A Very Special Dress

Though the calendar may still say January now, these pages fly by before you can believe it.  If you have a special occasion coming up this spring...First Communion or a wedding in the family...it's time to start planning now.

Last year, my goddaughter, Grace, celebrated her First Holy Communion, and I made her dress.    Grace had definite ideas about the style and length she wanted.  She wanted a simple scooped neck, short cap sleeves, embroidery on the bodice front and a sash in back.  She also asked for a bow on one shoulder, but it really didn't end up working with the design.

Ordinarily, I'm not a quick seamstress.  Planning, measuring, embroidery, etc. take time and careful consideration.  But I had a smocked Easter dress to make first, and then I whipped up an everyday dress for Grace, to try out the pattern's fit.   So this dress needed to go together quickly, and it did.

For fabric, I was very fortunate to have yards of silk dupioni on hand...a gift from my aunt.  I made an overskirt of organza and used that for the sash as well.  

For the embroidery, I used my own designs.  I use this same cross when I'm making baptism garments.  Here I've made silk ribbon roses around it.  

I used the Children's Corner pattern "Jane Anne" and drafted a new sleeve of my own.  It's completely lined.  It sewed in pucker-free my first try!!

Here I'm gathering yards of organza.  I ended up hemming both skirts by hand.

I found these perfect buttons at Sarah's Fabrics here in downtown Lawrence.

I have to say Grace was the sweetest, best-dressed little girl in her class!

Inspired......Wintertime Birthday Wishes

I had several birthday cards to make, and not much time.  I dug through my winter stamp box and pulled out this big snowflake that I hadn't used in a long time.

Kristie Hartfeil's design on page 82 of the Winter 2014 CardMaker magazine inspired this wintertime birthday card.  It's simple and quick to make.  What could be more perfect?

I stamped the snowflakes on pure white, using Danube Blue.  Just stamp over and over again, without re-inking, to get the varying shades of blue.   Try it in a different color...maybe purple.

Supplies:

cardstock from K & Company; cardstock, snowflake stamp from  Hobby Lobby;  blue and black dye ink from Clearsnap; "Happy Birthday" stamp from Flonz.

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Have a great week!

A Box of Goodies

Christmas is sadly behind us.  The New Year's begun.  And I have this lovely box of new goodies to try out.  What to do first.......

I needed a retirement card for a man who travels and shows antique cars.  Actually, I bought myself a little Christmas presents just for this card.  I picked out the Art Deco cartridge from Cricut.

I cut the car--my first real, intricate die-cutting, mind you!--from red, black, gray and tan cardstock.  For the base card, I used one of the maps from The Paper Studio's Uncharted stack.  I snipped a notch in a leftover piece of tan cardstock for the tag and sponged the edge with brown chalk ink.  (Yes, chalk ink seems to sponge more easily.)

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Come back soon.!

CardMaker Blog Team

I am proud...and excitied...to be a member of the new CardMaker Bog Team!

http://www.cardmakermagazine.com/blog/

Happy New Year to All

Merry Christmas to All

A Wish         

May He come to you

   this Christmas Eve

In a star or in a song

    painfully sweet,

In a pearl sunset, in

    a tree’s soft glow,

Or in the quiet of

a falling snow,

Bringing Peace on Earth,

love, laughter.  May

Your whole heart swell with joy

                  this Christmas Day.                   

by Sarah Ashley Posch

Monday's Child

I, and generations before me, grew up on rhymes like "Thirty days hath September" and "Monday's child is fair of face."  My niece and nephew don't know these.  They're not alone.  I'm constantly surprised at how many blank looks I get when I mention them.  

Many times, my mother and I have embroidered cute little squares of this poem for baby quilts.  I calligraphed it a while back, just for a fun challenge.  Recently, an Etsy customer asked me to make a 5 x 7 print with watercolor illustration.  I was most pleased with my sunrise behind the trees.

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Come back soon!