Puppet Masters

To go with our Fox Theater we made some princess puppets.  They are made from felt and little odds and ends most of which recently came in a box from my grandma.  I did not do pictures for a full tutorial.  I was into just enjoying the project with Sweet Lily Girl then just wanted to get it done when I heard Little Miss Ava Grace waking up from her nap.  One year olds and hot glue guns do not mix.

One picture I did take was this one.  It does not have great coloring but I did want to note that this is how much space I left around Sweet Lily Girls hand.  After doing a blanket stitch around the outside of the two layers i found that it was a little more snug than desired.  I would suggest leaving more space.

I cut out all pieces before sewing or gluing anything together.  I had no pattern I just made it up as I went and had to re cut several pieces but I think they turned out really cute.

I hand stitched the two layers of white together with a blanket stitch.  Click here for a clear tutorial on how to do a blanket stitch.  Then used a hot glue gun to add the dresses, hair, crown and accessories.

"Hi. How are you today?"

We have been having so much fun with our puppets and theater.  If you ever have big enough box I highly recommend this project for you and your little one(s).

Mini Bunting

This is the window ledge in my kitchen over my sink.

I like a little whimsy

I also like variety.  I have a bunch of these "Mini Bunting" Strands.  I change them out according to my mood.  They are super easy and cheap and add just a little bit of fun to a room. They can be put in plants like I have done hear.  Or on the corner of a mirror or picture frame.  On a cake or any where else you imagination can come up with.

This particular strand of Mini Bunting is made from a small scrap of Toile fabric that I got from who knows where.  I cut 1 1/2" x 2" triangles with straight scissors across the top and pinking shears for the other two sides.  Then I simply sewed them together leaving plenty of thread at each end to tie them off.  I bought a pack of skewers from Wal-Mart, they cost $ .97 for a pack of 100.  So all in all this little bit of whimsy in my kitchen cost me about $ .03 figuring in the thread.  I think that could fit into any budget.



Crinoline Slip "How To"

My mom has offered to make princess dresses for the two little princesses upcoming birthday party.  It's not until October, but hey I hate to be rushed and to be perfectly honest, I really, really like planning parties.  In order to make my mom's project easier I decided to make crinoline slips to go under the dresses so she didn't have to add layers of poof to the dresses themselves.

Okay so here is a basic how to for a crinoline slip for little girls.  I did not find a very good tutorial online so I had to figure it out myself.  I had some issues but it all worked out in the end.  The first one is not pretty but it will work.  The second one turned out great.  I'll tell you what I did for the second and spare you the disaster of the first.

The "second" on a very cute and suprisingly cooperative model:

Side Note:  I learned how to use the timer on my camera today.  

I happened to still have left over white fabric from my wedding 5 years ago so I used that.  You could use any light weight fabric.  A couple of weeks ago my friend Carrie gave me some spools of white tulle that she did not want anymore.  So for me the cost of this project was $0.00. Hoot, Hoot, Hooray!!! Thanks for thinking of me Carrie!  However if you do not have the supplies on hand I would estimate the cost of this project to be about $15 if you had to pay full price for everything including fabric, tulle, elastic & thread.

What you need:

*1 yrd light weight fabric
*approximately 40 yards of 6" wide tulle (you can use a spool or yardage can be cut into 6" strips)
*elastic (I used 3/4" because it's what I had on hand)
*coordinating thread

Note: I will give the measurements I used for the slip I made Ava Grace.  She wears size 2T, length can easily be added to make it longer for a larger child.  The length of the elastic for the waist band determines how big around.

First Step is to make the underskirt.  I know my girls don't like anything itchy so I didn't want the tulle to touch their skin.

Cut 2 rectangles from your fabric 32" x 12" sew the two rectangles together along the 12" sides. 

Then to create the waist, fold over and press one of the 32" sides 1/4" then 1" to create a pocket for the elastic.

Sew all the way around leaving a big enough opening for the size of your elastic to be fed through.  Note: Do not feed your elastic through until you have sewn on the rows of tulle.  I made this mistake and it is very difficult to sew the tulle onto fabric that is gathered.

Cut the bottom edge with pinking shears or turn up with a hem.  I chose to use pinking shears.

Next step is dealing with all that tulle.  I made 3 rows of poof.

Cut 6 strips approximately 230" or 19' long.  I laid a yard stick in front of myself and measured out approximately 30 inches at a time feeding the tulle through my hands.  It seems like a lot of tulle but gathering all that length makes for a nice and poofy skirt.

For the top row I used a single layer of tulle.  Sew with a baisting stitch along the length of one side about a 1/2" from the edge.  Pull the bobbin (bottom) thread to gather so that it ends up about 64" long.  Pin to the skirt about and inch below the waist band. Then sew gathered tulle to the skirt along baisting stitch.

For the 2nd row I sewed  two strips of tulle with the baisting stitch, gathered and sewed to the skirt in the same way.  Over lapping with the row above by about 2".

For the 3rd row I sewed three strips of tulle with the baisting stitch, gathered and sewed to the skirt in the same way.  Over lapping with the row above by about 2".

I have a remaining space at the bottom of the under skirt.  I did this intensionally waiting for the exact length of the skirt of the dress my mom is making.  I may need to add a 4th row or trim of a couple of inches.

The last step is to add the elastic.  The length of your elastic should go around your childs waist and over lap 1".  Put a safety pin in one end and feed it through the waist band.  Be sure not to let the other end of the elastic go inside the "pocket" or you will need to start over or try to "fish it out".  Be careful not to twist the elastic, then overlap the ends and sew together and spread out the gathered fabric evenly.

I look forward to seeing the pretty pink princess dresses that will be covering these poofy things up. Can't wait, can't wait, can't wait!!!!!!!

Family Photos & Crinoline Slips

The rest of our family photos are up over on Danielle Huddleston Photography's blog.  Check them out they are awesome!

This is my favorite!  It is going to be framed and hung on my living room gallery wall.  It is so us.  To get us loosened up and smiling Gabriel started making shadow puppets on the reflector then Jessica joined him in the fun.  I guess we got a little more than smiles.

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Other "News"

I'm making crinoline slips for Sweet Lily Girl and Little Miss Ava Grace to go under their princess dresses that my mom is making for their birthdays. (Sew Excited about those.  HaHaHa)  It's a good thing no one will see the slips though because I made a lot of mistakes on the first one.  My communication with my mother was laking and measurements were waaaaaaaaaay wrong.  I had to "make it work" so that I didn't have to start over.  The second one is looking good though.  They are almost finished. Just a few finishing touches when final length is determined.

She was being such a good little model.

And Then....

Me: "Ava Grace will you stand back up please?"

Ava Grace: "No, I poopin"

That's probably one of those things that didn't need to be shared.  But it cracked me up so I thought "why not"

The shoes are a recent hand me down from my friend Raichelle's little one.  Little Miss Ava Grace has been wearing them the majority of the day and part of the night.  They fall off sometime while she is sleeping.  They are 5 sizes to big but she doesn't seem to care.

Tutorial coming later, or tomorrow or sometime soon after that.  Who knows things have been slightly unpredictable these days.  Who am I foolin'. Things around here are always unpredictable.