Baby Girl Puff Dress

I am finally in the sewing mood again, and decided it was time to make my baby girl a dress. I went to Jo-Ann fabrics on one of their pattern sale days (because there is no way I would ever pay $15 for a pattern) and I got this Simplicity Pattern 3854 for 99 cents.

I LOVED the puffy little dress, but I hated the little pants.......... After studying the pattern for a while I started to cut out the pieces and make the dress. I am not big on perfection, so I even had my Grandma help me figure out the puffy portion, and it was so much easier than I thought! Here is my adorable baby girl and my final product. 

 

Is she not adorable????????? I ended up also making a similar dress in a different color for my friend's newborn baby! If you are not going to make the ugly pants to go under it, make sure you cut the skirt portion longer than the pattern says. On the first dress I didn't, and my husband said it was almost too short for her to wear :) protective daddy even though she is only 10 months old! I added the little yellow ribbon and I had the sweater since it is still cold here! I am thinking of also doing a variation of this dress for Easter. If you think it is cute, buy the pattern and do it! IT IS SO EASY! The second dress took me less than an hour. 

 

GUEST POST! By Inspired By Grace

This is a post from a great new blogger who has great tips on interior design, fashion and diy projects! Go check her out at:

http://inspiredbygracen.blogspot.com/

Spring into Fashion

Normally I will blog about interior design and DIY BUT since today is just too nice of a day to ignore I decided to take a closer look at the clothing trends that will be appearing.  After all I will be shopping soon, and thought it might be nice to know what to look for, here is what I found:

Fashion houses are offering a return to fabrics with comfort in mind. There are several hot colors to watch for in the spring and summer collections. These colors range from the classic look of black and white to soft pastels like orchids, pale daffodil yellows and tropical limes. One other prominent color for spring and summer is flame red parlayed with bright white in an almost nautical theme.

Clothing Designs - Spring 2012

A return of 70's styles updated for today is something to key an eye open for. Fabrics in fashion collections tend toward linen, lightweight cottons and a faux-fabric known as "peach skin". Pattern designs include many tops, dresses and jackets with draping added.

 From Forever 21                                                                   From H&M

Ensemble Patterns To Compliment All Size Ranges

Patterns for spring and summer offer styles and cuts that can be worn in a broad size range to compliment any figure. Business wear has changed radically over the past few decades and the trend leans toward suits in black, navy, white and pastel colors that brighten the business look. Accessories like simple pieces of jewelry, scarves or fabric flowers in contrasting colors complete the business suit. Many of these suits can be worn for after six dinners since the fabrics offer comfort as well as fashion.

From H & M

Hats, Shoes And Gloves - The Perfect Spring And Summer Accessories

Other additions to the spring and summer wardrobe this season are hats, colorful shoes and gloves. Nothing adds charm to a gauzy floral spring dress than a wide-brimmed hat and wrist-length white gloves. This is the feminine look that is hot for late spring and early summer. Navy and lime with touches of white, strawberry pink, pale lime and hints of orchid or coral and pomegranate work well in a simple sheath in an A-line styled pattern. Add a floral scarf in a coordinating color and the ensemble is upscale "fashionista". 

 Both from Forever 21

Fabrics That Speak The Language Of Fashion

In many high fashion collections for 2012 for spring and summer, fabrics play a significant role. Fabrics are lightweight. Yet, they don't compromise on variation. Look for crepe and chiffon fabrics to offer a crinkled or embossed texture. Cotton fabrics will have a certain shimmer to catch the eye and linens will be offered in stylishly woven textures. These fabrics speak the language of spring and summer fashion for 2012.

 From Victoria's Secret

Enjoy:)

~Grace~

 

http://inspiredbygracen.blogspot.com/

The work of Love BARN DRESSER

Oh man... This dresser truly was a work of love! This dresser had been sitting in my husbands parent's barn for about 30 years or more. I am a tad obsessed with dressers, so my husband pointed it out to me, and we asked his parents if we could have it and they said YES! Here is the dresser in it's raw state... in the barn.

 Thankfully it was not missing a drawer, it was just on the ground. My husband called me as he was tranferring this dresser home and said that it didn't smell very good. I figured it couldn't be that bad, it just needed to air out some.................. I was terribly wrong. 

First, my husband walks in the house and this overwhelming smell engulfs the entire living room! I asked him why he smelled so bad, and he said, the dresser. Again, I didn't believe it could be THAT bad. So, I went out to take a whiff of the dresser myself, and I could smell it from ten feet away! 

I wish I could describe the smell.... so I will try. Dead mice, cow poop, old barn, dead flies and anything else that smells horrible all combined into one. 

I LOVED this dresser, so I was convinced it was not a lost cause. The first thing we did to take the smell away was to douse it in bleach. My sweet husband wiped down ever nook and cranny of the dresser, and we narrowed down the worst smelling part of the dresser to be the top middle. The drawers were not too bad, just the top was HORRIBLE. The bleach helped a little bit, but the smell was already burned into our nostrils, and so we could still smell it. 

The next thing he did was to sand the top of the dresser, the worst smelling part. This helped a little bit more, but the we could still smell it. I figured a fresh coat of paint would do the trick. The paint helped a lot, but because of the smell being burned into our memory, we could still pick up on it. Originally, this dresser was going to go in our bedroom. Even though the smell on the dresser was mostly gone, I didn't want the memory of that smell being in my bedroom everyday!!! So.... this dresser got sold. It really ended up only having a faint smell that you had to really try and pick up on, so I don't feel bad about selling it! Here is the after.

 Again, I am obsessed with the red, but at least I left the stencil off of this one!

Dresser BEFORE and AFTER

Here is another great craige's list find. I think we paid 20 for this dresser, and it was missing a drawer, but came with all the hardware. My trusty husband made a drawer for the dresser that works out pretty good! Here is the before. 

 And the after paint with some beautiful red paint and my trusty stencil I tend to use on EVERYTHING... I know.. I need a new stencil. I LOVE this dresser. Red is my color lately and this paint is amazing. I ended up springing for a gallon of paint, and I got the home depot brand, Behr paint. It is the paint with the primer and paint all in one. It is a little bit more expensive but very worth it. This only took two coats and it looks great!