Pillowcase Dresses

 Day 1:: Spring Kids Clothes Week

i started these dresses in March during the dress a girl around the world sew-a-long, but didn't finish them that week

 i followed this pillowcase dress tutorial, but added this pleated pocket, & tucked inside the pocket is a prayer doll who's wearing a coordinating dress :)

 one dress sewn out of brown linen & the other out of a modern cotton print (from Japan)

these 2 pillowcase dresses will be shipped off to Dress a Girl Around the World, wouldn't these 2 dresses look adorable on sisters or twin sisters?

see you tomorrow for day 2 !

Baptism traditions

 a little bit of happy news :)

thank you Faith & Family magazine for sharing our Baptism traditions in your Spring 2011 issue !

 in the article on pages 81-83 i share the French traditions we have done for our children's Baptisms & the sewing & paper crafting items i created for my daughter's Baptism.
i thought i would take the opportunity now to share some more photos & details...

i used Simplicity pattern 5813 to sew my daughter's Baptismal gown...

 the fabric came from my wedding gown, only part of the bottom of the dress was used.

 a simple style, but very sentimental. i do have to say that newborn babies sure have very thin arms ~ it was a challenge to sew these teeny tiny sleeves !

this was the paper cake i made for my daughter's Baptism reception ~ each of the 21 slices of cake were filled with candy (Starbursts, Tootsie Rolls), it served as both a decoration and party favors for the children who attended. for more info about the rubber stamp set & colors of the cardstock & ink i used go here (FYI - i also made paper cakes for Easter & as an Advent calendar)
if you would like to make a paper cake check out this paper cake tutorial with template or if you'd like to buy one premade, this etsy shop has sold some

 i made cards that served as both a birth announcement & a Baptism invitation for all my children, this is the one that i made for my daughter, 50 of them actually, for more info on the rubber stamp sets & colors of the cardstock & inks that i used go here

 a French tradition is to have party favors called dragees (Jordon almonds), these Martial dragees were from Jeff de Bruges in Paris

 & here is what it looked like after it was all put together

& the last French tradition i'm going to share with you are the medals of a saint or angel given to the baby, these have the child's name & birth date engraved on the back. these are from France, but you can find something similar in the US

it's interesting that i posted about our Baptism traditions today as it was 15 years ago today that my French husband & i got married :)

PS next up, i will be taking part in the Spring Kids Clothes Week, should be fun :)

spring 11 ideas house

 {this is not my house}

are you ready for another tour of the Bachman's ideas house? if you'd like, you can visit some from last year: spring 10, summer 10, & holiday 10

this house was built in the early 1920's & for spring 11 it was decorated with a European Romance theme, many of the one-of-a-kind items were for sale (it is highly recommended that you visit the first day if you'd like to purchase any of the one-of-a-kind items, as once they're sold, they're sold)... enjoy the tour...

first of all in the above photo, the house numbers were made with decorative plates with stenciled numbers

 on the front porch, lovely pastel colored glass bottles turned into a hanging ceiling fixture

 in the living room, stained-glass window turned into coffee table, book pages as wallpaper

 in the sunroom, vintage wall sinks repurposed into planters

 also in the sunroom, baby buggy turned into planter

 in the dining room, decorative plates with mirrors used as wall collage

 dining room table set for an Easter meal

 if you have a dog, children's chairs repurposed as dog dishes

 in the kitchen, wood drawers repurposed as wall shelving

 global explorer theme in the boy's bedroom, globes cut in half to create pendant lights

 wood sliding door reused as a headboard

 scrapbooking room

 lunch boxes used as storage containers, radiator cover turned into magnetic wall calender

 fabric strips turned into curtain valance

 cork added to window frames to create bulletin board

 potting bench turned into a storage/work unit

 ballerina theme in the girl's bedroom

 decorative handrail turned into a ballet bar, garden trellis behind mirrors

 cabinet rebuilt into a desk unit with integrated pendant light

 puffy decorative runner wrap used as curtain valance

 ballet slippers hanging from light fixture

in the master bedroom, decorative metal railing repurposed as scarf storage, wooden spools for necklace holders

this spring ideas house is already closed, but here are the dates for future ideas houses:
summer ideas house: May 26-June 12
fall ideas house: September 15-October 9
holiday ideas house: November 10-December 18

Gramma Wolfie

 when i left a comment over here, i had no idea i would be the fortunate recipient of this Gramma & Wolfie doll !

 Larissa @ mmmcrafts created this two-faced doll... it's very well made & i am amazed by her attention to detail ~ my favorite part is the turn aroundable collar which was made from a fabric doily !

 we hope we are providing a good home...

& feeding it often :)

thanks for checking in and have a lovely day !

Double Trouble

 so happy to share this news !

i'm honored to be included in Craft Challenge: Dozens of Ways to Repurpose Scarves

thanks so much for including my project, Lark Crafts ! 

 my project is called 'double trouble' ~ a girl's skirt (the only children's wear in the whole book)

Lark Crafts made my skirts look so pretty & couldn't have picked more adorable models (aren't the twin sisters Morghyan & Lorya super cute!?!  right down to their light blue painted toe nails!)

you know how much of a craft book junkie i am and this one surely doesn't disappoint !  be sure to check out all the 30 (luxurious & high quality) projects from 22 different designers (some of which are featured here)

enjoy !

PS Craft Challenge: Dozens of Ways to Repurpose Scarves by Nathalie Mornu is available here & here

Flea Market Shelf

 

remember this light green shelf i bought last summer at a flea market ?

a spot for the shelf was found in my studio

and the shelf was painted white

now my daughter has a place to work while i work in my studio

PS joyeux mardi gras !  i'm going to take a little blog break, i might pop in here during April for a special announcement, otherwise i'll see you after Easter : )

Moutarde Bag

 

i have a new purse !

 

i had been admiring this moutarde bag for awhile

knitting pattern can be purchased here

 

knit doubling yarn, first with straight needles, then switching to circular

 

before wet felting...

 

after wet felting...

makes a nice thick sturdy purse

a super fun knit