A certain little girl and I are both very excited about making things for the upcoming rainbow birthday party!

I know birthday crowns are not a new and exciting thing, but I never made one before so it was new and exciting to me. I think this might be my new birthday gift for kids. It’s quick, it’s customizable, it’s cheap and it’s actually fun to make. As an added bonus, this crown was made completely from my stash. Of course it ended up to big, but cut me some slack it was my first try.

For some reason I used to think sewing with felt was cheating, which is totally ridiculous and I’m done being snootie about felt. Lately, I’ve been trying to convince my daughter that just because something is difficult doesn’t mean it isn’t fun, but I think I need to learn that just because something is easy doesn’t mean it’s necessarily crappy. I tend to think the more difficult the thing is to make, the better it is.  But that is just silly.

The birthday party turned out to be pretty fantastic. The birthday girl is related to Smarty Pants–a balloon art genius of sorts–and everyone went home with one of his awesome creations. Well, the kids did at least. I was a little bummed I didn’t get one. He really was amazing and it looks like he can make pretty much anything from balloons: oscar the grouch, a dragon, abe lincoln, cruella da ville. Makes my little felt crown look pretty wimpy.

1. capelet . left, 2. bus dress – finally finished, 3. Fall jumper for Clementine, 4. Fall, 5. Lion Hanging, 6. kcwc day 5 – alligator hoodie one, 7. Quilted Vest, Part 2, 8. jacket progress, after day 1, 9. pant cuffs

Wow. I mean really: wow! You guys blow me away with the beautiful clothes you can make in a week. I mean really: a week! Some of you made a whole wardrobe and others worked a little each day on one piece and got it totally done by the end of the week. Even if you slacked off by midweek, I don’t want to think you failed (not to sound too pollyanna). All this challenge is meant to do is put you in front of your sewing machine and get you to sew a little, then maybe a little more. This momentum feeds your creativity: the more you make, the more ideas you have, the more you want to make.

1. Orange Jacket, 2. close up of fleece sweater, 3. windy!, 4. Baby Animal Hats 03, 5. STRETCH TERRY TUNIQUE I, 6. insulated kids’ vest, 7. IMG_5871, 8. IMG_1265, 9. Bragitas I

There were a few comments that summed up the week nicely (and I hope the readers don’t mind if I quote them here):

i did it. i totally participated in every hour (and then some of the challenge. and it’s been a blast! not only did it get me back on my sewing horse, it reminded me how much i love to sew – and sew with others! i also learned that at least one hour a night to do something that i love fuels my soul and makes me a better person. and mama. and partner.

-nina

and

Pfew, what a fun & whirlwind week of sewing this has been!
I was able to sew for at least one hour for 5 days out of 7 …which is more than I have done before!

The most important thing that this week taught me was that yes, I *can* muster the energy to sew for 1 to 2 hours after the kids are in bed, and finally see all those plans in my head come to life under my sewing machine needle. A wonderful feeling of accomplishment! ;-)

–sabine

So thank you to all the mothers and grandmothers and aunts and talented sewers who sat down in front of their machines and made beautiful clothes for some fantastic kids.  And thank you to the kids who patiently (and sometimes not so patiently) stood and sat and stopped leaning and turned around while we took pictures of them. And thank you candy for helping.

I’m have to apologize for the unfinished (can’t find the buttons), wrinkled (I can’t find my iron either) shirt and the model’s obviously slept in braids. It’s Sunday morning and we are all a bit lazy.

I wanted to make this shirt (from Happy Homemade vol.2 again) because I remembered I had picked up some awesome vintage trim that would be perfect for the little tab in the middle. So I bought the pretty blue corduroy and sewed the shirt up, then tore my studio up trying to find the trim (maybe the shirt has the power to hide things). I gave up, decided I must have given it away and used an old plaid shirt instead.  Last night I started on an old crochet project and there in my bag full of yarn was the ribbon.

I still haven’t found the buttons, but maybe they are hiding with the iron in the refridgerator.

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Today is the last day of the kids clothes week challenge and I hope you had a good time. The flickr group is full of amazing things, I’ve found some new and fantastic blogs and you’ve pointed me to some new children’s pattern designers. Thank you so much for playing along!

The last giveaway is from one of my favorite bloggers, Kayanna from junecraft. She has kindly offered a $20 dollar gift certificate for her etsy shop to the winner! She makes beautiful prints, calendars, funny little plush, tote bags and they are all modern and stylish and cute as all get out.

To enter tell us what you thought of the week (whether you participated or not), or what you like best from the junecraft shop, or how you take your coffee. Good luck!

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The winner is

#54: Claire from Moth and Sparrow!

Congratulations!

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Nothing fancy today, just some laze around the house pants for a chilly Saturday. Cashmere pants. I wish I had some. The baby hasn’t benefited much from kcwc this time around–not that he’s noticed.  I’ve got a stack of pants sewn up for him that still need elastic, but they’re just pants. These are the best of the bunch and even they aren’t that exciting. I stopped buying sweaters to felt a while ago because it was getting a little hoard-y, but now I’m thinking he might need some sweater overalls for this winter.  Maybe we’ll take a little family trip to the thrift store this afternoon.

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Today’s giveaway is from Chez Beeper Bebe. Holly makes clever and cute things at an amazing pace. Every time I look at her blog she’s got some new, fantastic idea made plush. She has kindly offered one of her baby on a stick toys to the winner of this giveaway! My kids always ended up hitting themselves in the face with their wooden rattles (hey, no jokes) so these soft, easy to grasp, crazy cute rattles would have been just right for them. Also, who can resist a name like baby on a stick?

To enter you can tell us about your favorite little softie, plushy, cuddly thing when you were little, or a soft toy you’ve made for you kids, or what you are going to do today.  Good luck!

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The winner is

#23: Wendy!

Congratulations!

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