Dollhouse Frock GIVEAWAY!!!! CLOSED.

I've been watching a lot of AMC's 'Mad Men' episodes on demand. I've fallen for the characters, story lines but most of all....the wardrobe. Every scene is like eye candy. Did everything really look so delicious back then? And if so, why don't they now?! Even the offices make me drool. So when I designed this dress, I guess I had 'Mad Men' on the brain.

I wanted to sew something with a slight 50s feel. What better look than that of a plastic mom who stays in the home all day. But I initially named this the doll house frock because of the cut. Just as one of the dolls in her house would wear, this dress was made with in one long cut. No waist seam. No shoulder seams. I also added square pockets in the front so that she had a handy place to keep the dolls that were waiting in the wings.

I made a matching dress for her 'mommy' doll to boot! She needed a new look. Her pink cowl neck frock with gold belt always bothered me a bit. Lily enjoyed putting the dolls in her pockets then removing their clothes and letting them lie naked in the living room.






As for the doll house itself, it was a gift for Lily last Christmas. For any of you ambitious moms out there who also want to have a real wooden house for their little one, here is my best advice. I started building it a week before the holiday thinking I had plenty of time. I glued the last faux floor plank down at 4 AM on Christmas Day. Needless to say, it's more of a long term project. And don't forget to factor in the cost of the furniture. It was equal to the amount paid for the house itself. All together, this amounts to one costly (but unique) gift for a 3-year old.

I would say the dress would fit a 2T-4T.
Last day for posts is Wednesday 10/01/08. Winner will be announced Friday morning!

As usual, if you would like a chance to win this frock just link back to this post. If you have any questions see the "questions and answers" link to the right. If you use blogger just use the "create a link" link at the bottom of this post. If you don't use blogger, that's fine too. Just create a link on your page as you normally would and I will see it using Technorati.

One more thing.....next month will be HALLOWEEN! Expect costumes galore!
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Sarsaparilla Skirt & Vest GIVEAWAY!!!! CLOSED.

I realize it's been over a week since my last post. I think every working man needs a small vacation....a week....if not two, to focus his attention on something different. I know that this isn't a job but I do take it seriously. And I too need a short vacation. Don't get me wrong, I still love the sewing, photos and blogging but I just needed to spend some time away. You might be interested to know that in my free time I sewed curtains, took naps with lily, did some Christmas shopping and baked an apple pie. It felt good but now I'm back.

This little skirt and vest was inspired by a trip to one of the local goodwill stores. I found the retro cowboy hat in one of the plastic $1 bins and decided it needed an outfit to match.












I made the skirt and vest with a brown broadcloth cotton material. The color was obviously reminiscent of leather. But I didn't want anything quite as hokey as leather. Under the skirt I made a sort of crinoline puff out of red bandanna material which peaks out from underneath

For the top, I made the vest more feminine by fitting the sides, adding a Peter Pan like collar and scooping neckline rather than a creating a "V". Peaking out from around the scoop neck are ruffles of the matching red bandanna material. The sleeves also have the bandanna ruffles along the cuff line.

Lily looks so happy in all the photos mostly because Brian was making her laugh by smashing cardboard blocks on his head. There's almost *nothing* she loves more....go figure.












I would say this would fit a 3T-4T.

Last day for posts is Friday 9/26/08. Winner will be announced Sunday morning!

As usual, if you would like a chance to win this skirt and vest just link back to this post. If you have any questions see the "questions and answers" link to the right. If you use blogger just use the "create a link" link at the bottom of this post. If you don't use blogger, that's fine too. Just create a link on your page as you normally would and I will see it using Technorati.

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Make Believe Frock GIVEAWAY!!!! CLOSED.

I really debated what prop to use with this frock. Down the street there is a tiny playhouse with cut out hearts. The downtown state museum has a make believe tree with velcro felt apples. And then there was the box our tv came in. I was a heartbeat away from taking a trip downtown but read online that they closed at 3pm. Bummer. We could have walked to the playhouse but I thought the box castle would look more....make believe. I really didn't know what I was getting into. Two hours later and stumbling from low blood sugar, this is what I came up with.
The dress is made of a soft aqua knit material. What is up with me and knits lately? They are just so soft. Lily asked if she could wear the dress after she was finished trying it on, which almost never happens. I wanted it to look like a sort of modern 'Alice in Wonderland'. I gathered the scoop neckline and added a scalloped white trim. It's a somewhat simple dress but was surprisingly difficult to cut. But take a look at the best part....

The most adorable felt crown you've ever seen! I cannot take credit for this little gem. It was given to me by Rubyellen of Cakies. She has the softest, sweetest, most stylish felt accessories for children. Her crowns are to DIE FOR! Her newest addition and my FAVORITE is her Beautiful Mum crown. She has her etsy store stocked with accessories for girls AND boys! She also sells clips and was nice enough to send me two. I was so proud to put one on Lily and one on Molly for Brian's birthday. They are just the cutest felt flowers you've ever seen. Better still, they never fell out of Molly's hair. Now, that's a feat! The crown is included in the giveaway.



