Seriously, what girl doesn't need a dinosaur dress?
This whimsical creation came about because I needed to try out a pattern for Zoe's baptism dress. The pattern called for 2 yards of fabric. I started digging through my stash and found this fabric. I had planned on using it for some pajamas, but quickly changed my mind.
Does the fabric match the feel of the pattern? Not really, but I think that's what I love about it.
It's long and flowy with puff sleeves. It is far from perfect but Zoe was so excited when I showed it to her.
The pattern is from this book. It comes with a CD to print off all the patterns, which I love because I can use one pattern and make many different sizes. Zoe grows so fast that I buy digital patterns if possible, so I can use them more than once. The fabric is Dino Exhibit by Lizzy House for her Natural History collection. I purchased mine at Stash Fabrics. There are still a few yards in stock.
I am extremely proud of the buttons. I have tried multiple times to make button holes on my machine and it never quite works out, but I managed to finally conquer that skill with this dress.
Ultimately, I figured out that the bodice and skirt will work for the baptism dress. I will be changing the sleeves and lowering the neckline a bit, but I'm glad to know that the overall dress will fit her. I didn't want to start cutting into my wedding dress without knowing if the final version would work.
Look for the final version in the coming weeks, cutting starts today!
XOXO,
At my job, I spend a lot of time working on spreadsheets. This means that my eyes and hands are moving data from one source to another, or I am organizing that data. This over and over, makes my brain bored. So while I work on those mundane tasks, I have started listening to podcasts. I hopped on the Serial train about 3 episodes in, but there are only a couple of other podcasts I listen to and most of them are an hour long. That leaves me with a lot of spreadsheet hours without something to listen to.
Then I rediscovered Paperclipping Roundtable. Those in the scrapbooking industry are probably familiar with this podcast. I have heard about it, but never listened to it. In search of new listening material, I played a few episodes. That's where this story comes in. Stacy Julian was on episode #265 and told a story about her son and daughter that made me tear up. It spoke to my heart and reminded me why I love this hobby so much, it's all about the stories.
That podcast and her story are what bring me to tell this story. It's small and insignificant but has been a part of my daily life for over 10 years, and I feel like now is a good time to share it.
This key chain has been on my key ring for
10 years...
4 months...
and a few days...
Ever since my friend Sarah, gave it to me.
I had just started working with Sarah and I never shut up about this totally-amazing-hunky guy I was dating. Sarah had gone on a weekend trip and bought this for me at a gas station I believe. She kind of bought as a joke, or a job at the fact that we had only been dating a little while and already I was enamored. A few days after she gave it to me, he broke up with me. We broke up a few more times in between that and the engagement. But, this key chain stayed with me. It's pretty rough around the edges but I've had it so long, I stop noticing it....until Zoe started reading.
When she read it the first time she started crying. Her feelings were hurt because her name was not on it. I lovingly tried to explain that it was given to me before she was born, before we were even married, but her little heart broke. She asked me through tears, "Do you love me as much as you love Daddy?"
It was then that we had a conversation about different kinds of love, and I reassured her that my romantic heart was taken, but she had all of my mommy heart.
Stories are what compel me to scrapbook and to take pictures. I love that feeling of looking back at photos or scrapbook pages and remembering all those feelings that I had on that day. I love remembering all the funny things Zoe said, or TV shows we used to quote. All of those things, while not vital, are treasured.
If you are not currently memory keeping, I encourage you to start. Scrapbooking, Project Life, Photo a Day, even just a journal, Facebook or Instagram - I plead with you to do something. I have done my best to catalog a lot of my own childhood memories, but there are some things that I wish my parents had documented.
This is your reminder to start now. Don't worry about going back, but set a goal to do it from now on. I promise, your future self with thank you!
XOXO,
One of my favorite things about smart phones, is being able to snap decent pictures at any moment. But it does leave me with a lot of photos that don't necessary mark an event or mean something significant. This page is a collection of those every day moments.
I recently just got a bunch of phone pictures printed through Shutterfly. They have tons of monthly promotions on 4x6 photos, and I just get my 4x4 photos printed on 4x6 and trim them when they get here.
Most of the products I used are from Bloom, Maggie Holmes' new line with Crate Paper. This line is full of petite flowers, gingham and beautiful spring colors. Just perfect for pictures of little girls.
Remember when butterflies were so popular in scrapbooking? I miss using them. I hope they are coming back in trend.
What do you do with your random photos?
XOXO,
I love using Pinterest to keep track of all the scrapbooking ideas out there. Check out my Scrapbooking board. It is full of awesome and inspiring pages.
XOXO,
I love using Pinterest to keep track of all the scrapbooking ideas out there. Check out my Scrapbooking board. It is full of awesome and inspiring pages.
The fabric is Mustang by Melody Miller for Cotton + Steel. I bought a layer cake (10" squares) for cheap from Craftsy, during a major clearance sale. The pattern is Crackle by Aneela Hoey. I added a wider border than the pattern calls for. The finised measurements are about 67"x 75".
For the quilting, I did some staggered straight line stitching. My straight lines are never very straight, but I subscribe to the club of "better done than perfect", so it's acceptable by me! I quilted it with some silky metallic mint colored thread. It was much more expensive than my regular cotton thread, but it blends in beautifully with all the bold colors in the quilt, worth every penny.
This quilt it already boxed up and off to a secret recipient. It is actually one of my most favorite quilts. I love the mustangs and the metallic accents, but my pile of personal quilts is good for now, and I have plenty more in the works. I'm ready to pass this one on.
Ryan was gracious in helping me get one last picture before we wrapped it up, as you can see. It's the perfect snuggle quilt. I hope it will get many hours of use and be washed, snuggled, and loved many times over.
Want to see peeks of my newest projects? Follow me on Instagram
XOXO,
P.S. I get lots of inspiration for new quilts and projects on Pinterest. My quilting board has tons of inspiration for your next sewing project including some of my own creations, 1,800 pins and over 1,000 followers!
