Tag Archive for "Penelope" - I Still Love You by Melissa Esplin

Posts Tagged ‘Penelope’

Calligraphy: Micro Letters From the Tooth Fairy

January 29th, 2015

0 Comment

Penelope started losing her teeth recently. The first tooth she lost caught us off-guard and unprepared. So we totally botched that one. And THEN the ‘Tooth Fairy’ totally fell asleep when the second one fell out. She didn’t have a chance to visit or anything. Penelope was crushed.

Chris was thinking quickly on his feet and said that the Tooth Fairy must have been busy. So the next night I wanted to make up for it.

UNFORTUNATELY, this happened:

I lost my tooth in the drain.

It was like we were doomed! Thankfully Chris saved the day and was able to retrieve the tooth in the trap underneath the sink. So I made sure to write her a letter explaining what happened.

Dear Penelope,

I’m sorry to hear that your tooth went down the drain! I bet that you felt sad. Luckily, I’m small enough I was able to find it! Thank you! Be sure to tell your mom and dad to clean down there. It’s stinky.

You have some great teeth! Keep brushing and flossing.

Love, The Tooth Fairy

She was thrilled. Over the moon, in fact! She sent a second letter to the tooth fairy and made her a little house.

I liked the little card. It was funny. I wanted to give you something. (She attached a $2 bill to the note)

So of course, the Tooth Fairy slept over when it was a little too windy one night.

Dear Penelope,

Thank you for making me such a beautiful home to visit! It was too windy last night for me to make it home safely, so I slept over.

I hear you have a couple of loose teeth! I’m excited to see those when they come out.

You are a very sweet and caring [girl]. Thanks for looking out for this old fairy.

Love, The Tooth Fairy

She loves her relationship with the tooth fairy! I wanted to make sure that she kept this documentation so I got matching Amac boxes. One for her notes and one for the teeth that the Tooth Fairy collects. It’s been fun. Now I’m anxiously awaiting her next loose tooth to fall out!

Done with an Esterbrook 355 and a sumi/walnut ink mix on blank Rhodia paper.

Halloween Recap Part 1: Black Widow Penelope

November 3rd, 2014

0 Comments

Several months ago I found a gigantic black widow spider in the garden. Since then, Penelope’s been obsessed with them. In a I’m-afraid-of-going-to-my-room-alone-because-I-might-get-bit kind of obsessed. When talking to her about Halloween costumes, she asked what was the scariest thing she could be. I returned the answer by asking her. She quickly responded, “A black widow spider!”

I can’t remember where I put her costume schematics, but she was the one who planned this whole thing out. I just executed. The girl is so creative! I can’t get over it. In a way, I can’t wait for her ideas next year.

Executing was simple. I bought an over-sized tee, appliquéd with a red hour glass, cut up the sides and inserted the stuffed legs.

If I had been smart, I would have bought a hoodie instead of a tee, so I added a hood to the tee and stuck on some googly eyes. Done.

Felix’s costume was far easier. I bought it from a neighbor. But it turns out that his head was too big to really fit it over his head. We got some cute Halloween photos of him, but not in costume. Next year I may be more on my game. I’m hoping that will be the case anyway.

In all, the costume took about an hour to complete. It was a win-win. She got exactly what she wanted and I didn’t have to kill myself to do it!

I also love that we now have another gender-neutral costume that can go down the line to Felix and maybe some day Juniper as they get older. I’m a huge advocate of hand-me-downs!

What did you do for Halloween costumes this year?

Sewing: Penelope’s Bridesmaid Dress

July 11th, 2014

6 Comments

Instead of buying a dress, I figured I would make Penelope a dress for my brother-in-law’s wedding. I was already making my own, so I added hers to the docket as well. It was an incredibly quick sew, too. AND SHE LOVES IT. So much so that she’ll wear it while playing with the boys in our neighborhood. It’s adorable to see her hang with the boys in such a girly outfit. That’s my girly tomboy!

I used the same printing technique with the front of her dress as I did with mine using a rose stamp borrowed from my friend Miriam. I hadn’t quite nailed down the ink consistency with the imprint, so some of the roses are much lighter than others. I figure she’s going to destroy this dress in a matter of a few wears anyway, so I’m choosing not to care a whole lot about it.

I used the Recess Raglan (blogged here and here) as the base, then added a little extra length to the bodice (which I didn’t really need to) and a pleated skirt. I left the edges on the sleeves and hem raw, they’ve curled up nicely with wash and wear. For the pleats I cut a strip of fabric 2 1/2 times the width of her dress and eyeballed the pleats starting from the center front, working my way out; pinning them in place. Super easy, but some good eyeballing required.

This girl cracks me up with her sassy posing. She loves being in front of the camera.

Quick Sewing: Ruffle Raglan Floral Dress

April 15th, 2014

4 Comments

Sewing is perhaps one of my favorite Sunday activities. I try not to go all “Project Runway” by pinning, hemming and cussing as I’m walking out the door to church, I try to approach Sunday sewing from a more meditative perspective. Strange, I know.

