Still Bzzing...this time it's shampoo!

So, today's bzz is all about the new garnier Fructis Hydra recharge shampoo, conditioner and 1-minute moisture treatment!  As a bzz agent, it is my job to try out the products, and share my honest opinion about said products!  To do this, I receive a very generous bzz kit containing, in this case, full size samples of the shampoo, conditioner, and treatment...YAY!

Not to mention, I now have coupons to share with those of you who are lucky enough to cross my path!

I will start by saying that I have not been a Garnier Fructis fan in the past, not that their products are bad, but mostly that they aren't great...

One of this products claims to fame, or at least uniqueness is the fact that the shampoo is infused with tiny moisture beads...

You can actually see and feel the beads, but they quickly dissolve in the water.  Although they give the shampoo an interesting look and texture, I didn't notice any extra moisturization or special effects produced by the beads so I'm not impressed. 

I will say, and I have no idea if it has anything to do with those beads or not, that the shampoo smells awesome, fresh and clean and just a little fruity!

The 1-minute moisture treatment says to apply it from roots to tips, which I don't normally do because of greasiness.  For the sake of testing the product, I did follow the instructions, and surprise surprise, my hair was weighed down and a bit greasy...

Using it on just the ends of my hair eliminated the greasy problem, but I have to say I still wasn't impressed with the moisturization, it's not that the products don't work exactly, it's just that they aren't anything special, 

So my final eval is that the Garnier Fructis Hydra Recharge system is just ok, not bad, but not outstanding.

TADA!!!!

Even though I didn't make it to the second round of the Sew-vivor competition, I'm still a winner because I created this gorgeous emerald romper for Gigi just in time for Spring and St Pat's and you win too because I managed to put together a tutorial to share!
(Even if you aren't interested in making your own, stick around for the super cute Gigi photos at the end of the post!)

 Forgive me, Kermit, but it is glorious being green!

Surprise!  It all starts with this...an emerald green dress shirt donated to me by Grandpa Painter!

But we'll get back to the dress shirt in a moment, first we must make a pattern!
Take a pair of shorts and trace them (front and back) being sure to add a 1/2" for seam allowance.  Then extend the lines from the waist up (I measured the length of Gigi's torso and added 2" so it would be nice and loose)

Cut the pieces apart so that you have the shorts section and the top section...

Create the other half of the top piece so that it looks like the picture above...

make a small rounded cut for the arms (we will be making a stretchy neckline that will also be the top portion of the sleeve, so there will be some forgiveness here even if you make the arm hole a bit small)

Ok, time to perform a little surgery on that dress shirt!
Start by carefully removing the pocket with your seam ripper...

Then go ahead and cut the shoulders and neck away...

next pin and cut your shorts pieces from the bottom portion of the shirt...

I wanted to use the existing hemline from the dress shirt so I pinned the pattern pieces to the shirt where I wanted the hem to be...

Return to the upper portion of the shirt and sew both sides of the button opening closed.
For some reason I didn't take a picture of the next step, but it is very simple, place your top pattern piece on the upper part of the dress shirt, being sure to line up the center with those buttons, and cut the front and back pieces out...

Pin and sew along the curved edge of both shorts pieces...

Open them up and laying the right sides facing, pin along the waistline...

Make sure you pin the back shorts piece to the back top piece and the front to the front :)

Now lay your front piece on your back piece with right sides facing and pin and sew up the sides!

Now all you need to do is pin and sew the inner leg pieces together!

Time to make the neckline and the sleeve finishes!

The neck piece should be about 32-36" long depending on the size of your romper (Mine was a 2t so the neckline was 36")

And simply measure your sleeve opening to get the length for those pieces (Mine were about 8")

Since I wanted to use 1/2" elastic inside the neck piece, I cut my piece about 3 1/2" wide, the sleeve pieces should be considerably thinner, so 1- 11/2" wide is fine.

Now simply press your pieces into bias tape!  (Need a refresher on how to make bias tape?  Click HERE the instructions will be about halfway down the post)

 To attach the sleeve finishes, pin the bias tape all the way along the sleeve opening and sew it in place using a 1/4" seam allowance.

Now, before we attach the neckline we have another small detail to take care of...

the waist!  

