What I've Been Sewing: Junebug Dress

 Sometimes when Alaire is getting dressed or picking something out of her closet, she makes custom requests.  This is one of those.  The other day she said she needed a blue polka dot dress.  I told her she didn't have one.  She said I could make it for her.  

She thought I was going to do that before we left that morning. 

 I can whip one up fast, but not that fast!

This was a really quick sew.  The pattern is a free pattern and tutorial from one of my FAVORITE sewing blogs Craftiness is Not Optional.  It's called the Junebug.  

The fabric is quilting fabric from JoAnn and I can't remember where I got the buttons from but Alaire found them in my button stash and liked them.

I skipped the elastic in the arms because i like the way it looked when I was fitting it.  

I wanted Drew to take a picture of Alaire and I together.  We were on the way to a graduation party.  She was goofing around the whole time.  

Just a typical moment with a three year old. 

 Her jumping off of the stones and me trying to keep that dress from getting grass stained before we even leave the house.

Thanks for reading! I hope you are all having a great weekend!

Real Life: Swimming, Bribery and Dancing for Donuts

There are times, as a mother, that I want to let Alaire quit the things that she gets frustrated with or is scared of.  

Most of the time I feel that way for my own benefit. 

 I don't know anyone who likes to have the kid in class that cries and practically pulls your pants down when you drop them off somewhere.

You can feel all of the eyes watching for you response.

Alaire started Pre-School and Ballet classes, which she begged for, back in September.

Soo excited!!

She loved it and I was so happy to give her a few hours away from me a week.  We both probably needed it.

But then something happened.  She started crying not to go.

  She started begging to stay home with mommy and daddy.  She wanted to do more of this with Daddy.

And this with Mommy.

And I wanted one of these to get me through Tuesday mornings.

Back to my story...  After the Holidays we started swimming lessons.

 The first lesson, I sat on the side and sweated.  My kid was being needy and taking up all of the teachers time and attention.  

We were sure we were going to be signing up for private lessons, but after the second class she loved it.

 The downside was that she started acting worse at dance. 

 She told me she wanted to go to swimming and quit dance.  She stood in the mirror and pouted instead of participating with the class.  

That's when I decided to lower myself to bribery.  

I usually don't negotiate with terrorists

Alaire, but I was desperate.

 Recital was paid for, costume was ordered and I couldn't let her quit her commitment, even though it would have been easier on me.

I told her we could go to the bakery close to our house and get a treat after dance if she went in without throwing a fit and danced to EVERY song.

And, guess what?

She did it.

 And she has danced every week since without a fight. 

Sometimes she doesn't want to go in, but she does and she has fun after she's in.

I'm not going to lie.  I love that we go to the bakery too!

Recital is Father's Day weekend.  Can't wait to see if she will actually dance or not.

Alaire's Room: Homemade A Frame Tent

I made this tent for Alaire over a year ago.  It is similar to this tutorial if you want to make one.

I just used a sheet for the fabric shell for a long time. 

It was annoying and I constantly was fixing it.

When we started actively working on getting Alaire's room put together I decided to make a permanent shell for it.  The fabric is Michael Miler Spa.  I've used some of it in other projects for her room, like the lamp and the window treatment.

It was super easy to make and it stays up much better with the elastic bands.

As soon as I get a rug for her bedroom it will end up in there.

Thanks for reading.  I hope you are all having a good week!

Alaire's Room: Flooring and Updates

I haven't posted about Alaire's room in a long time.  

When I looked back on the posts I barely recognized the room when we moved it.  (That's a good thing) 

 Her room is on the short list of things I wanted to make major progress on before the baby comes, better yet before I start the nursery.

Here is the first post I did about her room.

Since then, I only had posted about the lamp I made her.

Long story long..  I started laying the wood floors in Alaire's room in early March, hoping to get them done before we left to go out of town the week of Easter.

I got five rows in and kept having a board pop.  I was getting ticked off.  A family friend, who has laid plenty of flooring said it wasn't me, it was the floors.  He suggested a different brand.

 He thought I was bat shit crazy for being pregnant and wanting to lay them myself.  I also came to that realization and bowed out after having to tear them all out, box them up, and return them to the store. 

