I am so excited to finally be sharing a project that has been months in the works: The Button Up Refashion Swap. The idea to organize a refashion swap with a group of awesome bloggers bounced around in my head for a long time before I actually reached out to my friend Melissa and asked what she thought. She was all on board, and teamed up with me to invite 8 more amazing refashion and sewing bloggers to participate in this first (maybe of more?!) refashion swap. I’d love to introduce you to the participants:

Jennifer of Grainline Studio

Krista of Lazy Saturdays

Liz of Cotton & Curls

Megan of Megan Nielsen Designs

Melissa of I Still Love You

Miranda of One Little Minute (that’s me!)

Miriam of MadMim

Kate of See Kate Sew

Sunni of A Fashionable Stitch

Suzannah of Adventures in Dressmaking

The premis is simple: Each of these 10 awesome bloggers began with a basic button up shirt and refashioned it into something wonderful for her randomly assigned partner, creating a tutorial of the process. The only rule was to begin with a button up. Each participant was free to add or take away whatever she wanted to create a fun, new look. Today those tutorials are all published, showing off 10 new ways to refashion a simple button up! Make sure to check out what everyone came up with!

Now, let me show you the fun refashion that I created for the darling Kate of See Kate Sew:

Kate is adorable. She always looks put together and fresh. And she always (okay, almost always) wears dresses! Her blog is full of awesome refashions, sewing tutorials, and great ideas. She also has a little boy who she sews and refashions for, which is a wealth of ideas for me with my boys!

 I knew that I wanted to make her something she would love and want to wear so I told her my idea to create a color blocked dress with a peter pan collar. She gave me the thumbs-up, and mentioned she also loves pleats… So, pleats she got! I used two mens XL button up shirts for this refashion, one chambray and one plain white. Using the button plackets of both shirts allowed for a simple transition from white to blue. And I love the blue collar. It’s super cute, right?!

After finishing our refashions, we sent them off, criss-crossing the country (with fingers crossed for a good fit, as we all worked from measurements.) Next week, you will get a chance to see each of the refashions modeled by it’s new owner as we do a little blog hop of the finished products. Here’s the schedule for the blog hop:

“Maternity” Monday, May 21st: Lizzie of Cotton & Curls, Krista of Lazy Saturdays (these two are both expecting!!)

Tuesday, May 22nd: Sunni of A Fashionable Stitch, Kate of See Kate Sew

Wednesday, May 23rd: Suzannah of Adventures in Dressmaking, Miranda of  One Little Minute

Thursday, May 24th: Miriam of  MadMim, Melissa of  I Still Love You

Friday, May 25th: Megan of Megan Nielsen Design, Jennifer of Grainline Studio

I can’t wait to see how Kate looks in her new color blocked dress!

Want to make one of your own? I broke the tutorial for this dress into 6 sections, to make it easier to follow along.

First up, the collar:

1. Unpick the collar from the shirt, leaving the collar band intact 2. Round off the points of the collar, creating the peter pan shape 3. Cut the arms off of the blue shirt, fold a piece in half, and lay the rounded collar leaf on top 4. Stitch around the rounded edge of the collar leaf, as close to the edge as possible, then trim the excess fabric off to 1/8″ or less 5. Flip the second layer of blue fabric over on top of the collar, covering it 6. Top stitch around the rounded edge of the collar, and trim the base with pinking shears 7. Insert the base of the newly re-covered collar back into the collar base, and pin in place 8. Stitch along the edge of the collar base, securing the new, blue, peter pan collar into place. (This could be a cool refashion by itself!!)

Now, for the bodice I used my dress form. It’s a nice tool, but you can totally complete a similar refashion without one. You will need a helper or a tailors pen to help you mark the fit on yourself. Here we go!

The bodice, part one:

1. Carefully unpick the pocket and iron to restore thread holes 2. Cut off both sleeves at the seams, and slice up both side seams (leave shoulder seams intact) 3. Unpick the base of the back from the yolk, and then re-attach after flattening the center pleat 4. Put the shirt on the dress form and cut off the shirt at the natural waist

The bodice, part two:

 1. Flip the shirt inside-out and pin to a good fit along the side seams 2. Also, pin along a diagonal line from the bust to the side seam to create a cool dart for the bust 3. Stitch along the pin lines, turn right side out and check the fit. Adjust as needed.

