Easter Dress Search is Over

Who's cheap? Me.
Who likes to torture themselves with a sewing machine? Yep, me again.
There are plenty of fabric scraps in this house that need to be used up.
Cute Easter Dresses are just way too over-priced.
And I like projects.
So after all the blood and sweat (no tears, but yes there was blood and sweat--I pricked my finger a few times and it got on the dress. Ew! And I'm wearing sweats and it's about 80 degrees, so yes, there was sweat.)...
Here is today's finished project. AKA Mirabel's Easter dress. Flaws and all, and there are plenty of those. I had to alter a pattern, and I'm not very good at that, hence the mistakes ;).

This is the first dress I've successfully added a zipper to, so I'm at least content with that accomplishment. Woohoo!

Keeping it Colorful

I think I'm settling in to an official life routine now. Jose started work last Monday (they told him only a week before that he'd be starting early :). That same first day of work he called me and said he'd be leaving for Boston in 2 hours! I wanted to laugh. He got home Wednesday, and now he's working Monday-Friday. Most mornings Mirabel and I spend time with friends/go to a playdate. This morning we attended a mom's support group hosted by our church. It was really lovely.

They're discussing a book called The New Strong-Willed Child by James Dobson. I've been meaning to read that book. Oh, so many books I'm "meaning" to read :). I had to laugh at one point in the discussion when the leader mentioned that you know you have a strong-willed child when you're shopping and the grocery cart doesn't travel in a straight line, because you're constantly going this way and that with your kiddo. Conversely, if you have an easy kiddo you can shop while eyeing everything on the shelves instead of your kid's next move.

Mirabel is full of life. That's how I like to put it. Her highs are high and her lows are low. So when she's happy, she'll smile and laugh and talk up a storm (in her own language, of course). But when she's unhappy... Everyone knows about it. Eyes turn at the store. The grocery cart practically tips over ;). There are things flying off the shelves, or she's screaming in the cart because I won't let her participate in the shopping.

Last week I visited a fabric store and the lady there was so anxious. Well, I think Mirabel might've had something to do with it. They had spools with different colored threads lined up like a rainbow in a cute case. What curious, lively child wouldn't want to play with such an arrangement? :) Oh, it was heaven for Mirabel. Not so much for the tattoo-covered hipster at this fabric shop, nope. She ran from behind the counter to where Mirabel was before Mirabel could even get her sticky fingers on a second spool. Of course, I was right there. And, of course, I was going to put them back the way they were. Moms develop a superpower of being able to scan a store's setup in a flash, so they can leave the store just how they entered it. It's because they know their tasmanian toddlers are going to get into one or two (or three) things during the shopping trip, am I right? ;)

You're probably wondering why I didn't just keep her in her stroller. Well, this store isn't stroller friendly; it's tiny. Also, there was a sewing class taking place (and there was also a sign explaining that all visitors needed to keep their voices down). I had to pick: Screaming or Playing with Spools. When I picked Mirabel up after the hipster expressed her fears about the spools, she began to scream (Mirabel, not the hipster). I ignored it and tried asking this young lady a few questions about the sewing classes they offered, since I was interested in taking one or two. She then proceeded to say, "I'm sorry, I can't talk over the screaming". I'll end it there. But this is just an explanation of a typical day with my kiddo. Of course, at home she's easy (because I've baby-proofed the whole place, so that she can explore every corner of the house--and she does).

I really needed a drink after that. By drink I mean a milkshake from Sonic ;). I got my sugar fix and drove off. My hair was standing on end, but I still felt that having a cute baby is better than having cute fabric, any day. I'd be so much lonelier without Mirabel. Yes, I'd have friends and more free time, but I wouldn't be quite as complete. This doesn't take back the fact that I do believe she is strong-willed. That personality trait will come in handy; she definitely won't ever be known as a push-over, that's for sure. For now, it's all about teaching her how to use that character of hers for good, while I guzzle down the milkshakes...

And enjoy happy hour (aka naptime. I saw that on a shirt once. "Naptime is the new happy hour." ;)

This is what I've been doing during happy hour.

Jam jar vase covered with fabric, for more color in the living room.

Mixed media collage. I love Christy Tomlinson's stuff. Granted, this doesn't compare, but her work inspired it :).

Pillow in the front. Also for more color in the LR. The back pillow was purchased at an antique store a few weeks ago.

Sooner rather than later, I think ;)

Posts are naked without pictures, so here's another little somethin' girlie sewn for Mirabel. Blanket and cozy pants, featuring Hello Kitty; having a little girl gives me an excuse to continue my Sanrio obsession!

Braxton-hicks have been messing with me since about 16 weeks, but lately they've become more painful and they've changed. Before, they'd just cause my belly to tighten up, now they're causing pain way below my belly, and today I started having some lower back pain/cramping with them too. I only have bad ones about 4 times a day, very spread out; the usual tightening ones happen about 10 times in one day though. Every time I get the ones that are lower down and in my back, I wonder "Is this it?!". I'm only 35.5 weeks, but I have a feeling this baby will be here around 37 weeks. Watch, she'll probably arrive at 41 just because I said that :P. Monday I go back to the doc and get checked out! She'll also do a quick ultrasound to make sure Mirabel's head down. I haven't seen my baby since about 20 weeks, can't wait to see her!

