Making a List and Checking It Twice

Okay.  So Christmas is over, but around the New Year, we all start making new lists.  To-do lists.  Book lists. Grocery lists.  School lists.  Resolutions lists? 

I stopped making resolutions because resolutions seemed doomed to fail.  Instead, I like goals. The word goal indicates that I'm working toward something, even if I don't quite get there.  

Today I'm looking back on some of the goals I made at the the beginning of 2013.  Most I completed.  Some I didn't and a few I'm still working on.  Next Wednesday, I'll post a fresh list of goals for 2014. 

Goals For 2013 (in semi-particular order):

• Print 10-15 baby pictures of Alaine to include in her photo album  Thanks to a great Walgreens deal, I accomplished this early in the year.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Attempt some of the ideas on my Winter Pinterest Board (a few pictures of my projects here)
  
  
• Work on the walls
  
  1. Have the 3 boys paint pieces of abstract art for their bedroom wall
  
  
  
  
  2. Make a large photo poster for our living room wall
  
  
  
  
  
  3. Update some of our  frames with more current photos
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Finish moving our books from boxes to shelves
  
  
  
  
  
• Learn to change the oil in van...and maybe the wiper blades, too  Never learned how to do either one, but I'll be rolling this goal over into 2014. I did learn to operate a chainsaw.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Potty train Alaine I hadn't intended to work on this until spring, but some things in life don't wait! I shared a few details here. I shared in that same post that the only problem we were having was that we were not able to night train at the same time as day train like we had done with our first four kids.  I need not have worried.  Within another week or so, Alaine asked to start wearing undies at night, too, and she hasn't looked back!  For the first time in over ten years, we stopped buying diapers. 
  
  
  
  
• Spring clean the house using this plan  I scrapped this altogether because I found myself cleaning things just to check them off a list and feeling guilty if I missed a day.  Instead, I stuck to my regular light cleaning routine and did more heavy duty cleaning if we were expecting company.
  
  
• Run a 5K!  I ran a 2 mile race as a warm-up and then I complete 4 other 5Ks here, here, here and here!
  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  
  
• Work with the kids on responsibility and finishing tasks to completion This is still a work in progress, but once we formulated a plan, the kids began to take more responsibility for their own work, plus they learned a lot of new skills-- laundry, changing light bulbs, washing the car, taking out the trash-- in the process!  
  
  

• Compile the kids' portfolios for their school records Compiling the portfolios was easier this time as I kept up with our records all year long.  We had a bunch of friends (5 moms, 10 kids) over to review everyone's portfolios for our umbrella school... and then I breathed a sigh of relief.
  
• Finish the e-book I'm writing by the first week of June You can still access my free reading guide for families here.  Good reading doesn't need to stop when summer is over!
  
  
  
  
  
• Plan our 2013-2014 school year  I shared my curriculum choices here, here, and here.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Give The Dress  a radical new design for fall I did it!  I remade The Dress in April and I redesigned it once again in September, but I also started to face the reality that I'm tired of that dress now.
  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  
• Finish the preparation for my October blog series, 31 Days, 31 Printables  Click on button below to access the entire series.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Do a  push-up (I've never had the upper body strength to do even 1!) and hold a plank for 60 seconds I still can't do a push-up, but I took the 30 Day Plank Challenge in November.  I got stuck on Day 22 (holding a plank for 180 seconds), but I try again every few days and I'm almost there.  A 160 second plank still far surpasses my goal! 
  
  
  
• Have a date night with Brian (at home or out) once a month  Whether we were able to go out or had to improvise at home, we had more than 12 dates in 2013!
  

• Continue to find ways to welcome people into our home  We had guests over at least a couple of times a month.  That included birthday parties, dinner guests, play dates, an Easter egg dyeing event, 2 Survivor viewing parties, a Mother's Day dinner, school review group, a Thanksgiving party, a New Years' Eve game night, and a before-Christmas visit from these 2 cuties.
  
  
  
  
  

Do you set goals at the start of a  new year?  Do you write them down or keep them informally?  Next Wednesday, I'll share my goal list for 2014!

The Dress: a new look for autumn

The Dress is back for fall!  Actually, we've moved on to The Dress 2  since the original was getting worn.  Wearing the same dress for 2 years will do that!

(A quick background: my sister-in-law sent Alaine a hand-me-down dress in the summer of 2011.  I changed it up a bit and extended its wear into fall and winter, too.  By then I was on a roll!  I refashion it for spring  and summer 2012.  By now Alaine had been wearing the same dress for a year so I added a ruffle at the bottom to give it length  for fall.  We skipped winter, but The Dress got yet another new look for spring 2013! My sister-in-law sent along the same dress in a bigger size-- she has two girls!-- so now we're ready to work with that one.)

For fall 2013, I wanted something a little more unique.  I hate to admit that I'm getting a little tired of looking at the same dress.  This time, instead of adding length, I took some off to make The Dress more of a tunic length. 

The flower embellishment was droopy and tended to fold inward so I sewed a matching button in its center to keep the petals open. 

I stitched a brightly colored sash to go around the waist and attached 2  loops to hold it in place on the sides
.  

My model didn't want her photo shoot to end so as I proceeded to fold laundry instead, she sprawled out on the floor and looked up at me with a winning grin.  I couldn't resist.  The photo is slightly blurry, but it's priceless!

The April (and Beyond) Dress

The last time I redesigned The Dress was in September.  The fall version got us through November and she had enough Christmas and winter dresses to get us through the season, but the dress was begging to come back out for spring.  

I used this dress as my inspiration (pinned by my blogging friend, Jenna).  I even planned to keep the pink and grey color scheme because I could imagine it working well against the unusual shade of green in this dress.   

Then my friend, Flo, gave me a big box of scrap fabric.  It didn't contain many pinks or greys, but I pulled out close to a dozen other possibilities.

I left the fabrics and the dress fanned out in my bedroom floor for a few days and something about the navy against the green struck me every time I glanced that way.   

I cut out seven strips of fabric (about 1 inch wide and 1 yard long).  Then I folded and twisted and rolled the strips into rosettes, securing with hot gluing every few inches.  I sewed the rosettes onto the dress and tacked the edges of the rosettes together to keep them from shifting.  Alaine calls this her necklace dress. 

The Dress was originally a hand-me-down from my sister-in-law, Sarah.  Her two girls had been given matching dresses and the smallest of the pair of dresses (size 18 months) had been outgrown.  Alaine has worn The Dress from age 9 months old until now at age 2 1/2 years.  That's one amazing dress.

Sarah recently passed us the largest dress of the pair of dresses (size 3T).    We're affectionately calling this The Dress 2.

The Dress 2

Do you have ideas for The Dress 2?  Send me your ideas, links, and pins!  I'm thinking I want to go drastic this time. 

A Dress Re-do For Grown-Ups

While Alaine happily styles her way through autumn with her re-made dress, I am sporting a re-do of my own. 

I'm not overly sentimental about clothing.  When it goes out of style or I can't wear it anymore, I'm usually fine with bagging it up and carting it away to the Goodwill.  Sometimes, my frugal side will take over and I'll tuck a used item into my fabric stash to be used later, but that's a different story. 

Recently, though, I came across a sundress in my closet that I hadn't worn in years.  I first wore it on our honeymoon, in the early months of our marriage, and the very beginning of my pregnancy with Gavin.  It had too many happy memories attached to let it go without a little heart tugging. 

me with my mom and sisters: wearing the dress on Easter Sunday 2002

Instead of tossing it out, I made a cut down both sides, saving the front panel.  I also cut a few inches off the botton, then I hemmed the frayed edges. I snipped the shoulder straps,  joining them to go around my neck, and added ties for my waist.

Now instead of a sundress, I have a memory-filled apron...just in time for the holiday baking season! 





Linking to...

Round Two of the {Autumn} Dress

The momentum is going now.  Without it, I'm sure I would have declared the dress too small long ago. I mean, come on.  She's worn it every season, starting last summer and continuing into fall.  The we stretched it into a winter dress...and then spring...and summer.  Surely, it's too small now, but really, it's not. 

