Valentine's Day

This Valentine’s day, instead of buying the kids those cheap little boxes full of ridiculously tiny paper Valentine’s cards, I decided to make them. I saw this (genius!) idea on Pinterest, and decided to copy it. Immediately.

I took the girls’ pictures outside, and I tried to position their little fists so that there would be room above and below, and the lollipops wouldn’t block their heads. I think Phoebe’s is too low, and their fists should’ve filled more of the image, but whatevs. It’s still going to be cute.

Also? Snapfish was having a deal for 99 cent prints, so I got both of the girls 30 prints each, and the total was less than 5 bucks (with shipping!). All I need now are the lollipops.

Full tutorial here, from 24-7-356. I *almost* made these foam mustaches and lips instead, but the picture idea seemed much easier. Maybe we’ll do the other idea next year.

Oh, Pinterest. What would I do without you?

Pinterest Review: YOU GUYS. I MADE SOAP.

There’s this pin that I pinned to Pinterest (for good measure: pin, pinny, pinnalator. there. I’m done.) and I kept thinking how fun it would be to make soap. Then I thought about it some more, and didn’t really do much with it.

Part of my aversion to soap making is that, Hello! You can buy soap at the store for, like, a dollar. So it’s not really saving me a whole lot of money, and if you’re buying all these fancy-pants oils and whatnot then it doesn’t really make sense. That crap can get reeeeeaaaaally expensive.

Then I read a post that basically said the same thing, but in the entry she said that she doesn’t do it to *save* money, she does it for the joy of having this made-by-her beauty in her home that she and her family can enjoy. Ok, that makes more sense to me. Still expensive, but if I really enjoy the process then maybe I can make something lovely and not mind investing the money into it.

I wanted to start with something pretty easy, and I was super scared of the whole lye thing. I didn’t want to burn off my eyeballs or anything. So I decided that making a simple recipe that I could use for laundry and dishes was the best plan.

I bought a can of vegetable shortening at the store for $3. I ordered the lye online (but have since found if for way cheaper here). I settled on tea tree oil as the scent, since it’s for laundry and dishes it didn’t have to be fancy. Then I bought a scale, a handmixer, and some dedicated soap-making supplies.

It was a little spendy for all the startup, but I can use the scale for other things, so I guess it’s not that big of a deal.

The actual soap making process was a snap. So easy. Really. I used the exact recipe and tutorial from this video, and it worked like a charm. I may have over-blended it sightly, since my trace was a little thicker than her video, but whatevs. I figured if I royally screwed it up I was just washing dishes and laundry, so what did it matter?

Well. I poured the soap into a plastic-lined cardboard box, and let it sit for two days. When I took it out and cut it up I was feeling very pleased with myself. I totally did it, you guys. For realsies, all by myself. The hardest part was leaving it alone to cure for 3+ weeks, but that part is finally over, and I think it was worth the wait.

Since the soap has cured I’ve been using it for dishes (I haven’t made laundry soap with it yet, but I’ll keep you posted when I do). You only get a crappy iPhone camera picture because I haven’t taken any real pictures, but it’s soap. There’s not that much to see. The real magic is lathering that stuff on a sponge and washing up some dishes knowing that I MADE THAT. I did that. It’s functional, it works well, it smells great, and it gives me no small amount of joy to see that bar get used up.

I can’t wait to do it again, and this time I think I’ll do something citrus-y like lemongrass or grapefruit. I’m so proud of myself, and it will actually be very cheap to do again since I have already bought everything. I’ll just need another tub of shortening ($3!) and it will yield a heck of a lot of soap.

I have my eye on a shampoo bar next, I think. I’ve been fascinated with shampoo bars ever since I bought one from Lush. I can’t wait to try it.

Dandy Jane banded cuff shorts

Christine from Dandy Jane contacted me (right before we moved) to be a pattern tester for her. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance. My first time ever testing a pattern, too. I was so excited!

