Spring and Easter Fabulous!

I bought this pattern last fall while watching a rerun of Mad Men... I thought how fun would it be to have a beautiful, vintage style dress?  So to work I went, I wanted sleeves so I would be modest, but also I wanted to be warmer.  Now I made this dress last fall for what I hoped would be for Christmas, but I was too busy with everything else that it didn't happen. And after our move I knew it would be perfect for Easter instead. It had fit like a glove in Nov the last time I tried it on, but moving stresses me out and I lost a little weight, I was a little bummed it didn't fit the same, but I love the style, and the color is my favorite shade of green!

My Sweet hubby and I on Easter Sunday, I felt like Veronica Lake!

 

Spring cleaning and a "new me"

I'm trying to find my balance with all that I do in my life, and with spring comes the chance to do some self evaluations and that usually involves my closet! I came across this article and I'm going to take notes as I read it and sort through my closet a bit better so I can 1- have my closet better organized. 2-help redefine my style (which changes with the season and my age!) and 3- make getting dressed easier, faster and more fun!

Here is the article titled, !0 signs your wardrobe needs a make-over!

http://shine.yahoo.com/fashion/10-signs-wardrobe-needs-complete-overhaul-153300689.html

I'm a total sucker for a good make-over and have seen it time and time again, the changes throughout the person's life when they are able to discover the "new me"!

Spring Inspiration Board

 This time of year always makes me want warm weather and color! I love color and I'm not afraid of wearing it loud and proud. I'm a huge fan of Pinterest, and wanted to share some of the looks that Inspire me.
I love finding new outfits or looks that  I'd like to wear and ask myself several questions when doing this...
 Which ones should I make first? What do I already have that I could use differently? Do I have something that could be made over?

What are you loving for Spring? Look around your wardrobe, what items do you have that you could "freshen up"?

Girls dresses and jumers for fall/ Winter

 I've been bust the last few weeks. Here are few projects I've been working on the last few months. 

This jumper is a heavier stretch cotton blend and the dropped waist is so flattering on girls!

 This is one of my Favorites this year! I found the blue/brown/green paisley at the Sewing Expo and knew it would be so perfect for a fall dress. I love making skirts with tiers, the different layers of fabric because they can be lengthened or shortened and it still looks cute!
 With all the different colors in this, there are many options for shirts!

This is a huge seller for me. I buy this fabric by the bolt because I make and sell so many of these! This long maxi jumper is cute, and so versatile!

 

 



 Again, I used a coordinating fabric for the neckline, the ruffle hem and tie.

The story behind this dress is that I made this for myself 15 years ago! I love the peacock blue fabric, its 100% cotton and is super soft. When I was looking for a new use for this dress, and saw the extra scraps I had

 I love how cute the coordinating straps and waistband came out!

 

 

This dress has cotton, flannel and corduroy! And such fun colors for fall!

 

 

 I did smocking in the back to add some detail and gathers.

 

 Purple is a fav color for girls and I'm seeing it everywhere!  So this dress was right on trend, I actually came across this fabric at a home decor store, it was curtains! but screamed dress to me. So another maxi skirt, and this one I kept the skirt 4" longer that are hemmed under so as this girl grows she can have the hem let out and it will fit her for a longer period of time. I have alot of moms who love this idea!

 

Another mixed fabric dress, the photo to the right shows the color better. But a fun and easy dress to wear and the print and solid mixing is so fun!

Penelope Maxi Skirt

Funny story, but I dreamed about this skirt, and now here it is.

I wanted to make a fit and flare skirt and had this 4-way stretch jersey, I didn't use a pattern and wanted it to have a drape to the back. It's made with 4 pieces and could be any length. The green color is perfect for fall/winter and could be dressed up or down.
Don't laugh but I put a elastic waist band in! Easy to wear and super comfortable!

If your interested in your own maxi skirt, contact me with your measurements,  the length and fabric you would like used.

To the left is the back, you can see the back panel I cut on the bias so it would hang well.

To the right is the front, the lower front panel is also cut on the bias. I wanted a slim silhouette but enough fabric to move freely.

(my disclaimer, I tucked in the blouse so you could see the waist, thus all the lumps and bumps!)

Halloween Wrap up!

Yes, its a few days after Halloween. But I wanted to wait till I got the pics from all my wonderful clients and their kids all dressed up!  So here is what kept me up late and busy for the last month and a half! And I'm still waiting on a few other pics...(you know who you are!) This year was all about mermaid, princesses, pirates and ALOT of sparkly lamé (a woven foil fabric)!!!

 

Mermaid Princess, This was recycled from a different costume that this little lady had out grown, and who doesn't need tulle with a costume, right!

Ca

Captain Jack Sparrow! This guy was so much fun to work with! For fittings he would talk like a pirates, Arrg!

 

 

 

Rapunzel from the movie "Tangled", this was over a year in the making because we were super busy last year and luckily I had it all together and just needed to be sewn together. I love how awesome this came out! The chamilione is safety pinned on!

Another Mermaid! The tail/skirt is made from recycled scraps from various formal dresses I did this past year. and there is over 14 yards of tulle in the tail!

 Tinklebelle, Front & Back. This girl was a adorable!!!! She wanted wings and wanted to know if I knew how to make wings that could glow in the dark! I told her mom some ideas and I'm waiting to get the actual Halloween pics to see what she did!

 

Ok this kid was such a cutie! and the biggest flirt! His fave movie was "Gnomeo & Juliet" so of course he had to be a gnome!

 

 

 

 

Another Rapunzel! This is her actual hair and she is only 15! We used 2 different colored satins, one was a dress that she bought at Goodwill and the other was her cousins prom dress! We had to watch Tangled to make sure we got the details right and what a fun girl to work with!

Mermaids galore! This was the craziest costume I did this year! The skirt alone was made with 25 different colors and prints of tulle and lamé. The skirt is elastic waisted so this girl's younger sister can wear in a year or two.

On the left, you can see the skirt detail better, the front and back panels are the multi color sections and the sides are green  stretch poly/latex blend.

 

 

A basic Pink princess. I hoping to get a few better pics but in the mean time here is the one she sent from her phone.  This was the easiest one by far! A cute t-shirt, sew 6 to 8 yards of tulle along the shirt hem and ta-da! Cute and easy costume!

 

Peacock Princess, My favorite one this year! This girl is as wild as I am, and when we met and talked with her mom about making a fabulous peacock costume the thought we all shared as "go big or stay home!" So her mom made the wings and beautiful mask and I made the dress, it's made from a stretch velvet and this will be a dress she keeps for years! I followed the same style of tiered scraps from the mermaid skirt of the week before and aded a few real feather at random.

 

A cute little witch! I loved this dress and this girl was a sweetie!

Nothing says Halloween like the whole family dressing up! I did these costumes actually for this family back in August. this little girl turned 3 and wanted a Cinderella themed party so I made costumes for all of them! The dad was such a good sport and his shirt was an older white button-up that I just changed and collar and added the shoulder pads.

 

 

A Royal Princess, I love this pattern and this was a joy to make. This little lady is a tiny thing and I felt like I was making a doll dress! You can;t see but this girl had crazy, flaming red hair! and we have already talked and next year there will be a "Brave" costume on my list for her!