Skipper Top Round 2

  

Ok so I made another one. Another Skipper Top, but this time, for Hannah.
For this one, I removed the arm bands and just did a hem on the sleeves, (with my fancy double needle) and did a band around the neck. I didn't hem around the bottom. I am still deciding what I want to do there.

 

 

I love this cute birdie print. I accidentally cut the pieces wrong and the birds were upside down on my front piece....so I had a little correcting to do. Don't tell Han, but the birds on the back are upside down now, ooops!

 

I love the way it came out. Especially with her skinnies and her little hat!

 

 

 

 

Can you tell by my photos that I am still getting used to lighting in this new house?

 I really miss my old cheery window in Hannah's room. I used to have her stand on her chest of drawers that was next to the window in her old room. It was the perfect spot for modeling.

 

I guess this will have to do for now, OR until I figure out what area in my house has the best light. A new lense might be in my future, any suggestions?

 

Have a great weekend all... I have about 2-3 more of these up my sleeve.
 I can't get enough.

 If you want to make one to, visit SEWMUCHADO, here.

Skipper Top

I have kinda kept my distance from knits over the years except for a few projects.

While we don't love each other, we can tolerate each other. I have had few yards burning a hole in my stash for the past year and I figured it was time to use them up for something! When I came across the "Skipper Top Pattern" by the talented SEWMUCHADO, I knew it was the perfect way to use up my cute knits.

 

 

  Emmie has her own kind of style when it comes to clothes and she doesn't have too many of her own things because she wears a lot of hand me downs from her big sister Hannah.  This pattern seemed to fit her style well and I could customize it (color, pattern, pocket choice) to fit her funkiness, and her tall self!

I was nervous at first to get out my ballpoint needle. Knit fabric can be so wiggly, depending on the type you buy. I would highly recommend a light to medium weight fabric for this top. I got this cute dotted knit from GIRLCHARLEE over a year ago. They have a really great selection and I would say their prices are great! - You can even get half yard cuts from them, and that was about all I needed for this little top! Go there if you need knits. I find that Joann's and Hobby Lobby, don't have that great of a selection, and I don't think the quality is as great as GirlCharlee.

 

This pattern was totally great, there are lots of helpful hints on how to sew knits, and lots of options to style the top in your own way. You might think, hey this is just a shirt, but really it is a blank canvas, and a way to really express your childs style. You can change up the pocket, the fabric, you can use a solid or a print,.... the possibilities are endless... oh and did I mention the sizing goes up to size 10! Crazy awesome. To personalize Emmaline's top I added a cute chevron heart and I also used a contrasting band of stretch lace around the bottom of the top. You can't see it too well in this picture but a little further down you can see the band is hot pink. I love it!

Now if I could just get my little bit to stand still and model without, oh woops, where in the heck did she get that lucky charm cereal bar?

We had an impromptu photo session in my loft office and she found my stash. Oh well!

Hope everyone has a great week!

PS- A little tip I sometimes use when figuring out what size to cut for my kid on a pattern. I normally don't prewash my fabric.... why you say? Because I am lazy, have a full time job, have 2 kids.... blah, blah, blah? NO...... because I don't think it makes that much of a difference AND it makes the fabric in my eyes harder to work with once it is washed.... So I know I am a rebel but I size up, sew, try on and then wash after it is worn once. It works for me and usually the fit is fine and there is room to grow!

Call me CRAZY but it works for me! Do what works for you, but I typically go a size up from what my child is currently wearing. I am a BIG fan of clothes that last longer. Emmie is a size 18-24 months, but I made this in a 2t, and right now it looks like a tunic but will be perfect for fall/winter layered with a jean jacket or cardigan.

 

It came out so cute!

XOXO-
Lauren

 

Instagram Project

 

 

 

So I LOVE LOVE LOVE Instagram. I am kind of  TOTALLY addicted. Not only do I love taking pictures of my family, and the stuff I make for them, but I love to manipulate the photos on IG! When you use the app you get to add all these cool filters to your pictures. It makes them look 10 times better.  It is an awesome way to document your life, and share with others the cool stuff you do everyday, and also have a kind of photo journal to remember special or just ordinary stuff.

 

Since I am addicted to IG, I have a lot of pictures, to say the least. I have been wanting to think of a way to display these pictures in a non-college apartment kind of way. So--- I found this cool app that will print your pictures to a local walgreens and the pictures come out 4x4 just like they are formatted in Instagram. It is called Printacular.
 

 

And guess what? My Walgreens had no idea what they were doing when I sent them my IG photos through the app, and it took like 3 days to get my photos back and they gave them to me for FREE!

SCORE!

 

Anyways, want to see what you need to do this?

 

 

 

1 - Of course you have to have an Instagram account set up and photos taken on it to be able to print them.
 

2- An old picture frame without the glass or backing. I used one that we found in Glenn's moms basement that had the little tabs on the insides of it.  You will want a frame like this to hang the wire from.

 

 

3- Mini cloths pins that I bought from THIS etsy shop

Aren't these so cute?  (I even have some left over to make other fun stuff with)

 

4- Your printed 4x4 photos.
 I would say you need about 30-40 for a poster size frame - you can do this on a smaller scale if you have a smaller frame

5- Wire

6- Scissors or a wire cutter

 

 

 

So all you need to do is wrap the wire around the edges of the frame, on those little tab things that stick out that are there to hold the back onto the frame. You will want to string it from one side to another. You can go horizontal or vertical, whatever you think will look best in your space.

