Fall and Halloween 2012

Happy Halloween! Well, a day after the fact, but I hope you all had a great one. It has been a whirlwind of a couple days returning on Tuesday from International Quilt Market in Houston, TX and then all of the Halloween festivities we had yesterday. Luckily my flight was only delayed an hour and a half due to high winds in Chicago from the big storm back east. I would have been beyond sad if I missed my babies all dressed up on Halloween.

The Quilt Market Recap post will be coming soon, but I thought I would share some pictures of my little cuties. Boy did I miss these kiddos when I was away for five days. I had a great time spending some one-on-one time with my mom, but it always feels good to be home.

I decided I could not miss this opportunity to dress Mr. Caspian Finn up as Charlie Brown this year. I love that bald head of his. Even though he is 14 months now, it still makes him look like such a little baby.

I thought I could get away with buying a store-bought yellow t-shirt and adding a zig-zag, but I could not find one in his size anywhere. There were lots of yellow shirts, but they all had prints and writing on them. I ended up finding one in the big boys section, so I just re-constructed the shirt and cut it down to size. The zig-zag is made from felt which was nice because there was no need to finish the edges.

This little guy is always on the move and climbing on everything! I'm starting to see a real difference between my boy and the two girls. He is going to keep me very busy.

Next up is our very own 'Dora the Explorer'. Matilda had her mind set on this costume for about six months. Last year she knew exactly what she wanted to be (a Ballerina Princess), so I should have guessed that this year would be no different.  I made her some orange fleece capris and we layered tons of things under her pink t-shirt. It was in the 30's on Halloween.....brrrrrrrr. She also wore tights under the capris.

I had every good intention of making Matilda's Dora backpack, but that did not happen. Every fabric I showed Matilda, she said was wrong (and you all know I have a lot of fabric) and she was telling me all sorts of things the backpack must have on it. I was running out of time before I left for quilt market, so when I found the one in the picture online for $11.00, I thought we would just go with that and make my life a little easier. Plus, that way I knew it would be just right.

This little lady had a ball trick-or-treating. Last year, when she was two, she got the concept, but this year she is three and she loved every minute of it!

And finally, we have Miss Savannah, our black cat. Again, this was another costume that she had settled on months ago. She loves to be something scary for Halloween with a little bit of a twist......you might remember her 'Princess Witch' costume from last year.  I had a lot of fun making this scary cat a little more on the girly side. It's hard to tell from all the pictures, but she had a black petti-skirt and I made a sash out of a sequined black fabric. The sash went around the waist and tied in a bow in the back right above the cat tail that I added to the skirt.

I made a collar from the same sequined black fabric (that I found at a thrift store for 50 cents) by making a gathered ruffle and binding it with black bias tape. The hooded sweatshirt has a ruffle that runs up both sides and around the hood. I knew it would be chilly on Halloween so I always try to think ahead to how we can layer underneath so we don't end up covering the kids costumes with big coats.

She wore a black knit hat and a headband with sparkly black cat ears finished with a satin bow on top.

Another event that has become an annual tradition is something out this way called the 'Autumn Drive'. It takes place mid-October and is out in the country about 40 minutes from our house. Local farms open their doors and there are fall activities, crafts, food, pottery and lots and lots of pumpkins. This year my husband wanted to buy the largest pumpkin around and I think he might have succeeded...........

Matilda wearing the coat I made from felted wool (post found HERE).

Fall is definitely my favorite time here in the midwest! We have had so much fun and we still have another month to go. I have two large butternut squashes that are just begging to be roasted and turned into soup.......I think that sounds like a good project for today since it's another chilly autumn day.

This and That........and Giveaway Winners

This has been a good week. Lots of things going on around here, but all good. Gorgeous fall weather has swept through Chicago and I'm loving every minute of it. Fall is definitely my favorite time of year, how about you?

This past weekend it was the perfect weather for us to go on our annual apple picking excursion. Our regular orchard wasn't open this season due to the unpredictable, crazy weather we had this last spring. But we decided to try a new one that turned out to be lots of fun.....

Gigi (Brett's mom) came along on our fun apple picking adventure.

Earlier this week, we made a giant apple pie from the apples we picked. I went back and forth about whether or not I wanted to do a crumble or crust on top, but I ended up doing a crust since our apples were almost falling off the top of the pie. This was only four of the apples we picked....they were huge! And the pie was delish!

Instagram Photo 

(follow me @thecottagemama)

We also brought out all the fall decorations so our house looks nice and cozy. The girls had so much fun sipping hot chocolate and helping me decorate. We made this vintage yo-yo garland together and I think it turned out really cute.

These pretties arrived in the mail this week from Riley Blake Designs for my next Design Team Project. This is from the line "The Sweetest Thing" and the small little flower print is the new knit fabric they are carrying. I've already washed it and it came out beautifully. I can't wait to start creating my next project!

There has been A LOT of sewing going on this week as I prepare for our first styled book shoot this weekend! I'm so excited to meet all of the little models and work with my book photographer. Fun, fun!

We have had quite a few giveaways in the last couple weeks, so it's probably about time that announce the winners. Sorry to keep you hanging. Here they are.........

Jo Totes Camera Bag:

Simply Color Charm Packs and Jelly Roll:

Modes4U Japanese Fat Quarter Bundle and Washi Tape:

Congratulations to our winners! Please email me at thecottagemama[at]gmail[dot]com with your contact information and we will get you your prizes as soon as possible! Don't worry if you didn't win, just keep trying. We have more giveaways coming up and you just never know when the random number generator might pick you!

So that's what has been going on around here. Some of those pictures are from Instagram and if you want to check out our daily life around here, you can follow me @thecottagemama. I hope you all had a great week and are finally getting a little taste of this beautiful fall weather.

Happy Weekend!

Happy 1st Birthday Caspian Finn

Dear Caspian,

Today you are 1 year old.  I can't believe it!  Your first year flew by at warp speed.  It seems like only yesterday you came into our lives, but yet I can't imagine our life without you.

1 Year Old

Pictures taken by Mama on August 31, 2012

Caspian, on your 1st birthday today there are a few things I would like to remember about you......

1. Your favorite food is bananas.
2. You are so sweet. And I mean SO sweet.
3. You army crawl everywhere.
4. You say 'Dada' and 'Mama'.
5. You have just learned how to shake your head 'no'.
6. Your sisters love you and tell you that there is 'No better baby than Caspian'.
7. Your giggle is just about the best sound I have ever heard.
8. You love to smile.  Your Gigi and Grumpy call you 'Smiley Joe'.
9. You are so happy.
10. You are a dream baby.  So even tempered and delightful.
11. You like feet and shoes.
12. You have the most adorable chubby thighs.
13. You like to eat. A lot.
14. You like when mama sings to you especially 'Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man of Mine' from Show Boat.
15. You like to dance.
16. You love water and going swimming.
17. You like cars.
18. You love your mama, but as of lately you REALLY love your daddy.
19. You are very 'go with the flow'. {Thank you for that!}.
20. You bring such a completeness, joy and happiness to our family.

Before you were born, many of my friends told me that there was something different about the relationship between and mother and a son.  I never really thought there was much to that, until I had you.  I absolutely love my girls, but our relationship is just different.  I can't put my finger on it, but all I know is that you are my sweet little boy and I can't imagine you any other way.  What a light you have brought into our lives.  Thank you for being such a joyful, wonderful, lovable child.

Happy 1st Birthday!

I love you from here to the moon and back again my sweet, sweet Caspian Finn.

Love,

Mama

Another 'Out to Sea' Dress and a Little Sailor

We spent this past weekend up in Lake Geneva, WI celebrating Caspian's 1st birthday and my father-in-law's 60th birthday.  Knowing that we were going to be up to the lake, I couldn't resist making another dress from Sarah Jane Studio's new 'Out to Sea' fabric line.  It just had to be done!

Here are the girls wearing the two dresses that I made for them.  I shared Matilda's dress in a previous post (which is made from my Charlotte Apron Dress Pattern), but I made a different style dress for Miss Savannah.

This dress is a basic peasant style dress with a flutter sleeve and a double layer ruffle down the front.  If you've never sewn a peasant dress, you should definitely give it a try.  It's probably one of the easiest garments to sew because the fit is very forgiving and it will take you no time at all to whip up.  Definitely great for a beginner!

I decided I wanted to add in some seersucker with the 'Out to Sea' line because nothing says nautical summer more than seersucker.  I had this pink and white stripe in my stash and used it as an accent for the ruffle and sleeve.

I did a double layer flutter sleeve with the pink anchor fabric on top and the pink and white seersucker underneath.  I did a rolled edge on my serger to keep the sleeves as light and 'fluttery' as possible.

I'm really happy with the way this dress turned out and Savannah seems to like it too!  I adore the rich navy blue and pretty pink. Such a classic, timeless combination.

How grown up is she looking?  Four going on sixteen........gosh, I sure love that sweetheart.

So with all these nautical dresses, I couldn't help but let Caspian join in the fun with a cute little sailor suit.

Here is my husband, Brett, and Caspian Finn.  I think Caspian looks so much like his daddy!

Caspian's sisters sure love him.....poor guy.  You can just see the look on his face, 'please stop smothering me!'

Here is Daddy and his boy.

I did sell some kits to make the dress that Matilda is wearing that I listed in my Etsy shop. It included all the fabric, trims, buttons as well as the printed sewing pattern to create the exact same dress in up to size 8.  I shared the kits over on the Facebook page first and they sold out very quickly.  I don't plan to offer anymore of this exact same kit, but if you are interested in future dress kits, please join us over on The Cottage Mama Fan Page on Facebook.

Have a great day!

A Week of Many Firsts.......1st Day of Preschool

So this is a busy week around here.  The girls had their first day of preschool on Monday and their first day of tap and ballet class on Tuesday and we have our little man's first birthday coming up on Friday.  Whew.......that's a lot of firsts all in one week!

It's hard to believe that both my little ladies are in preschool this year.  This is Matilda's first year and she is in the three year old class and this is Savannah's second year and she is in the four year old class. It works out really nicely because both girls go on the same days which allows me a little alone time with my little guy.

Miss Matilda was so excited for her first day........

Savannah was excited to see her friends again and show Matilda the ropes.......

Savannah is really into purple lately.  Can you tell?  She picked out her own outfit.

These silly sisters truly love each other.  As much as they know how to push each others buttons, they really adore one another......

The first day of school was just an hour and the parents attended with their student.

Savannah loved showing her sister exactly what to do and where to go.  The girls are in different classes, so my husband took the day off and went with Savannah and I went with Matilda.

Here are some pictures of Matilda's first day in her class.......

The girls had a great time on their first day!  Today was actually the second day and they both went for a shorter day without the parents.  Both girls were absolutely fine........they barely even looked back at mama (which was quite different than Savannah's first day last year.......oh, the tears).  My girls are growing up. I am so excited for them and all the fun they are going to have this year!

And this goofy guy.......he and I will be doing a lot more hanging out this year (which I'm really looking forward to).  I seriously cannot believe he will be one year old in a couple days.  

Where did the time go? {Sigh}. I guess they all eventually grow up..........