Monday, January 7, 2008

Oh, how it flies...




Has it really been 3 years since my surprise redhead was born? You don't realize how the time really does fly until it's your own child, I suppose.


She asked for a "birdy shirt" for her birthday. I thought I'd just quickly sketch out and applique a little bird, but oh, no. My little girl, she's got an opinion now! I loved that she was interested and involved in the creation of this outfit - "now, Mommy, this leaf goes here, and the birdy needs to be on a branch." A girl after my own heart, I tell you! I so enjoyed this project and am so excited that she gets it, you know?!



I also gave a go at the Twirly Skirt tutorial to match her new shirt and it definitely won't be the last one I make. It's such a well-written tutorial and the skirt is absolutely perfect. Just perfect. I used some 1 1/2 inch fabric scraps with a zig zag stitch as hair ribbons. Hardly any effort at all!



Pardon the blown-out photo. She moves too fast to change the manual settings on my camera, the little rat, but this is the only one I got that comes close to showing the little bird.



Delaney is so into drawing and gluing and cutting things up that I thought she'd enjoy a special suitcase for all of her art supplies. I replenished her stock of construction paper, glue, crayons and coloring books and stuck everything in a suitcase I found this summer for 50 cents. Sandi inspired me to Mod Podge fabric on the front to dress it up. I have to say, it was a hit with all the kids at the birthday party and she hasn't gone more than 3 hours without opening it up just like her very own treasure chest.



The little pockets in the suitcase lid are perfect for storing those pesky foam shapes and letters that otherwise seem to breed and migrate to all corners of my house. I think I'll have to stick this idea in my birthday project folder. Not that I have a birthday project folder, but you know. If I did, this would be in it.

12 comments:

  1. Happy birthday big girl. I am so excited to see pics of her. I have missed her so.

    Love the outfit, and the suitcase idea is GREAT!

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  2. I love the fact that she designed the shirt herself! She is going to be just like you! And that suitcase is a wondeful idea, I may steal it. We have all of our stuff in one big bin and everything gets dumped all over the place, and it's certainly not as pretty as that suitcase!

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  3. She is just so gorgeous! Happy Birthday, little bird!

    And, what a lucky girl to have such a talented mom and get such an adorable outfit and cool artcase as present. I want one of your artcases, too!

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  4. Happy Birthday to your daughter!! I love the shirt that you made!

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  5. It's all so lovely and perfect - just like D! What a gorgeous idea for her art supplies. You never cease to amaze me with the things you create!

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  6. I have a surprise redhead too! She's 19 months now...where does the time go? Great job on the skirt...I'm waiting until Daphne gets bigger to try making one for her.

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  7. Is there a tutorial anywhere on doing this to suitcases? Love it!!!

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  8. Thanks, guys! Your comments warm my cockles. ;)

    Janice, not that I know of but it's super simple. Just clean the suitcase and apply a thin coat of Mod Podge (I used glossy). Put the fabric (or paper) over it, smooth bubbles out, and apply another coat of MP on the top. That's it! The trickiest part is making sure the strips don't go crooked as you're applying the MP. Oh, and I've had the best results using a foam brush. HTH!

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  9. Oh she is a peach. The skirt is adorable. And I love the fabric on the case thing. Strip fabric is my favorite thing to work with.

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  10. That skirt is sooo cute. I've been eyeing that tutorial for awhile and really want to make one for my 3 year old red head, too (who's brother just cut all of her red hair off - ahhhhhh - pics on my blog if you want to see my little pixie princess now). Seeing yours has just sealed the deal .... I've just got to make one for her.

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  11. steph I love your blog. I LOVE the suitcase. I am going to keep my eye out for one to do for Bri. And the skirt is too cute for words.

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  12. I just came across you blog and I have to say i love it!
    I will be checking it soon.

    Vana

    www.lepapierstudio.com

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