A Little DIY Artwork

My friend Jessica is wishing her baby girl a very happy second birthday today!  Happy Birthday Jill!  Man, does it go fast!  Their family just moved into their very first home and Jessica requested that I paint something for Jill's room.  Jessica, who is a very savvy seamstress, has been holding on to this vintage fabric for a long time waiting to have her daughter's permanent room to decorate.  Isn't it gorgeous?

The inspiration

So, she let me borrow the fabric so that I could match the general colors.  She also noted that she would like Jill's name up in the room too.  So, why not get two birds with one stone?  Here is the final product (not in it's final destination, of course).  So, Jessica, if you don't want to see this before tomorrow...stop here!

I think it turned out pretty darn cute.  Here is a close-up of each individual painting:

Now, I don't think that you have to be an artist to create something similar.  Here is what you need:

• one canvas for each letter of the name (these are 8" x 10")
• acrylic paint
• paint brushes in varying widths

Once you have all of the basic materials, start to generate ideas.  I played around with different fonts (there are tons of online sites to try - I like http://www.fonts.com/) until I was happy with the layout.  Then I came up with some simple background ideas.  If this part scares you, try stretching pretty fabric over the canvas - that would be sooo cute!  Now, it's time to paint.

For the striped ones, I did the background first.  Just use a straight edge and mark your lines evenly apart with a pencil.  Now, with a steady hand (or tape), paint the stripes.

Next, paint the letters...I don't think there is any way around freehanding these...unless you want to spend money on a stencil.  But, feel free to draw it out on paper first and then cut the letter out, and then trace the outline on the canvas.  Paint in your letters.

Finally, embellish the backgrounds.  I also added a contrasting outline around each of the letters just to make it pop out a little.

Your final product:  A very cute, personal, and inexpensive piece of artwork.

Long Sleeve Toddler Peasant Dress Tutorial (for Prudent Baby)

Thank you to Jacinda and Jamie for requesting this tutorial and for sharing it on their site!  It is a variation of their peasant blouse tutorial. 

With fall coming early to the Pacific Northwest (wait, did summer even arrive?) and winter fast approaching, long sleeves and cozy fabrics are a must!  So, I played around with the pattern until I came up with this:



Here is what you will need for one toddler dress (size 2T):

• 1 yard of fabric 
• 1/4 inch elastic (approximately 26")
• corresponding thread
• safety pin
• pins (optional)

Step 1:  Cut out fabric

Here is the pattern:

(Side note:  If you would like 3/4 length sleeves, cut your sleeve pieces to 10" x 14")

Once cut, your pieces should look like this:





Note that these are still folded

Step 2:  Cut out neckline and armhole

On your dress pieces (leaving them folded in half and stacked on top of each other), cut out an armhole 6" long. I cut a basic J shape.

Cut the neckline as deep as you would like it.  You may prefer to cut the front more than the back.

Fold the two rectangles for the sleeves on the long side, so you will have two 5" x 16" pieces.  Stack them up and place them behind the dress piece with the fold on the inside, like this:

Now cut out the armole and neckline where they overlap the fabric.

Step 3:  Piece together your dress

Unfold all of your pieces.  With right sides facing each other, line up the armhole on one side of the dress with the matching cut on the sleeve piece.  (You can pin this if you like, but I don't bother...I only pin things if I absolutely need to.)  Like this:



Now sew around 1/4" in around the edge of the armhole.  Go back and do a zig-zag stitch at the edge of the fabric to keep the seam intact.



Finished seam



Repeat this on the other side of the dress piece.

 It should look something like this:

Snow angel

Now attach the other side of the dress piece in the same way.

The dress is starting to come together!  Next, the side seams need to be sewn.  Line up the seams at the armpit and then sew along the arm and the side of the dress all at the same time.  Again, secure your seams with a zig zag stitch.

Line up the armpit before you start sewing!

It should look like this.

Step 4:  Finishing touches

Lay your dress out so the top is flat.  It is likely not perfectly straight.