The skirt, part one:

 1. Cut your blue shirt straight across at the underarms and measure both white and blue pieces together to figure out the correct desired skirt length 2. Cut the bottom of the white shirt and the top of the blue shirt to even the edges. Unbutton both shirts and match the button placket up with right sides together 3. Pin the shirt at each end, and at the side seams, creating darts to narrow the width of one or the other shirt, if the sizes are slightly different (in this refashion, I eased a little out of the top of the blue to meet the side seams of the white) 4. Stitch around the edge, joining the two skirt pieces 5. Flip right sides up, press with an iron, and topstitch the seam 6. Even the hemline of the blue shirt (if you want) and hem to desired length.

The skirt, part two:

1. Using your natural waist measurement (divided in half for front and back) as a guide, plot out and pin your pleats. I had enough fabric to create 1″ pleats every 2″ from the button placket. (You can kinda just wing this, as long as you end up with the correct measurement from side seam to side seam) 2. Plot and pin pleats in the back. Sew a basting stitch along the top of the whole skirt to stay the pleats 3. If your white fabric is at all sheer, add a simple skirt lining by gathering muslin (finishing all of the edges with a serger or simple hem) and pinning it to the waist of the pleated skirt, with the open end in front, at the buttons 4. Unbutton both the bodice and the skirt and match up the side seams, and both ends of the button placket with right sides together. Stitch together. (After trying this on the dress form, I went back and also added a small pleat at the base of the bodice in the center back to take out a bit of bagginess. You can do the same if you have a similar problem!)

 *Disclaimer: I have no idea how one is really supposed to use a French Curve…I just make it up as I go, and have seemed to do okay so far. So, here goes! Don’t make fun.

The sleeves:

1. Measure the rounded edge of the armhole with a French Curve (or you could lay some paper underneath, trace the hole, and use that as a pattern!) 2. Lay the curve onto the folded sleeve that you cut from the white shirt and trace the round curve 3. Add about a half inch to the bottom edge to help ease the sleeve seam, and cut the sleeves to the desired length 4. With right sides together, sew up the side seam of the sleeve, making a tube. Stitch with a basting stitch along the curve of the sleeve, and pull the bobbin thread to ease the sleeve, with right sides together, into the arm hole. Match up side seams and stitch into place.

Whew! We’re done! Let’s admire our handiwork, shall we?

Nicely tailored bodice, crisp, blue peter pan collar, cool short sleeves…

…fitted natural waist, fresh pleats, color blocked skirt…

…continuing buttons, and modest hemline. It turned out great, and is hopefully something Kate will enjoy!  I can’t wait to see it on her next week on Tuesday of the blog hop.

Way back, when Milo had just begun to toddle around, I whipped him up a little toddler harness. I know that they can be controversial, but we loved it! I wanted my new walker to get a chance to practice his skills, while still safely contained (they can be so unpredictable) rather than just sit in the stroller. “Harness” sounds cool, right? Like walking is a new outdoor activity requiring safety gear…which it is! I felt it was simply an extension of hand holding, and there was no way Milo would have let me hold his hand everywhere we walked (he still doesn’t!) I found we used the harness from right after he took steps, at 12 months, until he was just about 20 months, when he began to learn to come when I called him.

 I wanted something that looked more like a vest than a backpack, and needed it to be comfy, easy to pull on and off, and made out of things I had on hand. We used it often and well…and then packed it away somewhere with baby stuff. I’ve no idea where! Now that Eliot is standing freely and beginning to cruise, I figured it was time to make another, and even improve upon the original. This version is completely reversible, so you get to choose two fun fabrics! I used Chasing Airplanes and  Racer Stripes from the Children at Play Over the Fence line by Sara Jane for Michael Miller that I picked up at Raspberry Creek Fabric. I thought the “children at play” theme was appropriate. In addition to the cute material, I also added a little stretch in the shoulder straps to keep it comfy and easy to slip over the head.

Want to make one? You’re in luck, because I created a full tutorial. Again, because of the tutorial length, just click through below to check it out.

You’ll make your own pattern using one of your toddler’s tees. 1. Grab a tee, some butcher paper (or paper grocery bags) and a sharpie. 2. Fold the paper in half and trace around the tee shirt 3. Mark at the seam of the sleeve on both the shoulder and armpit 4. Round out the lines from shoulder to arm pit and cut around the pattern. You should have two vest-shaped pattern pieces.

