Pink Ruffle-icious

Isn't this dress yummy? I made it for Lilly to wear at her second birthday party coming up in a few weeks. I call it "Pink Ruffle-icious." Like it? Inspiration came from this blog I found last week. Tres cute!

Trust me, you, too can make the Ruffle-icious. It's easy and cheap. But it does take some time to sew the billion ruffles. Here's how to do it:

I started with a plain, white dress. This one is from Baby Gap -- a gem given to Lilly by a neighbor when her little girl outgrew it. You could also make a tube skirt (see blog link, above) or try sewing tulle onto a patterned dress. That would be sweet.

Sew your ruffles together first. To give you an idea, a two-yard strip will ruffle into about 12 inches of length. I cut my strips 2 1/2 inches wide by two yards of fabric. Just eyeball it -- it doesn't have to be perfect. Then, I put two strips together (to add poof) and ruffled them up as I ran them through my machine.

Those billion ruffles . . .

Pin the ruffles onto the dress where you want them and sew on top of the seam of the ruffles.

A trick: the flowers on the neckline are not officially attached. I decapitated this little bouquet of flowers, hot glued them to a thin strip of pink felt, then safety-pinned the felt to the dress. That way, I can remove them and, voila! the dress is machine washable.


And no party girl or Ruffle-icious is complete without a flower in the hair. I beheaded another poor silk flower and hot glued him to a Goody barrette. Done!



There. Color me happy! You can't sew miles of pink tulle ruffles and not feel happy.

Treasure found. After telling mom my plans for this project, she brought me this bit of loveliness: my mamaw's container full of neatly wrapped embroidery thread on cardboard, and--I LOVE THIS--poker cards my grandmother cut for this purpose.

How vintage is this, bloggies?

My diy weekend challenge for you is to buy a bit of burlap (I bought 1/2 yard for $1.50), a couple plastic kid-safe needles, grab an embroidery hoop, and let your child create. Okay, so Ian isn't going to be a master embroiderer. He's 100% boy, for sure. But, I kept his interest quite awhile because I let him sit in my lap while I guided his hand with every stitch. That bit of mama time was special for the both of us.

And maybe he'll be one of those guys who can sew on his own buttons and iron his own shirts. If so, I'll know I've done my job. Agree?

Ian's concentration face (I make the same face when I concentrate):

All done. "IAN" added by me. Ian: Mama, can we play dragons now?

Lilly was itchin' to get her hands on this project. She loves to craft, craft, craft! Try this with your child this weekend. Sit on a blanket with them under the trees. Just BE.

One last thing . . . special thanks to Patter Cross for choosing my project as the winning entry for her Punch Organizer contest. See my entry here and Patter's announcement here. You made my day!

Every Once in Awhile

. . . God grants me a day with so much goodness in it that it seems too much for one day. Yesterday was one of those.

It started with the kids sleeping until almost 9 a.m. I could stop now and, enough said. Ian wanted his Buzz costume on immediately. He and Lilly, decked out in her "prin-ce-ezzz" nightgown had breakfast on the porch (thankful for a cool June day).


Later in the morning, we played in the backyard -- the usual -- swingset and an edge-of-your-seat game of dragons complete with foam swords. I got to be the dragon. Evil knights, BEWARE!

And then . . . a precious lunch picnic on a blanket under the trees. Lying down together and looking up at the trees and sky, closing our eyes and listening to the sounds, lots of hugs and kisses, enjoying being together.




Then playing Star Wars, before dinner . . .
Mama (as Princess Leia): You saved me! How can I ever repay you?
Ian (as Obi-Wan): You could take us to the movie theater to see "Up."
He proceeded to place all his SW guys neatly together, watching "Up."

Moving on, t-ball practice last night was a riot. Ian, pitching, kept scrambling for every grounder hit with the boy playing shortstop. When Ian finally captured the ball, instead of throwing immediately to first base, he turned and faced his players, yelling with glee at the sky: "I GOOOTTTT IIITTTT!!!!"

So much goodness. So many memories. When children are this little, the days are long but the years are short.

Check back tomorrow for a d-i-y weekend project to do with your kiddos. Ian and I worked on one today under the trees after lunch.

Patter Contest

I created this mini-layout for the Punches and More Organizer contest. Sue Nagel can really get a gal organized, and this prize would be oh so nice to own. I'm game for anything that will make me more organized (can I hear an "amen," Nathan?).

I'm thinking I will recreate this idea for Lill's birthday invitations.

Punches used:
Fiskers Threading Water Border Punch
EK Success corner rounder punch, small
Marvy Uchida mega punch scalloped circle
The Paper Studio large butterfly punch

For Baby Nora

This may be my favorite baby quilt so far. I made it with much love and prayers for Baby Nora, heading back to Asia with her parents after several months home in the U.S. They are missionaries doing their best to make the world a better place. We will miss you!



Fabric is from Denyse Schmidt's Katie Jump Rope collection. Sooo happy and fun -- gotta love the yellow and orange everywhere! I hope it makes you smile, too, sweet Nora.

Dad

Many of you know my dad. And to know him is certainly to love him. Speaking of love, this photo of he and Lil is fabulous. It shows his grandpa-ness --his sweet, soft side. Really, that's the only side he has. If he has any rough, harsh, abrasive edges, I've never seen them. Never.

Dad's the star of my blog today because, in about three weeks, he is set to preach the annual sermon of the national SBC, sure to be one of the greatest honors of his life. The last time a Missouri pastor was selected to preach the annual sermon was in 1918.

Please take time to read this article about dad as the convention pastor. While you're at it, visit his blog -- a delightful treat I enjoy each day.

I'll be there to cheer you on, dad. Go for it. I love you.

Welcome, visitor!

I opened my door this morning to water the flowers and this friendly little guy was standing on my front porch. Holy FOX!!! You know me -- I had to run and get my camera immediately!

Before long, he did this:

Goodbye, new friend.

I think his mama was hit by a car. I want to feed him. Mom advised me against, saying he's a wild animal and might eventually eat my small children or something. My neighbor wonders if he'll start eating everyone's cats.

I just hope he stays safe. I like morning surprises.

Now, here's a treat for you. My friend, Amy Brake, gave me this salsa recipe years ago and I have made this stuff about a billion times since. It's got to be the yummiest salsa on the planet, the easiest to prepare, and is the sole reason I planted cilantro in my garden this year. It's great with chips on a grilled burger night, or with chicken fajitas. Here's the recipe:

Amy's Salsa:

Drain
1 can corn
1 can black beans
1 can chopped/diced tomatoes

Add
1/4 c. Italian dressing (I never measure--just squirt in)
fresh chopped garlic (I cheat and used minced from a jar)
one bunch of cilantro, finely chopped, ends removed
lime juice (again--I don't measure--just squirt away!)
chopped onion (I use less than 1/4 c.)

Serve with tortilla chips.