What Elise Wore: Butterfly Easter Dress

We enjoyed a beautiful Resurrection Sunday surrounded by family, friends, our faith, and of course, food! A new addition to this year's Easter activities was the blooming cross that we all added flowers to at the end of our Easter services, a perfect symbol of the new life that we receive in Christ. And a perfect backdrop for photos of my girl in her butterfly dress (remember how we settled on butterflies here?). I hope your day was as wonderful as ours!

{Dress: DIY by me; pattern here, cardigan: Koala Kids (consignment), black mary janes: Circo (Target), ruffle socks and polka dot hairbow: Faded Glory (WalMart)}

What Elise Wore: Queen of Hearts

We celebrated Valentine's Day with tulips for me, hyacinths for Elise, a candlelit family Valentine's dinner and White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake for the Rev.

We woke up the next day to a sprinkling of snow and ice (enough to cancel church) and dressed our Valentine up for a little post Valentine's Day lunch. Have I mentioned how much I love sewing ruffle pants for my gal? She is the queen of our hearts, for sure!

{Tunic: DIY by me; pattern here, ruffle pants: DIY by me}

What Elise Wore: Her Easter Dress

Growing up, our Mom made all of our special occasion clothes. Back then I was sure it was either to stretch her single parent budget or because she took special joy in dorking my brother and I out in matchy matchy outfits. But after finishing a few dresses for Elise lately, including her Easter dress, I think that I may have stumbled on to the real reason...there is nothing like sending your little one out the door knowing that they are literally wrapped in your love. I sure do love that little girl (and my Mom for all of those outfits, too!).

{Pepper's Dress: DIY by me; pattern here, Hairbow: DIY by me, Silver Sandals: Mooshu Trainers (eBay)}

What Elise Wore: Her Valentine's Dress

Remember here when I sneak peeked the fabric that I was using for Elise's Valentine's dress? Well, here is my Valentine all dressed up for church yesterday.

{Janey Jumper Dress: DIY by me; pattern here, White Shirt: Garanamials (WalMart), Red Tights: Faded Glory (WalMart), Shoes: Keds (Thrifted)}

What Elise Wore: Daddy/Daughter Date Night

Their relationship is so special, he can get the biggest smiles and belly laughs out of her and I hope it always stays that way. This week he took her to Daddy/Daughter Date Night at Chick-fil-A for a little one on one time. They had their own reserved table with flowers, heart frames to decorate, and chocolate covered marshmallows. He even shared his milkshake. Of course, I dressed her up pretty for her big night out. Oh, how I love these two!

{Heart Shirt Dress: Old Navy (Instagram shop), Red Tights: Faded Glory (WalMart), Shoes: Circo (Target)}

What Elise Wore: Cold Weather Cutie

Once Elise started walking well, I was itching to get her in some cute winter boots. Yesterday, she happily obliged me. I'm a tad bit biased, but isn't she a cutie?

{Cowlneck Dress: Old Navy (ebay), Purple Tights: Faded Glory (WalMart), Boots: Circo (Instagram shop)}

What Elise Wore: $6 No Sew Halloween Costume

I decided pretty early on that I was going to attempt a Wonder Woman costume for Elise to wear on Halloween. The Rev is a pretty big comic book/movie nut and this would be a way to let E in on that fun. I looked at some costumes in the store, but could not justify $20 and up for something that she would wear once, so DIY it would be!

Here is the breakdown of what I did and how much it cost to come up with the costume:

White Onesie - $0 (already had)
Red Dye for Onesie - $2.50
25 yard roll of Blue Tulle for Tutu - $2.50
Elastic for Tutu - $0 (already had)
Red Tights - $0 (already had)
Yellow, Red, and White Felt for Crown, Wristbands, Lasso, Logo, and Stars - $1

The tutu was a no sew deal, if you can tie a larkshead knot, you can literally make one in less than 1/2 hour. I dyed the onesie red since plain colored onesies are near impossible to find. Then I just used the felt to embellish it all. I attached the stars directly to the tutu and the logo to the onesie using hot glue. I even hot glued the velcro to the wristbands and the elastic to the crown, so I didn't have to do any sewing. It was one of those crafting moments where it turned out exactly like I had pictured in my head! And of course, the sweetie wearing it and her smile made the costume!

