...for the last 6 months

First, let me wish you a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!  May the year 2012 be full of joy and blessings!

I know it's been nearly six months since I've posted anything on my blog, and for those of you that stuck around...THANK YOU!!  I did receive a new computer for Christmas (yippee!!!), and it is much easier to get online with my new desktop!  My old laptop was about ten years old, and it definitely was acting its age.  Anyway, I thought I'd share a few pictures of what has been happening in the crafting department... I did continue to sew, even if I didn't blog about it!  Thank you for being so patient!

Let's see... my last post was in July with the "too large" wrap dress for Isabella.  In August, I moved on to making cutsie socks.  These were a lot of fun to make, and I made this particular pair for a very special trip which I'll share in a few...

In August, it was back to sewing summer clothes.  This little dress fit Isabella much better than the previous one, and I actually created a quick "pattern time saver" tutorial, which I'll share this week.

The back view is my fave...love a big bow in the back!!!

Action shot!!!  Toddlers will not pose, especially when they are outside!!!

 

Back in the house now, though still rambunctious...

OK, now on to the fun stuff!  I told you we had a very special vacation this year.  We went to Disney World in October, and the kids are already asking when we can go back!  I have to admit, I love it just as much as they do!  With four kids, we don't go every year, but we make the most of it when we get the chance to go.  We stayed in a Disney resort for a whole week, and it was so much fun!  I do think, however, that you almost need a vacation after a Disney vacation to REST!

This outfit was for our breakfast at the Crystal Palace with Winnie the Pooh and gang...

Unfortunately, Isabella was terrified of the characters!  Eeyore looks so sad to be shunned...

We planned on a few Minnie and Mickey encounters, so Mom had to whip up a certain number of polka dotted dresses....but....NOPE!!!  A big yellow bear was there instead!! Oh the horror of it all!!!

Big sister (wearing a Minnie embroidered shirt) was also wearing a smile and enjoying herself very much!

Not a good picture for viewing the pink version of the Minnie dress, but at least she's not panicking!!!  ...and there's the socks again...

On blogs and on Etsy, we are used to seeing outfits like this, but it was really nice to receive so many compliments from other Disney goers...the best one being, "Where did you get that?"  As a self- taught crafter/seamstress, I realize I've come a long way from the major mess I created six years ago!!!

Here's a better view of all three of the pillowcase dresses I made for the trip...the two Minnies and the Halloween one...

As I mentioned, we were in Disney during all of the fall/Halloween celebrations.  The park looked so pretty in its fall splendor!  If you've ever thought about attending "Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party,"  do it!  It was so much more fun than traditional trick-or-treating.  There have been a few years that we didn't even go door-to-door.  I've got one child with a peanut allergy, and it's not fun to let him get it and then take it away from him...not that any of them need boatloads of candy.  It is such a fun, festive atmosphere in Disney anyway, and we had a blast!

Please excuse this poor quality picture!  It was taken in the hallway of our hotel with my phone!  I have four little "monkeys," but one of them was running down the hall ready to get to the Magic Kingdom!  He had a shirt to match his brother's.

Caught him!!!  The boys had little stars in their silhouettes, and the girls had tiny candy. 

Princess Tiana, herself told them how much she liked their matching shirts!

Disney was fun, but when we got home, it was time to sew for Thanksgiving and Christmas!!!

For the turkey dinner...

I made this dress "just for fun"... (sorry, sometimes they just aren't in the mood for a picture!)

And here are some fun and easy (one not so easy) Christmas gifts that could be given any time of the year...

First, the not so easy project (but well worth it in the end)...

I made this bean bag chair for my oldest daughter.  It is adult sized, so there is plenty of growing room! It has a removable cover for washing.  It was a challenge for me, and it certainly cost me just as much to make it as if I had bought one, but I'm happy I made it.  You can find a free pattern for this on the Michael Miller website.  There is a child sized version as well. 

For the easier projects, I used a "Precious Patterns" tutorial to make these cute little pillow pals for my younger three children.   They all have bonded with them already...dragging them by their little "arms" and "legs," and sleeping with them.  These took no time to make (I made three of them late Christmas Eve!).

Well, there you have it!  Six months of projects in one blog post!  I hope you feel inspired to go sew some new projects.  If you do, please comment with a link to your own blog...I'd love to see what you have been working on.  :)

The Infamous Pillowcase Dress...

I know millions of these dresses have been made....(Actually, it's the very first thing I learned to sew), but I can't help it...I still love them!  I learned to sew when my 8 year old daughter was 3.  I now have another baby girl, and it has been soooo much fun sewing for an itty bitty girl!  I decided on a pillowcase dress because this dress is limited to October, and I kind of got a late start.  She can wear it next year as a tunic top with leggings (I like it with leggings this year too!).  My oldest daughter has gotten as many as three years out of her pillowcase dresses!  I can't wait to see her in it, but it isn't worth waking her up from her nap...almost, but not quite!

Bugz!!!

My daughter, Hannah, was recently in a school musical called, "Bugz."  Hannah was chosen to be a ladybug, which was good for me because out of all the costume choices, this one seemed pretty straightforward.  The music teacher said to come up with something polka dotted, even if it was gluing dots to a red shirt.  After some thought, I decided to sew a simple pillowcase dress out of some black dot fabric by Michael Miller.  I was pleased with the results, and it ended up being something that she can wear throughout the summer, rather than a "costume" that we would just throw away.

My friend's little girl, Kayla, was also in the musical.  She was a butterfly.  Kayla's mom and I went searching for some cute butterfly fabric, and I made her a pillowcase dress too. 

I think the girls made cute little bugs, if I do say so myself!

Of course, there's always a little brother that doesn't want to be left out.  He says when he goes to school, he hopes they make him a "stinkbug."  Lovely...