"What I'm Loving" Wednesday

Oops. So I was supposed to post this yesterday. . . since it was Wednesday. Just had a crazy day.

One of my favorite fabric designers, besides Amy Butler, is Joel Dewberry. Check out his website here. I love the color combinations and designs.

Wouldn't this fabric make adorable fall dresses? Oh, if I just had the money and didn't already have too much fabric in my stash . . .

Sewing Obsession: pinwheel skirt {refashion}

Once upon a time I lived in El Salvador. My husband lived there too. We became friends with this other cool guy and kept in touch with him. After a few years, he went home and married his sweetheart - - an amazing, talented woman. Not only did they live with us for a week in Vegas, but they were also the first ones to find out that we were pregnant with our first (psst. Don't leave your computer in the guest room with the countdown to your due date . . . unless you really want your guests to find out. Oops.)

{2007}
Anyway, this amazing, talented woman now has an awesome blog. I think she took a sewing class in her last semester in college and since then is the designer Queen! Seriously. Just check out Leanne's blog here. I have a list of projects to sew for myself once I have this baby and loose the baby fat.

One of her latest projects/tutorials was this pinwheel skirt.

I mean. Seriously. Gorgeous. (She even models her own creations.) Well, she was wanting submissions from people who had tried out her tutorial and even though I really wanted to do it, I knew that this pinwheel skirt would not be flattering with my pregnant belly. So I decided to make one for little Ava. Well, I'm in the process. Since I love refashioning, I decided to use this suede skirt I've had for years that had water stains on it, but just couldn't bear to throw out. And then this old top that I haven't worn for years, but couldn't bear to throw out due to the gorgeous lace (okay, okay. I know what you're thinking . . . we just watched Hoarders last night and I'm not to that point yet. Trust me.).

But, due to the suede, I'm not able to finish it with my sewing machine. I really need to find a heavy duty one and finish it soon so that Ava can wear it this fall. Wouldn't this be the cutest skirt with brown boots, a cream colored sweater and a cream colored bow in her hair?

When I figure out what to do and finish it, I'll be sure to post it.
Go and check out Leanne's blog, Elle Apparel. You really won't be disappointed!

Photography Obsession: Embrace the Camera - Sept. 23

Last Friday, we decided to go to San Diego and become tourists. We had some tickets for a Hornblower Sea Lion Cruise and we knew Ava would love it! I think, besides being on the big boat and seeing the Sea Lions, her favorite part was to be with her daddy. She loves him so much and I love their sweet relationship.

Are you embracing your camera?

"What I'm Loving" Wednesday

Once we found out that Netflix streams through your Wii, we had to get it. For $8.99 a month, you can't beat that. We get the DVDs through the mail (one out at a time) and we can save movies on our Wii. It's great! We love it. And not sure why we even have basic cable (I know, we're big spenders) anymore cause most the time we'll just watch our TV shows through Netflix on the Wii. Whoever create this is a genius!

Sweet Tooth Obsession: Caramel Apples

{via Real Simple}

Fall's just around the corner and one thing I love besides crunchy leaves, the cool nip in the air, sweaters, a nice electricity bill, etc, are caramel apples. Love them! Especially when you dip them in white chocolate and sprinkle cinnamon on top. Hmmmm. Yum! I found a new recipe that I think we'll have to try. Found it over at It's So Very Cheri : Caramel Apple Baked French Toast. I love Caramel apples and French Toast so hopefully it'll be yummy. Check it out here for the recipe. Now I just need to find an apple orchard!

And I think I might have to make these mini caramel apples with little Ava. She'll love it! You can find that recipe here at Family Fun Magazine.

{via Family Fun}

Sewing Obsession: Tank top Toddler Dress

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Last week I made a cute dress for Ava using a clearance tank top ($2.80 - - what a deal!) and some material I had on hand. It took me less than 2 hours to make. Very easy. The supplies you'll need are:

1. tank top or a blouse
2. material and/or coordinating material
3. sewing machine

I made this for a 3T. The measurements I used are as follows:

main skirt piece: 37.5 in. x 12.5 in.

bottom skirt piece: 37.5 in. x 4 in.

belt: 32 in. x 3 in.

All I did was measure the circumference of the skirt bottom of one of her 3T dresses and the length of it, so that's how you figure out how much material you'll need (even if you want to make an adult size).

1. After cutting your material to the correct measurements, sew the bottom of the main skirt piece to the top of the bottom skirt piece. Make sense? Leave about a 1/4in. seam allowance.

2. Once you sew them together, finish off that seam by using a zig-zag stitch or using your oh so fabulous serger (one day I'll have one . . . . sigh.).

3. Then fold over the top of the main skirt piece about 1 in.,(wrong side to wrong side) like so in the picture below, and pin.

4. Then you'll want to do two basting stitches at the bottom of that fold so that you can gather it. After doing the basting stitches, gather.

5. After gathering the fabric (with it inside out), place around the tank top to figure out how much gathering you need, pin in place (not on the tank top yet), and then sew down the skirt piece, while leaving a 1/2 in. seam allowance. Zig-zag or serge the edges.

6. Now's the time to sew the skirt to the tank top. Your skirt piece should fit around the tank top because you already measured it in the previous step, so all you need to do is pin it around the tank top.

7. Now, very carefully, sew the skirt to the top. I had my left hand inside the skirt piece making sure I didn't sew something that I didn't want sewn.

8. Almost done. You just need to finish the very bottom of the dress.

9. I folded the bottom part of the dress under 1/2 in and then again 1/2 in and pinned together. Then sewed across.

10. Now you just need to make a belt for it! Without the belt, it does look a little moo-moo-ish. The belt just brought everything together.

I love how it turned out! And of course I had to make a fabric rose for her hair.

I'll be linking to the link parties at the end of this page. Check them out!

Thanks for stopping by! If you do use this tutorial, send me a picture. I'd love to see your creations!

Photography Obsession: Embrace the Camera - Sept. 16

I love it that Ava knows that her little sister is inside of my tummy. One of her favorite things to do is to feel her little sister kick. She'll even cover my belly with her blanket saying that her little sister needs to be warm. Lately, she's been giving her little sister hugs. It's so sweet. This is one of those moments and I was lucky to catch it on camera.