Fall Artifact Globe Tutorial - Reggio Emilia Inspired

I've been crazy busy since our vacation, so no new sewing projects. However, I wanted to share with you a project that I did with the little boy I nanny for. We have been exploring the neighborhood all year, and he is especially interested in all the little details of nature: seeds, leaves, sticks, berries. We've talked about the leaves changing with the seasons, how berries and seeds make it from the tree to the ground (my favorite was talking about how birds eat the berries and plant trees through their..well, you know. :), and all kinds of separate discussions. To extend this exploration, now that the weather is getting colder, and to make this accessible to the 11 month old (while eliminating the choking hazard), I brought the idea of the wave bottles into play.

Instead of using the little bottles again, I found these plastic snow globes at Michael's for $3.49 a piece. I don't have to glue these shut, because there's no way the kids are going to be able to take out the giant plug (it was really hard for me!), so we can use these again and again. Today, we took a walk around the neighborhood and picked up some Fall Artifacts along the way, including leaves, sticks, seeds, dried berries, etc. I brought them home and made these beautiful Fall Artifact Globes in minutes! Here's how:

Take off the cap and plug.

Fill with your Fall Artifacts, sorted by color, type or size.

Replace the plug and cap, gluing if you are worried about supervision. These seal fairly tight, but it never hurts to be safe!

These are perfect for infant/toddler/preschool and beyond! Reggio Emilia inspired, bringing the natural world into the classroom (or home!) and really focusing on the beauty of the objects. I love these! I can't wait to see what the kiddos think. :)

I also forgot to share my last vacation dress with you! Here's the blue dress I made last minute.

Here I am at the Byodo-In Temple in my dandelion puff dress. I put some beautiful blue buttons as embellishment, and a faux train on the back, much like my tiered skirt had. I love how it turned out, but I don't have any photos of the back.

We had such an amazing time! :)

Happy Tuesday everyone!

 

If You Like Piña Coladas...

My boyfriend and I are finally on our Hawaii vacation! Our friends get married tomorrow, but until then we are hanging around and enjoying the sights. I wore one of my new dresses today, one of two that I haven't shown on the blog yet because I made them in such a big hurry before the trip. I hope everyone is enjoying their three day weekend! Here are some pictures from our trip so far.

 My new sunny yellow dress for the trip. This is light, since I didn't line it, and has little flower details in the neckline trim and three buttons on the bodice.

Perfectly light for the hot day today!

I brought a bunch of my ribbon flowers, like this one, for the trip, but I also got some things at the shops. I couldn't help myself.

Have a great weekend everyone!

$10 Maxi Dress Refashion

I apologize for the pictures...these are all taken on my phone because we ran out of batteries for the big camera. Anyhoo, there's a dress I picked up at Marshall's for $10 a couple weeks ago. It is a size too small, especially in the bust, and I hate the length. But when I tried it on, I could see its potential.

It also had a hole in the seam...probably after sooooo many people tried it on. Well! I knew I could fix that one! I got an extra amount off the already low price and brought it home to refashion.

I wanted to shorten it, so I measured where I wanted it to fit and cut off the excess from the holey middle.

I pinned the two pieces together and serged. Go, Go, Gadget Serger! Yay! Still can't get over how awesome this thing is... :)

Next, I tackled the bust. It will still be a bit low (might put something along the neckline...still looking for lace), but removing the eeny weeny pads helped free up some fabric. I just unpicked the seam, took out the cup, and stitched it back together by hand.

I did the best I could to keep the pattern somewhat together, but the bottom half was wider, so I just sorta made due, and plan to sash or belt it to cover that up. No problem!

Much more flattering and now it fits perfectly! And no, no on-the-body pictures this time...let's keep this blog a little modest.

I've also been gearing up for fall. Bow making!

And decorating! This is the first year we have a house to decorate, rather than a hall in a building, so I put this little web up in our front window, a wreath on the door, some little yard signs that say BOO! EEK! (cute, I'll post pics another day) and a few little things inside. I love Christmas Tree Shops! All that stuff for $30!

Oh, and I had to share this bow. :) I made it to go with my outfit I wore  this weekend. I love the mix of color and pattern. What do you think?



New Dress for Vacation Without Pattern

 I made my first Hawaii vacation dress from a bright, silky material I got at Joann's. I thought this would be so beautiful, but the material was a PAIN! It doesn't sit the way I like, it moves around so much that creating the pattern was just a nightmare, and I had to do a LOT of alterations just to get it to look like this. I am still unhappy with the hem, so I am thinking of making it about knee-length all the way around, like the original I patterned it after. What do you think? Here are the photos.

The original dress

My version (sorry for the blur) with a long back hemline and shorter front hemline. Not completely happy with the back bodice...still needs some altering, but I wore it for the 4th and enjoyed it!

I added elastic at the waist so I wouldn't have to belt it and be hot. The bodice has a modest neckline with some gathering...I need to make the back much smaller because the straps slide down...again...more tweaking needed before the big trip. 

 I do like the length in the front....hmmmmmm.

It didn't turn out exactly like the first...because it is hard to make a pattern from scratch, and it is a completely different fabric (stiff, not stretchy) but I am mostly pleased with how it turned out. What do you think???