I had made her square neck dress pattern (which I highly recommend, btw) and loved it, so I knew that whatever she had come up with would be adorable.

The pattern was for some banded cuff shorts with gathered pockets on the side. They were incredibly easy to sew up, once I finally busted out my machine and dug through all the boxes to find my supplies. It took a couple of hours in the afternoon.

I made the size 6 for Phoebe, knowing that they may be a little baggy since she’s between a 5 and a 6 in RTW. They’re bloomer-y and I think they’d look great under a tunic top.

Phoebe loved them, and pulls them out of her drawer every day to wear them, so of course Charlie now insists she needs a matching pair. These kids, I tell you.

The pattern is very clear with excellent illustrations and the steps are easy to follow — there’s also a great section on seam finishing, and a guide for assembling the pattern pieces.

If I haven’t mentioned it before, I can’t get enough of the instant gratification of having a PDF pattern, but sometimes it’s a little confusing to arrange the pieces, and it’s nice to have a layout guide.

The pattern is available for sale in her shop here, and I definitely suggest you snatch it up. Really very easy to sew and super cute.

I'm a maniac with all the sewing.

Really, though, I just don’t want to sort through shit and pack up our stuff.  I’m procrastinating.  When it’s the 11th hour and I’m lying prostrate on the floor bawling my eyes out from stress, don’t remind me that I did this to myself.  Kthx.

So, I was corralling up some of the girls stuff to get ready to yardsale, and I came across their toy strollers.  The cheap polyester seats were coming apart, and so I decided it was the PERFECT TIME to make them new covers.  Since, of course, we’re getting rid of them.  Whatever. 

There are 8 majillion tutorials on how to do this all over the place, if you’re interested.  I traced out a paper pattern (why? I have no clue. I’m ridiculous.) that I may make up as a download sometime in the  future.  Or maybe after we move.

They took about 30 minutes each to sew up, and I reused the old straps and hardware.  Super easy.  I’m a little sad we’ll be selling them, but the girls never really play with them anymore.

Also, I made the middles each a new summer outfit, peasant tops and more puppet show shorts (from Oliver + S).  The shorts are a very lightweight denim (5.8 oz) I got from JoAnn fabrics.  It was a total dream to sew.  I also found some denim thread in my stash that matched perfectly.  That almost never happens for me.  The stitches almost disappeared into the fabric, it was that matchy.

The shirts are Simplicity It’s So Easy 3743.  I did a search on the Simplicity site and couldn’t find the pattern, maybe it’s out of print?  Anyway, I made them the size 3 (they’re a 5/6 in RTW) and lengthened the pattern by about 5 inches.  I KNOW.  It was just too short and boxy, but I could tell that before I even traced it out.

So happy that I found this pattern in my stash without having to buy something new.  I’ll be making lots and lots more, since they’re so quick, go great with shorts and skirts, and will be perfect for summer. 

More sewing! Are you surprised?

Busted out the yellow synthetic knit I got from my JoAnn fabrics spree, and whipped up 3 more Tees for Two for the girls. I have some fabric left over, and I may sew up the dress version for Thea with the remainder.  The yellow makes me so happy, and the silver glittery threads in the material are just a bonus.

The girls got them today when they got home from school.  They shucked off their school clothes to put on their shirts immediately, and went completely crazy when they realized that Thea matches them.  Cuteness.

I think I may need to go up to a 6 for the Pheebs.  She’s growing so fast! 

Also, I finally busted open the Silhouette that my adorable husband bought me for my birthday.  I was worried about where to set up the machine but that thing is so small!  It fits anywhere.  I didn’t bother with the instructional DVD since, you know, I’m impatient.  Belle had a green hoodie that was fairly boring, so she asked for a robot.  I went on the Silhouette store and found a robot image for $0.99, bought it, and then cut out the stencil.

The process took, like, 5 minutes total.  I think it took the longest for the paint to dry, and I decided he needed rhinestone eyes for some bling.  It looks seriously cute.  I foresee lots and lots of stencils in our future.