Tea Dyeing

I recently saw a new technique on Pinterest. Tea Dyeing fabric and onesies!  As soon as I saw this I knew that I would have to try it!  I love, love onesies, especially creating something cute for baby girls and boys!   I followed the tutorial here and couldn't be happier with the results.  I put a few onesies, muslin, chiffon, lace, and other trims in the tea liquid.  It took a few times in the tea liquid to get the darker color that I wanted.   One of my nieces is expecting her first baby, a baby girl!  I couldn't be at the shower so I wanted to make something really special for her.  Here is what I came up with.  

I started with a heart doily and used some lace trim and sewed it around the heart.  I decided on a fabric in my stash (Amy Butler) and thought it would be perfect with the tea dyeing and made a frayed flower with pearls.   

     I followed this tutorial here to make the adorable ruffled baby legs.    

 

      I made the skirt with a double layer with a chiffon ruffle that peeks out. This skirt is similar to my skirt from my owl onesie outfit. I love all the ruffles!  To finish the ensemble, I also made a matching headband with a similar flower from the onesie and two flower rosettes.           

Owl Onesie & Skirt

                                  I made this cute owl outfit for one of my niece's baby girl.  I decided to make my owl onesie the I sell in my etsy store and made a matching skirt.  I loved how it turned out.  I made the skirt with two layers and added some light pink ruffled chiffon to make it a little more ruffly, fluffy, and girly (just the way I like)!    

 

  

Ballerina Birthday Tea Party

My oldest daughter wanted to have another big birthday party this year. Ella loves to dance and most of her friends are in her dance class as well. 

I love to craft and sew, so I tend to go a little overboard when I throw a party. I make my own decorations, food, cakes which make the party within a reasonable budget. Here is what I made.
For decorations I used pink and pink/white damask tablecloths, I made pink tulle pom-poms and strung them with yarn, a few balloons from the dollar store, dress form necklace holders with hand stamped necklaces (party favor), ballet shoe wall hanging, dress form with a pink tutu, vanity with mirror with a pink tray with lace crowns (party favor), and a cake stand I made from an old chandelier. Here is the tutorial that I followed http://www.iheartnaptime.net/diy-cake-stand/

For the food I made 5 small cakes with pink rosette frosting, pink cake pops, marshmallow wands, and pirouette cookie sticks. It was also a tea party so we had antique teacups and plates, served with pink lemonade. The girls loved it!


Crafts. We had had pink party bags and each girl got to decorate their bag. There was a lot of markers, crayons, stamps, stickers, glue, and glitter! Then we made beaded bracelets with a ballerina tutu charm.

For party favors I made lace crowns and  hand stamped initial necklaces with a pink gem.

A whole lot of pink tutu-ness!

I recently got an international order from Australia!  I'm always excited when I get international  orders. The order was for 11 of My Ballerina Tutu Bun Wraps.  It was for a birthday party and the buyer loved them!  I took a few photos of the completed order.  So much pale pink fluffy tutu-ness!

It was pretty neat that is was an order to Melbourne, Australia.  My college roommate and one of my bffs, Bridgette, and I went to Melbourne on Spring Break while we were in college one year.  We had a fabulous and unforgettable time!  It's neat to think that something I made has made itself back to Australia.  : ) 

Lotus Tunic–Sewing and Finishing

I really love how this tunic/dress came all together but I think next time I will allow myself more time.  : )  My good friend Bridgette from Fancybelle and I had a great time with our sew-a-long. 
The first day I put the darts and zipper in on the back pieces and did the lining at the same time.  The front pieces went together smoothly but I did have to redo the neckline a couple of times.  I’m not used to such a large seam allowance (1/2 inch).  That made it more challenging for me especially around the neckline and sleeves.  I was very happy that everything fit together nicely.  I was a little worried about the puff cap sleeves but they went together pretty smoothly.  









I really wanted to wear this for Mother’s Day, and it was long enough on me to wear it as a dress!  I did take a slip that I had purchased on clearance for $1 and attached some ruffle fabric that matched the colors in my tunic.  It took me a total of about 10 minutes and added a little pop of color and some just a little length for when I sat down.  With my one year old crawling all over my lap, it gave me more coverage!  : ) 
I have a few pictures but didn’t take as many as I wanted.  Most of last week I spent the time from 7pm to 10pm working on this tunic.  I plan on making a much shorter version of this so I can wear it this summer.  I will have to adjust the bodice a little bit so I won’t have to wear a cami under it.  Since it’s fully lined, it would be incredibly hot to wear in the summer with three layers!  : ) 
I would really recommend to other Sewing Lovers to check out Amy Butler patterns.  She does a great job and the finished products is soooo cute and look like I bought it in a department store.  Here is a break down of the cost to make this tunic – $27 Amy Butler fabric, $13 Amy Butler Lotus Tunic pattern, $3 invisible zipper, $8 muslin (for lining) = $51   Sewing is not a cheap hobby, but I love creating, maybe designing someday!
And I also did have to make a matching hair accessory for my tunic!  Hope you enjoy!

Lotus Tunic Day 1

 

For Day 1, I traced out pattern pieces onto parchment paper and cut out the exterior and lining pieces.  This pattern was on tissue pattern paper, which made it difficult so I used parchment paper to make my pattern pieces.  I didn’t want to cut the original pattern so I could use it in other sizes for the future. 

It took 2 yards of my main exterior fabric ( Amy Butler Twilight Peony in Saffron) and a small amount for the coordinating fabric (Amy Butler’s Peacock Feathers in Blush).  It also took 2 yards of muslin for the lining.  That was it for day 1, I’m excited to start putting this together! 

Sew-A-Long #2 Amy Butler's Lotus Tunic

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I loved the my first sew-a-long so much that I'm making another one of Amy Butler's patterns for another sew-a-long!

My friend and college roommate Bridgette from Fancybelle  and I will be doing Amy Butler's Lotus Tunic & Cami. We both did Amy Butler's Cabo Halter top pattern last month and wanted to do any other pattern by Amy Butler. We both love, love (did I say Love) Amy Butler fabric!

Here is our timeline (meaning during naptime & after kids are in bed):

Mon May 7: Trace and Cut Pattern

Tues May 8-Weds May 9: Sewing

Thurs May 10-Fri May 11: Finishing

This pattern looks more challenging but I'm ready for it. It's so fun sewing along with a friend even though we live in different states! Not only do we get to make something for ourselves, we can help each other out if we need help. Plus, I'd probably find a million other things to do instead of make something for myself! I decided to go with the fabric on the cover of the pattern (real original, right)!

Amy Butler Twilight Peony in Saffron for main body of Tunic

 

 

 

 

 

 

And Amy Butler’s Peacock Feathers in Blush for accenting fabric.

Bridgette set up a flickr group if you want to join or follow along http://www.flickr.com/groups/lotuspattern/

Hope you follow along this week!