Jocole Patterns A-Line Skirt Test

Jodi with Jocole Patterns really hit it out of the park with this one!  I had the pleasure of testing this new skirt pattern for her and WHOA is it awesome!  Ladies we are talking NINE different length options!!!  Talk about some serious bang for your buck! 

This one that is being modeled by my sister is the Below Knee length option.  The pattern was such a quick and easy sew and I can't wait to make some more. 

You can purchase this pattern HERE.  Thank you, Jodi for another great pattern!

Another FABULOUS pattern from Jocole!

Last week I got to test another pattern for Jocole!  It's a ladies leggings pattern and it is most awesome!  My sister Kristina agreed to model for me.

This pattern is easy to follow and a quick sew.  I will definitely be making more leggings not onlyfor myself but also to sell.

The pattern is available for purchase here on her website
http://www.jocole.net/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=8_27&products_id=125

A Few Picture Samples

Just posting a few pics with adults in them :)

Wow LOOOOOONG time no blog!  I should really fix that this year!

I FINALLY got a chance to test a pattern for someone!  I've been trying to get in on one for a long time.  I think this was destined to be though.  I wanted to make Lucas a tie for Christmas and had attempted to free style one but it was super skinny.  It worked out fine for the Christmas pictures we took.  That skinny look is kind of in style right now but that's just not what I had in mind for this particular outfit.  Turns out I happened to be on facebook at the right time to see a post from Jocole saying she needed testers for a new necktie pattern.  So I posted and got picked!  YAY!  I thought my little Rudolph tie turned out pretty adorable!  Lucas wore it to his Christmas program and got lots of compliments and then he wore it again for our little photo shoot and again on Christmas Day.  He loves it!  Harleigh thinks it's pretty awesome too!

Want to make one for your kiddo?  Go here to get one and check out all her other awesome patterns while you are at it.  She's got some in mommy sizes too! 

Western Shirt Remix

It all started with this picture on Pinterest

 Which led to the seizure of this old shirt from my uncle

 And after a little remix

 Ended with this little number

I DO plan to make something a little closer to the original shirt but this one had the western yoke that I was trying to somewhat keep in tact because it lent itself somewhat to the style I wanted.

Random Mush Wednesday - Photos By Lucas, Dinner Idea and a Birthday :)

On SUNDAY

I let Lucas take some pictures with my camera the other day.  I was super nervous to hand over my toy but he was very careful with it and of course thought it was so cool! 

He started with her...

...then moved on to me...

...then on to more inanimate objects like the swing-set.... 

...and the 4-wheeler (I actually love this one)...

...and ended with Daddy before I took the camera back since he was getting a little rowdy.

 
On MONDAY

I made these little buggers for Judd's dinner.  They are super easy!  Brown your ground meat and season how you wish.  I used a pound of ground venison and seasoned with garlic powder, onion powder, and Fiesta's Hamburger Deluxe.  While the meat is cooking, mix up a box of Jiffy Cornbread using the corn muffin recipe.  I added in around 1/2 a cup of BBQ sauce.  Pour the mix into a greased muffin pan.  When the meat is done add in a cup (or more) BBQ sauce and mix together.  Then top the muffin mix with the meat mixture and pop in the oven and bake according to the Jiffy directions.  You can also top with shredded cheese! 

 That night we went out to Texas Roadhouse to celebrate my baby sister's 21st birthday!  She is expecting a baby and for her birthday her doctor let her get her ultrasound a few days early.  IT'S A GIRL!  We are all so very excited! 

Her doctor also approved that glass of wine just so you don't think badly of her!  :)

Mud Day May 12, 2011

Now I know what you are thinking..."you let her wear a WHITE dress out in the mud?!"

YES I DID!

And I did it knowing that she would get filthy. And ya' know what?! I didn't care! That's the beauty of using what you have to make clothes for your kids! Her little outfit didn't cost me anything to make so I wasn't worried about. Kids are supposed to have fun playing not having to worry about keeping clothes clean. So anyway on to the muddiness!

Just out of the house...before her first fall

Splish Splash!


Sharing a looksie at the mud

Bubba threw mud at her but she didn't care it was on her face

The mess was worth the smiles!

After they were done I stripped them down to their skivvies on the front porch and carried them in to the bath tub. They both told me that had a bunch of fun.

And the dress? All it needed was a little Resolve and it's still the same pretty white that it was before it's romp in the mud!

Boom Boom Boom Splat Splat Splat

Can you name the book that my title comes from?


It's raining here. Everyone is so happy because it's been super dry. It started off as a light rain but since there was thunder and lightening I wouldn't let the kids out to play in it.



The birds were out playing though.



Things picked up so I went back out to take some more pictures. I spent too much time playing with my settings trying to get this picture that I got cold and went back in before getting any other good shots.



Well other than this one of the cat who was not amused by the wet stuff.


Oooo oooo do you see my rocker behind her there. It's in such sad shape right now. I have HUGE things planned for it!!!


By the way the book is Dr. Seuss's Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? My kids love it!

Never Be Afraid To Try!

Something I've been trying to do this year is to try new things. Be it a new recipe, or learning something new with my sewing skills or my ever continuing quest for great photography. One thing that has always scared me about sewing is making a button hole. I'm not sure why, perhaps because I remember my mother telling me that they were a pain to do. For whatever reason, they have been on my "list"....things I know I need to conquer but I have yet to try.

Or should I say HAD yet to try. I have now crossed them OFF! I got it into my crazy little head that I would rip apart a shirt that was a little too girlie for Lucas, but fit him well, and use it as a pattern. I made a few alterations and came up with this. It has a few flaws but overall I'd say it was a success and he certainly loves it.

