Buzzmills

Coffee + Thread Blog Tour: Ania Tunic, Mulberry Tunic and Wild and Free Lounge Pants...

I'm so excited to be a part of the Coffee & Thread pattern tour today!  

I'm a big fan of Olga and her patterns!  I've already made several different pairs of the the Wild and Free Lounge Pants, two different Eleena dresses, and, one of my personal favorites, Violet's Antalya dress.  Needless to say, when Olga asked me to be a part of this blog tour I eagerly accepted!  

One of the reasons I love Olga's patterns first, they are so well done!  But, second, and perhaps the most important to me, is that she makes patterns that my nine year old wants to wear!  Coffee & Thread patterns are so great for this age...almost preteen.  The fit, is always spot on, which can sometimes be challenging at this age.  And the patterns really appeal to both mom and kid...classic, with a hint of vintage, but also so easy to wear! 

So, with all of my gushing about the patterns, of course that meant that I waffled back and forth on which to actually sew!  I had hoped to make a Polina dress, which still might (though my time is running out) happen for Easter...but for the tour I thought it might be fun to make something for both Violet and Henry!

Really, the inspiration came when Violet and I made a trip to Finch Sewing Studio and she picked out this adorable and oh soft soft chicken fabric from Birch Fabrics, I knew it'd be perfect for an Ania tunic.  As it turns out...also perfect for my kiddos...as I refer to them as my "chickens" all the time.

I love this tunic.  It's really the perfect Spring top, breezy and flowy like a dress...

and it pairs perfectly with the Wild and Free Lounge pants, or in this case, shorts...

The shorts are a soft and comfy interlock knit from Cloud9 which I bought here from Imagine Gnats.  

It's really just the perfect Spring outfit! 

Violet was thrilled by the whole ensemble and couldn't/wouldn't stop gushing over it.  

I'm so happy she likes it.  And, I love how it simultaneously makes her look older while still looking like a nine year old!

For Henry...well, initially I wasn't sure I was going to make him anything...but then, as I mentioned earlier..."chickens".  I couldn't not make him something with this amazing chicken fabric!  So I planned a Mulberry tunic for him.  But, then again, after making the Ania there wasn't actually much of the chicken fabric left to play with.  Fortunately I had this AMAZING yarn dyed cotton from Imagine Gnats (sorry the peach is all sold out!) that matched perfectly with the chickens!

I wish you could see and feel how perfect the texture of this fabric is and how light weight it is at the same time!  It really goes perfectly with the Mulberry tunic and as I mentioned, with the chickens too!  I had just enough chicken fabric for the front accent pocket, the back yoke...

and side pockets as well.  Speaking of pockets...Henry could not get over how many pockets he had in this one outfit!  FIVE, total!  He was overly excited about that number and couldn't quite figure out which pockets he ought to be using!

The Mulberry tunic was a crowd pleaser for sure, Violet has already requested one...the short sleeved version with a hood makes for an especially perfect Spring/Summer shirt.  Henry, honestly didn't want to ever take the hood down!

Aside from the fact that the pattern construction of this tunic makes for oh so many fun color blocking options...I also really love the sleeve construction.  Initially, I was a little bit confused as to what I was actually doing, but then...oh, wow, I love it!

The shorts, again are chopped down Wild and Free Lounge Pants they are made with amazingly cozy stretch french terry from Imagine Gnats and instead of hemming I just rolled the bottoms up once and tacked them at the side seam...giving them a little bit of "jeans cut-offs" look...

I'm so glad I decided and managed to make something for Henry too.  This outfit couldn't be any more perfect for him.

He was just so excited about it!

He kept thanking me over and over as he ran through the woods and hopped over mud puddles!

And you know...these guys actually still totally don't mind having things that kind of match...

I actually think they kind of dig it!  And I do too!

I think partly, it's because it makes them feel closer to each other...

Thanks so much for having me on the Coffee & Thread Tour Olga!  

Be sure to enter the giveaway below!  Also you can take 20% off ANY patterns in the Coffee & Thread shop! Use the code: coffeeandthreadtour

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Plus, don't forget to see what else is being made along the tour...so much goodness and inspiration!

