Just for Fun

Hey there! We’ve been enjoying some sunshine in my neck of the woods (where summer doesn’t really start until after the 4th of July), so I’ve been working on my tan instead of anything crafty! I thought I’d make a silly request of you today, though…

 

 

I’m kind of absolutely in love with this little girl and can’t help but stare at her almost all the time. So I thought it would be fun to enter her in the Parents Magazine cover contest and she could use your votes if you’re up for it. You can vote HERE.

 

Just a little something completely non- crafting/sewing/creating/inspiring related, but still something dear to my heart.

 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope your week is off to a good start!

The Circle Dress {Pattern & Tutorial)

 

As I mentioned in THIS POST my brother got married this past weekend. We had ordered THIS dress (which I LOVE) from Carters for Reese to wear to the wedding, but I figured we should be smart and have a back up dress just incase there was an accident.

 

 

Before deciding to buy the Carter’s dress, I had envisioned making something like THIS. And even after finding all the stripey goodness of the actual wedding dress, I had to appease my white lace over colored fabric dream when making the back up dress. I made it similarly to my Sunny Little Miss dress, only this time I perfected the bodice pattern and did one less skirt layer.

 

 

The outer layer is a white eyelit I found at Joann’s (I couldn’t find it online, but it runs about $19/yard, so my coupon came in handy!) and the lining is a navy lining material. I used navy bias tape to finish the arms and neck and grosgrain ribbon for the sash. The lining skirt is 1.5” longer than the outer skirt and I love the way it peeks through.

 

 

I originally planned to secure the back using buttons, but then didn’t want to bother with button holes and sewing buttons on, so I used snaps instead. I love that change since it makes it much faster to get this dress on my very busy 8 month old!

 

 

The skirt is a circle skirt, so there is a wonderful fullness and movement to it without bulkiness where it attaches to the bodice. I went ahead and made a pattern for size 6-9 months and you can download it HERE. Otherwise, if you need a different size, I’ll tell you how you can make a pattern of your own. As far as materials go, I bought a yard of each fabric (and had lots of leftover, but wanted to be sure there was plenty to work with since the skirt needs to be a full circle’s worth), a pack of double fold bias tape, grosgrain ribbon, snaps, and coordinating thread. You could easily just do this in one solid layer and not worry about the double skirt, but I love the contrast.

 

 

I made my bodice pattern by tracing an existing 6-9 month size dress that I liked the shape of (actually, Reese’s real dress for the wedding). The back is the same as the front only I added an extra inch to the center so there will be the overlap for the snaps.

 

 

1. Cut out your front and back bodice pieces in both layers of fabric.

 

 

2. (If you are doing a different size of dress, or wanting detailed instructions for making a circle skirt, check out Dana’s tutorial HERE.) Cut out your circle skirt layers. My pattern is for 1/8 of the circle, so you’ll want to fold your section of material in half 3 times. The pattern is for the length of the outer layer. Just add an inch and a half on to the lining layer.

 

 

3. Using a rolled hem foot, hem both layers of the skirt. (I have a tutorial for using a rolled hem foot, my favorite foot of all time, HERE.) Unfortunately, my rolled hem foot is missing in the chaos that is my craft closet, so I had to do a regular small hem, which gets so tedious on the length of a circle skirt!

 

4. Because I was finishing off the arms and neck with bias tape, it made assembly of the bodice really simple. Just sew, right sides together, the shoulders and straps of each layer using a half inch seam allowance. Then turn the lining layer wrong side out and the outer layer right side out. Slide the lining into the outer layer and baste stitch the two layers together around all the raw edges. Because I was using 1/4” bias tape, I had to stitch very close to the edge.

 

5. Pin bias tape around the arm and neck holes, continuing it down either side of the back opening where the snaps will go. Top stitch the bias tape onto the bodice. I did two rows of stitching to make sure it was fully attached.

 

 

6. Baste stitch your two skirt layers together. I very slightly gathered my skirt at this point as well. With right sides together, sew your skirt to the bodice. Baste stitch the waistband of the bodice. When doing this, overlap the back two pieces by one inch. I finished the final seam off with my serger, but if you want all raw edges hidden, just skip the earlier step of basting the waist band of the bodice, with right sides together stitch the two layers of the skirt to the lining layer. Then fold the outer layer under, pin it to the skirt and top stitch around.

 

7. Attach your snaps or buttons.

 

8. Cut a length of ribbon to your desired length and stitch it to the front of the dress in one vertical line at the center, and in a vertical line under each arm.

 

 

Try it on your baby, love it and feel so proud whenever she wears it! I paired Reese’s dress with a Big Bow Headband that I made out of matching wider ribbon. I love the way this dress turned out and I’m excited to make more of them for Reese!

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Parties I like to link up with:
Thrifty Decor Chic Creating with the Stars, Made with Love, The Sunday Showcase Party, Weekend Wrap Up, Real Momma, Real Style, Make it, Wear It, Show and Tell Saturday, Weekend Bloggy Reading, Whatever Goes Wednesday, Take a Look Tuesday

A Wedding, A Preview & A Summer Round Up!

