pinterest projects

New Dresses for the Girls

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As part of my resolution to sew from my stash, I decided to make new dresses for the girls.  I used Shwin and Shwin’s Holiday Dress pattern for the bodices, and made some amazingly twirly skirts using my own mind.

And Then They Dresses at the Ghirardelli A day in San Francisco seemed like the perfect time for the girls to wear the dresses.  They were perfect – short sleeved, colorful, twirly, and fun.  They had the added bonus of making the girls super easy to spot in a crowd.And Then They Dresses Alma And Then They Dresses HarrietI was able to use some of the more random fabrics that I didn’t have any ideas for – ahem scissors – and also some of my cherished favorites.  Both dresses have the purple flowers and matyroshka dolls, but the rest are unique.  I love Alma’s mashallahs and Hattie’s bee sleeves. And Then They Dresses Sisters And Then They Dresses Trolley WorkAlma’s dress has two big sparkly blue bottons.  Harriet’s dress has the one leftover sparkly button, and a cute pink bubbly button. And Then They Dresses Waiting and Marching And Then They Dresses at the beach And Then They Dresses Waiting for Cable CarI loved making these dresses.  They were really quick to sew, and really fun to wear.  I’m planning on making a couple like it for an upcoming silent auction at Alma’s school, and maybe a few for the Etsy shop.

Also, check back tomorrow for more photos of our time in San Francisco!

Alma’s 3rd Birthday Party

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bIMG_5730This year, we decided to have a joint birthday party for Alma and three of her friends.  This was an amazing idea because, not only did it cut down on all we had to do, but I also got to have some fun planning sessions over drinks with some of my favorite ladies.

We decided to have a simple play-date type party with a loose ballet theme.  So, last weekend we had a big ballet birthday bash with Alma and all her friends from our playgroup.

B A A M's Birthday
The best invitation ever, right?

We had eight 3-year-olds, but a smattering of little siblings.  We made 11 tutus for the walking-aged kids.  That 325 yards of tulle.  More than three football fields.  No joke.

bIMG_5719bIMG_5723 It was a wild, hilarious, fun, lovely party!  It’s so fun raising our kids with these other families. bIMG_5743This next series of photos really gets me.  I knew all three of these moms before we were moms.  I met Leia and Natalie in our birth class, and Shannon in our breastfeeding class.  I am blown away by the fact that we now have three-year-olds.  I feel like it was just yesterday that we were spending out Tuesdays at Baby Clinic, talking about how hard and amazing our tiny newborns were.  Seeing these sweet kids, so excited for their cupcakes, knowing that they once were those babies, seems impossible.  Beautiful, but impossible.  I can’t imagine what they will look like at their joint 18th birthday party…

bIMG_5770 bIMG_5774 bIMG_5777bIMG_5782We are so lucky.

The kids felt pretty lucky to have some amazing cupcakes.  These kids (and photos) crack me up.

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Our Faerie Door

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Faerie Door - AndthentheyI’ve seen faerie doors all over Pinterest, so this is one of my Pinterest Projects!  I finally got around to making Our Faerie Door.

The main inspiration for this came from The Imagination Tree’s idea of Kindness Elves.  I love this alternative to Elf on the Shelf.  I wrote a little bit about it last year when I was thinking of new traditions to have for Christmastime.  Last year I bought some gnome dolls that were in the girls’ stockings.  They will be our Kindness Gnomes (unless I come up with a better name in the next couple weeks…).

Faerie Door - Andthenthey3I bought the door and doorknob on Amazon, but I imagine you could get it at a hobby shop that sells things for dollhouses.  I used my woodburning tool to burn some fae-ish designs.  Then, we used wood glue to glue it to the staircase.

Faerie Door - Andthenthey5Alma helped me glue it on.

Then we said this rhyme:

Faeries, faeries, everywhere,

Come to us so we can share

all the love we have for you.

Faeries, faeries, come on through!

I totally just made it up, on the spot, but Alma was pretty impressed.  It sounded pretty authentic to her.

Faerie Door - Andthenthey4Alma loves our faerie door and I will often find her stretched out on the floor, talking to the faeries behind the door.  She knows that it takes magic to open our faerie door, and that the faeries only come out when they are ready.

Faerie Door - Andthenthey2She has told me about some faerie visits she’s had.

Pretty magical, right?

When Christmastime comes, the Gnomes will start appearing out of our faerie door, and I think that will just about blow her mind!