A little while ago I volunteered to test the ruffley goodness that is the Wee Muses's Prairie Rose Set! Wee Muses is a pattern company by the ace of all trades Anneliese of Aesthetic Nest.

Well life got in the way and I dropped the ball with the pattern testing. I felt just awful, so I was really stoked when Anneliese asked if I wanted to sew something up for her Prairie Rose Set pattern tour! Anneliese is such a sweet person, so kind and patient with someone like me! Her blog is one I follow, and just read in envy that I could ever be so graceful, classy and just so good at everything! I think I am the total opposite, so today I am bringing you the Prairie Rose Set, Max California style!




The pattern set comes in ages 18months to 8 years old, and included is a dress, a blouse, a pair of ruffley pants and a maxi skirt! I really love the country feel of the set, it's so perfect for our new laidback lives out in the sticks! Unfortunately for my short and stocky little daughter, I didn't think the ruffley top or dress would suit her. She's quite short for her age, and it's adorable, but she doesn't have the height and slender form of her older brother just yet! However, fortunately for her, the maxi skirt was going to be just perfect for her! I know, I can't believe I'm sewing for my child's body type already, but hey! Even little girls gotta look good ;)


The first one I made up I nearly died when I put it on her. I hadn't made her a maxi skirt because whenever I thought to make one it was when she was crawling and/or trying to figure out how to walk. However now she is pretty much running and does gymnastics, so I'm pretty sure she is more than capable of wandering around the prairie in her new maxi skirts!


I used a pretty blue floral cotton I bought from the op shop last week. I scored 3metres for $5 and oh my goodness I am in LOVE with it. The skirt was such an easy and straightforward sew, and you know when I make more than one of something it means it's a keeper! This Prairie Rose Maxi Skirt? Keeper!


I sandwiched some vintage-esque (or maybe real vintage? who can tell these days!) lace between the skirt and the ruffle just to see what would happen. What happened is the cutest little country girl style skirt I have seen!


The second skirt was even quicker, it's always that way once you have made something one time isn't it! I used a t-shirt I got at this wicked op-shop trip I did a few weeks back (I found two amazing secondhand stores in a small country town about twenty minutes from my new home!) for about $2. I actually scored quite a few tribal/aztec-inspired print shirts and skirts on that trip, I'm excited for future reconstructions!



I used the bottom of a black t-shirt (I swear there aren't enough black t-shirts in the world for me to cut up, Or black stretch fabric!) for the ruffle and stitched some white pompom trim around the joining seam! I decorated both skirts, but seriously this looks so cute without the trims also!


I love how both skirts have such radically different looks! The floral one is classic, the aztec-ish one is trendy. It's been so hot here and we're all hanging out for winter (which I'm sure everyone will start complaining about it being so cold haha), so I am actually really excited for Eddie to wear these layered with her leggings and boots for warmth  as well.


You can get the Prairie Rose Set right here, and see more beautiful photos of Anneliese's adorable little trio of wee muses on her website here.

There were a few bloopers, but this one is my favourite because Ouchie! She stepped on a prickle right after I asked her to stop walking around! Poor babe!

I'm very very excited to bring you today a top-secret little sewing event thought up & organised by the lovely Laura of Craftstorming! The idea is that a mass amount of bloggers from around the blogosphere would create something inspired by the lovely Celina of Petit a Petit and Family and on the same day we simultaneously post our creations! Celina is a very inspiring woman, she seems to have her finger in every pie and uses every single of the 24 hours given to her every day I swear! She is amazing and I really enjoy 'knowing' her!






The two-tone shoes were a last minute decision! I decided I wanted to do her shoes, but the only ones I had were these grey TOMS-esque babies from Best & Less ($8 yo!). Using Celina's tutorial here, I quickly & easily painted these shoes for the little shoot. Hitting them with the hairdryer made this like a 10 minute job!

Disclaimer: Real quick, I just want to make it clear that in no way do I condone violence against sharks! They're my favourite animal ever and even though they're kinda scary they are so awe-inspiring. They don't deserve to be killed! I could possibly go on a big shark-culling rant later on about this because it's just not cool! I know it might seem kind of stupid to be choosing a shark fighting song when I am not into fighting sharks, but it's a nonsense song as it is. Don't sweat it. It's fun :) It's the Aquabats. Enjoy!




I was asked to be a part of Sew in Tune this year, which is awesome because I really had fun last time I was involved! I have wanted to do this song for a really long time, so was stoked that I finally got to do it! It's one of my favourites, Shark Fighter by the Aquabats


Now if you don't know the Aquabats you are missing out. They don't sing about sex or drugs, they sing about pool parties and pink pants. The lead singer, MC Bat Commander is the creator of the tv show Yo Gabba Gabba! They're sort of a ska band, and like a wise friend once told me "I like ska music because no one can be sad listening to ska!" And you know what? Tim Hell of a Hat was right. You can't be sad listening to ska, especially not the Aquabats! Shark Fighter is a song I have loved since it dropped, when Vince was a little lad, and he has had to listen to it pretty much every time we go anywhere in the car. It's our jam! It wasn't until last night when he started to sing along to it that I realised just how much we listen to it! The kid only ever sings to one song by the Pixies and a Bliss n Eso song, so I was stoked that Shark Fighter was now in his line up of 'lyrics he thinks he knows'


The song is about our hero, Shark Fighter. He wears a bandanna and a topaz necklace, he's extremely reckless. The story is that he had a girl and a shark took her away from him. Maybe the shark ate her, but I like to think the girl ran away with the shark ^_^ So now Shark Fighter has a vendetta against sharks, his only goal is a shark casserole.
For Shark Fighter's outfit, i didn't want to do a costume-type thing, although Vincent would have LOVED that heaps. He really likes what I came up with though, so win! I really wanted like an 80s hero kind of vibe going on, and I did contemplate putting some hair extensions in Vin's hair so he had a mullet!
The shorts are the Small Fry Skinny Jeans by Titchy Threads, in a size 4. I used an old pair of stretch denim jeans for the fabric, they were a pale blue and once I stitched up the shorts I i tied fabric scraps around sections of it and chucked it into some blue dye for the night. I am pleased with how they came out! I was a little concerned about awkwardly placed rings of dye, but thankfully there is none! Vincent really likes them because the denim is stretchy, and that's his new favourite thing is stretchy shorts!  I used the Flashback Skinny Tee by Made by Rae for Shark Fighter's shirt. I dip-dyed the bottom of the shirt once I had sewn it up, leaving it for about an hour so that the bottom would be dark and the dyed water would seep up to the chest region. It's got a realy subtle ombre going on and I was stoked that it worked out exactly the way I wanted it to! The shirt refers to the lyric "I will avenge my lady with my life! Or until I die in a fight against the Underwater Army of the Night" and features freezer-paper stencils of sharks, Jaws-style, across the bottom. I used a toothpick and some white paint to do some little stars across the chest.

For our little Sharkie, I actually made two of the shark shirts. One for her, and one for Vincent because if you can't beat them, join them! For reals though, I knew he would want to be a shark too so I made him his own shark shirt too. I used the Bimaa Sweater pattern by LouBeeClothing as a base, turned it raglan-sleeved and self-drafted my own hood. I sandwiched a row of zigzagged white felt between the hood & the lining to make shark teeth, and I cut a split in the back of the shirt to add the dorsal fin! The fin is padded with towelling, and i swear it stood up a lot better in the practice run that it does when Eddie is wearing it. She looks like a sad little shark :(  Her leggings are from my own pattern, and I stencilled (using freezer paper) over and over and over and over the words "Duh Dun"! I know it's a bit obscure but i love them because it's the sound I make when we are playing sharks in the pool, ala Jaws theme! We went to the beach last weekend to spend time with my inlaws, and I cleverly did not have everything finished in time. Because Shark Fighter photos at the beach? Would have been PERFECT. So I did the next best thing, bundled the kids in the car and headed to the small town Tim grew up in and took pics at their cute little pool. We went for a swim afterward and Vincent was still in Shark Fighter mode! I'm so happy with their outfits, actual wearable outfits that are going to be a good addition to their wardrobes. The kids have SO many clothes, lots of handmade which rocks, but it's winter soon and I should be sewing for that! How could I resist some Aquabats goodness though?

he rides an otter like a motorcycle!