Summer Sewing.....

 

For me, Winter  is all about knitting and crochet, using beautiful yarn to make beautiful warm things, to snuggle up with! Fast forward to Spring, and the yearning comes upon me to break out the sewing machine and start to sew.... I love sewing lovely summer dresses for Little Madame, I have already found some gorgeous summery fabric, and have set about finding vintage looking dresses to adapt

Cutting Out, Not My Favorite Thing

Patterns and Gorgeous Fabric!

 

As I have mentioned before, my pet peeve is cutting out fiddly pattern bits, so what I normally do is wait until I have about 3 patterns bought, and then I get stuck in , with a cup of hot chocolate next to me , the TV on and a very, very sharp pair of scissors! Another trick I have learnt is to fold all the pattern pieces so that I can see the numbers/letters of the pattern at a glance. You would no believe how much time I have spent unfolding every piece to find the one I am looking for! AND that piece is ALWAYS the last one!! Grrrrr!! 



Folded and In Order

 

My kitchen island becomes a make shift cutting table because it is really easy to move around, and I also cut out everything in one go.....  Although it is kind of daunting when I have an entire pile of cut out patterns waiting for me.

Cutting Table - Love This Print!

 

Half the Pile Done!

So this particular cutting out marathon consisted of the following:

A Peasant top for Little Madame
A Dress for Little Madame
Another dress( An idea I had that I am going to show you)
A Teddy type thing I found in a book
And Finally...... a skirt for little ole me!

 

All Cut Out and Waiting!

So lets start with the little peasant top! I used a pattern for this and it was an experiment , as I also want to make dresses like this, because they look very vintage and are cool! It was very quick, I think I whipped this up in an hour, start to finish and I love the result! I buy pure cotton quilting fabric, it is dear BUT it is really cool summer fabric! This print is beautiful purple roses, it caught my eye as I walked into the shop, it is very old fashion, and very vintage looking - just up my alley! The pattern I use is a McCall's pattern number:M6313

 

The Peasant Top

And here are a few pictures of the finished item, as modelled my my very own Little Madame, I just love that she will happily wear the things I make for her, that she is so excited by them and loves to tell everyone ' My mama made this for ME!'

Sweet Child Of Mine

Cool and Pretty

Off The Shoulder

I Love The Vintage Print

 Next......

Now there is a little story behind the next dress - The "shuffle dress" Little Madame came to me a few weeks ago and asked me if I could make her a shuffle dress, to which I politely replied - "A WHAT??" She went on to explain it to me and after much gesturing and twirling, I realised she was talking about a ruffle...... so sweet! So I have been thinking about how to make her a dress that would twirl out really well and was cool too, and here is what I came up with:

 

I took her chest measurement, and cut a piece of fabric double that measurement ( I chose a random width, 20cm) for the next ruffle I doubled that measurement, and tripled it for the third ruffle! Got that?

so - ruffle 1 = 60 cm
       ruffle 2 = 120cm
       ruffle 3 = 180cm

All widths 20cm

I then hemmed the top one and pull elastic through it so it gathered up

I then sewed the 2 pieces of fabric together and gathered the 2nd ruffle to fit the first one and sewed it onto the first one (make sense?)

And did the same with the third....
So I ended up with a 3 tiered piece of fabric, which I then sew up( I have used this as a back seam)

I cut straps and sewed them on, and hemmed the finished dress!

 

Sounds complicated but in actual fact the most difficult part was gathering such a loooonng pieces of fabric.

 I think a Ta Dah moment is in order - Ta Dah - A shuffle Dress!

 

Shuffle Dress In Progress!

Adjusting The Straps!

Will Stop The Straps Falling Off

It Twirls REALLY Well!

Could Not Get Her To Stand Still!

Whew, so although two little items are finished, I still have a long way to go, and am literally dying to make my skirt, but  guess where that is, yes right at the BACK of a very big pile of sewing....... I have also recently been informed that her Little Highness now also wants a "peacopt" dress..... A WHAT? .... Yip, you guessed it before I did, a peacock dress! Don't know how I am going to pull that one off....... Any idea's out there??? All suggestions gladly accepted! xxx

Gratitude

 

Grateful:/gratytf(a)l  1.feeling or expressing thanks  2. archaic pleasing or comforting  >gratefully >gratefulness, noun.(grate pleasing, thankful, from Latin gratus)

 

 

 

 

 

A few days ago, I was thinking about how much I have in life and how grateful I am for all the things that I have been blessed with. I am absolutely grateful for everything I have! This was really brought home to me when a few days later I received an email from Little Madames school about Christmas gift box's for an underprivileged creche that our little school helps! The letter asked if every child in the school could take a shoe box cover it in bright paper and fill it with stipulated items( crayons,a book, a small soft toy or item of clothes, a small packet of sweets, wet wipes and purity baby food) , this  box would then be given to a child at the creche!

