Little Kids Grow | Mommy Motivation/ Sewing & Design InspirationLittle Kids Grow | Mommy Motivation/ Sewing & Design Inspiration

Sewing the Trends 2013

June 19, 2013 by | 10 Comments

Hi everyone!

Today I’m sharing a post with the lovely, Justine from Sew Country Chick. She’s doing this fantastic series called Sewing the Trends (Summer 2013) Fun, right?

I have to admit that I had no clue what was “in” this season. I was a complete fashion fanatic growing up. Now, not so much. A quick glance at InStyle magazine in the grocery store line is about as close as I get these days to staying up on the trends. That’s why I was excited to hang out with Justine for her series. I got to sink back into fashion mode for a quick minute and explore all the fun stuff that’s out this year.

There were so many trends for this summer that after awhile my head started to spin, but the one that really stuck out for me was pattern mixing. I love the unexpected kick that varying patterns give a look.

I self-drafted two pieces. The first is a hi-lo top. It’s made of a lightweight “flowy” cotton. It has an open mandarin style collar and a single button closure in the back. I wanted the back to open up, so I paired it with a nice tank underneath. The second piece is a pair of shorts. This is a heavier cotton (maybe vintage?) that I picked up at an estate sale a few years ago. The front has a flat front waistband and box pleats with an elastic back. I can’t remember the last time I wore shorts, so drafting a pair was a lot of fun.

Thanks for stopping by today.
(And, thank you Justine for the fantastic series!)

Keep doin’ what you love,

Shannon

Coming Up Next . . .

June 17, 2013 by | 0 comments

Hi friends. I hope you had a fantastic weekend! Ours was nice and relaxing. Spending extra time with my hubby and dad (grandad) on Father’s day is always special. I even got to squeeze in an impromptu “mommy nap” Ahh, so refreshing.

Little Kids Grow has been a little quiet on the surface because there’s LOTS going on behind the scenes. I’m working on a new summer top for girls (yay!) which should be ready soon. I also have my hands in a few projects that you might be interested in:

Today on Motivation Monday, I’m talking about “Trust”. You can follow the link here.

Justine over at Sew Country Chick is doing a fun series called Sewing The Trends based on what’s “in” this summer. I’ll be hangin’ out with her this Wednesday. Today is the first day of the series. Stop by and see what’s new this season.

Melissa over at Melly Sews is having her 30 Days of Sundresses again this year. Have you seen any of the dresses? So cute and they all come with tutorials. I’ll be there on the 28th, but don’t wait. Head on over there and find some new sundresses for you and your little one.

And, yes, we’re still working on this driver’s cap pattern. My pattern testers are awesome and helping me to get this pattern just right. I look forward to sharing it with you soon.

Have a great week.

Keep doin’ what you love!

Shannon

Motivation Mondays: Love Talk

June 10, 2013 by | 0 comments

Whoa Hoo! I thought that title might get your attention.

(Altogether now)

L-O-V-E T-A-L-K

Ha! Ha!That’s fun to say.

I’ll be honest with you, when I think about the phrase “love talk”, I think about my sweetie pie hubby or those times when I cuddle with my kids and tell them how much mommy loves them. It makes them feel good to hear loving words, and it makes me feel good to say them! But what about ourselves? What kind of self-talk do you have going on in your head? Are your thoughts toward you loving and kind or are they hateful and mean? Do your thoughts sound more like:

Motivation Mondays is a weekly series posted at www.motivationmondays.org. I talk from a Christian perspective about my past struggles as well as triumphs in the hope that just as others have helped me along the way, my readers will find something beneficial to carry along with them throughout their week. I believe that community is important as well as honesty and transparency. Want to chat? Send me an email: littlekidsgrow (a) gmail (dot) com. My welcome mat is always at the door.

Boy’s & Hats! A Driver’s Cap (Testers needed)

June 7, 2013 by | 4 Comments

Happy Friday Friends!

For those of you that have been hangin’ out with me since I was a contestant on Project Run & Play (and before), you know that I love hats on kids. I think they are absolutely fantastic! They add so much style and personality to outfits and with just the right one, a child’s personality will shine!

I’ve had a few requests for a driver’s cap for boys (A great look for girls, too). But, let me tell ya! If it weren’t for the fact that I love hats as much as I do and will pretty much give any design challenge a try, I would have thrown in the towel and raised the white flag on this one. Ha! Ha! But, after a few bazillion tries, everything finally came together (Whew!)

This little driver’s cap will be another free bonus pattern offered to new and existing subscribers of the LittleKidsGrow monthly newsletter (Sign-up HERE). It is a fully lined cap that works well for medium weight woven fabrics. I haven’t tested the pattern with knit fabric, yet, but that will likely be an option. The hat requires interfacing and a sturdy material like buckram or something similar for the brim (You can use other materials for the brim like flexible plastic, but you’ll need to let the hat air dry if you wash it because it may not be dryer safe.)

This hat pattern is a little bit on the persnickety side. An intermediate sewer shouldn’t have difficulty (Advanced beginners who are comfortable attaching linings, interfacings and sewing around curves/angles should be fine as well).

I need testers for the following sizes:

small (19.5″/49.5cm) medium (20.5″/52cm) large (21.5″/54.6cm) extra-large (22.5″/57.2cm)

If you’d like to test this hat just let me know in the comments below or send me a lovely email at littlekidsgrow@gmail.com. Please include the size and whether it will be for a boy or girl. I’m looking for 5 additional testers for the small/medium sizes and 3 more testers for the large and extra-large sizes.

I should have the pattern out to all testers by this ~~Tuesday, June 7th and will need review responses (survey provided) and sample photos back by the following Wednesday, June 15th.~~ (I was looking at my May calendar, OOPS!) Tuesday, June 11th and need everything back (including pics) by the following Wednesday, June 19th.

(I will contact all testers by tomorrow.)

Thank you, lovlies!

Happy Day,

Shannon

Motivation Mondays: Hello Beautiful!

June 3, 2013 by | 0 comments

I have a dear friend of 23 years that I met our freshman year of college. (Uh oh, I’m dating myself here aren’t I?) Over the years we’ve grown to be more like sisters than friends. We live in different states, but somehow the miles and the years have brought us closer. Maybe life has just matured us and we appreciate, respect, and value each other more , or maybe we still can’t believe that those silly girls back in college turned into wives and moms that juggle careers and a house full of kids. (I’m still amazed)

The one thing that I truly value the most about our friendship is its transparency. It’s always refreshing when someone’s heart greets you before pretense. Our personalities are probably as different as night and day, but that never gets in the way of the honesty.

I can’t tell you how many times I was having a hard day, and. . .Read more . . . [Redirect to MotivationMondays.org]