Roller Skate dress Provence Style

So lets not talk about how old this post is... or how this is one of the last photos  I have of Bella before she cut off her hair... I miss this hair so much! Maybe again someday....

This is pattern is Oliver and S's skater dress. We found this fabric at the Jacksonville Quilt Show back when Bella was itty bitty- about 5 months old. And bought it to make her something out of and then it promptly was lost in Moms sewing room. I only bought maybe a 1/2 yard of it so it was small. And when I reminded mom about it, it still took a bit to locate so it was about a solid year later that we were able to just eke out this dress. IT IS GORGEOUS. A bit short but WHO CARES I mean look at those adorable baby thighs!

We made it large so it should fit this summer still as a top. And then I will have to go find more of this fabric and make something bigger!

Do you see this kids calf muscles? She is ridiculous...

I am going to have to go squeeze her now. She has gotten so big the last couple months. 

Baby Dolls

I had no idea what to get Bella for Christmas. Two and a half year olds are hard to shop for especially when they are, shall we say, less then gentle. At the very last minute (very, very last) it hit me that a doll bed would be perfect.... Then I remembered, we now live in the land of no good retail stores (Jacksonville what is this?! I actually miss you!?) Last minute shopping brought no help until I happened to come across Danamadeit's baby doll basket pattern on pinterest. It was a life saver! Do you love instant download patterns as much as I do?  I bought it, and was able to find most everything  else in my stash. One quick trip to Joann's and I was good to go.

I made some slight modifications- one being heavier interfacing, because I wanted it to be very rigid. 

If you are want to make one I think the pattern is worth getting but I personally would not define this as a beginner pattern- even though I felt it should be. I was a bit disappointed that it wasn't as exact as I felt it should be for being a pattern you pay for. She over/under explains some parts of the process to the point of confusion. This is just my opinion. And as I stated, I would purchase it again because it took some of the guess work out of making a cute doll bed and I LOVE how it turned out!  (I just want to be clear if you go to grab it to make) 

These poor babies have been mostly naked for two years. It is impossible to find clothing for the tiny cabbage patches. I finally decided to bust out some additional clothing for them (what is it that makes you not want to do these projects and then when you finally break down and tackle them, they are so easy you wonder why you didn't do them sooner?) The left is a from scratch little peasant style dress. I just winged it and it worked out. The right one is one of Bellas baby dresses cut up and reused to created the same dress at 40% the size. 

She loved the gift when she finally stopped asking where the babies mommy was. It was funny and sweet how concerned she was opening up the box, she was more worried the babies mom left had them, then realizing they were her dolls.... she was very happy when she found out she was their mommy.... now if she would just take care of them and put their clothes back on! 

Bella's Birthday! ... Finally...

So 5 months later I am going to share Bella's party with you... 

I wanted a Fruhlings Fest theme... but people here wouldn't really get that so I just had that in the back of my mind with the decorations.

The invites. Oh dear I just LOVE them! 

A lovely girl who we met through worship took most of the photos. She is actually in the process of moving to New York so unfortunately I won't be able to continue to take advantage of her expertise. But you can check her out on Facebook here.

The party decorations turned out bright and festive. Just what I was hoping for. And the weather cooperated unlike on Micah's first birthday. 

 Fest cookies, a necessity for any party. 

I DIY'd the glitter letters. 

 and made a lot of Shot Cotton pennants 

 The pinata Beehive.... which may have been a little bit too well made....the bees are made of sculpey and painted. We removed them before destroying it. Instead of filling it with candy it was filled with confetti. Each kid received a cotton drawstring bag... which had bubbles, a squirt gun, a ball, and playdough. I tried come up with things that could be used up and purged easily when the parents were over it. 

 We went easy on the menu and just had Pulled Pork, fruit, baked beans, and cut vegetables. 

 Someone took the singing and cake much better then Micah. She never has minded attention! 

 I can't believe Bella is already one let alone almost one and a half now!