Saturday, June 21, 2014

Mara's First Birthday

June 20, 2014

The Angel and her Bunting

We had the most wonderful day for Mara's first Birthday. It was simple and filled with beautiful things.

And because I think she's the cutest thing ever, I have a crazy number of photos to share :)

First Birthday Dress

Mara wore the Geranium dress I made for her birthday.

I used Joel Dewberry voile, and it was beautiful.

Story

We were trying to get some pictures of her with the balloons and big number One, but she just wanted to read stories. She loves books. (shhh, don't tell her the birthday crown is on. It took just a couple distractions and she wore it around for a long time!)

Classic Mara face

Classic Mara face, so glad we caught it.

It shows up whenever an interesting sound pops up in her world.

Max!

Then we heard Grandma and Popa pull into the driveway, so we ran to the front door. Grandma had put a fun collection of things in an open fabric basket for Mara's gift, and a little stuffed puppy was peaking out. Mara is crazy about animals right now, especially birds and dogs. She saw that puppy through the front window and had to grab it as soon as it was within reach.

Crazy Girl Ride

Another classic Mara face - she's a little bit of a wild child, and loves crazy fun.

Kenton gave her a birthday ride, until he was pooped. She wasn't done riding, but I don't think anybody would last long enough for her.

Beautiful Play Silk

With just my mom and dad over - and gifts sent from Aunt Laura and Uncle Chris - Mara had a fun time enjoying each new treasure as she opened them.

Becket and I dyed 8 squares and one long silk scarf. The Dharma acid dye is fabulous. Such saturated colors!

playsilks

And Mara loved them.

Silly Silk!

With my little bit of Waldrof theme going, Mara also got her first Bamboletta doll.

She is just as beautiful and amazingly crafted as I imagined. I would love to get back to the Vancouver area and visit them some day.  They just started having a day long retreat where they supply you with doll parts and you get to chat and sew.  How fun would that be?!

Ruby - Bamboletta Baby

Aunt Laura, a lover of music, sent a wonderful collection of toddler instruments. The sound of each is wonderful, and the tone on these notes is just beautiful. Mara was so pround of her music.

Music!

My mom found the most perfect dog book! Real dog photos, in a child's interactive story book.

At this point, Mara had wandered back over to her balloons, and ended up with them between her legs. She just happily continued on with the balloons trailing all around her.

Dog Book!

She LOVES dogs.

I L.O.V.E. Dogs!

Really.

Love

Birthday Girl

Mara was also pretty happy being sung to - as opposed to Becket, poor little guy cried anytime people looked at him for more than a couple seconds.

See - Good!

Hey, have you seen this cake stuff before?

Cake - Yum!

Because I think it's really good.

We all had such a fun time watching Mara enjoy her special day. The group shot even went well! Not the best frame of Mara, but we all look good, and she has just a few photos already.

family

Mara got to end her day being crazy with Becket, and walking through puddles in her new flip flops. Some of her favorite things to do.

Being One is Wonderful.

puddle

.




Thursday, June 05, 2014

Geranium Dress for my Little One

Hello world!

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It has been a busy year with three boys and now this little girl. Lacrosse championships have been won for the high school guys. (I need to figure out how to post from my ipad, along with photos. Since I LIVE on my ipad.)

lax cup

I've done a decent amount of sewing, but all of it baby or clothing items. Most recently, I made a tester Geranium dress, by Made By Rae. I plan on making it for her first birthday, but wanted to try out the fit before using my Joel Dewberry voile. So, I found this lovely cotton lawn, way marked down - only $4 for the yard. The boys say she looks like a picnic blanket. Ha! But I love it.

Perfect fit!

I finished it up during a rare nap, and did a happy dance when I put it on her. The fit is amazing. I made the 12-18 month size, hoping it would fit for the summer. I did cap sleeves on top, and the gathered skirt - without pockets - for the bottom.

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I L.O.V.E. my KAM snaps. They were put in place of making button holes. I think they work well for the little ones, especially since she's in a car seat half her days! Brothers have lots of activities.

(Side note - she's been walking since 10 months   o.O   things are crazy around here)

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That neck line cut out is so sweet. And I was super impressed with how well it turned and lies. My only addition was that blue trim. Oh, and made the top half on the bias to take advantage of the pretty gingham pattern.

I've made a few of Rae's patterns, and they are always wonderful. But I am super in love with this Geranium dress. So excited I have a little girl to sew for!