thinking spring

after all the snow storm drama...spring is in my mind.

im really looking forward for the warm weather that i even sewed a couple of spring/summer pieces for ME!

i had a few fabrics that were just laying around. & i finally decided to use them.

for the first fabric, i had a BRIGHT floral print. it was white cotton with really bright flowers on them. i bought it on sale & was planning to make belle a top with it.

then i realized....does she really need another top?! she has a lot of clothes!

but i also have been wanting floral shorts.

but waiiiiiit..the super bright flowers was too much for me (should've taken a picture of it).

if it was a bit darker, then it'd be perfect.

then a lightbulb moment......FABRIC DYE!

i got teal liquid dye & got experimenting.

i also dyed a few of my white shirts & one of belle's...didn't want my dye to go to waste!

the outcome for belle's white shirt.

now that color is.....more me!

so after dyeing & washing, i cut a simple shorts pattern with elastic.

sewed it up & i was happy! it's easy..cause there was no pockets or anything.

just elastic on the waist.

looks like boxers, but it's not short when i have it on, so i feel comfortable wearing it out.

for the second,

i've been eyeing bloomer shorts for awhile....

i've seen them on fashion shows & the more i see, the more it grows on me.

i tried searching for them at stores but have no luck.

& the ones online are way too expensive.

i see them for $60 & up. for shorts!? no way.

then i looked up to see if anyone had a bloomer shorts tutorial.

luckily, one of my favorite bloggers, verypurpleperson made a pair & explained how she did them.

she basically used a simple elastic shorts pattern then added elastic shirring on the hem.

wow why didn't i think of that!?

i used the same pattern as the teal floral shorts & added 1.5 inches to the hem.

i used my leftover navy blue cotton fabric that i used for school (right before belle was born!)

there are no pockets so the bloomer shorts project was easy. i like easy!

& for the 3rd piece...

i had so much elastic shirring left from the bloomers.

i wanted to use it & found another fabric i bought awhile ago on sale for $2 a yard!

i had no idea what do with it when i bought it...only got it cause it was $2!!

so i decided to make the easiest dress with elastic thread...

this is easy. if you can sew straight stitches, then you can soooo do this.

i took the fabric, put it around my bust & added more inches for ease. cut it into one long rectangle.

sew the rectangle into a tube, narrow hem the top & bottom.

use the elastic thread on your bobbin then sew straight lines across your bust.

i just sewed & sewed. then i would try it on to see when to stop until i was happy with the fit.

i'm thinking of making another one in another print. as a top. maybe with straps if i'm not lazy.

cause it's so easy (love that word!)

& lastly, for belle....a backpack!

thanks to dora, she's been wanting a backpack for awhile.

when she sees other kids with backpacks, she asks to try them on.

i went searching online...& i saw the purple backpack dora has on amazon.

i was about to get it but then i stumbled across this toddler backpack pattern by made by rae.

and then i saw this fabric.....

it is soooooo belle!! all these cute girly animals dancing & playing instruments.

it screams B E L L E! & guess what? it was on sale. it's meant to be.

got the fabric & pattern.

when she went to bed on saturday, i stayed up late to finish it.

her reaction was so cute.

she immediately wore it & showed it off to everyone at home.

when we were leaving for church...she grabbed the backpack, wore it & nothing was inside.

so i put diapers & wet wipes. haha

only thing is...the fabric is not so stiff. so when i put things in there it doesn't hold its shape like you see. it just sags like all backpacks. but it's still cute!

phewwww. what a long post!

two crafts & more

last week belle did 2 crafts.

got both ideas from here.

first one she did with karen.

i drew out a tree for them with marker then they used watercolor to fill in the white space.

belle took awhile to finish hers cause she was obsessed with painting on particular parts of the picture.

you can tell here...cause parts of the tree started to bleed through the paint. haha

karen had to help her finish.

the second craft...

i found a circle punch on sale at michael's.

used it to punch out circles from construction paper, used as gum balls for a "gum ball machine"

this was good cause she's able to practice memorizing colors.

she wouldn't let go of the glue stick. using it was her favorite part.

multi-tasking... gluing, eating a banana & something on the tv caught her attention.

finally done!

she took days to finish this cause there's lots circles. love it!

& totally off topic...............

wiam, long lost friend & diaper buddy of mine came to visit last week before she heads home for the philippines soon.

it was her first time seeing my parents in over 10 years!

my dad was excited. haha..
she came with aris, his friend, & sister, bingle.

& of course binh came over.

all of us went on a field trip to target & was starving after.

we ordered pizza & binh got cookin' on some pad thai with my grandma & bing.

after dinner we had hot (MINT!) chocolate. mmmmm!!

the evidence is on belle's face.

the girls altogether.

wish we could do this more please!

craft day

we had craft day on friday.

we as in belle, karen, & binh. we had fuuuuun!

belle gets so bored easily & i hate when she depends on tv for entertainment.

she likes to draw, color, & she recently saw pics of other kids painting & she realllyyy wanted to try.

