What I've Been Sewing: Kids Shirts

Now that I have a little side business of sewing, I am constantly sewing new things.  Each one on their own isn't really enough to write a blog post on but I thought I would combine a few and start a new series of what I've been sewing.  I've definitely come a long way from when I first received my sewing machine and wrote these two posts: things I can actually sew and things I can actually sew II.  It turns out that I can actually sew a lot of things, LOL!

I'm starting with shirts because that is what I've made the most of recently. The first pattern that I used for this post is the Jolly Roger Raglan from Patterns for Pirates.

This pattern has size options from 3m-14 and it has multiple sleeve and hem options.  For the deer one I made a straight hem with long cuffed sleeves and for the dinosaur one I made a curved hem with long cuffed sleeves.  You can also buy an add on pack to add other fun features to the shirt.  It was an extremely easy sew.

Next up is the Eeny Meeny Miny Moe from the Peekaboo Pattern Shop.  It is a very versatile pattern for a baby bodysuit that has multiple sleeve options and can have an attached shirt or dress or you can make the shirt and dress on their own like I did here.  The hood and kangaroo pocket are included in the pattern!  It is for sizes preemie to 4T.  In the picture I have it shown with a matching Adult Classic Sweatshirt also from Peekaboo.  I love Peekaboo Pattern Shop.  Their patterns are versatile and have easy and clear instructions.  This is already the 3rd thing I've made from this pattern.

Photo Credit: exposures by j.linnea

This sweet little peplum top is the Baby Bloomsbury by Little Lizard King.  There is also a version for older children that has dress versions as well.  Like all of Little Lizard King's patterns this one is packed with options. I made the 3/4 length sleeve option.  It was a quick and easy sew even though this fabric was a little bit of a beast to work with compared to other fabrics I have.  Isn't that photo from our recent professional photo session amazing!  I can't believe how much she's growing up!

And finally, my favorite pattern to sew up lately, the Hideout Hoodie from Peekaboo Pattern Shop.  It includes size 3 months-12. I love everything about this pattern: the crossover hood, the little mini pockets, and the color blocking options.  I have a few fabric panels that I plan to use for some hoodies for my girls soon.  Hoodies seemed so intimidating to me a few months ago but then I tried this pattern and the Eeny Meeny Miny Moe and now I'm hooked on making them!  I really want an adult version of this pattern.

I didn't list fabric sources for each of these because I don't want to spend all of my time attaching links so if you want to know where I got something just ask!

Next up for the blog will either be a post on Ana's first birthday or some updates in our mudroom.  We'll see what I feel motivated to write about first :).

Halloween 2018

I've really slowed down in my blog writing but I'm okay with that.  I will still pop in and write a post when I have time/feel motivated to but it won't be 3-4 posts a month like it used to be.  I definitely had to write a post about this year's handmade costumes.

I can't believe that I've already made 4 Halloween costumes for this girl!  You can read about all the past costumes on the blog: no sew owl, no sew kitty, and Minnie Mouse.  This year my girl wanted to be Vampirina since it is one of her favorite shows on Disney Junior.  Thankfully one of my favorite pattern companies Violette Field Threads came out with the perfect little jumper with their back to school collection called the Maddie Jumper.

I used solid black cotton fabric from Joann.  The only pattern alterations I made was making a pattern for the scalloped bottom.  I made a facing piece with the scallops too and sewed it to the bottom trimmed the seam allowance and clipped all the points and then turned and top stitched.  I made the spider webs by drawing them on the jumper with a marking pencil and then top stitched the lines with purple thread.  I used black Kam snaps for the closures on the straps.  For the top I used another Violette Field Threads pattern, the Talulah (I used the top version with long sleeves).  I used some solid cotton lycra fabric for the top and dress from Girl Charlee in Persian Pink.  The leggings are the free Bonny Leggings pattern from Made for Mermaids.  I made the bat wings from glitter foam that I had in my craft room.  I originally put them on clips but changed it to a headband because I couldn't get them to stay in her hair right.  The boots are from Old Navy.

She loved her costume so much and every time she put it on she would run to the mirror and say "I'm Vampirina!"  It was so cute!

This is Ana's 2nd Halloween but her first year dressing up.  She was only a month old last Halloween so I didn't bother making her a costume.  I had also been in the hospital to have emergency gall bladder surgery a few days before Halloween so I just didn't get around to making her one and she didn't fit in Lyla's owl costume.  This year I decided to make dress her up as Alice in Wonderland.  The patterns that I used for this one were all by Violette Field Threads: Rosemary Pinafore, Matilda Dress, and Alexandra Bow.  You can also buy the Rosemary and Matilda as a bundle.  This costume used all solid cotton fabric from Joann.

She just looked so darling!  She grabbed that shoe right before I started taking pictures.  She just loves to walk around with something in her hands.  I love that picture where I caught her mid fall because it reminds me of Alice falling into Wonderland.

It was a fun Halloween and making their costumes was so fun too!

Lyla's Moana Birthday Party

I'm proud of myself for actually writing a post without letting three months pass by ;).  Right now I'm working on planning Ana's 1st birthday party.  I can't believe that she turns one in less than a month! Since I've got birthdays on my mind I thought I would write a post on the Moana party that we had for Lyla's 3rd birthday.  One thing that I have definitely loved about being a mom is planning and throwing birthday parties.  It is so much fun! And this year was especially fun because this was the first year that Lyla was able to pick her own theme.  She loves the movie Moana-she wants to watch it all the time.  I don't mind because I love the movie and especially love the music. 

I created this invite in my Pixelmator software.  I bought this Moana clipart from here. It came with that cute background on the invite too.  You'll see this clipart used again later on.

I'm going to start with the games because that was the first thing that we did at the party.  The main game was an Moana obstacle course that I created.

1st the kids slid down the slide.

Next the kids had to crawl or weave through the seaweed tunnel.  I made this obstacle by sticking bamboo skewers in the ground an then slipping the pool noodles over them to create an arch.  Then I added green streamers for the seaweed.

Next they had to jump on the trampoline.  I used to jump on this little trampoline when I was a little girl.  It belonged to my grandmother and I love that Lyla gets to jump on it too!  The 4th obstacle was to crab walk or crawl from the trampoline to the patio.  I figured that most toddlers wouldn't be able to crab walk yet. 

The next obstacle was to "paddle your boat."  I drew a line on the concrete with sidewalk chalk and the kids had to follow the line while holding the "paddle."  We used Lyla's toy shovel for the paddle.  If I would of had more time I would of made a paddle out of some sort of handle and cardboard.

I was originally going to have coconut bowling be a separate activity but we had a couple of pins that were permanently deflated so I decided to incorporate it as an obstacle instead.  This blow up bowling set was a present from Lyla's Aunt for her 2nd birthday.  I found these sea decorations at the dollar store and just taped them to the pins.  I sent my husband out the day of the party to find this coconut.  I called this obstacle "breaking the sea wall." 

Finally the kids had to carry the heart of Te Fiti to Te Fiti.  I had some little stones and I taped some heart of Te Fiti's that I had printed and cut out on card stock to them.  I just found the clip art by doing a google search and it was free.  Then I put them on spoons and the kids had to carry them to the Te Fiti backdrop that I made.

I originally drew out Te Fiti in my dining room with it taped to the wall.  I used painters tape to give my self a line to reference for where to put the facial features.  Unfortunately it ended up ripping the tablecloth which was just a cheap dollar store one when I took it off.  I didn't want to draw the face again to I just put the other tablecloth I had bought behind it.  I drew hear face on with a green sharpie.  The heart is just a bigger version of the one I made for the obstacle course.  I used dollar store grass stuff and a garland from Oriental Trading Company to create her hair.  I bought some leis from Party City for guests to wear while taking pictures. 

The only other activity I had was the water table.  You can read more about how I made this in this post.  This was a big hit at both her 2nd birthday party and this one.  Little sister loved it to and got soaking wet!

Inside I had a happy birthday banner that was a free printable from Catch My Party and you can find them here.  I also used the little tented cards to label the food and the You're Welcome sign which I taped to the front door.  I made the leaf garland with my Silhouette Portrait.  I found the tropical leaves in the design store and cut them out on different shades of green card stock.  Then I punch holes in each leaf and strung them onto some bakers twine.  I hung them up with some push pins in the ceiling.  I wish I had taken a better picture of it and I had plenty of opportunities since it was up for a month after the party!  I decorated with some leis on the table and these cute Kakamora pirates that I made using coconut cups from Oriental Trading Company, craft acrylic paint, and mod podge.  Here's the tutorial that I used to make these. 

I didn't do a good job of taking pictures of the food but I served sandwich meat and cheese and crab salad with Kings Hawaiian hoagie buns (and the regular size Kings Hawaiian rolls for the little ones).  I had a veggie tray with ranch dip and made a little island in the dip with half a red potato with a carrot stuck in it for the trunk of a palm tree and a green pepper cut for the palm leaves.  You can see it in the picture above (it was the only picture I got!).  We also had chips and pineapple.

I made a this lime sherbet punch and called it Heart of Te Fiti punch.

Of course the crowning glory of it all was the cake!  I was so pleased with how it turned out.  You can find a bunch of examples of similar cakes to this on Pinterest.  For the cake I used this recipe for chocolate cake and this recipe for mock chocolate mousse filling.  The filling was so good!  I made three layers of the cake.  I used this buttercream recipe.  I crumb coated the cake with white frosting after filling and stacking the layers.  Then I used a spatula with the blue frosting to give it the wavy texture.  I used a piping bag with a grass decorating tip for the grass.  I bought the little flowers at Joann Fabric.  The bamboo is made with Pepperidge Farm Pirouette Cookies.  I found the Moana set with canoe at Target.  I can't believe I made this cake!

Finally the favor bags contained one of the Kakamora coconut cups with a bamboo straw, a bag with shark, octopus, and fish gummies, and Moana temporary tattoos.  I made the bag toppers with my Silhouette Portrait and the same clip art as the invite.  The font is a free Moana font.  The tattoos were made using my Silhouette Portrait and the special tattoo paper that they make.  I used this clipart and I especially liked the Maui ones that look like his tattoos.

Lyla has been a big fan of tattoos lately so she loved these. I seriously loved planning and throwing this party.  I hope this post gives you some inspiration!