Made For Monday....Union Soldier

 So Monday came and went with a holiday, so I'm a little late with this post, but with good reason.  Our weekend included a special "double digit" birthday!

My Kate turned 10!

And that birthday included an Amazing Race Game around the neighborhood with friends.

And there was a LOT of swimming with LOTS of friends!

So it's Wednesday and I"m catching up....

*I only do custom orders like this for dear friends who are local

 A couple weeks ago.....I got a text from a friend's son that read:

"Hey it's *******!  I need a costume made for a project and was wondering if you could make it for me.  Dad would pay you!"  I was laughing so hard, I had to text his mom and tell her how sweet her 14 year old is.  Mom informed me Dad would need a quote first:)

He needed a Union Soldier Costume for a reenactment video he did with classmates.This was the design that we settled on for inspiration.  Difficult to wing a pattern, but I was luck enough to have  friend that had a similar costume jacket pattern and I got started.  I had to adjust the collar and the front opening, but otherwise the pattern worked good.  

The entire jacket is lined and I put interfacing in it as well to help it hold shape since he wanted a really light weight fabric.  It's hot in Texas already, y'all! I think it worked well to make the jacket appear to be "thicker" like the wool that they would have been made out from.

Hand stitched some braiding onto the sleeves to make them pop.

Dull brass buttons to finish it off.

I was pretty pleased and so was this young man.  In the end, this young man picked the way he wanted the uniform to look and paid for it HIMSELF!  So glad that parents are teaching their children the value of money and responsibility at such a young age.

How'd I do?

*Confession: I am no good at button holes and had to ask a very dear friend to help me out.....maybe she can give me lessons on button holes this summer.

Happy Wednesday, Y'all!

Made for Monday

Yikes!  It has been a year since I updated the blog.....goes to show that LIFE is happening around here and the girls have kept me very busy:)

I'm trying to bring it back one Monday at a time at least.  Sometimes I feel like just posting one picture on facebook doesn't do it justice....so I'm trying to share a little more...on Mondays!

I've been doing a lot of custom orders for friends lately and this one was a favorite. 

They told me what they wanted....very detailed....and I figured out the fabric requirements for the pattern I made.

And they were off to the fabric store to pick out their own fabrics.  As the story was told, they were like kids in the candy store!  And everyone wanted to know what they were making!  I LOVED how one picked mixed patterns and the other was very matchy-matchy with the chevron. 

 I'm a total sucker for chevrons!

Have you figured out what they wanted me to make for them?

 These girls are new members of "The Dave Ramsey" club!

One girl wanted 6 pouches and one wanted 8 pouches (which is why one has more than the other.

If you aren't familiar with Dave Ramsey, it is a financial change you make to life.  Living in a budget that is based on categories and cash.  Each "envelope" is for a different category.  Once the grocery money for the month is gone....it is gone.  My husband and I did this when we first got married and were very strict, but did our finances on the computer.  I like the idea of the cash in the envelope and taking it to the store though.

 So each "envelope" I made is big enough for cash and receipts.  The back side has a luggage tag clear pocket on the back, so that they could label each one.  I love that they wanted the zipper instead of a envelope flap look.  That way you are sure to have all your money and coins stay put.

Each set of "envelopes" fits into this carrying case.

 Half on each side and then an elastic closure.

 I'm so glad they picked an even number of envelope pouches.  Working with odd numbers would have thrown me all off!

The carrying case is a little big right now, because these envelopes did not come prefilled:)

I left extra room for the case to expand as they put their money into each envelope!

I love this idea and have it in the works to make a similar set for myself at some point, but use it differently.  I'm always needing to keep my receipts organized for medical and the shop and groceries and stuff, so I'll probably use mine more for organizing myself and a little budgeting organization too.  Great visual aid to teach my children that the entertainment envelope is empty and we can't go to a movie or out to eat or stop for ice cream!

Thanks for stopping by and.....

Happy Monday!