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Ride Like the Wind, Tonto!

by Melissa on 28. Aug, 2010 in crafts, design, homemade, sewing

It’s my dad’s birthday today! Happy birthday, DAD!!

For Father’s Day I made him a black bicycle hat. I have a few childhood memories seeing my dad wear hats like that, so I thought he might like one. It was a complete shot in the dark.

You’ve got to understand that my dad is impossible to buy/make gifts for. He only ever says he wants happy children. Of course he means it, but we’re a pretty happy bunch so it doesn’t seem like we’re giving him much of anything. Personally, I think he doesn’t believe we’d ever pool our money/assets together to buy him what he really wants: a 40 acre ranch in Kolob canyon. He’s right. We’d never do that.

As luck would have it, my dad was very excited to receive the black hat for Father’s day & it fit him perfectly. He asked me if I could a decal on there. Of course! With my Silhouette, I’m unstoppable! He gave the hat back & requested that I put a decal of a cyclist & “Ride like the wind, Tonto!” wrapping around the side.

It’s taken me nearly 2 1/2 months to get around to doing it! The cyclist took some effort & patience to apply, but the quote was impossible. Maybe I should’ve taken apart the hat to apply the decal. Round shapes are not fun to iron. Admittedly, I was more than bummed to see that it wasn’t going to work out. Blerg. On the positive side, the hat looks pretty rad with just the biker on it.

Hope my dad likes it!

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Another Purple People Eater

by Melissa on 27. Aug, 2010 in homemade, sewing

Since I made the last stuffed creature, I’ve been meaning to make one similar & let Penelope keep it. I’ve made quite a few of these little monsters, but I’ve given them as gifts every time. They make for great gifts for boys or girls, by the way.

This one was a tad tricky because I made super long stuffed arms on this creature. Pinning took a good 20 minutes. Overall this thing was about 40 minutes in the making. I love the fabric on this little guy. Part of it’s solid, part of it’s striped. I wish I had more than a couple of scrap pieces of this fabric. I’d love to make Penelope some overalls out of this stuff.

Penelope is starting to catch on to the word “present”. I got a package in the mail yesterday (Miracle Jeans = awesome) & Penelope got so excited to see what it was, she was jumping up & down yelling, “Ped’nt! Ped’nt!” It’s cute how she mispronounces the word. When I told her I had a present for her this morning, she was very excited. Unfortunately, her excitement for the new toy wore off around picture 4. She did pick it up a couple of times after that, but I’m not so sure she’s all too thrilled about her new ugly doll. Only time will tell.

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Penelope’s Apron

by Melissa on 17. Aug, 2010 in homemade, sewing

Goodness gracious! Thanks everyone for all of the well wishes! We are just thrilled to be adding to the family! Penelope (although she might not know it yet) will be a great helper when the precious bebezinho arrives.

After I made my pregnant apron I had to make a matching apron for Penelope for a few reasons:

  • she’s a messy girl & needs something to protect her cute clothes – I’m also getting tired of doing so much laundry
  • she’s getting interested in helping me around the kitchen, better make her job as sous-chef official with a matching apron
  • I have something like 8 yards of that awesome striped fabric left after completing my apron
  • It’s been a while since I’ve made something matchy-matchy for her

I didn’t make pleats for her apron or really do anything special at all. It’s just a rectangle with the top two corners corners cut off. I did get slightly tricky (or lazy –however you want to look at it) and used elastic for the neck piece. I couldn’t find any velcro or buttons I liked in my stash of notions, so elastic seemed like the best option. It’s great because I don’t have to worry about tying anything; I just effortlessly slip the apron over her gigantic head.

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Barefoot & Pregnant

by Melissa on 14. Aug, 2010 in adventure, sewing

I’m pregnant!! WOO HOO!

I’ve wanted to share this news with the whole world for some time, but I didn’t feel like it was official until I heard the heart beat. Penelope & I listened to the heartbeat at the doc’s office on Tuesday, and all is going well! We are just thrilled. The crazy part is that I’m nearly 14 weeks along! I didn’t think I was that far along at all. Surprise!!

My belly is starting to grow now & I feel like I need to make the necessary arrangements for my upcoming giant belly. I’ve needed a full-sized apron for ages, but now that I’ll have a huge belly just asking for stains & spills; I finally made one.

I made sure my apron was high-waisted & pleated to add room for my growing body. We’ll see how well it fits when I’m 9 months & bursting at the seams. It didn’t take me much time at all to make it, so I made a matching apron for Penelope, too. I’ll post pics of her soon.

Here’s the breakdown of my pregnancy so far:

  • Morning sickness isn’t nearly as bad this time around as it was with Penelope.
  • I’m craving spaghetti, top ramen, pizza & a special brand of English muffins.
  • I’ve gained about 10 lbs so far.
  • I swear I’m having a boy, and we will be finding out in about 4-5 weeks.
  • I’m totally exhausted all the time.
  • I can’t eat sweets; the smell of marshmallows & Nutella makes me want to vomit.
  • Everything smells like mildew.
  • I’m due sometime in February, no exact due date yet.

So there you have it, the cat’s out of the bag!! Hope you have a good weekend! My weekend plans include taking a million naps & desperately try to catch up on all the sleep I lost in New York.

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Before & After: Floral Dress Refashion

by Melissa on 28. Jul, 2010 in sewing

I’ve been looking in my closet these days & not finding anything interesting. Well, nothing interesting that I haven’t worn in the last 5 days at least. On Monday, one of my sweet neighbors kindly offered to watch Penelope as I ran some errands; naturally I couldn’t help but pop into a thrift store while out & about. It’s a real treat to go to thrift shopping without Penelope. It means I can actually try on clothes that I find! Look at the gorgeous dress I found for $6:

I’m a huge fan of this print. I’ve been seeing all sorts of bold florals around this season and I fell in love with the shape of the skirt. The skirt has pleats & pockets in the front & buttons going all the way down the back (so Victoria Beckham, but with buttons). I wasn’t a fan of the bulky sleeves & loose top, but that’s never stopped me from buying anything.

As soon as I got home, I snapped the ugliest before photo ever & started fixing up the dress. Here’s what I did:

  • I took in the sides from the waist up by about 1-2 inches on each side
  • I took in the sleeves by about 2 inches on each side
  • I shortened the sleeves & added a cuff
  • I removed the breast pocket (it was making me feel all sorts of lop-sided)

Ah. So much better! The shortened sleeves make the dress feel 20 lbs lighter. I’m a big fan of it now. All I need to do now is find some hot gladiator heels and I’ll be rocking and rolling in NYC at the SocialLuxe party next week!

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