This past weekend my family had the joy of celebrating my baby brother’s wedding in Lansing, Michigan. It was a beautiful wedding, the bride is perfect for my brother, and my kids didn’t have any meltdowns! My brother is a pilot in the Navy, so the military aspects of the celebration were very special.

Nolan and I were both in the wedding party and Jace was the ring bearer. The thing that made the whole weekend so great was that my sister-in-law came along to help with the kids and whisked Jace and Reese back to the nursery once Jace made it down the aisle.

Welcome to the Navy, Ma’am!

Reese’s dress for the wedding was ordered from Carters, but I figured a back up dress would be a good idea since baby diapers are so unpredictable. I made this dress with eyelet lace and a navy lining and LOVE the way it turned out! I just need to take final pictures of her in it, scan in the pattern, and I’ll post it to share with you!

Summer hasn’t quite arrived in our area yet, but I’m feeling pretty anxious for long days, warm weather and vacation. I had some fun going back and looking at previous years’ summer posts, and thought I’d put together a little round up for you.

Last summer we took a 12 hour road trip and I put together a basket of activities for Jace to do along the way. I loved the system we used and the activities in it. Check out Road Trip Activities for 2 Year Olds HERE.

I love wearing maxis in the summer time! Last year I lived in them since I was pregnant, and I’m hoping to enjoy the loose dress even more this year without the big belly. The two maternity style dresses also come with suggestions for making them non-maternity. Check them out: Simple Maxi, Sunshine Poured Out Maxi, Tank Style Maxi.

It’s hard to believe it’s already time to get patriotic! I love my past Americana projects and look forward to adding some girlie projects to the list this year! Patriotic Inspired Mantel, Fireworks Shirt, Plaid Shorts (no actual tutorial for this one), Yankee Doodle Romper, Star Scrap Wreath.

And in case you’re just wanting some other fun projects that are great for nice weather, bbq’s and relaxing—Painted Flower Pots & A Front Porch Makeover, Little Smokies Wrapped in Bacon (great for gatherings!), and an Iced Caramel Latte.

I hope your May is finishing well! Thanks for stopping by!

Mombo Nursing Pillow {Review}

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Comfort and Harmony for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

 

I was recently sent the Mombo nursing pillow by Comfort and Harmony. I'm a big fan of nursing pillows--for the support while breastfeeding, as a place to safely and comfortably lay a new baby, and as a support pillow for the not-so-confident sitter. I love this pillow!

 

 

Mombo has a unique shape and a two-sided design called Firm2Soft™. One side is more firm and I found it supported Reese perfectly while nursing her. I loved how it held her higher than other nursing pillows I've used--causing less strain to my shoulders and back. The other side is really soft--Reese loved petting it! Another cool feature that I would have loved when Reese was teeny tiny is that it comes with a vibration feature--it would have been been perfect for soothing her to sleep!

 

 

As you can see, the slipcover I was sent with the pillow is adorable. It actually matches Reese's swing, which I thought was great! There are other options though--the mombo nursing pillow has a huge selection of other adorable slipcovers. The cover fits so well on the pillow--no tugging at seams. I feel like even my three year old could have some fun with this thing without worrying about him damaging it. And the pillow will definitly keep its shape even with lots of use.

 

 

If you're expecting a new baby, or looking for a good shower gift idea, I highly recommend this pillow. I am so glad to have it now, and would have loved to have had it since Reese was born. Mombo products are available at Toys R Us, so stop by to check out their great selection of infant nursing pillows. You can also keep up with their products through Comfort & Harmony on Facebook and Comfort & Harmony on Twitter.

 

 

The BEST Coffee Cake

 

I made my FAVORITE COFFEE CAKE for the moms group I’m a part of last week. And after eating it, loving it, and hearing from everyone else how much they loved it, I thought maybe I should remind you all about it. After all, it has been a year and a half since I first shared it and, in blog world, that’s like a lifetime. I would have taken a prettier picture for you, but got too distracted by the deliciousness to do so.

 

The recipe calls for 1 1/3 cups buttermilk/sour milk. I had everything mixed and ready to go when I realized I had less than 1/4 cup milk in the fridge. And since I timed making the coffee cake to the last minute possible for it to bake enough before leaving, there was no time to run to the store. So I subbed 1 1/2 cups sour cream instead, and the results were just as good.

 

I highly recommend you make yourself this coffee cake. And invite some friends over to share so you aren’t tempted to eat the whole thing yourself.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Red Buffet & Bar Stools {Homemade Chalk Paint}

 

As we’ve been working away at our downstairs makeover I’ve loved doing a few furniture painting projects because I was able to actually label something as finished.

 

 

I’ve always loved this antique buffet. It was bought by my aunt and uncle thirty some years ago, then passed along to my parents and it was in our home when I was growing up. Before moving across the country seven years ago, my parents passed it along to me. The stain hasn’t been my favorite, but I never really felt like committing to a color.

 

 

Since we’ll be installing laminate wood flooring soon, I finally had the motivation to paint—I felt like keeping the buffet as is would just be too much similar toned wood. I absolutely love the way it turned out and am so glad I made the change!