 

Then you just string your pictures across like you are hanging clothes on a clothes line and you are done!  I kinda alternated the photos so I wouldn't have too much of one color picture in one area... just kinda spread them out how you think they look best.

 

TIP:  If you want to change the color of your frame, spraypaint it and let it dry BEFORE you start this.... I wish I would have painted my frame but I may take it apart, spray it and then put it back up to get it to the color I want. For now this blue will do!

                                   

 

I hung it on the wall opposite the yellow stripes in my half bathroom, but now I am thinking about putting it in the hallway... that's why the light isn't that great in these photos, sorry! 

 

                                      

 

It was a super fun way to display all my pictures and you can change them out easily when you print more!

 

 

 

 Have fun! Send me a pic of yours if you do this!!!! I would love to see! Oh and if you want to follow me on Instagram my name is "Laurosario"

 

Have a great week all!

XOXO- L

Striped Bathroom

Ok folks, this was my first real "project" in the house. First of all, excuse all my phone quality pictures I have been posting. I love my "fancy" camera but I have no time to photograph stuff and blog about it so you might just need to hang with these pics for the foreseeable future. I promise the better quality will be back soon! 

 

On to the bathroom.  So someone decided between 1993 and 2013 to paint this little half bathroom the ugliest dark brown!

What the heck? Who in their right mind uses poopy brown? I mean seriously, a small space that has zero natural light should not be painted brown. Now I am not a professional by any means, but I can tell you that this was U-G-L-Y, see.....

 

 

 

On top of having the most yucky color, the bathroom walls also had texture. I didn't think this would be a big issue when I started to think about this renovation, but after I had a wallpaper guy come and do an estimate on hanging wallpaper, he said the walls would need to be sanded down if I wanted wallpaper in there, and then after that, the cost of the paper and to hang it was well over $400. Not so much in my budget right now.  What was in my budget? A quart of yellow paint of course, and some painters tape. I knew I wanted yellow in there and I am loving the look of stripes so.... what better way to transform this space? 
 

 
 

For those of you who know me, know, I am NOT a measure -er when it comes to this kind of stuff. I really kinda just wing it. I did use the laser level to get all the stripes level, but I didn't really care if they were the same size. See me and math, aren't very good friends so I just put the tape where I thought it would look good and would make the size stripes I wanted. If you do this, make sure you use a credit card or a roller to go over the tape to make sure the paint sticks to the walls, and doesn't bleed through.

 

Also once you are taped off, write in each striped area you are painting which stripe is which color. I did this so I wouldn't get confused as to which area was what color. You would have heard a few choice words if I messed this up!

 

And.......Voila!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A totally new look with only the price of paint and tape! (And patience)

 

 

Don't you just LOVE it? My assistant is pretty cute too!

 

Have fun taping and painting everyone!!

 

 

XOXO-

L

Hello!

You all must think I am so totally nuts.... where has she been? I know I have mentioned in the past that I would be moving this summer but I never thought the days would go so fast and that I would have no time to check in. But I am still alive! Hooray!

 

Exhausted, but alive. My day job is taking a lot out of me and after work there is so much to be done with the girls and the new house. We thought this place was pretty perfect when we bought it, but turns out there are A LOT of things we want to update/renovate/change/clean.... but it will get there.

 

To start, I have painted a few killer walls with stripes....



 and bought some pretty cool Crate and Barrel rugs, cleaned the crap out of a pretty filthy new house (gross!).... so it has been fun but I just wish I could dedicate more time to decorating then not. Just doesn't feel like home until every inch has my touch.
 

 

 

And then there is time for sewing.... or NOT!  I have to tell you about the most adorable pattern I came across.   Bubble Pocket Shorts (by Elegance and Elephants) is what they are called, and they are SO adorable!



You can find the pattern here. I saw a lot of hype about them and pictures on Instagram, and decided that my littlest needed a pair..... so in the midst of updating, painting, cleaning, unpacking I sat up late one weekend night and made these suckers!(Side note: You want to follow me on Instagram? My name is Laurosario. I am set to private but don't let that scare you away just request to follow me)  --- SO CUTE!---- They came out so adorable that Hannah got a pair too! !
 

 

 

The worst part about this little project was cutting all the pieces.... if you decide to make these little shorts. I would definitely keep each of your pieces in piles with the pattern piece on the top to keep everything where it needs to be, and so you can tell all the parts apart.... there are 4 pieces on the front and 4 on the back plus pockets so if you mix up your cut pieces it can get a little crazy! But not as crazy as trying to photograph a 13 month old. :)
 

 

It might look like she is posing to show you her back side but really I think she was about to run away!

Aren't they so cute? They have plenty of room for back up binkys, cheerios, and maybe even a place for some little toys. Emmaline loves hers! Not sure how Hannah feels? She likes to match Emmie but she wasn't too keen on this design, she would rather be in a skirt.... oh well. I made her wear them for a day.... and I think they grew on her.

 

Hope everyone is having a great summer! My little ones sure are!



Thanks for hanging in there as I get back into the swing of things here!

 

L