Denim & Lace

Even though the ground is still covered in snow, I can't help but think of spring. 

So I decided to whip up a pair of sweet little shorts. Last year I made a pair

of these knot shorts and fell in love with them. I couldn't help making

her a pair for this summer only with lace details this time! 

They are really simple to make; I made this pair in a little over an hour!

Perfect nap time project. 

I started with a simple shorts pattern from The Lily Bird Studio.  You

can also make your own, following Shwin & Shwin's Drafting a Pattern tutorial.

Then I followed Grosgrains tutorial on how to make the knot shorts. 

The tutorial is so easy to follow and like I said before, they sew up quickly!

They are cute rolled up or kept down.
I think I prefer them rolled up to show off that lace!

Wanna know the bad news though? I made them too small! UGH!

They will fit if Gianna is potty trained by summer though;

maybe that will be my incentive? 

If not, I guess they were easy enough that making another

pair wouldn't be a huge deal. Guess it's time to move my patterns

from 18 month to 2T! 

Ruffle Butt Jeans

I saw these adorable ruffle butt jeans (for toddlers, of course;-)) on Pinterest.

They are made by RuffleButts and cost $26.50. That's actually not a bad price;
but not one that I would pay! I love that they look like jeans but have an elastic
waist band so they are super comfy.

I just purchased a pant pattern from Lily Bird Studio. Right away I imaged
making my own, for way cheaper!

First I used some fabric that I purchased at Joann's. A blue stovepipe
denim, on sale, for $6.49/yd.
(And lightweight enough that my sewing machine can handle it!)

I used my Ben&Mia Pant Pattern but you can easily make your own
pattern following Made's pant pattern tutorial!

If you use the Ben&Mia pant pattern, just make sure you don't cut
out the pockets; unless you want front pockets!

I followed the pattern exactly, but to top it all off I cut 3 strips
of denim. About 2.5inches wide by 20inches long.

I sewed them length wise, right side together. Then turned them
right side out. You can use a ruffling foot. However, I just
gathered the fabric as I sewed so it ruffled up. A cheater way,

but much easier too ;-)

And there ya have it...a simple, comfy, easy pant! But also
adorably cute!!

Yes...same pant. Still working out the kinks of this new camera;-)

Rosette Flower Headband

The rosette flowers have been around forever and they 

are so easy to make. I've added them on shirts before for some 

added details but haven't made a headband from them yet! 

My little sister (who's 12) came to stay with me for a night and wanted

to do some craft projects. There was no way I could say no to that! 

First up was the rosette flower headbands. 

photo courtesy of tipjunkie

There's so many variations you could do with this headband. 

I did my first one on a headband like the one above, my second one

on an adult elastic headband and my third one on some
dollar bin headbands (70%off!-Score!)

The best part of this headband is that it's no sew and simple!

It's so easy my little sister could make them, and they turned out cute!

Tipjunkie has a full tutorial on how to make your own. 

It really is simple and turns out so cute. 

I made some for my daughter and for my sister. 

These would even be a cute & simple gift for any little girl!

Hannah has the perfect hair too!
So jealous....

A headband made of corduroy and jersey knit fabric!

Sophia modeling a headband. Edited the pic with Instagram...
get the app if you have an iphone! It rocks :-)

I really love how they turned out...and how easy they were!

Sneak Peak...Spring 2012!

I'm all ready excited for spring! Maybe it's the warm weather we've had (55 degrees today!) or that all the stores are teasing me with all their spring collections! I don't know what it is, but I've already started planning Gianna's spring wardrobe. I thought I'd start  2012 off with showing you a sneak peak of what's to come on Gia Rose Sews! So here goes....

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Have you seen Old Navy's Spring Collection? 

Oh boy, I'm in love with a few pieces! One being this simple mustard top.

 

I thought I'd do a little pattern remix using Leila & Ben peasant top pattern. I'm going to mix it up a bit and do over sized 3/4 length sleeves and add some lace detailing. I'm envisioning this tunic top with a pair of cute white shorts.