Linking up with ONE little MOMMA for What Kids Wore Wednesday.

What Elise Wore: Festive Fourth

Another holiday where Elise was fortunate to have been given many outfits to choose from. So she had a festive 3rd and 4th of July! I'll have a semi-tutorial on how I made her hairbow coming soon!

{Dress: Baby Gap (thrifted), Korker Bow: DIY by me}

{Daddy's Little Firecracker outfit: Carter's (gifted), Korker Bow: DIY by me}

Linking to What Kids Wore Wednesday with ONE little MOMMA

What Elise Wore: Team Spirit

A young lady in our congregation (who is an amazing athlete!) and her high school team made it to the State Softball Championships last week. We loaded Elise up and went on our first real road trip (you know somewhere that isn't a Grandma's house!) to our state's capital. But not before I snagged a t-shirt from our friend to turn into a team-support-showing romper for Elise! I based it off of this tutorial. I used the scrap fabric that I trimmed away to make a coordinating knotted headband and she was all set.

She wore another black and orange outfit with a different headband on Friday night and they lost Game 1, so we crossed our fingers that this outfit and headband would be the good luck ticket! It worked. They won both games on Saturday to become champs! And our buddy, who gives me a hard time for putting headbands on Elise, said it was the headband that did it and he would never tease me again!

Hands down, the cutest supporter to watch the West Wilkes Blackhawks win their first ever State Championship!

Linking up to What Kids Wore Wednesday with ONE little MOMMA!



What Elise Wore: 1st Easter

One of the gifts that we were given when Elise was born was a beautiful outfit from the pastor (and his wife) at the church where the Rev served as a Youth Pastor. They were dear friends and mentors in the ministry before we took the full time pastor's position that the Rev currently serves in and we miss seeing them. I could tell from the label and from the way that the company gift wrapped it for them, that even on sale, it would have been way more than I could have afforded. I knew that I would hold on to it for a special occasion. 

I looked at the calendar and did some calculating and then crossed my fingers that it would fit at Easter, as I knew it would be perfect. As usual here, the weather was a bit chilly at sunrise service, so the fact that it was long sleeved and had a matching cardigan was perfect. I asked a sweet friend if she could make a headband that I had seen to match and she whipped it up in no time. Cream shoes and pink tights (the Rev's first trip by himself to buy girl's clothing!) completed the look. I think she looked like a little doll!

 {Hand Embroidered Onesie, Corduroy Jumper, and Matching Cardigan: Janie and Jack (Gifted), Tights and Shoes: Circo (Target), Headband: Angela's Creations }

But just to keep it real, here is what she looked like by the time we got in the car and headed home from all of the morning's activities!

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What Elise Wore: No Pinching, Please

I had to make sure that little E didn't get any pinches on St. Patrick's Day, so she needed a little green in her wardrobe. I'm continuing to work on my sewing skills, so I made her a onesie dress and sewed my first pair of shoes, with a super cute floral and coordinating striped fabric.

But, I'm pretty sure that those cheeks still got a few pinches--they are pretty hard to resist!

{Onesie Dress: DIY by me, Vintage Flair Baby Bootie: DIY by me; Etsy pattern here, Ruffled Footless Tights: Koala Baby (Babies R Us)}

Linking up to What Kids Wore Wednesday with ONE little MOMMA!

What Elise Wore: Baby Dedication

Two weeks ago, we had Elise's Baby Dedication service at church. We believe that each person makes their own decision regarding their personal relationship with Christ, so this service was not about that, since Elise is not yet old enough to understand the importance of or to make that decision. Rather this was a time where we, as parents, in the presence of our families, church family, and the Lord, pledged to raise her in a Christian home and to lead her into that relationship when the time is right for her.

It was a special time for us as our friends and family gathered around to support us. It was made even more special by the fact that the father of a childhood friend, who happens to be our Associational Missionary, was able to conduct the service. This will be our greatest challenge as parents and knowing that we were pledging our best to her and that our families were pledging to help us was a sweet, sweet time.

