christmas pajamas

our family has a tradition of only opening ONE present on christmas eve, and it's always pajamas. this year i decided to make the ones for the kids. started and completed on december 22nd ... have you noticed a trend of me waiting until the last minute yet? the kids looked SO cute ... never got a picture of both of them ...

finley's blessing day

on sunday, december 21st, we blessed finley jean!

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i started *and* finished her dress on saturday ... nothing like a deadline to get me moving on a project. everything turned out lovely. she looked beautiful (of course there were things i would have changed ... but overall i LOVED it.) we were surrounded by friends and family who truly care about our little family. robby gave a beautiful blessing ... overall it was a FABULOUS day.

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here is a picture of our little family.

here is our family with robby's mom, who joined us for the blessing, then headed off to her church to sing ... then joined us again for food after.

finley with my parents. pictures of finley ... i mean is *was* her special day. i sure think she looked cute!close up pictures of her outfit ... headband (all of the flowers are on hairclips ... so they are removable ... and finley can wear them when she gets older and grows more hair)diaper cover ... nicole called them "boy shorts" they looked soooo cute on her under her dress.some close-ups of her dress.and the baby shoes that i made totally completed the ensemble! i absolutely LOVED how they turned out ... and the flower clips just made them 100% cuter!

EDIT: the white fabric was some of the 90/10 cotton lycra knit that i use for my modest clothing (http://www.jocole.net/), the white netting was leftover from the curtains in my living room (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90111980), the headband was made from some nylons.

men in her circle: robby, my dad, scott, tj, my grandfather, and chad kelland ... patrick was supposed to be there, but couldn't because his wife and daughter were sick.

one last project

well here is one last project for ya' before i start posting only about the arrival of #2 and every post centers around her cute face!!

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i offered to make a blessing outfit for caleb (my nephew, he belongs to my sister nicole) well, i figured i better make good on that offer before my life becomes consumed with #2. yesterday our ward had a "super saturday" and i opted not to sign up for anything since it was so soon to my due date and i didn't know if i would be able to participate. well i ended up going anyways, and i toted along my sewing machine, and my serger and all the things that need to some along with that equipment. (which was a blast 'cuz a couple of my friends brought their machines and we all worked on our projects)

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the outfit is actually very similar to the one that i already made for him (check it out, in case you forgot). instead of a normal t-shirt collar i made it kinda like a polo (which i think turned out ADORABLE considering it was an experiment), the booties are a new and improved pattern, so i hope they fit better!! and the tie is reversible, backed with the same fabric as the grey pants, which means he can totally rock the white shirt and the grey pants and wear the tie with the grey side out!!

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i think it turned out totally cute, and i hope nicole likes it as much as i do. pretty good for a satruday, huh?!?! it makes me sooooo excited to make #2's blessing dress ... i have so many ideas, i need to narrow it down and figure out what i want.

oh and the whole thing is made 100% from recycled materials!! (ok, not 100% i purchased the elastic, but does that really count??!!??!!) so it's a totally "green" blessing outfit. yeah for helping out the environment.

baby legwarmers

look at what i made for #2 ... i did three pairs in about 20 minutes. soooo easy ... i bought a three pack of socks on sale at target for $4.88, that sure beats $12 per pair at babylegs.net. i'll be posting a tutorial on craftivision on how to make them for yourself ... but i HATE the pictures i took, so now you'll have to wait until i can go out and buy more socks to cut up. sorry!!

this is what they look like on babies ... SOOOO dang cute.

Here are some reasons why you'll LOVE them:
- they make for quick and easy diaper changes and make potty training easier. (there is no need to completely undress them!)
- they protect your little one's sensitive legs from chill, or a light "extra" layer for under pants on cold winter days.
- they protect knees while your crawler roams on hardwood and rugs.
- feet remain free to allow for successful crawling, walking and running.
- help to keep sock on.
- one size will fit newborns to pre-teens.
- can be used on legs AND arms, protecting from cooler weather.
- extends the length of pants when baby is in a carrier, car seat or stroller (covers those exposed ankles!!)
- small enough to keep in your bag at all times, easy to put on in sudden temperature changes.
With so many innovative uses for this item, you'll want to have a few pairs on hand at all times. So be prepared to want to make LOTS of them.

introducing ... craftivision

i LOVE looking up tutorials and how-tos for various crafts and diy projects ... i've decided to share them all with you in one easy location!! i've created craftivision ... my new blog which will be a source of projects and inspiration. check it out ... it will be updated OFTEN (i'm gonna try for a new project every weekday)!!

an outfit for #2

so i was really bored on saturday night ... but i didn't feel like cleaning or re-organizing anything (i needed a break!) ... i needed a creative break!

