Our Easter

My three little men, Easter 2011

This Easter was a happy one full of family and fun. My little men were thrilled to see that the Easter Bunny came and I was pleased as punch to see them successfully wear what I made them. Some would say it is child abuse to make your boys wear bow ties AND carrots, but I thought they were darling. It was well worth the effort!

 The carrots were inspired by the CUTEST picture I saw on the blog, Aesthetic Outburst. Since I was too late to enter the giveaway, I had to make my boys a version of my own. I wanted them to sorta match their bowties, so I made them with the correlating patterned fabric scraps. I think I like her basic felt version better, but I was still smitten. I will miss having young sons who are willing to put up with so much.

This picture was taken after church in his disheveled state. Getting a 19-month-old to hold still is so tricky.

 I made bowties for my older sons with the leftover fabric from the shortalls I made my youngest. My version might take a smidge bit longer to make than the standard bowtie, but I think the finished result is worth it.

I made some last minute basket-stuffers for my youngest two sons. I am sure enjoying learning how to crochet!

I made this little fella in less than an hour. He was darling. I wish I had larger eyes, but besides that, I am a fan of how it turned out. I made it from this free pattern that I was directed to on the blog, Maybe Matilda (she is amazing and you better believe I am going to try to make her bomber hat).

I made this little friend from a free pattern from Lions Brand. It was simple and fun and I have no doubt that someday my son will like it (it is hard to compete with candy). I never got around to buying baskets so my sister made some out of paper bags and spray painted them blue. They were perfect. Too bad I don't really have a picture of them.

More Bunny Ears

Back in March I stumbled upon the cutest bunny hat that I had ever seen! I found it in the etsy shop, Inner Hooker. I had only attempted crocheting once before (I tried to make a beanie nine years ago for my sister but it ended up looking more like some sort of Sherlock Holmes hat) but since the pattern was only $3.99, I couldn't resist!

 The image that stole my heart from Inner Hooker

The pattern was fairly easy, even for a beginner like me. Since I didn't have anyone around to show me how to actually crochet, I turned to Youtube.com  and watched all sorts of tutorials whenever I came across a new stitch that I didn't understand (which was every one besides the beginning chain). What a fun way to learn! Much more rewarding that learning on a scarf or Sherlock Homles hat/beanie.

 Either my little man's head is on the small side or my skills aren't quite amazing yet because because this hat ended up being a little loose and therefore didn't stand up the way the one in the picture did. I am sure this was my fault since I really had no idea what I was doing. Also, I ended up using two different types of yarn that claimed to be the same weight but weren't. This made the inside of my ears larger than they were supposed to and so I just added more rounds of brown to the outer ear so that I wouldn't have to re-do them. All in all, I was pleased as punch and I am so glad that we are having an unusually cool Spring so that my little man can sport it for longer.

Now I just have to finish three more Easter projects before the big holiday and I am set! Hot dog!

Homemade Bunny Ears for Easter {tutorial}

Easter is nearly here and I can't wait! We recently pulled out our Easter box and I found a pile of broken cheapo dollar store bunny ears from years past. As colorful as the pile was, I decided that it just would not do for my little men this year. Instead, I decided to make my own so that they could hunt for eggs in style. The project is so easy and very inexpensive. Here is what you'll need:

-Felt (I made eight with a yard and a half with plenty fabric to spare).

-Wire (Mine is 18 gage from Lowes).

-Fabric (Just big enough to cut two bunny ear inserts).

-Headband (The Dollar Tree has them for two for a dollar)

-Hot glue gun

First, cut four large bunny ear shapes out of your felt. I like my ears large and in charge, so I made mine 10 inches long (remember, you will be sewing them so add an extra little bit for seam allowance when cutting).

Cut two center ear pieces out of your chosen fabric (not pictured). I suggest cutting it about an inch narrower than the felt shapes. Next fold sides and iron.

Pin one piece of fabric to the center of one piece of felt. Sew along edges to hold in place.

Once that is done, place your already sewn piece onto another felt cutout with the right side of your already sewn fabric facing in. Sew along the edges of entire ear. Repeat above steps on second ear.

Once done, your ears will look like this.

Turn ears right side out. Cut two pieces of wire long enough to encircle the full length and width of each ear (my ears were about 10 inches long and so I cut my wire about 23 inches). You want to make sure that you have enough wire so that about two inches stick out at the end). Take your hot glue gun and tack your wire in place. Then add a little bit of glue to the base of the front of each ear to hold ear closed and add a little shape.

Glue your ears to your selected spot on your headband. Once secure, wrap wire to hold them in place. Add more glue to make sure it doesn't wiggle.

Cut strips of felt about an inch in width and as long as your felt allows. Glue at an angle to an end of your headband. Wrap over the entire headband and double wrap where needed to cover wire and base of ears. Glue hear and there while you go to hold your felt in place.

All done! Now you are ready to go! Depending on how you like your ears worn, you can bend them any which way you please!

I hope this helped and that you have a wonderful Easter!

   

Easter Shortalls (Von Trapp Style)

Now that I am posting pictures, I realize that one of the legs is caught up in all of the photos. I promise they are actually the same length.

Two years ago I made a clown costume out of this adorable Hushabye fabric by Moda. With the leftover fabric, I decided that I would put it with the rest of my fabric to someday use to make dresses for a future daughter. I just had my third boy and the doctor told me that we are done having babies. After coming to terms with this news, I decided that I would no longer wait to sew things for a little girl but start making cute clothes for my three adorable sons. I decided to start with an Easter outfit for my new little three-month-old. I used one of his rompers as a general guide when making this pattern. Yes, the fabric is a little girly, but he is so young. Besides, they used to dress baby boys in pink and dresses and this short-all gettup is WAY manlier than that, don't cha think?! Once it was complete, my husband pointed out to me that it looked like one of the outfits that Maria in Sound of Music made for the Von Trapp children out of her curtains. Oops! All the same, I think he looks charming.

 I made matching shoes, but I think they really do push it a little too far into the girly realm.

I made this little number from scratch. I'll post the tutorial soon. I just wanted to make sure I posted this in time to share at a few places. Thanks!