Kate's Christmas Dress: The Cottage Mama Party Dress Pattern Remix

Is everyone is getting all of their Christmas decorations packed up and put away?  You are probabaly better than me and alreay have it done!!   I wanted to take a second to share a few last Holiday pictures of Kate's Christmas dress this year.  I know everyone is ready to move on to Valentine's Day, but I am still tying up loose ends from the holiday season! 

 

Back that first week in December, I had a one day break from intense Open House sewing to knock out Kate's dress for Breakfast with Santa.  I had picked out a pattern by the Cottage Mama called the Party Dress.  If you have followed the blog since we began in June, you might remember that I also used only of Lindsey's beautiful patterns for Kate's birthday bonnet on her first birthday.  Her tutorials are top notch and always turn out beautiful results!   I modified the Party Dress pattern a bit to be what I needed for our Holiday version. 

 

 I had been hanging onto some really cool scrapbook trim roses that I thought would be a darling accent to a sash.  I was totally impractical with my fabric choice for this dress and used a beautiful iridescent,t dry-clean only, taffeta.  As usual, a coupon at Jo-Ann's helped me out, and I think the whole dress cost around $18.00. Grandmas vintage red button's with rhinestone centers were the perfect selection for this keepsake dress.   Instead of fabric closures for the buttons use some black bracelet-making elastic thread, purely for time-saving reasons!  I attached the cream rose trim to a long satin ribbon, as as you can see in the pic below, needed  a bit stronger tacking, because when Kate suffered from Santa Meltdown, all that thrashing about un-tacked a side of my sweet accent roses!  So for most of our pictures, her pretty dress looks a bit, ummm, shall we say, unkempt! We had just enough leftover cream rose trim that we were able to squeak out a cute headband as well. 

 

I really wanted a full little skirt and pretty tailored bodice.  It's a pet-peeve of mine if arm holes are too loose under the arms - I know...perfectionist!  So, I altered the pattern a bit to personalize the sizing to Kate's measurements, making two, uh hum...yes two, muslin practice bodices.  We also made a super simple tulle petti-coat out of cream tulle that helped hold the skirt out. 

  

And the final, and most important piece, was the precious little purse, compliments of Grandma Charla.  That last picture where she's taking her curly little head and walking out swinging her purse could have been captioned "I'm outta here Santa!"  She was not impressed with Santa...at all.

 

 

 If you are visiting us from Project Run and Play, welcome!  We are so glad you stopped by.  As always, I love to hear from all of you.  Good luck getting all those Christmas decorations down!

Happy Tuesday,
Jenny

The Tale of a T-Shirt to an adorable little hat...

This little post has been written and re-written over and over in my head for the past few months.  It has been on my heart and in my head.  Before I get to deep into this tale, I would like to start by explaining that my intention of this post is not to sell.  Moreover my hope is to share with you the very personal journey that these little hats have taken me on in the past year, and share the beginnings of a new chapter, yet to be written for these little guys.

 

And so it began with the Tale of the little Ruffled Hat….

Imagine: an art teacher (who loves and is passionate about her job) has a family.  The family grows.  With baby number 3 comes the great desire to slow down the pace of life and focus on what is right in front of her, which she all too soon knows will pass, her young children.  She reignites an old passion while expecting baby number 3: sewing.  She tries all sorts of new patterns for baby girl Johnson.  Her outlet in the evening to relax after a busy day of mommy-ing and teaching is to sit and drool over patterns and fabric.  One night she comes across a pattern by Lilly Giggle….a little hat made from knits…darling!  She adds this to a list of patterns she would like to purchase and shares it with the home-ec. teacher at school who coincidental whips up one for Baby Girl Johnson one weekend.  Baby Girl gets tons of compliments on the hat, which ignites a little spark in the art teacher…could I make these and sell them?

So you guessed it, I’m the art teacher.  I bought the pattern.  I made the hat.  The very first one was a gift for a neighbor’s little girl on her first birthday.  The neighbor was totally thrilled and kept urging me to make them…still unconfident and unsure; I convinced myself I still needed more practice.  The second hat I made was for my soon-to-be niece, Julia.  My sister used it in her newborn photo shoot and the pictures turned out precious.  My sister too urged me…”These are darling!  You need to sell these!”  Soon, two more orders came in.  Then, in May, a special request from a fellow middle-school art teacher, “Jenny, if I give you a t-shirt that my class and I have tie-dyed school colors, could you make it into a hat for a student who is undergoing chemo for cancer?” 

Wow.  Speechless. 

