So, I haven't posted for a few months but I have been busy "cooking" up another one of the creations I'm most proud of... yep, we're expecting a new addition. This pregnancy has been rough so far, and I've been in survival mode until just recently. I'm so glad to be back amongst the living with such a good excuse to sew for myself. The challenge of clothing the bump, especially during the hot months of summer is currently filling my creative time. Off-the-rack maternity often doesn't work for my tall frame, so I'm left with altering things at the very least. I also love being able to find/make things for as little cost as possible. I've come up with a few solutions that I thought I'd share, starting with a pattern review.
Here's a little closer view (so hard to take pictures of myself). I used a stable knit fabric that I picked up in a grab bag of fabric at the thrift store. The whole bag was $3.oo and I have several yards of grey knit and a beautiful brown and black chiffon print still to use. The lace trim on the sleeves came off another skirt that I'd refashioned, so the only thing I bought was the trim around the bottom (detail of trims below) that I got for a few dollars with a coupon.
Last weekend I hostessed a baby shower for my sister-in-law. She had picked a nautical theme for her nursery decor so I thought it would be fun to carry that over to the shower too. (*Added 5/13/2011: I designed the invitations myself and had them printed at the local Kinkos.)
To welcome guests and help them find my home, I made this "life-saver" wreath using a dollar store wreath that I wrapped with quilt batting and white garbage bags cut into strips. I used this bright yellow rope that I found at the hardware store ($3 for the whole roll) to finish off the wreath and throughout the party. I got to use my brand new Silhouette craft cutter (Christmas present) for the first time to cut the letters. I also used my new toy to cut the captains wheel cupcake toppers below:
I made the bunting using the same fabric that we will use to sew the bedding for baby's crib... so it can do double duty as party decor and nursery decor. A couple of bright yellow paper lanterns added a pop of color.
This was my favorite detail. I used a painter's drop cloth to make a tablecloth – reminiscent of a canvas sail I thought. I cut the stencil out of freezer paper – again, using my Silhouette – and stenciled baby's name on each corner. Then I used the same yellow rope and some grommets to add a fun detail to the edge. (Wish I had more pictures of that.) After the party, this stencil section will be cut out and sewn into a little pillow for the nursery. Perhaps another will become a cute little personalized tote bag. Who knows? Freezer paper stencil, ready to go:
One of my favorite discoveries for stenciling onto fabric was a bottle of "textile medium" that you can mix into ANY color of acrylic craft paint and turn it into fabric paint... it really expands your color options and makes all that paint you have even more useful.
I found these small treat bags in the clearance section of the paper store and filled them with individually-wrapped peppermint life savers. I used some scrapbook paper and a star-shaped punch to make the toppers. The perfect party favor for the theme as well as for everyone who ate the delicious, garlic-laced spinach artichoke dip on their bread sticks.
Inspired by Ashley of Lil Blue Boo, I made some of these pretty little earings for some quick Christmas gifts. I loved how she stitched her own cards to hold the earings and had fun trying out a number of random arrangements... not paying to much attention to being exact. Ummm, some of them look like tadpoles. He he, very therapeutic though.
I guess we're pretty girlie girls around here, but we love pink, sparkles and all kinds of little treasures. My girls will beg me for any kind of box or container that I might be throwing out to keep their little treasures in. If that sounds like someone you know, this is an easy project for you. I found these small lunch-box type tins a the dollar store in Christmas themes. I know they have white ones at the craft supply stores too, but hey, these were $1. We spent a fun afternoon covering these with pretty paper, glitter, ribbons and flowers. Since my niece had a birthday this month we made one for her too. (See my cute, if reluctant, models?) Just the right size for little collections.
For my niece, I also made some of these arm warmers from knee-high socks using the same method as the baby legs here. Then added her favorite, gum & candy.
The elves and I have been busy doing little projects to make it look more like Christmas around here. I tried to get creative with some things I had in my stash. I had these three textured paper cones that we painted with a white, pearly paint and covered with white glitter. They looked a little plain still, so we turned over these thimble flower pots and they made a pretty base.
My table runner is a green felt runner with snowmen on it that had a black underside, so I flipped that over and we placed a few glittery paper snowflakes around the trees. Finally I found this black and white small-checked fabric that I hemmed to make into a table cloth... it looks grey in my pictures.
I'd wanted to do some kind of fun advent for the kids to countdown to Christmas... one that had all the activities I wanted to be sure to do with them this month. I had this fruit-loop colored garland that my my was getting rid of from her stash, so again I enlisted the help of my elves and a few neighborhood elves to paint the fruit silver. We had a lot of fun, and I even liked the sloppy result with some of the color – more muted – showing through. To cut the snowflakes I had my dad cut them on his Craft Robo (better known as Silhouette). Yep, he has one for cutting labels and stuff for his business and I've been wanting to try it. Aren't they pretty? Each snowflake has an activity, like baking cookies, driving around to look at Christmas lights, reading a new Christmas book, and service ideas on the back... one a day until Christmas Eve.
I've done most of my Christmas shopping online and am determined to fill this holiday season with more good memories with my family, and making sure they know how I feel about the reason for the season – the birth of Christ. 
My Shutterfly cards just arrived and I'm so pleased with the quality. Putting it together and previewing a number of different styles was so easy using their templates. The ink has a kind of metallic sheen to it, which is very pretty. The premium cardstock is nice. I have to admit that I was a little worried if I would like it as much as the "linen" type paper I've used for past cards but with the offer to try it for free I thought I'd give it a chance. I am not disappointed at all with these. I'm also feeling happy that I can check this part of my long, long and growing holiday to-do list. I hope I can keep up the momentum and get them sent out quickly too. As the Christmas holiday approaches I want to feel less busy and spend more time creating memories with my kids and helping them feel the true Spirit of Christmas.
