Headin' Out

Watch out, world!  Here he comes!

(And we are so happy to have some warmer weather!  Love it!)

Solution!

How I solved the "I hate the vacuum" stage:

(Picture taken by Bella)

Tutorial: Re-purposing a Baby-doll Shirt into a Girls' Skirt

I'm on a roll this week.  When I have vision, I just have to make it happen!  And now, you get to benefit from it, since I actually took step-by-step pictures this time around :)

Just FYI: This skirt, as I made it, is probably a Girls' size 6.  Bella wears a size 5 now, and she has some growing room in this one. (Just the way I like it!)

This is what I started with.  I accidentally cut it before taking a picture, but I did the best I could to get the same affect...imagine with me:

Cute Baby-doll style shirt.  It just looked kinda weird on.  It hit in an odd spot in the length, and the bodice was just awkward.  So...a skirt for Bella...

First, I cut the bodice from the bottom of the shirt.  I just used the seam-line as a guide.

This fabric was a bit thin.  I didn't have any other shirts in the stash that I could use for an underskirt, but I had some extra white fabric sitting in my closet, so that's what I used.  You can use whichever.

If you use another shirt:

 make sure to use the bottom edge as your bottom edge of the underskirt (so you don't have to do a hem), and make it so that the bottom edge of the underskirt is a little shorter than the outer skirt.

Turn the bottom of the baby-doll shirt inside out and use it as a guide to cut the inside fabric (extra fabric or another shirt), so that you are able to include seam allowances. (you'll need to cut 2 layers!)

Next, sew the two pieces of the "inside skirt" fabric on both sides, using a 1/4" seam allowance, and serge to finish seams (if you don't have a serger, you can use a zig-zag stitch on the outside of the seam.  The point is to finish the seams to make them more durable, and less likely to fray.)

Turn the inside skirt fabric right side out, but keep the outer skirt fabric inside out.

Put the "inner" fabric inside the "outer fabric, so that the right sides are together.  It should look like this:

Pin together at the top, matching the side seams, like this:

Sew a 1/4" seam along the top edge and serge.

Turn right side out.

Using a zipper foot (I refer to it as my top-stitching foot), top-stitch the top seam, along the top edge, using the right side of the zipper foot as your guide.

Mark the middle of the back of the skirt with a pin.

Starting about 1/2" from the pin, sew a casing large enough for your elastic to pass through easily.

I used 5/8" elastic and made a 1" casing (I had to make my own mark on my machine for this one...)

Don't connect the beginning and end of the stitching!!  

Make sure to leave about an inch for an opening.  Like this:

Measure your elastic, based on waistline measurement (where your little one wears her pants/skirts) +1 inch.

Bella's measurement was 21", so I measured 22" of elastic.

Attach a safety pin to one end of the elastic and use it to guide the elastic through the casing (in between the two skirts).

Make sure not to lose the loose end!!

Check to make sure the elastic isn't twisted anywhere.

Now, overlap the ends of the elastic about an inch, and sew together, back and forth, to secure.  Do this in two places - just a bit from each of the ends.

Tuck the elastic into the casing, and secure in place by making a stitch from the top-stitch seam down to the casing seam, and back.

Stretch out the elastic to evenly distribute the gathers.

Make a stitch on the side seams, over the elastic, from the top-stitch to the casing stitch, just like you did on the back of the skirt.

Don't skip this step!!

This secures the elastic, and keeps it from rolling and twisting. 

Complete the casing seam in the back of the skirt.

If no hemming is required, then ignore this next step.   If, however, you used extra fabric for an underskirt, and you need some help with hemming, here's what to do:

Fold the bottom edge of the fabric over 1/2" and iron in place, all the way around, using a measuring tape to make sure it's even.

Now, fold this over again, with the edge of the fabric now as close to the fold as possible.  Press and pin in place.

Use a zipper foot again (but use the left side as a guide this time) and stitch along the top edge of the hem.

It should look like this when finished:

Turn it all right side out, and look what you have:

Just makes her want to twirl around and dance barefoot in the grass...

Let me know if you have any questions, and I'll try to answer them the best I can :)

Enjoy!!

Taking a Moment to Brag: Bella

I'm taking a minute to brag on this beautiful girl:

Isabella has been doing so, so well lately.  

She really does try her hardest to listen and obey (Right away, all the way, in a happy way).   If I mention that she's having a hard time with this, she stops, goes and sits down, and talks to God for a while...then she comes back and tells me "Mommy, I asked Jesus to help me listen and obey better today."

She has been doing her "special job" every week without complaint - getting the laundry basket out of the laundry room, putting she and Balian's dirty clothes in it, taking it to the livingroom and separating the lights and darks, putting the first load in the washer, and helping me start it (really she can do everything - even knows what buttons to push - she just can't reach the detergent and sometimes needs help pushing the button to dispense it.)

Bella makes her bed by herself every morning when she wakes up...on the top bunk.

She has been incredibly helpful with so many things.  She helps me put drinks and plates of food on the table before and helps me clear the table after meals, without being asked.  She helps Balian with so many little things like putting socks and shoes on, and even helps him wipe his booty! 

Don't get me wrong, this little lady is by no means perfect.  She understands though that nobody is perfect.  Only Jesus was perfect, and that's why we need Jesus to help us every day.

So when she knows that she is having a rough day - arguing, complaining, disobeying, being too rough, whatever it is - she knows who can help her to do better.

I can't wait to see what God has in store for this little beauty.

May she grow to live out her name and be "Devoted to God" in all that she does!

Sew Fun: Upcycled Play Dress

What you can make out of two of your old shirts:

She loves it and wanted to wear it immediately!
I've got a stack of stuff I took out of my closet that has potential...I'll be posting them as I make them :)

Project: Kitchen

Gleaning

The Lord is filling me to overflowing.
Is it possible to stop time just to be able to take it all in and really chew on everything that He's teaching me?

The past couple of weeks, I have been bombarded almost with opportunities to glean what others have planted as far as how to better disciple my children.
I've been amazed as I have witnessed the possibilities.
From Bible lessons to memory verses.  From activities together to teaching children the discipline of spending quiet time with the Lord.  A whole new world is opening up before my very eyes - a world that I not only never thought was possible, but a world that I never even knew existed - or COULD exist!
And God continues to pour out on me.
It's not a certain formula.  It's an attitude of the heart.
And I'm no longer content.  I'm bursting at the seams.

For the first time, I think I'm truly beginning to understand the calling of motherhood.
The gravity of that calling.
The legacy that living out that calling can mean.
and what does it mean to leave a legacy?
When your sons and daughters can glean what you have learned the hard way.  When they "just know" how to truly teach their children how to walk in the Lord because they are simply repeating what was taught to them.
That is a legacy.  And there is something amazing about that.
Because unless we choose to be different, to stop what has been done generation after generation...the natural thing to do is repeat what we know.  repeat what we have been taught.  We, as parents, tend to repeat how we were parented.  Sometimes it isn't a good thing.  However, when children are taught the Word of God and are taught how to apply the Word of God to their lives, that will be what they repeat with their children.

"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." (Proverbs 22:6)

Nobody is perfect.  Nobody does it perfectly.  We all need the Grace of God everyday to empower us to do anything good.
And that's where it has to start.  Everyday surrendering my heart - my thoughts, my words, and my deeds - my attitude, and my mood - fully to Him - so that He can give me the full measure of Grace that I need for that day.  It's learning what true love is - putting others first.  Putting our children before ourselves.  Choosing Joy.  Choosing contentment.  Jesus knows that I am so far from attaining this that it almost seems as far as east is from the west.  But through Him, nothing is impossible, and as far as the east is from the west is how far he has already cast my sin.
It's an attitude of the heart.  And being filled with the Holy Spirit anew every day.
His mercies are new every morning.

"Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds...teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home, when you walk along the road, when you lie down, and when you get up."
-Deuteronomy 11:18-19