Frills

I will admit it. It is so fun to sew for a little girl. Sometimes people say the "devil is in the details", but I think that's where all the fun is! I wore some of these little rompers when I was a toddler, and I think they are so adorable. I whipped out five of them, assembly line style, in just a couple of days. The pattern is so simple (you hardly need one) so that leaves lots of time for making each one a little different and special. Maybe the best part is that they cost me next to nothing.



I know, she can't believe it either! Almost nothing for these cute dresses? This pink flowered one was up-cycled from a dress that I wasn't wearing anymore. Almost everything else was found in my fabric stash. I admit, I did buy all new buttons for them, but even they were on sale at the fabric store!







I did buy the striped pink fabric because I didn't have any pink in my stash (big surprise). And I thought she needed just a touch more pink in her life. And maybe the next best part is that I didn't have to bother with any matching bloomers. Hooray for cloth diaper covers that already look sweet and cute!





This little bonnet was sewn while I had the sewing machine out. You saw the bonnet's blue twin sister in our camping pictures. I fell in love with these fabrics and bought them on a whim. They were supposed to be quick and easy. Yeah, not so much. I found the pattern here, and thought it was adorable. It should be simple, but I just had a difficult time. I tried to follow the instructions for this pink one, but ended up completely doing my own thing for the blue one. At least they look cute. But they are sure to be the only two of their kind!

Camping with Five

We had a great Independence Day weekend. We escaped the desert heat and headed up to the mountains a couple hours west of here. It was Fiona's first camping trip and I think she had a great time. She helped set up the tent, supervised the cooking and just generally looked cute.






We went for a nice hike through the mountain meadows. The weather was perfect and the scenery was gorgeous.



Apparently the wildlife agreed because we found a rattlesnake who had come out to play. He's the squiggly black thing in the picture. Ev lifted the boys up to view it from a "safe" distance. I think he and I have slightly differing definitions for that, but that's probably because I would have preferred to be about a mile away.



Ev and Trevor went mountain biking later that afternoon while the other two and I relaxed in the campsite. We read books around the campfire, talked about animal footprints and all sorts of other fun things. The campground was very quiet, so we had a peaceful, relaxing holiday. I think we'll have to go camping again soon!

Freezer Paper Stencils

The same day we worked on the potato prints, I did a couple of other tees for Fiona. I had recently read online about freezer paper stencils. I've used freezer paper before for various things, but this never occurred to me. It's really easy. Freezer paper has a dull side and a shiny side. If you iron the paper, shiny side down, on low, it will temporarily stick to fabric. I found this post on The Paperseed that had directions and templates for freezer paper stencils.



You could hand-draw and cut out your stencils, but I opted for the easier way: feed the freezer paper into the printer and print the designs straight onto the freezer paper, cut and iron. I used an x-acto knife to cut. So quick and easy! Then simply fill the space with fabric paint using a sponge. By the way, these have now been washed several times, and the paint is still looking perfect. I just turn them inside out before washing.





I removed the freezer paper after the paint set a little, but before it really dried. I didn't want the paint to peel off the shirt. Then I did added a few details free-hand. Voila! An adorable little tee that would cost 4 times as much from a boutique. After the bird, I did one last design- I just couldn't resist.

Potato Printing

I've been wondering where my time is going, when actually, we've been really busy doing fun stuff. So this week is hereby designated as Craft Week, and I will spend it sharing the things we've been making. First stop: potato prints.

These are standard kids art fare., but I don't ever remember making them. I can see why it's so popular, because they are super fun and easy. I also think it's a great way to get the kids practicing with color and design without worrying too much about drawing shapes or naturalistic representation.







This time, we went the simple route. Just slice off the end of a potato- ours were covered with "eyes" but it doesn't matter for this. We used washable tempera paint, but you could use whatever you have on hand. Pool some paint on a paper plate, dip the sliced potato into the paint and blot off the excess. Press onto art paper, and voila! Repeat!



They really did have a great time trying out different color combinations and making texture with different amounts of paint. While they were working, I was working as well. I bought some little tee shirts for Fiona to wear to bed. (Regular PJs don't fit over her fatty cloth nighttime diapers.) I love the Under the Nile brand because they are so soft and well made- they last forever. Even after two boys, their clothes still look great. The fact that they are organic is a bonus in my book.

For the first one, I cut and shaped a slice for the petals and a slice for the center of the flowers. The second one is just a slice, au natural, like the boys used. I think I like that better. It's very simple and organic. Of course, Baby Girl looks adorable in either one!