Elf-ette on the Shelf: Day 6

Clearly.....watching me work was exhausting...

Lush...

Instagram: #adventuresofCharlietheElf

Elf-ette on the Shelf: Day 5

Charlie has decided to be vaguely helpful and hung out (quite literally, hang...) in my study, which is currently moonlighting as momma's sewing workshop as I try and whip up side gifts for Isabel's teachers

Instagram: #adventuresofCharlietheElf

Elf-ette on the Shelf: Day 4

Sorry -- a little hiatus --- Isabel was away, so Charlie did not come -- probably off throwing snowballs at reindeer and other fun things like that. 

But Isabel's back, so Charlie's back.

And she roped in the Winx fairies for an elf vs. fairy tournament of air hockey

 

I suppose the fact that they have wings makes it easier to flit from end to end to protect their goal...or perhaps because Charlie is a tad challenged vertically, it makes it a bit hard for her to reach...Whichever it is, the fairies are winning, 7:3, the last I checked

Poor Charlie

Elf-ette on the Shelf: Day 3

Once again, she left her previous post without cleaning up her mess...

 

Seriously...

And appeared in the kitchen this morning, with sparkler in hand. Guess she is ready for the long holiday weekend? 

I feel the same way, Charlie.

 

Elf-ette on the Shelf: Day 2

Isabel has a tendency to sneak into my bedroom in the middle of the night.

Last night, she crept in and said, "Momma...Charlie is GONE!" (from the bathroom)

Indeed...she was... (without cleaning up her lipstick scribble first, the little rascal)

We found her the next morning, settled into the doll trailer after her first exhausting night going to and from the North Pole...

Catching up on her favorite Christmas books after having what I assume was a bowl of hearty stew...it was licked clean, so I can only guess.

Isabel, checking out her hidey-hole

Instagram: #adventuresofCharlietheElf

Elf-ette on the Shelf: Day 1

Meet Charlie.

She is the little mischievous elf who has been assigned to Isabel by Santa. She will be reporting back to the big man on Isabel's behavior, to see if it Isabel deserves the items on her Christmas list, or if it warrants her a bag of coal.

The problem is, Charlie is a bit of a reprobate herself...

That first night, she decided that she needed to do something grand to grab Isabel's attention, seeing as it was the first time they were meeting each other.

 

The little stinker swung from the window over to the mirror to pen a greeting on the looking glass...with one of MY LIPSTICKS!

And here she is the next morning, looking all innocent and docile...

 

Except her little smirk gives it all away...

Cake + Cloth Napkins = Impromptu Tea Time!

I finally went grocery shopping after trying to bleed out my fridge/freezer/pantry.
I have butter, oil and eggs again.

Yay!

I can finally make a chocolate cake

Which prompted me to finally sew cloth napkins that have been on my to-sew list for years now.

YEARS, I tell you, to sew up two squares together

The fabric was even all cut up and ready to go...

Sometimes, I don't understand myself.

Napkin tutorial: Purl Bee's Spring Napkins (mine turned out more fiesta-ish than spring, which needs to be rectified)

Cake recipe: Ooey Gooey Chocolate Cake (note from the wise -- if using a springform/cheesecake pan, cover the outside of the pan with aluminum foil to prevent the water from seeping in while baking - else you'll end up like me, with a soggy cake that needs to be dried out  --- it was fine after microwaving slices for about 30 seconds prior to eating, but still...soggy cake is gross)

Little Gifts

For the girl, a book, a simple skirt and a reversible top:

With little washi tape tags to indicate the size

And for her big brother, just some random little things, so that he has something too:

I am quite enamored  with these little bags -- I think it would be perfect to put Christmas (4 more months!) gifts in.

I couldn't find a tutorial for making an unlined drawstring bag when I was settling down to make them for the 2 kids, so I winged my way through, using a buttonhole to weave the drawstrings through

I even had half a mind to post a tutorial for this, but then I had a light bulb moment....

Wrong search words in Google.
 "Not lined" does not give you much in terms of results. "Unlined" was the correct search term.
Doi!

I made another for one of Isabel's preschool teachers, this time using the "correct" method.

I don't know...I think I prefer using a buttonhole. Except I would alter it to include interfacing in order to strengthen the area, since it is unlined.

Things To Do

If only my weekend to do list was that simple, I'll be set.

