I adore the empire waist for toddler girls--especially Hanna Andersson and the like.  But, I'm cheap.  And AA lap tees are cheap and have matching pants....so the little hamster in my head started running.  All of these dresses are intended to be worn over pants and a long sleeve tee for fall weather.  They are all open in the back (except the 1st one).
This was my first attempt.  The skirty thing is actually sewn onto the shirt. I left the shirt long so that a draft wouldn't give her a chill this fall.

But then I thought, CRAP!  now I can't use that black shirt for anything else.

So these were born:

the felt fortune cookie is actually a barrette

Amy Butler French Wallpaper

random fabric from the clearance bin.

I said I would post this about a million years ago, but it's just now getting done.  I am the queen of procrastinators. 

Yeah, it's very girly and flowery!

Since we didn't have a ton of money, I've had to get crafty (not that I need an excuse! ;-) )  Other crafty people have contributed, too, which makes it all the more special to me!  This room has cost us less than $340 thanks to some hand-me-downs and ingenunity.  The biggest purchase was the pink rocker/ottoman.


I got these thin letters (I think they are MDF) at Hobby Lobby for $2each and hand-painted roses on them.  The baby blankets, both the pink above and white below were knit by my (nearly blind) grandmother.



The large photo of the peony was one I downloaded off Flickr (with permission) and had framed up.  I am in a customer rewards program with coca-cola, so I got the poster size picture for free, just had to pay shipping--how cool is that.  The dresser was refinished by my late MIL whom Maren is being named after.  The doily was crochet by DH's Gma.  Yeah, i need to get a lampshade STAT!  The pillow cover was made by me from a sheet I found at good will.

Hopefully this image has rotated so all of you aren't leaning to the right to look at it!  The curtains I ordered (along with the bedding from Target).  But I painted the roses above the arch window and upholstered the window "cover."  That window gets so much light during the day, I doubt anyone could sleep there!  It's just a piece of luan cut to fit the arch (thanks, hubby!) and I covered it in batting and fabric.  The buttons are made from an old sheet and a $2 button-covering kit.  Super easy!  It's held in place by industrial strength velcro.  I also painted the pink accents on the curtain rods and added a strand of "pearls."



The changing table was my son's and was just a wood brown.  So, DH spray painted it for me!  But my favorite part of the picture is the "quilt" painted by my friends and family.  They are 5X7 canvases taped together on the back (need to hang it up, btw).  This is what we did at my baby shower instead of playing games.  A different person did each block--That's my son's ever-cooperative handprint in the middle.

Not pictured:  I made a moble and painted a fabric butterfly wall-hanging.

Whatcha think?

from this link:
http://www.bhg.com/bhg/story.jsp?catref=SC955&storyid=/templatedata/bhg/story/data/1146420827221.xml

There were a few problems--like I used an interfacing instead of canvas and it ended up peeling off b/c I bought the wrong one.  So as a result, it's not as sturdy as it could be.  And some of the stitching is less than perfect.  And my clasp tab thing came down much further than the pattern.  But really, I'm happy with it.

I've improved them a tiny bit.  I'm using glass beads for eyes now.  I think it looks a lot better.

I'm making a bunch of these for all the kiddos for Easter (if I don't get bored with them).  I've become a bit obsessed with making the perfect pom-pon.....

Whatcha Think?

I recently made these:


I used this pattern:
http://www.tackyliving.com/article.php?id=121

They're denim with recycled leather soles (from an old jacket).  Flannel lined. The trim came from my grandmother's endless bucket of leftover stuff.  I also used a fabric glue to strengthen the seems.

Whatcha think?