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so i drafted up some patterns ... finished completely demolishing the shirt that i started to cut up for caleb's pants ... and here is what i came up with ... i think it's pretty darn cute!!

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i think it's great that out of 1 t-shirt i got a pair of pants, a dress and a diaper cover!! i also think i could get a pair of booties ... but i haven't tried to cut those out yet ... maybe tonight after aidan goes to bed.

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the ruffles on the butt of the diaper cover came from the same fabric i used to make this and this.

are you bored of my sewing madness yet??

tiny recycled/reconstructed baby clothes

look at what i made for baby caleb. tiny 0-3 month clothes ... when i showed the outfit to robby the little booties were his favorite. i mailed it off to caleb (care of his momma: nicole). she promised to take pictures and pass them along -- which she did (isn't he adorable?!). the outfit looks soooo comfy i wish it was in my size and i would lounge around the house in it everyday!!

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i love the giant pocket on the front of the shirt, the red shirt i cut up had it and i thought it would be perfect for the shirt. i don't know what it could be used for (to hold a pacifier, maybe?) but i love it anyways. and i love the booties ... i think the part that covers the toes needs to be a little longer (so it reaches the ankle) ... but i really like how everything turned out.

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jealous? want some of your own? hold your horses ... i'm still tweaking patterns and testing designs. i'll let you know when stuff is up for sale in my shop.

can you tell i'm loving my new serger? (i've pretty much convinced nicole that she wants one too ... i'm going to let her borrow one to see if she likes it)

a new shirt for aidan

i've been wanting to make some recycled clothing for aidan (and start making some clothes for #2 before she pops out). so i've been drafting some patterns. since i don't have a newborn around to try out those patterns i made a shirt in aidan's size to test out my patterns. what do you think? i made one, then tweaked the sleeves a little. i had enough fabric from one of robby's shirts to make 2 for aidan!!

check out that smile and the shirt matches his eyes! i think he's happy with the results. (sorry about the drool, the boy never closes his mouth) -- i set him on the couch and told him to smile and he totally listened and did it ... he's getting TOO old!!

i'm making some things for caleb to test out my 0-3 month size patterns. i'm actually really excited about this.

sorry about not posting lately ... i've been in a slump ... but i just wrote and scheduled 10 posts (scheduled for every other day) so there will be more posts coming ... i PROMISE!!

last week's sewing projects

last week my sister was up visiting from san diego. she and my mom had a couple sewing projects for me to do while we were hanging out.

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the first was my mom had an oversized shirt that she wanted re-fit so it was more flattering on her. she is going up to girl's camp this week ... and her camp name is wheaties!

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here is the before.

here is the after ... looks much better, doesn't it? i'm glad you like it mom!!

the second project was for nicole ... she saw this awesome baby wrap (thanks whitney for letting us look at it, and for showing us how to wrap it SOOO many times!!) and wanted me to create her one. the first prototype was awful ... the second prototype was much better, but was a little snug for her (but fit me better, so #2 will have a new wrap to keep her all cozy in!)

here i am with caleb all snuggled up!

the second one came together pretty easily ... and i'm fairly certain that i'll be sewing up some more and putting them up in my shop. caleb LOVED it and slept happily all bundled up on my chest for an hour and a half. i finally had to take him out because aidan was getting jealous and needed some attention from his momma!

babylock price

ok, i finally found a website with a price for my new babylock, although its in pounds not dollars.
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http://www.sewingmachinesdirect.co.uk/baby_imagine_info.htm
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according to dollars2pounds 649 pounds is equal to $1,276.71 ... but i'm still not selling it. oh how i LOVE it.

burda style

ok, i appoloize for not posting anything for awhile. i've been busy and lazy and just enjoying being busy and lazy. but whilst being lazy and surfing the internet (truly one of my favorite hobbies, i love finding random awesome websites) i thought i would share with my readers my new favorite website. it's called burda style and it's an open source sewing website. they have a collection of patterns (that you can download in pdf format and print at home!!!), a collection of how tos, a "sewpedia" (sewing encyclopedia), a forum and blog.

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ultimately the creators invision the members uploading their own patterns (in pdf format) so they can share and create together.

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what an interesting concept. i don't really enjoy sewing, but lately i've been wanting to sew more and more. and this site has pushed me over the top. i printed out a pattern on saturday and hope to sew a little tonight after aidan goes to sleep. when i'm done i'll post the results. i've had this itch to create something, so i'm hoping this website will give me the push i need to start sewing and focusing on my business again!

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so, if you like to sew i highly recommend heading on over to burdastyle.com and get inspired!!!!