A Perfect Bathing Suit for 4th of July…

I am super excited to share today! I had this idea over 4 years ago. But the timing wasn’t right. You see, I was talking to my family about what we should do for Halloween. With so many boys it was only natural to suggest Super Heroes. My boys were like ‘'”You could be Wonder Woman.” And the thought of me, dressed up as Wonder Woman, at our church Trunk of Treat made me giggle.
I believe in being modest. And modesty to me means showing respect for my body that my Heavenly Father has given me. I’m pretty conservative. I don’t show my stomach. I aim for high necklines. I wear sleeves. And my shorts are pretty long. This is the way I have chosen to dress. And to dress my daughter. And I totally understand that there are lots of ways to be modest and show respect for our bodies. And others may even dress modestly in a different way than me. And that’s okay.
When it comes bathing suits I like a one piece. Or a tankini top that is really long so it still covers my midsection. One time a young girl made a comment that Wonder Woman wasn’t dressed very modest. But I told her, “What if she was on the way to the pool, and she heard a cry for help and that is why she is dressed that way.” I totally think it’s okay for young girls to notice when people outside their families live different ways. But I think it’s also great to teach them that they are still great people. And it’s okay to do things differently.
So years ago, when I was pregnant with Yoda, I had an idea for a Wonder Woman bathing suit. Wouldn’t that be cool? My boys love it! But as cool as a preggo Wonder Woman would be, I wouldn’t get a lot of use out of that. So I decided to wait.
And the timing was perfect! Because I found these bottoms at Old Navy! I have never made a bathing suit before. I would hate to mess up the bottoms.


I will be sharing a tutorial for the top soon! But I wanted to let you have a chance to snag the bottoms. I am super happy with how it turned out. And to be honest, I think I will leave the cuffs, crown, and heels at home when it is time to swim. Baby girl loves it and wants her own cuffs. Draco loved it! And gave me two thumbs up. Gandalf said he would still swim with me if I wore this out. And Yoda said my bottoms weren’t covering all off my butt. Darn you Lasso of truth. I had to break it to Yoda that those were my thighs, and it’s okay if they are bigger. And by the way, your welcome for bringing you into this world. I did some ruching on the side of my top because my super power is giving life to four amazing children. And I added some ties to tie around my neck because my kids love to pull down my top when we are in the pool. And as I mentioned I am trying to be modest.

Hope you have a SUPER day!!!

Easter Pictures

I love family pictures. We were able to get to church early on Sunday to snap some family pictures. Next week is General Conference, or pajama church, so we wore our Easter clothes this week. And I was thrilled to find two more Easter baskets to kinda match the Pottery Barn ones we were able to buy when we had one kid. ;)

Boy's Shirts and Pants: French Toast (Their choir clothes)

Bow Ties: handmade.Tutorial here

Baby Girl's Dress: Old Navy. Shoes: Tater Tot Moccs. (Local business)  Bow Handmade

My Top: Boutique Garage sale ($5! Score!). Undershirt: Skirt: Handmade Pattern found here.

Hubby's Pants: Walmart (From his Hans Costume) Bow Tie: Handmade

I love how much baby girl adores her daddy. I love getting pictures of them together. 

I love my crazy, hilarious boys! They are such loves! But before you think everything is always rosey  all the time I'll share what  crazy things my boys said Sunday morning. 

 Yoda complained about church being "too long". And Draco didn't want to get dressed and got mad at me. He said, "Remember when I told you I loved you this morning. I was doing "air quotes" He seriously cracks me up. (Our family loves to do claw hands for our air quotes like in the Lego Movie) I know he doesn't mean it. Usually it means he has a high blood sugar or he's just in a grumpy mood. They make me laugh and I love being their mom. Draco really had a fit about his pink bow tie. In the end he wore it. For baby girl. He has such a big heart and he would do anything for his sister. It one of the many things I love about him. 

I love my boys!!!

I LOVE that my iPhone has a timer. We can finally get a family shot with everyone. We try hard to be in pictures with our kids. They love it! And it is more fun...

And I always make Grady take one of baby girl and I. I wanted 12 years for a daughter. I want to have pictures of us all through her life!!!

Thanks for reading! Pictures make me happy and I love sharing them! Hope you have a great Easter or Passover!

Some of these items are affiliated links. You are welcomed to buy from anywhere. But I don't mind if you buy them from here. I only share items I really like or use. Thanks for your support!

Cheater Bow Ties: An Easy Tutorial

I love it when my boys match. Especially for church or holidays.It's too adorable. But I don't always have time to make them matching bow ties. And regular ties take even more tie and material. I really wanted to make them some green bow ties for St. Patrick's Day, along with a dress for baby girl. But I couldn't squeeze it in.

I just love hounds tooth!

I made some for Christmas using these. I liked them but sometimes my youngest boy's bow tie just didn't stay on for the whole three hours at church. Then I got a great idea. Why don't I just make a simple bow tie and put it on a ribbon. That is the most time consuming part for me. Sewing thin strips, ironing, and attaching the hardware or Velcro. If I could just make a bow and slip that sucker on a ribbon my life would be so much easier. Here is the tutorial. Hoping I can make your life easier too...


Cheater Bow Tie Tutorial

Material
Thread
Scissors
Ribbon
Needle
Pins
Sewing Machine
Fray Check
Cutting Mat and Rotary blade make it easier.


Start with cutting two long rectangles. Mine were 3.5 inches by 10 inches. Sew rights sides together around like so.

Turn it out using a pencil or drum stick. Press when done.

Fold the ends behind so you have a smaller rectangle.

Cut out two smaller rectangles. Mine was around 3.5 " by 2". Sew two side together and turn right sides out. Press. I ended up folding it in half to make it thinner. Get a needle ready with a knot at the end.

Pinch the middle of your large rectangle.

Wrap your smaller rectangle around the middle. When bringing down the top piece, keeping the ends behind your bow, I like to tuck the unfinished end under. 

Using your needle stitch the smaller rectangle in place. You can sew them togeher but be careful not to have any stitches showing from the front. 

You can use a safety pin to pull the ribbon through your back of your bow tie. Finish off your ribbon ends with Fray Check so it won't fray.

Tie around your son's neck and tuck the edges in like so.

I was able to make 3 of these in about an hour. Perfect during nap time or when the kids are in bed. I can't wait to make more for my boys. Using a rotary blade and mat really saved time as well. I love my big mat from Fiskars. They were a sponsor at the Elevate Blog last year. I received scissors and this huge mat which really helps me as I am a visual learner.

I love picking colors for Easter. This year the colors are Blush and Bashful. Some might say Pink and Pink, but I would disagree. I bought this dress at Old Navy last month. I just love the soft spring color. Baby sister needed her brothers to have matching bow ties. (Daddy might just have one too!)

Every one of my boys made a comment about the pink, including Dad. I tired to tell them it's Bashful. My sons are in a anti girl stuff phase right now. I told them there is no such thing as a boy or girl color. I can't wait to get some pictures of them this week.

I needed these ready by this weekend because Easter is falling on General Conference this year. Glad they are made and I wasn't caught off guard.

I hope you get a chance to make a quick bow tie or two. Happy Sewing!!!


Some of these items are affiliated links. You are welcomed to buy from anywhere. But I don't mind if you buy them from here. I only share items I really like or use. Thanks for your support!

Family Halloween Costumes!!!

I feel so much better now that all our costumes are complete!!! I love how they turned out. I defiantly learned a lot and would have done some things differently, but that's okay. My heart just bursts on Halloween. One of my favorite things is going on Facebook after a Trunk or Treat or on Halloween night and seeing all the great costumes. Homemade or store bought, they are all fun!  I love dressing up! And as an adult I just don't get the opportunity like I use to. I hope you enjoy our Family Theme this year. I know there are a ton of Anna and Elsa costumes out there, but it is still so much fun.

I love this picture of me and my baby girl! She is so small and sweet. And someday she isn't going to want to match me anymore. So I am soaking it up. I love that my boys picked this theme and baby girl and I got to be strong girl characters. The lessons on sisters, friendship, and love are wonderful.

(Plus side of being a hairdresser is coloring my hair red and adding blond extensions!)

