Creating with the Stars: Week 2

Did you know the plates were mine? I got 2nd place again! What the what?! Shocking because the Creating with the Stars projects this week were fantastic. I'm not going to lie... last week I was confident, this week I was certain I was getting the boot. The Ikat dresser Melissa did from 5 foot 12 creations was one of my favorites. And Amanda from Love and Renovations took a well deserved 1st. Her wood tile dresser was really good... really, really good. Can't wait to see the tutorial.

The tutorial for my Anthropologie knockoff plates will be up on East Coast Creative on Saturday. You should check it out. And, in the tutorial I forgot to provide the link to the specific botanical I used. Ooops. Here it is if you'd like to use it. :)

In the mean time... here are the always entertaining behind the scenes of last week's plate craziness. Most every project happens in the wee hours around here... explains the darkness and jammies. The kids were very interested in the self timer/tripod method of picture taking.

They took these of each other.

I'm off to start my painting project for week 3... and drink a whole lot of coffee. :)

PS... Did you see the new header? I've been working on freshening things up a bit. I like it... do you? :)

Let's be friends!

Creating with the Stars: Week 1

Did you know it was me? :)  Yep, I did the tire table and came in 2nd!  What?! I'm pretty thrilled with 2nd. Who am I kidding? I'm thrilled I get to move on to round 2! Go check out the results of week 1 at East Coast Creative.  Did you see the Bicycle Wheel Clock from Karianne at Thistlewood Farms?  Aren't her photos spectacular? Where did she get that cool trunk?

Anyway, the tutorial will be up Friday on East Coast Creative.   I'm already hard at work on my "knockoff" project for next week. Sarah, my partner from Thrifty Decor Chick, and I are batting lots of ideas around. Remember to go vote again starting Monday.

In the mean time I thought I'd give you a behind the scenes look at my crazy table week.

My assistants are always near by. They voted to style the table like this.

Isn't cropping wonderful???

Ah yes, the treadmill and play kitchen are nice accents to my new table ; )

Have a good week! I'm going to be busy!

Let's be friends!

Creating with the Stars

So last month Katie from Sew Woodsy sent me a link for Creating with the Stars from East Coast Creative and suggested I enter. I read the gist:

"CWTS is the ultimate creative DIY competition that pairs 12 contestants with 12 of blogland's biggest stars to duke it out over 4 weeks. Only one team will make it to the end to claim the Grand Prize."  

You can win gift cards from cool places like Homegoods and Home Depot and Martha Stewart and work with some really successful and creative bloggers.  Sounds cool enough. And who wouldn't like a Homegoods gift card? After a couple days of procrastinating (and doubting I had a project that was good enough), I entered my DIY Herringbone Metallic Artwork... and then realized I was entry number 223.  Haha... I don't have a shot in the world at making this. I'm small peanuts and these people are professionals. Occasionally I'd venture back and see all of the stunning projects that were submitted. The total grew to 361 entries.

Fast forward to this morning.  March 1st.  Sitting at a light in front of my building for work (the longest light in the universe) I checked my facebook on my phone. Saw that the winners were announced and scrolled through their pictures ... not expecting to recognize anyone... when all of a sudden my face was staring back at me.  

Holy mother of crafting!  Never in a million billion years did I ever think I would ever be chosen for Creating with the Stars.  I've entered creative/craft/blog contests before, and was never chosen or even mentioned for that matter. The disappointment was expected. I think my heart jumped out of my chest and I may have screamed a little. (This is why I could never win the lotto... I think I might go into cardiac arrest at the news... though I'm willing to risk it).  

I am so nervous excited! I'm paired with another Sarah from Thrifty Decor Chick. Such a cool blog and right up my ally. I have no idea what to expect except that I am going to be really busy for the next few weeks. I can't wait to get my craft on. I think I'm going to celebrate with a Starbucks and something covered in chocolate. Things like this really never happen to me.... officially still freaking out.

