catching the craft bug

Because I was pretty much absent January and most of February not much crafting/sewing got done. Not only do I have a huge catch up list, but I also have a few new projects bouncing around in my head just begging to be let out. I've pretty much spent this entire week creating something or other so I thought I would post some pics.

First is a blanket I have been working on since November. It didn't take me that long to finish it because it was hard, it was just time consuming. I'm sort of an instant gratification kind of girl. If it's going to take more than two or three sittings to get something done I probably won't do it. However, this blanket is for a really good friend. We've known each other forever. So it was kind of important to me to make this blanket special.

Next are the St Patricks Day shirts I made for the girls. Melody's preschool group had a St Patricks Day party this last week so I figured since I failed so completely with Valentines Day this was my chance for redemption. 15 minutes with my Silhouette, 2 bottles of fabric paint, and 2 $5 tee shirts and wah-lah! I think they turned out super cute! Definitely see more freezer paper stenciling in my future. In case your interested I used this tutorial for the how to and picked my SIL's brain for the rest of the info. Thanks again Alexis!

Please excuse the dirtiness! I tried to get pics while they were actually wearing them, but was terribly unsuccessful. I decided that I better do it now before I forgot. I love the little shamrock on the back the most I think. I love little details where you don't really expect them.

Next is something I hadn't planned, but a friend wanted to make them and decided to make it a girls night out. So much fun crafting with other people, I really miss having my mom around for times like that! We're going to do these for our ward craft night next month. I'm so excited to see what everyone comes up with. Sorry it's so fuzzy, it's a cell phone pic. Too tired to go take another one.

Finally the Easter dresses! I have been bouncing back and forth for weeks trying to decide if I was going to make them or buy them. I found a lot that I loved and could've easily bought, but I really wanted to make them. My mom made our Easter dresses nearly every year and I've actually kept a few because I loved them that much! I don't know if my girls will love them enough to wear, but I couldn't stand the idea of getting rid of them. So today I finally bit the bullet and bought fabric. JoAnns has a bazillion coupons right now, so I couldn't have done it at a better time. I bought everything at 40-50% off.

For the pattern I kinda morphed two different ones together. I wasn't entirely sure how it would turn out so I decided to raid my stash and make a mock up. Better to waste the unwanted fabric than the expensive, oh so pretty fabric. Thankfully it seems to be working out ok. I've only got the bodice finished, but really, that's so huge for me. I've never lined a dress and I've never had to put in a sleeve, so this is definitely a victory in my book. Tomorrow I'm going to finish the skirt and it may even turn out well enough to be worn! Another victory :) I'm so excited to get these made! The pattern reminds me of a pouffy party dress I once saw in an American Girl book. And it has sleeves! Those are hard to come by on clothes down here, thus why I make a lot of the kids clothes

Melody went with me to chose fabric while Katelynn was at preschool. She declared that half the store was perfect for her dress, but I did a little guiding and she ended up with the pink with white daisies. Then we decided on the yellow with butterflies for Katie. Katie had told me before that she wanted her dress to be yellow or blue. I love that they are so little and yet have such strong opinions on what they wear! I won't even go into some of the outfits Melody puts together. Let's just say that Jared frequently tries to bribe her to change, but she'll have none of it. She knows what she likes, and if he doesn't like it too bad lol!