Pile o' Leg Warmers

In exciting news, Josie has been initiating using the potty!

In significantly less exciting news, she has serious issues getting pants or tights down in any sort of timely fashion. 

 

Enter the legwarmer.

Now, she uses these a lot anyway, because it made diaper changes easier for me.  But now they serve an even better purpose:

Keeping little legs warm in a cold house while a little girl learns to grow out of her diapers.

With out having to wear pants or tights which make it darn near impossible to get to the potty in time.

 I love these with the pretty ruffled edge.  

Years ago, I found this online tutorial on flicker.

They are incredibly easy to make.  All you need are a pair of women's knee or over the knee socks, and sewing supplies.

This entire batch was sewed up during nap time.  Including breaks because sometimes sewing the same item over and over gets boring.  And the football game was on, so I had to watch a couple of key plays, too :)

Something for the boy

Poor Ben.  He does get short shrift in the sewing department.

And he gets SO excited when I do make something for him.  

I told him about a dinosaur winter hat that I could make for him, courtesy of From an Igloo.

 

So during his nap, I stitched it up.

He loved it.  But then said he wouldn't wear it till I added eyes.

So here is his sister modeling the hat.

It's a bit big on her.  It's a bit big for him, too.  Now that I've made it once, I think in the future, I'll make the triangles (for the crown, not the dino spikes) smaller.  

Guess I need to add eyes during his next nap.

Sewing Attention Deficit

Feeling like projects are always started and never finished. (er, this IS a universal problem, right?  Please tell me I'm not the only seamstress who suffers from Sewing Attention Deficit?)

Either the idea never makes it to fabric.

Or the fabric never makes it from cut to sewn.

Or the finishing of the garment.  Ugh, how I do not relish finishing. 

So to prove to myself that yes. I. can. do it...  (in other words, "Marie, get up from that comfy couch and start sewing all the ideas you have for Christmas gifts.")

I pulled together a bunch of pictures to show myself what I have done.  I CAN finish a garment or project.  See, self?  Now go finish the rest :)

Motivation to keep on keepin' on. 
And definitely what I'm going to do whenever I feel like I am just. not. doing. Or getting done.

Now I suppose I should get back to work.

15 Minutes of Sewing Fame

As if it were not officially in the record books before, I am certifiably a geek.

else could you explain my geeking out over One Pretty Thing featuring Josephine's Beach Combing Wardrobe on one of their posts?

I check that site every day.  
Multiple times a day.  
Because they update it regularly with A.Mazing DIY projects.


And yesterday they had me on there!


Woot :)


Guess I ought to do a post on Josephine's beach combing wardrobe!

Ma Petite Chou (or What to Do With All of these Brussels Sprouts?)

When I was a little girl, my mom used that term of endearment with me a lot.

"Ma petite chou?" I would ask.

"My little cabbage head," she would reply.

"Really?" I thought, "that's supposed to be sweet?"

Today Ben and I picked the last of our garden harvest.  These were the only things that have survived the fast freeze that we had.  The freeze that I didn't pay any attention to, and so I missed getting the bell jars over the plants that could have been saved.

So all that was left alive after the freeze were the hardy brussels sprouts.

We picked a bunch. 

Ben eats them raw. 

I wouldn't recommend it, but he says they're good that way.

Seeing them all sitting together in a pile reminded me of my mother's french term of endearment.  

The pile of adorable little green cabbages actually was endearingly adorable. 

(hmm, maybe the reason I took so many pictures of a rather unpopular vegetable?)

I personally love them if they are sauteed with some balsamic vinegar and orange zest. 

But no one else in my family will eat them. 

Well, obviously Ben will chomp on them raw out of the garden, but even my gardening buddy turns his nose up at a cooked brussels sprout.

So perhaps I should make one of these?

image credit

Crazy cool, right?  Reminds me of the wreaths in Williamsburg, VA, all made from winter foodstuffs.  The how to is located here at the lovely blog, Blomsterverkstad.

I'm guessing the general consensus in this household is that I make them into the wreath instead of try and serve the brussels sprouts to them for dinner.

Billy Cardigan

 

I think, when I'm not at work, cardigans are probably what I wear 90% of the time.  (well, cardigans layered over PJs.  Am I the only person who changes into pajamas the minute I get home?)

I've been seeing a bunch of pretty draped cardigans around, but I haven't found any that I love.  

