doll dresses. check.

I finished the dresses for an American Girl doll last night. There is a party dress and a more casual slip dress. I'm most proud of the party dress - I love the ruffled sleeves. 

Clara chose the fabrics for the slip dress. Big shock - pink and purple.



I asked Clara if she wanted me to make anything else for her, and she told me she needs shoes! Duh, Mom. :) So those will get made tonight. They look pretty easy. I found all these patterns online, just searching for "American Girl clothes free patterns" or similar. There's lots out there.

itty bitties

First, I found this lovely stack of fabric waiting in my mailbox today. Happiness! I donated most of my scraps to my sister in law for her new library decor, so of course, I had to buy some new pieces! Robert Kaufman Metro Living Circles, Patty Young's Grand Bazaar, and Suzy Ultman Appleville Apple Faces.



Second, my daughter has been going to birthday parties like they're going out of style. One a week, for at least the last month. For real. Sometimes, twice a week. I was pondering this next party, because it is a good friend's sixth birthday and I am tired--TIRED--of Target gifts. (Plus, I am super poor.) She recently got an American Girl doll (Clara wishes it was her!), so I thought maybe I would make a few outfits for her. Here is the first one: a spring coat.



Note to self: Must iron. I love the toggle clasp thingies (official name).

There are more items coming. Itty bitty dresses are fun but hard to sew. I finally replaced my machine needle and it was like magic. Suddenly I could sew again! Ha. I suppose I should change that more often.

Until next time,

xo

Kristy

Round Thursdays

You know how sometimes, you take a shower and kind of zone out and then suddenly you think - "Wait, did I already wash my hair?" - and you just can't remember, so you do it again? Well, I am trying hard to NOT be like that in my daily life.

It is no mystery that I love Thursdays. They have always been my favorite days.

I think I love them even more this year, because it is the only day of the week that we have absolutely zero plans. Lately, it's been declared PJ Day, and we bum around the house doing whatever we want. (Especially today, as the high is zero degrees. The HIGH.)

This is the last year that we will have an off day for all three kids, since next year, our lives will be dictated by school schedules and routines, with the biggest going to Kindergarten.

Because I know that this is a rare time of togetherness with my children, I am trying harder to be in the moment with them.

Today has been packed full of activities:

• Heart garland
• Origami Valentine "mail" boxes for leaving notes for each other
• Irish soda bread
• Sock Toss game (three bowls, a start line, and a balled up sock)
• Fort building
• Much crafting
• Dance party
• Song singing
• Book reading
• Playdough making

Three cheers for Thursdays!

together

I saw these photos on another blog and thought they were funny.

It's a strange winter, here in Minnesota. Yesterday it was like 50 degrees outside. We had no coats on and pulled out all the sandbox toys. Now today, it is snowing. I had to quickly run outside and clean up all the sandbox toys. :)

Anyway. I made some lefse.

And hosted my dinner club. We did Scandinavian cuisine. People came sporting their Nordic sweaters.

A photography friend asked me to make a homecoming banner for a Marine coming home next week. She wanted it red, white, and blue, and with the word "together" on it. I was originally going to use felt, but Joann's didn't have the right colors exactly. Then I wandered the cotton aisles, but nothing really jumped out at me. I meandered over to the home decor section and found some duck cloth in the right colors, at the right price (50% off!). Score! The triangles are 6" wide and 7" long. I printed off the letters in PowerPoint and then pinned the paper to the duck cloth and cut with some really sharp scissors. If I had a Silhouette machine, it would have gone faster, but hey, this was cheap and I didn't have to store anything afterward. Less is more, right?

It is really windy out, so hard to get a good photo of it..

When I was thinking about the binding to hold the pennants together, I thought a nautical look would be appropriate, so I used some chunky rope I had for making piping. I really like it and can't wait to see the professional photos with it.

repurposed baby blankets

I was sorting through my linen closet and found a ton of unused baby blankets. When you have three babies in four years, apparently you get a lot of blankets! Unfortunately, my babies don't sleep with blankets. Sleep sacks are my favorite after swaddling and before the big bed.

Ruthie has a few that I made her with this pattern, but she outgrew the length and needed some new ones. Enter: unused blankets. I just traced her current sleep sack on top and added length, then sewed it up. Fleece is easy like that. I decided the zipper wasn't that important and just left a big enough slit to pull it up her body. Now she has lots of room to wiggle those toes. :)

She is all "cheese!" for photos these days. (Note the big bite marks on the crib side - ugh!)

Ringing in the New Year with Napkins

That's right. Napkins. Because, like underwear, they are one of life's necessities. I have napkins already, of course, but they are for everyday use: stained, wrinkled, kid-friendly. I thought maybe it was time for some fun, "company" napkins. You know, for all our company. Ha. But I am in a dinner club, and I am hosting it this weekend (Scandinavian theme!), so they will get used then, at least! I wish I had made them a bit larger. They are 12" squares. I think 17" squares would be better, but I didn't have enough material.

Are you a new year's resolutions kind of person? I am. I mean, why not set goals? As long as I am not completely disillusioned about it. So my goals for 2012:

1. Read through the Bible with my husband. We are using this guide.

2. Get me some chickens. If you know me, you know this has been my resolution for about four years now...and the city I live in has hindered my chicken ownership thus far. So! I decided to pretend they are on board and get some anyway. Ha.

3. Make more clothes and give more random homemade gifts.

4. Lose the baby weight. I mean, really.

5. Be content with what I have. I basically am already, but sometimes, I go to someone's big house and think, "Man, I wish I had a bigger house." But then when I go home, I realize that if I had a bigger house, it would be filled with stuff. And I don't like stuff. Or cleaning, for that matter. :)

6. More quality family time, less Facebook.

7. Stop saying "unthaw" (incorrect). Start saying "thaw" (correct).

I think that's about it. Hope you are having a fabulous January!