Gabe's Jacket

I scored a big stack of fabric for $3 at the thrift store last month (love it when that happens-unfortunately it is rare and far between when it does!).  It was all non-girly stuff so I thought it would be nice to sew for the boy for once. I saw this gray-checkered fabric and right away I knew that it's destiny was to be a zip-up sweater for Gabe.  This is one of the few projects that turned out pretty much spot on the way I had it in my head.  Despite this jacket being fairly basic and mostly non-creative, it still makes me happy that it turned out the way I envisioned it!
I had purchased some white fleece at Joannes on black Friday, so I got it at a very reasonable price (still kicking myself for not buying MORE fleece...), plus its nice and soft and warm.  I used/altered the same pattern I used for Gabe's pea-coat last year, only this time I made a hood instead of a collar.  This was my first time making a hood, and it was super easy.  I just traced around a hood from another one of Gabe's jackets.  I just winged it for the pockets, and Gabe agreed to put a "G" and a train (no surprise there!) on the pockets.  The zipper was really easy to put in, but unfortunately it is a bit shorter than it needs to be, so I just might have to take a trip to Joannes to buy a longer one.  Last but not least, I got to work with hem tape for the first time! I bought a couple of big 'ol bags of hem tape at the thrift store way back in Arizona, not really knowing what they were, but I figured they would come in handy some day.  They did :P  I am pleased with the way the hem tape looks--very professional!
Here is the cute jacket on the cute boy:

Hem tape

Mommy-Daughter Matching Shirts

 Another post with craptastic pictures, so sorry...but here ya go anyway.

Since I learned how to do neckline finishes on knits (I had some problems with that---but that's a post for another day!), I've been having lots of fun working with knits.  I was inspired by this here pattern because it looked easy...and it was!  I altered the pattern quite a bit (obviously, I had to make it small enough for Elisa) and I loved the way it looked (very sophisticated on my Eesa) so much that I made one for me too! Yay! We match--that's always fun! :)
I think overall both shirts turned out very professional-looking and cute.  I am amazed that I made something for me that I would actually wear in public!

And now for some god-awful pics of me and my girly wearing the shirts.  You can't see it in these pictures, but the fabric has thick stripes of subtle sparkle that is super cute! 

 

 

Got the fabric at Hobby Lobby at 50% off.  So, $6 for my shirt and $3 for Elisa's.  Not bad!  And where else will you find matching mommy-baby shirts?!  That's right...no where! I'm so glad I can sew!

Total Cost:  Less than $10 for two shirts!

Zebra Print Outfit

Only one post in the past month and a half! Well that's quite deceiving---I have been sewing like CRAZY this past month!  I think I haven't been posting because I have chosen to sew instead.  Oh yeah, and all the pictures I take are crap.  Better than nothing though.  I will start with the most recent, I finished it today actually!

I know the pink and zebra is soooo last year and that's probably why the fabric was 50% off at Hobby Lobby, but I couldn't resist it's shiny softness--and the cheap price!  I paid less than $5 for all the fabric.

Elisa was in desperate need of a winter outfit (it all of the sudden decided to be winter here--85 degrees last week and 50 degrees this week-geeeeeze), so I decided to make her one.  The top was originally supposed to be all pink with the black zebra for just the skirt, but when I tried the top on Elisa, it wouldn't fit over her head! Oops! Well, that oops turned out to be for the best. I split the top down the middle and made a little faux-shrug instead.  The zebra print fabric is sewn on to the pink shrug, so that it looks like two peices but it's really one.
  It is always challenging--and not to mention annoying--to work around a mistake, but in this case I'm glad I made that mistake!  I think it turned out super cute and almost no flaws now that it's done! Usually there is always something about a project that bugs me or a wish I would have done better, but this one I like.  Oh---there was one other thing--I did buy a bunch of tulle in hope of making the skirt really fluffy, but it ended up looking silly so I took it out. You'd never know though.

He is the gorgeous princess in her cute outfit, please excuse the grainy crappy pictures:

 

 

 

P.S...I used my new ruffler foot attachment for the ruffles around the ankles and wrists...man I love that thing!  What a time-saver.

Thomas Dress

Elisa's big bro just LOVES loves loves Thomas the Train, so naturally we bought tickets to go to "A Day Out with Thomas" event, and of course I couldn't resist making Elisa a little outfit for it.  I had originally planned on making a very simple, basic dress due to time constraints, but I ended up making this instead:

Elisa and her dress were a big hit at the event! I love how the ruffles turned out.  I didn't use any tutorial to make this dress, but here is a good tutorial of the "peek-a-boo ruffle skirt".

"Upcycle" Tank Top

 I made this quite awhile ago but forgot about it! This was my first "upcycle" project.  I made it from a hideous shirt that was in a box of free crap that someone gave me.  I love doing these sorts of projects because they challenge my creativity and skills--I only have a certain amount and type of fabric to work with so it's always fun to see what I can do within those boundaries.  I kept the ribbed collar (worked around it, to be exact), added some cute ruffles and some bows on the shoulders (one is not tied in the pics, sorry) and there you have it: a cute summer shirt!  And FREE! 

Total cost:  Free!

Lacey Pink Blouse

 Hobby Lobby sometimes has 50% off ribbon and trims so I make sure to take advantage!  I couldn't resist buying a couple of spools of lace, I bought black, light pink, and regular pink.  Pink is a definite fav in Elisa's wardrobe.  So is lace and bows.  That's why I came up with this: 
 

This shirt was a fairly easy project, the only thing I would have done differently is make the buttons and button holes go all the way down the shirt, instead of halfway so I can get it over her head easier!
As for price, it was pretty cheap to make.  $3 for the fabric, $2 for the lace=a $5 shirt!

Total price: $5

Sweet-Heart Dress

 She sure looks like a sweet-heart in this darling dress! I used some remnant fabric from Joann's so it didn't cost much to make.  Everything else I already had in my stash.  I made up the pattern myself.  The back has an elastic casing and it ties around the neck.  I love the neckline and that it's very simple and cute.  It's a nice summer dress, but I'll be putting a shirt underneath for the winter.  Here she is in her pretty dress, sorry, the pics aren't that great!
 

Total Price $4 (max!)