An Apple A Day

I made this applique apple tee for Ella back in August right before school started. My friend Flannery had me over for an afternoon of sewing, and this is what I made for Ella (even though she isn't even in school yet.) SO CUTE!!!

The Photoshop Action I used for this is called Sun Kissed.

It's been a busy day, so this post is pretty short--but I wanted to share this cute photo of my girl rocking her new shirt and her famous pink cowboy boots! Yeehaw!

This is Why Need A Crafting Room . . .

. . . with a door and a LOCK ON IT!










But then again, I'd never see my cute little assistant in action, would I?

A Rag Doll for Ella's Birthday from Vintage Fabrics

My goodness, this is a sweet little doll!

I made one earlier in the summer for a friend and loved how it turned out.

You can find the tutorial I used here. I wanted to make one for Ella's birthday but about twice as big.

Again I used vintage fabrics from my Dad--the apron is from a Victorian pillowcase, the sash from a an old linen, the dress from a 1940s dress that I had high hopes of altering for myself--more on that in an upcoming post. The button is from the 60s and the scarf is from a vintage tablecloth. The only fabric that is not vintage is the felt that I used for the hair and the muslin for the face and the arms.

I am so excited to give Ella her new doll. I know she will love it just as much as I do!


This post is part of the following link parties:

Lemonade & Sunshine Vintage-Inspired Party Favors

I am participating four link parties today--if you are visiting from one of them WELCOME and please follow me and leave me a comment if this is your first time here!

How CUTE are these?


I am pretty much beside myself over how cute these turned out. They are party favors for Ella's upcoming Lemonade and Sunshine Birthday Social. They were SO SIMPLE.

I purchased two packs of 12 mini-jelly jars with twist-rings and lids at my local grocery store. The lemon drops came from Target at $.99 a bag (each bag filled two jars). I pulled out the leftover fabric from my Scrappy Fabric Flag Banner, and I planned on using the raffia for the lids.


There was a happy surprise underneath the jars--these labels!!


So initially I was planning to put a square of fabric over the lid and tie it with the raffia. BUT--the lids were so slippery and the fabric square so small that it was just impossible. This was my plan B solution--to use my new pinking rotary cutter to make longs strips of fabric and tie them around the lids.


Aren't they precious!!!??



I plan to place them in an old basket as party favors for my guests on their way out.



Oh, and here is Ella's rag doll, inspired by the tutorial from Inside A Black Apple--only this doll is nearly the same size as Ella, and made with all vintage fabrics (except for the felt hair.)


I hope you are having a wonderful week! I can't believe that there are only 4 days until Ella's birthday party!

I am participating in these link parties today--if you are visiting from one of them welcome and please follow me and leave me a comment if this is your first time here!

Handmade Painting from Vintage Inspired Invitation

I started my personal blog, Under A Shady Tree a little more than three years ago when my son had just turned one.


I was very new to Blogland, and was stumbling around reading blogs and trying to figure out who to put on my Blogroll. Within days of my first post, I found a kindred spirit, and her name was Kim. Kim had a new blog too, called "Small Words." Her blog was an offshoot of her business, in which she was creating customized nursery paintings, often based on the bedding that had been chosen for the new arrival.

I enjoy visiting Kim's blog because she has a crazy life--she has had four--count 'em FOUR little ones in 35 months. With the schedule that you can imagine that comes with all of those children, she was often up and painting and blogging at 2am. When I was pregnant with my second child, Ella, I would often be wide awake at the same hours that Kim was painting. She unkowingly provided me with many moments of laughter and sweetness and inspiration during those long and sleepless nights!


I always knew that I wanted to buy one of her paintings--but things, and life, and stuff just kept pushing it out of my brain. Until one day when I got a message from Kim on Facebook that said she would love to have one of my new ruffle t shirts. I INSTANTLY came up with the idea of a trade.

The deal was that I would custom sew a shirt for Kim and she would paint a canvas for Ella. I finished Kim's shirt:


And she began Ella's painting. I told her to do whatever she liked--knowing that I love a vintage look.

Well, the other day she put up this post. Lo and behold she had completed Ella's canvas, and had based her design on the invite that I created for Ella's Lemonade and Sunshine Birthday Social!


Here is what Kim calls a "Sneaky Peeky" . . .


And here is a profile of this GORGEOUS painting!! I mean, look at the colors!! And what Kim doesn't even know yet is that I backed Ella's invites on SCALLOPED CARD STOCK from Martha' Stewart and they are the same color!!!


The burnished gold polka dots have such an antique feel to them! The painting is just so inspired. It is perfect, in every way. I love it. Kim isn't taking orders right now--she is playing catch up. But I encourage you to go and visit her--and be on the look out for when she begins taking new orders again! (Never mind the fact that her website is FANTASTIC.)


But what do I love most? That even though Kim and I haven't met--we have shared the joys and the trials of parenting, of blogging, of being work-at-home moms, and now we have shared a creative piece of ourselves as a gift for one another. Thanks Kim!

Scrappy Love Fabric Flag Banner

I am in the midst of preparations for my little girl's Lemonade and Sunshine Birthday Social to celebrate her second birthday.


I knew that I wanted to make a fun fabric flag banner, so after some consultation with Courtenay over at Three Sisterz and taking a look at several tutorials, like this one from V & C, I was ready to get started.


I initially wanted to use vintage fabric that I have from my Dad, but I was nervous with this being my first go at the project. So I went to a local fabric store and picked a few different fabrics that I thought were evocative of my Lemonade and Sunshine Social theme.


I also picked up some pre-made binding in yellow, pink and lavendar. I knew that one of the banners was going to need to be quite long--at least 12 feet to hang over my driveway to welcome the party guests. I ended up making two banners, one long one about 18 feet and another one about 9 feet that I will be hanging across the cake table.


I am SO HAPPY with the result! It was an easy project. My flags are 6" across the top and 7.5" long.


Remember my obsession with the ruffle tshirts? Well, I think this is the start of another sewing project addiction!


Next project for the party? I am planning on heading out to a few thrift shops today to look for some flat sheets to use for table cloths . I plan on edging them with some of the fabric I have left over from this project.

And stay tuned--I am in the middle of altering a 40s dress into a sleeveless dress for the party!

Thanks for visiting!

This post is part of the following link parties: