Christmas Dress

For the past few months I've had an image in my head for a special holiday dress for Vera. I wanted a gold triangle print for the bodice, peter pan collar, and exposed gold zipper in the back.

I used Butterick's B5912 toddler dress pattern  (view B with the peter pan collar and puff sleeves). The pattern was fairly easy to follow but I had a lot of trouble with the collar. I've sewn peter pan collars before without any problems, but had to rip out the seams twice on the collar of this dress! I didn't love the size and shape of the collar either, so I made a few adjustments. I would probably draft my own collar next time. On the positive side, the sizing was accurate.

I wasn't able to find a metallic triangle print so I decided to make my own. I used DecoArt SoSoft Metallic Fabric Paint in Glorious Gold and made a stencil out of freezer paper. The nice thing about freezer paper is that one side is coated in wax, so you can iron it on to fabric and it will temporarily stick. It's perfect for stencils and cutting out shapes for appliques.

I used premium bleached muslin for the bodice and a cotton/polyester blend broadcloth for the skirt. The skirt looks somewhat gold in the pictures, but it's actually a warm green color...I believe it's called "Avocado".

And I couldn't resist making a coordinating hair clip. It's mistletoe!

Vera's First Birthday Party

Vera turned one year old last week and we celebrated with family and friends at our home. I chose flowers for the theme and a turquoise, peach, and gold color scheme.

I made tissue paper tassels and hung them over the table along with a paper star I picked up on clearance at my local craft store

Vera's monthly photos were displayed inside the panes of two old windows and decorated with felt flowers.

I made felt flower hair clips for the kids and a bee finger puppet for Vera's only "boy friend" at the party (poor guy was way outnumbered).

I also made my first fondant covered cake using this cake recipe and homemade marshmallow fondant. It's pretty tricky to get the fondant to look smooth and I ended up with quite a few imperfections. I hide most of the flaws with a few strategically placed flowers and think it turned out pretty cute. I also made cupcakes and decorated them with fondant flowers.

I couldn't find a large package of gold polka dot balloons anywhere so I cut circles out of label paper (using my circle cutter) and stuck them onto the balloons.

Vera's #1 corsage...I didn't get any close-up photos of her actually wearing it.

Time for cake!

The best part of the party...

We adapted these plans for the Deluxe Kid Wash and made Vera her very own walk through sprinkler out of PVC pipe! We also had a sprinkle mat out. Both were a big hit with the kids.

Vera's great grandparents (far right) traveled all the way from Kansas to celebrate with her!