J Crew Knock Off Project

Flip this Pattern~ Heidi and Finn Colorblock Dress

I am self taught when it comes to sewing.  I learned the basics from my Nana when I was 7 or 8 when she taught me how to make an apron for my mom for Mother's day.  After not sewing for almost 20 years I picked it up again and have tried a few different projects.  I'm not perfect, but the more you sew the better you get right?

I am a huge fan of Heidi and Finn patterns, I've made them here, here, and here and I've had my eye on the Colorblock dress for a while now.  I found Frances Suzanne's linky party by chance, and decided it was the perfect opportunity to give it a try.  I bought the pattern and after making the Colorblock pattern for my nieces and spending sometime on Pinterest I decided I would "Flip this Pattern" for my oldest daughter.  I saw this J Crew Dress and fell in love with it, with two girls who are growing faster than weeds the $70 price tag was out of my budget.

 I took a look, got out my crayons (like any great sewer) and set to work.  Here's what I came up with.

 

Here's how I did it! 

Rather than using three colours or materials as suggested, I used white broad cloth and some chambray I had.  You could easily up-cycle an old pair of jeans for this as well if you wanted to.   Another change I made to the original pattern was that I did not continue the chambray stripe all the way to the back, I only did the stripes on the front section. To do this I just used the liner piece provided and cut 4 pieces for the back half of the dress instead of 2 as per the directions.  The final change I made was I used a size 5 pattern but used the size 4 length. Probably a terrible thing to say as a mother, but I prefer my girls dresses to be short, I think they seem more playful that way.

Before cutting the chambray for the centre section, I got out my daughters crayons and figured out my measurements.  The body length for the 4T was 11 inches long.  After measuring it out I decided I wanted my stripes to be 1 inch wide giving me 2 x 1 inch stripes at the top, 7 inches of chambray in the body, and 4 x 1 inch stripes at the bottom.    To accomplish this I needed to add 6/8 of an inch to each one inch stripe  as the pattern uses a 3/8 seam allowance. 

Once it was coloured it was time to cut.  I cut the centre section out of the chambray, then cut 2 inches off the top and 4 inches off the bottom.  I then trimmed the 2 inches down to 1 6/8 and the bottom 4 inches into 2 x 1 6/8 pieces.  I then cut three pieces of white cloth 8 ish inches by 1 6/8.  I sewed all my pieces together and ironed all the seams toward the chambray and top stitched.  This will ensure you can't see seams through your white.  Once all the pieces were together I  folded it in half, put the middle pattern piece back on, and trimmed it down to size (You will just be trimming as you started with the section mainly in tact.  From there I followed the Colorblock pattern exactly.

Belt

I wanted the belt to be 2 by 46 inches when I was all done.  I like working with 1/4 seam allowance (I think I'm the only one) so I kept this in mind while cutting my pieces.  Once all your pieces are cut, add the white and chambray to each end of your longest piece of chambray.  Fold your belt in half, sew all the way around leaving a small hole to flip it right side out.  Trim it up, flip it right side out, iron flat and then top stitch all the way around closing up your small hole. You could easy switch this around to make it longer or changer proportions but this is what I used:

• 2 white 5 by 4 1/2 inches
• 2 white 3 by 4 1/2 inches
• 2 chambray 3 by 4 1/2 inches
• 1 chambray 31 by 4 1/2 inches

It was super easy and super inexpensive!

Thanks so much to  Frances Suzanne and Heidi and Finn for the chance to sew along!  I had a great time and love my end result.  Check out what others did here.

 

I'm Planning a Second Birthday Party

Yesterday I talk about how big The Boss is getting.  I cannot believe she will be two in just a few weeks.  Last year, I started planning The Boss' first birthday the day she was born (not exactly that soon, but I planned for a long time).  You can see my many tutorials for this huge event here.  This year I hadn't thought too much about her party until my niece turned two...she's eight weeks older so that means it's time to start thinking about it.  While my sister was starting her plans she stumbled across a few Minnie Mouse ideas and sent them too me.  Her email read "You should do this...she'll freak." Since my older sister throws awesome parties for her kids I decided to take her advice and start my planning.

I spent sometime Googling Minnie Mouse Parties and found a number of inspirational ideas.  Apparently my two year old isn't the only one obsessed with Minnie Mouse.

The first thing that caught my eye where invitations over at lil sugar.  Last year I used a photo invite, so these would be a new project, and a change from last year.