 Drew was not having it either.  He had to carry every single piece in and upstairs the first time, only to load them back in the car, unload them into the store and do it all over again.  

So... we ended up hiring our friend to help.  He and Drew worked all day on a Saturday in April when we got back and I absolutely love the result!

 Here are a few pictures of right after we moved in for comparison.  

And here is what it looked like after the floors got put in, but before the furniture came back. 

(BTW I can NEVER get the wall color to photograph correctly.  Sometimes I think about repainting it because it drives me that crazy!)

I still have a lot to do like put in the moulding back on the closet door and put quarter round on the baseboards, but it looks and feels so much better in there.  

My to do list for Alaire's room is below.  I actually have made some progress since I posted about this room last though, so that's something!  

• window treatment

• finish and paint chair rail moulding

• make throw pillows

• decide on plan and execute duvet and pillows for bedding (I ended up getting rid of the gray duvet and bought an aqua bed spread)

• finish and hang floating bookshelves (they are finished but not hung.. why can't I pull the trigger?)

• find a bird cage to hang from the ceiling (Alaire is in love with them right now and they are everywhere)  I still need to work on this!

• hang bunting or streamers somewhere in the room I hung lanterns above the bed instead

• put in a closet organizer on one side of the closet

• paint closet

• "secret project for other side of closet"  (it's something fun for Alaire)

• Light fixture (just say no to boobs lights)

• Make a permanent cover for reading tent (not pictured)  Done and still not pictured.  I will have to post on that soon

• quarter round moulding

• closet framing

• sunshine artwork
• Get photos/decor/artwork on the walls
• Rug 
• Under bed storage or trundle

Stella One Shoulder Dress

If you follow me on instagram, then you have already seen this dress.  

The pattern is the Stella One Shoulder Dress by Violet Field Threads.  It is the second pattern I have made of theirs and I have LOVED both.

 Alaire was being goofy, but I did get a few pictures.  

It fits her like a glove, which is a win for me. It zips up the side and ties in the back. 

The fabric is by Michael Miller.  It is so soft.  I love all of his stuff.  

 I bought it in Minneapolis at a fabric warehouse and have been waiting to use it on the right project.

Alaire loves it and tried it on without a fight!  I will definitely be using this pattern again.

Thanks for reading.  Have a good weekend!

Real Life: An Unscheduled Haircut

I, like most parents, knew the day may come.
When you find a pair of stray scissors laying in your entryway.
Little blonde tufts sprinkled through the living room.

Your heart sinks and you want to cry.

Because when they see what they did, they are crying too.

Your heart hurts when they say "I want to look like Alaire again"

You tell them that it is just hair, 

even though you know it's your own security blanket that you can't let go of.

Never underestimate the power of a shampoo blow dry.
(Trust me when I say it's bad when left naturally)

 You tell them they are beautiful either way.

Then you tell them to NEVER do it again. 

You tell them they stopped just in time to keep most of it.

You don't tell them that they are going to look like a child from the 80's growing out those bangs that bordered on a mullet. 

You also don't tell them that they look like a little old lady when the natural curls spring up. 

What do you do?

You cut some side swept bangs, blend it to the best of your ability and tell them they are lucky their mom knows how to give a good blow out to mask the obscene chunks layers on one side of their head.

And to all of you wondering where her mother was.

I was in the next room.  

I gave her the scissors, as I have a million times before.
I was just thinking I should put her hair in a pony tail, so she doesn't accidentally cut it...

So it wasn't the "first haircut" that I had imagined for her. 

One where Drew took pictures. 

One without tears.

One that we planned on. 

But that's the way it happened.

Either way, we have a little baggie of baby hair to put in her book.

I have never cut, trimmed, or snipped any of her hair in 3 1/2 years, so maybe this was the push I needed to do it!  ; ) 

 After dance recital, we are going to have to cut some actual length off, but until then it's french braids, bobby pins and tucking behind the ear!

I hope you all have a great weekend!  We have a few things planned along with a lot of unplanned time!  Hopefully we can get some progress on a few household projects.

And no, it's not the nursery yet!  I did order 25 yards of fabric this morning for all of the bedding and such though, so that will be coming soon!!!  Can't wait!