Shiny Pink Norah Dress

Well, Little Sister has been a very cooperative girl with all of the Project Run and Play themes, some of which are things she would have never picked out on her own (although she did end up loving them anyway!) So when I saw the "All That Glitters" theme, I knew I would make something pink and sparkly that Little Sister would love no matter what.  She has earned it.

I don't normally go in for something so fancy,
but I figured she could wear it for her birthday/Easter dress (a few days apart).

She was so excited when I showed her the fabrics.  Both the satiny, slightly crinkly pink and the fun geometric-ish silver lace (I saw that it was called "giraffe" on the bolt) were in the clearance fabrics at Joanns, with an extra 50% off--you know I can't resist that kind of a deal!  Even the piping was a bargain, from the clearance trims at Fabric Depot--love that place!

Love it with her silver boots!  It was pretty cold out today, hence the tights.

This is the second time I've sewn the Norah Dress from Mouse House Creations--last time was also for a Project Run and Play Challenge--I made a double gauze Norah tunic with sashiko embroidery for the embellishment challenge last year, and it (and the matching one for her brother) are probably some of my favorite pieces to date!

In my mind, I envisioned a super cool mod-style button on the back--something like this rhinestone-covered dome.  But alas, I didn't have a button like that, so you'll just have to squint and use your imagination since I had to use this one instead.

A cool button in its own right, but not what I had in mind.

I figured out a new-to-me technique for the sleeve--maybe this tutorial already exists out there, but I hadn't seen it before and I loved the way it turned out (and it was super simple), so I thought I'd share it!

I wanted to add the silver piping to the sleeve to echo the collar, but the overlay is sheer, so if I just sewed the piping on between the two layers, you would have seen the seam allowance showing through.   Luckily though, my pink satiny layer was the same on both sides, so I had the idea of rolling the sleeve hem OUT instead of in, and attaching the piping there.  I think it looks great!

First, I basted the overlay to the sleeve piece so it was like working with one piece of fabric.  This would work without the overlay, by the way--just as long as the back side of your sleeve fabric looks as nice as the front side.

Then, I pinned the piping to the bottom edge of the sleeve on the WRONG SIDE.

Crappy iphone photos ahoy--impromptu tutorial!

Sew the piping on, with the raw edges together.  Then turn the piping to the right side of the sleeve:

Fold the bottom edge up again so that the piping is at the top of your "cuff."  I used the edge of the piping as a guide for the width of my cuff, but you could make it wider if you wanted.

As you can see, I actually basted my layers together AFTER I sewed the cuff!

Pin the piping in place, then stitch in the ditch (right along the line where the piping meets the cuff fabric) along the length of the bottom of the sleeve.

Pinned and ready to sew!

You can use a piping or zipper foot to sew right up next to the piping, but here's a confession--I was too lazy to trade out my foot so I just plopped my regular sewing foot right down on top of the piping, and it worked fine! Obviously this will depend on how thick your piping is.

That's it!  When I sewed the sleeve together, I did do an extra seam to press the seam allowance down on the inside, since it's a little thick where the piping comes together.

All in all, my finished product came pretty close to my design yet again!  When I showed Little Sister this photo, she said, "Hey, it's got hair like mine!" I was like, um, yeah, I did that on purpose!

She even wanted to wear her silver boots since that's what was in my picture :)

She did request that I leave the pockets out--I had planned to do a couple of welt pockets with the silver piping for trim.  Is she crazy??  Doesn't she know that all the best dresses have pockets? But I wouldn't have had enough piping for the sleeve detail AND the pockets, so it all worked out for the best.

Random Thriftiness: Papa Murphy's Pizza

Years ago, our local Fred Meyer had Papa Murphy's coupons printed on the backs of the receipts.  They were pretty much the same deal as the Papa Murphy's coupons that came in the weekly coupon mailers/newspaper, so I didn't pay too much attention to them, but then I noticed that while the mailer coupons were inching up in price ($7 for a one topping, for example, and only $2 off of a large pizza), the ones on the back of the receipts still had a $6 one-topping coupon, and $3 off any size pizza.  They didn't have an expiration date, so I started hoarding them.  Good thing too, because eventually the receipts caught up with the regular coupons, and then they quit printing them at all!

I am also terrible about pulling receipts out of the bottom of the grocery bag after putting the groceries away. I'm already tired from buying the groceries, hauling them home, and putting them away--dealing with the receipts is just a step too far ;).  The benefit of this is that for a while,when cleaning out the basement or the pantry, I would find old receipts with coupons on the back tucked into the bottom of old grocery bags. Score!

But.  I'm not satisfied with JUST having the lowest possible coupon price for my pizza.  Because I have a problem.  The Boy likes Hawaiian (Canadian bacon and pineapple) pizza.  Little Sister will only eat cheese pizza.  If you order half-Hawaiian, half-cheese, you pay for a two-topping pizza.  So here's what I do--I order a half-Canadian bacon, half-pineapple pizza.  I pay $6 for my large one-topping pizza, then before baking, I move all of the meat over to the pineapple side.  Well, actually I spread out the pineapple a little so that the Hawaiian side is a little more than half--The Boy eats more than Little Sister does.

So!  That's how I get my $12.00 pizza for six bucks!

Bargain Hunting--thrift store style!

It's been a while since I've done a bargain hunting post--heck, it's been a while since I've done any kind of post at all!  But today was 1/2 price day at a local thrift store, and I did pretty well if I say so myself.  Wanna see what I got?

I'll start with the boy stuff, since that's what I was looking for.  As usual, not nearly as much selection in this department but not too bad.

First, Lands End shorts in great shape.  Size 7, so the boy can wear them next summer.  $2.50.

These Gymboree shorts will hopefully still fit next year, but they also fit now, which is nice since we probably have at least another month of nice weather. $2.

Gymboree cords, probably a little too baggy for my taste but I should be able to take in the legs a bit.  $2.50

And these Airwalks are The Boy's favorite color.  Still a size or two too big, so hopefully his favorite color won't change too much in the next couple of years!  $3.

These Keens should fit Little Sister next summer--or maybe the one after that.  For $2, I didn't really care!

My favorite were these two pairs of Gap skinny pants--pink jeans and orange cords, both size 3T.  Don't know if I can get her to wear them or not!  She mostly refuses to wear pants, but we haven't tried skinnies, so maybe they will be a bridge from leggings?  We'll see.  Each pair was $2, and they are in like-new condition.

Don't know why this pic makes it look worn on the front of the legs--they're totally not.

I can never remember what size my kids are in Hanna Andersson clothing, but I thought this was so cute and that it would fit someday!  It's also in like-new shape and was $1.50.

This is from Old Navy, but also in good shape.  It's a knit sweater with a fleecy warm lining.  Won't fit for a couple of years though!  $3.

These leggings are HUGE--size 8!  But they had no wear at all, and they are from Tea Collection, and they were $2!  Can't decide if I should hang onto them until Little Sister fits into them or just resell them at a consignment store--I mean, who knows what kids will be wearing 5 years into the future?  Moon suits?

Last but not least I grabbed this Dickies button-down for the Dad guy on my way out--it was just hanging there on the end of the rack, in his size, looking lonely, so I decided to bring it home.  $3.

I forgot to photograph my other find--a stack of 3 pads of 18x24 colored construction paper for $1! That brought my grand total total to $26.50--not bad!

Blazer Alteration!

This seemed like a scary project to take on, but this was a perfect opportunity to take a risk and see if it panned out, because I didn't have anything to lose.

A friend of mine was clearing out her closet and I scored a couple of fantastic blazers.  I was so blinded by their fabulosity that I didn't realize till I got them home that the fit was actually not great.  Rather than pass them on, I thought I'd try to alter one just to see if I could do it. Both blazers are fully lined, which is the main thing that gave me pause.  Luckily I found this tutorial on Cotton and Curls, and it actually is not as tricky as it would seem!

The part I wasn't sure about was how you reattach the lining when you're finished taking things in.  And the answer is--I'm still not sure.  I kind of faked that part, and it's a little lumpy on the inside but it still hangs well on the outside, which is what counts.  But the trick is, you don't take the whole lining out!  You open it up a little on one edge, enough to pull the entire blazer through the hole so it's inside out, letting you adjust the seams to fit it better!

