Works like a charm!

The weather here in Seattle is getting cooler... especially in the morning. These last two days Alyssa and I have been escorting Robbie to the bus (his daddy normally goes with him). So I insist on the kids wearing warmer clothes (cover the entire leg).

But Lyssie has other plans. She insisted on wearing her "blap blap" this morning. While I didn't convince her to cover her legs (note to self to make more of those leg warmers from socks) - I did convince her to put a shirt underneath. Yes, I know, it's a small victory.


But I was pleased to see that wearing a shirt underneath my dresses works great! I'll see if I can't convince her to put a long sleeve one underneath next time (I haven't pulled out our warmer clothes yet).

I'm still working on dresses with sleeves. But I love this style and I'm glad to know that it works layering it.

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Blap Blap!

Lately, Alyssa has not been easy to dress in the morning. She has been expressing a preference for what she wears... and more often than not, it's Blap Blaps (butterflies). Surprisingly (or not, they are her favorite), she does have a decent selection of clothes with Blap Blaps. The problem we've come across recently is that they just aren't large enough for her. She has one 12 month t-shirt that Grandma made her that has a huge butterfly covering the front of the shirt. I'm certain this is the shirt she has in mind when we get her dressed in the morning. However, she is now wearing 18 month clothes and when I put the shirt on her - it's snug and her little belly button sticks out. While cute, it looks like I don't know my daughter's size.

So, I figure I'm going to have to make some clothes that are more to her liking. Here's my first one... I really like how this came out. The problem is that I had to hand draw - freehand onto the dress with a fabric pen. It was time consuming and extremely difficult with a toddler pulling at your leg asking if her Blap Blap is ready. But, total time for this dress was probably about 2-3 hours. I wish the black was a little blacker, but I only had one fabric marker on hand. You can click on the photos to see larger images.

I'm not sure if I'll be offering anything like this in the store any time soon as they are a bit time intensive. But it was nice to actually sit and draw for once. I haven't drawn pen and ink in ages! I' love to make her one with a dinosaur on it... but I'd have to practice my dinosaurs.

By the way, this was inspired by Rekoj. She does the most beautiful fabric painted clothes... truly works of art. I've been keeping an eye on her store as I'd love to own one of her shirts. Of course, my body isn't as tiny as it used to be... so I have to wait for the right size and design. I'm also lucky that she's local and does some of the local events... so maybe I'll be able to score something at one of the shows that I attend.

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