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Next up will be a pair lightweight jeans with searsucker detailing. 

I love searsucker for summer, it's so lightweight and cool. 

I might just have to make a cute jacket out of some white and yellow print too...hm...

Back to the pants. I'm going to use new pants pattern from Ben & Mia. 

It's a great pocket pants pattern with piping details. 

Only picture them in denim and seersucker piping..

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Another staple in Gianna's spring wardrobe will be a pair of lightweight

linen pants. I'm thinking maybe a super light khaki or maybe white

(I can spot bleach white so they may stay clean)

I'll probably use the same pocket pants pattern but remix it 

a bit to do square pockets and a drawstring waist!

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The next top I've been wanting to try for awhile, but haven't gotten around to it yet. 

It's actually a refashion for a plain tee that G already has...

The tutorial is by Make It & Love It. 

I also have a pattern for some leggings (by Lil Blue Boo)

 that I think I'll use to make Gianna a pair of matching ones! 

I haven't quite decided on the colors let...maybe a sweet light purple...

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I have a feeling alot of skirts will be in the works for Gianna this

spring and summer. She seems to be in love with anything that resembles

a tutu! 

When I saw this skirt on Pinterest I knew I had to remake it. 

Now I just need to think (or find) a cute top to match!

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And last (for now!) I found the perfect skirt tutorial for Gianna's
Easter outfit......

Simply Homemade has a free tutorial and
Violette Field Threads has a pattern too!

I just love it! Very simple but elegant.

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Hope you enjoyed the sneak peak! Hope to see you a lot 2012!

DIY Embellished Shoes

I love shoes, what girl doesn't? But being a stay-at-home mom

means I don't get to spend as much $$ on them as I used to!  

When I saw this picture pinned on Pinterest, I knew I had to

make myself a pair! 

Photo courtesy of Starsforstreetlights

Stars for street lights has a great tutorial on how to make

your own pair! They were really easy to make. I used 

some hot glue on mine too, just to make sure the material

was on there really good :-) 

I bought a pair of flats at Target on clearance for $7.48. 

I used some scrap fabric and got to work! It was really simple

and instead of a bow I opted for just a knot with tails. A little less

frilly and bulky, more my style! 

Pure awesomeness for under $8. 

Stroller Refashion

And I'm back!! Who missed me?! 

I wish I could say I took a bit of time off from blogging to spend time with my 

family and just relax, but that would be a lie. I did spend lots of time with 

my family but not much relaxing was done... I had a million gifts to make, 

and buy, and wrap. 6 Christmas' to attend. Ya know, the usual.

But I'm back and should be back to regular blogging now!  

What was my first project after the holidays? A stroller refashion!

I was hoping to get this done for Gianna before Christmas but

that didn't happen. Oh well, Gianna didn't know the difference.
She's just happy she has a stroller that her babies don't fall out of!

Back to the stroller refashion....

A favorite blogger of mine, Sewing in No Man's Land, did a 

'pimp my stroller' post a while ago. 

Since then I've been wanting

to fix Gianna's stroller cover. We bought the stroller from Goodwill

and a few days later the cover started falling apart, of course!

But, for a few bucks, I couldn't complain. 

I grabbed some bias tape and scrap fabric from my stash

and set to work! The great thing about the 'pimp

my stroller' tutorial is that she even includes a free pattern!

It's a really easy tutorial to follow, even for the beginner sewer.

Plus, kiddos don't usually care if there are a few mistakes,

which makes this a great learning experience! 

Mine turned out ok...not as good as I expected.

But I did have a 18 month old trying to help, so I guess 

I can blame her for my mistakes ;-)

50% off Patterns at Shwin Designs!!!

I just stopped over to check out Shwin's new project and she's having a

SALE! 50% off ALL her patterns! That's less than $2.50 per pattern. 

Of course, I bought 3 for $7.42, best deal around!

Go check it out...http://shwindesigns.bigcartel.com/products

I already have one pattern and used it to make this adorable

coat for one of Gianna's friends!