The Cerena Dress Hack

Today I am so very excited to show you a little something I have been working on. The Cerena Dress Hack! Now the Cerena is already an absolutely AMAZING pattern all on it's own, but as soon as I made my first one it got my creative juices flowing and I just knew I had to give my first pattern hack a try. And I am completely in love with the results! To find out how to make your Cerena into a dress keep reading below:

First up, head on over to pick up your copy of the Cerena pattern and follow the instructions to figure out what size you will be needing, then print out the required pages. The only pattern pieces I used for this hack were the front and back top pieces. I used the measurements for the neck tie and my own measurements (that I will explain shortly) for the skirt piece.

Now, take your top back piece and on the left hand side measure 4" and mark. On the right hand side measure 3" from the elastic casing guide and mark, use a ruler to connect your two marks.

Now line the bottom of your top back piece up with your top front piece and transfer the mark. Repeat on the other side, use a ruler to connect your two markings.

Cut along the new measurements you have made on both the front and back top pieces, you will now have your shorter pattern pieces ready (Do not discard the pieces you cut off). Use these to cut out your front and back top pieces as per the Cerena pattern instructions.

Follow the instructions for the Cerena top until step 4.5. Do not insert your neck tie yet. We will insert it at the end to make adding the top to the skirt easier. When you are finished you should have a completed top piece.

Now for the fun part! Take the bottom of your top back piece and measure along the top and down one side. You will use these measurements for your skirt pieces.

Take the top measurement and double it(as your fabric is cut on the fold). Now depending on how twirly you want your dress, multiply this number by either 1.25 or 1.5 to get your skirt width. I went with less twirl so my measurement looked like this:

9x2x1.25= 22.5

Next, take your side measurement to the closest inch and double it, then add 1" to allow for hemming (If you'd like a more accurate fit then instead of this measurement you can measure your child from elbow to above the knee for your length number). Mine looked like this:

6x2+1= 13

Cut 2 of your skirt pieces (mine were 22.5 x 13") and sew with right sides facing with an overlocker down both short ends. You should now have one skirt piece.

Hem the bottom edge of your skirt piece. You can do this by either overlocking around the edge and then turning this up, pressing towards the skirt and topstitching; or by turning up 1/4" and pressing, then turning up another 1/4", pressing and top stitching.

Next, gather the top edge of your skirt. There is a GREAT tutorial for this in the Cerena pattern! With right sides together pin the edges of your skirt and top pieces together. The back of the top will need to be adjusted as you go to allow for the gathering created by the elastic.

Overlock around your pinned edge, then press your stitching up and press before topstitching. Now thread your necktie through and VOILA! You have yourself your very own Cerena dress!

If you make your own Cerena dress be sure to leave me a comment below and let me know how it went!

*This post contains affiliate links. It does not cost you anything if you click on them but I will receive a small commission if you do. This helps me maintain my fabric addiction and keep my blog running*

Confession Time!

So I have a small confession to make...

I have been a VERY bad blogger. Do you ever have one of those days where you had big plans but then time just slips away from you and before you know it the day is over? Well yeah, I had a few of those in a row... like 8 months worth!

But as of now that is all going to change! I am back for good now and there is BIG changes on their way. I couldn't be more excited for what is to come. As well as all my regular posts, look out for some sneak peeks very soon of some patterns I am lucky enough to be testing. I absolutely cannot wait to get started on those pretties!!

Be sure to check back real soon for some updates!!

Summer Is The Time For Sewing

It's getting to be my favourite time of year. The weather is starting to warm up and my creative sewing juices start to flow. I am looking forward to all of the beautiful things I can make. I absolutely cannot wait to sew up a storm.

But sadly, I cannot sew anything until I get my sewing room back up and running. Currently all of my sewing stuff is in boxes and bags just waiting for me to set up my new sewing space. It is going to be a HUGE job, but once it is done I will be so very happy.

In the meantime I thought I would share some pictures of my most favourite creations. Maybe this way I will be inspired to finish organising my sewing room organised faster!

The Elephant Set

This nappy cover and singlet set was a custom order and was an absolute pleasure to make! It was full of lace and layers of ruffles. I almost didn't want to let this one go! This set will definitely be making a comeback when I get my sewing room up and running again!

The Shirred Set

This set was another custom order for an itty bitty size 00. The finished product was so tiny, it has been a long time since my little ones have been that small! The little bloomers were designed to sit a little lower on the legs than regular nappy covers and the shirred top had plenty of room for growth.

The Ruffle Sunsuit

This sunsuit was hands down my absolute favourite make of last year! The photo just doesn't do it justice, it was so beautiful. I am regretting not buying any more of this fabric also because it is no longer available. Sunsuits will be another item that will definitely be on my "To Make" list for this year!

