New Summer Nightgowns Available at Rose and Ruffle!

Good fuh-reezing morning to you today! It's the perfect day to to dream of beach days, fireflies in jars, lazy summer nights... and darling nightgowns, of course!  =)

Here are some cute items for sale right now in the shop. I hope you see something you love!

There is a link to my shop above, but if you missed it, here is another one:

Rose & Ruffle on Etsy

Since I couldn't bear to look at my Christmas/winter header on the Facebook page any longer, I came up with this cheerful one- what do you think?

You can visit Rose & Ruffle on Facebook here - sometimes I offer coupons and discounts, so... if you're interested in anything like that, hop on over!  =)

It's almost Friday, yay! Happy Weekend a little early!

So Long 2013...Welcome 2014!

It's hard to believe that just one week ago we were eagerly anticipating Christmas, and now here we are on the doorstep of a new year! It's just another day. But at the same time, it isn't. There's something powerful that comes with the welcoming in of a brand new year, even though the whole thing makes me kind of anxious. Please tell me I'm not alone!

I don't know that I would classify this as a resolution, but this year I would like to be more grateful and appreciative. Instead of grumbling about all the laundry I have to do, I'd like to remember to be thankful for having everything that we need. When I'm tired of cooking, cleaning, and chauffeuring kids to the dentist, doctor and all the other places they need to be, I'd rather reflect on how blessed I am to have the means to take care of my family. I think it all starts with perspective. And gratitude.  =)

I look at this early Christmas morning picture and I can hear the squeals and feel the excitement all over again! And I am still so proud of the thoughtfulness and generosity they showered on one another, all on their own- we had nothing to do with it! Such tender hearts...

What a beautiful sight we woke up to earlier this week!

And of course, cold, snowy days call for lots of hot cocoa!

I really shook things up this past week when our Christmas decorations were still up after the 26th! I was itching to pack it all away but we had friends visiting over the weekend and, well, I just didn't want to deny them the visual feast. HA As of yesterday, 100% of the interior things have been neatly packed and stored- it feels so good to see my counter tops again! Also, in a strange dream-like design brainstorming session (I think I dreamed about dreaming about this!), one of the best ideas ever came to me! Extra storage, visual interest, and we already owned the furniture so it was completely FREE. Now that's my kind of project! I'll share more about that later...

Everyone helped out with the cleaning! I think someone was going for the Cinderella look here....ha ha

I've been sharing some house pictures on Instagram that I probably won't also put on here... you can find me HERE if you want to take a look.

We're ringing in 2014 at home this year - am I the only one who is terrified of drunk drivers on NYE? Plus, William is sick, Ethan and I are feeling kind of yucky (although I'm sure it has nothing to do with all the junk food we've inhaled today), Isabelle was super tired...just seemed like a better low-key night than trying to force it.

Anyhoo. I hope you have a safe, wonderful & meaningful 2014! Happy New Year!

A Fun December Birthday Party Idea: Hot Cocoa/ Coffee Bar

This was such a fun party, both in the planning and the hosting! It was easy, festive and colorful, and quite inexpensive, too!

Just twenty four hours before the party, the dining room looked like this:

I'd been keeping things simple in here for a reason- it was super easy to move these things aside and decorate for the birthday party.

I realized that things looked a tad "girly" but Caleb was a good sport and said he liked how it all looked. I think it was actually the prospect of hot cocoa and all the toppings that won him over.  ;)

We set out various creamers, marshmallows, and other add-ins for coffee and hot cocoa...which included lots of candy canes! We already had everything else, like the mugs and bowls. Talk about easy!

One of our party hosts was on super high alert mode all day. Funny dog!

 
Isabelle Kate had requested a whole-head braid (buh-raid) with a bow and flower on the side. Voila!
It lasted all of 7.8 seconds, ha!

Caleb had his heart- and taste buds- set on one of my cheesecakes. This one was a Tuxedo Cheesecake- Oreo crust and filling with melted white chocolate, and oh boy, was it scrumptious! Needless to say, that didn't last long either.

Happy Birthday to my favorite eleven-year-old! How have eleven years gone by?