Whilst waiting 10,000 years for my junk of a work computer to finish running a (VERY SIMPLE) query,  I sew to distract myself from tearing out my hair.

A part of the "Welcome to the World, Baby Girl!" present, made a simple skirt that I think will fit a 12/18 month child....I hope.

It's been awhile since Isabel was that young, and the skirt looked impossibly tiny to me. Was Isabel really that little once upon a time?

The kite applique is a complete rip-off from Homemade by Jill when she posted one in she made in her Instagram.

I never quite liked cutesy detail on children's clothes, but this one appealed to me because the song "Let's Go Fly a Kite!" from Mary Poppins played in my mind throughout. 

I love that song. 

Isabel and I sing it together

It took perhaps an hour to get this done. Simple, quick and fulfilling. 

Meanwhile, that computer still isn't done yet.

It's a Bird's Life --- And a Mini-Me

Did I mention that I bought a ton of fabric recently?

I am trying to make a dent in my stash prior to cutting into the new. Because it pains me to cut in to fabric that was recently purchased. A hoarding symptom, probably.

I have a long list of items that I want to sew.

I started trolling round the net for patterns again, so first up, Reversible Wrap Top with Flutter Sleeves pattern by Craftiness is not Optional

It is definitely one of the better free patterns that I've used, and dare I say, better than some that I have actually purchased. Easy enough to follow along and the finished product is pretty durn cute. Sizes are limited, but sufficient.

Usually not a fan of reversible patterns as one sides gets used more than the other, so if I make it again for Isabel, I shall probably make it with a plain lining on one side.

Isabel's was made using the 4/5T sizing. It fits fine with room to spare on her now. 

Made a 12/18M version as part of a "Welcome to the World" present for a little girl of a friend

...except she's been in the world for about 6 months now...another case of where the aspiration is there, but the motivation is not. I am working on it.

Fabric Selection:

Isabel got all stash-fabric (she was consulted on the fabric selection, as usual) and the baby got part new, part stash.

12/18M - Michael Miller's Lil' Daisy in Grey from the Plain Jane collection, Riley Blake's Simple Buntings in Aqua from the Simple Life collection, sleeves in Heather Bailey's Hello Roses in Taupe from the Nicey Jane Collection

4/5T - Oddly enough, all fabric in her top has a bird theme -- definitely purely coincidental...Michael Miller's Humming Birds in White from the Flora and Fauna Collection, Riley Blake's Trees in Blue from the Happier collection and Michael Miller's Love Birds in Black from the Hedgehog collection (LOVE this fabric)

Oliver + S Teaparty Sundress - Review and Thoughts

I am actively trying to get back into sewing.

I've placed orders for new piles of fabric (despite the mountain of fabric that I've been hoarding - another topic for another day), and since they have been so kind as to send emails with codes for 50% off patterns, I've bought some new O+S patterns to (hopefully) work on.

In the meantime, I am going through some of the older patterns that I bought in the previous years (but never used!! the shame!) and hopefully make something before she outgrows the size selection available

First up, the Tea Party Sundress.

 

I may have overdone it with the detailing -- I was too lazy to put in actual piping, but felt that the skirt needed more defining between the panels, so I triple stitched along most seams

(Don't mind the purple marker stains you can see in the bodice -- that's just the washable marker I use to mark out the pattern on the fabric -- they disappear once it goes into the wash. Isabel is not the only one who gets to use fun stationery!)

The pattern is fairly straight forward, as all O+S patterns are...However, I disliked the method of hemming the skirt -- it was a new technique and required hand-stitching (which I abhor, and which I am quite terrible at)

I tore out the stitching twice, and finally just decided to machine-stitch it...which resulted in a not quite so pretty outcome...

Because the skirt hem curves, it didn't match up fully despite my best intentions...And it left me with an inch of hem that just didn't fit for me to stitch it together, so I left it alone.

At least it is on the back of the dress, so it is not too terribly noticeable when it is worn (or so I tell myself -- it just looks like she creased it really bad from sitting on it)

Ah well.

As for fit, I made a size 5 for my 4 year old, so the fit is a tad roomy for her currently, but she will be able to wear it next summer as well. 