1. Set one of the pieces aside and fold the other in half at the armpit and in half again vertically. Trace a line along the folds 2. Line up the top two lines and fold the pattern on the diagonal 3. Do the same the other direction and trace lines along the folds between the center of the back and the shoulder 4. Use a ruler to make a line from the center back to the bottom corners of the pattern.

1. Cut the pieces along the horizontal and diagonal lines (not the vertical center line) 2. Keep only the top and bottom side pieces, toss the others 3. Use a ruler to make the top piece a V (this will become the neck strap 4. Cut 3 rectangles about 2″ x 4″ and tape onto each corner point, matching the end up at the 2″ width of the point

1. Tape the side pieces onto the uncut pattern piece, also cut two additional 2″ rectangles, this time only about 3″ long and tape them to the ends of the neck piece (see photo 4) 2. Mark one of the sides where you will attach the handle 3. Fold (or cut) your vest pattern in half and lay it along the fold of the fabric. I folded both of my two fabrics and cut the pattern pieces out together 4. Lay the neck piece on the fabric and cut one of each fabric.

1. At this point you should have four pattern pieces cut, two of the vest and two of the neck piece 2. Pin right sides together 3. Leave a 2-3″ hole in the bottom of the vest piece so you can turn it right side out easier 4. Stitch around the edges, leaving all of the thin ends and the small hole in the bottom of the vest open

1. Turn the two pieces right side out. You may need to use a chopstick or pen to help 2. Press the pieces flat 3. Using your scraps from the pattern, cut 2″ strips of both materials 4.You’re going to make these scraps into the long handle, so connect them by matching ends up at a 90 degree angle

1. Stitch across the end on the diagonal. If you are using a sewing machine, cut the excess fabric off 2. You should be able to unfold it into a strip 3. Once you have a 3-4′ length of each fabric, match right sides together 4. stitch along both lengths of the material, and along one end

1.Use a pen or chopstick to flip your handle right side out 2. You should have a nice, long, tube. 3. Press the handle flat, then match up to one end of the vest pattern 4. Turn the vest side strap under about 1/2″ and insert the handle inside and pin in place.

1. Flip the little side strap on the other side of the vest into a loop and pin in place 2. Stitch both the side loop and the side handle into place with a nice rectangle or several rows of stitching 3. Now, cut two 1.5″ lengths of elastic 4. Insert one into each end of the neck piece down to about 3″ from the end.

1. Pin the elastic inside the strap, then pin it to the open end as well. The fabric will look gathered, because the elastic is shorter than the strap 2. Sew along the end, and the length of the elastic, pulling the fabric flat as you go 3. Repeat on the other side. You should have two stretchy shoulder straps. Also, flip the other end of the neck strap under into a loop (like you did on the side) and stitch in place. 4. Fold the top open ends of the vest pattern under about 1/2″ and insert the shoulder straps. Pin and stitch in place.

1. You are done! You should have a reversible harness with a loop at the neck, one at the side, and a long handle on the other side 2. To use, thread the strap through the opposite side loop 3. Thread it through the loop at the neck 4. And if you want, thread it back through the loop at the side.

And there you have it! Make one now and you’ll be ready for when your little one actually starts walking!!

We’re off tonight to go camping with the boys. The last time we slept in a tent was at Assateague Island and Milo was only 6 months old (yikes! It’s been a while!) Both Dave and I camped and hiked all growing up. In fact, one summer I even worked as a wilderness counselor with an addiction rehabilitation program for teenagers, where I spent 6 of every 14 days literally sleeping under the stars (and making shoes of bark and leather, but that’s another story…)  Another summer I worked as a river guide in central Idaho, and not only camped out, but helped set up camp and cook for the slew of passengers as well! As newlyweds, Dave and I worked in Puerto Rico for a summer and all of our vacation time was spent camping on the beaches. Needless to say, we feel pretty comfortable in the outdoors…er, that is to say, we used to.

Living outside of the outdoor mecca (aka Utah) and welcoming one, then another little boys into our life has weakened our granola spirits! I am really happy in a nice hotel on the waterfront, where the boys can nap in the room while I lounge by the pool and read. Hmm, that sounds nice… I do miss the outdoors, though. And it is really important to me that my boys grow up feeling connected to nature and at home in the wilderness. Silly as it might sound, my life has been so fulfilled by my relationship to raw earth.

