The Norah Dress ( x3) Tour - MouseHouseCreations

Hi Everyone! A big thanks to Hayley for asking me to be a part of this, I have loved her blog for a long time and am super excited for her new pattern line

I had a lot of fun with this pattern. I mean  A LOT, as in I made 3 of them for my girls! It is such a versatile pattern.
First up, I made the Norah Dress as is, no changes....and it is great!

I used a mid-weight plaid cotton that has a good amount of stretch in it (actually this mystery fabric was a gift my mom brought back from Germany for me, so I am not really sure what it is, but it is fab!) The dress fits great, with lots of 'twirlability' (is that a word?...it is now)

I  Love the Swing to this dress! I used a contrasting yellow binding for the collar and added some yellow stripes and binding detail to the hem.

The perfect dress for our chilly Canadian winters

Next up, I made a tunic version for my youngest. She does not do well with dresses, so it is leggings and tunics 99% of the time.  I opted for no collar and dressed up the shoulders with leather panels

I used a heavy sweatshirt fleece (which may have been a little too thick for such a small size), but it is really snuggly warm for her

I paired it with a pair of black velour/sparkle damask leggings (I do not know where I got this fabric, but found it in my stash....and now I wish I had more...It is glorious!)
 

I found some scrap leather that matched perfectly (what are the odds?!) , so I added some shoulder details that wrap to the back

It closes at the back with a small leather buckle, rather then a button....I think it looks really cute!
***my first time working with leather btw.... not too shabby

And finally, my showstopper, A golden Norah. One of my oldest's Christmas dresses. Yes, I said ONE of....we have 3 big family parties, which she requires 3 dresses, such a diva, can't wear the same outfit twice :) 

This one is my Fav! It started with a great vintage lace trim that I found online, and a champagne linen.

I had to slim the bodice slightly (not because of fit issues, but because I was about 8" too short with my trim)

I used a gold piping on the collar. I shortened the sleeves (to a longer short sleeve), and added some piping and trim detailing to the cuffs.

Then to up the sparkle (you can't have enough sparkle with a 5 year old...right?) I sewed on a ton of little gold beads....yes I sewed them all on by HAND! and I absolutely hate hand sewing....oh the things we do for our kids!

I really do love this pattern! I think there is so much you can do with it!

Can't wait to see what everyone else has come up with, Happy Holidays

~Christine

Santa's Gift tags - free printable

So my oldest daughter (5) is finally at that age where she wants to know more about where her Christmas gifts are coming from...not just what she gets.
The questions about Santa are coming at me faster then I can answer them...and some of them are getting tricky!

There are the usual ones..

"How does Santa carry all that stuff?"
"How does Santa get to everyone's house in ONE night, and it takes us a whole day to get to my cousins house in the car?"
"Doesn't Santa get full eating on all those cookies?

and some more difficult ones...

"How does Santa get down our chimney if we have a gas fireplace?"
"How does Santa know when I am sleeping so he come inside?"
"Who brings Santa his presents?"

It started last year when she noticed that Santa had the SAME wrapping paper as we did! hmmm?...! what a coincidence
Santa also seemed to write her name the SAME as I did! wow?...another coincidence 

So this year I needed to get more creative...and clever

I bought a secret roll of wrapping paper that will be for Santa's gifts only, a very festive, colourful and covered in cartoon santas paper...not my style, but perfect for the workshop

And for the gift tags, I made some "special delivery" tags to make everything legit....authentic and direct from the North Pole

As long as my writing can be different enough...I am hoping to be in the clear this year ( I will let you know how it goes after the 25th)

And I know some of you are having the same troubles as I am, so to make things a little easier I have made the tags into a pdf for you to download and use!
yay!

Each sheet prints out 8 gift tags, you can download them here

Just print them up on some cardstock, cut, holepunch and your done...

you can even write with your non-dominant hand to make it more authentic :)

enjoy
~Christine

12 Days of Christmas

Hi Everyone
I am over at  Craftstorming today for the 12 days of Christmas series. Come by and check out what I made for my little girl this Christmas! Don't forget to check out Sewpony too

Make sure you check out the rest of the series and the awesome lineup of bloggers they have.

~ Christine 

Introducing....The Gatsby Dress (with tester round up)

Yay, It's finally my turn in the Designer Challenge!

Introducing....The Gatsby Dress

A super fun, 20's inspired dress

Made from knit, so it is comfy! This dress features a dropped waist, peter pan collar, 3/4 length sleeve and some really fun lace inserts

The dress includes 2 silhouettes, SLIM and ALINE to ensure the perfect fit for your little one
below is the Aline option, with a lace print knit fabric rather then actual lace

This one is perfect for New Year's!

Go get your copy today
this dress is available in 12m-5t or in 6y-12y

Now check out with the fab dresses the testers come up with!

Grab your own copy and have some fun!

~ Christine