When The Duo Becomes a Trio

Two sweet, young girls in Santa Barbara are going to have a little sister any day now. To say they are excited is an understatement. 

As a special treat, their Aunt Amanda got them a Cookie+Curly mobile to dress up their room and to remind them that they both will be the Big Sister, and they will have a little one to help care for, love, and guide.

"The Addition"

Amanda and the Mama requested a driftwood-like branch for their birds, to match their beachy location.

This is actually a manzanita branch but because of its age and the cut of it, it looks like driftwood. {I just love how crazy and beautiful branches can be.}

And of course, the Big Sisters...

We hope the introduction of their new arrival comes soon, and health and laughter are shared by all.

What do you think of the hanging nest? Should I repeat it?

Working on some birds this weekend - Sorry it's been a while since I've had a chance to restock my website. Thanks for your patience, and of course, for letting others know about C+C.

Matchy-Matchy Pants

I still remember my mom making or buying matching outfits for herself and me when I was little, and the memory isn't always fond, but I couldn't help but make matching pants for my daughter and me the other week.

First, I haven't told you about this ridiculous find about an hour from me that sells fabric for $1/yard. Yes, you read that right. One dollar per yard. AND, it's self-serve - no one works there. AND, it's on the honor system. I'll fill you in on the details on a later post, or email if you just have to know now - {P.S. It's only open Fridays and Saturdays}.

The last time I went to this "fabric store" I got two yards of this striped black and off-white fabric. I intended on just making pants for myself - actually, I planned on making a super cool skirt but I didn't have enough fabric - but when I made a minor mistake for my pants, I ended up having enough fabric to make my sweet daughter some pants.

When I made the pants for myself, I drew a tiny bit from a previous post I did for t-shirt pants for my little one, but I adapted it a) for my adult size, b) a little bit as the waist on those pants ended up being really gathered {neither she or I have much hips - thanks genetics} and I was looking for more of a fitted/lounge-pants look, and c) to make them longer.

{The How-To Part}

I measured my waist, my inseam, my "outseam" {I don't know the technical term but the length from the top of my hip to the floor}, the width of the bottom pant leg on some other pants I have, the crotch {waist to inseam}, and the diameter at the thigh/crotch area. I then just transferred those measurements onto the fabric, making sure to line up the stripes properly. {Some people find stripes hard to work with. I appreciate that they don't allow me to fudge and force me to be accurate with my work.}

The pattern ended up looking like this:

Note: a) If you make these pants, make sure you cut the fabric on the fold where the outer leg is on the fold and you have to sew up the inseam. The measurements I wrote down assume the fabric is folded in half. b) I added a few inches in the crotch {waistline to crotch} measurement to allow for fabric to be folded down and enclose the elastic. Make sure you add the appropriate amount of inches of the "outseam" to allow for the waistline as well.

I folded down the waistline but added about 0.5-1" on the back side to allow for booty room. :) Then I made a similar gap for elastic that I did in the t-shirt pants tutorial, but this time stretched the elastic and sewed right on the elastic so the fabric would gather neatly.

I folded down the hemline 1/4" and then another 1/4" and did a simple stitch along the bottom. Next time I might do a zig-zag stitch here as sometimes the hemline rolls up.

{How I Got Two Pairs of Pants Out of This}

For some reason, I cut my inseam 5" shorter than I wanted {24" instead of the 29" I measured} so I had enough fabric to make another pair for my mini-me. Since she's potty trained {yay!} I measured her waist, booty, thigh, inseams and crotch area and made the same pants, only smaller.

I now get why my mom did what she did when I was younger. :) Have you made any mother-daughter matching outfits?? Do share!

One Heck of a Outdoor Chandelier

My husband and I have the privilege of getting together with four other couples every other month for a Gourmet Group dinner party. We don't have a fancy name or anything. We just all love making food or eating it... or both.

This month we hosted the dinner at our house and had a Greek theme to the evening. I will get into the food {and outfits} in a later post - it was amazing, as usual - but I have to highlight this amazing chandelier that my husband made on a whim with my branches. 

It's more of a floating centerpiece that doubled as lighting for us.

It was so neat to dine under this with friends and enjoy the warm glow of overhead candles while a slight, warm{ish} breeze blew and God held off the rain for us. Such a delightful touch to the evening.

 

I look at it now and think we could sell these through Pottery Barn or Restoration Hardware for $450 or so. What do you think?! :)

Signed,

Proud Wife