Beauty and the Beast!!! and more!

I have been talking about it since the spring. I was permanently inspired by an image of a dress I saw one night on ebay last fall. It was an amazing ensemble of Belle appliques on a beautiful dress. I was stunned. How did they do that? Could I do something like that myself??? Well, I set out to try!

So over the spring and summer I was fortunate enough to learn how to applique by machine and purchase a machine. Check. Then I needed to find an appropriate pattern. Found one on Etsy from Wondermommy. It is a European pattern called Feliz. I purchased that. Check. The directions were for all intent and purposes useless. Then one of my disboutique friends pointed me in the direction of Trillium http://trilliumdesign.blogspot.com/. She had a fantastic, step-by-step tutorial with pictures. Yippy! I made a test dress with princess fabric to learn the ropes. Check. Then I needed fabric which inspired thoughts of Belle. I turned to none other than Jennifer Paganelli http://jenniferpaganelli.typepad.com/sis_boom_day_dreams/. She has such lovely lines of gorgeous fabric. My friend Carla helped me pick out just the right fabrics and even set me some extra of hers! Thank you so much Carla!!!! Check. Finally I had to locate machine applique designs of Belle and cast from the movie. I found an entire set on Etsy from DivaDuds http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5614102 so I took the plunge and purchased it. Check.

And then the project grinded to a halt all summer. I was busy with other things. But it was always on my mind. Then a little miracle pixie dust happened concerning our Disney trip. I will blog about soon. Suffice it to say it jump started me and I just HAD to do this dress NOW!!!!

So, I started last week. I decided to jump right in and cut out the fabric. Then I took several days to applique the designs....there 7 of them. Each design takes several hours. Then I assembled the dress... it took two days to sew and complete. And whalaaa! I was finished. My dream came true! The fabric is just devine...if feels so nice and has such nice weight and falls so nicely! I love the colors! The designs are so cute and the girls love them! The stitched out without a hitch. And the final dress completes my vision in my head from the inspiration dress I saw last year. Now, just so you know....there is a dress coming like this for Brooklyn. I will keep it a secret until I am done!

So here is the completed Belle dress on one very happy Devon!!......

And there you go!!!
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I also figured I would have the girls model some other outfits I had made a while ago.....the problem was, it was getting ready to rain....and I mean pour. So we quickly put these on and modeled them on the porch. As we were finishing up, the skys opened up to a downpour remniscent of Orlando....it just made me smile!!!!

So this outfit (I have identical version for Devon) is for meeting Buzz and Woody in Hollywood Studios. After our breakfast/brunch we are going to change and ride Toy Story Mania (at 1:15pm) and hopefully go to the Meet and Greet across the way. Here is Brooklyn all set to go!!!

Brooklyn just got her haircut yesterday. We had 5 or 6 inches cut off....look how long it still is! But it is a lot easy to brush out....not as many "knotties".

The next outfit is really one set divided among two girls. I still have to make another peasant top and capris to go with it. I did buy the fabric but that's as far as I got....lol! In Magic Kingdom, they have a Meet and Greet with Tinkerbelle and the Faeries which is a must do! The eternal problem is the line gets long and takes forever. So I am employing Tour Guide Mike strategies https://www.tourguidemike.com/ to prevent that from happening. You'll be hearing more about him in my upcoming pre-trip report! So here is part of what the girls will be wearing. Sarah also has a Tink top and leggins....and I have.....nothing.....hmmmmm. Gotta work on that.

OK so that's it for now! I am in the middle of making some adorable twirl skorts and tops for back-to-school!!!!

And I will be back for more updates too!

Have a great day...avoid thunderstorms....and smile!!!! :)

I was asked today to update my blog!!!!

Sorry everyone for the lack of blogging lately! If I had something interesting to share I may have been more tempted to write. The truth is I had some surgery and I have been recouping. I am not a very patient patient. But finally this week I feel like I am definately getting back to my normal energy level and can drive again too....which helps!!!! My husband and girls have gone above and beyond helping me get better!!! I also received some beautiful flowers and bears and balloons to cheer me up. Thank you to everyone for your well wishes, prayers and phone calls!!! Love you all!!!!

This was a mighty short blog update huh?!

Well, I am sewing again and finished up a cool dress I want to show you. I also thought I would do a short tutorial on how to sew a skirt I made for Animal Kingdom....it was the pink and zebra one I did. Finally, I thought I would do a pre-trip report for our Disney trip. Normally you post stuff like that over on the Disboards but I thought I would bring it on over here! So lots of blog updates to come shortly!!!!!

And don't forget back-to-school time is right around the corner for us here in NJ! Lots of schools have already gone back but our district decided to wait until AFTER Labor Day. Its ok...it allows me a few more beach and pool days before we have to start in the school grind. So I will post about that too.

OK lots to look forward to!!! Talk to you all soon!!!

