~princess dress~

My son was invited to a birthday party
Saturday and when I asked the girl's Mom
what she wanted for her birthday I got the reply:
"Anything princess and blue."

I have been wanting to make a princess dress for awhile now
and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to start.

I didn't stop with the dress....
a girl's got to have some accessories you know!

The finished project.
I made it by sewing a tulle skirt onto a t-shirt.
I cut the sleeves and collar off and embellished
with tulle bows and gemstones.

In retrospect I wish I would have got a smaller
size t-shirt and a more fitted style.
It didn't have much shape to it so I
banded the skirt and bustled it in the front
in the hopes that it would give it a little shape.

I found this tutorial to make a birthday crown to go with the dress.
It was SOOOOO easy and cheap.

I also used this tutorial to make a fairy princess wand.
I thought it was the perfect finishing touch to the fairytale gift.

I'm already planning my next princess dress.....
I'm thinking pink this next time around :)

Total cost for this gift....under $20.

~breakfast anyone?~

I got this yummy treat from my sister,
one of my favorite peeps,
for Easter and had to share.
It is to die for......
s'meeps
(s'mores + peeps)

-place chocolate on graham cracker half

-place peep on top of chocolate

-microwave for 10-15 seconds

-be sure to watch!

-top with other graham cracker half

-enjoy the ooey goodness!

I'll give you one chance to guess what
I've been having for breakfast.
(my momma will be so proud of me)

~growth chart~

I've been wanting to make a growth chart
for the kids for awhile now and saw the perfect idea in
Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts.

Here is my finished product:

I didn't follow it step by step but
just used it as a guide.
Ideally, I would have preferred to have the muslin be
all one piece but I used what I had on hand,
which were pre-cut pieces that I cut for E's quiet book
that I didn't use. I sewed together the pieces of muslin
until I had it long enough to cover the board.

Next I used a ruler and marked the inch and foot marks
where I would need to sew the lines.
Now the tedious part.....
stitching the inch and foot points on the fabric.
I used red thread for the foot marks
and brown thread for the inch marks.
This process took a lot of time.
Next I free handed my numbers on paper first
and then traced them onto fabric and cut out.
Again, I just used scraps of fabric I had on hand.

Next, I ironed the numbers onto double sided pellon,
cut them out and then ironed onto the muslin at the foot markers.

The next step was to attach the growth chart onto
the board. We used a lightweight foam-type material that we
bought at Lowe's and cut 6 ft tall and 10 inches wide.
I'm sorry I don't have the technical name of the material
but I have a nursing baby on my lap right now and can't
go look. (how's that for multi-tasking?)
Check the comments section for the name...I'll go back and add it.
I attached the material to the board by stapling it.
Not the prettiest but it's sturdy and does the job.

After I had it attached I transferred the information I had
from my previous growth chart (a crappy sticker one that tore
the paint off my wall....ugh). I put E's measurements on one
side and L's on the other.

The last step was to hang it.
You need to make sure you hang it on the wall
the proper height for each measurement mark. I measured
a foot up from the floor and matched that mark
with my 1. This is so lightweight and could
be hung with some little command stickers.
I stapled a ribbon to the back and hung it on
a tack....that's how lightweight it is.

Now if and when we ever move out of
this house, I am able to bring the
growth chart without removing a piece
of the door molding or worse....
washing it away from the wall.

~dormant~

It appears that my crafting blog has gone
....dormant.....

I've actually got a few projects I need to
write about and show you.
I will soon, I promise.

About a month ago as I was looking through
some pictures of my sweet little baby I
realized that I can't hardly remember her
as a little tiny newborn. This really bothered
me as she is barely 4 months old.
I should still remember those days VIVIDLY.
Precious time that is all a blur to me now.

I was too busy trying to get Christmas stuff done
or birthday gifts taken care of
or this
or that blogged about ( I also have my family blog)
or laundry done
or the house cleaned....
...you get the point.

It all seems stupid now.
Who cares if I got it done on time.
Does anyone remember?
Will they?
Unfortunately, neither do I......

I've made a vow to myself and my kids that
I won't miss any more precious time with them
in order to get a project done.
The projects will wait.
That stack of fabric will still be there.
So will the laundry.
And so will the dust bunnies....
but most of all....so will my memories.

Don't give up on me...I still LOVE this stuff.

~glorious food~

Ok-so I know this is suppose to be a crafting/sewing blog.
I'm branching out a little.
Heart and Sew'l was what I named this blog
because that's what sewing and creating does for me.....
it feeds my heart and soul.
But it's not the only thing in my life that does that.
I'm going to start posting about other things
that feed my heart and soul.

Let's get real literal about this one.
Not only do I feed my heart and soul with this.....
I FEED MY FACE!

I love this.
comfort food....my style.
Wasa crispbread, spread with Laughing Cow Cheese,
topped with a cucumber slice and smoked salmon..

Delicious.
Healthy.

The smoked salmon is caught and smoked fresh
by my husband. IT IS TO DIE FOR!
He should bottle up this stuff and sell it...

~silhouettes~

I love silhouettes and have been
wanting to make some ever since I
saw the idea in
Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts

A friend of mine had a birthday coming up
and I knew when I saw these pics of her boys
on their skate boards, that these were
the exact pics I wanted to use.

I printed the pics up from my computer
and first colored in the image with
a black sharpie.

After I had the images all shaded in,
I cut out the image.
It took a while to do and I found that
my small crafting scissors worked better
than an exacto knife like the instructions had suggested.

After I cut the images out, I found the
paper I wanted to attach it to and cut it to size.
(these are 5X7)
To attach the silhouettes to the paper I used
those little round, thick stickers that
raise the picture up a bit from the paper.
(how's that for technical? still waiting for normal brain
function to return since having the baby.)

The last step is to put it in the frame.

So simple and inexpensive.
A bit time consuming but even
a beginning crafter can do this!

I can't wait to make some for my house now.

-For the life of me I cannot figure out why the text
is smaller here on the bottom. I've spent longer trying
to fix it than I did on composing this entire post!
I'm done.

~elton clutch~

After making the clutch purse for my friend's birthday,
I really wanted one for myself.
I have an old Elton John concert shirt that I had
previously turned into a zip up vest.
I love the colors in it and thought it would be
great to re-invent it yet again only this time
turn it into a "going out" purse.

Here is a view of if zipped up, folded over and buttoned.

I used some knit fabric I had for the lining and
the zippered front of the vest became the purse opening.

The picture above is the front of the purse.

The old vintage buttons that Jolie gave me were used
as an embellishment and also to hold down the top
half of the purse once it's zipped up and folded over.

This picture below is the back of the purse.

Here is a view of the inside of the purse.
Just the right size for all the "going out" essentials.
I threw on a wrist strap and called it good.

I'm really into rockin t-shirt purses right now.
The possibilities are endless.....
hmmm.....
stay tuned.