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Quick Kid Valentine's Day Cards for School Friends

Quick! One day left to get all those valentines to school for your kid! I made my lolly pop kid Valentine's Day cards again this year.  Same cards I made last year.. but with older kids. :) Cool to see how much they've changed.... even cooler to see how much my photography has improved... yikes. Good thing all the kids are going to care about is the candy... I'm aware.

I just took some pics of the kids holding their fists up and uploaded those to a 1 hour photo place by our house.  I bought the lolly pops when I picked up the photos so it was pretty quick... there's still time!  Happy Valentine's Day!

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Spring Twirl Dress

Does the Spring Twirl Dress make you ready for spring? Living in Florida, we don't get much of a winter. Which is good since all my kid wants to wear are dresses all day, everyday, no matter the occasion. Please don't try to mention pants. This "phase" has been going on now for almost 2 years. And not just any dress... it has to twirl... a lot. She actually tests the twirl-ability each morning after getting dressed. I'm hopeful the Spring Twirl Dress will pass the test.

I also must confess that I finished this dress about a year and a half ago when my daughter was 3. She's 5 now and it finally fits! Yeahhh, I may have overestimated the size a bit when I made it. I've been waiting a really long time for her to fit in it so I could finally take some pictures and tell you what I did.

Let's give some credit. The main inspiration was the Patchwork Circle Skirt from Indietutes. Awesome, right?  I was intrigued by this skirt in all it's twirling splendor, but was deterred (I just spelled that "de-turd" and laughed to myself... haha, carry on) by the time and work required.  It's very quilt-like (and pretty), but I had just finished the Meandering Quilt around this time, and kind of in need of a piecing/patchwork break.


My solution was to make each "layer" of the skirt portion one long strip instead of a bunch of pieces sewn together to make a strip. I sewed 4 strips together.  Each strip 50% longer than the strip before it just like the Patchwork Circle Skirt tutorial says. Here's the inside.

Measure from your kid's waist to knee (or however long you want the skirt to be), then divide by 4. Remember to add 1/2" or so to each strip for seam allowance and even more to the last strip so you can hem. That's how wide to make your strips. My green paisley is from Walmart and the pink fabric is the same clearance curtain panel I've used on the Ballet Bag and the Men's Shirt Turned Toddler Dress. Still have some left!

The entire skirt portion of this dress was done before I even knew what I wanted to do for the bodice. In the past I used old tanks, but I really wanted to try to sew a true bodice this time. I tried a Simplicity pattern.

It was my first time buying a real pattern and holy crap, someone should have warned me!  Con-fu-sing.  I seriously had to read the first few directions 10 times and then Google a few words.  After 30 minutes of cursing and still not knowing what I was doing, (what the H are those little triangles for on the pieces?!?!) I decided to just cut out the pieces I thought I needed (minus the mystery triangles) and sew them together how I thought they should be sewed. It worked out ...sort of.


At one point it called for interfacing and all I had was maximum strength Heat-n-Bond. Not the same thing! I repeat, not the same thing.  Live and learn people. Sewing machines don't like the super duper Heat-n-Bond, just an FYI.

Next time, I'm just going to trace an existing shirt she has. Seems like it would work just as well.

Here are some of the details. 
This (above) is the back. The neckline is finished with facing. I did not take any pictures during the construction of the dress (sorry, my blog mojo was not quite up the par then). See Kate Sew has a great Tutorial on facings if you'd like to try it.  Keep in mind, this was the first time I ever did it and it turned out pretty well. Let's just all pretend that WTS label is in the center. :)

The arm holes are finished in double fold bias tape from Walmart.

After sewing the bodice to the skirt, I excitedly tried the Spring Twirl Dress on my kid and realized it was gigantic. Seriously, my kid was 3... this dress is probably a size 6. I guess I didn't pay close enough attention to the sizes/seam allowances in the pattern. : ) To try and combat some of the hugeness and get more life out of the dress, I added a tie to the middle so I could cinch in the waist. I also sewed a small piece of elastic into the back of the waist as well.  Last step was a decorative hand sewn yoyo and button on the front.  Done.

To date, this is my favorite piece of clothing I've made. It's been while since I've made clothing from scratch but I think I just inspired myself to try some more by writing this post.

Let's be friends!