To cover the seam where the top meets the shorts I created a 2" wide strip long enough to go all the way around the waits and over lap by about 1".  The strip should be 2" wide so that when you press the sides under by 1/2" the final piece ends up being 1" wide (like creating bias tape, but stopping before the final step)

Pin and sew the piece in place using 1/4" seam allowance, and leave a 2" opening at the end to allow for elastic insertion this will give some definition to the romper!

And finally, it's neckline time!

Take the two ends of your neck piece and open them up, pin them together with right sides facing (make sure they aren't twisted!) and sew them together, refolding the piece once you're finished...

So now you should have one large circle of bias tape!

pin and sew the tape in place leaving a 2" opening at the back for elastic insertion!

TADA!!!

And what do you think of your new romper, Gigi?...

Lets see that again!

And from the back?

New clothing must always be closely inspected...

And properly accessorized...

But there comes a point where pictures are no longer appreciated...

"Dop, mommy, dop!"

Sigh... :)

Hello Spring!

So, Spring Sprung a few days ago, and we decided to take ourselves out to the backyard for some fun in the sun!

For Noah, that meant a picnic with his new stack of library books...

For Gigi, that meant sliding down the slide...

So, Noah read...

And Gigi...

rejoiced!

And, Noah read...

And Gigi found some left over snow to play in...

Occasionally, Gigi would check on Noah...

But then she was back to generating her own entertainment...

Finally, Noah was coaxed away from his pursuits of the mind...

And all was right with the world!

Happy Friday, everyone!

Flirty Little Dress Shirt Skirt...Say that 5 times fast!

So, I didn't make it into the top 10 of the Sew-vivor contest, but the competition was fierce and I wish the competitors the best of luck!

I actually had such a great project planned for the Emerald round that I will go ahead and make it anyway and post the tutorial so we can all be winners!

In the mean time, I have a great up-cycle project for you to try!  

Ignore, if you can, the cute little baby belly, and focus on the sweet little skirt!

Love it?  Want to make one?  Here's how...

It all starts with this, a regular dress shirt donated by a very generous grandpa!

Measure your subject to get the preferred length for the skirt (Gigi is a 2T and I cut the shirt at 10" knowing that I would add another inch with the custom waistband)

Step one is to sew both sides of the button up front closed...

After the holidays, I snagged these spools of tulle for super cheap, so I used some of the pink to give the skirt some extra fluff, but this part is optional!

I measured out two strips of tulle the same size as the skirt portion, and folded one of the pieces in half length wise.  I then sewed the folded piece to the bottom of the unfolded piece...

Next I sewed the tulle together on the short ends to make it a circle...

I measured the tulle before sewing it to make sure that it would be the same size as the shirt piece...

Forgive me, but I didn't take a picture of this step, the above picture shows the waist band already attached, but imagine that the waist band isn't there...simply place the tulle inside the shirt skirt and sew them together all the way around!

Ok, now for the waistband itself...

Create a wide piece of bias tape, I wanted to use 3/4" elastic, so I cut a piece 3 1/2" wide and long enough to go all the way around the waist of my skirt with just a little extra for overlap.

Then I turned that piece into bias tape seen above.  (Need a refresher on how to make bias tape?  Click HERE you will find the bias tape instructions about halfway down the blog post :)

Now simply open up the ends and sew them together, refold them and you should have a bias tape circle that is the same size as the waist of your skirt!

Sew the band in place using a 1/4" seam allowance and be sure to leave a small gap at the back for inserting the elastic!

To give the waist a little more interest and style, I also sew along the top edge using a 1/4" seam allowance, but this step is optional as well!

Now insert that elastic and prepare to be amazed!  (measure your little one's waist and subtract an inch or two to get the perfect elastic length)  The best part is that since we used the existing hem of the shirt, it has a unique wavy bottom, and we don't have any extra hemming to do!

I love how it poofs out just a bit!

Hmmm, looks like we might need to get a larger shirt...hello belly!

Just look how our model demonstrates the flexibility of the skirt...

and just look at how comfortable it is...

But really, the wow factor is that all that awesome cuteness was created in less than an hour!

She looks impressed, doesn't she?!