Isabelle wanted an ice cream cake, and well, I don't make those. This makes me smile because we've had a few of these little snowmen cakes over the years for Caleb, so they're sort of like tradition. =)
How do you like those off-centered buttons, ha! (We have a special birthday party in January for Isabelle and her friends, and I'll make her cake then.)

My Birthday Girl and her special Birthday Brooch.
Isabelle has a fun little tradition of wearing one of her favorite summer dresses for her birthday to mix things up a bit. I sure giggled when she came downstairs like this!

So excited!!!

We were having an ice storm last Sunday on Isabelle's actual birthday, which meant church was delayed, so that worked out well for having reindeer and snowmen pancakes for a special breakfast.

One last THANK YOU to everybody who has made a purchase from my shop, Rose & Ruffle! I'm still working on a master plan, if you will, for this business, and I really do appreciate you all! I thought I'd throw in a picture of my top-sellers for Christmas this year and...

...some cozy flannel nightgowns still available. I have some other nightgowns listed as well if you'd like to take a look. After Christmas vacation, I'll begin working on some fun spring things!

Hope you all have a blessed week!

JOY Appliqued Shirt and Adding a Ruffle to Too-Short Jeans

Good Saturday morning to you! Good early morning...it's pitch black outside, my favorite Christmas piano CD is playing softly and I've turned on the Christmas tree lights, aaaand nobody is bugging me up just yet. (Well, one is up but at least he is semi-quietly reading in his room. Sigh.)

A couple of weeks ago I began wondering what cute holiday-inspired outfit I could make for Isabelle this year, and I finally decided on a festive appliqued shirt and embellished jeans. Poor girl is in that in-between size, where the pants are a little too short and they hang a little too low on the backside, but the girth fits perfectly, where the bigger size seems to swim around her waist. I tell you this because my practical-minded self figured it wouldn't be that big a deal if I completely messed up and ended up tossing or recycling the jeans since she has a few pairs that fall in this sort-of-awkward bracket.

Since I've just spent an entire paragraph on jeans, let's start there. This is easy peasy!

First up, trim the hem. The larger the ruffle, the more material you'll snip away.

Next, decide on the size of the ruffle. Cut a rectangle (mine was about twice the width of the pant leg and 8 inches), sew the narrow ends Right Sides Together, press open, and then press entire ruffle in half (Wrong Sides Together).

Typically I gather ruffles on the machine by turning the stitch/tension settings as high as they go...but things were slightly askew on the day, and that is the only pitiful ruffling the machine did for me. Who knows? No big deal- simply line up the ruffle seam to the pant leg inner seam and then distribute ruffle evenly. Notice that you're pinning to the wrong side/ inside of the pant leg. Stitch along entire opening, adjusting gathers as necessary.

Now we'll add the ribbon trim. Starting at the "bump" by the seam, lay the ribbon flat over the layers (jeans and ruffle facing left), extending the end of the ribbon beyond the seam. It also gives you a more stable starting position since you aren't stitching right onto that bump. Stitch as closely to the edge of the ribbon as you're able to.

When you get near the end, take a moment to figure out how much ribbon you'll need- with the needle in the down position in the fabric, pull the ribbon towards you- it needs to be long enough to be turned under at the seam.  Cut the ribbon after determining the right length, fold under, and stitch in place.

Sewing the ruffle on this way gives you a perfectly neat inside as well as eliminates the tricky bulkiness that results when sewing with denim.

Now for the shirt...
There were so many cute ideas floating around Pinterest, and I had it narrowed down to a reindeer or this JOY, using the "O" as an ornament, which ultimately won out. (I made an easy reindeer barrette here.)

I used an iron-on bonding agent for the letters- follow the directions and you'll be good to go. One hint: I draw my shapes on the rough edge of the adhesive paper before ironing in because they'll be backwards otherwise.

 

Determine the placement of the letters on the shirt, then iron them on. Because of the bonding, you don't have to edge-stitch, but I chose to because I like how it looks. I made a small bow and stitched it in place over the ornament "O" - so cute!

Someone wanted Santa to meet her new birthday friends!  =)

Sorry for the blurry photos- she was pretty jumpy/bouncy, and since our days are now dark by 4 pm....

Santa told Isabelle how special her Mommy must be to make her special clothes like this. Aww, Santa! He was a total sweetheart- we all just loved him!

sharing with:
Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom