Matching Luau Party Tops and a Birthday Boy!!!

We had a pretty amazing time celebrating our Cousin Jennifer's 40th Birthday in a fun and festive Luau themed affair! As I mentioned in the last 2 posts I wanted to sew something fun for the whole family to wear. With only 4 yards of fabric and the patterns I showed in my last post this is the result! I had to be a bit creative with the fabric use given there was so little of it to share amongst 3 folks. So for my daughter's top I went with a solid yellow cotton for the body and used the Hawaiian print fabric on her sleeves and on the fabric covered buttons that I made for her located on her front ruffle. Besides I had to think pictures. She's usually between us and if all of us wore the print we'd all blend together LOL!

So the patterns weren't difficult to sew at all and went together rather quickly. To be quite honest I'm amazed I was able to squeeze these 3 pieces in less than one week especially given the crazy work schedules I've been having. This is definitely a first for me. I've never sewn for the whole family at once. It was definitely a fun project!

( A BIG shout-out goes to Greg Adams (aka Cousin Greg) for taking such marvelous pics of the event. He's one talented photographer and I'm delighted that captured my work so beautifully! If you're in the Lakeland, FL area and are looking for an exceptional photographer I recommend him wholeheartedly!!!)

(Here are the patterns again!)

(Fabric upclose, love the print and colors!!! It's a stretch poplin)

 (Loved how her top turned out! So simple but cute!)

 (He was a good sport, we've never matched like this before LOL)

 (Candid family photo)

 (Same print in Ruffled sleeves and fabric covered buttons ties her top to ours)

 (I added a couple of inches to the peplum---I wanted the added flare)

 (Fancy drinks)

(Silly Faces)

 (my favorite! my daughter is such a little character LOL)

Jimmy with his beautiful Cousin Jennifer---the birthday girl!!!

And SPEAKING OF BIRTHDAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today is my Man's birthday! I want to WISH THE BIGGEST AND HAPPIEST of Birthdays to my one and only Guy Jimmy! There's just so much that I love and respect about this guy! He's fun-loving, so caring, good natured, kind-hearted, loves God, cherishes his family, and the list goes on and on! He's the extrovert to my Introversion LOL! He's my best friend and confidant and my biggest supporter. I promise ya'll there were so many times I'd want to quit but he's always encouraged me to follow my dreams even when they weren't as clear to me! He's cheered me on, wiped my tears, been there when no one else has, seen me at my best, seen me at my worst, given me tough love and has done it all humbly and sweetly! I'm blessed to have such a life partner and friend. My successes are our successes! Wouldn't trade him for the world! I'm honored to have celebrated 19 birthdays with him! I love you Jimmy--FOREVER and a DAY!!! XOXOXO

The Pattern Line-Up

In the last post I showed the fabric I'm using to make our "Luau themed outfits". Here are the patterns....

(Hubby's shirt, My peplum top---I only had less than 2 yards so this was the best pattern for the job--, and my daughter's top. All 3 patterns I sewed for the first time and were pretty fun to work with. Will showcase the finished pieces and give more details soon.....

Sewing For My Man

That's pretty fun to say and it's definitely something I haven't done in a while. Actually I'm currently sewing for the whole family. We have an upcoming "Luau themed" birthday party to attend so in the middle of my hectic week I'm cranking out some garments for us. I've finished a button down shirt for the Hubby and am working on me and my daughter's pieces. Have a bit of a challenge--- I ONLY have 4 yards of fabric and 3 people to sew for. That equates  me having to be REALLLYYYY creative in how I stretch the fabric and choose our designs. My husband's shirt used up 2 1/4 yards alone. But I'm figuring all of that out. What's really great is I've had this stretch poplin fabric in my stash for a few years. Ya'll know I believe in having a little stash of fabric. Can't tell you how many times it's saved me. Even though I've downsized a few 100 yards this year and have a drastically smaller stash I'm glad to still have a little in-house "fabric store" that I can shop from. I needed Luau themed fabric and voila' I just so happened to have some! Well I've got to hop back to sewing. Will be posting the finished outfits soon.....

(here's the lovely fabric I'm using---it screams Hawaiian party!!!)

