THE SQUARE CIRCLE SKIRT

July 30, 2013
I can't take credit for this one. I found a tutorial on Make it and Love it, so I made it, and I love it! It's one of the fastest projects I have ever done and is so simple. Perfect for you beginners. ;)
I did make a couple of changes on the second skirt I made (yes, there are multiple), because I ran out of elastic and couldn't wait to go to the store to finish it. I'll teach you both ways.

Supplies:
1+ yards of fabric
1" wide+ elastic

Dimensions for my 1-year-old:
Fabric - Two squares that are 20x20"
Elastic - 20"
or Waistband - 4"x20"

Step 1: Measure 01
Measure from your girl's waist to where you want the shortest part of the skirt to hit (the corners of the square will hang down longer than the rest of the skirt). Measure around your girl's waist and find a bowl or plate the same circumference or a little bigger. The bigger the bowl/plate, the fuller the skirt, but I wouldn't go much bigger than 1.5x your girl's waist measurement. My daughter's waist is 20" so I found a plate that was 30" in circumference.

Step 2: Measure 02
Place the plate on your fabric and measure away from its "sides," "top," and "bottom" to the desired skirt length to make the first square (see picture).  Use a fabric pencil to draw around the plate.

Step 3: Cut
Remove the plate and cut out the square and the circle in the middle that you've drawn. Repeat these steps for a second square and lay it on top of the first, diagonally, so that the corners are pointing out on each side of the first square.

Step 4: Pin
Divide the skirt circle by placing pins at the top and bottom of the circle and the sides, straight across from one-another. Continue dividing until the circle is divided into eighths.

Step 5a: Elastic
If you're not using elastic, skip this step. If so, cut your elastic to be the same width of your girl's waist, then overlap the ends 1" and sew using a small, close together zig-zag stitch. Pin your circular elastic into eighths, just like you did with the skirt.

Step 5b: Waistband
Cut a strip of fabric 4" tall and the width of your girl's waist long (20 inches for me). Fold the fabric in half, right sides and ends together, and straight stitch with a 1" seam allowance. Trim excess fabric and fold waistband with right sides out. Divide the waistband into eighths using pins, just like you did with the skirt.

*Optional Step: Gather
If you're familiar with gathering, feel free to do a gathering stitch around the circle  of the skirt, but be sure to keep your pins where they are!

Step 6a: Sew Elastic
Match up the pins of the skirt and the elastic and pin them together with the skirt fabric on the inside of the elastic, overlapping about a half-inch. Set your machine to a regular zig-zag stitch and begin stitching the elastic to the skirt with a seam allowance of 1/4".
When you're sewing the elastic, use one hand to pull the fabric and elastic away from you, and the other hand to pull the fabric and elastic towards you until the elastic stretches to the same length of the fabric. Sew normally with the zig zag stitch until you make it all the way around. {finished}

Step 6b: Sew Waistband
Match up the pins of the skirt and the waistband and pin them with right sides together (see picture). You may want to add more pins to help hold excess fabric of the skirt. Use a straight stitch to sew the skirt to the waistband (1/2" seam allowance), monitoring the gathering as you go. {finished}

Once you're done attaching the waistband to the skirt and if you've used jersey-knit fabric that doesn't fray, you're finished (otherwise, create a hem). If you try it on your girl and find that it's a little too long, lay the skirt out as flat as you can, and cut the square a little smaller until it's just right!
So which one do you like best?

It's such a fun and easy little skirt to make and C loves how freely she can move in it!
Thanks for stopping by!

-Sue

P.S. If you're looking for some good jersey-knit fabric, visit Girl Charlee Fabrics. I am seriously in LOVE with her and her website! It's totally affordable, cute, AND you get 10% off your first purchase! So stop by and say hi! This website takes you to the "Create an account" page. Make sure you put the 18046 referral number in when you say who sent ya! Happy Sewing!

http://www.girlcharlee.com/create_account.php?refid=18046
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WINNER OF THE CHEVRON AND LACE + PRETTY LOVELY LITTLES GIVEAWAY

July 29, 2013
And the winner is... Tawni Ballard! Congratulations! You have won yourself a lovely new maxi skirt in your choice of color and two lovely jewelry pieces to add to your collection from Pretty Lovely Littles. Thanks to everyone for participating in our giveaway! We have had so much fun putting it on together and am sure that you will have fun putting it on, too! ;) Keep checking back with both our blogs to see what's next in our lives and learn first about any special deals or promos our shops are having.
Thanks again, and here's just a taste of what you have to look forward to on Wednesday:

See you Wednesday!

