I found a great tutorial for Super Hero Capes over at The Long Thread. The instructions were really easy to follow. I drew out the pattern in about 15 minutes, cut the fabric in another ten, and the sewing and pressing probably took about an hour. All together, this was a quick project, and easy for me to manage over the course of several days since I don’t get solid blocks of time for my projects. It was also a fun challenge because I had never done appliqué before. There was no way I would have even attempted it using my old machine. I am so in love with my new Singer Confidence 7470. Sewing is fun again! The appliqué came out great and I’m looking forward to doing more.

Ethan’s birthday is coming up soon tomorrow, and I made the Super Hero Cape for him. How did the time get away again? I really did think I finished in time to mail it to him for his special day. Well, a little belated won’t be too big of a deal. I hope.

I love the fabric I chose. The lining is from Three Rivers Fabric. I love the blue, red. And orange. So vibrant!

I took the yard to Britex so I could find a corresponding color for the outside of the cape. The clerk helping me was the best! She grabbed several bolts of fabric and helped me choose the best red and orange to use.

Hope to have few shots of Ethan wearing it soon!

Because this was such a fun and easy project, it will be my go-to gift for little kids as their birthdays roll around. I’m making one for Izzy in lime green with a cupcake pattern for the lining. Stay tuned for photos of the next completed project.

I forgot that today was Monday so I’ll have to shift everything down and move a couple of things around next time I’m in the kitchen.

Sunday: Salmon with rice cooker mac and cheese and broccoli.

Monday: Veggie Lasagna with zucchini, kale, mushrooms, black olives and fresh basil. It was delicious and usually Izzy can’t get enough of lasagna, but today she refused to eat it. After the 1:00 a.m. I’m hungry screams from Saturday night, I made sure she ate something before getting down from her chair. She had carrots, hummus, pita, an apricot and some almond milk.

Tuesday: Slow cooker chili. I really should brown the turkey tonight before I go to bed.

Wednesday: Lasagna leftovers. Hopefully Izzy will eat it this time. Mitch will have to figure something out if she doesn’t. He’ll be on his own while I’m at photo class.

Thursday: Spinach Raviolis

Friday: Chili left overs

Saturday: Tilapia, quinoa and zucchini

Sunday: Soup and grilled cheese. Quick, easy and no leftovers. We’re headed to San Diego next week. Yay!

First up, these adorable outfits made from patterns found on the Internet. The kimono top pattern is from Habitual, and the yoga pants pattern came from Mani Mina. (I also just bought her kimono jacket and spring dresss patterns too).

This one is for Izzy:

This on is for Anneke:

The Black Apple is one of my favorite artists on Etsy. I’ve been following her career since Etsy was still in beta. I love her work. Mitch gave me one of her prints for Christmas this year and I love it. The Black Apple appeared on the Martha Stewart show showing the audience how to sew her signature dolls. She also gave the pattern away on Martha’s site.

Here are my renditions–the blond for Anneke and the brunette fir Izzy. I also made matching purses using a pattern that I designed.

Finally, I made no see tutus for the girls. These were super easy to make. Just measure out some elastic to fit the waist. Secure the ends an then tie strips of tulle all the way around.

I made everything with the supplies I already had on hand except for the tutus. I had to buy tulle and elastic, but that only cost about $5 each.

Here’s Izzy wearing everything at once.

Mitch bought me a super fancy flash for my camera. I’m able to bounce light around at will and I’m so surprised at how awesome my photos are coming out. No more harsh shadows screwing up my perfect shots.

Izzy is practicing dressing herself a lot these days. I leave a bunch of clothes for her in her bottom dresser drawer that she pulls out and attempts to put on. One day, we had our laundry bag packed and waiting in the foyer. Izzy was able to reaj through the gate and rifle through the bag. She pulled out a few things and got busy trying to put them on. She has one each of my and Mitch’s socks on her legs. She’s got a pair of my underwear hanging around her knees, and she grabbed another one of my really long socks and wrapped it around her neck like a scarf. She’s quite the fashion plate, dontcha think?

And finally, since there is still a kitties component to this blog, albeit not as robust as the kid part, here is a fabulous photo of Izzy’s feline boyfriend, Kirby. Isn’t he just the best?

Behold this adorable Felt Playhouse by Homemade by Jill that uses a dining table for the base. I like the sturdiness of the fabric and it’s easy to cut and sew. And the best part is, I don’t have to worry about finishing the edges. However, our table is right next to the radiator, and I wonder how breathable the felt house will be. It could turn out to be quite stuffy in the little house even if I have windows cut out in the fabric walls.

And now I just discovered this wonderful Little Blue House by ikat bag. I love that it uses a PVC pipe frame that can be taken down and put back up in a matter of minutes. We wouldn’t have to rely on using the dining table for play and we can take it with us when we travel. The designer mentions that the weight of the fabric was a bit much for the frame and she had to scrap the internal layer even though she was using lightweight fabrics.

Hmmm…pros and cons for both approaches. And, I still like the simplicity of the first table tent I stumbled across. I need to start sketching out the little house I want to make for Isadora and see where it takes me.

I used the last of my awesome Barnslig fabric from Ikea to cover the cushions. I’ve used to decorate tons of stuff in Izzy’s room. Her upcycled cat litter bucket now toy storage bucket, the crib rail protector, and a crib quilt. I definitely need to go back and get more before they discontinue the pattern. I just love it!

I’m so proud of myself. I actually made gusseted corners for a perfect box fit and sewn in zippers so I can take them off and wash them. This was my third time ever sewing in a zipper on something. I messed up the first time, and had to tear it out, and do it over again, but I am very pleased with the end result.

Izzy was having so much fun “falling” into the cushions and jumping on them. I really am bummed now that I didn’t take all of them.

I wonder if she’s going to go through that brooding awkard phase when she’s a teenager? I’m thinking she’s going to totally be over it because we blast Bauhaus in her playroom. What do you think?

I had a really crummy week at work, so I knew the only way I was going to get over it was to craft it out. I had some fleece left over, so I pulled out the Scotty Dog pattern and went to town. I made a pack of puppies for Izzy and her friends.

Even though I used the same pattern, they all came out different. Wabi sabi. That’s the beauty of hand made.

This one is for Anneke, Izzy’s best friend forever. Anneke loves orange, or at least I think she does. She has a few orange things, so I’m carrying on the tradition.

This one is for Gracie, Izzy’s newest friend. Mitch finally met another At-Home Dad and was lucky enough to meet one with a daughter the same age as Izzy.

This one is for Dylan, Auntie Shelly’s nephew. We haven’t met him yet, but he sure does look cute in his photos! I wanted this to be a surprise for Shelly, but I also wanted to get this posted today. I may be in luck considering that she’s in Mexico right now, and hopefully too busy having fun and not sitting in an internet cafe somewhere looking at Kid N Kitties.

Finally, here’s the pup for Izzy

Izzy had fun playing with the pack of puppies today. Hopefully she won’t be too upset when her plethora of pups dwindles down to one.

When the kids get a little older, they’re all going to get one of these. It’s going to be fun to customize each one in their favorite colors. But first, I have four other things on my sewing to do list before I can get started on this.

No, you’re not seeing double. I made two of the same outfit–one for Isadora and one for Anneke. I loved making these matching jumpers for the girls. I hope to one day get a picture of the two of them together when they’re wearing them.

This was a fun little project. I finally used my serger for the first time (thanks for teaching me how to use it, Jess!) and finished all of the raw edges. How very thorough of me. I am totally hooked on the serger now. I will finish all edges for any sewing project going forward. It really does make the garment look so much better when it’s complete.

I’ve been sewing for over 30 years, and I still haven’t learned how to make button holes (Jess…can you help a sister out?). So I used inset snaps instead. I think it will work out okay. Just wondering if the girls will figure out how to unsnap the straps. I used snap tape on the legs, but that was kind of drag to sew (first time). Maybe it will get better with experience, but I may just use more snap fasteners. They were really easy to use.

I used View A Butterick 5439 for the jumpers. As I was looking for links to the pattern to include in my post, I came across Stop Staring and Start Sewing’s interpretation of the pattern, and man oh man, am I totally blown away and inspired. She really picked a beautiful fabric, and lovelovelove the addition of the pocket. I was such a freak for pockets when I was a kid. I hope I turn Isadora on to the absolute necessity of pockets.

I hope to get started on another sewing project this weekend. I’ll be making View D of the Butterick 5439pattern. I have some really cute fabric that is green with little red lady bugs, and I think I have enough to make a pair so Anneke can have one too. Now that I’ve been inspired by Stop Staring and Start Sewing, I am dying to get back to the fabric store and pick up some more fabric and play around a little with embellishments–pockets, trims, etc.

I’ve been thinking of a way to sew some kind of protector for a while and I finally measured the crib and made some sketches this weekend. I used some fabric that I bought at Ikea and lined it with a cotton batting to provide an added layer of protection. I attached some snaps at the bottom to secure it on the crib. It’s easy to take of for laundering.

I also made a crib blanket that has matching fabric on one side and animals in the same colors on the other side.

It felt good to plan, design, and create the vision I had in my head and to see it executed as perfectly as I had hoped even though Murky occasionally thwarted the creative process.

On a side note, Izzy and I spent the afternoon in San Anselmo at a friend’s baby shower. Isn’t she simply adorable in her little garden party dress?

Last night was different though. I thought of a project to reuse the cat litter buckets we’ve been getting lately. I needed more toy storage, but didn’t want to buy anything, so I figured we could just use the cat litter buckets. I couldn’t figure out how to get the brand label off, so I just got some Mod Podge, colorful paper and images cut from some fabric I bought at Ikea.

Forty-five minutes later and…

Viola!

I keep this bucket in the kitchen filled with child sized spatulas, mixing bowls, rolling pin and cookie cutters. I also tossed in some empty, clean and colorful food packaging–jelly bottle, Yo Baby smoothie bottle, puffs containers and a coffee can. Isadora never took to binkies, but we have a ton of them. I put them inside the containers for her and she tries to get them out. It’s been a ton of fun so far!