait for it to arrive! I have plans for so many free tutorials I found this week online!

Yes, she is trying to eat the lilacs. She eats EVERYTHING!

On our way to get ice cream.Hmmm, maybe a button on top would look cute...

Transformation Tuesday - Cardboard Boxes

Been a busy weekend. Both kids have been under the weather and are still a bit sick. Fevers, runny noses, coughs, and super duper tired. Lily went to bed at 7:30pm the other night and didn't get up until 10:30am! We had to wake her. Crazy. They both seem to be on the mend now thankfully. I've lost some sleep but hope to catch up by getting to bed earlier each night this week. We'll see if that happens. I always tend to start projects after I get the kids to bed and it is so hard to pry myself away from them!

Anyhow, time for another Tuesday Transformation. The video from the my Thursday post inspired this one. Upcycles for Cardboard Boxes! Enjoy :)

1.Make a Play Kitchen. Parent magazine shows 12 great ideas for toys (including cars, car ramps, castles etc).

Source: Parent

2. Make a Cereal Box Gift Bag

Source: Glue Arts

3. Organzing Bins

Source: Positively Splendid

4. An adorable cardboard box themed birthday party!

Source: On to Baby

5. Make a Chandelier in any color you want!

Source: Etsy Blog