The Tooth Fairy Has Paid Us a Visit

Anna Claire lost her very first tooth Saturday night!

We were in the car riding home from dinner at Carrabbas {yummy!} and she "wiggled it out" as she likes to tell everyone. She was SO excited, particularly because it didn't hurt or bleed. Her tooth had been loose for about two weeks and was ready to fall out to the point that we were being very careful anytime she was eating. We didn't want her to swallow it!

I did my best to capture some video with my phone, but it was dark in the car, so you pretty much just have to listen...



The Tooth Fairy left her $5, all in ones, in her new Tooth Fairy pillow that I whipped up just in time. She has decided to save her money until her next tooth falls out because she wants to have enough to buy a Kristoff doll to go with the Anna and Elsa dolls Santa brought, and she shared $1 with Mallory who wants so badly to have a loose tooth that she ate apples all weekend. I guess I need to hurry up and get Mallory's Tooth Fairy pillow made...and buy more apples!

Halloween Tid~Bits

Happy Halloween from Tinkerbell and Periwinkle!

It's fun to stretch out holidays for as long as we can, but there never seems to be time to do everything {example: caramel apple supplies are still sitting on our kitchen counter ~ maybe this weekend!}. we've sure squeezed a lot in, though!

We painted pumpkins...

We "dressed up" for Halloween at school...

They could have worn costumes to school, but they had to be characters from a story book. I probably could have justified Tinkerbell and Periwinkle {we do have a book}, but there was no way I was letting their costumes get ruined on a PE day, and I certainly couldn't whip up another costume! Instead, I made these cute spider t-shirts, and they could not have been happier to wear them. Love that!!

We carved our pumpkin...

{okay, technically Daddy carved our pumpkin; Anna Claire and Mallory pretended to make pumpkin soup from the pulp and seeds ~ what a mess!}

Finally it was time to trick~or~treat!

The girls could not have been happier with their costumes. Granny made them and they turned out great!! Thankfully, it was another warm Halloween...

Less that an hour of trick~or~treating and they were ready to come home and give out candy! They were in bed and fast asleep before 8pm!

We've had a great week, and we hope you have, too!

Flip~Flop Applique

Part of my issue with knocking out embroidery projects is deciding what to make. It's not rocket science, but I probably put too much thought into the process. Cuteness factor is #1. Then there's the longevity of the project. {Is the design seasonal? They probably won't be wearing this flip~flop t~shirt on a warm day in October.} I also think about supplies on hand. {Will I have to buy fabric and thread or do I have what I need?} Then I think about whether they already have something to wear with it if, for example, it's a shirt. {Will I need to make or buy shorts or pants?}

In this instance, I already had the orange pants and the chevron shorts. After agonizing over the decision, I was finally able to choose these cute flip~flops...very easy and very cute!

The shirt coordinates with the orange polka~dot pants which are part of the collection of ruffled pants my mom made the girls a while back. I loved all the pants so much I convinced her we needed some coordinating shorts, as well. These are a cute mix of the turquoise chevron and orange dots {love that color combo}.

Sunday Sewing: A Cute Croc and Sweet Strawberry Appliques

What a crazy/busy weekend we had!

Friday we had a huge storm that blew off the cap for the shingles on the peak of the roof. Thankfully, our neighbors noticed it Saturday morning and alerted us to it. Walter and Papa were able to fix it pretty easily ~ and inexpensively ~ thank goodness.

Saturday the girls and I shopped ALL DAY. We ran some errands around town then Granny met us and we went to the outlets for new spring clothes for me and the girls. Anna Claire and Mallory were pretty much done shopping as soon as we got to the outlets, especially once I finished shopping for them and wanted to hit Talbot's and Loft for myself. Anna Claire and I had a mini-mommy/daughter meltdown in the Talbot's dressing room that almost put an end to the day! The girls are usually really great "shoppers" but Saturday was not their day.

Sunday we went to cousin Finley's birthday party and the evening ended with a small fender bender when we {me, Walter, Grandmom, Anna Claire, and Mallory} got bumped from behind by a huge pick~up truck. A little scary at first, but we are all fine and there's only a small crack in the bumper. What a way to end the day!

