Confession #41: I love patterns! EYMM Kenzie's Party Dress

My husband's little brother is getting married next month and my daughter was asked to be the flower girl. My first thought was: I get to make a flower girl dress! I checked with the bride-to-be for the colors: meadow green, silver and white. The dress that came to mind was a dress my daughter was given back when she was just a baby. It had tulle, rose petals and a big bow on the back. It would have been the prefect flower girl dress. But it also made a wonderful first Easter dress.

Liana's first Easter, and the inspiration for the flower girl dress. 

Adorable, right? So, I had the dress idea I wanted. I just needed a pattern to put my idea in action. And a the perfect pattern presented itself. Kymy over at Everything Your Mama Made and More was looking for people to participate in a blog tour of her Kenzie's Party Dress. This is the dress Kymy came up with for her fifth and final child's first birthday. It is super cute and looked like the perfect dress pattern for me to adapt for the flower girl dress.

Photo by EverythingYourMamaMade&More

I know that I want to make a dress just like the photo above for my daughter someday (who wouldn't?) but for now I needed to focus ...

I bought the pattern (you can too, click here), gathered the material, and set to work. I chose a material that had a little stretch (part spandex) for the top. I bought some tulle off amazon, and loose rose petals from the wedding section of Jo-Ann Fabric. The bride-to-be provided me a sash with a big bow so that her dress will match perfectly with the bridesmaids. 

I have to stop and be honest right now. Although I consider myself a sewer, I don't really know anything. I am self-taught, I rarely follow patterns and I tend to stay in my comfort zone. But as the maker of this pattern recently told me, "going out of your comfort zone is often how you learn new things." So with that in mind, this pattern is intermediate. It uses sewing terms, techniques and ideas that I had to search for (actually, there are links right on the pattern to answer most of your sewing questions). 

So I read through the pattern, got out of my comfort zone and got to work. Right after pouring a glass of wine. That helps me think. 

This pattern was a lot of fun to do. I learned a lot of techniques that I am excited to use in future sewing adventures. The pattern comes with 4 different ways to complete the outfit: 2 skirt options and 2 dress options. I followed the pattern for the top of the dress but had to get creative in order to add tulle to the bottom. Tulle is probably the most frustrating thing I have ever dealt with so I gave up for a bit and made this dress and pants set for my daughter as a quick distraction. I ended up making her dolls matching dresses too. 

Focus, Vanessa!

Back to the tulle. I finally kicked the tulle's butt into gear and used every pin I owned to pin it into place. A quick sew attached the top to the bottom. And Boom! Done!!

This dress called for button holes, but that was a little too out of my comfort zone. Baby steps. So I ended up adding Velcro instead and sewing on fake buttons just to make it look cute. They are actually covered up by the bow anyway. I didn't attach the bow. Instead I just tie the bow around the waist and it stays. This way when I use this dress for Easter after the wedding I can change the sash to any color she wants. 

I sewed this at night, long after my daughter had drifted off into dream land, so I had to wait until morning to see her in it. Fingers crossed it fits...

And it was totally worth the wait. The best part: my daughter telling everyone she sees that her mommy made her a flower girl princess dress. 

I love the faces she makes when I ask her to act "natural"

Love this face, even if her hair is a mess

The back of the dress

This photo shows off the lining of the dress

Made her a matching hairband from extra tulle and rose petals

This is the part where her brother tries to
get into the photo and eat her hair bow

Thank you Kymy for letting me join in on this wonderful blog tour and providing the world with this amazing versatile pattern. Check out the rest of the blog posts and dates to come. No shoes required. 

Buy this pattern here and here

EverythingYourMamaMade&More

BLOG TOUR DATES:

2/14 My 3 Little Kiwi’s

2/15 Calm & Carrion

2/16 Confessions of a Barefoot Housewife (hey that's me!)