-Sue
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MORE MAXI

July 26, 2013
With just a couple of days left until the Chevron and Lace + Pretty Lovely Littles giveaway closes, I thought I'd show you one of my favorite maxi skirts thus far.

Lime Green

I finished it yesterday, tried it on, and was surprised by how much I liked it! Well, I knew that I liked the style and the look of maxi skirts, but it was the color that surprised me. I'm not really a neon or super-bright-colored person. I like more muted colors... at least, so I thought. As soon as I tried this on and saw the way it brightened up my eyes and accentuated my natural skin color, I was totally sold. Nothing gives you confidence quite like the perfect outfit... And accessories for that matter!
What quote would you want in your quote necklace? Inspiring? Funny?

So if you haven't already, make sure you fill out as many entries for the maxi skirt (any color of your choice!), the quote necklace, and neon fishtail anchor bracelet. Plus, you'd be helping us get our shops and blogs out there. Only a couple days left! Good luck and thanks!
-Sue

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COLORS

July 25, 2013
One of the best parts of selling maxi skirts is that I get to see what they look like in a variety of colors and then have the satisfaction of sending them off to someone who loves and appreciates it! Here are my most recent makes:

Oxford/Navy Blue

Coral

Yellow

Lime Green

Black and Heather Gray


Black and White

Tiffany Blue

So which is your favorite? There are even MORE colors available, too. Can't wait to give them all a try! Be sure to sign up for the Chevron and Lace + Pretty Lovely Littles giveaway. You only have until Sunday night so get crackin'! Later!



-Sue
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CHEVRON AND LACE + PRETTY LOVELY LITTLES GIVEAWAY

July 22, 2013
A couple of months ago, I met a fellow blogger who wrote about inspiring things. I loved reading her blog because all of her messages were heart-felt, passionate, and positive. Every time I read her words, I felt uplifted and enabled. We started following each other and getting to know each other in a way that only social media could provide, and through the internet, we have become good friends.
So, in order to celebrate our friendship, we decided to come together and throw a giveaway! We have both been so excited about this giveaway and I have been absolutely giddy about the whole thing! But first, I want to introduce you to my favorite writer, Chelsea from The Girl Who Loved to Write.



1. So tell us about yourself! What's your name and the name of your blog? 
-I'm Chelsea and I blog at "The Girl who Loved to Write.

2. Tell us a little about you and your blog.
-I started my blog in college because I wanted a way to hold myself accountable to writing after graduation.  Now it's a place for me to dream and be inspired and write about life. 

3. If you could go back in time and meet anybody, who would it be and why?
-Audrey Hepburn.  She was just so dang classy. 

4. What kind of famous would you rather be? Music sensation, athlete, or movie star?
-I'm gonna make up my own answer and say author!  I have no musical, acting, or athletic talent so we better just save the world from that haha. 

5. Who would you say has inspired you most?
-Definitely my mom.  She has always encouraged me to go after my dreams, no matter what they were.  She's my best friend and is always there to brainstorm my dreams with. She's also the best wife/mother/homekeeper on this planet, and I aspire to be even half as amazing as she is. 

6. What kind of things do you sell in your Etsy shop?
-My etsy shop's name is "Pretty Lovely Littles" and I try to shape things around that. Pretty little things to brighten up your life whenever you see them! 

7. Do you have special deals or promos going on right now?
If you use the code "CHEVRON" you can get 20 percent off anything in my shop for the next month!

8. Any last words?
I'm so excited to be doing this giveaway with Sue!  She is one of the sweetest bloggers I've ever "met" in blogland, and I absolutely love her.  If you don't stalk her blog daily, you absolutely should. 

Aw! Thank you, Chelsea! It's been fun to get to know you a little better on my blog today and I am SO excited about what you have in your shop! Click on this link to see everything that she has to offer, and don't forget to stop by The Girl who Loved to Write and get to know Chelsea even better.

Now, our giveaway today is a little somethin' somethin' to freshen up any wardrobe! Say hello to what could be your new favorite outfit!


Each of these items are hand-crafted by Chevron and Lace and Pretty Lovely Littles.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The giveaway closes Sunday night, and you can enter multiple times via twitter, instagram, and facebook. Good luck!