Before the party, I actually got to spend some time at my embroidery machine getting a few things stitched out for the girls. Last Saturday I embroidered this cute bubble suit for my friend Melissa's little girl and that got me motivated to get to work on my pile of projects for the girls.

Oh, I miss the days of Anna Claire and Mallory's chunky little legs in bubble suits!

 



The girls have already worn all the pants my mom made them, but I still wanted to applique some coordinating t-shirts. I chose this cute croc to go with the green and white polka~dot pants...very quick stitching.

 nope, pants are not pressed.

 

I've had the pink gingham jumper since the Rosalina sale back in the fall, so I thought I finally needed to get to work on it. Since it's strawberry season and I just bought new strawberry hair bows at the festival, I chose this sweet strawberry applique, and the girls were able to wear the dresses to cousin Finley's birthday party Sunday afternoon.

 

I have a love/hate relationship with my embroidery machine, but she was on her best behavior Sunday, and I actually got both t-shirts and both jumpers appliqued in record time. I couldn't believe it. I still have a pile of fabric to turn in to cute sun dresses and another pile of shirts to applique. I am hoping to make some progress this week in the evenings...we'll see how that goes!

Easy as 1 ~ 2 ~ 3

Yay! I got some embroidery and sewing done last week in time for Anna Claire and Mallory's spring school pictures. For the first time I embroidered a collared blouse...I had NO idea what I was doing, but it turned out to be as easy as 1) hooping the collar {and stabilizer} only...

2) stitching the letters...

 

3) voila! two precious blouses for the girls to wear under their new spring jumpers!

 

My new favorite picture of Anna Claire... 

I love this chevron stripe; it reminds me of an Easter egg. It's happi by Dena Fishbein, and I used my favorite Bonnie Blue Abigail lined jumper pattern...also easy as 1~2~3!

 

Can't wait to get the girls' school pictures back. I hope they turned out cute! 

Who Wears the Pants in the Family?

Granny made Anna Claire and Mallory eight {!} pairs of pants last week in four super cute spring colors/patterns! This is our favorite go-to pants pattern, Jillian by Bonnie Blue, and they are so easy to make. My mom makes sure to "hide" a little length behind the ruffle so we can take the hem out as the girls grow AND she makes sure the chevron stripes match up at the seams. Ain't nobody got time for that at this house, so I'm grateful to my mom for taking her time to get these pants made for us! The girls are getting tall and are growing out of their winter pants, so these cuties were finished just in time for this week's warmer temperatures.

Too bad I haven't got any pics of Anna Claire and Mallory wearing their new pants...Granny gets them dressed for school after I leave for work. I'll have to be sure to get them to do some modeling for me this weekend!

Monday, Monday

We've had quite a few low-key, home-bound weeks in January...not much excitement to share. We really haven't gone anywhere or done anything out of the ordinary. Who could blame anyone for wanting calm and lazy days after all the hustle and bustle that takes place from Halloween through Christmas? I absolutely love the holidays, but they are exhausting; I've barely lifted my camera since Christmas day.

Staying close to home instead of hitting the road on the weekends means quality play time with Anna Claire and Mallory, but it also means that, at least this past weekend, I got a bit of sewing done:

I originally bought these green jumpers for Christmas, but the girls really didn't need another Christmas dress this year, so I finally got around to monogramming them. I appliqued the scroll patch using some leftover pink and green chevron then embroidered their monograms on top. I love how they turned out!

 I also did a quick monogram on these $3.88 wally~world sweatshirts. Much cuter now...

January is almost over...longest month ever...and I'm glad we have February and Valentine's Day to look forward to! I'll make a point of sharing some new pics of the girls soon...I just have to take some first!

KCWC Day 8

Yesterday was day 8 of the Kid's Clothing Week Challenge...and I still wasn't able to finish anything I started.