2/17 PiePie Designs

2/18 bebelambs

2/19 Crafty Biggers

2/20 The Berry Bunch

2/21 Sunflower Circle

Quick confession

Finally have a baby old enough to use the high chair holder I made him. Such a cute, simple and lovely homemade item. Check out the directions: MadeByMarzipan

So here's how it turned out. I can't believe this photo is over 6 months old now. My baby turned one last Saturday! Its hard to imagine that this wonderful little guy is already 1. 

We have a quite an adventure and as you can see by my lack of blog post, both my kids have kept me quite busy. The biggest change since my last post is that we moved from our lovely mountain town in California to a college town. Which I love even more than the mountain. We have decided to answer the call into seminary and my husband is attended a seminary here in the city. 

I may someday need to get a "real" job but for now I am happy playing with my kids and crafting. Here's some photos of some of my latest crafts. And if this makes you want more check out my facebook group WherePigsFly. 

My daughter was given a American girl type doll for Christmas from her grandma. This inspired me to make her matching outfits. The first one I made was too small so "Pom" the baby doll scored a matching dress and pants too. 

I was thrilled to be involved as a recent pattern tester for my friend over at EverythingYourMamaMade&More. Her pattern, Riley's Nightgown and Sleep shirt,  turned out to be super simple to make and so diverse. I made a matching set for my kids and I up-cycled my husbands old long sleeve t shirt into a great pajama set for my son. You can purchase this pattern here: Riley's Pattern

Lately I have really enjoyed making bento box lunches for my daughter. We spend most of our days walking, playing at the park, and reading at the library. I love living in a city! So much to do. We are rarely home, so I pack a lot of lunches. And bento boxes bring a little excitement to an otherwise normal lunch. 

Since we are out and about so much, I needed to make my son a larger changing pad since he has long since our grown the one I made him back in February of last year. I made it out of leftover PUL fabric and old burp rags. I'm thinking I might end up making a bunch of these to sell on etsy. 

I hope you have been having a wonderful year thus far. We sure are. I'll be back next week with a blog post I'm really excited about. Here's a sneak peak:

Check back on Tuesday, but don't forget to kick off those shoes first. 

45 days of no shopping:week 5

4/29

B- breakfast frozen burrito 

L- leftover rice dinner

D- bible study- tacos

Snacks- apples, popsicles, apple sauce, crackers

4/30

B- cereal with milk

L- sandwiches homemade bread, homemade cream cheese and lunch meat

D- freezer meal Mac and cheese

Snacks- crackers, cereal, and oatmeal

5/1

B- oatmeal and raisins

L- leftover Mac and cheese

D- dinner at friends: pizza

Snacks: oranges, crackers, oatmeal

5/2

B- cereal

L- sandwiches

D- chili from freezer

Snacks: egg, apple sauce

5/3

B- freezer waffles

L- egg salad sand which

D- chicken, rice and broccoli

Snack- oranges, popsicles, applesauce

5/4
B-cereal and milk
L- salad at a friends
D- fundraiser-tacos
Snacks- apple chips, crackers, and popsicles

5/5
B- breakfast burritos
L-pb and j
D- dinner at a friends- lasagna 

45 days of no shopping: week 4

This week we were given some much needed things from some awesome friends. s gave us a bunch of zucchini leftover from her restaurant, 2 sweet potatoes, and a few bananas. We were also given crackers, chips, and other snack foods from a friend who was moving. And strawberries from another friend. I did cave and buy butter, oil, and a few things I needed to make a friend a caring meal. I turned 2 gallons of milk into cheese and 1 more into yogurt. Fridge and freezer still pretty full. But having to be pretty creative with my husbands packed lunches.