-Sue
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FOOD

July 18, 2013
So I've been thinking about this food thing... Chelsea started eating solids when she was 6-months old. About six months later, she was off breast-feeding and had a lot of little teeth she was excited to use on real-people food. Ever since then, it's been an adventure. Some days were really good, where I fed her at regulated times, with healthy foods and healthy portions. Some days were not so good. I wasn't in the mood to cook "for-reals" food and I'd get caught up in what I was doing so I didn't even think about how she was eating cheerios for breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner. Those were the days that, even if I was productive, I felt like were complete failures because of how whiny and grouchy little Chelsea was.
I love looking at those past situations and having "DUH!" moments where I wanna slap my fore-head and just laugh at myself. Sometimes I do! "Of course she was grumpy and grouchy! Look what you were feeding her! I'm amazed she was as good-natured as she was!"
Seriously, it's amazing the effect food can have on us, besides how it affects our bodies. I remember being asked on a date for a night when I had a choir rehearsal in college. I explained this to the guy and he said it wouldn't be a problem. He'd take me out right after rehearsal. I guess I can't honestly say that he had said something about taking me out to dinner, but either way, I was expecting it and by the time rehearsal was over, I was ravenous. He picked me up along with our double and we stopped at Dairy Queen... To get one blizzard. Blizzards are good, but not that good. The rest of the date was lame anyway, but let me tell you, the moment I received that Blizzard instead of even a sub-standard meal (at that point, one leaf of lettuce would have sufficed), I was mentally and emotionally checked out. Trust me. He didn't even get close to a second date.
But it even goes further than whether we eat or don't eat. Ever since we moved into our house and actually had an oven and a stove to work with, Chelsea's mood, and my own, have significantly improved. All of a sudden, we were eating real food that was well prepared. Step that up a notch once I came up with a list for variety and you've got yourself one happy baby (and momma!)
And all this got me thinking, as I looked over at my little girl sitting in her seat at the table, taking breaks from her grapes at snack time to look at me, scrunch up her nose and giggle... I may not be the best mom ever, but if my little girl is taking time to look at me and grin, like I'm the funniest, most beautiful, and wonderful person in the world, then I must be doing something right.
So keep trying. Keep working towards your goals and even if you don't make them right away, if you're working towards something greater, every day you'll be one step closer. Being a mom definitely isn't easy, but it is so worth it.

-Sue
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WHAT CAN WE EAT?

July 17, 2013
There are a thousand, no, a MILLION things you learn when you become a parent. What your kid can and can't eat is just one of them, not to mention when they should start eating those things. And for every thing you have to learn, there are a million opinions behind them.
I've always known that variety was important, but when it came to feeding Chelsea, I was at a loss. What did babies eat? What foods are okay and not okay? What foods have the right nutrients that she needs? As soon as Chelsea got teeth, it got easier, but I still struggle with lunch-time repetitiveness. Today, I decided that the PB and J reign needs to end. I need to get more creative and spend a little more time deciding what Chelsea will eat and being willing to spend a little more time preparing it. Lucky for me, one of my friends on FB asked the question for me and one of her friends gave a super stellar response. So here's my list.
  1. Avocado sandwiches
  2. Bananas
  3. Chopped soft fruit
  4. Muffins (w/ fruits and veggies)
  5. Scrambled eggs
  6. Pancakes
  7. Chopped deli meat
  8. Watermelon
  9. Brown rice
  10. Mashed potatoes
  11. Steamed carrots
  12. Chopped chicken
  13. Soup
  14. Egg salad
  15. Peeled and cut grapes
  16. Raisins (cut)
  17. Noodles
  18. Cheese
  19. Tomatoes
  20. Beans
  21. Whole-grain bread (cut into small pieces)
  22. Whole-grain cereals
  23. Yogurt
  24. Peas
  25. Lightly toasted whole-grain bread
  26. Cream of Wheat
  27. Oatmeal
  28. Cottage Cheese
Anything else? Anything on here that's not really all that nutritious that I don't know about? Leave a comment and share some of your little one's favorite meals/snacks and help a girl out. Thanks for stopping by!

-Sue
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SMILE

July 15, 2013
If there is anything I've learned about myself throughout my life, it's that I am a creature of repetition and favorites, at least when it comes to my clothes. I'm not gonna lie. I go shopping, find an outfit that I love, and wear that outfit as often as I can in one week without anyone noticing (at least, that's what I attempt). And that's why I don't think I could ever be a "for reals" fashion blogger. I don't go shopping enough and I wear the same thing practically every day, or at least the same three outfits and just cycle through them throughout the week.
Does anyone else have this problem? I assume as I get older (and more loaded with cash), that this problem will eventually fade away as my wardrobe grows, but for now, I'm sticking with my favorites. Wanna see one of them?
I guess this is more of a Spring-y outfit, but like I said; I'm a creature of repetition and favorites.

cardigan: thrifted
button-up blouse: kohl's
pants: thrifted
shoes: forever 21
belt: pac sun
Here's another thing I've been thinking about; when I was 14 years old and had finally grown out of my awkward stage and lost the braces, I started getting compliments on my smile. Not all the time, but I remember my uncle Mike telling me that I had one of the best, genuine smiles he had ever seen, probably because I let my eyes get all squinty. Then, a couple of years later, I was told by Sister Dalton (the General President of the Young Women organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints) that I had "the most beautiful smile," and to "never stop smiling." I think we've all had one of those experiences when someone gave us a compliment or said something that made us feel so good that we knew we would never forget it. That was definitely a moment for me.
Anyway, the point is, I like to smile and I try to do it often. But every once in a while, I like to attempt serious faces. So don't judge. Just appreciate my willingness to branch out every now-and-then!

Thanks for stopping by! And until next time, keep smiling!

-Sue
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SIDE BRAID SOCK BUN

July 13, 2013
Okay, I am REALLY excited about today's post because it's my first hair-style post since my Bodacious Braidhawk post, and let's be honest... iPhones were not meant for hair-style posts.

So this hair-style has quickly become one of my favorites. Why? Well, to tell you the truth, it's because I can do it when my hair is too greasy to be worn down and still look put-together.
You will need:

  • Hair tie
  • Sock
  • Bobby Pins
  • Hair spray

Step 1: Start by selecting a portion of hair at the front of your head. I just started with my bangs. Separate your hair into three pieces to begin the inside-out braid (dutch braid, upside-down braid, etc.). The way this is done is by taking one outside piece and wrapping it underneath the middle piece instead of on top. Continue with the next outside piece, wrapping it under the new middle piece. Begin pulling new pieces of hair into the braid to create a French-Dutch braid.

Step 2: Continue the braid down the side of your head and along the bottom until you reach the side. Pull the braid and the rest of your hair into a ponytail.

Step 3: Did you know that the sock bun is called a sock bun because you actually use a sock? Use a dark-colored sock if you have dark hair, or a light-colored sock if you have light hair. Cut off the toe and roll the sock into a circle.

Step 4: Pull the end of your pony-tail through the sock and wrap the hair under. Hold it in place, then roll the sock with the hair under.

Step 5: Pull hair from the bottom loop that you just made up to the top on both sides and use bobby pins to pin in place.

Step 6: Spray the front of your hair and the sock bun, plus any stray pieces with your favorite hairspray. I use Pantene hairspray, but I don't use a lot.

Once you've sprayed and pinned any stray pieces, that's all there is to it! The perfect way to make three or four-day-old hair look new!

Have a great weekend and let me know if you try this out. Take a pic, post it on Instagram, and tag @chevronandlacebysue I'll be sure to stop by!

-Sue
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OUR FIRST HOME

July 8, 2013
This morning, a couple of fine gentlemen came to my home to provide a service that has not only nearly become a necessity in today's world, but has also become an outlet for creative thoughts and a means to share ideas that alter the world and change entire cultures. Yes my friends, we have internet.
Seriously, it's been difficult. Not that I'm glued to the computer screen, iPhone, iPad, TV, etc. etc. but when you've just moved to a new home and your grandmother says to you at a Fourth of July family reunion "Make sure you send me pictures because I'll never get to come and see it," because moving around is a little too difficult at her age? You get pretty antsy.
So here they are! Photos of my new home. Get ready for a full tour...


 Split-level entry. Head up the left staircase for the family room.

 Chelsea was dancing and falling over in her excitement!

 Kitchen: I have an oven, stove, and dishwasher!

 Backyard: Lovely french doors leading out onto a shaded deck with a PERFECT view of the neighbors.
I absolutely LOVE the landscaping, though.

 The nursery which we will be painting ASAP! Not that I don't like the colors, just not exactly... Gender neutral.

 Master Bedroom

 Thanks to my mom for the color-coordinating... everything.

 Now downstairs to the craft/play room.

 We were TOTALLY won over by this under-the-stairs play space!

 Guest bedroom

 And last, but not least, the second bathroom. The laundry is located here as well, but you don't need to see that.

One of the things I love most about our home is the yard. There are so many flowers in so many colors that just make you appreciate all the little things. Our home is a place where our family can be together, grow, play, and love one another. It takes a lot of time and effort to make it beautiful, but it's all worth it.

-Sue

P.S. I had 349 views yesterday! Thank you all so much for supporting me. In fact, I am SO grateful that I will be hosting a giveaway soon, and it's gonna be a good one! Don't forget to follow me via bloglovin' since Google Friend Connect (GFC) is no longer available. You can also find me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Etsy. You are all amazing! Keep it real.
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