I did get two jumper dresses sewn together. They are waiting on buttons and ruffles. I also started sewing the hoods to Anna Claire's and Mallory's Halloween costumes, but I got stuck trying to turn a pattern for a cat into a horse...how do I attach the mane? I finally got it figured out, then I went in to check on the girls sleeping and saw Mallory...

I don't need to sew a mane on her costume...we'll just work with what we've got!

KCWC Day 1

Day 1 was actually yesterday... Since I'm already behind in sharing, we'll start with some projects I was able to complete prior to Day 1 ...

Anna Claire, Mallory and I decorated the mantle with a fall-inspired bunting that I actually sewed together last weekend...they helped pick out the fabrics. It's not kids clothes, but I did sew it myself!!

My mom is working on some dresses for the girls, so Sunday night I finally finished some monogramming she needed to complete the dresses...

Fall finally arrived yesterday with much cooler temps and rain. The girls enjoyed rainy~day arts and crafts while I started cutting out Anna Claire's Halloween costume.

Once Anna Claire and Mallory were in bed {wearing their brand new princess castle jammies which they love}, I finished cutting out the costume and wanted to get started making some pants when...

I realized a few things yesterday:

• most of the 4T pants I've  bought for the girls are already too short {going back to the store this weekend}
• the few pairs of 5T pants they have are miles too long
• length depends on the brand {looks like 5T carters and 4T Gymboree are the best fit}
• I like paisley fabric

I bought both of these fabrics last year on separate occasions and never did anything with them. They have essentially the same color palette on a navy blue background. I don't think Anna Claire and Mallory need two pairs of paisley pants with navy blue backgrounds, so the larger print will become a jumper and the smaller print, which is corduroy, will become pants.

My hour was up last night {ha, ha} by the time I figured out what I could do with two such similar fabrics, so hopefully I'll get the pieces cut out tonight during DWTS!!

Kids Clothes Week Challenge

I really should be working on Halloween costumes, but with the weather changing I really want to make Anna Claire and Mallory a few pairs of pants with some cute fabric I've had foerever. We'll see if the Kids Clothes Week Challenge can get me motivated! Sewing for one hour each day for a week seems so simple...we'll see about that. Wish me luck!

Where Did Last Week Go?

Last week I had to work in Columbia for three days and it's almost like the week didn't even happen! As a result, I don't have many pictures from last week, but here they are in no particular order:

I managed to get another outfit completed for Anna Claire and Mallory.

 Mallory is such a hard worker. She was determined to help Walter rake the back yard and it was hot!

Anna Claire and Mallory are jumping off the side of the pool again. Every summer it takes them weeks to build up their nerve. Swim lessons start this afternoon!!

 Slippin' and slidin' at Grandmom's last weekend...

This is what I had to drive into and through everyday on my way back from Columbia last week {not a fun way to end already exhausting days and drives}.

This week we have swim lessons and the girls' fiour~year~old well check {including shots!}. Anna Claire and Mallory are very excited about swim classes. The shots...not so much. Wish us luck!

New Li'l Fishy Ensembles Require a Visit to the Aquarium, Of Course!

I didn't get these outfits finished in time for the beach like I had hoped, but I was able to finish them just in time for a trip to the aquarium yesterday {too hot to be outside}!

The applique was another super~easy one made with scrap fabric and $4 t~shirts. I had just enough enough of the polka~dot fabric for shorts with a little ric~rac trim {not enough scraps for a ruffle, but I really love the ric~rac more than I thought I would!}. This time I even stitched a little ric~rac "tag" in the shorts so I could tell front from back!

The girls had tons of fun at the aquarium, though I've finally decided after what I think is their fourth visit, that's it's just too expensive for their age. Luckily, I get in free with my district ID!

The Madascar exhibit was cute, and while King Julian and friends did not disappoint, Anna Claire and Mallory wanted to see FISH! Too bad we don't really have any pics of fish to share...do you know how hards it is to take good picutres inside a dark aquarium? You probably do, and you're probably betteer at it than I am!

 I did manage to get a cute pic of these two ferocious sharks!

 Little eaglets...

...and quick pose outside at the fountain.