So I made one more hat…and in that one hat I hoped that I sewed in enough love and healing that it’s new little model would wear it and feel like she was getting a hug each time she wore her hat.  It was at this point that very quietly, I could hear God whispering to me.  It was a pull that I knew I was supposed to follow.  I didn’t quite trust in the direction that I was being pulled.  Too risky, I kept telling myself.  Quit your full-time job?  Focus on your family.  Use God’s gifts, different gifts, in different ways than those around me expected me to.  I was so unsure and kept reassuring myself that I just could not do it.  I had no assurance it would work.

About that time I also made my daughter, Mary Kate, a hat…tea-stained like her cousin Julia’s and filled with eyelet from Grandma’s trim stash, laces from mom’s stash and scraps of torn fabric.  People would comment every time she wore it.  This winter we have pulled it back out and, I’m not kidding…every time she wears it people stop and ask where I got it and if they can have a business card.  At the neighborhood Holiday Open House I participated in early November I sold almost 15 hats!  Special Orders from friends and family have exploded. 

Well, to end the story…I did listen and quit my full time job.  I have been waiting tables this fall and working endless hours on the side to learn the business, keep up with orders from hats, and most importantly be present in the moment with my kids and husband.  I listened.  I closed my eyes and jumped….and….doors are slowly opening.  Over Christmas break, Kate, Grandma Charla and I stopped in a local boutique and the girl behind the counter asked about Kate’s little hat.  She wanted a business card.  Said the owner would “flip”!  She also asked if I had a line sheet?  And I thought “a what?”  A day later I received a phone call from the owner that she is very interested in selling my little hats in her shop, would I be able to drop off some samples and pricing?  Ummmmm…YES!

So last weekend…two days after Christmas when I swore to my family I wouldn’t be dragging out the sewing machine again…I did.  And I learned on the fly all sorts of new things about design (thank goodness for the art background!)…a look-book? Check.  A line sheet?  Check.  Samples?  Check. Check. Check.

 Tea-Stained Look Book and Line Sheet

 

I don’t know where this will all lead….but I have a very, very good feeling.  Doors are opening.  Slowly.  I am listening.  And most importantly, it makes me over the moon happy.  Happy to be using a gift, that I wasn’t so sure about, to make something that makes other’s happy.  Happy that God is allowing me to be a mommy first while still utilizing gifts he gave to me.

I have completely updated the ETSY store.  If you are interested in checking T-Hats out, or other new items, I offer them as custom orders through my ETSY Store by clicking on the screenshot below.  You may also shop by clicking on the right side mini-etsy store you see on this page. 

Ruffle T-shirt Hats are made from 100% up-cycled cotton t-shirts.  A lot of people can’t believe these are made from a t-shirt, but they are!   I am pretty picky about using only new or nearly new shirts.  Tea-stained or colored options are available.  T-hat are available in every size from newborn to adult.  I can supply the T’s or you may provide me with a sentimental or specific T if you wish.

Each ruffled band is shirred on elastic thread so that hats are quite stretchy and fit the head comfortably.  Each hat bears the Two Bees and a Belle label and is finished with a t-flower on the front.

Donation nearly new T’s welcome…I’m many folks new “Salvation Army”.  If you are like my husband, he has tons of these that have been given to him through school and sports that have only been worn a time or two.

If you have already purchased a T-Hat…Thank You!  I would love to use pictures of your little ones sporting their ruffle-y goodness in future advertisements!

And to close off this lengthy post, I would like to give away a hat!  If you stuck with it and read this whole super long post you deserve a gift! 

 

There are three ways to enter the giveaway:

1.  leave a comment below with your email contact (so I can contact you if you win!)  Some have indicated that they don't have a Google Account so they aren't sure how to leave a comment...it's super simple...click on the arrow on the box that says COMMENT AS....

 

See at the bottom where it says ANONYMOUS?  Click that.  You should now be able to leave a comment.  Just be sure to leave contact info. or I don't know how to find you...email is great!

 

2 .  Go to Facebook and LIKE Two Bees and Belle's Facebook Page.  Now enter another comment on this page that says "I liked you on Facebook"....be sure to leave an e-mail contact!

 

3.  Now click "SHARE" on the Facebook about this post.  Enter another comment on this page that says "I shared this!"...be sure to leave an e-mail contact. 

 

That's  it!  Three ways to win a hat all for you.  You can choose size, color, etc.  Winner will be announced Monday at 9:00 PM CST.

 

Thanks so much everyone and good luck!

 

Jenny 

Candy Corn Bag Tutorial

These little bags came to be after two ideas kind of collided.  When my brother, sister and I were little, my mom made each of us these darling little bunny appliqued drawstring bags to hold our jelly beans at Easter.  They really were one of her secret little tricks to try and get us to be quiet in church Easter morning...super sneaky mom. I had planned to tutorial those cute little bags in the the spring, but then conjured up the idea of a candy corn bag for Bryce to give favors to his buddies in. Since Bryce's favorite candy is candy corn ( how appropriate is that for an October baby ), these little gift bags started something that grew into the theme of his 6th birthday party.  They were, of course, filled with candy corn, and also a test tube of glow-in-the-dark green slime, and funny glasses.

