Vintage Sweetheart (Project Run and Play week 4)

Photo Credit: JG Design Photography. More on that later in the blog post!

I'm back with another sewing project! I'm sewing along with Project Run and Play again this week after sitting out last week. It was boy's week and although I'm sure, ok I know, I could have found a cute little boy to sew for, the weeks went by too quickly. Jason is starting his counseling internship and commuting to Kansas City for classes, and I could go on and on about our crazy schedule right now and how busy I've been with work, but more on that later! Let's talk about cute little girl clothes, shall we?

Ahhh.... Valentine's Day...hearts and hearts all over the place! So brainstorming for this week's Valentine's Day challenge, I started wondering how I could use hearts in my design. Heart pockets? Buttons? Appliques? Fabric paint? Then going through my fabric stash I came across some lovely vintage fabric my mother-in-law gave me for Christmas (She gave me an awesome Christmas gift by the way: a box full of fabric she had picked up at garage sales throughout the year! I was just telling Jason all I wanted for Christmas was a box filled with fabric and bam! I was given my exact wish.)

Some of the vintage fabric had cute little heart prints and I was initially going to go with that. But the fabric I ended up using just begged me (literally!) for me to cut into it and sew it into a cute little shirt. Sorry, I know I misused the word "literally". I just crack up when people do that. Seriously, I know it's incorrect. I know fabric can't talk, and I don't know if it enjoys being cut up or not.

The best part about this fabric choice are the little flowers. Are they roses? Carnations? I'm really not good at flower identification but either one would be an excellent choice for a Valentine's Day shirt. A single pink flower is a great symbol for Valentine's Day! I've been sewing kind of over the top, flashy clothes the last couple weeks for Project Run and Play, so it was refreshing to sew something a little more subdued.

I purchased the Molly School Girl Pattern from Peek-a-Boo patterns. I wanted something sweet, and the peter pan collar, button down shirt was just perfect! For an extra dash of sweetness, I decided to change the sleeves to petal sleeves with the same piping to match the collar. I found a great tutorial here at "My Sparkle" to help me draft the sleeves. I also sewed my very first button holes, I was so nervous! I'm so happy with how it turned out! Check it out for yourself:

For the pants I used Melly Sews Clean Slate Pants Pattern as a guide but altered it with more specific  measurements. I used bias tape to edge the hem and added another bias tape stripe for a little more flair. I love the extra "pop" the bright pink gives the pants. Hey it's Valentine's Day, the pink is totally necessary!


As for the pictures, I cannot take credit for them. Nor can I take credit for the cute girl wearing them! My friend Jodie is in the photography business and she has taken our family pictures in the past. In fact, she took my picture which is on the left sidebar of my blog as well (the one of just me.) I asked her if she wouldn't mind taking some pictures of Kylie when I sew her next outfit and in exchange I make her some clothes for her daughter and she agreed! She takes lovely photos, and the best part is, she also gives her clients a CD with edited pictures and full copyright release so you can print as you please!

Check out her out on facebook here: www.facebook.com/jodiegerlingdesigns and if you are anywhere close to the Manhattan, KS area (go K-State!) I would highly recommend her as a photographer. She also posts giveaways from time to time on her facebook page!

I introduced her to the crazy world of sewing blogs and she was very impressed with the sew-a-long entries for Valentine's Day!

And check out her cute girl wearing the clothes I made! I was really nervous about sewing for someone else (another first for me!) because I'm so used to sewing for my girls, but it worked out! Phew! I still have some to learn about sewing for other kids, I'm used to sewing for their build, so this was a good experience to sew for someone else.


Isn't she adorable?

I love little toddler painted toes!

She says this next photo is her "saying cheese" face! I know she pulls it off much better than Kylie bear did at that age (check out this old blog post, that I lovingly named "Smiling Issues" haha!)

Such a cute little lady!

I was hoping that getting involved in sewing along with Project Run and Play this season would help me blog more frequently. I haven't been the best, but there is a very special post I need to get up today, because it involves a very special (and yummy!) French January tradition and today is the last day in January, so hopefully when the kids are in bed tonight, I will get it posted. Right now Kylie is at preschool and I need to go pick her up in a few and Eve is sitting next to me coloring and eating her weight in peanuts. She loves peanuts, she is telling me all about going to the grocery store to buy them with daddy.

"Isn't Hy-vee a great store? We got to buy all these Peanuts there!" She says such cute things.

And she keeps sneaking sips of my coffee (Can't be good for her, she's already a shortie!) So maybe I should stop blogging for now :) Hopefully I will get that very special French tradition posted before January is over, the clock is ticking!