Santa Photos are in!!!

I just had to share, the photos of my four year old with santa in the Santa Tutu Dress are in and they turned out adorable...though I think for next year, I would make her a green dress for some contrast.  These were taken at the Picture Me portrait studios in Walmart.  I have used them in the past and sometimes it is hit or miss, but in my opinion other than the one of her whispering in his ear ( a little off center), these were a hit. 

Bethany loved her photo session and not having to wait in line for some private time with Santa.  She had a booked appointment, so her special time to talk to Santa.  Although we did have a little too much to show Santa, LOL.  As you may have read in my tutorial, Bethany was not home for the making of the dress and the top was a little loose.  Well needless to say, it fell down at one point and she flashed Santa.  Oh the stories to remind her of when she grows up.  I can tell you that when we picked up the photos today, the photographer was telling me that Santa talked about her cute outfit all week, even telling other parents about her. :)  What more could a non-sewer like me ask for.  This dress is Santa Approved!    Well, she also wants to where is this weekend when we take the train to the north pole on the Polar Express so I guess I better get to adjusting it, possibly even adding some straps! 

A quick search on the computer will provide a listing of railways hosting this special event.  I cannot recommend it as this is my first, but I will be sure to come back and post next week on how it went.

Thanks for stopping by!!

Wow!!! I have received my first award! Kelley at the Grant Life  awarded  me the

Now the rules for this award are:

1.I must tell 7 things about myself

2. pass this on to 15 other bloggers

So, a little about me...

1.  I am a mother to 4, 3 girls and a boy...ages 22, 19, 10 and 4

2.  I love all crafts, but dream about doing more than I actually get done.

3.  I love to cook, but collect more recipes than I could cook in a lifetime.

4.  I love to sew, but everytime I try I screw up the sewing machine and can't use it again.

5.  I move waaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyy too much, 21 cities in 25 years.

6.  I was born in Maryland to two northern parents and have had a southern accent since I started talking.

7.  I actually have made things I have pinned on Pinterest

And now step two - 15 blogs I love!

1.  In my own style

2.  Happy Hour Projects

3.  The Crafty Scientist

4.  1+1+1=1

5.  Remodelaholic

6.  Money Saving Mom

7.  Cherished Handmade Treasures

8.  A Glimpse Inside

9.  Flamingo Toes

10.  The Creativity Exchange

11.  Mom On Timeout

12.  More Style Than Cash

13.  The Pocketchange Gourmet

14.  How Does She

15.  Pressed Down and Shaken Together

Stop by and check out these fabulous blogs and give them some love...

And Thanks Again Kelley for showing me a little love for my Santa Tutu Dress Tutorial!

Wow what a fall!!!

Sorry for being lost for so long, I promise to do better. 

We moved and got settled and the house we moved to ended up in foreclosure so we are moving again.

I also have become addicted to Pinterest,  If you have not found this sight you have got to check it out!  It is an amazing reminder of how many creative and talented folks there are in this world. 

While on Pinterest I found this cool idea for a cute girls Christmas Dress. Empire Waist Santa Dress

Well I was highly disappointed when I went to the webpage and it was neither a tutorial or for sale. 
Since Bethany had an appointment with Santa to get pictures taken today and I was on my usual own time management schedule and had not gotten it taken care of sooner, I had to put on my middle of the night artistic person hat and create it myself. 

The worst part about it was that Bethany was not home, so I had to use her waistband of a pair of jeans to guesstimate her size, but alas that did not work.  I am sorry not to have pictures of the step by step, but I was just struggling to get it made.

I began by measuring out some strips of 6 in tulle.  I used 100 yards for her dress and it seemed to be just right.  The length will depend on the height of your child.  Roughly double the length from chest to knee and add 1.5 inches. 

I then sewed to ends of 1/2 inch elastic the length that I estimated her chest size to be. ( this is where I screwed up). 

I tied two strands of tulle together to the elastic at the middle and continued the whole way around til all the tulle was tied on. 

I was wanting to give her a little more modesty so I sewed together two beautiful red Christmas napkins and created a tube that I placed inside the tulle and folded it over the top and sewed the elastic with the tulle ties inside. 

I added a fur trim and then couldn't find the perfect Santa Belt, so back to the creative board.  I found a black and silver belt at a thrift shop and with a little gold paint...Voila!  Santa's Belt.  She loved the dress, except for when it fell down exposing her chest to Santa.  But I promised her we would fix the size and add a ribbon to help it stay up.  But she couldn't decide if she was a ballerina or santa...The whole way to the portrait studio, she was showing split personalities.  LOL

  I hope I have inspired you to do some midnight crafting too.