Easter Synopsis Part 2

Let’s see, where were we when we last left off…

7:24 am – Oldest Bunny decides to change attitude

7:27 am – Shoes are on and baskets are empty – let the games begin. First up, the front yard.

7:38 am – The backyard. Happiness overtakes sleepiness when candy bar is found.

7:39 am – “There’s even an egg up here!”

7:47 am – The examination begins.

This is the dumper. Each egg is opened and emptied into a pile.

The examiner. Each egg is opened. Looked at. And closed again. The candy will be removed at each eating session. This technique is quite frustrating to Momma Bunny when she’s searching for a quick treat in the pantry.

The Eater. Open an egg. Eat whatever’s inside – all of it – as fast as you can.

8:02 am – Yep, she’s still eating.

8:25 am – Momma Bunny jumps into the shower throwing Dad the kids outfits, yelling that they need to leave in 35 minutes if they are to get to the 9:15 service.

8:30 am8:55 am – Pleading, negotiating, threatening all take place.

9:14 am – Bunny family slides into pews two rows from the back.

9:17 am – Momma Bunny pulls out a pad of paper and a pen for Littlest Bunny to play with.

9:19 am – Momma Bunny is tracing Littlest Bunny’s hand for entertainment.

9:24 am – 30 pieces of paper later Littlest Bunny decides she needs a new distraction so Momma Bunny pulls out some magnets and paper clips.

9:26 am – The priest tells all of the children of the church to answer him this question, “Doesn’t the church look beautiful now with all of the flowers in it?”

Middle Bunny shouts out, “No!”

Momma Bunny quickly brings her hand to Middle Bunny’s mouth while Poppa Bunny gives him a stern look.

9:28 am – Oldest Bunny and Middle Bunny start arguing over who gets to hold the hymnal so Momma Bunny takes hers and gives it to the Middle Bunny. Momma Bunny and Poppa Bunny just stand now and move their mouths as if to show they have memorized every Easter song.

9:30 am – Littlest Bunny starts talking loudly. She is escorted to the front yard by Poppa Bunny for a prolonged botany lesson.

9:58 am – Church is over and Momma Bunny is ready to leave. Unfortunately, Littlest Bunny has been outside for the last 30 minutes watching the egg hunt being set up so there is no chance of that.

10:04 – Littlest Bunny mentally prepares for the challenge ahead.

10:05 – Middle Bunny and Oldest Bunny talk strategy with the Littlest Bunny for the hunt. There is talk of pushing and shoving if deemed necessary.

10:08 am – The hunt begins. Littlest Bunny is not keeping her eyes on the prize.  This frustrates Middle Bunny and Oldest Bunny who are doing their best to form a human wall discouraging other Bunnies from snatching eggs in the vicinity.

10:11 am – The victory walk.

10:14 am – Champions Easter egg hunters

10:30 am – Bunny family arrives home.

10:31 am – All designated Easter clothing has been stripped off and thrown to the ground by little bunnies.

10:32 am – Momma and Poppa Bunny tell the bunnies to go put some clothes on and stay upstairs. Momma and Poppa Bunny have designated this time as mandatory quiet time.

10:33 am – The Bunny children just laugh at their parents. They know their sugar high will last until right before dinnertime when all three will meltdown at the same time at the sight of their dinner.

Easter 2012 is deemed a success!

Mermaid Costume

I made my daughter’s Halloween costume this year.

She is going as a mermaid.

Or she might be Bette Midler.

You be the judge.


The resemblance is striking I know.

Caroline loves mermaids so this was a natural choice this year for her costume.

Beware of this tutorial – there are many photos and only rudimentary sewing instructions.

I first started with a long sleeve shirt which was given to us as a hand-me down.

I ultimately decided I would make her costume into a dress since it would be easiest for her. Plus, bikini tops on little girls creep me out.

I cut the sleeve off of the shirt and cut the collar to make it a little wider.

Next, I took purple cotton fabric and cut out two semicircles of material to try and make some cap sleeves.  I then sewed some purple flower trim onto the long edge. The trim was quite delicate so I had to sew it with a needle and thread.