 

On to how to make this quick easy little bag!  A great project for the any beginner...  

 

Materials:

-1/4 yard (or scraps will work too!) of white, orange, and yellow cotton fabric

- 24 inches of 3/8 inch matching ribbon

white thread

rotary  cutter

 

 

1.  First, You need about 1/4 of a yard of orange, yellow and white cotton fabric.  Kona is my favorite, it just washes and holds up really well. 

 

NOTE:  For my party I needed 13 bags, so I cut about 3 strips of 45" fabric to get 26 sides for 13 bags...agh! Math! You can get about 4 bags out of one strip of 45" fabric - please note in my pics my strips will look longer due to the number of bags I was making.

If you just want to make ONE bag your width will be 10 inches ( this will give you two pieces of roughly 5x6 inch sides).

 

Using a rotary blade cut 3 strips...the white will be 3 inches long x at least 10" wide , the yellow and orange 2 1/4 inches x 10 inches.

 

 

 2. Match the long edges (width) of your white and orange fabric together and pin. Sew 1/4 inch seam (see green line in photo).

 






3. I don't have a serger, so I went back and zig-zag stitched over my edge to reduce fraying. If you do have a serger, this step can be eliminated.


4.  Pin the yellow strip to the other side of the orange with a 1/4 inch seam and finish with zig-zag stitch.

 


5.  Press the seams down, so that the finished piece lays nice and flat.

 

 

 

 

6.  Measure a 5 inch width out of your strips and cut.  If you are making one bag, you now have two pieces that look like this.... 

If you are making multiple bags, cut 5 inch widths out of the entire strip.  This should give you about 7-8 bag faces (depending on the width of your fabric).

 

 

 

7.  Place the fronts together and pin.  I started stitching 1 inch down from the top left corner of your bag and continue down across the bottom and back up the other side, again, stopping 1 inch before you reach the top of the bag.  I back stitch at the start and the finish to reinforce the seams.  (please ignore the incorrect order of my fabrics on the photo below!  I forgot to photograph this step and had to use one of my goof ups!)

 

 

 

 

 8. Now, take your iron and on the front (it's still wrong-side out) fold the 1/4 inch seam in the top 1" of un-sewn fabric into the bag...see picture. Do this on the left and right side of the front. Then, flip over to the back of the bag and do the same thing.

 

 

 

9.  Picking up only the front facing of the bag, fold down 1/4 inch of white fabric and press.  Fold down another 1/2 inch and press again.  This will form your casing on the front of the bag.  Do the same on the back of the bag. 

 10.  Stitch (see green line in photo above) right along the edge of the casing. ( I turned my bag right-side out to complete this step)



11.  Cut a 12 inch length of 3/8 inch ribbon of your choice.  Attach a safety pin to one end of the ribbon and feed it through the casing, beginning and ending on the same side.  Take your second piece of 12 inch ribbon and on the opposite side, feed it through the casing in the same manner.





















12. Singe the edges of your ribbon with a lit match...be careful!  If you get the match too close to the ribbon it will catch on fire!  I stand at the kitchen sink, in case of emergency, and get it just close enough that the edge of the ribbon seals...this will prevent fraying.  Tie a knot on both sides and you are done! 

Happy Halloween everyone!
I hope your little one enjoys their candy corn bag as much as my little ones do!


Jenny

 

 

 

1956 Bubble and Eyelet Apron

I am so excited to share this little outfit with you!  I found the pattern in the spring and ordered it off of ETSY… the other blogs I follow list vintage patterns that they stumble across in local thrift stores, but I never seem to be so lucky!  I love everything about the 1950’s style of clothing: the fitted waistline, shorter and fuller skirts (perfect for new walkers), attention to details…really, the patterns are just wonderful!  As I continue to learn new sewing techniques and hone in on “my style” I keep coming back to the patterns of this time period.  They make me feel like I am in another era inspired by the looks of Audrey Hepburn and Jackie-O…style icons!  So a really great night for me is flipping on Pandora to my Jimmy Durante station and sewing a 50’s pattern…instantly, I feel like I am back in time…watching my grandma, wearing an apron and pearls,  sew something for her little girls…perfection!  The past is such an inspiration for me!