More shots of our family. Love our frozen boys. And Draco loved being baby girl's protector. He told someone at the park he wasn't bad, he just loves baby girl the most.

Isn't my Hans handsome??? He's a looker and super funny. (Notice his hair color changed too!) He was such a gem to go along with our craziness. He promised me before we were married that he would always match me for Halloween. And he is making good at that promise. I am so happy how his costume turned out. I will share a tutorial on his and mine next week. I am happy with my costume too. And I have leftover material so baby girl maybe getting a dress up cape for Christmas.

Our family being silly. And of course my kids have been talking for weeks about me punching Hans. Anything to make them happy. 

I love my family!!! I love Halloween! 

If you missed any of these tutorials for Halloween or dress up you can check them out below....

Baby Elsa Costume

Olaf Costume

Marshmallow Costume

Kristoff Costume

Feel free to share a link to your amazing  costumes in the comments. Yay for dressing up!

Kristoff Costume Tutorial

My oldest boy Gandalf wanted to be Kristoff, of course. He likes him more than Olaf. His favorite line is when he is talking to Anna and asks, "What if you don't like the way he picks his nose? And eats it.." His tunic was pretty easy and I was able to make it in one morning.

Materials

Grey material (fleece or sweatshirt material works great, And it's on sale this week at JoAnne's)
Fur material
Burgondy trim or ribbon
Thread
Sewing Machine

Also for the costume
Snow boots
Pants
Thermal or long sleeve tee

I started by folding my material and laying a shirt down for a pattern. I wanted it to be bulkier than the shirt I used. You could cut out two pieces, but I choose to skip the step to sew the top by making my fold there. Next I cut a V where the neck would go. (See picture) I turned the material inside out with right sides together. I pinned where I would stop sewing for the sleeves. I love using my quilting ruler for this. Sew up the sides.

With the shirt still inside out I cut two small rectangles on a fold for my sleeves. Sew the seam for each sleeve. Then pulling the sleeve out so it's the "right" way, tucked it into your shirt. (See picture) Sew, matching your seam. It doesn't have to be perfect because he probably got it from the trolls.

Then I cut a long rectangle 4" long strip for my collar. (See picture) Next I arranged it on my shirt. Starting at the arrow I stitched across the two pieces with my "collar" piece in the front. This helped it stay upright. Make sure to stop where the collar ends on the back section. Then you can stitch your two ends of your collar to the front part of the shirt. I kept the collar on top of the shirt.

Now we can apply our trim. I was really excited about this trim I found at JoAnne's. I think it matches pretty well. Starting at the left part of the collar I laid my trim out and stitched down the V of the neck. Leave a tail. (See picture) Then I went back to the starting point and zig zagged across the trim so it wouldn't fray. Then I put another piece on that and zig zagged that on top. Then I followed with a basic stitch to the other side of the V, going around the neck. Again I left a tail, this one slightly longer. Bending the trim and tucking in a corner to make the design go straight down, pin it to stay in place. Do this for both sides of loose trim. With my trim I stitched it down following the design and stitching next to the border. Once I did one of the loose ends I clip the other loose end to match exactly. When finished with both lines make sure to zig zag the bottom of the trim. I added another line of trim across the shoulders. Then I did my basic stitch on the other side of the border for the whole garment.

Now it's time to work with the fur. It wasn't too bad. After each cut I went through and removed extra hair then so it wouldn't get all over as I was sewing. It still did, kinda. But it was manageable. I cut long rectangles, the whole width of my material. Then with my shirt facing right side up I laid the fur facing down on top of the shirt. I stitch along the bottom. I then folded it down when I was done. Do the same thing with the sleeves.

For his hat I used a beanie as a pattern. Cut two pieces and sew right sides together. My 4 year old told me I needed a ball on top. I grabbed a rectangle scrap and with my rotary cutter and ruler I sliced tiny strips. (See below) Then using thread wrap it around the middles and double knot it. Fluff up the pieces and sew it on top.

Gandalf was a great sport. Especially since we live in Arizona and he's gotta be hot in that costume. In between homework, dinner, and pack meeting I was able to get some pictures. He is growing up so fast. I can't believe he is going to be double digits in 6 months. So glad he still wants dress up as a family. And he totally doesn't mind that I am going to be Anna. (Just to clarify I am playing the Anna who is still in love with Hans) Love this boy so much!