 
I found these over at Patty Cakes Bakery.  She made them for her daughters 2nd Birthday as well.  They are adorable but clearly way to difficult for my comfort level.

 I've seen this idea in a number of cute versions.  It seems a little easier and closer to my cake decorating ability.
 

And I saw cute thank you tags here.

I really want the decor to be simple and subtle but still fun and whymsical since it's a toddler party.  I plan on using balloons similar to these.  Maybe it's because I was born in the 80's and attended a number of showers from the mid 80's to early 90's but I really like helium balloons.

Since I was in the mood and feeling inspired I took a trip to Michaels to gather my supplies.  As always, I have more ideas than I have time for. Stay tuned.

 

Stop Growing...

Stop Growing already…..would ya?

I remember my Mom saying this to me at some point,

I thought she had totally lost it.

These days I am beginning to think she wasn’t all that crazy!

Maybe it’s that The Boss will be two in about 6 weeks,

Or maybe it’s because I've been visiting lots of babies,

Maybe it’s just something in the water?

The Boss has grown from a Baby to a full person overnight.

Mr. D and I stare at each other in shock at the things coming out of her mouth.

Full on sentences,

Preferences,

And just general conclusions of the events around her.

When I was on maternity leave with her, she was my little buddy.

Her cheery, loving personality made me smile everyday.

I would chatter to her and she would grin back.

It was like being out with my Bestie.

I told my Hubby that she didn't have a choice,

She had to my best friend from now on.

Now when I go out with her, it’s her doing all the talking,

And me grinning in amazement of what a beautiful little girl she’s become.

I love everything about this little girl.

I love…

• That she brings me a coffee from her kitchen every morning while I straighten my hair.
• When she sings along to the ABC’s and claps, stomps, and shouts hurray because she is “Happy and She Knows It”.
• How she yelled “zucchini” with excitement when the Japenes chef started chopping it on the grill at Benihana.
• That she asks “Okay Mommy?” if she hears a loud noise or if I drop something.
• When she yells “Bye” to each of her friends by name and waves to each of them when leaving daycare.
• That it’s a reunion of kindered spirits every morning when I go to get her up.
• When she grabs my face gently to give me a kiss and then hugs me, completely unprompted.
• That she is potty trained and is teaching every baby, stuffed animal and toy she owns to go potty.
• Whenever she sees a Starbucks cup, no matter where we are she says "Mommy's coffee".
• How much she loved Sea World...while other kids were bored and looking around she was yelling "Go...JUMP!" to the whales.  The people around us were killing themselves laughing.
• Her enthusiasm for everything we do!

Baby Girl if you are reading this, and I fear too quickly you will be, can you PLEASE stop growing?  It’s happening way too fast….Mommy’s not ready yet! 

Spring Cleaning plus Toddler Proofing

You know those days that are just jam packed?  Those are the days when The Girl decides to show me how much she has grown.  Don't get me wrong...I love spring cleaning, there is something about tidying and purging that makes me feel accomplished.  However,  day after we get home from Florida is not the day I feel prepared for this type of project unless it's for her safety...and this time it was.

Enter messy linen/medicine closet.

 Not only did I not know she was strong/smart enough to open the closet, I did not know she was tall enough to get the Baby Advil out and bring it to me saying "I need medicine."  Yup, The Girl knows a good thing when she finds it.  Baby Advil is like liquid gold in cherry flavoured form.  That stuff works within seconds of entering her mouth and apparently, she likes it.  After I got over the shock I knew that very minute was when I would clear my schedule and ensure my child was not high on "medicine" without parental consent and supervision.

A little revamp and we were ready to go.  Unfortunately for her, the "medicine is was too high to reach so she will have to settle for a snuggle in the clean towels for her fun.

 

What She Wore...

A number of bloggers post weekly on what they wore.
I'm not going to lie,
I enjoy reading others, but feel a little in adequate at times.

The truth is, there are many times that I go out with The Boss and feel embarrassed.
She looks fabulous and I'm dressed like...a Mom.
Rather than deny her inner model, I thought I would embrace it.

Here's to The Boss and "What She Wore"!

Hat, H&M

Coat, Zara

Skinny Cordorys, Gap

Brown Boots, Target

Can we also take a moment to discuss my little poser? My goodness, who does this child belong to?

Linking up here:

The Pleated Poppy