4/22

B-freezer breakfast burritos 

L- pb and j with homemade bread

D-freezer meal: enchilada 

Snacks frozen blueberries, homemade popsicles 

4/23

B-yogurt, raisins, strawberries

L-breakfast burrito 

D-leftover enchilada 

Snacks- popsicles, crackers, tortilla, apples

4/24

B-freezer burritos

L-quesadillas

D-freezer meal: chicken broccoli Alfredo, mashed potato

Snacks- banana bread, 

4/25

B- oatmeal, strawberries (thanks to a friend) milk and raisins 

L- slow cooker seasoned bean and tomato soup 

D- freezer meal: enchilada casserole 

Snacks- home canned peaches, crackers and hummus (thanks to S), and popcorn 

4/26

B- homemade freezer waffles, homemade yogurt and strawberries

L- homemade chili and cornbread

D- spaghetti and hotdogs (at S's house)

Snacks- eggs, crackers, strawberries, baby carrots

4/27

B- cereal and milk

L- homemade pioneer cheese on tortilla with strawberries

D- arroz con chili

Snacks- eggs, cereal, froze, applesauce

4/28

B- homemade doughnuts

L- chili and corn bread

D- rice with zucchini (from S)

Snacks- eggs, crackers and cheese, carrots 

45 days of no shopping week 3

Almost at the half way point and my freezer is somehow still super full.

4/15

B- at Audie's- waffles, bacon and juice

L- w/collage guy, fat apple- sandwiches

D- packed with us- chicken sausage, cheese and tortillas

Snacks- rice cakes, peas and corn, pineapple 

4/16

B-mops breakfast- quiche ham and mush (I brought), yogurt apple bread, oranges, and hot chocolate 

L-coconut shrimp from a friend, rise with seaweed. 

D-monapua from S, rice and seaweed, and peas and corn

Snacks- oranges, almonds 

4/17

B- cereal and milk

L- freezer meal: chicken enchilada

D- rice, seaweed, peas and corn, chicken sausage 

Snack- oranges, tortilla toasted, went to a party in the evening with appetizers

4/18

B- egg bake, eggs, cheese, potato from S's garden, ham from Easter breakfast

L-alchemy pasta, salad, and bread thanks to S. 

D- pancakes, grilled cheese

4/19

B- egg bake

L-pb&j and milk

D-freezer meal lasagna (before 4)

D- juiced- chard, cilantro, spinach, apple and grape juice (after 4)

Snack- nuts dried fruit, toast, cereal, oranges

Note: we are fasting from 4pm 4/19- 4pm 4/20 So the food I list during this time was just for our toddler. 

4/20

B-cereal with milk (for liana), juiced: Pom, yogurt, chard, cilantro, grape, cranberry, and spinach

L-cheese sandwich, egg, orange (for liana), juiced (same as lunch on 4/19)

L- leftover lasagna (after 4)

D- spaghetti with cheese and butter, ribeye, peas and corn, milk, no bake peanut butter cookie

Snack: Popsicle, oranges, crackers, cheese, toast and butter. 

4/21

B- leftover egg bake

L-leftovers from yesterday's dinner

D-freezer meal enchilada, milk and peanut butter no bake cookie

Snack- egg, nuts, orange, fruit, popcorn, homemade Popsicle

Happy barefoot saving!

45 days of no shopping: week 2

The no shopping fast continues with week 2. To add some excitement into the mix, we went away this past weekend. Luckily we caked lunches ahead of time and were staying with family.

4/8

B- potatoes and eggs (from S's garden and another friends chickens)

L- grilled cheese and milk

D- friends house, ribs, beans, and slaw

Snack- rice cakes, pineapple

4/9

B- cereal and milk

L- beans and rice

D- freezer meal: meatloaf

Snacks- pear, popcorn

4/10

B- breakfast burrito

L- leftover meatloaf

D- freezer meal: lasagna 

Snack- frozen applesauce, eggs, cheese.

4/11

B-cereal with homemade yogurt and honey

L- leftover meatloaf 

D-Mac and cheese freezer meal, with peas and corn, dessert: blonde brownies and milk

Smack: apple, homemade bread with honey and butter, egg, Annie's bunny crackers, raisins, pistachios

4/12

B-waffles, yogurt, honey and banana

L-Leftover mac & cheese, Milk

D-rice, seaweed, and soy sauce, broccoli. Blondie

Snacks-Apple, Yogurt and honey, Rice cake

4/13

B-frozen meal - breakfast burritos

L-at aunt Candy's- chicken wraps and burritos

D-@ Candy's- chicken, asparagus, salad and peppers, ice cream

Snacks- rice cakes, oranges, cheese, blondes and pop 

4/14

B-homemade yogurt and cereal

L-Cocos with grandparents- eggs, muffin, sausage, fruit

D-@ aunt Audie's- prime rib, spinach, Mac and cheese, brownies 

Snacks-Costco samples, pupus at aunt Audie's (carrots, crackers, oranges, celery, chips

Week 2 finished. We ended up going to Costco and not buying a single thing of food! i was SO tempted! We did end up buying some ice cream for dessert at my aunts house, it was the least  we could do. 

45 days of no shopping: week 1

my husband said we spend too much money on groceries. I smelt a challenge. So we are going to try make it 45 days without grocery shopping. This not only will save us tons of money but will also force me to be more creative with the stuff we already have. Which is a lot. I spent the last week of march to take a quick inventory of our pantry, cabinets, freezer and fridge.  I have about 12 lbs of dried beans alone. So yeah, we shouldn't starve or anything. I have tons of freezer meals and meals in a jar from when I was preparing for baby. And lots of home canned goodies. Also we shop at Costco, so I have 25 lb bags of flour, sugar, salt etc.

I thought if we are going to do this I should at least keep track of what we are eating. And I decided to share it invade it inspires you to do the same. If nothing else it will be a great way to clean out the freezer and pantry. Or if your moving, to prepare you for the move. 

So here we go:

Week 1

4/1

Breakfast: oatmeal, milk and raisins

Lunch: leftovers from an amazing Easter dinner at a friends house
Dinner: freezer meal Mac and cheese
Snacks: crackers, rice cakes, oranges and fruit salad

4/2
B- mops breakfast of yogurt, bean brownies and quiche and persimmon bread that I brought.
L- ox tail soup leftover from Easter and chips
D- went to a friends house for dinner ( she will be brought up a lot, I'll call her S). We ate rice, chicken and chard.
Note: She ended up giving us tons of chard and potatoes from her garden
Snacks: crackers, rice cakes, apple, milk and fruit salad

4/3
B- ham, eggs, waffles and milk
L- tuna cheddar melt and pickles
D- steak from freezer, Swiss chard and freezer meal: enchilada casserole. With milk and German chocolate cake
Snack: chips and salsa, crackers, nuts, oranges and frozen fruit
Note: it was my husbands birthday so we ate good! And I made 20 extra waffles for the freezer. Also our church gave us all the extra ham, eggs, and milk from Easter breakfast. Score!

4/4
B- oatmeal, milk and raisins
L- bean rice and cheese burritos, juice, fish soup (leftover from Easter)
D- enchilada casserole and Swiss chard
Snacks: pineapple, pear, hard boiled eggs, apple sauce and fruit snacks

4/5
B- cereal and milk
L- tortilla, cheese, persimmon bread, sandwich from S
D- fundraiser: spaghetti, salad, roll, cookie $30 for the family
Snacks: crackers, fruit snacks, pineapple, pears, sunflower seeds, pop corn

4/6
B- cereal and milk
L- tuna sandwich on homemade bread, cheese sandwich on homemade bread, cookie left over from fundraiser, walnuts, and dried fruit.
D- freezer meal, she'll pasta with beef, beet greens from S's garden, BBQ beans with pork, milk
Snacks: crackers, pineapple, walnuts, and dried fruit

4/7
B-Cereal and milk
L- grilled cheese and chocolate chip muffins
D- dinner at a friends: ribs, slaw, and beans

Well we made it a week thus far with no problem. The key is to get invited over for dinner!