It is getting a little short, though, even as a tunic so for the autumn version, I wanted to add a bottom ruffle.  Not being an experienced seamstress, I wasn't sure I could do it, but I borrowed my mom's machine, set aside a few hours to work, and was pleasantly pleased with my results. 

Having given the border my all, I decided this season's embellishment needed to be ultra-simple so I stitched a oversized yo-yo from an old T-shirt and tacked down a button, creating an autumn flower.

It was also time to replace the button on the back-- replacing the green button with a clear, glittery flower button. 

While she models it the next couple of months, my mind will be spinning, thinking of the next design.  Gotta keep it going...

Linking to...

The Dress Project Round-Up and Winners!

The Dress Project: Summer Challenge has come to a close.  I enjoyed seeing everything from T-shirts to shorts to dresses being re-made and re-fashioned.  I love that we saw children's clothing and adults', boys' clothing and girls'. 

Now comes the fun part-- the prizes.  Two random entries will be rewarded for their creativity!

Allyson's Modest Toddler Skirt wins Prize #1,  a $30 fabric store credit from Vintage Linen Love .  Congratulations, Allyson!

Hannah's Maternity Shirt Makeover wins Prize #2, a fat quarter bundle from Southern Fabric.  Congratulations, Hannah!

Of course, for me, the Dress Project is far from over.  I still plan to redo Alaine's simple polka dot dress until it goes to the rag bag.  I'm in the process of getting it ready for its fall debut now!   Looks for photos sometime in September. 

Final week of "The Summer Challenge"

The Dress Project: Summer Challenge is coming to a close.  The last day to enter is next Friday, August 31st.  I'd love to see us hit 15 entries and we're almost there! 

Babychaser took a new angle on remaking a dress.  Instead of re-doing an individual dress, she made a petticoat to be worn under many dresses.  And because she used an old crib sheet for the petticoat skirt, she did it economically, too. 

To see more on Babychaser's Upcycled Petticoat, click on the photo.

My mom and littlest sister also remade a dress this summer.  They started with  plain Jane denim dress.  My mom added a pop of color to the belt while Bekah crafted a few interchangeable embellishments. 

 To see Before and Afters, click on the photo above.

Remember when I said at the beginning of  The Dress Project: Summer Challenge that this was about self-expression so your project didn't necessarily need to be a dress?  Well, my little (but not littlest) sister re-made a pair of worn jeans into Bermudas.  Yay for creativity!

To see the original post, click on the photo.

Won't you consider joining us for the last few days of  The Dress Project?   

More Dresses

The Dress Project: Summer Challenge wraps up in less than 3 weeks and the entries are still coming in.  (To see them all in one place, click here and scroll to the bottom.) 

Hannah e-mailed me months ago and told me how much she enjoyed watching the progression of Alaine's dress...because her daughter had the same dress! She went on to say that she had been inspired to remake her daughter's, much like I was doing for Alaine's.  Hannah's e-mail is what inspired me to open up the Summer Challenge to all of you.  I figured there were others out there who could come up with creative ways to stretch the life of their children's clothing. 

I was excited to finally be able to see what Hannah had done with THE dress. She obviously has a few more sewing skills that I have (see her Etsy shop) so she sewed a button hole on the dress, making it easy to switch accessories in and out often. 

Click on photo for instructions and more photos of Hannah's project.

Allyson has really gotten into the spirit of stretching the life of clothing this summer.  Her third entry to The Dress Project involves a too-small T-shirt, a too-big skirt, and a discarded bow.

Hannah also  took a discarded skirt and transformed it into a "new" dress for her daughter. 

 For details on either Allyson's (left) or Hannah's (right) dresses, click on the photos above. 

Are you working on an entry for The Dress Project?   (Eighteen more days...)  Don't forget about the lovely prizes! 

$30 store credit to Vintage Linen Love

fat quarter bundle from Southern Fabric