...And Thursday we fly south, to Houston. Jose is worried that Mirabel will come before then; we are both ready to get outta here! We need the vitamin D! :P Right now we are just in "let's do everything to avoid labor" mode, so I'm no longer walking a mile to my doctor appointments/church :). Full term isn't until 37 weeks, but these early contractions have me a bit concerned that it might happen before then.

Thursday... just a week away! That's also the day we (or I, yep me!) will be buying a car. I can't believe it. I don't like the idea of having more debt (undergrad debt is still being paid off), but I am thrilled that I qualified for a CR-V loan with Honda, without needing a co-signer! This is progress for me, I feel like a big girl now! Of course, that isn't the mark of adulthood, but there is something very liberating about being financially independent. All my student loans required co-signers (because I didn't have a credit history/job), but thanks to my husband (who does a fantastic job of paying the bills on time) my credit score is pretty darn good! I don't mind making the money, but I do not like paying the bills... I leave that to him, and he enjoys it, thankfully :)! There will be no Forester this time. Turns out the middle seat in the back (which is supposed to be safest for babies) doesn't work very well with car seats because it has a strange hump. I read on a few forums that this is a pretty significant problem, and I didn't like the sound of it. I called Subaru and they confirmed my fear; their manual even recommends that children be placed on the right or left, by either side door, because of the hump. How strange and disappointing. Hondas are family-friendly cars, though, you can easily and safely fit 3 car seats in the back of a CR-V, so we're going with that one instead :D.

The next few updates will be more exciting, I think :)...

Weekend Projects and Sunshine

When it comes to boutique items, I am guilty of wanting to purchase more than I should. I can easily spend hours browsing all of the colorful handmade items on Etsy. Whether it's a pair of button earrings or an adorable purse with fun fabric, it's all delicious eye candy to me. Sometimes, to save a few bucks (or many ;), I actually try to make these items. I usually don't have the "skillz" or materials, but I work with what I've got.

I just don't feel right splurging on little treats like this very often, especially with a kiddo on the way. And I really don't see myself spending $60 on a sweet looking handbag.

Oh! But Little Odd Forest has such cute handbags and totes, click here to see what I mean. Who can resist? (I can, honestly folks, but let's just say I can't. ;)

Problem? Yes. Solution...

This past weekend I TRIED to make a similar handbag/diaper tote for Mirabel. I have so many random scraps of fabric. And sometimes I give in and buy a fat quarter or two of irresistible/adorable Japanese fabric, from Etsy, of course. I just so happened to have a little more than a fat quarter of pink nesting doll fabric, purchased earlier on in the pregnancy for Mirabel (you see, I was justified in making this "wise" investment ;). But the fabric was so cute, I was hesitant to cut into it... until I spotted the Odd Forest handbags!

Definitely not perfect. It's got its flaws and I'm still learnin'. But, by golly, I had a whole lotta fun making this bag. I will add that my seam ripper came to my rescue many times; it's my new best friend :).

Here are a few close-ups of the final product, including the nesting doll fabric. I added a few big pockets to the inside, too (can't have too many of those, especially with a baby!). The orange buttons came all the way from Bulgaria! They're from one of last summer's Etsy purchases :).

After finishing up the bag, Jose and I felt it was time for a sunshine break! Thankfully, we've got plenty of sun these days :). A nice change from the dreary weather. I think it's safe to say that spring has sprung.

I love pink trees. If only they tasted like cotton candy!

I almost forgot! We have a new neighborhood pal, meet Al. He's the albino squirrel that lives on our block :).

Mirabel's homemade wardrobe (a very small part of it ;)

I was joking with Jose yesterday, telling him that I wanted to make Mirabel a homemade outfit to wear when she's born, or coming home from the hospital, that way I can say that everything is 100% homemade :D (I plan on taking a picture and adding that caption to it ;).

I made the shorts (at the very bottom) yesterday. They are a bit loud :P! I couldn't help but laugh when I showed them to Jose and he asked if she was going to wear them outside of the house! I like to call them her Peewee Herman Shorts :D. Gotta get 'em while they're young, I tell ya. I made quite a few mistakes on these shorts, mostly because I could not figure out how to actually put the pattern together, and then I got tired of 'em and tried to rush through the final steps, skipping some. Putting on the "invisible elastic band" was sort of a struggle, too, which is why I only put the elastic on the tummy part. I was initially hoping to follow this tutorial for bloomers to the T, but, like I said...didn't have fun with the elastic :P.

Thankfully, Made By Rae's Itty Bitty Dress Pattern was simple enough for me :)! It still took awhile to put this newborn dress together (my first dress, ever!), but I really had fun sewing on the extra details and making it extra girlie for Mirabel.

Vintage projects and lots of sewing!

