Invitations: Got my idea here.

Cake: Borrowed this pan from a friend. The verdict is that you should use about 1.5 cake mixes. And there’s a very fine line between getting enough batter in the top half of the cupcake (so that you get all the detailing) and so much that you end up with a teeny tiny fire in your oven. I also frosted the bottom and edges of the top before I stuck the halves together.

The cake plate is an upside down bowl and a plate I got from Dollar Tree and then epoxy-ed (totally a word) together.

Upon arrival, each girl got her own apron and chef’s hat. I used this tutorial to make the hats. There’s also a free ebook over at You Can Make This. A complete tutorial for the aprons, along with template will be up in the next day or two. Or three.

There were pink and blue aprons and hats.

Then we made rainbow cupcakes, like these. Ours looked a little more like tumors or something, but maybe that’s because I bought the cheap cake mix. The girls didn’t seem to mind, though.

And there’s my friend Jane finishing them up. She came all the way from Arizona to clean up after me at my kid’s party. OK, that’s not really why she came, but her help saved my life! Thanks again, Janer. I owe you big time.

It’s been raining here. Like A LOT. Pretty much every day for weeks. And my kids have been off track.

Anyway, it was nice Friday. The kids were outside most of the day. It had been quiet for a while, so I did some investigating. I found my boys and the neighbor kid out front like this:

Let’s look closer.

What exactly was for sael free?

Let’s look closer again.

(Click on it)

This is the Little Flirty Skirty apron from The Apron Lady. I made a size 10/12. Cute, right? However, I probably won’t ever make this pattern again. The directions were a mess. I think they’re the same ones included with the adult version, and that might be the problem.

I’m not sure why the neck strap is cut in two pieces and then seamed together. Also, in order for the neck strap to fit over my kid’s neck, the apron had to hang low.

I added an inch or two to the suggested waist tie length and don’t have enough to tie a bow. And Macy’s skinny, remember? If you want to tie a bow, you’ll need to add WAY more.

The bodice is very narrow. Another inch or so on each side would be better.

Some sort of facing would have made the top edge neater and attaching the neck strap look neater, too.

It calls for 4yards of ric rac. The store I was at only had 3.5 yards so I got some smaller stuff for the pockets. I had 42″ left of my 3.5 yards. Even if I’d done the pockets with the same stuff I’d have used just over 2.5 yards.

You’re supposed to hem the apron and put on the ric rac before you attach the bottom ruffle. I did neither. I hemmed the bottom by attaching the ruffle and then applied the ric rac.

The pattern says to apply the ric rac before attaching the back ties. I wouldn’t do it this way again. I’d attach the ties and then cover my stitches with the ric rac.

In other news…I got a ruffler foot and it’s SO fun. Carla has a tutorial on them, if you’re curious. There’s also a video here. I used it to make the polka dot ruffle for the bottom of the apron. Look at those evenly spaced pleats!

And the real reason Macy’s head is cut off in the first shot:

My sweet Macy is nine today. I’m not really sure how that happened.

NINE!

Did I mention she was actually due in May? I was 42 weeks and 2 days pregnant when she finally decided to grace us with her presence.

I should have known then what I was in for.

No, really…she’s the best kid ever.

This is the picture I used when I made the silhouettes a while back. It’s *so* Macy. See that Harry Potter book she couldn’t put down? See how she’s trying really hard to pretend she’s annoyed with me and to not smile no matter what? Also, I love that sweater. It’s very “her”.

Huge thanks to all (thousands…freaked me out a little) of you who visited me here and over at Ucreate!

I got my sewing machine back last night. I didn’t realize what a giant piece of junk my old machine was until I had to sew those onesies on it. And 12 aprons….more on that in a week or so.

I also received a bloggy award from both Emily at Not So Idle Hands and Stacie at The Creative Crate.


Thanks you guys!

What else have I been doing? Mostly breaking up fights. My kids are off track for a couple of weeks and then they go back for 13 days to finish up the year. Lame, ey?

Tomorrow night is my neighborhood sewing group. We’re making aprons at my house at 7. Bring your own fabric. Call me if you have any questions.

We’re also gearing up for Macy’s birthday party. Here’s a sneak peak at the invitations. I got the idea here, from Small Fry & Co (one of the Family Fun giveaway winners). We bagged them and added tags.