I didn't even alter the lining--it's just a little baggier now on the inside than it used to be.

I don't have any "before" pics of my altered blazer, but here's how it looks now--like it was made for me, right?

Deep purple velvet.  Mmmmm.

Hairstyle courtesy of this post found on Pinterest

The other blazer is a deep rusty orange corduroy.  Love it!

5th Birthday: The Racecar Party

My oldest turned five.  FIVE!  That is full-on big kid territory.  As I've done a few birthday parties now, I am learning some things about myself as it relates to birthday party preparations.

1.  I am cheap
2.  I am lazy
3.  I am overwhelmed by the party setups I see on Pinterest.

While the full-on theme parties look amazing, I can't help but wonder how much the actual kids (both the birthday kid and the party-goers) appreciate all the work and expense goes into a party like that.  I'm sure the adults are all duly impressed, but...is the party for them, or for the kids?   I feel like the kids have just as much fun at a party that flows well and is well-organized, regardless of the tablescape.  I know for some people, decorating for the party is really fun and they love figuring out all of the little details, but for me...well, I think those parties look so fabulous in pictures, but when I start thinking about what is actually involved and what I would have to do to create it, I have to stop because if I got into it I'm pretty sure my head would explode.

Here are a few things that I have done to keep myself sane with the party prep:

• Keep the decorations to one main party area.  In my case, this is the living/dining room, the first area you see when you enter the house.  Even though the kids will spend time in the kitchen, basement, and bathroom, I don't bother decorating those.  I subscribe to this same theory with my holiday decorating.

Our main party area

This became the food table.  Beverages were in the kitchen.

• Reuse party decorations.  We have had the same basic Happy Birthday banner for years now, and have been slowly making our way through the same two colors of streamers (red and purple) party after party.  I also supplement the printed Happy Birthday plates/cups/napkins with leftover solid plates/cups/napkins from parties gone by.

• Maximize Dollar Tree purchases, especially if they happen to have party stuff that matches your theme.  Unfortunately for me, I didn't buy up racecar party stuff when they had it a couple of months ago, because I was worried that my guy would change his mind before the invitations went out, and when I went back for it there were only a couple of racecar items left, but the few posters and cellophane goody bags I was able to get are nicely supplemented by plain colored plates and cups.  Racecar stuff for the goody bag is pretty easy to come by--I was able to fill the racecar-printed goody bags for less than $1 each--Hot Wheels stickers, a die-cast racecar, a plastic top (not racecar related), a Tootsie Roll Pop, and a pack of Sixlets.  

Goody bag contents--cars were in a 4-pk at dollar store, stickers were from a book of 300 Hot Wheels stickers so a $1 book was cut into favors for all the kids.  The bags were a Dollar Tree 24-pack or something like that.  Suckers were a 10-pack, and the Sixlets (reminded me of traffic lights) came in a big bag for $1, plenty for everybody.

• Note--Dollar Tree's return policy is exchange only.  I SHOULD have just bought the dang racecar stuff, then traded it in for something else if the boy changed his mind.  Now that the girl tells me she wants a Mermaid party when she turns 3 in two months, I have been buying mermaid/underwater stuff there when I see it and holding on to the receipt so that I can return it if necessary later.

• Have the kids make decorations and games.  No, they will not look like a professional party planner decorated your house, but the kids love to feel involved and giving them some poster paper and markers and letting them go at it gets them out of your hair for a while.  

He didn't want to color anything in.

Pin the car on the racetrack--the envelope to the left has little paper racecars in it. The boy colored each one a different color and wrote a party-goer's name on it, so when they play the game they know which car belonged to each kid.

• I have also had the kids decorate brown paper bags for the goody bags when I couldn't find cheap ones that fit the theme.  Printing out coloring sheets then cutting out and gluing the images to the bags is an easy way to do it--that also works for wall decor.

• Have a couple of games that kids can do when they feel like it--we like "Pin the _____ on the _____" (with the blanks filled in to fit your theme--"Pin the racecar on the track", "Pin the owl in the tree,"  etc.)  

The Boy posing by the game after the kids had played it

And of course, the special racecar shirt I appliqued for him

• For the racecar party we made a ramp for the kids to race cars down--the cars that we put in their goody bags.  Some detail about the ramp:  I made it out of two sheets of black posterboard (Dollar Tree--2/$1), some styrofoam packaging that we hadn't thrown out yet (no room in the garbage--here in Portland we only get pickup every other week so sometimes it's hard to get rid of everything!), and duct tape.  I used whiteout tape to make the lane lines (bought at Dollar Tree), and some printable checkerboard and hot wheels images that I found here (also used it for the cake) to decorate it.  The whole thing cost me $2.  The kids LOVED racing cars down it!  They also found other things to race down the ramp--princess figurines, rubber balls, etc.)

Edges are folded up to keep cars on the ramp (somewhat)

Ooh, pretty.

It was not very sturdy, but I was amazed that it not only held up for the whole party, but is as a matter of fact STILL residing in our basement where it is frequently used by the kids and slept on by the cats, about a month later.

I should have written the kids' names on their racecars--we only had 4 different colors, so it was hard to keep track of which car belonged to whom.

• We did have one game for kids to play all at once--a Racecar bingo that I found at Dollar Tree. But the kids were so happy just playing with the ramp, the pin-the-racecar poster, and the toys around our house that we never got around to playing the bingo game.  But good to have it in my back pocket.
• The cake.  Well, this is such a personal decision.  I LOVE cake.  Make that, I love GOOD cake. But as I've mentioned, I'm cheap.  For a few years, we ordered beautiful cakes from a fantastic bakery and I loved them.  But they were not cheap.  So then I ordered grocery store cakes with cute decorations that fit our theme, and they were cheap...but they did not taste good.  So I've started making my own cakes.  To me, taste and cost is more important than decoration.  I would love to just do cupcakes, and put little toothpicks with flags in them that fit the theme (this is one way those Pinterest theme parties are helpful to me--free printables!  I would skip flagging the straws, silverware, napkins, etc--but flags for the cupcakes seems a lot easier than decorating cupcakes or a cake.)  But my kids so far have always wanted cakes, not cupcakes.  And cakes are harder to decorate, in my opinion.  So I just look at pictures online to get an idea and try to do something simple.  This year, I made 2 box cakes (doctored up to taste better according to this blog post--I really think it did work to make the cake more rich and from-scratch tasting) in 9x13 pans, and using this fantastic frosting from Smitten Kitchen.

I searched Pinterest for racecar cakes and got several ideas, and this is my version.

I wanted small cars--these were in an 8-pk at Dollar Tree. The trophy also came from there.

The Happy Birthday candles were $2.50 at Walmart. This was a nice purchase because I didn't have to worry about my writing, and they saved room for the racetrack.

A better view of the checkerboard finish line, taped to a couple of toothpicks.

A decorating note--I made my 5 by putting chocolate frosting in a baggie with a big corner cut off, then squeezed out the shape on top of the green frosting, and spread it flat with a knife into the 5 shape that I wanted.  

Then I topped that with crushed chocolate cookies to make the road.  Then, obviously, edged the road and the top of the cake with M&M's.  This cake was HUGE!  We had 8 kids at the party, and probably 14 adults.  Since hardly any adults seem to eat cake these days (with ME being the obvious exception, and a few others), we had over half the cake left over!  This worked out well, because I just cut the leftover into a rectangle, wrapped it in saran wrap and foil, and stuck it in the freezer.  Then a week later I pulled it out, scraped the old racetrack decorations off the top, made a little fresh frosting, and served it again for our family party!  Still tasted great.

Recycled birthday cake

Nobody seemed to mind.

• Keep the DIY's simple.  I did go a little more all-out with last year's owl party, because it was harder to find inexpensive owl stuff for favors and games at that point, but I made sure to choose projects that would be fairly quick AND fun for me to make.  But I still do prefer to go Dollar Tree when possible, because it's obviously easier and usually cheaper than doing it myself.

