Little Girl Dress from Scratch

A friend of mine has a little girl a few years older than my 4 year old and she recently gave us a few favorite hand-me-downs for enjoyment. One was a dress she had gotten from Old Navy that is very well-loved and terribly cute. I loved the style so much and wanted to figure out how to make it so that I could make one for my friend's daughter, just in a bigger size. 

Since it was July, here it is in patriotic fabric...

And I finally figured out how to do shirring. 

Yikes! Shirring was quite the learning curve! Now it's incredibly easy and I hope I can make it that way for you too.

Tutorial to follow next week.

enjoy.

.molly

Special Custom Mobile for Alzheimer's Mom

Some people get Cookie+Curly mobiles for their child's room. Some, for their bathroom or playroom. Others, for their kitchen window.

Last June {yes, it takes me forever to blog}, I got an email from a woman named Terri, whose mother was in the final stages of Alzheimer's. I'm not sure if she is still alive, but I'd like to think that she is - either happily here, or in heaven.

Terri and her siblings/in-laws wanted to give their mom {who is also a great grandmother}, something uniquely special for her to look at as she rested throughout the day. "Mom" always had a love for birds and flowers, and through The Pleated Poppy's blog, Terri came across my bird mobiles. When she contacted me to make her mobile, I was honored.

She wanted bright colors, with birds perched as well as "flying" below. "Mom's" two favorite birds are goldfinches and cardinals so those needed to be included, and she requested some greens and blues.

They gave the mobile to Mom on a special half-birthday celebration with the whole family and extended family. 

"We know that our Mom will love the bird mobile, even though she won’t be able to verbally express this to us.  When she looks up at her ceiling and sees the colorful birds perched there, we just know it is sure to bring her joy! Thanks again for working on our special and beautiful birds, Molly!"

Most of the work I do is custom, and I love each and every one I do. Please let me know if I can make one for you!

enjoy.

.molly

p.s. That was the last custom mobile I made. That night I took this picture, and the next day our sweet pea #3 joined us! Yikes... A lot has gone on in a year!

Angry Birds Plushies for the Birthday Boy

My precious baby turned six last month, and just like most six year olds, he wanted all things Star Wars, Legos and Angry Birds for his birthday.

We did our now-traditional Elk's Lodge birthday party for him, only this year, he insisted on picking his guests which meant omitting "all girls, except my sisters" and "little kids". Through this process, I realized that in the past, we've thrown birthday parties for us to have fun too, with our friends, regardless of the age of their children. We wanted to honor our big boy this year by honoring his guest list, even if that meant not including our friends. At what age did you do this for your kids?

My husband found a killer pinata of the Black Angry Bird:

 
He scored with endless Lego sets:

And lastly, the party gifts. I am not, not, NOT a fan of giving cheap, plastic stuff away at the end of a party as a means of saying "thank you" to guests for sharing their day and love with my child. In years past we've offered kids useful crafts and gardening supplies {shovel, seeds, etc.}. This year, I wanted it to be something near and dear to Calvin. So, what does any rational {ha!}, cheap, mom-of-three decide two nights before a birthday party... Make Angry Birds Plush toys for all the boys.

Thanks to Pinterest I found this tutorial that made things look so easy at first. Looking deeper, I had no idea what she was doing in the tutorial. Long story short, the first one took forever and I decided to do a little shortcut... Rather than sewing the eyes and eyebrows on, I glued them on with a hot glue gun. Doesn't sound like much, but it is.

After recruiting my mom and mother-in-law, we had a basket full of Angry Birds for the kids which they shot around right and left with much enjoyment. I hear they are played with regularly and are even sleep buddies for some boys. Much better.

I'd highly recommend the tutorial {but glue the faces on} - she has them for all the Angry Birds characters. You're bound to make someone very happy!

What have been your favorite party favors from child birthday parties?

enjoy.

.molly