Simple Burlap Tree Skirt

Finished in under two hours, this basic tree skirt is all I wanted to cover my tree stand and give our gifts a simple back drop. Instructions for sewing a skirt this style are on Design*Sponge.

I had one yard of burlap to work with, so my skirt has 35" diameter after the 1/2" seam allowance. The underside is a bit of an old thermal curtain from Target (the same fabric I used inside my Showoff Bag.) I had to unpick the curtain hems to have enough yardage, but it worked out. I wanted to complete the project with things I had on-hand, so the ribbon is actually some black hem tape from my stash.

Holiday Sunki Dress

For Louisa's Christmas dress, I made my first (finally!) Figgy's Pattern... a Sunki dress. I managed to finish it in time for her last day of school before winter break, which is also the day of her school's annual performance of St. George and the Dragon, which celebrates the winter solstice and the holiday season.

I made size 4/5 with Let it Snow in Eggnog Green from the Dear Mr Claus collection designed by Cosmo Cricket for Moda Fabric, which I got from Sew Mama Sew. The green side panels are Kona Cotton in Holly.

Popcorn and Cranberries Garland

Shiny Ball Ornament Wreath DIY

Last night a couple local mama friends and I had a glittery craft night to make Christmas ball ornament wreaths.

There are lots of different techniques for this kind of wreath online, but this is how we did it. We worked loosely from this tutorial, but didn't take the caps off our balls.

Gilt Trip Washi Dress

I mentioned in my Weekend Sewing Workshop post that my Washi dress saga started there. Here's the full story and the finished creation. Voila! And at the beach, no less. :)

First, the basics, because this is a long post:

Pattern: Washi Dress by Made by Rae 

Fabric: Dear Stella Gilt Trip in Buds Metallic Navy (with a cheap-o navy lining from Jo-Ann)

Size: Medium, with an FBA and other alterations, including the long sleeves and a partial lining. (Those two things aren't included in the pattern but are available as tutorials on Rae's blog here and here.)

The Short Story:

After three muslins, I had a pretty dress to wear to a dear friend's beach wedding in Nags Head, NC this November. Yay!

Heather Ross Weekend Sewing in NYC

This October I was so lucky enough to attend a Heather Ross Weekend Sewing Workshop in New York City. I was happy Heather offered the NYC workshops this year without including accomodations so I could make it work. I was supposed to go in May but it ended up being my sister's college graduation weekend so I finally got away in October. It was worth the wait. Plus I am so glad I got my chance because Heather is taking a break from workshops for a year or two (the last one is in California in February!) while her daughter is young. (I left my camera at home so all pics are from my iPhone.)

I got in on the bus late Thursday night and had all day Friday to souvenir shop for the kids and hubs and catch up with a couple old friends. Friday evening the workshop started with a private shopping event at Purl Soho, (with prosecco), and then dinner at a nearby tapas restaurant with the whole group, including our other workshop teacher the fantastic Liesl Gibson of oliver + s.

Trick or Treat!

Max's Wolf Suit (Where the Wild Things Are)

And for my sweet little (not-so-wild) wild thing... Max's wolf suit!

Updated to add the above fab 5 pictures taken by the fab Cat Thrasher on Halloween Day when his buttons and whiskers were finished. :) 


Leo loves Where the Wild Things Are (and I love Maurice Sendak). We've never seen the movie but Leo has been practicing his "I'll eat you up!" and "Be still!" for weeks.

If you have never read more by him, I highly recommend the Nutshell Library (Pierre!) and Outside Over There.

I used the pattern by Jessica from Running with Scissors, available here. I made size 2, and enlarged the head for Leo's noggin, but it is a bit too short in the trunk. The pattern was easy and thorough (with links to videos for the tricky parts) and includes fox and bear (Ewok) variations.

Rose Fairy Princess Costume (Simplicity 1792)

Louisa decided long ago she was going to be a fairy for Halloween, so I got Simplicity 1792 (Disney Fairies) during a $3.99 sale. We decided on View C, but in pink and purple rather than yellow. She is calling herself a Rose Fairy Princess.

The main fabric is a pink crepe-backed satin, used for the bodice and skirt. The bodice is lined in white cotton. The sleeves and top petals are iridescent organza, and the bodice overlay and bottom petals are purple organza. The overskirt is baby pink sparkle tulle (six yards).

We picked out all the fabric together at Jo-Ann.

Knit Sailboat Top

I still have lots of this retro car interlock, so I tried it out on an oliver + s Sailboat Top for Leo for the fall.

He still loves the fabric, even though this is his third shirt in it. And the details of this top make it unique anyway.