We’re definitely tip-toeing back into nature. We bought a new, HUGE tent a couple weeks ago to accomodate the four of us. I’m packing our camp BBQ, portable crib (yep, the tent is that huge), and a cooler of cold beverages (including some Jarritos to enjoy with our veggie quesadillas tonight.) My dad taught me to bring cheese for quesadillas for the first night of a backpacking trip, because the rest of the trip you’ll be wishing for some yummy cheese. We’re car camping, and only for one night, but quesadillas sound good anyway, and I’m pretty sure the kids will eat’m!

I’m hoping all goes well and we gain some camping-with-kids confidence. I’ll be posting photos on Instagram (I’m an #instaddict) with hashtag #campingwithkids , if you want to follow along. Do any of you camp with your young ones? I’d really love to hear what tips and tricks you have to make the experience wonderful. Share them in the comments, and we can all learn from each other!

Wish us luck, and have a great weekend!

1. I decided long ago that when I had kids I would let them get sprinkles on their ice cream whenever they wanted, because the $0.50 would totally be worth them feeling super special. It is. 2. Starting a pile of bow dresses at 8:30 pm. 3. Finishing said dresses at midnight to get them in the mail. 4. Letterpress printing birthday cards with a rainbow roll of ink. 5. Friday is always pizza night. 6. Fish sitting Gulp and Speedy for a week (they both survived!!)

1. After 6 years of being in love with Dave, I learn that he can juggle (and I love him just a little more!) 2. Costco hotdog. I think it was my second of the week. 3. Putting shoes on all six feet several times a day makes me slightly crazy. 4. A hot, humid run with both boys=double miles and then some. 5. We reformed the meal planning a little and now have “Wacky Wednesdays”. Last week we made homemade corn dogs. They were delicious. 6. Enjoying Rita’s with my college roommate Sheryl makes me very happy.

1. Busted out the new sandals and saw my toes. 2. My freezer is simply not big enough. 3. Milo and Christian in fireman hats, hoisting logs at the park. Pretty adorable. 4. Dave’s Homemade Birthday Cake. 5. Milo “taking a boat to Mamo & Papa’s house” 6. Milo choosing 3 favorites from the dollar store to spend his $3 of birthday money from Big Mamo & Poppa. He got a hammer, spiderman umbrella (which I supplemented $2) and powdered donuts.

1. I’ve decided to start parking next to the carts, rather than next to the door. 2. A super fun date with Dave at Standard DC. We were the only ones drinking soda. 3. Milo helps himself to the leftover cake for breakfast (All of it, and some carrots…) 4. Morning antics with the boys. 5. Eliot stands up on everything, all the time! And these two brothers love each other. 6. While Eliot sleeps Milo and get to play “big kid games” like Don’t Break the Ice.

1. 30 seconds after reading Joanna’s new hair tut, I use it (and love it). 2. Milo gets to milk a cow at Oxon Hill. I did too, and it somehow felt so familiar… 3. Hanging out with one of my blog buddies Megan Nielsen before she moves this weekend. I’m a long time fan, and it was wonderful to meet in person! 4. Megan brought sweet gifts: Red Truck cookies for the boys and a Darling Ranges pattern for me. 5. Milo picks up every stick at the park before we can head home. 6. Trying to put down the phone to go to sleep. Harder than it seems.

I’ve got such a collection of Instagram photos, I am super excited to use some of Jen’s amazing ideas to display them in my home. Are you Instaddicted, too?

I threw together the invite with a Mexican Flag motif based loosely on these. I thought we could make some for simple decor. (I use the software Pages for all of my basic invites and design projects.) I had the stack of invitations printed and ready to send, then it was too late to send them, so I just attached a screen shot to an email. Classy. I’m obviously getting more and more laid back as I grow up:)

The flags were super easy to make, and turned out darling. Of course, it rained all morning the day of the party, so everything was a little wet.  But by the time the party started the sun was shining and weather was fine. The little drips of water from the roof and tissue paper didn’t mix well, but we were lucky and only had a couple flag casualties!

We served a fun and easy taco bar with chicken from off the grill and bowls of toppings. We also whipped up some kid-friendly quesadillas right on the BBQ. Everyone enjoyed hunks of a sweet pineapple, and we had lemon water and limeade in our new drink dispensers (18 bones at Costco. For real. How could we resist?!) I ordered the un-decorated chocolate cake from Costco (since it worked so well last year!) and cut out some super tiny mexican flag pendants with an exacto knife to use as the cake toppers. Turned out cute, right?