Baby Elsa Costume Tutorial

Olaf Costume Tutorial

Marshmallow Costume Tutorial

Stay tuned for the rest of our family...

Marshmallow From Frozen Costume Tutorial

Last January when we were discussing our Family Theme for Halloween, (I like to plan at least 9 months in advance because I am crazy like that) I suggested Lord of the Rings, Avengers, or Star Wars. With three sons I wanted to pick a theme they would like. I still can't believe they were willing to dress with a family theme when our oldest is 9! I guess they have never thought they could choose their own thing. I hope we can keep this tradition alive because I love it.

Well the boys chose Frozen, which surprised me. But the only problem was who my 2nd son would be. I told them if we couldn't work it out we would have to choose a new theme. He really wanted to be Olaf, but my youngest boy really loved Olaf too! And the previous year when my youngest wanted to be Peter Pan he had to be Michael, because I wasn't going to make my 5 year old wear pink to school. I suggest Sven but he told me my drawing was "lame". Finally my little "Draco" chose Marshmallow. He loved the idea of being his sister's protector. And he wanted to be the Marshmallow version with the spikes. Way cooler. I wanted to make it as cool as possible.

Draco loves sewing. He loves watching me sew. And he thinks I can sew anything. I love sewing for him because he gets so excited, even if it's not for him. When I was sewing my costume he told me it looked so beautiful in just the sweetest voice.

So let's get started!

Materials

White material ( I choose fleece leftover from our Olaf Costume)
Long sleeve white shirt in a bit of a bigger size
Blue felt
Blue material for the spikes
foam
thread
elastic
sewing machine
Velcro

I started with fleece folded so I could cut two pieces for his hat. (See picture) You trace your child's head and add extra for seam allowance. My son recognized this pattern from when I made our pikcachu costume two years ago. I use it all the time. Make sure to leave tabs so you can wrap it around your child's neck. Sew the two pieces together, right sides together. Turn it out and try it on. My boys always love that part.

Cut teeth with your fleece. (See picture) Sew the teeth to your hat. Cut out eyes from your blue felt. Glue them on with Fabric Tac. I like doing it while they are wearing the hat. Sew Velcro on the straps so you can wrap it around their face.

I take a pair of PJ bottoms and use it as a pattern. You want to cut out two legs on folded material so you can cut two. (See picture) I tapered the legs because Marshmallow has bigger legs. Also leave some extra space on top to make your elastic casing. With right sides together you want to sew the legs together at the sides, but not the crotch part. Then when you have done this to both legs, turn one of the legs right side out. Then slide it into the wrong side of the leg. (See picture) Sew along the crotch. You can even reinforce that seam and go over the middle again. Turn them out the right way.

To make the casing you first need to get some elastic and put it around your child's waist. Pull it a bit tight. Fold over your fabric a good inch and sew around to create a gap. Leave a small hole by not completing your stitch back where you started but leaving some space. Take a safety pin and attach it to your elastic. Push it through your gap in your pants. Pull the elastic out, but not all the way. Undo the safety pin and sew the elastic together. Then finish off the seam so your line connects. I didn't hem my pants to keep things simple. (yay for fleece!)

I love my Fiskars mat! I love cutting material on my bed if my baby is around. And I love the mats great size. I used my rotary blade and mat to cut my spikes. I wouldn't recommend this material because it frayss so easily, but I had it from my baby girls Elsa costume. And I love being thrifty. My mat had a great triangle that I used to help me keep the spikes the same size and angle. I purposely made the ends of the triangle the selvage edge so it wouldn't fray. I cut two of each spike and sew them together. Then I zig zagged the edges so they wouldn't fray on me. Next I cut some foam I had leftover from Little brothers Penguin costume. I was going to use wire too, but I really didn't need it. My son wanted two spikes on each shoulder. I was happy with the small amount requested as I still have so much to sew. Feel free to make more.

Once my spikes were done, (See picture) I folded over the small side like a present and with the sewing machine sew a long side to his shirt. I then hand sew the rest of it on. Repeat with all your spikes, taking care to match them up. Then I cut four rectangle foam pieces and 1 long rectangle. I put two foam pieces where his shoulders are to create bulk. And then added the long piece across his chest. He loved feeling buff.

"Oh hi, we were just talking about you. All good things, all good things!"

He is such a joy to sew for. He loves to watch me, but and he insisted I was doing it wrong. He warned me I would have to do it over again. When I finished his hat it blew his mind that it turned out. Can't wait for him to want to learn how to sew.  The boys had so much fun taking pictures together!

You can check out

Elsa Costume Tutorial

Olaf Costume Tutorial

Thanks so much for reading...

Olaf Costume Tutorial

Isn't he a ray of sunshine?

My littlest guy was so excited to be Olaf for Halloween. (Although he use to call him Frozen, because surely the movie was all about him!) His costume was pretty easy. I was able to sew it in less than two days.

Materials

White fleece
Brown, orange, and black felt
Fabric Tac
Brown long sleeve tee (I found a thermal at Walmart)
Batting or foam
Craft wire (I used Stampin Up)
Thread
Velcro
Sewing Machine
Scissors


First I started with his hood. Trace your child's head with some seam allowance. You are going to want to leave some long tabs that can then be tucked around his neck. Cut out two pieces. (See pictures)  Sew those two pieces together. Turn them out and try it on your child. I love using fleece because I don't have to finish the edge. You are welcomed to, but to keep things simple I choose not to.

Next grab some orange felt and cut out a nose on a fold. I just free handed the shape. (See pictures)  Then I sewed straight lines horizontally to add some character. I then stitched the nose together with right sides facing each other. My lines didn't match up perfectly, but I was totally ok with that. Then fill the nose with batting or foam. I would also suggest using some craft wire. Fold your wire in half so your half way point will be at the tip of the nose and the ends will hang out. Trim the wire if needed. The wire helps it stick up and having a bend helps the pointed end of the wire not stick out of your seam.

Then cut a line across the seam on the top of your hat. Start small and make it bigger as needed. Put your ends of the carrot through the line. Turn it inside out and stitch. (See picture)

Using felt cut three hairs by folding over the felt and cutting 3 long rectangles. Sew them together with the corners rounded. I liked that they were different sizes.  Again insert bended wire and batting . (See picture) Cut another line across the seam where the hair should be. (See picture) Insert the 3 "hairs" and turn inside out and sew.


Using brown and black felt, cut our oval eyes and brows. I had to groom my brows because he looked a little mean. Using glue ( I love Fabric Tac) glue on his features. I like doing this when the child is wearing the hat. I also cut a small rectangle of white and sew a tooth where the forehead would be.

Because of the size of my nose and it's drooping nature, I hand sew the nose a little bit. Lifting the nose and sewing to a higher spot on the hat helped it stay up.

Finish the hat by adding Velcro to the straps so it can wrap abound his neck.

The body was fairly easy. Using a shirt and pants
to size your squares, cut two sizes of curved rectangles on folded fleece for the bottom.. The one pictured is the bottom part of the costume.  Cut another two pieces for the top making sure to leave one of those pieces a little bit wider. Cut the wider one in half lengthwise to create a seam for the back. Sew the two back pieces together. Then sew the back and front together at the sides. I only sewed about an inch, then left a space for armholes, and then continued sewing the seams together.

Sew the seams together for your bottom pieces. Next sew the top and bottom together, right sides together, matching seams. Have your child try on their costume. From there I was able to see how far I wanted to sew the top together. Make sure to leave space for their head to fit through. You could add a zipper, but I just did a hook clasp. Cut out three squiggly circles and glue them on.

Finally I cut out on folded  brown felt three stick fingers. I did this twice, using my first one as a pattern. I sew them together and turned them out. I was going to sew them on my brown long sleeve t-shirt, but I think we will reuse the shirt. So I safety pinned them on.



Photography is one of those areas that I wish I was better at. I am trying and practicing using my camera in manual. Missing my favorite photographer Shari Hanson. Wishing she was closer and could capture our Halloween costumes again this year. But I am excited we book a session next month. She is having her Fall Special. If you live in Southern California you probably want to check this out.