Sewing can be so relaxing for me sometimes!

A couple of weeks ago I was in one of those moods. I had the time and the energy and blue thread already in my serger. I picked up this leftover fabric from these leggings, the Recess raglan pattern and set to work. I literally squeaked out every square inch of the leftover floral fabric! I had under 10 square inches of fabric left when I was done sewing up this dress. Kind of a proud moment to use up every scrap. Usually what happens is I have an awkward amount of fabric left over and I don’t know what to do with it. Give it away? Throw it away? Try to recycle it to something else?

I opted for simple finishings with this dress. The sleeves and hem are raw with a simple band for the neckline. The knit on the sleeves is curling up ever so slightly now so it looks like it was left that way on purpose. The un-hemmed ruffle seems to finish off the bottom without an actual hem.

When I was sewing it up, I actually just eyeballed the length of the dress, assuming it would fit. And it did. But with Penelope growing so much, she’d be able to wear this as a dress for about 3 days before growing too tall for it. The ruffle adds the perfect amount of length to the bottom, letting it graze right at her knees so she’ll have the whole summer to wear it alone, and the fall and winter to wear it with leggings.

The floral fabric is a 25% stretch cotton knit that I scored at the thrift store a couple years ago. I may have gotten the yardage for somewhere around $2 for 2 yards. $2 for leggings and a dress? Major win. :) I also love that this print has a lot of masculine colors incorporated with the feminine print. It just fits Penelope to a T. She’s a girly girl getting more obsessed each day over hair, makeup and clothes; but there are only boys her age on our street. And she not only keeps up with them, but she keeps them on their toes. It’s pretty cute.

One of Penelope’s preschool teachers a few years ago told us, “She’s the girliest tomboy I know.” Which I think is the best of all worlds!

When I surprised Penelope with her new dress, she gave me the world’s best reaction. Seriously, this girl knows how to make her mama feel loved and appreciated. Unfortunately I don’t think I’ll have time to sew her a fancypants Easter dress this year. I’m hoping to put something together after the holiday, though.

I told Penelope to strike her most adorable pose. This girl is ridiculous.

Do you have an Easter dress tradition in your house?

Hand-Cut Playhouse Silhouette Promo

October 16th, 2013

9 Comments

Anything in miniature is just irrisistable, is it not? Penelope and I found these little miniature plastic toys at the toy store a couple weeks ago. They’re no taller than half an inch, making them the perfect travel play buddies.

I’m always trying to find appropriate quiet toys for Penelope and Felix to play with during our church services on Sundays. They can be the hardest 3 hours of the week if I don’t come prepared with ample toys and snacks. Problem is, often times they get bored with the toys they typically play with. The idea struck for Sunday-only toys when I found these little cuties.

They were great last week, but we were missing scenery. The little pouch my friend made is perfect for housing all of the animals and any coordinating accessories so my mind set to work to make something collapsible that would fit inside the little pouch (isn’t it too cute?!?).

Making little cut-outs with Silhouette’s chipboard did the trick! Designing the scenery was a breeze, too. It was a fun little mommy-daughter activity for us to decorate the scenery together.

I’m not sure I’ve seen this kind of excitement from her in a while.

Now my only hope is that I can hide these little goodies during the week. She wants to play with her toy scene all the time!

Yesterday started a huge promotion over at Silhouette. They’re offering huge discounts on not only the machines, but a whole pack of goodies. If you don’t have a machine yet, I advise you get one with this promo. You’ll get so many fun starter goodies you’ll be crafting well into the thick of winter.

Use promo code MELISSA at checkout for this exclusive deal.

Specialty media plus a Silhouette CAMEO® for $269.99 (savings over $120 from retail cost $383.90)

1 cardstock essentials pack (new product)
1 pack printable adhesive kraft paper (new product)
1 pack printable clear sticker paper
1 pack temporary tattoo paper
1 pack printable cotton canvas (new product)
1 pack chipboard
1 pack printable silver foil
1 pack printable magnet paper
1 pack double-sided adhesive

Specialty media plus a Silhouette Portrait™ for $129.99 (savings over $110 from retail cost $263.90)

1 cardstock essentials pack (new product)
1 pack printable adhesive kraft paper (new product)
1 pack printable clear sticker paper
1 pack temporary tattoo paper
1 pack printable cotton canvas (new product)
1 pack chipboard
1 pack printable silver foil
1 pack printable magnet paper
1 pack double-sided adhesive

30% off on all specialty media

I am a Silhouette affiliate. I wouldn’t blog about their products unless I really loved them. And I do. I receive a portion of sales made with the promotional code MELISSA, so thank you for your support!!

press & advertising

Affiliate links are used from time to time to link to products that I have and love.

Use the contact form to request a media kit for stats, demographics and advertising rates.

Categories

Archives