 

As I sit here and type this, I cannot help but think about all the presents we have planned for Little Madame for Christmas, and the utter joy on her little face on Christmas morning! She is always GRATEFUL and happy no matter what she gets. So, on our next trip to the shops, when I explained to her what we were going to do, she was quiet astounded that not everyone had a roof over their head, or a mommy that picked them up from school everyday, a full tummy or more important to her, that Father Christmas would only be giving these children a very small present and it was up to us to help out!

 

I was very happy that she understood the importance of giving to some one less fortunate than her, and then had to stop her from buying 10 of everything on the list! It was a very gratifying shopping trip for both of us!

 

We were asked to do just one Shoe Box Present but we wanted to do two, one for a little girl and one for a baby girl! Little Madame loving packed the boxes and even asked 'Baby Jesus' to bless the children that received them! Once again I was in awe that such a little person could actually understand the concept of the gifts we were making up! 

 

 

Two Shoe Box Gifts

One For A Baby

One For A Little Girl

Little madame drew pictures for each box, she took time and effort to do this !

A Little Girl Box

A Baby Box

So, gorgeous peeps, I know this is not my usual post full of happy things I have been sewing or crocheting or and yummy things I have whipped up in my kitchen, it is about being grateful ! And  am so grateful for the BLESSING'S I have:

My Beautiful Family
My Wonderful Friends (far and near)
A Warm Bed
A Hot Bath
Cappuccino's
The Voice of My little Angel Singing All Day
Warm Hugs At Bed Time
And Last But Definitely Not Least........... LOVE - Because All You Really Ever Need Is LOVE

I have promised myself that I will find something to be grateful for everyday from now on.

 

Now, I want to challenge all of you gorgeous peeps out there - Make up a Christmas Shoe Box Gift, get in your car and find a child who is in need and watch the joy and happiness that happens in front of you , and know you made a small difference to a beautiful child who just needs to be loved! xxx

Christmas Shoe Box Presents!

The First of Many

Bakerman Bakerman!

It is probably one of my Favourite Activities at Little Madames school, actually I think it is hers too.

What I hear you all ask?.... Why Baker Baker of course!

What is Baker Baker I hear you all ask?..... It is the little peeps time to bring  yummy tasty treats to school for all their class mates.....( baked by mom of course!)

When Little madame heard it was her turn to be Baker Baker, she headed of to the kitchen to look for something special and yummy, 'mama it has to be the yummiest thing ever.....' CUPCAKES she announced, now quiet honestly I was not to excited by this prospect but wait until you see what she found! Bearing in mind that it is one week after Halloween, and monster and creepy things are still very fresh in her little mind.... 'Creepy Cupcakes please mama!!'

After much debating, (she wanted pink and purple cupcakes, with sparkles of course and that is certainly not CREEPY!) it was decided that we would make green cupcakes which was according to her.... well .... CREEEEPPPPYYY!!

My cupcake recipe is a Nigella one (DUH- who else?) And tell me gorgeous peeps, what am I going to say next, yes you got it - It's EASY!!!!

125g Butter
125g Castor Sugar
125g Flour
10 ml Baking Powder
2 Eggs
50ml Milk

Mix all together!
Spoon into cupcake bases
Bake at 180 degrees for 15 minutes

EASY PEASY LEMON SQUEEZY!!

The Cupcake Basics

Batter All Done

My baking Cupboard
Stash

Onto the butter cream icing/frosting( actually think I am going to call it frosting from now on, it just sounds so glamorous) Now, Frosting can sometimes be sickly sweet and have  really unrefined texture! You see a gorgeous cupcake, bite into it and end up putting it down because it is overly sweet. Well I have come up with a method that ensures lovely light and fine frosting, and while on  the cupcake course a few weeks ago, the lovely Zolita, gave us her frosting recipe which certainly is not sickly sweet, so try it!

Zolita's Frosting

120g  Vegetable Shorting
120g Butter
5ml  Vanilla Essence
500g Icing Sugar
40ml Milk

She says mix it all together for 20min and you are done

It's really good, BUT ....... try this out - beat the butter and shortening for 10 min actually as long as you canthen add all the rest of the ingredients and beat till you can see a change in the consistency of the icing..... You can see the texture change.,(I leave mine beating while I clean up! I try for 30 min at least!)   It really is fine and smooth and melts in your mouth!! It really is worth the time and effort!

Fluffy Clouds of Yummy Frosting

Just thought I would show you this, it's call a docking station and it is installed on my kitchen island, so that you can work  with all your electrical equipment on the island! It has various plug points and is one of the best thing's I  installed in our kitchen..... and it pulls up and disappears into the island so no wasted space! INGENIOUS!

