Animal Headbands

Dorothy loves to accessorize, so for her birthday, we are giving her a dress-up box with lots of fun accessories.  In addition to sunglasses, bracelets, and necklaces, I made her a set of headbands so that she can be some of her favorite critters.

Once I figured out the templates, these were surprisingly easy to make.  I drew out the shape that I wanted, then added a half-inch rectangle to the bottom.  I placed the rectangle on the fold of the felt and cut out my shapes.  The ears wrap around the headband.  I stitched along the headband first, then around the outside of the ears and I hot glued the center part of the ears.

Since her birthday isn't for about two weeks, I enlisted Mr. Bear to model the ears.

Meow.

The rabbit ears have a pipe cleaners in them to help them stand up.

I wish I had put the mouse ears a little farther apart, but they are still cute.

The lion one cracks me up.  Roar!  It's going to be so cute on her.

I had one headband left in my pack and some fake flowers left over from another project, so I broke out the hot glue gun.  Not my best work, but something frilly will be fun too.

View from the top.

Apple Sauce

Someone asked for my apple sauce recipe and I figured here was as good a place as any to share it.  Ruthie, I hope your mom doesn't mind, since it's her recipe.

The recipe I use is from a former neighbor's mother. She (the mom) has an apple tree and she makes this as a way to use up the million apples that they have. She made some once when she was next door visiting and brought us a bowl. I don't like apple sauce, but even I like this and the kids can't get enough. It tastes like pie filling, but there is no sugar; just apples and spices.

All amounts are approximate.

1 gallon apples - peeled and cut in chunks
2 tsp cinnamon
1 "finger joint" fresh ginger - peeled and chopped fine (more if you like)
1/4 tsp nutmeg
dash of cloves (we like cloves, so I do a few dashes)
1/3 cup water

Cut over low heat until sauced.


What I do is cover the pot and let it sit until the apples are soft (I stir it a couple of times too). Once they are soft, I mash it up with the potato masher. It is not thin like store bought apple sauce, but there aren't any really huge chunks (usually). I then put it into hot jars and can it, but it cooks down enough that it could be refrigerated and eaten before it went bad. My kids like it straight, cold or warm, and Dorothy likes it mixed in her plain oatmeal. I have also used it when making waffles and it is really yummy.

Little Girl Dresses

I've been busy finishing off some half-done projects, but hadn't wanted to post them since they were to be gifts.  Now that they are in the mail, I'll share.


First, I finally finished a criss-cross pinafore for a friend who adopted an adorable baby girl a few months ago. I am hoping that this will still fit next summer. I made it around a 12 month size, but I tried it on Dorothy and it fit her too (she wears an 18 month size). Luckily, this style is pretty forgiving with the sizing.

Front view.

Back view.  I just love the eyelet all along the back and on the butt.  It is even; the straps are just laying funny.

I had been wanting to make this Go-To Dress for a while. My first attempt was a disaster from end to end. The knit fabric I had was so thin, that my machine just ate it instead of stitching it. The appliqued apple was just horrendous too. I have never seen an applique pull the fabric around like it did on this one. I went back to the fabric store to find a knit fabric that was a little heavier weight and found this gorgeous plum stretch corduroy. I didn't even know that made stretch corduroy, but it is so soft and cozy. It looks a little shiny in the photo, but it isn't that way in real life. It sewed beautifully and made a very sweet dress for Dorothy.

I am going to make two small changes the next time I make one. First, I will make the elastic at the waist a bit tighter. It looks good in the front here, but the back is hardly gathered at all. Once this comes trough the wash, I'll tighten this one up. I will also stretch the neckband a little more when sewing it on. The neck hole is a little big, but not terrible. Stretching the neckband should take care of that.

It is a little hard to get a photo of her because she is constantly on the go.  Please ignore the cat, necklace, and magformers.  I accidentally left the sleeves rolled up after lunch, but it does have long sleeves.