And then I had to come up with a fun photo shoot idea which led to the creation of the matching hat and bowtie. Thanks to The Clever Girl for her newsboy cap pattern and Kelly from Sewing In No Mans Land for her bow tie tutorial! By the way I didn't have the right size elastic for the bow tie so I just cut a "ring" from a black knee high and hot glued the bow onto it. I'm not sure how long it will last but for now so far so good. It's just another example of how to think outside the box and try new things!



and one more just because I love my little cowboy!

Lil Blue Boo/Dharma Trading Challenge Take Two

I've been toying with the idea for this outfit for a couple of days now and last night decided to whip it out. It turned out so cute I decided to submit it for the Little Blue Boo/Dharma Trading Challenge.

Back before Christmas I found these stripey scarves at Target in the Dollar Spot and picked up a couple. I love me some stripes! I had been planning to use them for leggings for winter but never got around to making them. One of them was used last week on Harleigh's birthday dolly so they were fresh on my mind and when the idea for this outfit popped into my head I knew just what to grab. The 2 scarves that were left and a couple of brightly colored t-shirts that had been rescued from my sisters Goodwill pile. While Judd watched NCIS I got to work cutting out tons of little flowers. While the Lady Ags whooped it up on Baylor I sewed. When the sewing was done I designed and painted Tiki Toola (don't ask it just came to me). Then this morning I tried it on the little miss and HELLO CUTENESS!

The little flowers are sewn with a single line of stitching across the middle area to enable them to curl a little and give that 3D affect. There are little flowers sewn on the ends of each tie strap as well for a small punch of color and interest. The tiki mask was painted using a freezer paper stencil from a hand drawing I did.

I wanted to take her to The Boat for pictures but it was lunch time and I chickened out so we went to the park instead.

Lil Blue Boo/Dharma Trading Challenge Take One

First up I'm submitting this throw blanket to the Little Blue Boo/Dharma Trading Challenge. I made for it for my snowman collecting mom. She has so many snowmen items that all come out around Christmas. I felt like she needed something she could leave out year round though and since she also collects quilts I decided a faux mini quilt was in order. In keeping with the decor of my mom's house I went with denim and flannel for that country comfort feel. I found some of the snowman pictures online ages ago and for the months that were missing I created images on my own. I'm sure there is a "correct" way to embroider patterns but I simply print the image onto a regular piece of printer paper, pin it to my fabric, then stitch through the fabric and paper. When I had all my major lines done I carefully tore the paper away. Then I free handed all the small detailing and wording. It took me months but I finally got it all done. Luckily it's an easy project when sitting in front of the tv! Once the embroidery was done I stitched up the pieces, backed with a piece of blue and white plaid fleece, and tacked it with embroidery thread. She loves it!

tutu tutorial...FINALLY!

My friend Melissa asked me awhile back how I made my tutus and I told her I'd post a tutorial. Being the horrible friend that I am I've taken forever to get it posted but finally here it is!

Supplies:
tulle
ribbon
scissors
measuring tape

First off you will need to take 2 measurements-around your child's waist and then starting at her waist measure down the length you'd like the tutu to be. For Harleigh I'm using 21 inches around and 15 length.

Take your waist measurement and double it and then cut your ribbon to that length. At the end you might want to trim the ribbon down but this will ensure you have enough to tie a good bow. *I'm actually doing something slightly different with the "tutu" I'm making in these photos so I'm using a piece of fabric*


For tulle you can either use tulle yardage or a spool of tulle. The color choices are better if you go with the yardage but if you use a spool there are less cuts to make. I'm not sure on the price difference. This is the first time I've used a spool and it was given to me.


Now you need to take your length measurement and double it (mine will be 30) and start cutting your tulle. Since I'm using the spool this is fairly easy. If you are using yardage you will have to figure out how wide you want your strips. My spool is 6 inches wide but in the past I've done strips that were more like 2 inches. It's really up to you. Don't worry about cutting straight lines because truthfully it's going to be hard to tell on a moving (most likely twirling) little girl. Start cutting and cut and cut and cut some more. I can't really say for sure how many you will need b/c it varies depending on the size of the child and on how full and long you make your tutu. *I used about 16 on this one to give you a very faint idea. Yours will probably be much fuller than this though.*


Now it's time to start knotting the tulle to your ribbon. Take a piece of tulle and fold it in half and lay it on top of your ribbon.


Then you are going to take the ends of the tulle and curl them up behind the ribbon and loop them across and through the top of the tulle where the fold is.


Tighten it down. Your ribbon will probably curl and twist some. It's ok just straighten it out if does.


Continue knotting all your strips on in this manner. If you want a really full tutu then slide each piece together really tight. *Mine are spaced around an inch apart*


For an idea of what a full tutu will look like here is one I've done in the past.


That's it! Just tie it around your kiddo and they will be off into a ballerina blissfulness!

I also made a tutu dress for Harleigh Rae's first birthday. To do that I grabbed one of the extra wide crocheted headbands and knotted the tulle into the bottom 2 rows of holes on the headband...like this...


Then to strung a piece of ribbon through the middle hole on the top front and tied it around her neck. You can't really see it in the picture though because I embellished it with a flower that covered up the ribbon.


And here is a sneak peek of my next project that I'm so very very excited about!!!

Mission Accomplished...sort of!

Last week I set the challenge to make a wedding gift, a dress for Harleigh and a dress for myself. I ended up buying a dress for myself but since I made Harleigh 2 dresses I think I did alright.

Here is the first dress I made. It was a practice run. Thanks to Lex over on the Made By Lex blog for the dress tutorial!




The second dress for the wedding...I also did a silk flower refashion for it and wrapped the headband. My mom made the bow.


And here's the wedding gift