 

 

I made some homemade chalk paint using THIS recipe and Glidden flat paint in Candy Apple and finished it off with furniture wax paste. I really do love the results of chalk paint, and liked the process in that I could be sloppy and it didn’t matter and didn’t need to pre sand or strip the finish on the buffet. My paint did get really thick as I worked with it, though, so I just kept adding a little bit more paint and a little bit of warm water as I went along. My hardware came from Home Depot. The beauty of this technique is that the buffet looks like it has been painted this way for years and years. You wouldn’t think it just got refinished a few weeks ago.

 

 

While I had the paint mixed, I figured it would be fun to re-do my barstools as well. In the picture above you can see what the paint looks like in the three stages of use—the top stool is just painted, the middle is after giving a light sanding to even things out and distress a bit, and the bottom stool is post waxing. It really was amazing how beautifully the wax brought out the color.

 

 

Here you can see the contrast mid-waxing.

 

 

A look at the barstools in action. They make me smile.

 

 

One last look at the beautiful roses Nolan gave me for our anniversary, with my cheery buffet in the background. I’ll be using the same chalk paint technique on the buffet in our entryway, as well as on an old door I’ll be hanging above the buffet. I can’t wait to tackle that project!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Parties I like to link up with:
Thrifty Decor Chic Creating with the Stars, Made with Love, The Sunday Showcase Party, Weekend Wrap Up, Real Momma, Real Style, Make it, Wear It, Show and Tell Saturday, Weekend Bloggy Reading, Whatever Goes Wednesday, Take a Look Tuesday

Kitchen Reveal! {Painted Tiles & Decorative Signs}

Can you believe it? I’m finally showing you my finished kitchen! [Granted, we do still need to install the flooring, but hey, for now it’s close enough.] And I am so pleased with it!

My before wasn’t bad—we did have nice counters and cabinets. But now, I feel like we have something beautiful. It has certainly been a lot of work. Read about our counters HERE and the cupboards HERE. The walls are painted Versatile Gray by Sherwin Williams in their Cashmere paint. I love the color—during the day it’s a really pretty gray color and then it transitions to a bit more of a beige tone at night. I love the way the white of the cabinets pops off of it, and our red couches look BEAUTIFUL against it. I went with the Cashmere paint because it has primer in it, so the paint looks the same whether it’s going on the plane white walls or covering our previously painted tan walls. And just one coat with minor touch ups did the trick.

My barstools are now painted red, and I’ll share that with you later this week.

One of my favorite transformations in this space was our tile backsplash. They began green and now they’re a beautiful, bright white.

They weren’t a high-gloss ceramic tile to begin with, so I was confident a simple makeover wouldn’t be a problem. I simply scuffed them up with sandpaper, primed with Kilz oil based primer, did three coats of SW Pro Classic in Pure White, and the sealed with a few coats of polycrylic. We also caulked between the tile and counter to give it a clean finish. I LOVE the contrast of our paint and tiles. So far they’ve held up really well with being wiped down to clean up, and I’m confident they’ll continue to last. From the research I did for painting tiles, if you have a high gloss ceramic tile, you should probably use a tile/cement primer first.

I also loved decorating the space above my cabinets. I had some great pieces to work with from before—old tins, cookbooks and utensils my MIL had given me, but I needed a few new signs to finish off the look.

I thought a chalkboard would be great for this side of the cabinets.

I used a sign I’d made before from a cupboard door, removed the vinyl word that was on there, and painted the center with chalkboard paint. I love the verse that’s there for now, but will also enjoy being able to switch up what it says throughout the year.

On the opposite side I made two new signs. The Fresh Produce sign was inspired by THIS one, and is made from a wooden seat from my old kitchen chairs. I painted it with chalkboard paint, distressed it with sandpaper, and then painted the red lettering on. The price is written with chalk.

The other sign is also made from an old cupboard door and was inspired by THIS sign. If you make one too, just don't be like me and spell premises wrong ;)

The beverage box in the center came from my in-laws, and I have another one just like it that I can’t wait to find the perfect way to incorporate it into my house.

One last detail that I want to share with you is this fun caddy I got for holding pens, scissors and paper. (I got it from THIS seller on Amazon, but they are out of my item. A cute comparable would be THIS one, it’s just a little more than I spent.) I love that it’s decorative, fits with the style of the rest of my house, and big enough to be completely functional.

I’m loving my new kitchen and can’t wait until we get the new flooring installed. But that’ll have to come after we’ve finished painting. We’re through with the dining room and part way through the living room. I’ll be back to show you my finished painted buffet and stools soon. For now I’m searching and searching for the perfect rug and curtains.

Thanks for stopping by!

Parties I like to link up with:
Thrifty Decor Chic Creating with the Stars, Made with Love, The Sunday Showcase Party, Weekend Wrap Up, Real Momma, Real Style, Make it, Wear It, Show and Tell Saturday, Weekend Bloggy Reading, Whatever Goes Wednesday, Take a Look Tuesday