 

Fabric selection from my hoard:

Bodice is Pink Dots from Tanya Whelan's Ava Rose Collection (Isabel matched it -- I say she did well -- I would never have paired the two together)

Skirt is "Hopscotch Vine Trellis" in blue -- not sure who the manufacturer is

(While looking for the fabric names from my orders from Fabric.com's archive, I found that the pattern was purchased in December of 2009. Only to be made 3 1/2 years later....whoops...I've always had more aspiration than motivation!) 

 

Dog Days

Ok, finally -- something garden UN-related.

I SEWED!

=D

Yes, very exciting news.

I lead a very dull life, sorry.

It's been about a 7 month break from my sewing machine - there just wasn't any motivation.

I stopped by a yard sale on a whim about a month or so ago (even yard sales don't seem to strike up my fancy these days) and found a bag of vintage sewing notions -- I bought them with the hopes that it will help encourage me to take the time to sew again .

That, and I am somewhat of a hoarder (I wonder where I got that particular trait from...I'm looking at you, mom!)

All for a grand total of...a dollar. Gotta love yard sales.

The other part of the story is this:

I've been looking around for something that won't be an eyesore, and even those would cost me a good $30-$40 on the cheap end of the scale.

And I'm cheap.

So, with much encouragement from my daughter (yes, really), she sat at the sewing table, doing a workbook to practice her alphabets, and I cut out the fabric.

And voila!

 

A complete "how hard can it be" wing-it project, where I ventured into using an invisible zipper for the first time.

It is essentially a pillow cover, in which i stuffed Isabel's old crib bumpers into (we are all about recycling here), hence why it looks a tad lumpy.
But it works

All for a total of $2.10
(for the zipper. I hoard fabric as well)

Because Melly is slightly dumb hyper, Buddy worked as a better model

(which then resulted in her getting jealous - again - and tried to bully him off it. Fun times)

The other side is made with cozy flannel , to suit the colder months. 

And it makes a nice contrast, in case I get sick of looking at the print.

And also because I ran out of the cotton print fabric.

Here's the interesting bit (to me, at least)

Because  I was working from my stash as much as I could, I used bias tapes that were produced about 30 years apart.

Do you notice a difference?

 

The bias tape for the top trim was made in 2008.

The one on the bottom, in 1980 (purchased from the yard sale)

I think...or perhaps it is the other way round...

Regardless, there is a slight color variation (Brite Pink vs Berry Sorbet - seems like the names got a tad fancier), but other than that, I don't notice much of a difference.

I think that is amazing.

Neigh

 

Isabel had a friend's birthday party to attend back in January (actually, there were 5 parties to attend back in January)

And I wanted to include something handmade into the gift.

The friend was horse crazy, according to her mother, so I made a barn-like stable to go with the pony she was getting.

 

Isabel pleaded with me to be allowed to play with it before having to wrap it up and head off to the party. It makes my heart warm when she is excited about something that I make, so I let her. 

 

It was adorable hearing her made-up conversations between her horses. 

The stable was made based on this dollhouse tutorial by UK lass in US . 

I did not follow the tutorial to the tee -- I was in a "wing it" mood and therefore glanced at the pictures and took it from there

The dimensions of the stable was increased to be able to fit the horse that it was made for, I used felt and cardboard, and the way I fitted the cardboard into the felt and secured it were....not conventional. 

The most fun portion of the project was in the details --- from the brooms to sweep the stable out, a pitchfork for spreading hay, to the individual stables inside.

I am very tempted to make a double story barn with window cutouts for Isabel

(so that the horses would actually be able to look outside, rather than staring dumbly at a blank wall -- although now I am talking about a toy being able to see, which may be a different set of problems altogether)

Sleepy Times

Isabel had a friend's birthday party to go to yesterday. I always like it when it's a girl's party -- girl stuff are so much more fun!

I felt like making something as well to accompany the doll her friend was getting. 

I've always loved Pottery Barn Kids' Shaggy Dog's sleeping bag, and actually had aspirations to make one. I noticed that they came out with a mini-me version for their dolls, so decided to see if I can bumble my way through making something like that

 

Mine is about half the size of the PBK, to fit the Cabbage Patch doll that she was getting

Hello Kitty trying out the finished product

 

 To me, it is a successful item when Isabel asked if I can make one for her when it was her birthday. 

I want to try to make a different animal instead --- a cat, or perhaps a rabbit?