August 7th....A Very Exciting Day!!!

Why so exciting you ask??? Well, lots of reasons! First, my hubby had a birthday and turned a year older so now we aren't the same age anymore....hehehe. Daddy decided to take the girls to the annual Cape May Baby Parade himself. I couldn't attend and I didn't order any dresses and prepare like I usually do. We decided they could wear their Disney clothes and be comfy and have fun! If you recall, my friend Tom, made Devon a beautiful Snow White dress. She wore that. Brooklyn wore the Provincial Belle dress I just finished and they were both good to go. They even had some props..an apple and a book! They loved the parade and had fun waving at everyone. It wasn't as hot as it usually is and they really enjoyed themselves. At the end they won 2nd and 3rd place and received their trophies from Miss New Jersey and Queen Maysea. Afterwards, they had lunch at Hot Dog Tommy's. If you ever visit Cape May, you gotta get a dog there. Then they went to the Cape May Point Lighthouse and did some arts and crafts and came home...tired and happy!

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The other VERY EXCITING news concerns the developments of our very own Scientific Seamstress, Carla http://scientificseamstress.blogspot.com/2009/08/long-time-no-blog.html. She somehow managed to assemble, write and test two more awesome Sis Boom patterns which are now available at http://youcanmakethis.com/info/authors/1039429914. Both Jennifer Paganelli http://jenniferpaganelli.typepad.com/sis_boom_day_dreams/2009/08/carla-hegeman-crim-is-the-man.html and Carla Crim have teamed up to make some beautiful fashionable clothing that you can recreate using these fantastic patterns. They take you through step-by-step. You can even use Sis Boom fabric lines and mix and match until you find just the look you are after. I love that you can make mother/daughter clothing for yourself or others. They make awesome gifts too!!! Three cheers for the talents of Jennifer and Carla!!!!

Our store on Etsy is going really well too. You can find it at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7684379&ga_search_query=scientificseamstress&ga_search_type=seller_usernames

These patterns are essential for creating special clothing for vacation, travel, school or just everyday wear. Check out all of these creations on "flicker" of people who have made things with Carla's patterns: http://www.flickr.com/groups/scientificseamstress/ If you have made clothing with Carla's patterns and would like to add your creation to the flicker group, please do so. There are instructions right there in the discussion part of how to do it.

The next exciting development, see I told you it was an exciting day, is that we have a website up and running....check this out...http://http://scientificseamstress.com/ It is here that you can find out the latest and greatest information about what is available and see products, descriptions, pictures, and up-and-coming events and news! I love the cartoon version of Carla too! She doesn't stop working either so there are more new patterns on their way!

I can't say enough that if you have never tried sewing or tried it and got discouraged, to pick up one of these patterns. Carla takes you through step-by-step with great illustrations on what to do. I am helping a friend next week learn to sew. She is coming over and picking out a Carla pattern to start with. I know she will be successful. That success builds your confidence and you do more and learn more and it really opens doors to future possibilities. I am part of a sewing thread, http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=32872772#post32872772 and I have seen it over and over. People stop in on the thread and see the awesome creations. They buy Carla's patterns and try it themselves....and they do a GREAT job!!!

If any of you are on Facebook, there is a group of us you can join...here is a link to it....http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=113650988556 We love facebook!!!

School is less than a month away...I am not the least bit ready for it...so I am off to work on my sew-along skirt and some back-to-school clothing. I will be completing my sew-along instructions and have it ready for whoever wants it pretty soon. Hope you have a great week!!! Love seeing all the pics of everyone's summer activities! Keep it up!

Exciting News!!!

Hello Everyone!!!

I have some very exciting news to announce today! As you all know, I am loving every minute of being able to sew and learn how to make all kinds of creations! My friend, Carla Crim, aka Scientific Seamstress, designs and writes THE BEST patterns for children, adults and even dolls! She is an excellent teacher and if it weren't for her, I doubt I would continue to sew. She does a fabulous job of explaining and diagraming each step of the process. Her patterns are also so adaptable that you can make an entire wardrobe out of them! She continues to add more to her collection and is working with many helpers to do so!

Carla has also caught the eye of fabric designer, Jennifer Paganelli, http://www.sisboom.com/ and has co-authored several designs with her. What a fabulous combination! With all of this, Carla and I talked about expanding her business by selling her creations on her own. She currently is available on the wonderful site, http://youcanmakethis.com/ but I thought she should branch out a bit. We talked about it for a while and decided to do it together!!!!

Soooooooo, I am helping Carla with her new Etsy store!!!! It is amazing seeing all of her patterns together in one place! She is also working on her website which will be really exciting and informative! I will be linking you up to it as soon as its ready!! Such exciting times! So please go check out the store! See what's new and what you like! Save it in your favorites!!!

Go Check It Out:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7684379&ga_search_query=scientificseamstress&ga_search_type=seller_usernames