First day of school: pepper linen + blue

I can't remember where I bought this fabric .  Because I have a growing pile of charcoal, dark gray, and pepper colored linen in my cabinet.  All from different sources; all looking lovely in a pile just waiting for me to sew.  I can't say no!


It's such a glorious color and weave combo.
It's like the weave itself is a pattern design.

So for Owen's first day of school, I pulled pepper gray from the beloved stash and sewed my boy some shorts. 

How is he getting so old?!
I released the KID Shorts pattern 2 summers ago....And now he looks like a teenager.
Okay.  Sort of.
He's still a goofy almost-8-year-old....who just the other day was teaching Lucy the old fart-noise-under-the-arm move.  Don't you love overhearing their conversations?  As if his methods were something new. 

And I know that KID shorts are nothing new---you see me sew them time and again.
But I guess that's the beauty of it.  I love sewing them again and again!
Check out all the options here:


For these shorts I made the Flat Front, with Front Pockets, and Piping, and Back Pockets.

I was so, so tempted to use orange-red piping on the pockets.  But that seemed too expected.  Haah.  Cause I know that's what you're thinking: Orange and gray.  Can she do it any other way?
Yes!  I really branched out here....blue!
Real revolutionary.

But I totally love it!
The color pops so well against the gray.
(If you've never worked with piping, watch my detailed video HERE)

And I couldn't believe it, but Owen finally moved up a size in the shorts pattern.  He graduated from a size 6 to a size 8!  This kid is growing fast, and usually just UP not out.  But I went for the size 8 so he can wear them for longer. 

Then I put it together with a simple Tee from Target and a new pair of tennies.  And the first day of school was ready to go.

It's funny to talk about shorts and school starting, since now it's rainy/pants weather.
But I feel nostalgic about the first day and loved putting my outfits together when I was a kid.  I've gotta document these moments for my kids too.

Happy 2nd grade Owen!
We love you little dude.

You can purchase the KID Shorts pattern with the button below (read all the pattern details here).

New VIDEO!: How to sew a Circle Skirt

Some of you have asked about MADE Everyday videos....and I'm happy to say that they're back!
I've missed posting about a few of them here on the blog.  So I'll catch up with that in the next while.  In the mean time, you can always watch them on the MADE Everyday Channel.
And if you subscribe, you'll get an email notification each time a new video is up!
Then you'll be all like:

And I'll be all like:

And together we'll be all like...WOW.
MOM.
Please tell me you used to do that with your hands in 3rd grade?
Or as an adult?

Okay.  Well this new video is a total classic. I took one of our most popular tutorials---the Circle Skirt---and brought it to life (with a little rockabilly music to get you dancing). 



Circle skirts are so, so simple to make and only require a little bit of math, which we'll walk through together.  I'll show you how to make a single layer skirt:

And a double-layer:

Then you'll be making them for any age, and any size.
AND.....you'll be using these skills to make costumes!  Mini Mouse?  Poodle Skirt?  50s girl?  Annie?
Yes. Yes.  and Yes.

Just hit play below and enjoy:

[tube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqNU0-ORkbA, 680,383[/tube]

 MADE EVERYDAY with Dana is a fresh new sewing show, where we create everyday items you will love and use.  
To watch other episodes:
• Click the VIDEO tab at the top or….
• Subscribe to my Youtube channel so you’re updated as soon as the episode goes live.

our favorite Halloween craft, every year.

Each September the kids start asking if we can pull out the Halloween decor.

Internally I groan...because I know it would run smoother if I pulled out the boxes at night (while they slept), and mentally inventoried the items in each box, decided where I'd like to place them in the house, and considered what we might add this year.

Then I realize how totally dumb and boring that sounds.

So I give in to the free-for-all....
With paper bats flying here and there.
Jack Skellington and Sally dolls being tossed like cat toys.
Shrieks of joy bursting from the kids as they rediscover treasures from yesteryear.
It's very Hallow-dramatic.

And never fail, once they spot the Little Rock Ghost Town it's all over.
"Ahhhh!  The ghost rocks!"
"Look! LOOK!"
They're suddenly engulfed in Ghost Town set-ups and story-lines. 

And in a funny twist of OCD fates,  I'm left alone with my box of decorations, to sort and scheme as I may.  Haah.  Life works in mysterious ways.
I'll chalk it up to Halloween karma.
And I'll make a mental note for next year to "pull the Ghost Town out FIRST."
Duh.

Do you guys remember this Little Rock Ghost Town I posted about a few years ago??
It is truly our favorite Halloween treat every year!
I might even like it more than the Christmas decorations.
Ahh!  Can I say that?

The kids will play with the houses and rocks for hours.
HOURS.
And each day I find the town set-up in different locations---on the kitchen table, by the fireplace, on the coffee table (which is my favorite because Lucy puts all the couch pillows on the ground so she's nice and cozy while they play).

There's a system for everything.
Not sure where she gets that....
heh heh.

And I'm not sure what's happening here.
But I'm glad she's loving it.

A few things have changed with our Ghost Town over the last three years; and some have remained the same.  The kids added a slew of new ghosts this year.  We found more rocks down by the river, sprayed them white, and drew more faces (more details here).  Lucy and Owen have characterized each ghost and given them names, based on people we know.  And they can remember the name of each stinkin rock when I ask them.   Our entire family is in there, there are cousins, random neighbors that live by my inlaws, people who live on our street here in Texas.  It's kind of hilarious.

