Spring tops, Easter weekend and the #1 reason why to beware of vintage toys!

I am entering tops in the Spring Top Week at Made by Rae.  I entered tops last year and found it to be a great motivator for me to make clothes solely for myself.  The first top is from New Look 6669.  I really like the fit and only had to make very minor adjustments. 

The fabric was from Hancocks and purchased last spring.  I had some problems with the exposure of the picture, I just couldn't get the fabric to come out the way is really looks.  Does that make sense?  Anyway I love the fit and will love wearing it.  It has a zipper set in the side and is hidden, it made my brain hurt to figure the directions out the first time but after that it was a snap!

The second top is from Simplicity 2599 which I have made a few times before.  This time I made it in a beautiful yellow silk fabric found at a thrift store.  I felt so lucky the day I found about three yards of soft silk.  I've never had the nerve to buy it at the fabric store and then cut it up to sew.  I made this top with french seams so that the construction would be a little more durable.  French seams were a first too.  I'm really pleased with the results!  It will be a great church shirt.

This is top number 3 and also made from the New Look pattern.  The fabric is some swiss dot that I bought at Joann's last spring.  I love the lightness of this top and again the fit is perfect with the very minor adjustment of letting out the darts a little in the back.  Entering these tops in a contest really seems to be the push I need to get them done.  I know I'll love wearing them this summer.

Now to Easter weekend, a.k.a. the real reason why the Grandmothers read my blog!!!  AJ's dress turned out perfect in my opinion, I just LOVED the way it looked on her, love, love, love.

Look at those stockings and white shoes...again, I love it! 

AJ and Micah.  The hem is folded up in the back but you can see the seafoam bow on the front of the dress.

So sweet sitting on the grass.  Micah also did an Easter egg hunt with her in the back yard.

Yes that would be the compost bin in the background....pretend its a beautiful azalea bush.

And finally the number one reason why to beware of vintage toys!!!  I saw Strawberry Shortcake and her sister Apple Dumpling at an antique store and thought they would be perfect for AJ's Easter basket.  I love Strawberry Shortcake as a kid and thought AJ would too.  Needless to say we had a minor??? catastrophe on Easter morning.  After Micah took Strawberry out of her box he noticed her hair looked funny.  He pulled her hat off and out came a chunk of hair I took it and pulled (gently mind you), at her hair and it all came out except a mohawk down the middle.  I was horrified and told AJ that Strawberry only has a little hair.  She began to brush the mohawk and it came out too!! I felt terrible so I promised to take her to get a new doll.  She began to ask for her other doll and insist that I put the hat on Strawberry.  Poor girl, but actually I was way more horrified than she.  I just couldn't let her take the doll to church since I thought it looked so pitiful.  She was not happy with me, she really wanted to take it.  She did however take Apple Dumpling, her hair (thankfully) survived her being vintage. 

Poor Strawberry Shortcake!  I count it a lesson learned, never buy a vintage toy with hair!!! We made a trip to Toys R Us this week to buy a new Strawberry Shortcake with hair that did not instantly fall out.

When craft creations go wonderfully right and terribly wrong!

I finished two Easter creations this past week.  The first went wonderfully right.  I chose McCalls 6269 for AJ's Easter dress.  I loved the bow in front and the overall frilly, poofyness of it. 

The floral fabric is from Joann's fabrics and I've had it for about a year.  The seafoam fabric was thrifted and I still have a ton of it.  It is eyelet.  I like making AJ dresses for Easter and I use it as an excuse to outfit her in new shoes, stocking etc.  The little bow at the top of the hanger is for her hair and it's from some ribbon my Mom brought to me on her recent visit.  Thanks Mom/Nana!



Now its time to show you the craft creation that went terribly wrong.  I had good intentions of making AJ some cute crochet Easter critters for her Easter basket but after this dissapointing result, I just put down my crochet hook.....drum roll please....I now would like to introduce the creature I like to call "Little Ugly." 

Little Ugly was supposed to be this egg cozy.  Ha, ha, ha!!  Thats me laughing but its also Little Ugly laughing at me for trying to make it cuter than the instructions from Lion brand.  It started out as an egg cozy but I thought, "we don't eat eggs why in the world would we want a cozy?"  So I closed up the bottom and stuffed it.  Then I sewed the suggested eyes on from the pattern (seed beads) but Little Ugly just looked like he/she was squinting.  So back to safety eyes.  Next the ears.  I think I put too much stuffing in them because they look like big pinky fingers protruding from its head.  I gave it to AJ to test it out and she said "it looks strange."  She prefers to call Little Ugly "strange rabbit."  Oh well, I guess you win some and lose some.  Anyone up for a giveaway, huh?  One Little Ugly looking for a good and accepting home. 

Spring activities!!! At last!

Spring finally feels like it is really here!  Meaning the warm/pleasant/sunny days seem to be outnumbering the cold/overcast/gray days!  Hooray!!  It just couldn't come fast enough.  We have been anticipating our days spent outside with clotheslines, wagon, garden tools, flower pots and seed packets and it is finally here. 

I love the smell of clothes after they've been out in the sunshine.  Hanging out laundry is so peaceful and comforting.

The tulips have been beautiful this year and always a beautiful welcome for the beginning of spring.

Me and Micah soaking up the sunshine!

AJ playing tug of war with Buster.  She kept insisting "No! Its MY stick!"  Poor Buster he just didn't understand.

This is the basic play outfit that I made for AJ this summer.  The pants are from a McCalls pattern and the top I fashioned from a tutorial on Indietutes.  I used this peasant top last year and made it with a few changes this year.  I made the hem longer (more like a tunic) and omitted the elastic in the arms and added ties to the back.  I love simple lines like this in a pattern and love making AJ clothes out of bright cotton prints.  I just finished her Easter dress this past weekend and hope to have it up on the blog soon!  Its so gratifying to sew clothes for a wee one.  They are small which makes the project easy to work with and they use small amounts of fabric too.   Well happy spring and Easter to you!