Simple Skirt - by Made

I know Easter has come and gone but I did make some skirts for the girls. They are definitely not your typical Easter skirts. As a matter of fact the only Easter thing about them is the color and....hmmmmm....that they wore them on Easter day! Does that count? 

I made the skirts using totally irresistible fabric, "Thunder Flower" by Alexander Henry in pink (you HAVE to see the red!): 

Oh yeah. These anime girls kick bootie like my girls do:

 

HAI-YA!

I tried using the "Simple Skirt" tutorial and this is how it came out:

 

It turned out cute, but I after I was done and Kailani tried it on I realized I should have made the top layer longer (like in the tutorial). Can't make the bottom layer shorter as she is tall and her legs go on for days! Next time I will tweak it a little bit. Regardless, SHE really likes it.

(Update: I pinned the bottom layer to see how it would look altered. MUCH BETTER! Don't mind the pins in the pic:)

For Momo I just made a gathered skirt with the same fabric but with a pink hem:

 

 

Pretty sweet!

If you want to make one head over to "Made" for the free tutorial! She has instructions to make both a single layer and a double layer simple skirt! Thanks Dana!

PS And for more handmade inspiration check out:

 

DIY Ribbon Wands

If you saw my post about Momo's party you may have noticed the ribbon wands that I made for party favors. They were super easy to make! The hardest part was deciding on what color ribbons to use!

I found the tutorial via The Ribbon Wand Shop. The only change I made was I used 3ft of ribbon versus 4ft. and the ribbon was still really long and pretty! My girlfriend helped me out by sealing the edges with glue to keep the ribbon from fraying.

Now, if I were to make these again for 3-5 year olds I think I would use a smaller dowel - one that was just large enough for a small hand to wrap around. Possibly 4-5" (versus the 12" that I used.). Why? The ribbon wands quickly turned into ribbon SWORDS. How on earth I didn't see that one coming I have no idea!

It was a fun project and I look forward to making these again for another occasion! 

For more homemade projects or gift ideas check out "this & that" and "Tip Junkie."

Crayon Apron - Full and Reversible!

After the holiday craziness I was finally able to get some sewing done yesterday. YAY! A friend had asked if I could make a boy-friendly crayon apron. When I asked if she had a theme in mind she mentioned dinosaurs.

Whoa.

Just two days prior I ordered some Michael Miller dinosaur fabric and was waiting for it to come in the mail! It was definitely a sign!

So here's how it turned out. One side has the crayon pockets and the reverse has a chest pocket. My model was snoozing at the time so I had to take the picture on "Addie" the dress form:

When Momo woke up from her nap she reluctantly put it on for me so I could take a picture. Oh the drama!

By the way - you can catch my blog on Facebook if you like! It's joined up with my "Happy Hapa" Etsy shop. Clear here to follow (or you can do a search for "Happy Hapa" - local business and it will take you there!) Thanks for being a follower and helping me get started! :)

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While the Kids are Away....

Mama hit the sewing machine.

The kiddos weren't "away-away"....daddy just took them out for the afternoon (THANKS, honey! Not that you read my blog or anything) and I was able to get some sewing done. A few special requests for Christmas and then a couple of extra that I put in my still alive Etsy shop. I still have some pieces sitting on my table waiting to get finished up. All reversible toddler/preschool crayon aprons. Or...as I showed in another post, put clothespins in them and your little helper can help with the laundry!

 



Cupcakes - well, isn't she? :)



My favorite. Definitely buying more of this fabric!



Who doesn't love mermaids?



Do the colors POP or what? LOVE!

For more handmade gift ideas check out Tip Junkie:



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"Fancy" Clothespins

At least that's what Momo calls them. What a relief because I made them for her friend who recently turned four. She's a great little mama's helper and very creative so I'm sure she'll have fun with them. Last year I made her a crayon/clothespin apron so she already has a place to put them when not in use.

I know that clothespins for a four year old sounds a little odd, but did you see how much fun Momo had with clothespins recently?

Yes, that would be MY child. 

I made a few to more to use around the house. I'm constantly looking for clips to close food bags like cereal, bread, chips, etc. These are much cheaper than the clips you buy from the store and much cuter too! It was super easy and fun to do. There are tons of tutorials out there but I followed this one.

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*PS Can I just mention that I did not just give her 12 clothespins for her birthday? Not that there's anything wrong with it if I did....

Happy Halloween!

Hope you had a spooktacular Halloween!

The days prior to Halloween were busy! I finished the spider Tootsie Pops in time for Kailani's class:

Took a bit longer to make this year as I had to make over 30!

Fun with Friends at School

Kailani's school also had a Halloween night with a magic show and pumpking carving at NO COST! They provided the pumpkins and kits - all we had to do was sign up and show up! I couldn't believe it was free, especially after seeing the pumpkins. They were big and beautiful! (Thanks so much to the PTA!)

They even let sibling participate!

And then for the big day! I wanted to make a fun Halloween dinner for the kids and their friends. So I made some black ("worm") spaghetti with "blood" sauce:

Worm spaghetti - ewwwwwww!

 

Worm Spaghetti with Blood Sauce

The black spaghetti was super easy to make. Just add some of Wilton's black icing color to the boiling pasta! And not to worry - the dye won't stain your teeth!

We also had some braided mummy sausage bread:

Mummy Sausage Bread



Don't eat the spiders!

The mummy bread was DEEEEELISH. Everyone (well, the adults) loved it! I should've made two of them! Here's the recipe. It's definitely a keeper! For the eyes I added and baked two of the eyeballs......

Cheesy Eyeballs (olive cheese bread)

The eyeballs came out okay. When I first started making them I had a hard time getting the hang of molding the dough around the olive. After making about 15 of them I finally figured it out. (I realize that the eyes also look very similar to another female body part but this is not that kind of party!) I seem to have misplaced the recipe for it....when I find it I will repost it here. Thanks to my friends for bringing a yummy tossed spider salad, Chinese chicken salad, a Jack-o-Lantern cake and Halloween cookies!

Finally the moment arrived. Time to trick-or-treat!

We weren't sure where we wanted to trick-or-treat this year. We were told by several places to stick to our own neighborhood as a lot of people go ALL OUT in celebration. So we did. And boy are we glad that we did!

Apparently every year a team of doctors puts on a show for the trick-or-treaters. Our timing was perfect as we arrived just as the show was about to begin. I had no idea that Kailani and Momo and their friends were  going to be part of the show!

Kids waiting for the show to begin.....

They asked for volunteers to participate in the play. Of course Momo volunteered.

They taught her how to "pump it" low.....

And how "pump it" high....

They needed a few more volunteers so Kailani and friends stepped in...

The show has started! See the "Dancing Doctors" performing while the girls pump them up!

After the show it was more door-to-door candy hunting!



Tired kids.....ready to go through their stash!

Hope you had a fabulous night!

For more holiday, craft, and party ideas be sure to check out Tip Junkie!

Going Dot Com Giveaway!

Have you heard of "Tip Junkie?" Tip Junkie is a website that promotes women and their creative tips, ideas, and products. While it is a great resource of sorts consider it a place of opportunity as well. You can submit your own tips, announce a giveaway you are hosting and promote your website and your products! Be sure to check them out!

Currently Tip Junkie is celebrating their 2nd birthday and going "dot-com!" They are giving away some really awesome prizes all week! Each giveaway lasts only 24 hours so be sure enter EVERYDAY before 8:00 a.m.! Congratulations Tip Junkie!