As well as bringing back plenty of old favourites I am planning on putting the finishing touches on some of my very own patterns. I am SO very excited for that. I will putting a call out at a later date for testers so watch this space if you are interested!

In the mean time I am off to get started on the chaos that is currently my sewing room. Wish me luck everyone! Hopefully I will be posting some newly sewn goodies very soon.

Home Made Play Dough - No Cooking Required!

There is two things I know for certain about play dough. Firstly, kids absolutely LOVE to play with it, mine have been known to spend hours creating and re creating to their hearts content. 

Secondly, kids LOVE to leave the lids off play dough! I have lost track of the amount of times I have stumbled across a container with no lid and a dried up little play dough rock in the bottom.

With that in mind I decided to tinker with my own recipe so that instead of having to go out and buy more play dough all the time I could just whip up a new batch and not be too upset when it was left out. If you'd like to try out making play dough for your little one keep on reading below.

You Will Need:

• 2 Cups Plain Flour
• 1 Cup Salt
• 1 Cup Water
• 1-2 Tablespoons Oil
• Food Dye
• Mixing Bowl

Method:

1. Mix flour and salt together in your mixing bowl.

2. Add oil and then water a little at a time as you hand mix, until you get play dough consistency. Add more flour or water if the mix is either too sticky or crumbly.

3. Separate into a few different portions and colour with food dye until you get the desired colour and there you have it! The most perfect, homemade play dough ever!

Ready For A Twist?

Add some glitter to your play dough mix for sparkly play dough fun!

*WARNING* 

If you are anything like me you WILL get glitter everywhere when attempting to add to the mix, but that is half of the fun!

Super Sneaky Spaghetti

Spaghetti has always been a favourite in our house. More often than not we will enjoy it at least once a week, and the kids love taking leftovers for school lunches during the colder months. It is definitely on my go to list of super easy meals!

As much as I love regular spaghetti I wanted to try out my own recipe that included as many vegetables as possible. With an avid vegetable hater in the house I have had to become very creative with adding vegetables to our meals, and so the Super Sneaky Spaghetti was born, and thankfully passed the picky eater test. He now asks for it all the time!

If you'd like to try the Super Sneaky Spaghetti for yourself then read on. Let me know if it passes your picky eater test too!

You Will Need:

• 500g Beef Mince
• 1 Zucchini - Finely Grated
• 2-3 Carrots - Finely Grated
• 4 Tomatoes - Roughly Chopped
• 375g Mushrooms - Finely Chopped
• 2-3 Garlic Cloves - Finely Chopped
• 1 Onion - Roughly Chopped
• 2 cups Beef/Chicken Stock
• 250g Tomato Paste
• Salt/Pepper To Taste
• Dry Mixed Herbs To Taste (Or fresh if you prefer)

Method:

1. Soften garlic and onion for 2 minutes. I added a dash of the stock to help it along.

2. Add zucchini, carrot and mushroom. Cook another 2 minutes or until everything has halved in size.

3. Add mince and season to taste with salt,pepper and dried herbs (if you'd prefer to use fresh herbs add them closer to the end of cooking.) and cook until mince is browned.

4. Add tomatoes, tomato paste and stock and mix in well. Cover and cook for at least 30 minutes (The longer the better).

5. Serve over pasta with a good sprinkle of cheese and there you have it! Super Sneaky Spaghetti that your kids will love, and they will never know how many vegetables are hidden inside.

*This recipe makes plenty for me to freeze half for another meal. If you aren't a fan of double batching then you can easily halve the recipe and have plenty to go around.

Ready For A Twist?

Try adding all of the ingredients to your slow cooker and cooking on low for about 5 - 6 hours. In the last 25 minutes add your uncooked pasta with another 1 to 1.5 cups of stock (enough to cover the pasta with about 2cm of liquid). You will end up with the most flavour filled pasta you have ever tasted! 

Let me know below what your favourite vegetable hiding recipe is or if you tried the Super Sneaky Spaghetti for yourself!

All Kinds Of Excitement!

This is actually a pretty accurate depiction of me right now. After many years of procrastinating planning, organising and self doubt I am FINALLY taking my first step into the world of blogging. I absolutely cannot wait to start this journey and sharing a little insight into my world with you all.

I am learning more and more about the blogging world each and every day so hopefully there won't be very many hiccups but hopefully you all understand if it isn't smooth sailing right from the beginning.

With any luck I will be posting fairly regularly and as often as possible. At the very least I hope to get at least two or three posts up per week, but anything extra will be awesome too. So my suggestion is to watch this space as there will be plenty to stick around and see soon enough.

Happy reading everyone!