Many of the ghost parents go to work in the Tower of Terror, which is now called "the office building". It makes me laugh when I overhear Lucy dishing out information, "this is Trevor's office...and that's for Andrew's dad" (people from our church and neighborhood)

We've also added more houses and buildings.  
Last year Owen used a shoe box to make the Candy Cantina (based on the Mos Eisley Cantina from Star Wars).

And this year, construction exploded.  We added four new places!  

Owen requested a location for his new ROCK Star to perform.  So we made the Rockin' Raven, complete with a catwalk in the middle for dancing and performing.

Lucy made the Creepy Courthouse, with green moss on the upper deck.

And I helped Owen construct The Little House which he decorated inside and out, with paintings on the wall and rugs.

Ahhh.  I love this project!
It's the best!
Better than carving pumpkins!
I might have as much fun making these as the kids.  I just love that you can take a simple granola bar box and turn it into a cute, usable toy.  I really have fun decorating them.   And it's all about the Sharpie marker details.  It's what brings a building to life.
This is such a great project for the whole family to enjoy.

We even had our babysitter join in.  Why have I not done that before??
She's super crafty.  So we left a blue painted oatmeal container for her last weekend while Casey and I went on a date.  And she turned it into this:

So, it's been a growing year for Little Rock Ghost Town.

Especially when I consider what Clara looked like when we first built these homes...and how big she is today, playing alongside the other kids.

And though the kids keep growing older, some things never change.
Lucy three years ago:

And Lucy today:

She is still such a kid.

She loves her Taylor Swift and other tween things....but she will play princess toys or little figures with Clara whenever she asks.  

Such a sweetheart.  

Okay. You've still got a few weeks left to make your own little Ghost Town (more tutorial details here).
Start rummaging through that Recycle Bin.
I know you'll ROCK this.

Lunar Eclipse from our Texas deck

Holy cow!
The Harvest Moon + Super Moon + Lunar Eclipse combo last night was outstanding!
And we caught it just at the right moment, on a bit of a whim.
Like the first time we saw the Austin bats....just hanging out on a deck and looked up to see a stream of black painting the sky.

We thought the eclipse was going to be later around 11pm/midnight.  But around 9:30pm Central time, Casey walked out on back deck and he immediately knocked on the window for me to come out.  And there she was, all gorgeous in her red gown....like she was going to Homecoming or something.

So I grabbed my camera and tripod and snapped as best as I could.
It was hard to grab focus because the moon itself was so dark.  But here you go.  From our Austin, TX backyard.
Canon 60D, 300mm zoom lens, f 5.6, ISO 800
I especially love the little scatter of stars.

Wow.  How vast is our universe.  How small is our own little world.
Another great reminder of the larger picture.

And just like that around 11pm, it was back to white.  It's cool to see the how the moon has rotated in just one hour.

And I hate to sound so silly by simplifying the obvious....but Space is truly amazing and fascinating!  Just like the internet.  And the human heart.  And cotton candy.

Were you able to see the moon last night??
I loved some of the shots floating around from the west coast, where the pink moon was floating in a pale sky of blue.  So cool! 

red + aqua Texas-Day Dress

I never understood the whole Texas Pride thing until we moved here.
I'd always heard about it.
I'd always wondered about it.
Everyone told me everything's bigger in Texas---(which might be true, especially the square mileage of dusty brown land). 

But once you come live here---or even just visit---you get it!
It's not an ego thing, or feeling like it's better than somewhere else.
And it's not because of that pretty brown grass I know you're jealous of below.   Believe me, I miss California grass and ants that don't bite every day.

It's just that Texans really, really love where they live!
And they want everyone to know it! ---and to come join the fun if you want! 
And if not, we'll eat an extra pound of brisket for you. 

Every Friday at my kids' school, after saying the Pledge of allegiance, and the Texas pledge, and having a moment of silence, they sing a version of "The Stars at Night are Big and Bright".  My favorite line is "living is fun in the Texas Sun...clap, clap, clap, clap.....here at our schoool in Austin!"

Because it is!
We have loved living here in this big land of Texas.  And I've written multiple posts about it here.  There are waterholes for fishing and swimming, football games for cheering, wildflowers for loving, and tons of great food and music for enjoying and date-nighting.    

And I love that my kids get to learn all about Texas at school.  I remember doing a similar thing in California---learning about the history, early settlers, the California Missions....and then making our own 3D mission from sugar cubes and cardboard.  Please tell me they still do that in school....

So for Clara's first "Texas Day" at preschool I gave her my own little version of Texas:

This is a variation on the First Day Dress, which I never seem to get tired of.  There are so many ways to mix it up!  I often think I should put together an "add-ons" package to go with the pattern....with more sleeve options, collars, etc.  Yay? Nay?

Changes I made to this version:
• front and back necklines are cut lower.
• puff sleeves with bias tape binding and elastic strung through the binding.
• gathered skirt, rather than the circle skirt included in the pattern.
• back ties, rather than button closure.

Gingham was a little cliche, but who doesn't love a picnic tablecloth on a tiny body?...mixed with aqua and wildflowers?

Then we threw it together with red boots, which I bought at a thrift store years ago, and which she insisted on putting on herself, and which totally fell apart at school so I glue-gunned the sole back to to the boot for our photoshoot.

The best part about the dress: she loves it.
And wears it almost every week to church.

The best compliment this little cowgirl could give me.
Have a great week my friends!

And thank you, thank you for your kind and honest words in the last post.  It's taken me a couple weeks to shake things off and get back in my groove.  So I appreciate your love.

In the words of Tim Riggins,
Texas Forever.