Will You Be My Valentine?

A little late, but I took these photos for Valentine's day and didn't get a chance to blog them, or send them to anyone, and I just really love them and wanted to share them!

I had a lot of fun doing her hair, but I won't lie- it was a tad frustrating. I've gotten pretty used to doing my hair like this, but doing it on someone else (especially someone who wiggles soo much) is something I'm not as skilled at. I think I will keep practicing, because it's super cute. Cordelia liked taking these photos because she got to wear make up- something she is never allowed to do! 

We has a quiet Valentine's Day, I had to work during the day so Cordelia went to hang out with my sister (so Daddy could have some shop time- my gift to him). Then we came home and ate Chipotle (my favorite special treat) and watched Harry Potter together. Brendon surprised Cordelia with balloons and Valentine's decorations, and me with flowers. It was a pretty great day. I hope you all did something fun- do any of you have any special Valentine's day traditions? I'm a sucker for holidays, but the hubby kinda hates them so it's a constant balance keeping us both happy!   

Kids Clothes Week: Round Up

All in all I would say it was a pretty successful Kids Clothes Week. I didn't get everything photographed and blogged, but I did manage one top, two pairs of pants, one sweatshirt, and one dress but most importantly I took the time to sew a little bit each day- which is the whole point right?

I've been meaning to add a "winter" princess dress to Cordelia's collection for awhile and just hadn't managed it yet, and while it isn't upcycled, I figured KCW was as good of an excuse as any! I basically used Kitchy Coo's skater dress with a couple of modifications. I added poet sleeves, the paneling in the bodice, and the skirt is just a long rectangle instead of the shape in the original pattern. Cordelia was really tickled by the dress and wore it a ton of times before she would consent to a "photo shoot". I also made a pair of the best fitting leggings I have ever made her- but I never got a real picture of them (she has been a little cranky the past couple of days).

 

I actually did most of my sewing this week for one of Cordelia's best friends. It's was the week of Echo's second birthday and I kept putting off sewing her gift! (Not because I didn't want to sew it, just because of time). I made up this little puppy shirt, inspired by this cute one You & Mie made awhile back, because Echo has decided that the best shirts are ones with puppies on them. I was on a roll so I also whipped up a pair of velour joggers- since she hates tight pants. She is a pretty exacting kid, so hopefully these make the cut for frequent wear! 

Sometimes the fun part of sewing for little kids is sewing something you really think their parents will get a kick out of- this sweatshirt was one of those instances. Echo's dad is a huge Badtz Maru fan, so when Brendon and I were discussing what I should make Echo we knew it had to be Badtz Maru related. I went back and forth between making a dress and making the hoodie, and in the end went with the hoodie so that it could be worn more- and for longer. This is actually upcycled (my only win with the KCW theme) and it's made out of adult sweatshirts. I think it turned out pretty cool, and Echo's dad thought it was great- so it was an all around win. 

Kids Clothes Week: February 2015

The first time I participated in Kids Clothes Week was a total success . I made a dress, sweatshirt, skirt, two tops, and four pairs of leggings; and it was soo much fun! However, come summer I signed up for my second KCW and totally flopped. I actually ended up making an art smock, one and a half skirts, a tank top, and a dress- which now that i'm listing it out doesn't seem like a total flop...maybe I should reevaluate....anyways I never blogged them- and that seemed like failure at the time! That feeling of failure, and the stress of school, made me skip out on the fall KCW which made me pretty sad. 

However, I signed up for this month's KCW and I'm pretty excited. I've set my "To Sew" expectations pretty small, I probably wont get a ton of stuff done because I don't want to fall behind in my school work, but I really want the incentive to spend just one hour a day sewing. When it is all said and done, sewing makes me happy, and sometimes I need the extra encouragement to do things that make me happy! 

This time around the theme of KCW is upcycle- which should be a good reason to remake some of my old clothing that into stuff that Cordelia can love an enjoy. However, before I start on any of that I want to share my projects from last time! 

The theme last summer was Kid's Art, and it was a lot of fun to get Cordelia's help decorating fabric. We drew on fabric, and we painted on fabric. I think the painting turned out the best- and she was soo proud of all of her little flowers. 

I actually don't have pictures of the finished projects that were drawn on, but here is the painted flower dress! I picked up very "sky" looking fabric for the base of the dress, and trimmed it in green cotton and yellow ric rack that I had in my stash.

She gets especially excited when she tells people that she painted the flowers on her dress- most people think I did it. 

My second photographed look didn't involve any hands on kid action, but I felt the mermaids felt like kid art, so I figured it worked.  

The skirt is a simple circle skirt, I added flower stitching to the bottom (mostly because I was super excited about my new machine) and a pink and white polka dot waistband. The top was my first self drafted and sewn knit top! 

Think good thoughts, and wish me luck sewing this week!