Lily was so excited about crawling through the little draw bridge opening. Unfortunately, the paint rubbed off onto everything so I had to let her in through an opening in the back, which was sort of disappointing. But judging from the photos, she's ready to kiss that frog and find her prince.

I would say this would fit a 3T-4T.
Last day for posts is Monday 9/15/08. Winner will be announced Wednesday morning!

As usual, if you would like a chance to win this frock just link back to this post. If you have any questions see the "questions and answers" link to the right. If you use blogger just use the "create a link" link at the bottom of this post. If you don't use blogger, that's fine too. Just create a link on your page as you normally would and I will see it using Technorati.
Now, what to do with this giant cardboard castle?

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Sleepytime Bear Nightgown GIVEAWAY!!!! CLOSED.

When I was a little girl my mother earned extra money selling her woodcarvings. As a result I was given many Christmas and birthday gifts of wooden swans, hearts and Santa Clauses but mostly....bears. She became quite good and I still have many to this day. This nightgown was inspired by her 'Sleepybears' collection (at bottom). I believe she got the idea from the Celestial Seasonings 'Sleepytime' Herbal Tea box. My how she loves that herbal tea.

I used a bleached white muslin material for the gown and quadrupled the length of the bottom fabric which created a very billowy look. But my favorite part of this gown was the crochet trim I found at my local fabric store. I thought it went well with the look of the nightgown. I was going for a turn-of-the-century, Little-House-on-the-Prarie feel. To top it off, I made the red crochet nightcap to go with the gown.










Lily looks like she's ready to curl up in Grandma's lap for a bedtime story.

I would say this would fit a 3T-4T.

Last day for posts is Thursday 9/11/08. Winner will be announced Saturday morning!

If the winning entry also leaves a comment I will throw in the handmade crochet nightcap worn by Lily in the photos.

I included a photo of one of the aforementioned gifts my mother made for me when I was little. It will be nice to be able to pass them on to Lily when she is much older.....preferably the ones that *don't* have my name engraved into them.








As usual, if you would like a chance to win this nightgown just link back to this post. If you have any questions see the "questions and answers" link to the right. If you use blogger just use the "create a link" link at the bottom of this post. If you don't use blogger, that's fine too. Just create a link on your page as you normally would and I will see it using Technorati.

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Table Cloth Skirt and Dinner Party Top GIVEAWAY!!!! CLOSED.

Chandelier Update see bottom!
It's been a chaotic week. Brian and I celebrated his birthday yesterday. It's his big 2-9. He is one year younger than me. Except for two months out the year....then he's two years younger....and oh how I heard about it when I turned 30. At any rate, with our Labor Day outing, the futon slipcover I sewed on Saturday and various grocery errands, time just flew by and all of a sudden a week had gone by and I hadn't posted anything new. But not to worry, within the next seven days I hope to have at least two more posts. I'm sooo excited!

I found the skirt material in the discount aisle at Hancock Fabric, but I consider it a great find! It has a large Amy Butler-esk design. It looked like a material I would use to make a tablecloth. I still have some fabric left over, so perhaps I still just might.

To compliment the skirt I sewed a cowl neck, short sleeve top with a lighter brown knit material. I don't think I can remember seeing a cowl neck *anything *for kids but I thought it looked good on Lily. And it was *sew* easy to make to boot! I measured, cut and sewed it all in just one hour! That might be a record for me.

Put together, Lily looks like she's ready to serve her delicious three course meal to all her stylish preschool friends.

This would fit a 3T-4T.

Some of you might have noticed some changes in the buttons on my right side. Try as I might I was not able to keep up with posting new patterns everyday. The process of posting them was highly time consuming and I was finding it difficult to post good material. I also got rid of the 'favorite comment' button seeing as it was not getting any hits. However, I have kept the inspiration button and added a new button for my personal life. The buttons should change every time I add something new. I also got rid of the words on the buttons since they were also highly time consuming. If you see a picture that looks interesting just click on it and let yourself be surprised:)
Last day for posts is Monday 9/8/08. Winner will be announced Wednesday morning!




As usual, if you would like a chance to win this skirt and shirt just link back to this post. If you have any questions see the "questions and answers" link to the right. If you use blogger just use the "create a link" link at the bottom of this post. If you don't use blogger, that's fine too. Just create a link on your page as you normally would and I will see it using Technorati.
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NEW!! I had a couple people ask where I bought the chandelier. I made it myself. I had something very specific in mind when I was decorating and could not find anything even close to what I was looking for. The only advice I can give is how I did it. I took a regular extension cord, cut off the plug, striped the wires and hardwired it into the ceiling. I bought a ceiling plate at Lowes and screwed four eyelet screws into it so that I had something to hang the black chandelier chains from (also bought at Lowes). From the chains, I hung two 3' wreath frames together with floral wire, then finally wrapped brown christmas lights (which were the hardest to find) around the frame and plugged them into the extension cord which I hid inside the chain. Complicated? It sounds a little but to be honest it was easier than I had anticipated.

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