Until I saw Katy  (who has this incredibly understated and elegant aesthetic) from No Big Dill's  tutorial for luvinthemommyhood.  I knew I had to give it a try.  Love the finished product :)

I love the neckline crossed over and pinned.  Sophisticated, but still incredibly comfy. Or...

 

Open and breezy.

Last night I wore it open with a skinny belt. 
But I left the belt at my sister's house. 
Uh-oh. 
Also, those skinny belts aren't the most comfortable.  At least when I sat down I didn't think so... maybe it's time to buy a bigger belt :) 

(also, what in the world kind of pose is that that I'm making??  I think I may have to start cropping my head out of every picture.)

Some How-To Advice for this Project
I am a bit of a completely hasty sewer.  I tend to skim directions and almost always jump right in and then regret it after I screw up something major. 

So a few things to be wary of if you decide to make one of your own...

1. The shoulder seams are sewn wrong sides together, then top-stitched down against the garment.  It makes a beautiful finish.  Here's the part I missed:  Top stitch down first, then trim the seams down to 3/8 inches.  One of my shoulder seams has some really wonky stitching because I trimmed then top stitched.

2. The decorative thread for top-stitching is a bear to work with.  I have a sewing machine that is incredibly temperamental with cheap and/or fancy thread.  It kept breaking and fraying and clogging up the works.

3. The entire garment is NOT sewn with all seams on the outside.  Only the shoulder.  I did the whole thing minus the sleeves with the outside seams, then decided that was far too much decorative stitching.  I ripped the entire thing apart and re-sewed. 

4. This is really an easy project!  Knits really are forgiving, and even with my seam snafu, it probably took me about 2 hours to draft the pattern, cut, and sew.  Then rip apart (sigh.) and re-sew.

It's Tricky to Rock a Rhyme

Inspired by the onesie dress tutorial on Prudent Baby...

I saw this onesie at Gabriel Brothers (I think it is originally an Old Navy onesie?) and HAD to have it for the girl.  But, it was a size 9 months.  Uh-oh.

Never going to fit my very tall 18 month old.  So I cut off the part that snaps between the legs.  Problem was, it kept riding up her belly without something to add some length.

Enter the attached skirt.  I pleated some corduroy fabric in my stash and stitched it to the shirt.  I wanted a paper bag waist effect on the skirt. 

Pretty much want to eat her up every time she wears it :)

Pilgrim's Progress - Thrift Store Refashion

Shopping at my favorite Goodwill store and found this wonderfully well made navy blue wool long pinafore style dress.  But it had a very "dressing as a pilgrim for Halloween" feel. Scroll down to see the before.

Yikes.

Still, it was asking me to buy it. It just wanted to be a short bubble skirt instead.  I love it.  Don't know if I love the purple tights with it or not?  I do have a more subdued dark gray pair.  Maybe a better choice?

My three and half year old was the photographer for these two.  Thanks bud :)

The before...

Eyelet Top and Green Capris

I am in love with the material for this top.  I kind of want one in a grown up girl size... Tacky or cute?  I'm still undecided...

The top is made from a heavy and beautiful creamy eyelet cotton with an antique cream colored ribbon.  I added elastic to the straps and about 2 inches down from the top, in order to create the ruffling.

I think I need to add belt loops to the front, because the ribbon would slide down as the wild woman ran around.  Mostly chasing after the dog's toys...

And balloons that weren't hers.

The green capris were a spur of the moment sew.  Made them up while she was napping using a pair of pants she already owns in order to make a pattern. I adapted the Prudent Baby tutorial on pants. I think I'd like to add some decoration to them, but I didn't have time when I made them originally.  We'll see how they end up :)

And the Winner Is...

Thanks to Random.org, Fan #35 is the winner of the giveaway!
Congratulations, Krystal H.!  Thanks for fanning Liberty's Belle on Facebook! 

Wander on over to the shop, pick out an item you'd like, and then send me a convo on etsy.  I'll ship it out as soon as you've decided what you'd like as your prize :)

Thanks again to everyone who is a fan on facebook!

Favorite Toddler and Preschooler Books

We've been doing a lot of reading and snuggling this week, and I started to think about what our all time favorite books are.  Ben, almost three, has a deep love affair with all things pirate, baseball, and animal.  Josie, almost one, loves anything she can touch or that has a nice cadence when read aloud.  Also, I would be remiss if I didn't say that four of the books that landed in the favorite collection were all chosen and gifted to us by a very dear former teaching colleague of mine.  Much love to the awesome book taste of Ms. T :-)

So what are the most beloved books in your house?