Our good friends the Woods let us host the party at their home. It’s so rare around DC for young families to live in a house with a yard (and a porch, and a driveway…) that it was a total luxury to have a party there! I think it made everyone (all 1o or so families that attended) a little antsy for a home. I mean, as much as I adore my 950 square feet of heaven, a patch of grass to call my own sounds divine. In time, right? I digress. Back to the fiesta…

The bounce house was a huge hit. Pun intended. There were fifteen or so kids bouncing and sliding for two hours while the adults ate and chatted. Everyone had a great time and no one suffered major injuries. I was thrilled.

After bouncing and eating, we brought out the cake. Cute Christian thought the singing was a little too loud.

These two were adorable making a wish!

Finally, we had everyone line up, youngest to oldest, and take a swing at the piñata. It was pretty funny. The first time through the line of kids, it seemed the thing hadn’t even been touched. Then we went backwards from oldest to youngest (hoping the older boys could break it up a bit!) and it finally started to bust. Milo got some clean hits, then Christian had the final swings.

I love the stampede when a piñata breaks! The candy and toys were gathered into treat bags in about 45 seconds.

I think everyone made out pretty well with their goodies. Milo was thrilled with a bag full of candy all for him.

The treat bags were simple brown lunchbags. I wanted to print on them (like this) but my printer wasn’t having any of that. So, at the last minute I decided to design a little ¡gracias! to cut out of vinyl with my Silhouette. Worked like a charm. (I was proud of myself for even connecting the letters to that it was all one sticker instead of individual letters. Yeah, pretty smart.)

These two three-year-olds had a blast celebrating with their friends! Feliz Cumpleaños to our boys!

Our little family is growing up!

I have been staring at this yellow striped tee for two years. I love almost everything about it: the color, the stripes (duh), the light weight knit, and the fit. It was almost perfect, BUT about an inch and a half too short. Like, that annoying shows-off-your-belly-in-the-way-you-thought-was-coy-in-highschool-but-you’re-not-in-highschool-anymore sort of way. I’ve worn it with a longer tee or tank underneath, and tucked it into high waisted skirts, but it was time to make a permanent change. What better than to add a light weight floor length skirt to make a cool and comfortable maxi dress?

Here’s the before. (before ironing, before picking up the living room, before waiting for daylight to take photos…)

I cut off the arms, because I wanted short sleeves for the summer, and so I could use the material for the waist band. I also cut the hem off to my natural waistline, just a couple inches.

I cut the seam off of each sleeve, then cut one of them in half. I turned the stripes vertical (like on this skirt) and stitched each piece, RST onto the bottom of the tee. After the front and back pieces were sewn on, I stitched down the side seams.

I measured the center front, and added two small button holes where I threaded the tie.

Who knows where I picked up this micro striped cotton/lycra knit. Probably on a sale table somewhere. I was happy to finally find a fun use for it! I measured the waistband of the shirt, and my height from natural waist to the floor, then cut a simple a-line skirt and stitched down the side seams.

I decided to use the vertical stripe waistband as the casing for the tie, so I turned the skirt inside out, stuffed the shirt inside, matched up side seams, and stitched it onto the seam of the shirt and the waistband. That left the bottom of the waistband unstitched.

This is how it looked after the skirt and shirt were stitched together. There is probably a much easier way to do this, but this worked just great:)

Then I just turned the end of the waistband under, and zig-zag stitched it to the skirt, leaving a nice casing for the tie. I made the tie with the other cut-off sleeve by placing right sides together and stitching around the edge, leaving a small hole in the center to turn in right side out. Then I stuck a safety pin on it, thread it through the casing, and was finished! I just left the sleeves and skirt raw edged, since it’s knit and won’t fray. Gotta love that.

The best thing about a dress is that it is a whole outfit in one. Add a cool, hand-stamped necklace from Pretty Little Me and I am good to go. About as low maintenance as it gets (without walking around in sweatpants.)(which I sometimes do.)(this is much cuter.)

So, there ya have it! An old tee shirt, a yard of knit fabric, and a quiet evening after the kids are asleep. Good luck and enjoy!

Yep, this is a birthday week at our house! I brought Milo home from the hospital on Dave’s birthday, and he still thinks it was the best birthday present ever. (Although the awesome bicycle shorts I got him this year are  a close rival;))

I figured making Birthday Tee‘s for Dad and Mom as well as the kiddos will be fun. I would have loved to see a photo of my own dad every year on his birthday while I was growing up. The few photos I have seen only leave me wishing for more (sideburns and denim vests, need I say more?) Dave’s Birthday Tee already fits (er…will once I wash and dry it on hot…), but will still be a great constant over the years to come.