It's Up!



It's Gone!

So now for the Creepy Yummy Little Cupcakes, I used all sorts of odd things I found in the store, to decorate them,  gummy teeth ,googly eyes, marshmallows,smarties liquorish all sorts...... Oh  and fizzers, they are great for moulding, I made tongue's and arms out of them. Just roll them in your hands to make them warm and then fashion out what you need! It was such fun!(the tongue's even look wet!-Euwwww!) As you can see from the pictures below! 

Little Madame Found Them in The Martha Stewart Cupcake Book

 Our Creepy Cupcakes

So Much Fun

Can You See The Fizzer Tongue



My Imagination Ran Wild

My Favourite Four Eyed Monster

Love His Teeth

Little Madame squealed with delight when she saw them, so that told me all I needed to know! She was H-A-P-P-Y!! I think that the rest of her class will be happy to. I covered a tray with foil and popped on a skeleton, and  put the cupcakes on this, then added the left over gummy eyes, teeth and bones and just to add to the overall cute creeeeeppppyyyness I add some huge gum spiders!! YUCKY! Lots of happy screams and laughter were to be heard the next morning, and I believe they had lots of fun eating and pretending with the creepy cupcakes.....Such a little effort for such huge fun!   And as you know, what makes my Little Madame happy, makes me H-A-P-P-Y! xxx

   

Creepy Cupcakes!

Such Fun For Kds!

Yummy Little Monster!

Little Christmas Lanterns!!

One of my BEST BEST BEST holidays is coming........ I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!! I literally have 4 HUGE BOXES of decorations and wait for it.....  3 CHRISTMAS TREE'S! I put up the decorations as soon as I can,I bake lots , I play carols - annoying ones like Mariah Carey( or Mariah Scary as LSO likes to call her)  I really do  become one of those annoying happy people who loves to sing along to Silent Night in the shops, and tries to bring JOY to the world!  All my present shopping is usually done by the 1st  of December and I have bought the turkey shortly there after....

 

Sooooo why am I on about Christmas SO early, I hear you ask?  Well a few nights ago I was lying in bed thinking about Christmas when this very cute idea popped into my head, I think its been brewing since Little Madame's Mothers Day Function at her school. We made these gorgeous Lace Jars, with buttons on the top, I use mine for earrings and see it every day! So I thought why not cover a glass with Christmas fabric, and pop a tea light candle into it, wouldn't it look sweet? So the next day I did just that and the results were quite cute!

 

If you can't wait to see and don't really want to know how to make these easy little Christmas Lanterns, scroll down to see the end result, If you want to make them read on...... so EASY and so PRETTY!  

Buy some cheap glasses, I got these at Mr Price Home for R5.99

Measuring
 

Measure around the circumference and length of the glass - try to use one that has 'straight sides' or it might get tricky later.......

Fabric is So Cute!
 

 Cut out a piece of fabric the size of the measurements you took, adding 1 cm on either side for seams

Sew up the side seam

Slip it On
 

Slip it over the glass like a cuff. It  should fit the glass snugly. You don't want it to keep slipping off

 

Taking Shape

 

If it is slightly too long, as mine was, trim the top off(its easier to trim the top, as you can get your scissors into the glass.) You could sew a seam onto the top edge, I use a pinking shears because I like the zigzag edge!

 

Ten Minutes Work

I Buy Anything I See for My Ribbon Stash
 

 Take out your ribbon and lace stash, and glue some onto the fabric, you could sew it, but as you know I like easy

 

Waiting to Dry

 

Glue some buttons onto the ribbon - let your imagination go wild! Cut out felt reindeer, or bells!

 

 

Rick Rack Snowmen



Red for Santa
 

 Let them dry, add a candle and Voila - you have gorgeous easy Christmas Lanterns.......

 I lit them to see what they would look like and was delighted that my idea worked out so well! Can you imagine how gorgeous these would look on a window sill all in a row, or as the centre piece of your Christmas table! I tried various arrangements and they all looked so pretty! I took loads of pictures and could not decide which ones to post, so sorry, but you got them all!

 

Here are my Christmas Lanterns - a little Ta Dah is in order I think - TA DAH!!

Love the Way They Light Up!

Four Large, Four Small 

Sweet Little Snowman

In A Row

Red Lanterns Only

My Favourite



So Festive and Pretty

 

I must say I am so delighted with them,  and they were so easy, I think a child would also love to make these, and why not sew the cuff and then give them to your children to decorate for grandparents - a guaranteed winner as a present I think! They are all packed away now waiting for Christmas! I was wondering if the middle of November was a bit to early to decorate........... xxx