• Invitations:  I love photo invitations.  I have never figured out my Photoshop software, so until I take a class I have found many ways to make do.  My new favorite to make custom photo invitations is www.picmonkey.com.  So awesome.  I have been using them for everything--valentines, party invitations, display cards for my headbands, marketing postcards.  I love it, and it's so user-friendly, and I've yet to upgrade from the free service.  However, I had not yet discovered them when I made The Boy's party invitation, so here's what I did (I could have done ALL of this invitation creation on picmonkey. I'll show you how Little Sister's party invitation turns out so you can see what I do there):
• Took him to the mall to ride in a "racecar" for 75 cents (I also had to let his sister do a ride, so that's an extra 75 cents) and took photos of him "driving"
• Emailed the photo to myself so I could access it on my phone
• Chose a decorative template from RedStamp (a cool free app to make photo e-cards that are also printable when you email it to yourself) but left the text area blank--there wasn't enough room to give all the party info.  The RedStamp part is the bunting, which kind of reminded me of something you'd see at a road race, I guess...
• Uploaded THAT saved image to Phonto (another free app that has lots of options for adding text to photos), where I could add the translucent banner across the photo
• Emailed THAT image to myself so that I could add party info text on my home computer (I used Picasa, Google's free photo editing software)--that's the red and blue text at the bottom.
• Uploaded the finished invitation to Costco, where I had them printed as 5x7's for 39 cents each, and mailed them out using leftover Christmas card envelopes.  Total cost for 10 invitations:  $5.40 plus stamps (including our racecar rides).  

I can't resist the cheesy age-related rhymes!

• I also made him a "special" breakfast before school on his actual birthday.  I spread nutella on a toaster waffle, laid down a layer of banana slices, then topped it with another toaster waffle and wrote "5" on top with frosting and added candles.  Looked like a cute little breakfast birthday cake for very little effort!

• I have to make a note about the gift I made for him.  I did a separate post about it, but here's the Sleuth costume:

With accessories

Click here for the full post about the costume.

Finally, we STILL haven't gotten to it yet (BAD!  BAD host!), but I printed out these free Thank You cards for Liam to work on.  I like how they match the bunting on the invitation.

Freebie from 74 Lime Lane

WHEW that ended up being a long post!  Guess that explains why it took me a month to get around to finishing it.  

Butterfly dress

This dress is another one from a pattern I got in my giant Goodwill haul of early '13.

The pattern is this one:

Butterick B4176

I let Little Sister choose from the stack of patterns again, and this is the one she went for this time.

I learned from my experience last time, and made a size 2 bodice (a little roomy for my almost-three-year-old but fine), but since Little Sister has been obsessed with dresses that are "long long" lately, I cut out the size 5 length.  She would be happier if it was dusting the floor, but this is about as long as I'm willing to go so that she can actually wear it around without tripping on it and dragging it through the mud.

Tucked into her waistband and ready to roll!

The fabric is one I got in the clearance section at JoAnn's--not a remnant, which is actually a good thing because I needed every inch of the yard I had, but that means I paid $4/yard for it, well over my typical price.  I just had to have this purple butterfly fabric though.

A friend of Little Sister's grandma's made that little hat for her.  

I love the simple pleats in the front of this dress, and the sweet little buttons.  The button closure in the back means she can't get it on and off by herself, which is kind of a bummer but not that big of a deal. It was really an easy dress to make.

No buttonholes--just an elastic loop closure

I did fold my single-fold bias tape up a little as I sewed it around the neckline so that the purple edge would show like a trim.  It's the same technique I used when I made this shirt.  I think it almost looks like a piped edge.

Moppet.
I need to work on focusing on the eyes, but she's so quick!

I still haven't been able to get any pictures of The Boy in his lined pants that I made from one of the patterns, despite the fact that he's worn them about 3 times in the week since I gave them to him.  The first time, we were on our way somewhere and couldn't stop for photos, the second time I was planning to take pics as soon as I got him home from school, but then whoops!  He slipped in the mud on the way to the car and had to change as soon as we got home!  The third time he just wasn't in the mood.  Someday.