You can also check out

Baby Elsa Costume Tutorial

The rest of the family's costumes will be here soon. Thanks!!!

Baby Elsa Costume Tutorial

   Halloween is probably my 2nd favorite holiday (right below Christmas). Before I married my sweet heart I made him promise to have matching Halloween costumes every year. Of course when we had our first son we included him in our theme. To be honest, I am surprised our kids still are on board with doing a family theme. I thought for sure when they started school they would want to do their own thing.
   I was thinking Avengers or Lord of the Rings for this year because I have 3 boys. I asked them last year (because I plan way in advance) and they said they wanted to do Frozen. Super Surprised. But I have no problem letting my baby girl be Elsa. They told me I should be Elsa because I am older, and baby sister should be Anna. But I knew her hair was coming in blond. And she makes the cutest little Elsa, if I do say so myself.

And in case you haven't heard of Little Miss Basics you should check them out. They are my favorite under shirts for babies. Their Girlie tee is my favorite. I can put it under any sleeveless dress. And  I knew their long sleeve top would be perfect for my baby Elsa costume. It's form fitting and snug and would look more like Elsa's dress. Plus I can re use it and make any dress perfect for the fall, or in my case winter. My baby was a trooper taking pictures in the Arizona heat. 

Step 1: Using a dress that fits snug cut out a front piece on a fold. I made mine a sweetheart, you could make it straight across to make things easier. Cut out 2 on the fold so you can line it. Also cut out 1 interfacing to make it stiffer.

Step 2: Cut out four rectangle back pieces and two interfacing

Step 3: Iron interfacing to the wrong side of one of your front pieces.  Sew the 2 front piece, right sides together. Turn it out and press.

Step 4: Iron interfacing to wrong side of 2 of the rectangles. Put the right sides together. Before you sew them together pin in your tulle. I just cut a long piece of tulle and arranged it in a pleat so I could have as much tulle as possible. I sew the rectangle in a U share so only the bottom wasn't' sewn together. Sew and Press

Step 5: Sew sides to front. Because I am not perfect on making pattern pieces I had way more in the back than I needed. I like to play it safe, and I wanted to have enough for the zipper. I just pinned it together. And Later I hand stitched the flaps down, adjusting the extra tulle to fold over.

Step 6: Cut out long rectangles for the Bottom. You can use a dress as a pattern. I made mine longer than the bodice measurement so I could have some gathering. For the back cut two pieces that will be sewn together so make it a big wider to account for the seam allowance of sewing it together.

Step 7: Sew two back skirt pieces together; then sew to the front pieces. I left a slit on both sides. Iron hem and stitch. Pin the skirt to the bodice, matching side seams and such. 

Step 8: Sew together. Then you can sew your zipper to your dress. (kerr-azy story about putting in my 1st zipper. It was the day of Winter Formal in my Jr. year. I went next door to my neighbor to ask her which of the sewing machine feet that I held in my hand was the zipper foot. She looked at me like I was crazy and let me know. And I did it. It wasn't perfect, but hey, I had a dress for that night. And it was an awesome dress)

If you haven't done a zipper, don't be scarred. Sometimes I will read through a tutorial again because my dyslexic brain mixes things up a bit. I like this one here. She is one of my favorite bloggers. Love her!!! And after you put in your awesome zipper, in case it's a little less awesome, the tulle covers it up so we are all good. ;)

Step 9:Hem the very bottom if you haven't done so. Then add a little hook to the top of your zipper.

Notes: I would recommend zig zagging each piece if you use any kind of fraying material. It just makes everything easier. And it will hold up better in the long run.

The wig makes her costume more fun! Years ago when I saw this tutorial I knew if I ever had a daughter, she would need a Rapunzel wig. I added some bangs and made her braid go to the side to make it look more like Elsa. I would recommend that thick woolly yarn. It makes it easier to cover the cap. You can use different colors. I like that mine has some silver sparkles in it. 

I hope this tutorial help you out. There are patterns available at most fabric stores but my little peanut is just too small for most patterns I find. Happy Sewing!!!

Love my sweet girl! No frozen hearts here with this doll face. More family frozen costume to come...