I love celebrating Dave. He turned 26 about 2 months after we started dating (6 years ago now…weird!), and I threw a funny little corn-dog-themed surprise party for him. I love this series of photos someone took as he made a wish that year. (His pleased-with-himself face in the middle photo makes me laugh!) I think we knew then that we were going to spend our lives together.

We have fit into each other’s lives perfectly since the start. You want to know why? Because Dave is such a good man. Simple as that. He is perfectly honest, fiercely loyal, surprisingly funny, quietly confident, openly understanding, and completely wonderful. He makes up for all I lack. I couldn’t ask for more.

Happy Birthday to my love, who anchors me to a good, solid, happy life regardless of the highs and lows of circumstance. Here’s to many many many more.

My firstborn is THREE today! That’s insane. I love the crazy awesome little boy that he has become.

We’re enjoying celebrating all day today, and I wanted to show you one of the fun ideas I had for him: The Birthday Tee.

I guess I have a thing for charting timelines with tee shirts. I bought him and XL Men’s shirt (that he will eventually grow into) and freezer paper stenciled “Happy Birthday to Me”  (with a pretty cute birthday candle “i”) on the front and his name on the back. Then, this morning with a Sharpie we drew his “3″ on the front and took some birthday photos! The plan is to do the same every year and watch as little Milo grows up, year by year, in the same tee shirt!

I’m sure that some years will be easier than others to make this happen. I foresee monetary bribes, that will totally be worth it. This year all he needed for a bribe was an M&M cupcake. Easy Peasy.

And now, and interview with the Birthday Boy (thanks Chelsea, for the idea!)

Me: Milo, Can I ask you some questions?

Milo Yeah. About what?

Me: How does it feel to be three-years-old?

Milo: What? Look, Cupcake!! (pointing at the computer screen)

Me: What’s been your favorite part of your birthday?

Milo: (yelling) WEEOW TRUCK!

Me: Oh, the fire truck?

Milo: Yeah.

Me: So, Milo, what’s your favorite color?

Milo: Green

Me:What’s your favorite food?

Milo: Spaghetti

Me: Who’s your best friend?

Milo: Christian

Me: Milo, what do you want to be when you grow up?

Milo: I, uh, I wanna…what was it?

Me: What do you want to do when you are bigger?

Milo: Uh, I…(turns on fire truck siren and looks away)

Me: What do you like to do for fun?

Milo: PODOS.

Me: What? Podos?

Milo: Yeah, Podos.

Me: What is that?

Milo: Shoulders. (Putting hands on his shoulders) My shoulders.

Me: Okay. So, what is your favorite toy that you have?

Milo: Holds up his new fire extinguisher

Me: Your fire extinguisher?

Milo: Yeah. It goes with my fire truck. Mom, I want you to ask me a question again.

Me: Okay.

Milo: I want you to ask me a question again. AGAIN! (walks into the kitchen and climbs up onto the chair.)

Me: What are you doing?

Milo: I want a BANANA!

Me: Oh, okay, you want a banana. Eat it in the dining room.

Milo: What the dining room is?

Me: It’s over here where the table and the rug is.

Milo: Oh, where that rug is?

Me: yep.  Okay. Where do we live?

Milo:We live in Zandria, with Andrea. (our neighbor’s name is Andrea…well, was. They just moved)

Me: What is you very favorite thing to eat

Milo: I said, Spaghetti!

Me: What do you not like to eat

Milo: I don’t wanna eat chocolate cake!

Me: You don’t want to eat chocolate cake? I thought you liked chocolate cake?

Milo: Yeah, I like Chocolate cake.

Me: Well, what do you not like to eat?

Milo: I don’t want to eat Spaghetti!! Haha. No, I don’t wanna eat Pooh Pooh, that’s yucky.

Me: You’re right, that’s yucky.

Milo: Yah de de dwa dee, ya dede dee dah dee, I neenamotee

Me: What is cool?

Milo: Oh pa de dewo dodos

Me: Use words I understand. What is cool?

Milo: Doing like a Rainbow!

Me: A rainbow is cool?

Milo: Yeah.

Me: What is your favorite snack?

Milo: My favorite snack is crackers. Crackers and panana…

Me: What is your favorite animal?