 We want it to be straight...so, fold your dress in half vertically...

 And cut until you have a straight line across the top...

Voila!

Time to heat up that iron.  Fold the top edge over 1/8" and iron, then fold over again about 3/8" giving you a nice clean edge.  Iron down.

Repeat with the sleeves and the bottom hem (although for the bottom hem, you can fold over to 1/4" on the second fold since we are not inserting any elastic here). 

Now sew one line straight across the top of your nicely prepared fold just below the very edge of the neckline.  Go all the way around the edge . 

Now sew a second line around the bottom of your hem (leaving a minumum of 1/4" in between your two rows of stitches).  Don't sew all the way around - be sure to leave about 1/2" gap at the end so that you can feed your elastic through there.  Repeat on both sleeves.

You can hem the dress now as well.

It's time to insert the elastic.  Here are the measurements that worked best for Little Bean:

Neckline: 14.5"

Wrists: 5.5"

Forearm (should you want 3/4 length sleeves): 6.5"

Mark the length of your elastic.  Do not cut it yet (otherwise it will be much more difficult to stitch up when you are done).  Attach a safety pin to one end of your elastic.  Insert it through the hole at the neckline and start to feed it all the way through to the other end.  Once you are satisfied with the length, then stitch it up with a few zig zags to secure it.  Clip off excess.

 Sew the 1/2" hole closed.

Repeat with both sleeves.



You're done!

Here is your final product:

Little Bean running away again

Here's proof she does have a face!

Enjoy!  Please share your comments and photos!

Summer Squash and Chicken (Yes, I said chicken) Lasagna

I was really craving lasagna this week and was too lazy to hit the grocery store.  So, I made do with what I had on hand.  And may I say that it was unbelievable?  I highly, highly recommend that you try this.  My toddler (who is the pickiest eater, ever) even gobbled it up and my husband went back for thirds, yes, thirds.

Summer Squash and Chicken Lasagna

For the sauce:
3 - 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes with the liquid
1 - 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 c. onion, finely diced
1 T. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 T. italian seasoning
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Remaining ingredients:
10 whole wheat lasagna noodles (the kind that you have to boil)
2 small yellow squash, thinly sliced
~5 oz. fresh spinach
1 lb. grilled chicken, shredded
8 oz. whole milk ricotta
16 oz. part skim ricotta
1 lb. mozzarella, shredded (shred your own, the pre-shredded kind has a substance in there to prevent caking that affects texture).

Directions:

1. Start the sauce.  Saute the onion in the olive oil until translucent.  Add garlic, cook just until fragrant.  Add tomatoes and their liquid, tomato paste, and spices.  Let simmer at least 30 minutes. 
2. Roast squash.  Spray the bottom of a cookie sheet with cooking spray or olive oil.  Place squash in a single layer.  Roast in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until cooked and a few brown patches (not burned, just a little bit brown).
3. Boil noodles until al dente. 
4. In the bottom of a 9x13 pan, spread just a little bit of sauce.  Place 3 noodles lengthwise.  Layer on top half of your two ricotta cheeses, a third of the mozzarella, the squash, half of the spinach, and a third of the remaining sauce.  Place three more noodles down.  Layer the remaining ricotta, another third of the mozzarella, the chicken, the remaining spinach, and another third of the sauce.  Place 4 noodles on top.  Spread over the remaining sauce and sprinkle on the remaining cheese. 
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes until hot and bubbly.

Please leave me a comment if you get the chance to try this...I would love to hear how you like it.

Peasant Top/Dress Tutorial

I have made a number of these tops/dresses for both myself and my daughter.  The great thing about it is that it is pretty universally flattering.  And it's a little boho chic.  The trickiest thing about it is the sizing.  I am going to include measurements here that I have used for me and for Layla.  There are some great tips for adjusting size here on Our Dish.

For this project, you will need:

• 1/2 yard to 2 yards of fabric (for a toddler shirt - 1/2 yard, for an adult dress 1 1/2 to 2 yards)
• 1/4 inch elastic
• corresponding thread
• pins (optional)

Step 1:  Cut out fabric

For Little Bean, a size 2T:

You will need two of the following shape (the vertical line is the fold of the fabric):

                5"                                                  

8.5"

vertical length: 17" for shirt, 21.5" for dress

                                                                                                                                                          

You will also need two rectangles for the sleeves 7" x 13". 

For Me, adult size 2 to 4:

You will need 2 of the following (the vertical line is the fold of the fabric):

8"

11"

vertical length:  20" for shirt, 27-30" for a short dress

You will also need two rectangles for the sleeves 12" x 18".

Your pieces will look like this:

dress piece, oops, forgot a pic of the sleeves



Step 2:  Cut out armhole and neckhole pieces

On your dress/shirt piece (leaving it folded in half), cut out an armhole (6" long for toddler, 9.5" long for adult). I cut a basic J shape.

Cut the neckline as deep as you would like it.  You may prefer to cut the front more than the back.

Fold the two rectangles for the sleeves on the long side, so you will have two 7" x 6.5" pieces.  Stack them up and place them behind the dress/shirt piece with the fold on the inside, like this:

Try to ignore that this is different fabric :)

Now cut out the armole and neckline where they overlap the fabric.

Step 3:  Piece together your top

Unfold all of your pieces.  With right sides facing eachother, line up the armhole on one side of the top with the matching cut on the sleeve piece.  (You can pin this if you like, but I don't bother...I only pin things if I absolutely need to.)  Like this:

This was a long sleeve top, that's why yours looks different.

Now sew around 1/4" in around the edge of the armhole.  Go back and do a zig-zag stitch at the edge of the fabric to keep the seam intact.

Repeat this on the other side of the dress/shirt piece.  It should look something like this:

Looks like a snow angel

Now attach the other side of the dress/shirt piece in the same way.

Line up the seams at the armpit and then sew along the arm and the side of the shirt all at the same time.  Again, secure your seams with a zig zag stitch.

Turn your top inside out and it will look something like this:

Step 4:  Finishing touches

Cut the top edge of your dress/shirt so that it is straight (as it is in the picture above).

Time to heat up that iron.  Fold the top edge over 1/8" and then fold over again about 3/8" given you a nice clean edge.  Repeat with the sleeves and the bottom hem (although if you are not cinching the bottom, you can fold over to 1/4" on the second fold).  Iron down the edges.

Now sew one line straight across the top of your nicely prepared fold just below the very edge of the neckline.  Go all the way around the edge .  Now sew a second line around a little more than 1/4" below the first one.  Be sure to leave about 1/2" gap at the end so that you can feed your elastic through there.  Repeat on both sleeves.

Stitching at neckline

You can hem the shirt now as well.

Attach a safety pin to one end of your elastic.  Insert it through the hole at the neckline and start to feed it all the way through to the other end.  Once you have the elastic through and it is cinched just how you like it, tie the two ends of the elastic together.  Now, TRY IT ON!  Make sure it fits just right.  If it does, then untie the elastic and run a few zig zag stitches through it to secure it.  Sew the 1/2" hole closed.  Repeat with both sleeves.

Here is the final product on Little Bean:

Long sleeve peasant dress

How cute is she?

Step 5:  Play around and make yours unique!

So, there are a million different variations of this top.  Here are a couple of mine:

Dress with wide neck and straight sleeves

Close-up of the neck, tutorial here

Here is a knit top with a keyhole neck (click on the link for a tutorial):

And of course, through this whole tutorial, I included pictures from a long sleeve dress.  I have not included measurements for that because I messed with it so much that I don't have any accurate numbers...but start long and you can always make them shorter.  Also, you will want to taper the arm pieces slightly, otherwise it will be too bulky at the wrist when you are complete.

The two tutorials that helped me get to this variation are from Prudent Baby and Our Dish. Check them out!