A Happy Little Thing

I finally finished Ansley's Tinkerbell dress. All of the pieces except the sleeves have been cut out since November or December of last year, right before our trip to Disneyland. I had finished a dress for each day (Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White) so Tinkerbell got pushed to the bottom. She's not exactly my favorite in the classic Peter Pan. I think her newer spin off series are probably better but we haven't seen them.



Anyway, this is the same dress with flutter sleeves from a different view (simplicity 0351a which also has another number but I don't know what it is). I got a little confused with the bias binding of the armholes but did something that worked but probably wasn't what the instructions intended. I will have to do some more research.



The skirt is a also a circle with five free handed petals. (inspired by the petals on this gorgeous dress by icandy). Ansley picked to have a raw edge on the circle skirt so it's just zigzagged instead of folded under twice. I also zigzagged the raw edge of the sleeves and around the petals (which don't have raw edges b/c they're actually two petals sewn together).



I didn't calculate where to place the petals, just arranged them so they seemed just about right. I don't know why I didn't realize it was going to be a flower when the circle skirt is spread out completely. Ansley likes to step in her dresses rather than putting them on over her head.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Ansley picked out the heart fabric a while ago and I knew it would be perfect for Valentine's day. I used the bodice from Simplicity 2063 and this tutorial by Kitschy Coo to line the bodice. I sketched out a heart and crossed my fingers it would work, inspired by the Sweetheart Dress by luvinthemommyhood, which I actually found out I won from You and Mie yesterday, so clearly I'll have to have another go at it. :) The skirt section is just two width of fabric sections gathered together. I did baste the heart tulle layer to the bodice before basting the underskirt (same fabric as the bodice) to the bodice/tulle, then stitched it and it turned out nicely/ was pretty painless.













I made my tulle skirt using Cotton and Curls tulle skirt tutorial (minus the gathering- mine is just basically 3 circle skirts- one knit layer and two tulle layers and lots of basting and pinning ha) right before Christmas but never got around to getting pictures and had to take the waistband in a bit (which isn't a bad thing, right?). Ansley has a matching one but there aren't any pictures of it. Ansley picked out the shoes for me from TJMaxx. They were only $7. She then informed me that she wants a pair of shoes just like them in her size. That's not happening any time soon. HA.









Same picture but pink, per Ansley's request.







Using the dinglehopper.



Hope you have a great Valentine's Day!

My Nephew's Birthday Party

My adorable nephew recently turned one. My sister threw him a fantastic baseball party!!!



I made a little blazer with suiting fabric for the exterior and baseball fabric for the interior. The pattern is by Melissa of Blank Slate Patterns. (Ansley's blazer blogged here). I changed around the way I sewed up the lining and exterior so I could eliminate hand sewing (not my forte ha), like in this post. I debated whether I should topstitch the coat so the corners and notches always look sharp or if I should leave it untopstitched (which looks better) but then the corners won't always look as great. I ended up topstitching it. I made an 18 month size and it's just right. I guess he won't need a suit coat in the summer. :) Also, I would like to point out that this is the best buttonhole I've ever made.





Moving on. . . . I semi-homemade baseball style tees for us. I started with basic tees that were on sale at Joann and cut off the existing arms, with a diagonal going through the armpit (which is key- yeah, I totally messed up mine since I practiced on mine) and drafted raglan long sleeves. I also sewed the binding around the neckline and though I only used a strip of rib knit that was about 80% the size of the neckline, I probably should've used a strip that was closer to 60% b/c they don't lay completely flat. They aren't bad, but they can be better next time! (Ansley's skirt blogged here).









I loved the decorations and it was fun to see family and friends. :)









I tried to get Ansley to turn her cookie around so I could take a picture of the baseball and this is what I got. The cookies were so good! There were also hot dogs and burgers and other basebally foods.





Not a fan of the cake.



Presents with a little "helper."











Sleepy.









Luscious hair.





































Loved the pictures of his first year.