Here is what she wore to commemorate the special day.

{Sweater Dress, and Matching Shoe Tights: Dylan & Abby (Gifted), Headband: DIY by me}

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What Elise Wore - Scarf Love

A great little tutorial on bib scarves that I found on Pinterest meant that Elise and I got to rock my favorite accessory together! I'm going to make her a few more with a heavier knit fabric on the back to help it lay a little better and to catch all of that drool!

{Black corduroys: Carter's (Thrifted), Pink Onesie: Carter's (Gifted), Bib Scarf: DIY by me}

Linking up to What Kids Wore Wednesday with ONE little MOMMA!

What Elise Wore - DIY Head to Toe

I love to craft and sewing is my latest hobby, which is lucky since skirts are hard to find for babies. I made this one, using this tutorial, from an old women's T-shirt. The headband also came from that shirt. The onesie needed some pizazz so I painted on a "necklace" and added a bow (it's never to early to accessorize!). And because the only thing harder to find than a baby skirt is baby leggings or tights that actually fit, I made the baby legs from a pair of $1 section women's knee socks. The bonus in baby legs is that they keep little legs warm, but since they just run hip joint to ankle, you don't have to worry about getting through another layer for diaper changes.

{Necklace Onesie, Skirt, Baby Legs & Headband: DIY by me, Silver Ballet Flats: Creations of Grace (Hobby Lobby)}

Linking up to What Kids Wore Wednesday with ONE little MOMMA!

What Elise Wore - Super Girl

When we found out that we were having a baby girl, the Rev's only lament was that there is no cool Super Hero stuff for girls. I think he was counting on a boy to have an excuse to grow his doll action figure collection...

Anyway, when I saw this pink Avengers T-shirt in the little girl's section, I knew it would make a cute T-shirt dress for Elise. I've been reading all kinds of articles on thinking outside of the box and using items in ways they weren't necessarily intended when it comes to dressing babies. Paired with a onesie and tights for warmth, it looks super cute! Since I was able to buy the smallest size and the shirt was already designed with an A-line type shape that fit perfectly as a dress, no alterations were needed!

{T-shirt "dress": WalMart, Tights: Circo (Target), Polka Dot Onesie: Just One You (Target), Headband: WalMart}

Linking up with ONE little MOMMA for What Kids Wore Wednesday!

What Elise Wore - Mimi's Boots

Cold weather and dinner out with friends was the perfect excuse for Elise to wear her jeggings, toasty warm sweater, and her crocheted knitted (I stand corrected, Mom) Ugg style boots. A big thanks to her Mimi for making the boots for her!

{Jean leggings: Okie Dokie (JC Penney), Sweater: Baby Gap (Thrifted), Boots: DIY by Mimi; Etsy pattern here, Flower Pin: Accessories on the Go (local business)}

Linking up to What Kids Wore Wednesday over at ONE little MOMMA!

What Elise Wore - Christmas Recap

In the blog world, there is a weekly "What I Wore Wednesday" linky party, a place where you can feature your favorite outfit from the past week. This party would laugh at me if I linked up, since I have no sense of style.

But you know who does? Little Elise--she has a closet full of the cutest outfits, and I have to admit that I love dressing her (can't wait until she gets old enough to accessorize!). I'm already dreading when some of my favorite outfits no longer fit her. And I'm learning all about how I can sew new clothes or repurpose items to keep her fashionable.

Fortunately, ONE little MOMMA hosts WKWW - What Kids Wore Wednesday, a place to link up all of your little one's most fashionable moments. I'm joining in (a day late this time!) and hoping to document Elise's growth, force myself to help her become more stylish than myself, and show off my favorites from her wardrobe from time to time.

We received so many Christmas outfits for her and she managed to fit in all but one, which was still too big. Here is a recap of Elise's Christmas style.

Clockwise L to R:

 {Polka Dot Bow Tunic & Leggings - Carter's (Kohls), Headband - Walmart}

{Plaid Dress  - Child of Mine (Walmart), Marabou Pouf Headband - Bella Mimi Couture}

{Striped Bodysuit and Matching Dress - Little Me (Gift), Headband - Walmart}