Making Store-Bought Clothes...CUTER

Good Wednesday morning! I can hear the wind howling just on the other side of the wall to my right, and it sounds brutal and terrifying. I think it's safe to say that the majority of us are freakishly kind of anxious for Spring this year! Oh, and if you've popped over from the post on my family blog, so glad to have you...welcome!

So onto the heart of this post: clothes. Specifically, making your average, store-bought items cuter.

These ideas are certainly nothing original to me; in fact, I'm a better copy-cat than an actual thinker-upper of creative ideas. That said, I haven't actually ever seen the embellished glove before, so I'm pretty darn proud of that one.  =)

Oh the gloves.

They were literally pleading with me to pretty them up. I started out with all these complicated ideas and designs, and in the end, these simple little hearts won me over. Mittens and gloves never look cute for long around here because they get absolutely trashed, so I didn't want to invest a ton of time of effort. They've held up much better than I thought they would have, but I know Isabelle Kate takes extra special care of them because she likes them so much more now. Win win!

Just a plain fabric heart stitched in place with embroidery floss, and a sparkly button for kicks. This has also been a WONDERFUL way to keep track of her gloves because everyone knows who they belong too.

I don't have a before picture of the t-shirts, but I think you can tell- they were basic, plain tops, and now...
they're really cute!
Of course, because of this year's perpetual Arctic conditions, girly girl wasn't terribly willing to keep them on long enough for a photo shoot. I'll spare you the sad, sad drama.  ;)

The one with the double ruffle was ridiculously easy- I didn't even trim off the hem! I was going to add the bows to the shoulders, but then, obviously, didn't.  =)  The other shirt required a teensy bit more effort, mainly due to keeping the ruffle straight around the shirt. I made a chalk line and followed that. Then I stitched the ribbon in place to cover up the raw edges, as shown in this tutorial. There's also some ruching on each side down by the hem, and the ginormous flower because I thought just a little something more. It's super cute!

This works really well if you're looking to add a little length to a too-short sleeve when the rest of the shirt still fits fine.

I cut the rectangles for the ruffles, folded and ironed them in half, and gathered and stitched to the sleeve hem as I went- I didn't cut the hem off these either.

She kept holding her hands out like she was about to be arrested every time I tried to get a decent shot of the ruffles, ha!

I know that working with knits can be intimidating,, but you should try it! These are easy projects, and they don't have to be perfect to look pretty and cute. =)

ps- As for sewing needles, I used a stretch needle when I remembered, but then not when I didn't. That makes total sense, right? It all worked out just fine.

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Sew Can Do

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!