Monday, July 28, 2014

EYMM 4 Seasons Cardi


I've talked before about how much I love Kymy and EYMM.  Her patterns are so fast (I mean, seriously fast!) and super trendy and now, she's done it again!   She just released her 24th pattern (in one year!  More about that celebration later!) called the Girl's Four Seasons Cardigan and Duster.  Like most of Kymy's pattern this has options!  


Options, options, and more options in fact!  It can be made with or without a hood, it has multiple sleeve lengths (extra long, long, 3/4, short, or sleeveless) and it can be made in a cardi length or a duster length.  


I've made two so far (with plans for more already this week!)  Both times I used the cardi length and the 3/4 sleeves.  It's still summer in most of the US but we're starting to think about transition to fall clothing so this version is perfect!  


And because we all know I can't resist a good upcycle I used t-shirt panels for the backs of both of them.  I really really adore the Future President one on Grace and I wish I could get her to wear jeans more often!  lol  It's already sold and gone to a new home.  


But seriously, how cute does she look?!?!  You can hem the edges, to a rolled hem, serge them, or just leave them plain.  I hemmed them on the Future President one and left them plain on the Toy Story one.  


Now, how about that sale?!?!  EYMM has been in business for one year and she's having a HUGE sale and giveaway to go with it!


She's also having a huge giveaway!  You can find out all the details and enter here.  

(this post contains affiliate links)





Sunday, July 27, 2014

Princess Mia Mora Cadenza




Better known as Cadence to her friends (and any of you mother's of My Little Pony lovers out there!)
You might remember a while back I posted a little bit about taking the girls to the My Little Pony Fair and Convention.  In addition to their "normal" clothes that I made them they each got a pony inspired outfit too...complete with ears, mane, horn and wings!  


(there are no words for this child...she is...special.  :p  And I love her!  lol)  I had some cutie marks that a friend had made for me and I used them on the arm and chest of Grace's.  I still have one more that she wants me to put on the rump too.  heheheeh.  


 (ignore the spot...she wore this all day and it has the stains to prove it.  lol)  I wanted something that was clearly the pony they loved but still comfy for everyday wear.  That meant it had to have wings.  My girls would NOT have been ok with a Princess Pony costume that didn't have wings (I mean...alicorns can fly, right?!?!)  But for me they had to fit in their car seats.  Pattern's for Pirates Wingman shirt to the rescue!


I modified the shape of the wings to make them more pony-like and then just kind of winged it for the main and ears.  I used part of a tutorial from Sugar Tart Crafts for the horn.  


I used the EYMM Calla Lily skirt and mashed it with the Wingman tee to form a dress.  It was a disaster to begin with and I had to cut it apart and add the turquoise band.  It looks a lot better now but I still like the Luna outfit I made Kessa better.

Overall I'm happy with how it turned out, Grace loves it, and my husband was looking at it today when Grace was sitting on his lap and commented on how "really cool" it was...and he doesn't hand out praise lightly!  I count that as a win!  lol

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Dance Pants


So this week is Kids Clothing Week which is ALWAYS fun, but I don't have time to do it full on this week.  PLUS it's themed now (this season's is Kid Art) and I really don't have time to mess with being even more creative.  That said, I have whipped up two pairs of comfy pants for Kessa and Zane so far.  




Cole's Creations has released a new dance pants pattern and it's SUPER SUPER fast and easy!!!  (My favorite kind! lol)  Now, my kids aren't dancers and these aren't ones that they'll probably be wearing out and about much but they're PERFECT for us for home and jammies and stuff.

They come in size 1-16!!!  That's a great size range and several of the skinnier mommas even made them for themselves.  You can get the Swag Dance Pants on sale for just $4.50 right now!!!


I used a heavier sweatshirt knit for Kessa's pants (the pattern recommends using a mid-weight knit so it doesn't hang quite like it should but they're super comfy!)


And I used a thermal/waffle knit for Zane's.  He LOVES anything with skull and crossbones or "pirates" on them so these were perfect.  

I don't try to get pictures of them together all the frequently, and as you can tell from the blurry pictures, it proved to be a bit challenging.  And then Zane decided he was done and that was that.  lol.  He just said, "I'm done now."  and walked off.  Well ok then.  

And because I know how much she'll love me for this one day...an outtake!  ;)   

Monday, July 21, 2014

Mommy and Me! Bebelambs Style


I had been eyeing the Berkley pattern for a while but hadn't pulled the trigger and gotten it yet so when I heard that Lynn from Bebelambs was having a Mommy and Me style blog tour I jumped all over it.  For a while I was planning on making myself and the girls' maxi dresses.  I even bought enough fabric to do them all in maxi length but then at the last minute I decided I'd rather have a tunic to wear with leggings.  I'm thinking there might still be another one coming in maxi length though!  lol


Both the Berkley (the ladies pattern) and the Labri (the girls' pattern) are supposed to be reverse knot dresses.  The Berkley included directions for making the straps stationary.  The reverse knot is super cute (and much easier to make and get the fit right with!  lol) but none of us like big bows or knots that dig into our backs in the car.  The girls even make me untie sashes before they get buckled in.  Soo...with that in mind I used the instructions for the stationary straps on all of our dresses.  


I color blocked the bottom of Kessa's and Grace's has a wide exposed ruffle on the bottom of hers.   



My girls' think it is SOOO fun when they can match...and if mom matches too?!?!  It doesn't get much better than that in their books!  ( I feel like I need a #blessed here or something!  lol)


Our cross backs (mine has the opening too but I have a black bra that covers up that part on.)  And how 'bout those tan lines?!?  We love summer around here.  I was just telling Tim the other day I needed to get a different suit to mix up the tan lines a bit.



I know I'm biases, but seriously!!!!  How cute are my girls?!?!?
And some more just for fun...the boys and Pirate Kitty photobombed when we were done.  



Yup, that right there ^^^ pretty much sums up most of my days!  lol


And how about some outtakes just for fun?  (because you haven't seen enough pictures of me yet, right?  Right.  I thought not.) 




That right there ^^^ that's going on a video when she gets married one day!  lol

So, did you like my mommy and me styles?  Join the Bebelambs Blog tour and you'll get loads more "Mommy and Me" inspiration and you can even share your own looks too!!!  And you can use the coupon code mommyandme to get 20% of anything in the Bebelambs shop!  

July 20th Theresa Taylor - Grammies Dolls July 21st Gina Arnold Johnson - BabyFish Designs (that's me! ;) July 22nd Faith Alexander - Sew Like That July 23rd Hannah Rorke - Hello Sunshine July 24th Kylie Roberts - Dribbles and Dots July 25th Amy Huber - How I Make Stuff July 26th Tish Corrales - Milileke a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday, July 18, 2014

Calla Lily Skort

Just in case I haven't mentioned my love for Kymy before (ya know, like here, here, or here, and so many others I haven't blogged!)  I'm going to do it again!  Kymy rocks.  Ya know WHY Kymy rocks?  Kymy rocks because she KEEPS coming up with super styles, super fun, super easy, super fast patterns that both my girls and I love!!  Almost all of Kymy's patterns come in girls and ladies sizing and the Calla Lily skirt is no different!  I bought the women's version during the Bundle Up event a while back but haven't gotten it made yet (it's coming soon though!) so when I got the opportunity to test the girls version I naturally had to jump all over it!   (sorry about the quality of the MLP outfits, they're cell shots while we were in Nashville.)


The girls and I went to My Little Pony Fair and Convention in Nashville last weekend so I used to opportunity to make them some new outfits.  The Calla Lily skort was perfect!  It's light and comfortable, it has built in shorts (no worrying about them being lady-like 100% of the time because if the skirt falls open...BAM! Shorts.  Score one for modesty! )


I used a lightweight knit for the skirt part.  It's slightly see-through so the fact that this is a skort made it even more perfect!  Their MLP tops are the Rio Racerback from Peek-A-Boo patterns that I modified to have a stretch-lace panel in the back).


Then after we got home I decided to try my hand at getting a t-shirt panel in this pattern and I love it.  I see lots of these in Kessa's future!  


All of the versions I've done of the Calla Lily skort so far are the Fishtail view but there is also a less dramatic option that's more of a regular high low (it doesn't come down as far in the back.)




 Lookie!  Shorts!!!



So, are you sold yet?  If not how about I tell you that they're on sale right now?!?!  Yup.  They are!  If you snag them here this weekend they're only $7.95!  AND...if you don't already have the ladies version you can buy the Ladies/Girls bundle at a 25%  discount!

And one last thing...if you're the first person to use my link to the EYMM shop that buys something you can use the code kt0tb9y9 for an additional 10% off!!!

(This post contains affiliate links)  

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Wassup?!?!?!


I was super excited when I got the e-mail saying I got to test a new Love Notions pattern.  This was my first time testing for Tami and she was great!  The Cartwheel Collection  started out with 3 pieces and kept growing!  lol.  The final collection has a top, tunic or dress length piece, shorts, capris, a skirt (which can have double layers with a pick up or a single layer) and instructions for mashing the shorts or capris with the skirts for full on cartwheel coverage!

(hehehe, how about that cute little tan line peeking out?!?!)

I tested the dress in a size 4 (the dress option has since been lengthened.)  I love a good A-line and can't wait to make some leggings to go with this.  It's going to be a fantastic late summer/early fall piece!  I love the shape of it and it's great for mixing a few bold patterns/colors but still keeping the over-all look clean and simple.  


Now, I thought maybe I'd compare and contrast this piece with the Soleil pattern because I had someone ask me about them earlier today.  First off, they are, over-all, VERY different patterns.  

The Soleil has a high bodice with a gathered skirt and pockets.  The opening in the back is a different shape and has binding around it as well as being lower in the back.  It doesn't have sleeves.  VERY DIFFERENT.  If you're not someone that is comfortable altering patterns then I'd say, buy both!  Or if you don't have a knit skirt pattern, or any other number of things.  

Those things said, the friend that asked me IS comfortable altering things and DOES already have knit shorts/capris/skirt patterns and she only wanted to buy one pattern.  So, for me, I said I'd buy the Cartwheel Collection because then you can use the bodice and mash it with ANY kind of skirt you want (twirl skirt, ruffles, the sky's the limit) without having to modify it.
With the Soleil, you have to modify the top to even be able to make the bodice of a regular dress.  This is a big thing for us because we upcycle 99% of the time.  

I also told her that the Cartwheel collection is a faster sew.  You just press and hem the opening, stitch the back top and back bottom together and boom!  You're ready to rock and roll with the rest of your design.  The Soleil takes a lot longer because you have to cut and press your binding, bind it all, top stitch half of it,  lay the pieces down NEXT TO the front piece to figure out where they need to be placed on each other, pin, top stitch the other half (this stitches the back top and back bottom together at the same time) and THEN you're ready to move on with the rest of your dress.   



Now, don't get me wrong.  I love the Soleil dress and I've made several and will be making more...but I won't be using it as the bodice for most of my upcycles.  I'll just be using it when I want that whole dress.  The Cartwheel collection has won my heart for an open back for regular upcycles!  :)


And how cute are those shorts?!?!  Grace loves the knit waist band too.  

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Ladies California


If you remember this post from a while back you'll know that I tested the Girl's California dress from Everything Your Mama Made and made Kessa a hi-low version out of this same fabric.  She loves it and wears it all the time!  


When I got a chance to test the ladies version I jumped all over it!  Kymy's patterns usually start at Newborn (in the children's style of course!) and go all the way up through 5XL in women's!!!!  I usually hover between a L and XL in her patterns which is about what I wear in ready to wear clothing as well.  


The Ladies' California has 4 different length options from a Maxi (which I've made now too and LOVE but don't have any good pictures of yet) all the way up to a peplum top.  I made the above the knee dress and shortened it just a few more inches (because I'm short and I wanted more of a tunic).

You can use knit or woven for the main pieces of this dress and it can be worn with the faux halter or the scoop in the front (OR you can use two scoops or two faux halters!)

It's also a super quick sew and majorly comfy!!!

So, I'd say this pattern is another winner from Kymy!!!!

(this post contains affiliate links but opinions are all my own!)

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Last but Not Least....Slytherin!!!


It's our final day of Harry Potter looks here at BabyFish Designs!!!  Thanks for sticking with me!  lol.  (If you missed the previous days you can see the Overview, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Hufflepuff in their respective posts.)

Zane is....busy.  That's the what people say about him.  That's really just a nice way of saying he's full of mischief and always into things.  That said, Slytherin seems to be a good fit for him!

I used the Streamline Tee (my favorite, go-to shirt pattern!) and the Metropolitan Pants, both from Terra's Treasures, for his Slytherin look.


The wording on the back I cut from a shirt that was his when he was baby that I've been hanging onto.  It's quite perfect for him.  And how about those Welt pockets?!?!  The directions in the Metropolitan pattern are so clear and easy to follow I've gotten a perfect pocket every time I've made them!  My older son has two pairs of pants from this pattern and this won't be the last for little guy either.  


They also have functional front pockets (and this photo of him on the run was the only one I got of them!  lol)

I made him a 4T and then put in a pretty big hem so that I'll be able to let it down and he can wear them all fall/winter (I did have to adjust the elastic down because he's skinny though).  I found this stretch bottom weight fabric at JoAnn's and just couldn't pass it up even though I hadn't been planning on making him pants for this look.  


He very politely asked for a cape to go with his shirt so I obliged (and let me tell you, the freezer paper stencil for this one had me questioning my sanity!  lol.  If you follow me on Instagram you saw my pain!  lol) 



I used skull fabric to put a faux tie on the front and a crest with an S on it on the sleeve to finish off the details of his shirt.  


I solemnly swear I am up to no go.... (I know Slytherin's shouldn't know that but....it's just so fitting!  lol)



And Dumbledore sporting a look you've never seen before!  No beard or robes when he goes fishing!