Sew what's next?

Okay, even though I said I was going to post all of my former projects before starting a new one, I lied. It happens a lot. But in this case, I actually wanted to show you the 'before' pics so that I can post as I go and you can follow the project along.

Oh, and remember how I said I live and breathe patterns? Apparently I lied about that too! Or in situations like this, you don't need a pattern, which for me makes it much harder. I like having a concrete idea of what I want before I start. I can always change the details at the very end but this is all about the add-ons. Here's the scoop: both of my nieces have birthdays coming up and they are having a joint birthday party. Like, together, not with a bunch of joints (sweet 16, perhaps?). So Shrimp and I are going to make them coordinating birthday outfits for the party. Shrimp went and bought plain white t-shirts and bright pink cotton pants to start with:

They look like a coral colour in the picture but they are more hot pink in real life. After spending many a Wednesdays (Shrimp's day off so she hangs out here part of the day) scrolling through Etsy and other websites for inspiration, we tentatively decided on a thong bikini theme. Then we thought we needed a theme for the girls' outfits, so we thought ooh la la, how about french? So we set out to look for some coordinating black, white, and pink fabrics. We found a bunch of stuff we liked online, but we wanted to see it in person and we're too cheap to pay for the shipping, so once again we did a tour of the local fabric shops.

What we eventually found is not exactly french, but it's the colour scheme we were looking for. Here's what we got:

So we have the black & white harlequin print, the pink/hot pink scroll print, shiny hot pink tulle, black lace, and for trim we have black lace with rhinestones, the girl profile appliques, and black bows. We don't think we're going to do the outfits exactly the same, but we are still working out the details. We just know there will be lots and lots of ruffles. Since Shrimp's left the stuff at my house, she's given me permission to start on baby Mary's outfit because honestly, I've got to actually start putting some stuff together to see what will work and what won't. I'm guessing that I'll have Mary's outfit all finished and Shrimp's kid will have hers hot-glued on the day of the party. I'm just saying, she's got a lot of great ideas but a ball of productivity she ain't!

While I'm confessing today, I have one more. For the last month, I have been so burnt out on sewing that I completely stopped and put everything away. I had made coats for my sister, two of my nieces, my nephew, and my mother over the winter and I was so burnt out. Which really sucked for my sister-in-law since her coat was the only one I didn't finish but I promise, it'll be first on the list next fall! So doing these outfits with Shrimp for my nieces will hopefully be the catalyst that I needed to spark the interest again.

Luckily, I have a wonderful mother-in-law who recently sent me a bag of fabric, buttons, and zippers, and looking through it all has made me start to want to make something. I just don't know what yet. I have really been wanting to try to make a bikini but I might start off by modifying some that I already have that I really love but don't like the fit (I hate string bikinis- if I wanted a wedgie all the time I'd wear a t-back). I really think undergarments might be my next step. And don't worry, I'll make sure Bobby shaves his man-gina before modeling any of the finished goods!