Elise came home from school the other day saying she wished she had a HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS! I asked her why, and she started telling me excitedly about this assembly at school, and how she would get a little water bottle if she brought enough money (like probably a HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS!). And she knew exactly what she would do with her little water bottle, put it on her bike and if she gets thirsty while riding her bike, she could just drink out of the bottle, and WOULDN'T THAT BE PERFECT?
Yes, Elise, that's very exciting, but what is the money for?
They give it to the people who have sick hearts, she says.
I checked her backpack and luckily the school sent home some information about this fund raiser. It's a good thing they don't rely on the 5-year-olds to pass on accurate information!
Anyway, they are having a Jump Rope for Heart event in a couple weeks, and the kids are raising money for the American Heart Association.
I helped her donate $5, which is enough to earn that little water bottle. But if she can raise a little more, she can earn a jumprope and maybe even a t-shirt. The deadline for fundraising is March 3rd.
If anyone out there feels like giving a little to a good cause, Elise would sure appreciate it.
You can donate online through Elise's Donation Page, or you can contact me if you want to send a check (made out to American Heart Association).
Friday, February 19, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
T-Shirt Princess Dress Tutorial
We love these t-shirt dress-ups.
They are fairly easy and cheap to make, modest, machine washable, durable, easy-on, and easy-off.
Today my sis-in-law Krista asked me to explain how I make them. It was really hard to put into words over the phone, so I decided to make one today and take pictures as I went.
First, you need to measure the little girl you're making one for. In this case the measurements (Krista's daughter's) were: shoulder (or collar) to waist=11", waist to floor=17".
Next, you need a T-shirt sized to fit your little princess. Cut off the bottom of the shirt about 1/2 inch below where you want the waist. I cut mine 11.5" down from the shoulder.
Now measure your t-shirt across the waist (mine was 12"). Double this number (24"). Divide by pi (3.14), which gave me 7.6". Don't round up! That is the radius of your waist hole.
Now, you need a rectangle of fabric big enough to make the skirt. Figure out how long you want your skirt, including the seam and hem (mine is 16"). Now add the radius of the waist hole to the skirt length (7.6+16). Round up (24") and that's the width of your rectangle. The length of the rectangle will be twice that (48"). So my rectangle in this example is 24"x48".
Here is the easiest way I discovered to cut that half-donut shape. Fold your rectangle in half to make a square. Now fold the square in half diagonally to make a triangle. Two edges of this triangle will have folds. Fold the triangle so the "fold" sides meet, making an even pointier triangle. Think about making a snowflake out of paper.
Now, you want to measure your radius from the point of this triangle, which will make the half-donut hole. I cut off 7.6" (my radius) from the point. Unfold the piece you cut off. If it is shaped like a half circle, hooray! You did it right!
Now, keep your "snowflake" folded. You're going to measure the length of your skirt (remember mine was 16"), from the edge you just cut. Measure (16") along each fold, make a mark. Cut a straight line connecting your 2 marks.
Unfold this piece. Hopefully it is the shape we were after!
Okay, so now you have a cut off t-shirt and a half-donut of skirt fabric.
You need to sew the center back seam of the skirt. I like to do a French seam so it won’t fray. Line up the 2 straight edges, WRONG sides together, and sew 1/4” from the edge. Turn the skirt inside out. Now with the RIGHT sides together, sew again 3/8” from the edge. Your 1/4” seam should be encased in the 3/8” seam.
Pin the waist of the shirt to the waist of the skirt, RIGHT sides together. I like to sew it with a straight stitch at 3/8”, and then go back and do a zigzag on the edge of my seam allowance
Finish your hem, add embellishments (like a ruffle on the sleeves and shiny rick-rack trim), and VOILA! A t-shirt dress fit for a princess.
They are fairly easy and cheap to make, modest, machine washable, durable, easy-on, and easy-off.
Today my sis-in-law Krista asked me to explain how I make them. It was really hard to put into words over the phone, so I decided to make one today and take pictures as I went.
First, you need to measure the little girl you're making one for. In this case the measurements (Krista's daughter's) were: shoulder (or collar) to waist=11", waist to floor=17".
Next, you need a T-shirt sized to fit your little princess. Cut off the bottom of the shirt about 1/2 inch below where you want the waist. I cut mine 11.5" down from the shoulder.
Now measure your t-shirt across the waist (mine was 12"). Double this number (24"). Divide by pi (3.14), which gave me 7.6". Don't round up! That is the radius of your waist hole.
Now, you need a rectangle of fabric big enough to make the skirt. Figure out how long you want your skirt, including the seam and hem (mine is 16"). Now add the radius of the waist hole to the skirt length (7.6+16). Round up (24") and that's the width of your rectangle. The length of the rectangle will be twice that (48"). So my rectangle in this example is 24"x48".
Here is the easiest way I discovered to cut that half-donut shape. Fold your rectangle in half to make a square. Now fold the square in half diagonally to make a triangle. Two edges of this triangle will have folds. Fold the triangle so the "fold" sides meet, making an even pointier triangle. Think about making a snowflake out of paper.
Now, you want to measure your radius from the point of this triangle, which will make the half-donut hole. I cut off 7.6" (my radius) from the point. Unfold the piece you cut off. If it is shaped like a half circle, hooray! You did it right!
Now, keep your "snowflake" folded. You're going to measure the length of your skirt (remember mine was 16"), from the edge you just cut. Measure (16") along each fold, make a mark. Cut a straight line connecting your 2 marks.
Unfold this piece. Hopefully it is the shape we were after!
Okay, so now you have a cut off t-shirt and a half-donut of skirt fabric.
You need to sew the center back seam of the skirt. I like to do a French seam so it won’t fray. Line up the 2 straight edges, WRONG sides together, and sew 1/4” from the edge. Turn the skirt inside out. Now with the RIGHT sides together, sew again 3/8” from the edge. Your 1/4” seam should be encased in the 3/8” seam.
Pin the waist of the shirt to the waist of the skirt, RIGHT sides together. I like to sew it with a straight stitch at 3/8”, and then go back and do a zigzag on the edge of my seam allowance
Finish your hem, add embellishments (like a ruffle on the sleeves and shiny rick-rack trim), and VOILA! A t-shirt dress fit for a princess.
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