Aaliyah's Skirt

This skirt was made from one of the patterns I won, The Vivianne Skirt.  It was pretty easy to do, and turned out adorable! Aside from the ruffles, it came together pretty quickly.  Doesn't this skirt look too cute on Aaliyah?!  I love the buttons too!

Jackpot!

Back in December I entered a giveaway for a bunch of sewing patterns.  I never thought I would be the winner...but hooray!! I was! The patterns are from Violette Field Threads and they are fabulous.  I've been making good use of them.  So stay tuned, I will be posting what I've made from these! They are so easy to follow and super stylish, too.

I still cannot believe I won $120 worth of patterns! Now I need to work on winning a Fabric giveaway--I have been burning through my fabric lately!

Peasant Shirt-Dress

So these peasant tops and dresses are SUPER popular right now on Etsy, probably due to the fact the are cute, easy, versatile, and quick to make.  I've made a couple already before this one, but I've been using a free pattern I got on sewing,craftgossip.com, but I found an even BETTER one here on CreatKidsCouture (I love their designs--look under tutorials!).  Such a clever way to make a pattern, and it comes with a tutorial--all for FREE! 

This dress was made completely out of scraps\s.  It would have been a quick project if I didn't have to piece some parts together and figure out what works with the amount of fabric I had. Man I sure wish I could have more fabric! I use mine up so quickly--maybe I shouldn't sew so much?! 

I also appliqued a heart in the front, I think it turned out just perfect!  The two bows really make it pop.  Here is Elisa in her dress (that also ended up going home with the cousin Aaaliyah!).  This dress looks super cute paired with black leggings and her Mud Pie Wild Child hair bow, but alas, I didn't bother with the accessories for these photos, oh well:

 

 

Tea Party Hat

I loOoooOOove this fancy hat on Elisa.  I also love that it goes with lots of different outfits.   I bought the little "hat" and headband at Hobby Lobby. I decorated it with random scrap material & lace that I had on hand already.  Then I added a button bling, feathers, and pearls for that extra touch of adorableness!   She looks so dressed up in her little hat!

 

 

 

Shiny Ruffle Dress

 I know I say this about practically everything I make...but I really really love this dress on Elisa! It is totally HER.  I made it awhile ago and bought the fabric even longer ago, so I can't remember how much I paid for the fabric...probably under $5 though.  Anyway,  I love everything about this dress except for one thing (it really isn't a big deal though)--I wish the black edging were red so it could match the trim on the skirt, or visa versa.  Oh, and this type of skirt (circle skirt) with this type of fabric (polyester aka slippery) is reeeaaalllly hard to hem.  I used some stretchy lace and ribbon and sewed it right on the edge. The stretchy lace worked better than the ribbon. I would have preferred to use just the lace for both layers but I didn't have enough of it, but I guess it turned out cute regardless. Oh, and using a lighter to seal the fraying edges does wonders for fabric like this!
Here is the fashionista modeling her dress:

 

Paris Dress

 I bought this fabric at Hobby Lobby with the intention of making Elisa a dress to match her little top-hat I bought her in Cali.  The dress turned out adorable and perfect, other than it was a bit bigger than I wanted it to be. My sister and her little girl just happened to be visiting, and---long story short--- my little niece Aaliyah (who happens to be just a bit bigger than Elisa) ended up with the dress. No matter, I'm glad it's getting a good home!  I'll make Elisa one soon, it will be very similar, but I'm thinking shorter and more ruffles.  I love the how the bodice turned out (I made up the pattern myself).  The fabric has such a cute print and it is very sparkly in the sun! I can't wait to make Elisa's; it will look so cute with her top hat! Here is cute Aaliyah modeling the dress:

 I think I paid $6 to make this cute, cute dress. 

Lovely Lacy Shirt

 I just loooooove this shirt on Elisa!  I used another shirt of Elisa's' that I liked as a pattern for this one.  I love the way this one turned out...so classy and pretty.  The lace was fun to put on too.  She looks like a little doll in her shirt:    

 I used cotton broadcloth (I think I used a yard's worth) that was $3.  Since broadcloth is so thin, I double-layered this shirt with white cotton fabric that I got for free.  The lace I bought at goodwill for $1.50 but I only used a quarter's worth.  So, I paid less than $3 to make this shirt!   Of course, this isn't a realistic price if I were to buy everything new...I would guesstimate this shirt would probably cost about $6-8.  Still cheap!

Rainbow Satin Hairbow

This fun hairbow was inspired by one I saw on Etsy (I can't seem to find it right now--but there are plenty of similar one floating around out there).  I love the shiny bright colors.  It's almost like a crown! It took awhile to make--I used polyester fabric---and come to think of it, it would have taken less time and looked less bulky if I had used ribbon instead.  Oh well.  On the other hand, it probably would have been a lot more expensive to make (although I would have had a lot of ribbon left over for other projects!).  Anywho, here it is:

I paid a couple of bucks for the fabric, and I guess I'll add another dollar for the sparkly and other stuff.  So, $3 for this awesome hairbow!

Laced-Trim Skirt

 I found this fabric at Joannes in their red-tag clearance aisle, and I couldn't pass it up because it was so pretty! Actually, I used most of it to make ME a shirt (turned out quite well--but I'll save that for another post if I ever get around to taking pictures of it!).   I used the leftovers to make Elisa this cute skirt.  I love that it is both casual and fancy at the same time, thanks to the lace.  I even made her a hair bow to match!  It is a little big now so it should last her a long time.

I spent $8 on the fabric, but I got 2 projects + a hair bow out of it!  I'll round up, since I did use some lace (it was mostly leftovers though).  So, $5 for a cute skirt AND a hairbow!

Red Lace Swing-Top Outfit

I fell in love with this little outfit on Etsy found here. It's so beautiful and gets the girly/frilly look that I just love, without being a dress!  I also love the pull-string bows on the pants, and of course all that lace, lace, lace!

 I wanted one for Elisa, so I came up with this:

 I "winterized" it by adding sleeves, and although I LOVE the white, it is not a practical color for babies so I made mine using red fabric.  I think it turned out super cute, even though my "inspiration" is cuter.      

 It's too small already, despite the fact I pre-wash all my fabric, but I'm sure Elisa has been growing too! 

I think I paid $6 for the fabric and $6 for the lace trim, so I'll round up and say I probably paid a little under $15 for this outfit.  Not too bad!  Better than the $50, but then again, I really don't think $50 is a bad price for what it is.  If I had money and didn't enjoy sewing as much as I do, I would totally spend the $50! :)

Neon Rainbow Dress

This dress was a lot of fun to make.  I bought some spools of pleated/gathered nylon chiffon at Hobby Lobby at 50% off...it added up to be somewhere around $8 (trims can sure jack up the price on any sewing project!).   I probably only used 1/2 yards worth of black material. I think for a dress this cute, $10 or so is not a bad price!  I love how vibrant and fun the colors are.  I also like how the gathered chiffon gives the dress an almost fuzzy/furry look: