Summer PJ's {Kids Clothes Week}

If you sew for your kids, you probably already know this week is Kids Clothes Week. It's a challenge to spend at least an hour a day on sewing for your kids before the next season. It's such a great motivator to get things done, especially when you follow what everyone else is making. I wish I had time to make some amazing outfits, but for now, I'm thrilled to just get summer PJ's done.

Pretty soon my girls aren't going to be able to wear their long flannel pj's anymore. Summer nights can be brutal in our old, tall house, even with central air. They would be good with a giant, old t-shirt, but I like to have at least one cute pair of pj's for them.

As usual they were matching. I made all the pants, repurposed one of my old T's for Lydia and simply embellished the tanks for the other two. I know my limits.

They waited patiently all week to finally wear them to bed.

In addition to the pj's I also refashion some shorts for Jefferson and a skirt for Clair. Sorry no pictures. If you want to see what other mom's are making you can check out the blog HERE, or the flicker group HERE or search the hashtag #kidsclothesweek.

dresses for the 4th- i couldn't resist

I've had these dresses in my head all week. 

I already had the fabric in my stash HERE,

and I loved making dresses for my girls last year.

Every time I mentioned making them to my husband he would look at me like I was crazy and told me not to add anything else to my list. 

I saw things differently. I needed to make these dresses to have a break from my list.

I am so glad I did.

I had just enough fabric to make two dresses. One for the middle and youngest girl.  

I was hopping to get some cute pictures of the two of them together, but my youngest has been in a rotten mood the last couple days. So you only get to see one of them in the dress.

I love the giant star.

And the button neckline.

Did you notice the American-Chinese yo-yo's she is playing with. We got them at Joann's. I think they will be a lot of fun when we are celebrating on the 4th.

Happy Independence Day!

God bless America!

partial sundress refashion

As I mentioned, I am working on building my daughter's summer wardrobe. I made this sundress last week. While I was sewing it, I was so excited because I loved how it was looking. THEN, I added the sleeves and I wasn't sure how I felt about it anymore. I decided to put it away for a week. 

When I pulled it out today, I fell in love again. Funny how sometimes you need to not look at something for a while.  

Seeing it on this cute thing helped a little. I truly feel she could make a potato-sack look good. I know I might be a little biased though. 

I love the crocheted ribbon detail around the bodice. 

I had just enough to add it to the bottom too. I bought a spool of it at Walmart for $2.97. I used a similar cream spool on this dress. I bought the main fabric on sale at Joann's. 

Are you wondering what part was the refashion? All the white fabric came from a white shirt my husband never wore. I think he got it from my brother. 

Although it's not raining today, we are still waiting for summer to arrive. 

I used this pattern from Simplicity. I followed a link to the pattern after seeing this dress. I used the size 4 pattern and my daughter usually wears a size 5 or 6.  

Sundress Refashion

It's been awhile since my last refashion. I was excited to finally break into the bag of clothes I got from my sister and her roommates and month ago. 

Sundress Before:

Sundress After:

I cut off the top and attached a new knit bodice. 

Then I added the lace detail to tie the two together. 

It was finished off with biased tape and a button in the back. 

Now if we could just get a day of sunshine she might actually be able to wear it. 

Hooray for easy refashions, hopefully they'll be some more next week. 

Color My Summer - white - etched glass votives

Today I am a guest participating in Color My Summer, a Fabulous Series hosted by KoJo Designs and Delia Creates. Each day a new color is celebrated with fun ideas for summer. 

My color is White and I'm sharing one of my favorite parts of summer.

 I am so excited for summer to finally arrive at our home.  I'm especially looking forward to summer nights outside.  

Is there anything more magical than twinkling candlelight. They make parties festive, dinner more romantic and lounging more relaxing.  

This is a fun, simple and inexpensive project to help anyone light up their night. I used flowers, but you could make it with any design. I love the idea of using a monogram for a wedding. 

to make this project you'll need:

glass votives (Mine are from Dollar Tree)

contact paper 

a razor blade

Etch Cream

a disposable paint brush

Step 1: cover your votive with contact paper

Step 2: using the razor blade cut out the images you want to appear on the glass. 

(I cut my flowers free hand, because it was faster. If you don't feel comfortable with free handing, you can tape an image to the inside and trace it with the blade. )

Step 3: apply the etching cream following the directions of the bottle.

( I actually added an extra 5 minutes) 

Step 4: remove the cream and clean the glass. 

You can actually reuse the cream. I tried to scrape off and save as much of the cream as I could before washing. Also don't rinse it in a ceramic sink, it can dull the finish. 

And Voila'

Just another reason to wish those summer nights didn't have to end.