(iCandy) almost mine dress

I think every project has a story.  Whether anyone {else} wants to hear that story is another story.  But I'm gonna tell you this story anyway, boring or not.

I bought this fabric at M & L Fabrics, an amazing, huge fabric shop in Anaheim, CA.  I am always looking for solid fabrics that have something interesting about them.  This particular fabric is really cool.  If you look at it from far, it looks gray, which I have been obsessed with this winter.  If you look closely, you can see that it is a weave of brown and aqua fibers.  LOVE!

It called and called to me from my stash, so I began my first dress in a long time.  I was a little ambitious.  I took a loose top pattern, and attempted to make it a fitted bodice.  I took in the sides, added tucks and darts, and changed the sleeves. I made a muslin for the first time {ever} to make sure I got the fit right. I painstakingly underlined by hand each and every pattern piece. Finally, I added the skirt and waistband and tried it on.

It didn't fit. Tons of problems.  It was too late to make it work.  SOOOO I called Autie and she got a new dress that fit with some minor adjustments.

Sad for me, happy for Autie.  Lessons learned.

P.S. My next dress story has a happy ending for me...
.....coming soon.....

(eyeCandy) Anthropology Ruffle Shower Curtain

There is this shower curtain in Anthropology that I have been crushing on for over a year now.  

Really, really crushing on.  

I've been waiting for it to go on sale.  But lately, I haven't even seen this one with this color scheme in the store.  I was beginning to think I missed my chance!

But once upon a time, while I was blog-stalking I saw it.  I was so excited I could hardly speak. 

Well, this amazing girl tells us how she took a look at this:

...and came up with this:

...and the best part is...

she also posted a tutorial on her blog on how you can make your very own!  It is now within my reach and I'm thrilled.

Thank you, Leanne at Elle Apparel for some serious inspiration to get my trash in gear and do this already!

i love it.

go here for the tut

(iCandy) plenty of pretty pillowcase nightgowns

Not 2, not 4, but 6. Am I crazy?  Maybe, but I have an excuse.  When I came across this blog with this pattern and tutorial, I fell in love.  I loved the idea of pretty vintage pillowcase nighties on my little girl.  She LOVES nighties and I hate spending $15+ on cheap looking character nighties, which is all I ever see in stores.

So I got to work.
First the hunt for cute pillowcases.  I asked my mom and mother-in-law first, if they had any pretty old pillowcases that were sitting in a cupboard somewhere.  This is where the purple and the sheep came from.  They are both flannel, which is super soft and cozy.  The others I found at thrift shops, and I felt VERY lucky because I looked for a long time for pretty ones.  You'd be surprised at how many ugly pillowcases there are out there!

Then I got to work cutting and sewing.  I made these 'assembly line' style, and wanted to give up half-way because I got so tired of each of the steps.  It took me a while, but I finally finished them all!  And my little sweetheart loves them.  {With bribery she agreed to spend a morning modeling them all for me, which was a huge undertaking}

{Also a huge undertaking was me...not a photographer or graphic designer... trying to edit these pictures to make them look good.  Not sure if I succeeded...will keep practicing...}

Update: Click here for Pillowcase Nighties Round 2...a much easier to make version!

**Linked up to Freckled Laundry, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Crazy Domestic, Somewhat Simple, The Train to Crazy, Sisters' Stuff, Suzy's Sitcom**

(iCandy) scrap bag tummy time quilt

I'm just learning to quilt on my own, outside the lines. I can stitch in the ditch just fine, but I'm working on my ability to do a stipple quilt, and have it look amazing. I'm totally not there yet, but what better way to practice than to make a tummy time quilt for my friend's baby shower. So, here is Brekyn's tummy time play mat...

I got a bag of pink scraps,

cut them in 8 inch squares and busted this sucker out in no time.
{seriously, when they're small they only take a half an hour or so!}

An up-close and personal view of the stippling attempt:

ready to go in the gift bag:

I hope Brekyn loves it!

(giveaway) spring pretty

Craft Gossip and iCandy handmade have teamed up this week to bring you another necklace giveaway.  Giveaway goes through March 1st.  Please visit here for giveaway details!

good luck!

(eyeCandy) Felt Flower

Usually (eyeCandy) is on Saturday, but we switched it up this weekend, and you get it on Monday instead.  Also, we usually find our top pick from the current week, but this time I am going back in time a bit....

Last month I offered to host a baby shower for a friend having her first baby, a girl.  I made a bow board (tutorial coming soon) so everyone could bring a cute hair accessory and fill it up.  I didn't have a ton of time to make bows, so when I came across this cute, easy idea, it was perfect!

I originally saw it on UCreate, posted here, but the original tutorial is here.

In less than 20 minutes, I was able to make my own version...pink for the tiny princess.

(tutorial) button explosion tee

I was gifted a big stash of buttons that looked so pretty together, I also had a couple of my favorite Target t-shirts that needed some primping, so I put them together and this is what I came up with:

a little bit of a button explosion, but I think it turned out fun, and it was super easy and cheap!

Want to make one?  Here's what I did: (with a little trick on buttons that maybe you didn't know about)

sorry about that!

Hey guys!

it's me, autie, and apparently, I'm new at this whole blogger thing!  {didn't think I was}

I scheduled a project to premier on iCandy, and I'm an airhead, and somehow it posted today...So,
 pay no attention to that random post with a bunch of pictures and no words that appeared on your reader.
Let's just pretend it's a teaser for this weekend's tutorial.  

sorry about it!

check out the real-deal on Saturday...can you hang?

(iCandy) anthro inspired cardi - whirl and wind

I have a confession to make.  I am an addict.  I am addicted to fabulous sewing blogs, Anthropologie {if I could only afford it} and diet coke. But since this blog is definitely not about diet coke {wouldn't that be random}, lets talk about the other two.

If you don't follow the fabulous Grosgrain, you should head on over and check it out.  In November and December, the amazing Kathleen did 30 days of sweater refashions.  I was addicted before, but that sealed the deal.  It was so inspiring to see how she transformed the most basic thrift shop sweaters into beautiful creations.  I immediately went on a hunt for my own thrift shop sweaters to remake into something amazing.

At one of my local thrift stores, I found a banana republic wool sweater set.  Let me tell you, in the sweater refashioning department, sweater sets are the jackpot.  Extra fabric to work with!

When trying to think of what to do with it, I came across this blog, What Would Emma Pillsbury Wear, and saw this Anthropologie Whirl and Wind Cardigan. 

I immediately thought about how I could make this one with what I had, so I got to work cutting strips of fabric, gathering, pinning and sewing and here is what I came up with! {Disclaimer: PLEASE bear with me as I refine my modeling and photography skills...will get better, I promise!}

(iCandy) cookie sheet calendar

When my 4 year-old was 8 weeks old, my family flew in from all over the United States to be there when he was blessed.  My sisters, mom and I did a project while everyone was together, and it was this Cookie Sheet Calendar, made from {obviously}a cookie sheet, chipboard squares, and velcro.  Each month, you transfer the numbers to their new place for the month, and change out the month labels.  It's a fun project, and I've gotten a ton of compliments on it in the almost 5 years that I've had it.  

My mother-in-law has always liked it {i guess} and I didn't really know until recently that she wanted one!  So for her birthday this year, I thought I'd make one for her...

 {I'm actually totally embarrassed to show my 5-year-old crusty one, after making this new and improved one!  needless to say, mine will be undergoing some major plastic surgery in the next few weeks!}

I used a 15 x 10 inch cookie sheet that I got for $3.50 at Big Lots.  I ordered a couple of packs of 1.5" square bazzill chips from here.  I also used some sheets of chipboard to cut the month strips and used paper and number stickers and mod podge that I had in the stash to whip this baby up.  

 here's how the velcro works for the month strips...the 2011 edition is waaay better, huh?  

Happy Birthday, Cheryl!

If you'd like the dimensions for the month strips, or any other help making one, I'm happy to answer your questions!
I linked this project up to: I (heart) naptime, Somewhat Simple, Sister's Stuff

(iCandy & tutorial) valentine's day placemats

I happened to be browsing Pottery Barn Kids looking at their holiday decorations, and they had some Valentine's Day placemats.  I loved the idea of having cute placemats for holidays, but I didn't really love the ones they were selling.  So I thought it would be fun to try to make some.  I called Autie and we put our heads together to make some fun placemats for this Valentines Day, complete with a tutorial for you to follow along!  You can take this idea and run with it for just about any holiday or occasion.

