orange you glad I made houndstooth pants?

I think so.
But maybe I went too far.

Possible?
I kind of love them. 

But Casey said it's a bit like this:

"Let me put it this way....all the mom's at church are gonna say 'awwww' and all the dad's are gonna snicker, 'Casey let's his boy wear that??'"

I see his point.
And yea, they kinda look like pajamas (similar to the Big Stick Pjs I made in February).
And they kind of look like polyester slacks from the 70s.
But, but, but....the boy loves orange!
And on Saturday afternoon I realized that all of his church pants were either too short or had holes in the knees.  So orangey and houndstoothy it was!

I used the Basic Kids Pants tutorial with the flat front, front pockets, and back pockets (click a button for details):


And then I sorrrrrt of made orange piping around the pockets.
I didn't have piping, or piping cord to make my own.  So I thought, what if I cut the pocket lining slightly larger so when I sew the two pieces together and iron, the back layer sticks out a bit underneath to create a pop of color?

In theory it was gonna be awesome.
But it doesn't really work around the curves.  But it still looked kind of cool.  Make it work moment.

And when I was done he had some great-fitting flat front pants.  I love his skinny-bones.

And he loved the pants!

And totally owned it.  That's what style is all about, right?  Owning it and being comfortable in your own threads.

I feel a littel sewing pants since summer has more than arrived in Texas.  But....I'm currently working on a Kid Shorts pattern to sell!  It's top on the agenda!  So he'll get plenty of those as well. 

Boy oh boy, when did he start looking like a man?
A man who loves orange.
Happy Monday!

sewing for Senorita-ita

Not sure why I didn't think of this last week....but how cute would it have been to make mini-fiesta skirts for all the girls' dolls at Lucy's party??....be all matchy-matchy, senorita-y, ita-y.
I'm sure that's the proper term.
And I'm sure I would have stayed up till 3am too many nights sewing.
But.  Cute!

The mini-version didn't dawn on me till Lucy was invited to a birthday party for her friend and the theme was American Girl Dolls.  I noticed that her friend had worn her purple Fiesta Skirt (from Lucy's party) to school a few times, with an orange and white striped tank top.  And her mom said she loves that little skirt.   So....duh.  Doll clothes for the birthday girl!

And then because I just couldn't stop, I sewed a little outfit for Lucy's doll too.

It wasn't quite as involved as the wardrobe for Twinkles:

But I realized that I really love sewing doll clothes!  They come together so quickly and take so little fabric, it's hard not to love.

So, first I started with the fiesta skirt.  Thankfully I had about 1/4 yard of fabric leftover from the original skirt.  I sewed a couple trims to the bottom, added 1/2 inch wide elastic and done!

For the tank, I couldn't believe I had an orange and white stripey knit, similar to what her friend was wearing in real life.  Meant to be.  I sewed the shirt in three sections with a strip of velcro in the back.  And if it hadn't been such a slinky rayon knit it might look a little nicer.  But you appreciate my wonky moments, right?

Then we definitely needed accessories.  I made a miniature version of the Wallflowers using napkins, and hot-glued a hair clip to the back.

We stuck an Easter Egg Maraca in her hands and she was set!  Senorita-ita.  Ole!

Then we wrapped it up in a little box, so it felt like the boxed clothing sets at the American Girl store.
And her friend was as smiles when she opened it up and realized it matched her own skirt.  Yay!

For miss Lucy, or should I say....for her doll, Lexi (which was a gift from Grandma for her birthday ) I made another little tank and skirt.  I couldn't resist the big bow.

I surprised Lucy with the shirt (sewing it while she was sleeping)

And I asked for her input on the skirt.  She looked at the fabric and said, "hmmm.....3 gray buttons in the front."  Love her!  I was thinking the same thing.

Now Lexi's ready for her own summer party.

And now I keep thinking....maybe I should sell doll clothing patterns?

Seriously, I have so much fun making this stuff and I know you guys do too.  Would anyone be interested in that?

RECIPE: Lemon Lemon Cupcakes

I've never liked the old adage "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade"....cause when life gives me lemons, I wanna yell, freak yea! and then bathe in their juice (barring any paper cuts), eat lemon bars till I'm sick, and finish the affair with 24 ounces of lemon-berry slush. 

Dude.
Lemons.

Thank you for making the world smell, taste, and look better.

And thank you for giving me Lemon Cream Pie.
And now a gazillion of these in my kitchen (since I had to test the recipe 3 times to get it just right):

Yay!  Zesty bundles of yellow with soft fluffy lemon butter cream on top.
Mmmmm.  Seriously, this frosting alone is to die for.

And plus, these are all part of the Celebrate Mom series, since you and your mom probably love lemons too.  Let's start baking.

LEMON LEMON CUPCAKES
Makes 22-24 cupcakes (or 48 mini cupcakes)
Bake at 350 for 17-20 minutes (10-12 minutes for mini cupcakes)
You need appx 4 lemons for the recipe

3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks)
1 1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbl fresh lemon juice

2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1/3-1/2 cup lemon zest *

* NOTE: I prefer a lot of zing in citrus desserts.  So while my husband though 1/2 cup of zest was too much, I thought it was fabulous.  If you're a mild lemon gal, start with a 1/4 cup zest, taste it, and add more as needed.

Start by zesting a few lemons and squeezing the juice in a separate bowl.  Set both aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and lemon juice.
In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder,  and salt.
Add to flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix just until dry ingredients are incorporated.
Add the milk and lemon zest and mix again just till incorporated.

Line two cupcake trays with liners and pour 1/4 cup of batter into each cupcake (for mini-cupcakes, pour 1 Tbl of batter into each one)

Bake at 350 degrees for 17-20 minutes and allow them to cool completely before frosting (bake 10-12 minutes for mini cupcakes).

While the cupcakes cool, prepare the frosting.

LEMON ZEST BUTTER CREAM FROSTING
1 cup butter (2 sticks) at room temperature
3 Tbl milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp fresh lemon juice

6-7 cups powdered (confectioners) sugar
1/3 to 1/2 cup lemon zest (see note above) *

Let the butter soften to room temperature.
In a mixing bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer (I prefer a hand-mixer for frosting).
Mix in the milk, vanilla, and lemon juice.
Add 6-7 cups powdered sugar and mix.
Add the lemon zest and mix....and take a taste.
Add more sugar and/or zest, juice, or milk if needed.

When life gives you lemons...

...dollop them with frosting and enjoy!

————————————————————————–
This is part of Celebrate MOM, a series with gift ideas for moms and women.

Here’s what we’ve shared this week:
• Dishtowel and Napkin Totes
• Fabrics A to Z book Giveaway
• Dandelions Pom Poms
• the Vintage Pearl Giveaway 
• Tincan Caddy