I then gathered the top portions and held it with pins so I could use my machine to sew.

This gave the sleeves a curved shape.

When my six year old saw these he said, “Oh, are those for Caroline’s chest?”

The sleeves also received another line of trim on the gathered side. Once the sleeves were finished I hand sewed them onto the shirt.

Feeling that one more layer of flowers was needed I hand sewed the third line of flowers. I was very worried at this point. I was worried I had the “more is better” syndrome and would ruin the costume.

A little sequin sparkle in the center of the top and that section of the costume was complete.

Here are the materials I decided on for the tail. I know, low key. Nothing flashy here.

I folded the sequin material in half so that once I cut around my template (not the actual template in the photo, can’t figure out where it went) I would have two full tails.

I sewed the tail together, turned it inside out, and stuffed it.

It is about this time where I realized I was making a slightly deformed mermaid. The size of the tail should probably belong to a mermaid which is 7 feet tail. But I was this far into it and not about to turn back.

I left an opening on the side so I could sew in some elastic for her to wear around her wrist in case she wanted to hold the tail up. I should have sewed it in when I initially sewed the tail.

This actual bottom portion of the costume I pondered for days. I looked at mermaid costumes online and watched the Little Mermaid intently (not!), I finally decided on a side tail for her. I thought it would be fun for her to have something to drag but I also needed her to be able to walk. Here’s what I did.

I gathered the material (have no idea how much) and made it come to a rough point at the bottom. I sewed the edges down and sewed across the whole bottom.

My next challenge was to figure out how to get the bottom section attached to the shirt.

I finally settled on cutting the side of the shirt about 8 inches and then pinning the shirt and green material together.

This is the costume after sewing the two major pieces partially together. I left one side of the costume open in order to add the middle trim.

My idea was to sew the purple sequin trim by hand.

I tried and failed. It was cumbersome and the thread kept getting caught on individual sequins.

Instead, I brought out the trusty glue gun. Normal sewers are gasping at the thought.

Glued the tail trim on as well.

Finally sewed up the side of the costume

You can see the arm elastic on the tail here.

The final result:

My Little Mermaid!

Showing off her mermaid swimming skills

One costume down, four to go.

>

Making Todays Creative Blog Weekend Bloggy Reading

McClippies – I’m in Love

I have to admit when I first found out I was having a girl I thought…I can’t do girl. I know boys – Legos, Star Wars, wrestling. Then Caroline came along and eased my fears, at least for now. Thankfully, she enjoys all those things but is girly as well. She wears a super hero cape but insists it has a coordinating hair bow.

I can’t french braid, put hair up in a twist, or even put in pig tails. Although to be honest, I haven’t needed these skills yet since Caroline has very thin but extremely curly hair. So far, spraying it with water, brushing it, and fluffling it in the morning has worked.

Caroline likes to have bows in her hair but they rarely stay in due to her thin hair. Through etsy.com I found McClippies and decided to take a chance on their bows. I ordered them and have been thrilled with them. They stay in Caroline’s hair and are beyond precious.


Go ahead and check them out if you are in need of some adorable hair products.

I bought four clippies but wish we had several more. You can see the clippies Caroline has below.

Aren’t they adorable?

Go ahead and find some clippies for that special little lady in your life 🙂

Summer Dresses

I love to wear dresses in the summer – they’re both comfy and cool. Since it has started to consistently hit the 90’s, it is officially summer in my book.
So ladies… go out & get a new dress, put on some fun sandals or wedges, & hit the town -ladies night? date night?

Here are some of my favorites
Tropical Maxi Dress – Boden

dress

Jersey Top Dress – Boden 

Jetty Dress –
J Crew

Pintucked Tie-Front Dress- Old Navy

Empire Waist Dress – The LOFT

Macrame Detail Knit Dress – The LOFT

Tropical Jersey Beach Dress – Boden

Braided-Trim Jersey – Old Navy

 

Strappy Jersey Dress – Boden

See anything you like?