{made by autie}

{made by jen)

Want to make some? Here's how:

(eyeCandy) Love Juice!

As Jen told you last weekend, 'eye candy' is something that we found throughout the week that just caught our eye and inspired us, or just made us happy.  This week, I had Valentines on the mind as I was hunting for a cute valentine for my son to take to his class party.  I always love making cute valentines for my kids to give to their friends, and this year, I wanted something awesome.  I found it, and this is this weeks {eyecandy}!

I saw these originally on Tatertots and Jello, but it was from a guest blogger named Kalleen who has some seriously awesome stuff to share on her blog, 'At Second Street'..  I love her style!  

Here is what she came up for Valentine's Day:

Love Juice!

Did  you see these??

ummm, so cute and clever, i LOVE it!  

 I had to copy, but I wanted to go cheap, and I bought all of my supplies at Walmart, or used what I had on hand (my favorite) So, while her straws just absolutely MAKE it, we can live with our cheap-o bendy straws for our preschool class V-day party.  So happy to have found this awesome idea!  

You still have time to make your own...Valentines Day isn't until Monday!  Go here for the tutorial and the printables, and go here to see Kalleen's other amazing ideas!

(iCandy) pink ruffles

Dear JCrew and Anthropologie,
I just wanted to thank you for bringing ruffles back.  I love them.  They are so feminine and frilly and wonderful.  They bring a smile to my face and a little 'pop' to my wardrobe.  And they provided us crafty bloggers with so many DIY versions of your clothes.  Especially T's. And skirts.

Have a terrific Valentines Day!
Yours truly,
Jen

Here is a ruffled-up pink skirt, paired with the Valentine's Day giveaway necklace.  All I did was add long gathered strips to the bottom of a simple elastic waist a-line skirt.  What a difference a ruffle makes!

(iCandy) valentine v-neck

I got a tub of vintage trims and ribbons from my mother-in-law a while back.  There were several gems, but this one was my favorite.  It's some sort of hand crocheted trim with ribbon, or biased tape slipped through each stitch...i loved it...and the colors are so fun!  

So, on behalf of St. Valentine, here's my vintage valentine v-neck.

 I used invisible thread (for the first time) to stitch it directly onto the neck seam of the v-neck.  It's gone through the wash several times, and been great!  i heart a good v-neck!

super-simple T-shirt embellishment, just my kinda project!

(iCandy) matchy-matchy valentine skirt and tie

I'm a sucker for matchy-matchy holiday attire.  I walked past this fabric in Jenny's and instantly decided that my kids needed clothes to match for Valentine's day.  If I had twins, it would be bad news, I'd be matchy-matchy-ing them like crazy!

Anyway, I figured out the tricky part to my faux-tie pattern (it just looks like a regular tie, but really is just strung around a piece of elastic.}  I'll share the tutorial in time to make your boys some Easter ties {I have to perfect the ins and outs first) and have a craft with me night!

and to go along with the tie, on Ivy's skirt, I thought I'd try 'the pleat.'

  I've never done pleats before, but I must say that aside from all the pinning {which I don't enjoy}it was fun...and maybe a little therapeutic...am I weird?

awww, matchy.

hurry, make yourself some matchy-matchy....there's totally still time!

And the winner is:

...according to the random integer generator: #15

15.) Tara said:

I am a follower! Now hand over the necklace and nobody gets hurt. I am excited to see what you ladies come up with on this blog. Cheers to your newborn blog!

Tara, send me an email to let me know where you want it sent!  

Happy Valentines Day!

(eyeCandy) Grosgrain's Second Chances Party Frock

We decided that every weekend we would like to gather up our weekly favorite projects from around the blogosphere and choose one for a spotlight.

This week, there were several amazing creations to choose from.  My pick is a dress that made me smile as soon as I saw it.  The amazing Kathleen of Grosgrain calls it her Second Chances Party Frock, but I would call it the "Make You Happy Frock" or the "Cheer You Up Frock"

And since here at iCandy, we are always aiming for beautiful treats for the eyes, I thought it was a perfect choice.  Go check out her amazing blog!

ALSO, don't forget to enter our first giveaway!  Click HERE for the contest details.  See HERE what you win!