Best place to get vintage fabric? Estate sales! I always feel bad digging through the personal belongings of folks who've passed, but I'm sure they'd appreciate that someone is putting their stuff to use, at least I'd feel that way. And guess where this fabric is from? Old sheets and pillowcases! I plan on using them to make new curtains for our room when we get back to Boston, but I think I'll have quite a few left over for throwing a few tote bags together... or maybe a skirt!

Great tutorial for using pillowcases? Check this one out, it's from Craftzine. Instead of making a shirt, I decided to make a skirt with an elastic waist (still can't do zippers on clothing!)... then a summer tote bag...


All of the sewing classes I signed up for in Cambridge were canceled last year, I was so disappointed :(. Lucky for me, I've been able to take 2 different sewing classes here in Houston for the price of one! One of my new favorite Thursday night hangouts? I love the look and feel of Sew Crafty. How cute this craft studio is! And they're moving to a bigger studio next month! I can't wait to take more classes next summer when I come back to Houston.

image from here.

Makin' stuff

I've been taking it slow lately. I did make quite a few Mother's Day cards but decided to give them away instead of sell them :). I've yet to update my store, mostly because I'm purposely taking my time with everything these days. I tend to be a pretty high-energy/rushed person and, as a result, sometimes I don't do things as well as I would if I just took my time a bit more. This also applies to cooking/baking and my food blog. I wanted to take a break from Flour Arrangements because I didn't like feeling like I had to hurry up and post something, it really took the joy away from the whole experience, and inspiration doesn't follow a schedule anyway :P.

I feel like I've been rushing through this year, trying to make sure I have time to cook and bake something new, or sew something new, or draw something new, find new music to listen to, etc. Then I realized I was the one rushing myself! Speaking of rushin' ;) (sorry, I had to!), here's a Matryoshka doll card I made for my mom. The littlest nesting doll isn't actually wearing heavy eyeliner, the point on the felt tip pen I was using wasn't fine enough for the drawing :P.

And here's a shabby chic-ish pillow I made a week later (I've been wanting to make this for awhile now with the fabric I ordered from this site, but I put it off...and it felt nice to put it off :)

Seriously.

Seriously. Just look at that face and...the tiny paws! How can I be bothered?

Yep, that is my new friend Mr. Raccoon, except I think it might be Ms. (oops!). She is very curious.

Yesterday the hubby and I were enjoying hot dogs outside on our porch (because the weather was so so beautiful) when we heard someone barking in the background. Nope, it wasn't a dog, it was a squirrel -- not just any squirrel. Apparently Mr. Squirrel is quite territorial and really (and I mean really) becomes anxious and aggressive whenever he sees Ms. Raccoon anywhere near his tree. He barks up a storm, even his tail twitches to the beat of his barks, for added emphasis. I think he got his point across to Ms. Raccoon, who refused to climb up the tree.

Instead, she made her way to the area surrounding our porch. We made eye contact when she was in the neighbor's yard and she could smell the food, I'm sure. I could hear some rustling nearby and guess who it was? Yep, cute and curious Lady Raccoon.

That picture you're seeing was actually taken today. She was a bit on the shy side yesterday but today she was bold enough to climb onto our porch. I left the sliding door open while I was baking chicken and sewing earlier this afternoon, I'm pretty sure the aroma in the breeze was too much for a hungry raccoon to handle. I opened the curtain and there she was, except, I only caught a glimpse of her furry tail curling around the edge of the porch while she tried to escape. But a minute later she decided to come back and say hello. She literally remained in that pose (in the photos above) for about 5 minutes. :)

As far as sewing goes, I'm working on a few Mother's Day projects. I'm finishing up a tote/beach bag for my mom. I made it really huge :D, I was afraid of making it too small, but I added a few pockets because things are bound to get lost in that big ol' bag. I have to sew the exterior/interior together still, but here's what I have so far:

Purse 2

...this is the purse I promised to make a friend of mine, it has a zipper but I couldn't figure out how to sew on the magnetic clasp. Next time :).

Sewing! Yay!

I'm finally sewing :D! These past two weekends, my friend Jamie's given me a total of 5 hours worth of sewing lessons! What a sweet girl! I paid her back with homemade granola bars and a movie -- well, we watched Twilight after I downloaded the rental from Amazon. I got her hooked on the books, I confess! We both agree that the movie can only be enjoyed if the book is read first. For some reason, I felt the movie was made up of mostly adoring/slightly cheesy glances and strange looks, not much verbal content. It reminded me of a high school play. The emotions were also watered down, but it was a fun chick flick, no less :).

So what's the first thing I sewed? A skirt, with Jamie's help, of course. The zipper was a pain to sew on! (It's in the back and looks pretty bad, I didn't photograph it. ;) My sewing skills are very much at the beginner level). But hey, I'm glad I FINALLY did it. My sewing class was canceled not once, but twice. The first time, before the class actually started. The second, the weekend before we even had the chance to sew! But I am no longer intimidated by my pink sewing machine, I can do this!

My next project? This purse! Check it out!

After creating the first 'experimental' purse, I'll make one for my pal Jenn using this fabric (that is, if she likes it ;). Click to enlarge:


Here's the skirt (notice the crooked sewing on the front :D. I can't believe it actually fit me!)