& knowing me..."of course you can paint!"

painting was my favorite class in high school. stef & binh were in the same class & it was the best.

for this craft, we used watercolor.

i first drew an octopus for belle to paint.

then everyone else wanted to do a sea animal.

karen did the whale.

binh started out with a shark, then it ended up looking like a dolphin & also a seashell.

i did a seahorse.

& belle also painted a stingray & little fish for bonus.

the only time we helped belle was to get the colors she wanted on her brush.

everyone so focused.

then when our sea friends dried, we cut them out.

& also cut out a giant fish bowl. then we glued them altogether!

belle's octopus!

it's so cute!! it's proudly hanging in the living room.

i remember karen saying, "that's not fair! how come all of belle's looks better than mine?!"

;)

& i also love my fat seahorse.

first haircut!!!

finally!! belle's hair has gotten long, & if it's not tied up it's ALWAYS on her face.

when i look at her while she sleeps, i can't tell which is the front of her head. her face was buried in hair.

then finally, after her doctor's appointment this morning, we went straight to the kids haircut place. it's called, zippity doo's.

it's so cute!

& i was really scared she wouldn't stay still.

but each kid sits in their car & has their own tv to watch DVDs or their favorite shows. that is GENIUS!

she sat on the first car she saw.

:)

when we got home, she snacked on yogurt.

i don't have to tie her hair anymore. whooo!!

i don't know if all kids haircut places do this (this was my first one)

but they even gave her a certificate of first haircut.

with her baby hair in a little bag.

cute!

its a big deal for me. i'm so thrilled!

2 is crazy

HI ALL! sorry i've disappeared from blogland. i've been busy.

thinking, planning, sewing, thinking. that's what i've been doing. & i haven't been able to take pics of everything these days, except when i have to upload stuff to etsy.

sorry.

i'll blog about belle today :)

2 is a crazy age. really crazy.

we have a lot of funny silly moments, & there are those moments when she's sooo curious & wants to touch & be a part of every. single. thing.

she's loud & quite the character.

she dances & sings A LOT.

she does these dance moves that i am incapable of doing myself.

& her dancing idol is angelina ballerina.

while her singing idol is charice.

one time i even asked her...

me: are you a dancer or singer?

belle: dancer

me: do you want to be like angelina or charice?

belle: charice.

& when i asked the question again, she said it vice versa! haha

she's so girly. she gets that from me. but she's more girlier. she loves princesses, jewelry, tutus, pink & shoes.

but then she has a lot of aris in her. like how she requests to watch animal planet & nat geo.

when she sees me on youtube, she'll ask...

"mommy, watch peppo?? shark?? ocpus?"

(mommy, can i watch, hippo? shark? octopus?)

& sometimes i underestimate her knowledge. she surprises me sometimes. like the time i was showing her pics of shamu, the killer whale.

me: look! this is shamu!

belle: mommy, that's orca!

me: uhh..yeah you're right.

& she says some really funny stuff.

like when we were watching a story about a mermaid who didn't know she was a mermaid cause her legs looked human. she got sad & said..."oh noo... her legs bwoken"

or when i was half asleep early morning, she woke up & said/sang,

"oooo sing fo joy to God, ow stwength"

(oh, sing for joy, to God our strength)

how RANDOM!

or the time we were arguing cause she said a female lion was a cheetah...because all lions are suppose to have a mane.

i bet she still believes that it is a cheetah.

& one morning...

me: what do you wanna eat?

belle: chocowate cakes

me: you can't have chocolate cake for breakfast & we don't have any.

then she opened a cabinet, pointed to a jar of nutella. then she grabbed bread slices.

belle: seee!! chocowate cakes!!!

& i'm still having a hard time convincing her that it's called a nutella sandwich & not chocolate cake!

i should start jotting down the things she says. these are just the ones i remember. she is soo silly.

& since i'm lacking in photos, i looked through my photobooth pictures & saw these. some old, some new...

sigh.

time really does fly.

of course there are days when i want to put her to bed early because i get so tired or for the few times she's thrown tantrums. and sometimes i'm convinced that she's cutest when she's asleep cause she looks so peaceful.

then when she wakes up, it's time for crazyness!

& then there are her sweeet moments.

i remember i was busy cutting/preparing fabric.

she asked my brother to get her a glass of water. & when he gave it to her, she came to me & said, "mommy! for you!"

& of course moments like this is when i become a big soft marshmallow & realize i have to stop myself to "cherish the moments"

so corny. but so true!

(by the way, i realized i should just read this post for the future, when i feel tired & putting her to bed early. haha)