{Love} Month: Ruffled Tuxedo Front Shirt

I made this cute little shirt to go with the
{The Isabella} Pleated Flounce Skirt
I made for my Isabella back in January.
I knew that since I used my favorite Riley Blake fabric for the
skirt that I would save it to be worn for Valentine's Day.
This weekend when we went to Knott's Berry Farm I
thought it would be the perfect time to debut the cute little skirt.
However, she needed a shirt to go with it!

In keep with the pleated idea of the skirt,
I wanted something pleated or ruffled for the front of the shirt.
I used the same technique for the shirt that I use for my Ruffled Headbands.


HOW I DID IT
I figured out that I wanted my ruffle to be 4" long,
so I doubled the length and added a 1/2" for folding under the ends.

Then I decided how wide I wanted the ruffle to be and added
a 1/2" so that I could do a narrow hem on each side for finishing.
If you have a serger or want a frayed effect, you can do that too.

So, I ended up with a piece of fabric that was about 8.5"x4".



First I did a narrow hem down each long side of the strip -
ie fold over an 1/8", iron, fold over an 1/8", iron, and edge stitch.

Then I ran my gather stitch up the middle and gathered/ruffled my fabric..

Next, I laid a remnant piece of single fold bias tape down the middle.
I used the bias tape because I had it and it matched :)
You could easily use ribbon, twill tape, ric rac or a strip of fabric.

I pinned the bias tape down and sewed it to the ruffle with an edge stitch.

Then, I found 3 cute buttons and sewed them in place.

I ironed a piece of fusible interfacing that was slightly larger than my ruffle
to the inside of the shirt.
I used the lightweight fusible interfacing because I already had some,
but you could use that or stabilizer.

Finally I sewed the ruffle to the front of the shirt by edge stitching
around all four sides of the ruffle.


Now we have a fun, sassy shirt that matches her flouncy skirt!

January Fun: Mixed Up Snowman Snack

Ok, I know Valentine's Day is ALL OVER Pinterest,
but I love January because I {adore} snowmen.
So, this month I'm going to highlight a few
old and new snowmen projects you can do with
the kids to celebrate the wonder that is Winter!

First up is the Mixed Up Snowman Snack!


This is a fun treat that the kids can help with
and you can enjoy at home or share with friends!
So, hop on over HERE for the details on how to make your own.

Knott's Berry Farm: Camp Spooky!

The family and I were invited this past weekend

to attend a VIP experience in Campy Spooky at Knott's Berry Farm.
The kids were super excited because they'd never been.
And it was fun for me, because it brought back memories
of visiting the park with my parents when I was young.


Me and my mom circa March 1981



Since it was all about Camp Spooky,
the kids got to dress up.
JT was a "Hawaii Guy" and loved posing with all the characters.



Isabella was a "Hula Girl" and she had no interest in going near
any of the characters.


We started the day with a yummy breakfast at Lucy's Lunchbox.
I loved how they served the kids' breakfast in keep-able containers.


After visiting with some bloggy friends - like Kara Noel -
we hit the rides with Jaime and clan.
It was a lot of fun watching the kids having so much fun.
I loved being in the park before the crowds and enjoying everything with no lines!

I even did some some!


What was I thinking???


Isabella was all smiles starting Woodstock's Airmail,
but her feelings at the end were another story.
Hee, hee


The kids even got to do some trick or treating!


The Boys - big and little - did some of the Big Rides!
Ghost Rider, Montezooma's Revenge and Sierra Sidewinder to name a few.
JT was crazy excited to conquer the Big Rides.


The Girls kicked it together and had some fun of their own.


The Dentzel Carousel is a classic!


Why is my girl so crazy?!




We had a fantastic time at Knott's Berry Farm.
The staff was awesome, the rides were fun,
and there was something for each of us to do.



Thank you Knott's and Camp Spooky for having us!
Bye!
We look forward to coming back!


And since a season pass is SUPER AFFORDABLE - it might just be soon!

And a special thanks to Jaime for taking awesome pictures for me!

Camp Spooky runs weekend in October at Knott's Berry Farm.

Disclosure: We were invited to Knott's Berry Farm by GigaSavvy to attend the VIP Camp Spooky Event. I attended because I was wanted to create fun memories with my family. I received parking, breakfast and park admission for free. I blogged about it because I wanted to and not because Snoopy & the Gang told me I had to. All the thoughts & opinions are mine.

Welcome to Mommy School: A Bad Case of Stripes

Welcome back to Welcome to Mommy School!!!

Did you see I made a cute little banner??

I also made a cute little button if you want to share the

awesomeness that is Welcome to Mommy School with your friends :)





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My wonderful friend Jenni said I should have a linky

party each month where you all share fun things

you've done with your kids.

I think that's a RAD idea, so stay tuned . . .



Last week we had some fun with Diary of a Worm.

This week I picked another favorite of mine - A Bad Case of Stripes.







This book is perfect for the beginning of a new school year,

because it reminds us to BE OURSELVES!!!

In this day of cyber bullying, peer pressure, and

relational aggression , kids have so much pressure

to be like everyone else or risk being teased.



A Bad Case of Stripes helps us see outwardly,

what can happen inwardly, when we aren't true to ourselves

and what believe in and stand for.

I think it's an awesome tool for kids, because it makes

feelings concrete and visible.



We made Be Yourself! posters

and they are easy peasy lemon squeezy!



I printed out THIS body shape that I found at First Palette.

It was made for a flip book, so I traced it onto cardstock,

so it would be sturdy and I'd lose the flip book lines.









Then the kids decorated their bodies with things they love

that make them unique and who they are.







I cut out the bodies and mounted them onto another

piece of cardstock that I had decorated with colorful stripes.





We even wore some stripes of our own :)







And had some striped Jell-O!

Other books to explore being yourself:

Chrysanthemum

Hooway for Wodney Wat

Tacky the Penguin

Dancing in the Wings

Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon

Spoon

Fish is Fish

The Mixed Up Chameleon

Amazing Grace

Welcome to Mommy School: Diary of a Worm

I'm so excited to bring you a new series called

Welcome to Mommy School!

Let's get real here, people.

Before I was a mommy and a blogger, I was a teacher.

And I loved it.

And I think I was pretty good at it.







For about a year I've been thinking -

"I *REALLY* should do some awesome stuff with my kids.

Just like I used to do with other people's kids when I was a 2nd grade teacher."

About a month ago, I stopped thinking and started doing.





Me and my teacher peeps circa May 2003



So each week I'll share something fun I did with my kids

that maybe you'd like to try at home too.

It won't be anything FANCY SHMANCY - just something rad

and educational.

Most of the time it will be based off of one of my favorite picture books.



So let's get started.

Diary of a Worm.







The kids loved it and found it as hilarious as I remembered.

Of course, after we read the book, we had to write in our journals.









I totally encourage invented spelling during journal writing at this age.

However, this perfectionist of a child that I have just wants to know,

"Am I spelling it RIGHT! mom???"







and then we illustrated our journal entries.







Oh! I have to tell you about the journal!

I found it at Wal-Mart when I was visiting my parents.

It's made by Mead and I love it because it has a red line cue

at the bottom so that beginning writers know where to rest their letters.

And it has a space for illustrating.

LOVE IT!





Then we had DIRT!!!!

And evil mommy that I am, I totally freaked my kids out!







Isabella started yelling, "I don't want to eat DIRT from OUTSIDE! NO!"











There were even tears.





Then JT figured out the worm looked more like candy

than a worm from the sidewalk.

So he took the plunge.





So Isabella decided it couldn't be that bad.





This is his, "Mom, this is Oreos, not DIRT" face.





Mmm-mmm good.





Like I said - not fancy shmancy.

And I'm not reinventing the wheel here.

Just a fun thing to do with your kids that incorporates

some literacy, some learning, and some fun :)



ETA:

Other fun books for exploring journal writing -

Diary of a Spider

Diary of a Fly

Diary of a Wombat

Kindergarten Diary

The Diary of Hansel & Gretel

Memoirs of a Goldfish