Little Jessi's Weblog

Soren Lorenson Designs is having a Giveaway:)

littlejessiw — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 21:09:12 +0000

As most of you know, I have become obsessed with Recycled/Upcycled Knit Dresses. Anyway, I have added a new designer to my list of favorites. Soren Lorenson. Love them! Cute dresses made from scraps of t-shirts and knits. Who could resist them? Obviously, not me. I am proud to say I was their first purchase on ETSY, and their 50th:) Nola has a Soren Dress, a Sonya Dress, and an Evie Skirt. Plus, Mason has a shirt of his own. We love them, and compliments all the time about our one-of-a-kind apparel. Anyway, bounce on over to their blog to sign up for a chance to win an Evie skirt for your little princess and one for her favorite dolly:) If you don’t win, buy one! You won’t regret it:)

Someone Had a Birthday…

littlejessiw — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 18:07:40 +0000

….and guess what she got. My first birthday dress. My skills are getting better. I just need to tweak my pattern a little. I didn’t have a pattern for the ringer sleeves. So, I modified the one I had. Not bad for a girl who taught herself to sew 2 years ago on a cheap sewing machine from Wal-Mart. By the way, I still use the same sewing machine. My mom thinks it is so funny that I can make such cool things with it.

Anyway, my next project is a shirt for the little man and I have many new dress ideas for Nola.

Look What I Can Do, Too:)

littlejessiw — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 22:38:19 +0000

I have had a major crush on CourtneyCourtney’s upcycled dresses for a while and we are priveledged enough to own three. Well, she has become so popular recently that her dresses sell as soon as she posts them. So, I started thinking “I can make my own”. I have a major case of “I can do that, too”. Well, I googled upcycled dresses and found what seems to be CourtneyCourtney’s fierce competitor, Lil Blue Boo on Etsy. Lil Blue Boo is awesome enough to have one of her patterns listed on Etsy. Of course, I snagged one and off to Goodwill, Nola and I went:) By the way little Nola, loves Goodwill. Could be the loud music, but I am not sure why. Anyway, we made our first upcycled dress using Lil Blue Boo’s pattern. Love it, love it, love it. Nola has already worn it twice.

: One of our Original CourtneyCourtney Dresses

After making the first dress, I started thinking. The dresses are basically a lengthened Raglan T-Shirt. The Lil Blue Boo dress fit my petite little thing OK, but was a little roomy. So, I found a McCall’s pattern (M5965) that was for pajamas with a Raglan T-Shirt. I altered it a little. I added a lot of length, and a little twirly skirt. (FYI….I used the shirt pattern not the gown. The gown seemed a little wide, and Nola is so petite.) Anyway, the result was fabulous and has won Nola’s approval.

I am still on the mission to create the perfect pattern. I am anxiously awaiting my subscription to Ottobre, and I received a free gift of my choice. I chose the Ottobre 1/2006 issue which supposedly has an excellent Raglan T-Shirt pattern. I will definitely let you all know my findings.

For those of you who don’t want to put any thought/effort into making your own upcycled dresses please check out CourtneyCourtney and Lil Blue Boo. They are two very talented ladies. If you are on Facebook, become one of their fans for heads up on dress listings, but act fast, because they are hot items. If you want to make your own dresses without the hassle of altering patterns, Lil Blue Boo’s pattern is worth the money.

Happy Upcycling:)

Etsy saves Christmas

littlejessiw — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 16:03:17 +0000

What did I do when I came to the realize that I just couldn’t make every gift? I turned to Etsy, and I got some wonderful goodies.

Our little Nola, has turned into quite the little princess. So, Santa left her a hat box filled with all of the necessities to transform into Royalty. He gave her a Princess Hat and Wand from Whimsy Wendy. They are absolutely adorable:)

Every Princess needs a crown from the Merry Crown Society.

I love watching Nola prance around with her little crown on upside down in all of her glory:)

Every princess needs an Entourage, and Peppermints Scrappy Doll makes the perfect friend:)

Every Child also loves pretending to be a SuperHero, and unfortunately mine are aware that Mommy makes SuperHero towels, not Santa. But, Mommy doesn’t make Awesome Reversible SuperHero Capes. Those come only from the North Pole, or Kidzescapes. Mason and Nola were both lucky enough to get their very own:)

I had to think of something special for my Trendy 16 year-old niece. So, I found the perfect accessory to a Starbucks giftcard, an Eco Coffee Cozy from Laura Bucci. They were definitely the coolest Coffee Cozies I found. I loved them so much. I bought one for myself.

I must also give recognition to Sewing Supplies and MamaSheCrazy for coming through when my supplies, I ordered elsewhere, ran short or just were not what I expected. They saved the day:)

A Crafty Christmas

littlejessiw — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 15:28:33 +0000

This year a decided to make about 90% of our Christmas gifts. Half way into it I wanted to pull my hair out and everyone elses who came within three feet of me. That was my own fault because I procrastinated, and waited until 3 weeks before Christmas. In the end, I completed my gifts and they were all received with smiles. Personally, I would rather receive a handmade gift over a storebought anyday. I love the story behind them, and knowing that that person put so much of their time and thought into it. It felt really good to be that person this year. I think I have started my own little tradition, but next year I shall start several months ahead of time:)

So, the main bulk of my gifts were Car Trash Bags with matching Key Fobs. Two things that I had made for myself and absolutely love. So, I made 36 of these beauties. Hopefully, some of the recipients are enjoying a cleaner car, and lose there keys a little less often:)

My last three gifts, were for three very special kiddos. I love snuggling up in blankets, especially handmade blankets. So,early in the morning on Christmas Eve, I created these three blankets. They were so super soft and cute. I had to resist a little snuggle with them myself:)

I already have a few ideas for next year. Although, I seem to struggle with gifts for all of the men. I do have a little more than 11 month. Hopefully, something will come to me.

I hope you all had a wonderful and blessed Christmas! Many wishes of happiness to you in your New Year!

Introducing Sophie

littlejessiw — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 23:28:30 +0000

On November 30, 2009, Sophie Claire, my newest niece, made her debut into this world. She is so precious.

Boo-tiful Pirates…..Aargh!

littlejessiw — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:35:35 +0000

A Life Lesson for Nola

littlejessiw — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 22:45:26 +0000

Haley’s Sweet Sixteen

littlejessiw — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:31:16 +0000

Haley, my niece, turned 16 yesterday. My sister totally surprised her with a black mustang with hot pink stripes. It was so awesome! It is so hard to keep something that big a secret these days, but with a little help Jeni did it.

Happy Birthday, Haley!

7 Years and 1 Day

littlejessiw — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 19:45:36 +0000

Jason and I celebrated our 7th Anniversary, yesterday:) I can’t believe it has been that long. Wow.