Milo: Favorite animal is a COW! Haha, cow and a sheep, padee da dee bodo

Me: What things do you love?

Milo: Hey, Mommy, look! (sits down next to his Madagascar 2 DVD case and examines it.)

Me: So, are you done talking to me?

Milo: (walks out on the porch.)

Me: (yelling to the porch) So, Milo, how does it feel to be three?

Milo: Uh oh mommy. Something fell down.

Me: Did you throw something over the edge?

Milo: Yeah. Gotta go get it.

Me: Yep.

So, I guess that concludes my interview! We’re off to retrieve the fallen object and head to the park. Happy Birthday to my boy!

Here’s a way you ALL can get a chance to shop for free, and you won’t even have to MAKE anything with what you take home: A Clothing Swap!! If you’ve been reading this blog for a little while, you’ll remember that I hosted a fall clothing swap back last year. Everyone loved it so much, I decided to pull together another one. The change of seasons is a perfect time to go through and weed out those unwanted, unworn clothes and trade them for things you will actually wear!

Hosting is really simple. I sent an email to a few good friends, inviting them to bring unwanted, clean clothes on hangers. Pants, shorts, shoes and jewelry end up on the floor. Having the tops and dresses on hangers just makes it much easier to look through. It is nice if everyone is similar sizes, but part of why people get rid of clothes is because they are too big or too small, so it can work with a variety of sizes as well. Once everyone is there, and the clothes are all arranged, the swap begins. I discuss the details in this post, but I’ll do a quick review:

1. Cut several colors of yarn or string into 6″ pieces, give each person 10 of one color

2. Browse for 5-10 minutes, tying a string onto the pieces that you want

3. At the end of the time, go through giving out the pieces. If there is more than one string on something, put the two strings into a bowl and draw for the winner

4. Repeat, repeat, repeat, until everyone is satisfied

5. Take the piles (and piles, and piles) of leftover clothes to donate

Here’s some of the ladies in their finds. Check out those sweet polka dot platforms!

I hosted this swap in our apartment’s storage room, because my living room is just a tad small for all of the people and their clothes. It worked out great, in a garage or back yard would work wonderfully as well.

I think Maren made out pretty well with this chartreuse silk skirt and navy patterned top. Someone’s trash became her super stylish outfit!

I used old fabric bolt rods, tied to the pipes with twine, as hanging rods. They worked just fine:) I also brought down a full-length mirror so we could see how we looked in the duds. Sometimes, how the items fit became the tipping point for who got to take them home.

Even my two pregnant friends found some things that they loved, both for now and later. I took home a couple sweet pairs of well-fitting jeans (so hard to shop for, yet these were delivered right to me!), these patent leather peep toe platforms, and two great tops. And I got rid of several bags of unworn clothes. We decided to send our leftover clothing to the Young Women in our church before it went to Goodwill. They got to sort through and pick out whatever they liked. How awesome would that have been as a teenager!

A clothing swap could be a perfect place to gather items to refashion. I have plenty of that on my own, so I was just looking for things I loved and would wear often. That’s just what I found! I promise it’s not hard to put a quick clothing swap together. Your friends (and your closet) will love you for it!

After linking up my entry on a whim in February, being picked for the top ten, then spending this whole last month cranking out a competition entry each week , today the Sewvivor Results were announced…and I won! Aahhh! 

It has been an amazing journey with lots of crazy unexpected twists, late nights of sewing, feeling totally nervous all day on voting days, and best of all,  great new friendships. I feel very blessed to have had the chance to get to know the other contestants, and the host Rachel. They are all really talented, awesome girls that I hope to work more with in the future.

I really appreciate all the support and love I received from you guys, my family, and friends. Your comments made me smile, your votes helped me stay in it! I really pushed myself creatively, and learned some new things along the way that have made me a better seamstress and (hopefully) a better person.

Here’s a quick look back at the rounds:

Judge Inspired: I made the Summer Chevron Dress (tutorial here)

 Recycled or Repurposed: I made these Sweater Sleeve Hand Puppets

 Sew for Someone Else: I made Emmy a Stylish, Comfy Maternity outfit

Anything with Pleats: I made a dress and clutch with Stripes, Leather, Fringe, and Pleats

Whew! Wears me out all over again! But how fun.

I’m going to take a little break from sewing today and spend the morning at the letterpress studio (making time for my second favorite hobby:))

I hope you all have a really awesome weekend, filled with the things you love most!

xoxo