The Black Sequin Sparkly Tulle Mermaid Prom Gown

Prom season went by so quickly. Originally I was so busy with some other projects that I didn't really have time to sew any prom gowns but that was until Ms. C showed up. She had such a lovely prom dress idea and despite my tight schedule we made it work! I LOVE working with my clients and helping bring their visions to life. She wanted a fitted sequin gown with mermaid tulle skirt with sequins.  Fortunately I was able to get all the fabric from my local Jo-ann's which saved time so I didn't have to order it. Now let me warn you this dress isn't as simple as it may look. The mermaid tulle skirt has 5 different layers and a total of 32 yards of fabric, The top of the dress is sequin fabric that is overlayed on black spandex and lined with black jet set. Anyhow I give ALL the details in the video below. I love how the dress turned out and even more importantly I LOVE that my client Loves it!!! I live for happy clients!!!

 Ms. C looking so gorgeous in her custom dress!!!

On the mannequin

Here's the Video Enjoy! It was recorded prior to my clients prom! Also, I have a special offer below.....

And since we all just LOVE things that sparkle and bling I wanted to share my BOGO Free Sale on my Crystals and Rhinestones courses! I've received RAVE reviews on them and as a result want to pass on this special to anyone who wants to add some bling to their garments---whether it be sewn or glued on! See this LINK for all of the details!!!!

 Again if you purchase the Sewing with Crystals and Rhinestones Course you get the 8 Tips on Gluing Crystals and Rhinestone Course for FREE (a $9.99 value). You can purchase here

Mother's Day Reflections--- A Skit, Video, and Reality check

I've been up to my eyeballs in black tulle----25 yards to be exact and on top of that add another 5 yards to it, all in order to make a mermaid skirt in a prom gown. Have you ever tried gathering that much tulle? Let me tell ya it's not joke! So needless to say Mother's Day was a welcomed break from my long week. As always as it does every year, it came and went so fast! Normally my routine is to make matching Mother/Daughter Outfits (as I've done HERE and HERE) but my daughter was acting in our church's skit alongside her Dad so she couldn't wear it anyway. This was pretty fun for the two of them and was the first time they've both graced the stage together. I consider them clones of each other so it was great to see the two people who helped make me a mother doing something they both love. That was a great present! And I REALLY love these two, they make me feel special as a Mom year round!

(Hubby and Daughter on stage for Mother's Day skit.)

And on top of that my daughter and I were asked to be in the Mother's Day video they made for that day. It was pretty cool. Our church's awesome videographers came by my house to film us a month earlier. I requested it be done in my sewing studio where my daughter and I often spend our creative time. They took a good bit of footage and added our part with the other Mom's and daughters and it turned out so sweet. I love that our little bit is centered on sewing!  Here's the video.
Mother's Day 2016 from Savannah Christian Church on Vimeo.

These were just a couple of highlights from my day! I can't help but think how oddly we as mother's are wired. The sacrifice, love, devotion and care given to our children is nothing shy of amazing. We do it and expect little to nothing in return for ourselves. I've had alot of responsibilities in my life but none of them compare to Motherhood. It's in a league all it's own. It's an honor! There's so much more I could say but there's no need, if you're a Mom or Mom-like figure you know exactly what I mean.........


I'm feeling a little sentimental so it's time to snap out of it LOL! Well I leave you with this little note-----

I'm living in this truth right now LOLLLL!  This is hilarious! Guess it's back to work for me LOL! Will be showing off that prom dress soon!!!!

The "Partially Sewn Upside Down" Cotton Sateen Butterfly Top- Simplicity 6286

So the "upside down print" issue was resolved since the last post! BTW, I LOVED all of you guys' comments they were pretty funny and witty!  Thankfully the issue was sorta resolved! A complete goof on my part when looking at the fabric. I glanced at the butterflies which were oriented both upside down and right side up and didn't even look at the birds to see if they were the same. The birds were only oriented in one direction. Go figure! Thankfully I remade the top bodice portion. The birds are upside down at the bottom but that will be my little inside joke if anyone notices. I love the fabric which is from myfabricdesigns.com and is THIS GORGEOUS PRINT! The cotton sateen is so soft and I love the low luster sheen. It's the perfect fabric for warm weather and the print is absolutely cute with  The print is NewLook 6286 and it is my 3rd version of this top which I LOVE! I'm a "throw on and go" kinda Chick so this style matches my personality perfect--cute but uncomplicated. It's asymmetrical---low in the front and longer in the back. I paired it with light denim capris and Nine West sandals. I threw on some hoop earrings in the same shade and that completed my outfit! I love this top so much I probably may make at least 2 more versions!

(Love the light blues and golds in this print)

Alrighty that's all for now. I've got to churn out a prom dress this week so I'm off to work on that! More details soon!!!!