Red, White, and Blue

Is it just me...or did it seem like the 4th of July came and went very quickly this year? We skipped the fireworks (and probably will skip them every year until the kids are older) but we tried to have some fun outside and at least do something traditional like grill and light some sparklers. Of course, we also try to remember and be thankful for our military too.

The kids got to play with squirt guns in the yard for the first time. They loved trying to see who could put out the sparklers first by squirting water on them. Then there was lots of time for playing on the swing set.

I saw tons of adorable (and patriotic) outfits online from some of my favorite bloggers. I hadn't thought about making anything for the girls...but then I found this FREE pattern and knew I had fabric on hand to whip up a couple red, white, and blue dresses.

I had some solid red knit fabric left over from this project I did for the girls as well as some red and white polka dot fabric. 
I also had a maternity tank top that was ready to be crafted into something new. (And when I decided to take a 'before' picture of it the girls were in bed so Elliott became my model to show how big it was to start with.)

After about two hours of cutting and sewing, the girls had new dresses in a patriotic palette. Next year I need to get busy making these before the actual holiday! :) But I was thrilled to make something for free since I already had the scraps to make these...and the girls love them! The pattern was even free! It's from here - a great and easy thing to sew up!

One last note about sewing...I've been trying to learn some new things and was SO excited to see this deal for a craftsy.com class for only $20. I am taking the class about how to reverse engineer a pair of jeans to duplicate them without taking them apart. I just got a pair of jeans I LOVE from indicustom.com (custom jeans) and am going to try duplicating them through this class. If you've wanted to learn to sew or do any new craft...check out Craftsy!