April 3
Enjoyful Makes || Idle Sunshine || ZowieZo Handmade || Angie Burgett

April 4
Handmade Frenzy || Replicate Then Deviate || Fairies, Bubbles & Co || Coral + Co

April 5
Made By Sara || Naeh-Connection || The Bag of Unexpected || Circle Meets Line

April 6
Skirt Fixation || Sewing Like Mad || Hello Holli || Buzzmills ||

April 7
Little Cumquat || Thread Bear Garments || Pearl Berry Lane || Plus 2 is 5 || Sew Chibi 

April 10
Stahlarbeit || Knee Socks and Goldilocks || Bonnie and Lottie || Sew Sophielynn 

April 11
Mouse House Creations || While She was Sleeping || Mix it Make it || By Dagbjort 

April 12
Gaafmachine || Beletoile || LBG Studio || My Cozy Co  || As It Seams

April 13
Moineau & Petit Pois || Just Add Fabric || Sweeter Than Cupcakes || Frances Suzanne || Sew Liberated 

April 14
Stitched Together || S is for Sewing || Boevenbende || Lafolie Sewing Booth || Sew Pony ||
With Love By Eva 

Polymer Egg Cups...

Rainy, chilly days are really the perfect kind of days for family crafting aren't they?  With so many other family activities, sports, etc. in our lives nowadays we don't do it quite as often as we used to, but we still really enjoy it!

After we'd had our fill of bud vases, but not our fill of polymer clay crafting...we began to experiment a little.  Polymer clay is such a fun material to work with, soft and easily moldable for even small hands.  It's kind of like "grown-up" play-doh!  Grown up because you can bake it and keep it!  It's funny, I never quite enjoyed playing with play-doh, but polymer clay...I could twist and pull and mold and make with it for hours!  In fact, I/we did! 

It's really quite calming and a bit addictive too.

Being that we had just recently pulled out our Easter eggs and decorations the kids and I found ourselves inspired to make some eggs cups.  

Violet, began with a sweet little bunny egg cup...

Which turned out so well!

The single down turned ear was inspired, I think, by our bunny pillows.

And, the cutest part?

That little tail gets me! 

While she was toiling away on her sweet little Easter Bunny...I, began forming flower petal after flower petal...

To make a couple flower egg cup holders.

Henry thinks they look a bit like water lilies...

And, as I was making my flowers, he sat across the table observing my water lily making...and made his own!

We forget sometimes, or more to the point I forget sometimes, how enjoyable it can be to sit down and create quietly with the kids.  So often I find myself getting them set up to make something and then move on to whatever other thing I was working on, but, as it turns out, even bigger kids like to make alongside their grownups...

Afterward, both Violet and Henry, kept telling me, as they beamed with pride, how much fun they had.  Fun, because they were happy with what they made, but also fun because I was there making too...

It really was the perfect way to spend a rainy weekend morning...together and creating!

ps.  Want more polymer clay inspiration?  Or maybe more specifically Easter polymer inspiration?  

Or perhaps, some other fun Eastery things to do or create?

Enjoy!

Spring Bud Vases...

Last month I planned a trip to our local paint your own pottery studio with Violet's Brownie Troop to paint bowls for Empty Bowls Baltimore so that they could earn their "potter" badge.  We all had a ton of fun and the girls did an amazing job on their bowls, but it was hard for them (and me!) knowing that their bowls were going to be donated and not taken home with them to their homes.  

I promised that, at our next meeting, I'd have a "pottery" project that they could actually take home with them.  

Seeing that our meeting was being held on the first day of Spring I thought we'd make bud vases!

I brought along polymer clay, mostly white with a few select colors as well for adding bits of a color pop.  We used toothpicks, and bamboo skewers and dowels for smoothing and forming...

Everyone had a blast carefully crafting their own unique vases.  Once they were all made, I dashed back home (we only live 5 min. down the street from their meeting place) and baked them as they took care of some of Girl Scout agenda items...When I came back I surprised them by tucking a little flower into each of their vases...

They were all so excited and pleased with their vases!  It was a super simple project to do and...who doesn't love a little touch of fresh flowers around the house?

Of course, I should say, that these vases were made at home after the meeting together as a family, because...as soon as Henry got wind of what our project had been he too wanted to make some of his own!  I was happy to oblige and, as it turned out, it was the perfect rainy Sunday morning family project!

 

Bunny Pillows...

Nearly immediately after I finished last week's polka dot kitty cat pillow I had an idea...

All the pillow needed was an ear change and then, bunnies!

I used the cat ear pattern as a base and elongated them at the bottom.  The ears are made with two layers of felt (one sandwiched in the middle) and one of the polka dot quilting cotton, and...just because...mini pompom trim!  

The worked perfectly...though it seemed to me that one each ought to be the slightest bit folded over, so each pillow has one of it's ears stitched down in a folded position.  

The ears are stiff enough to stand up...

But, not so stiff that they aren't fun to snuggle with...

These bunnies are so sweet!  And, I have to admit...that they make me inordinately happy each and every time I walk past them!  I mean, those ears and that face!  

Between these little bunnies and last year's Kid Made Easter Egg pillows...

We are well and cozily decked out for Easter!