                Kate got the most adorable little squeak shoes for her birthday.  Yes, they squeak every time she steps…and I think they are precious!  Ask my dad, after this weekend’s vacation and he might have a different version, but that’s beside the point.  The shoes are black with little white and yellow daisy-looking flowers on the toe…only problem was she didn’t have an outfit to match.  Sooooo…when I thought about what we could make to go with the shoes, this pattern immediately came to mind.  I knew black and white check gingham with a white eyelet skirt would just be perfection!  I have to say, I couldn’t be more pleased with the final design.  I love the large white bow and two deep pockets on the detachable skirt, perfect for holding the paci’s that we very much need to start weaning her off of!  The gingham bubble is so cute all by itself, and I can’t even tell you how much I love the weight of classic summer gingham!  Truly, I wish I had a bubble for meJ!  I also added a headband, black elastic with a gingham ruffle and black ribbon.  

                I think I am going to make another red version of the bubble to pair with the skirt for the Fourth of July.  The skirt is so versatile…it could be paired with many things other than the bubble and “work”!  I will list this item in the store this week.  It is a custom order, size 1.  Measurements: Chest 20 inches, Waist 19 ½ inches, hips 21 inches (Comparable in size to a GAP 12-18 month).  The bubble has elastic waistband and leg openings (please note: no snaps in crotch).   Please indicate which color of gingham (red, pink, black, blue).  Please allow two weeks for custom orders. 

Look for another ready-to-ship listing for a size 2, 1950’s pattern early next week!

I would love to know what you think!  Comments always wanted and welcome.

Jenny

A Very Sweet 1st Birthday

 Welcome to Mary Kate’s Strawberry Patch!  This party was so much fun to plan!  I can’t remember how I originally got stuck on the strawberry idea; maybe because Mary Kate's birthday is in May which is the beginning of Strawberry season? I loved the idea of a vintage Strawberry theme.

 I started her outfit almost three months ago, I knew with it being the end-of-a-school-year, time would be very limited to work on it.  I used the Tie Die Diva Pretty Pantaloons and Butterfly Top pattern…I love this company's patterns!  You can’t see them so well in my pictures, but the little pantaloons were just adorable!  I ran across the fabric at Hobby Lobby and thought the colors were just perfect for our strawberry theme…plus I can never pass up a beautiful shabby-chic looking floral!  I added the cream eyelet detail on the sleeves and the front bodice…thought it looked a little more “strawberry” girl that way.  Since our sweet lil’ half pint has no hair, the bonnet worked perfectly! 

On the front door folded paper fans welcome guests to “the farm”.  These are so simple to make and tutorials are floating around on Pintrest.

We hosted the party in the backyard on our patio.  Festive red paper lanterns hung from our Cedar trees.  I love the pop of red against the dark tree.  These were such a great find…only a dollar a piece at the Everything’s A Dollar store…plus they really light up with little battery powered lights!  I love a good deal!

The invitations I ordered from a wonderful little ETSY company called The Homespun Hostess .   Sara was wonderful to work with and even helped me adjust the date since we had to reschedule the party. * The scones you see in the background I will post the recipe for tomorrow J…they were a big hit!

The adorable party hats were so much fun to make…and so simple!  I got the wonderful tutorial from one of the blogs I follow Girl. Inspired.  Stef’s blog This Inspire Me is just amazing!  Click here to check out her party hats and see her wonderful work! 

The little girls at the party received souvenirs baskets filled with strawberry goodies, and the boys take-me-home gift was a monogrammed brown craft paper circle, zigzag stitched, with strawberry and sour apple jelly-belly’s hiding inside.

We had a very happy Birthday Girl!  What a great pleasure it was to plan this party!  That’s it for today…tomorrow I’ll share some of the yummy treats and a few of my favorite recipes from the party!

The Knot Pillowcase Dress

 I mentioned yesterday that today I would be sharing the Knot Pillowcase Dress. This is absolutely my most favorite thing I think I have made so far. When I finished it back in February, I knew it was "the dress" for one-year pictures. I am sure many of you have seen the pillowcase dresses that many have been making recently. I love them, but was looking for something more tailored to use with a special pillowcase that my mom had given me. I stumbled across a patten for a knot dress by Whimsy Couture and thought this would be a perfect way to join a pillowcase with a true dress pattern! I also wanted to incorporate a detail I had seen in a children's catalog where the ties were reversed to tie in the back with a large bow...love it! The pillowcase my mother gifted to me, originally a wedding gift 40 some years ago, had this beautiful hand stitching along the bottom of the pillow, and the fabric is just the finest, softest thing ever!!

  I envisioned Mary Kate in this finished little dress on the beach in Florida...but instead I bring you the golden fields of the Midwest :).  I doubled the skirt with and underskirt so that the lace "dress" on the doll at the bottom would have a backing up against it...the skirt was not too full...I was limited by the width of the pillowcase, but overall, I am so delighted with the finished product!  This was one of the "firsts" in adding to Mary Kate's hand-sewn collection.  Special thanks to our resident family photographer for all the beautiful pictures with Mary Kate in them...we had so much fun trying to get this feisty one-year-old to look elegant in this dress! 

Thanks for visiting today! 

Jenny