Dogwood Dress (Simplicity 2265)

A long overdue follow up post to the father's days ties... here is what I made for Louisa: Simplicity 2265, also in "Dogwood Floral" linen-blend by April Johnston for Jo-Ann. It is fully lined with a solid peach silky rayon-blend from the same line. (Both are sold out now, sadly.) Coincidentally, both the fabric and the pattern are "Project Runway" lines.

I thought this pattern was very cute and fairly easy to sew. The only thing I wish I had done differently was to turn the sleeve binding under so it was hidden and the shoulders didn't look so wide, or else to have used the cap sleeve option from the pattern. Looking back I don't know why I didn't make the sleeves.

Circle Skirt

With some extra Riley Blake Seaside (in Blue Bikini), left over from the beach outfits, I whipped up my first  circle skirt from Dana's tutorial on MADE (finally!).

I should have made one long ago, because Louisa's favorite wardrobe pieces are measured first on degree of twirliness, and second, number of pockets.

Seaside (Oliver + S Tea Party Dress and Playsuit)

We were invited to join some dear friends for a week at the Outer Banks this July. I wanted to do something special for the four kiddos, and I fell in love with the Seaside line by October Afternoon for Riley Blake.

I made three Oliver + S Tea Party Sundresses (two in size five, one in size two) and one Playsuit (size two). Size five is the biggest size in the pattern, and it left room to grow for the four-year-old girls.

Father and Son Ties

Matchy matchy for Father's Day!

For three years the Crozet Gazette has been lucky enough to be a sponsor of Pink Ribbon Polo, a really fun local event at King Family Vineyards, which is a fundraiser for the Virginia Breast Cancer Foundation. It is traditionally held on Father's Day.

This year, I had a lot of fun making some special (pink) accessories for the match, to celebrate the amazing man who is known as Daddy in our house.

Pink Cake Three Ways

Our special four year old was lucky enough to have three celebrations this year... one at school, one with family (on the very day), and one with friends (the weekend after). And, each got her a different version of my go-to cake recipe, Magnolia's Vanilla Cupcakes from More from Magnolia, with Rachel Ray's icing recipe—which, by the way, is honestly the best cupcake frosting I've ever had. I make half the recipe.

I made mini two-layer cakes for her birthday dinner at home. She shares her birthday with her Nona, so they each got one—with their own mini cake-banner, too. I used my Martha Stewart butterfly punch, baker's twine and my ubiquitous Cavallini and Co. Alphabet Stamps.

Out of the same batch of batter and frosting, I made ice cream cone cupcakes for her to bring to preschool. These were the traditional treat for my husband's school-birthdays, so we decided to carry it on. I got mini ice cream cones (at Target) to make them more preschool portioned.

[Oh... late night school-cupcake baking. A rite of passage, I think.]

To make these, stand the empty ice cream cones in a muffin tin (or a mini-muffin tin), fill them two-thirds or so with batter, and bake as usual. 

I piped the icing on and dipped them in sprinkles to make it look like (pink) soft-serve. 

AFTER they were baked and cooled, I put tin foil over the empty muffin tins and poked holes to secure for the cones in (BEFORE I iced them, so that they wouldn't be tippy when I decorated and transported them.)

Finally, for the friend party, I made regular sized cupcakes—same recipes, of course. The ballerina toppers were by Meri Meri (although I bought them last year).

We decided to go with the age=number of guests rule (4 friends for a 4-year-old) this year, and had a simple sprinkler/kiddie pool/trampoline party in the backyard. She had a blast and we did too.

Crafty Chloe Doll Bed

It's no secret that I love Heather Ross—her fabric, her illustrations, her patterns—so, it's no surprise that I ordered Crafty Chloe for Louisa as soon as it came out. The book is FANTASTIC. And, it inspired me (and Louisa) to do a little crafty crafting of our own, for Lou's twin friends who celebrated a birthday last weekend.

At the end of the book Chloe gives her friend Emma a doll bed she makes out of a clementine crate. There are instructions from Heather (via the Martha Stewart Show) on the Crafty Chloe website. We decided to give the twins their own copy of Crafty Chloe and a homemade pink doll bed, just like Emma's.

Echino Cars Toddler Backpack

Leo's backpack (or more accurately, toy train tote) gave me a chance to use Rae's Toddler Backpack pattern again, which has been updated to include lining and enlarging instructions since I made one last fall for Louisa.

For this one, I used Echino Mini Cars (from Echino Nico 2011) in green and brown (which I purchased while I was in New York a while back at Purl Soho). I interfaced with heavy weight pellon, and lined it with Michael Miller Lime Toot Toot from etsy. I'm not the first one to use the mini cars for a Rae Toddler Backpack, but it is a great fabric for boys, so no wonder.

I added two side pockets, one slip, one elasticized for a water bottle, just like last time. And I added an inside pocket and pencil slot, and a patch on the other side with his name and phone.