Snowed In - All Edges Brownie Pan Rave :)

 

I don't know how your family works, but every time we make brownies, we fight to see who gets to eat the corners.  Now I understand from my sister that some people actually prefer the gooey center, but I'm not sure I believe it.  

So to eliminate some of that discord in the Heath household, I gave Mark the All Edges Brownie Pan for Christmas.  I thought it was kind of a goofy gift, but I knew he would appreciate it.  And it has been appreciated many times over during this past week as we have experienced two massive blizzards in less than five days.  All snowed in and eating lots of chocolate.  Yummmm.

Snowed In Oatmeal Breakfast

Mark needed something warm and filling to give him the energy to get out there and shovel 30 inches of snow. (thanks baby!)  I love oatmeal, but we hardly ever have a chance to eat it.  So, today we made a "decorate your own" oatmeal buffet for breakfast.  Ben ate seconds (!) so it must have been good.

Snowed In Chocolate Snowballs

 

Maybe it's because I'm still at teacher at heart, but I adore snow.  It means my husband, also a teacher, is home.  It means we are all forced to snuggle in tight and hang out at the house and eat lots of comfort food without feeling guilty.  And the way things are looking in the mid-atlantic region right now, we'll be snuggling for quite a while.  We have about 30" of snow outside, so I thought I'd post some things to do with all of that lovely, cold, whiteness.

One of my all time favorite treats is a chocolate snowball.  We have them here in the summer time; they're like icees, only far superior ;-)  They're made with shaved (as opposed to crushed) ice.  And real snow does make the best snowball.  Get the how to by clicking "read more."

Update on the Homemade All Purpose Cleaner

I posted about making homemade lavender scented all purpose cleaner here.  Well, I just want to say that... I LOVE it!  It works really well in the kitchen for all of the weird sticky food messes that seem to follow the kids wherever they go.  Then, Ben and I cleaned the bathroom with this and some baking soda, and it looked great!  I loved that my little helper could actually HELP when I had cleaning products around. 

Yay!

Kid Art Note Cards

 

This post from Prudent Baby on kid art trivets reminded me of a similar project we did last Christmas.  Ben made art note cards for his greatest fans - his grandmoms.  With Valentine's Day approaching, this might be a nice gift if you need something for the loving grandparent in your kiddo's life :)  It's also a good way to use some of the thousands of finger paintings that are decorating your fridge.

They turned out better than I had imagined.  I was picturing something cutesy for the grandmothers to use as notecards, but thought it might end up looking uber "kid" like.  Which is fine, because these ladies pretty much love whatever their grandkids do :)  But I was pleasantly surprised that not only were they a great kid project for the grandmoms, the cards ended up looking pretty cool in their own right, too.

Kid's Indoor Play Tent

This is what I spent most of last night doing.  I thought up the idea around midnight, and spent the next three hours with Pythagoras, a calculator, and my evolving plans.  I think I've got the pattern done, so now I'm going to try and sew my first one.  It will be Josie's First Birthday present.  And then I'll make one for Ben, too.  I am so so sooo excited, and I really hope the numbers work!

Homemade Lavender Lemon All Purpose Cleaner

 

With a two year old and a 10 month old, we are always pulling out the windex and cleaning up some spill or another.  Besides the fact that we were spending lots of money on cleaner, I really wanted a more environmentally and kid friendly cleaner around.  So I did some research (read "google") and decided that a vinegar solution was what we needed.  But I didn't want to smell vinegar all of the time, so I decided to use up some of that lavender and scent our cleaner.

Click on "read more" to get the how to.

Shortcut Chocolate Croissants

This is a favorite Sunday morning treat in our house.  They are ridiculously easy to make (and I'm sure incredibly unhealthy - but that's why they are a treat ;-) ) and if you add some fresh fruit and a hot cup of coffee, they make a great breakfast.

 

Very easy recipe after the jump.

Motivational Sticker Chart for the Preschooler

So is Skinner right?  Several of my friends have had great success motivating their almost three year old kiddos to do wonderful things by using a sticker chart.  We're giving it a try, Ben style.  He picked out the poster board.  And the stickers.  We wrote down the positive behaviors together.  Each time he does one, he adds a sticker to the chart.  I had visions of 1) a fabulously behaved preschooler and 2) an adorably organized chart much like the ones I remember from elementary school.  Read after the jump for the reality :)