My little JEWEL - Rio Style

The movie Rio quickly became a favorite at our house. Blank stares, crooked necks, wide open mouths and long blinks in front of the tv, are usually an indication of a good movie! This is when my daughter decided to be a McCaw. Not necessarily for Halloween, but just in general. Her subtle 'tweet-tweet' hints, sent me to the fabric store for blue felt.

Here is the girly little bird I'm speaking of.

So I began to sew. I started with just the wings. At first they tied loosely around the neck and two elastic bands around the wrists. This was enough to please her. But I felt it needed more.

I decided instead of a face mask adorned in feathers, a hood was the way to go.

This way I was able to incorporate the features that make Jewel, Jewel.

The beak, the long eyelashes and of course the pink flower.

Every birdy needs to be able to shake her tailfeather. Viola! Tailfeathers.

This poor costume was run ragged this weekend. It spent most of it's time jumping off the furniture indoors and swooping through the neighborhood outside. Did you know McCaw's can drive 4-wheelers, eat push pops, frolic in a sandbox and serenade an ice cream truck? They do where we live.

But in the end, I have this smiling face, looking right back at me. This one is kid approved!

Finally, an update!

I've come out of hibernation and finally added a listing to my shop today! I need to move some knits out before I can step foot into another thrift store. (Yah right, that is highly unlikely to happen!) It's a good thought though... Here is a preview of what I have awaiting the sewing machine and a USPS first class trip to a new home.

More selections can be found in my flickr set, here.

Friends Forever

I recently just participated in my first ever sew along. The Chloe & Mieko Friends Forever t-shirt was just too cute to pass up. Read more about this great cause here.

Knit in the round

While this may sound like a knitting post, it's not! Knitting is one thing I struggle with. (well, one of many things like emptying the lint trap in my dryer, going only 9 over the speed limit instead of 10, finding a way to organize my recipes, actually 'using' the coupons I cut out instead of thinking I'm going to and then end up letting them expire..... and THEN... knitting!)

SO! This is actually just a post about knit fabric. T-shirts in fact. Since I might be in love with a new skirt style and I might be on the brink of compulsive t-shirt collecting, I thought, why not marry the two?

Using the wonderful instructions provided by Dana at MADE I created my own circle skirt pattern to fit my almost 3 year old. It was actually super easy and really satisfying to see it all come together so quickly. As a test skirt, I grabbed two somewhat compatible t-shirts and pieced them together. The end result: a comfy, free flowing, casual twirl skirt for any budding princess. (Or not. I can't tell if I have a tree climber or a girl fit for a tea party, just yet. Perhaps a happy combination of both?)

I think she enjoyed it though. I even got a little dance out of her. She had to test out the twirl factor. I am pretty pleased with the end result. Now I just need to get creative at combining 2 unrelated, yet coordinating shirts.

I left the seems serged and exposed on the outside. Again, adding to the casual feel of the skirt.




Ballerina?




Whew! After all that, a girl needs to rest!

"I am SO over this twirl skirt!"

We survived!

We crafted, we arrrived, we socialized and we departed with a few extra buck$ in our pocket. Sunday was a great day. The weather was perfect. We were able to get our goods out for Des Moines to see.


(Mom, me, sis)

Here are the collaborative efforts of three busy people. (Especially considering full time jobs, kids and social lives occupy many of our hours)

Here we are hard at work. Or hardly working. This is a breeze considering the work that has gone into our treasures.

Here are our neighbors. As you can see, we had a full house. Canopies lined both sides of the street and a steady stream of shoppers were about. (Although it doesn't really look like it here)

We even had live musica in the background.

It is now behind us and life can return to normal again. That is until the rush of Christmas sets in.

Get your craft on

The countdown has begun! 6 days to prepare for our craft Bazzar in East Village, Downtown Des Moines.

I'm truly hoping the rain gods decide to take Sunday off. Please! Pretty please! (C'mon guys... take a day off... put your feet up. Relax!)

Anywho... Mom and sis each have some things to put in and it should be an interesting four hours! Stay tuned...

Catch me in real life!

My first ever big girl craft bazaar is coming up!

Each Sunday for the month of September and October, the Historic East Village in downtown Des Moines will be hosting a Sunday bazaar from Noon to 4pm. My sister and I have committed to one Sunday during this time frame. (September 26th, 2010) It should be fun, but the next 3 weeks expect to be a whirlwind!