Simple Shirred Sun Dress

During the ages of 3 -7, many girls go through the stage of wanting to have outfits that match their dolls. That is probably why American Doll is so huge! But with a little time, we can create that "matchy" look for our girls without having to spend tons of money!

My niece Clara turned six recently, and I wanted to make her a dress with a matching doll outfit as her birthday gift. She lives out of state, and since I couldn't try the outfit on her as I was making it, I decided a shirred sun dress would be the most forgiving for fit -- and last the longest as she grows! 

Lier on ikat bag gives excellent measurement instructions for making shirred spaghetti strap dresses. Her tutorial was wonderful to follow! Check out her tutorial here. Another tutorial I found after I finished making this dress was on Ucreate. On that site, Dragonfly Designs gives exact measurements for size 4 and size 6 shirred dresses if you don't want to do the math for those sizes. Click here to check out Ucreate's tutorial.

For the doll dress, I just measured the chest of an 18 inch doll, and multiplied that by two for my width. For the length, I measured from her armpits to right below her knee, and added an inch for the top and bottom hemming.

(If you don't know, shirring is done with elastic thread. It is super easy to use, so don't be afraid. Disney on Ruffles and Stuff gives a great tutorial for how to shir if you need some help!)

Since I couldn't try the dress on Clara, I was nervous about the straps turning out too long or too short, so I decided to make four long straps that could be tied in bows over the shoulder so her mom could tie them to make the dress fit perfectly.

And for the finishing touch... sweet pink rick rack along the bottom hem. I think that was my favorite part! 

The fabric used for this dress came from JoAnns in the juvenile apparel fabric area. I love how it is cotton, but thicker than quilting cotton. It also is wrinkle resistant! Love that. :)

Now Brooklyn wants a dress for herself and her doll Josiah (remember Josiah from the doll sleeping bag tutorial and de-tangling doll hair post??? lol). 

But first, I need to catch up on a couple of other birthdays I've missed. Time needs to slow down!!! :)

Linking up to these parties

Fudge Cookie S'mores

When I got my sewing machine last summer, Scott got to pick out a "toy" for himself. He purchased a fire pit. He loves sitting outside on our driveway at night, watching the fire and often roasting a few marshmallows for s'mores. I like to tease him about his "fire obsession," and his friends may soon block his number to stop his texts asking if anyone wants to come over for a "fire." (just kidding, Babe! We all love you!) I admit that it's a calming way to spend the evening and the girls LOVE sitting outside with Daddy by the fire! My only complaint is having to keep all those marshmallows, graham crackers, and Hershey bars on hand for the s'more making sessions!!! Enter our latest and greatest invention (partly inspired by our neighbor Lori!):

THE FUDGE COOKIE S'MORE:

Are you drooling yet? These taste awesome, believe me! And they are much easier to put together than opening the graham cracker bags, breaking the chocolate bar, and balancing them all together so you don't drop anything until you get the marshmallow sandwiched between. I'm actually not a huge fan of tradditional s'mores, though I like the graham cracker, chocolate, and roasted marshmallow separately. But eating these cookie s'mores evenly distributes the chocolate over the "cracker," making each bite absolutely delicious. Try it and see!

We used Keebler Fudge Striped Cookies, and their new Dark Chocolate Cookies were the bomb! My absolute fav!!! Aldi also has an off brand if you shop there, making these s'more treats even more affordable.

Putting these together is simple. You roast your marshmallows until they are sagging off your stick, reaching a gooey, golden perfection.

 

Then carefully place your marshmallow in between two cookies.

YUM!

Some of the marshmallow squeezes out the top hole. The girls thought this was really funny!

Some of the chocolate melts onto fingers, as you can see. Make sure you have some baby wipes or paper towels nearby! 

This one just ate cookies. She doesn't like marshmallows...weird kid! And no I still haven't been able to get all the chocolate out of this shirt. :(

And as Scott likes to say, all fires end in tears and baths because children are tired and dirty! But for some reason, that doesn't deter him from saying almost every night, "How about a fire???"

So go ahead and pick up a package of fudge cookies and marshmallows (or just come on over some evening... I'm sure Scott would be happy to have company). You'll be hooked on these awesome s'mores, I promise!

 

Linking up to these parties

Brooklyn's K4 Graduation

Brooklyn graduated from K4 this week! We are so proud of all she has learned this year. And if you think that we shouldn't make a big deal about finishing K4, our district doesn't do a graduation for Kindergarten (K5) so this ceremony is all we get! :)

 

Just a few months ago Brooklyn was starting out this year, which I wrote about here and here. And now look at her!

On Wednesday, the K4 morning classes had their "Branching Out" ceremony. The theme was "It's a Wonderful World."

cute stage decorations

I added an arrow to help you find her ;)

Isn't that a crazy amount of four year olds??? And to think they have the same amount of kids in the afternoon classes! Insane.

The kids said the pledge of allegiance, the school pledge, and sang two songs (one of which was "What a Wonderful World," of course!) 

Then came the LOOOOOOOOONG part. They named each kid one-by-one, and each child walked to the principal sitting on stage as their name was called, shook hands with the principal, and then paused for a parent to take the picture. It took an hour to get through all these kids! I was so impressed with all of them for sitting so patiently! 

Then, since the kids are then divided up between four different elementary schools in the district, they placed a leaf on the tree that designated the elementary school they would be attending in the fall. It was kind of sad that only three of the kids in Brooklyn's actual class were going to be in her elementary school next year. But I'm sure she'll make new friends!

Brooklyn's new school: Marcy Elementary! -- Where Nana went to school as a little girl!

the other three girls had to get a picture in, too!

During the program, Lauren fell asleep, Cassidy sat beautifully (AMAZING!!!), and Selah... well, she kept running down the aisle to get on stage. And after each child's name was called, she yelled back at the principal. Definitely the loudest one there! Oh well. Can't have all of them behave perfectly at the same time now, can ya? ;)

We made sure to get a picture of Brooklyn with her teacher Mrs. Schultz. This lady was so impressive. I was amazed every time I went to help in the classroom with how quietly she controlled all 23 kids in the class. She was kind, but kept the kids in order at all times. I hope all of Brooklyn's teachers are as proficient and sweet!

And to conclude the festivities.... we stopped at Dunkin Donuts and made it a "Donut Day!" This is the girls' favorite surprise.

Brooklyn,

You did a fabulous job in K4! I know it was hard to get up and go to school every day this year, but you were a trooper. You made new friends, came out of your shell a bit, and learned so much -- even how to read and do some simple math problems! Daddy and I are so proud of you. We are sad that next year you will go all day to K5, but we know you will be learning lots of new things and growing up is a good part of life. We are having fun watching you get bigger and smarter, except now you are starting to figure out when Daddy and I spell secret words to each other... uh oh!

Mrs. Schultz is proud of you, too. This is a little bit of what she wrote in your progress report:

Brooklyn has a quiet personality, but when she gives one of her big smiles I know all is well. She seems to enjoy school and I have loved having her in my class this year. As a teacher it is so fun to watch students like Brooklyn who love to learn new things! Brooklyn, I wish you a wonderful summer and a fantastic year in K5. Your new teacher will be very lucky to have you! Love, Mrs. Schultz

Now we are going to make the most of this summer and have lots of fun times together! Are you ready?

Love you so much,

Mommy

Mother's Day Hike

My family has a long-standing tradition for Mother's Day -- we go hiking. How is that relaxing to my mother? I don't know, but it is what we do! And, guess what?!! She looks forward to it. Mostly because all her nine children make sure to be there, unless some huge conflict exists -- like my brother Mark stationed in Japan for his service in the Marine Corps. His absence was excused this year... not liked, but excused! 

Where we hike varies at times, but most years we go to the Scuppernong Trail in the Kettle Moraine Forest. This year we did the super long trail -- over four miles! But the weather was gorgeous, and the company exceptional. Though some protested the length, everyone made it to the end... even Sean. ;)

As in previous years, this hike included Dad pointing out the poison ivy...

lots of hand-holding....

a walk down "the wedding aisle" path...

beautiful scenery...

 kids bumming rides off the adults...

 family pictures at the "Look Out Point"...

Cassidy trying to sneak into Uncle Aaron and Aunt Mimi's family ;)

 

Austin and his daddy :) -- mommy had to work

Sisters

With the amazing woman who birthed us all...

other fun pictures along the way...

 

Aaron passing bits of wisdom on to Clayton :)

Not sure why I'm not smiling...

tree climbing....

and softball.

After the hike, we went to Marty's Pizza and polished off a Colossial Sized pizza -- 14" x 48" That was a huge pizza, and there wasn't a single piece left! Imagine if Mark would've been there. We would've had to order the one that was 60 inches long! :)

I didn't get any pictures of the pizza eating, except this cute shot of Selah Renee' running around the restaurant. Her poor eye got injured on the trail, but she still had fun on her first Mother's Day hike!

I love my family. We are so blessed! Thanks for reading and sharing these pictures with me. :)