The Sadie Shirt

I did the Sadie Shirt sew-a-long this week with Craftiness Is Not Optional, one of my favorite crafty blogs. While the sleeve length reminds me of a Chinese grandpa's pajamas, this was a really fun project, and my family appreciated me sewing a little bit a day, rather than trying to finish a project late at night. The shirt is super lightweight, which is perfect for Coco, who generally hates things touching her skin. She will scream bloody murder if any blanket touches her feet at night. It has to be draped just so over her upper body.

Very weird kid with a very weird mullet, but I love her!
   

So random, it's trendy...

There is a big mustache trend going on right now, which I think is so random and funny. I am a huge Glee fan, and I really loved Kurt's mustache shirt a couple of weeks ago:

So, I copied that idea for a shirt for Cash:

Hmm...some toddler fingers have been smudging my camera lens...
Anyways, I used a dollar store t-shirt, freezer paper stenciling, and the template found here. Cash loved this shirt, which I didn't expect. (But I honestly think it's less about the mustaches and more that I actually made something that wasn't for Coco).
Here are some other mustache-y things I love:
Prudent Baby featured some mustache lollipops--

--and the mold is only a couple bucks at Bake It Pretty

Etsy has tons of mustache items (giant mustache pillow, anyone?), but vinylsoul's Mustache Mugs are my favorite:


Owls, cupcakes, mustaches...what will be next? Oh the cuteness!

Done! And Moving On...

So, I decided to not buy any fabric/craft supplies in the month of September, going along with the Stashbusting September challenge. And...I did it! Well, almost. I did buy a 5-yard knit fabric bolt from Wal-Mart for $5 on the 28th. It was so cheap, and...and..it was cheap! I have a pattern for a knit dress that needs to be used, and I can also make shirts for the kids, skirts, etc. So, I'll use that fabric up!

Anyways, I am so happy I did that little challenge, because I used up a lot of fabric that I had just sitting around. I took pictures of almost nothing I made, since I was too busy sewing, but here is a list anyways. In September, I made:

-- a shirt dress for Cosette (using the Sienna dress pattern I used here)

-- a long-sleeve peasant dress for Coco

-- a zippered skirt for myself (using this easy tutorial with zippers, yay!)

-- matching mother/daughter yoga skirts (using this wonderful tute)

-- 2 gathered clutches (from Noodlehead)that I actually took pics of, because they came out cute and have functioning zippers!


-- and I made progress on the kiddos' Owie Dolls. I am using them as travel buddies for our big move to Japan and am making them sleeping bags, too. Eesh.

--Oh, and a cute crochet headband which I will never wear, so check the pattern out and tell me if you would wear it. It's in an butterscotch/cinnamon color like in the photo.

Sewing makes me so happy, and fabric makes me even happier! What does NOT make me happy right now is how long it has taken me to finish the several different dolls I am working on. I bought a Waldorf doll kit last September to make and give to my daughter for her 1st birthday. Well, she will be 2 in a month and that doll is not finished at all. Yikes! Let's see if I can finish it up soon, although I pretty much hate its guts right now.

Look, Mom, It Fits!

My mom and I were trying to figure out if that owl hat would fit a 6 week old baby, and it does. Yay! Here is little Ella rocking her hat:



She is such a cutie. I just love her little belly button!

Hoot!

Owls are all the rage right now, and they are so cute! My best friend from college just had her third baby, so I tormented myself with crocheting for the cutie:

*I say tormented, because it takes a lot of work for me to not have a death grip on my crochet hook. A too-tight grip equals an itchy, itchy hat!

Little did I know that baby girl's nursery is owl themed, so I was on the right track with this! Super awesome and cheap pattern here. What is great about this pattern is that it is a really great earflap beanie pattern, too, if you don't like the owl-ness.

She is also getting these girly booties:


I got this pattern off etsy here. Very cute pattern, but it uses too much fabric glue to be a favorite shoe.

Maybe it wasn't the pattern, though--it could have been my sewing. I have messed up everything I have tried to make lately (owl pillow for nephew's nursery--4 tries--taking a break!) so maybe that's a sign that I need to just buckle down with my hook and yarn and--argh--the hubby's sweater.

That said, I am doing the T-shirt diaries' Stashbusting September (see button) so that I can hopefully clear out some closet space. I have an unusual amount of craft felt in there!

       

Birthday Fabric

My sisters gave me fabric for my birthday! Yay! So I used it. Because it's cute.
I used it on my little Coco, of course! Sewing for little girls is not only easy and cheap but so fun. Just a little fabric goes a long way, and there are a bazillion sewing tutorials online for anything you could want to make. Cash is feeling neglected.

My sister Meg gave me some cute cherry fabric, destined to be a dress for Cosette. After she broke her collarbone, she needed something to wear that wouldn't require her to lift her arms over her head. So, this little tie-on sundress (tutorial here) was perfect:


My sister Larissa gave me some super cute Japanese fabric, which I love. I knew it would be cute as a little lined toddler backpack, and Cosette had been stealing her brother's Diego one. This backpack is little, but it looks even smaller over Cosette's collarbone brace:

Cosette likes to travel light like her mama and only fills it with a few goldfish crackers at a time! Observe the light-packing!


Poor Cash--every time I make something for Cosette, he asks if I can make him something, too. I am making him a pirate doll, but that might be a while!
     

The Prints I Love...

Clearing up some bookmarks! I am a big fan of Etsy and especially love to browse all of the cool prints, like in this, this, this, and especially this shop. Sadly, I can't buy any of those. But it's okay, because I found some very awesome free prints in the blog world. Behold, my favorites!

I found this inspiring print here:


Sunny Fiona Design has a few great printables, like this one:


Make it Perfect featured several different cool prints here:


I have been reading Pride and Prejudice lately, so I especially love this one ala Mr. Darcy:


Kind Over Matter is one of my all-time favorite blogs. There are a ton of cool printables there, but these are my favorites:
From The Postal Service's "Such Great Heights":


This one is really good to keep around if you are chasing kids all day:


Aren't those cool? Now all you need is a printer to have some instant and beautiful inspiration!