A Spring-Time Apple-Picking Dress

Everytime I make a new Oliver & S Pattern, I wonder why I ever bother with other patterns.  Everything always comes together so perfectly and the fit is always right on, not to mention that the directions are clear and is supported by concise pictures and diagrams.  The Apple -Picking Dress is no exception. 

I've hoarded this fabric in my stash for quite a while until this pattern came along.  It's called Bliss by Bonnie and Camille for Moda.  I just love the combination of aqua and red.  Looking at this fabric makes me happy and reminds me of springtime and sunshine.

 

The Size 3 on my 4 year old is a teensy bit short but fits perfectly everywhere else.

 

She loves the dress too because it is twirly with the double flounce on the skirt and has a big bow, not to mention the little red flower buttons that perfectly match the flowers on the fabric.

 On to my next Oliver & S creation.

Mad Hatter Birthday Tea Party

As promised, here are the pictures I managed to take of S's Mad Hatter 4th Birthday Tea Party.  First up is the Queen of Hearts, otherwise known as B.

I made a simple apron to go over a red ricing hood costume dress that we already had.  The apron has ric rac trims on the neckline and skirt and a heart pocket on the bodice.  The waist is trimmed with the same fabric as the heart pocket.   

The crown is red wool melton left over from S's school days coat.  The buttons have sparkly diamond centers framed by a four leaf clover shape that reminded me of the clubs symbol in playing cards.  Can you believe I had those buttons in my stash?  The maribou trim was also in my stash as was the white wool felt.   

Now on to party picture!

The runner is made from Michael Miller's Put a Lid on it in Electric.  I simply folded the fabric to hide the selvedges.  No sewing required and I can re-use the fabric for another project.  The centerpiece were teapots and teacups that I found around the house.  You can see the Dormouse peeking out from a teapot and the Cheshire cat hanging from the pompom flowers.

Feather boas for the girls and suspenders for the boys to wear and take home.  I didn't get a close up of the suspenders but they were fun to make.  I used this tutorial from Make It and Love It.

The centerpiece for this table are Alice play figures I bought from Amazon on top of a sample piece of fake grass that I had lying around the house.

These are fairy/butterfly wings I found at the dollar store.  I also hung them from the chandelier along with the pompoms.

Googly eyes glued onto some gerbera daisies.

Tea Pot cake made from a small local baker called Sweet and Sassy Sugar Shop.  You can find their info here.  They can also be found at the Orenco Farmer's Market in the summer; the rest of the year they do custom orders and their cupcakes can be ordered by the dozen.   Did I mention that their cupcakes are to die for?

We had salted carmel
carmel, red velvet and vanilla cupcakes. 

The birthday girl with her own special cupcake.

and B eating hers.

The kids decorated straw hats.

and painted teacup planters.  I found most of the craft supplies at orienatal trading company.  Other activities included a croquet game, pin the grin on the Cheshire Cat, and the Queen of heart says...

If you're interested, you can find the original inspirations and ideas for this party on my pinterest board.

The Wonderland Dress: PRNP SIgnature Entry

Today is S's 4th birthday.  I must admit I got a bit teary-eyed when we sang happy birthday.  How did that little tiny baby that we brought home get so big?  Anyway, we celebrated with a Mad Hatter Tea Party for S and all her friends.  It was well worth all the hard work and planning to make her day special.

This is our interpretation of Alice in Wonderland.  The apron was made from Carefree Clothes for Girls in linen and a target liberty floral print that Kristin of Skirt as Top so generously included with a fabric swap we made a few months ago.  Thanks Kristin.  I hope I did the fabric justice.

The dress is a luxurious purplish-blue velveteen.  I'm proud to say that I  drafted the pattern myself.  The bodice was based on a fitted tee and the skirt is composed of two widths of fabric, box-pleated and slightly gathered.  The most difficult part was the sleeves.  I knew I wanted slim sleeves with fitted shoulders.  Originally, I    had envisioned wrist lenght sleeves with white french cuffs, but when we went to try it on S she complained that the sleeves were too tight.  So I cut off the sleeves to just above the elbow  and added a slight inward curve.  The peter pan collar has one sparkly diamond button and each sleeve has the same button on top of the curve. 

The dress is short (a deliberate decison cause I love that look) and high waisted.  I added a glitter belt that I made out of a rtibbon.  The outfit is completed with sparkly shoes and a matching headband.

Mismatching buttons in the back.  Yes, they sell mismatching buttons in packets now.

I'm entering this outfit onto the Project Run & Play because I love it that much.  Wish me luck:).