"princess" sleeve tutorial

my girls have a perfectly fantastic ability to collect stains on the sleeves and cuffs of the tees we use for layering... so we have quite a few tees lying around that could use a little pick me up!
i have seen cute fancy-sleeved tees in boutiques and online shops and when i spied the same sort of lace used on those frilly shirts at my local hobby lobby, i couldn't buy that lace and get home fast enough, itching to transform some plain ole used up tees into something really fun for my girls!
 the project was so easy and the results so well-received by my kiddos (who are, by the way, attracted to anything even the least bit princess-y), that i wanted to pass along these simple instructions to you all!
what you will need:

(i am using a new tee here but used ones are perfect too!) I love my rotary cutter and straight edge, but you will be fine without those--just use scissors and make as even a cut as possible!

this is a photo of the aisle at my hobby lobby where i found the 5" ruffled ribbon lace...

they carry cream, white and black in this style. they also had some even fancier laces that would look precious for a dressier outfit. if you don't have a hobby lobby nearby, you can order it online and still use a 40% off coupon! i couldn't find this same lace at any other local stores, but you might have better luck than me!

 i purchased two yards of the lace so i would have plenty to makeover a few tees for each girl.
alright, on to the tutorial!

~fold your tee in half, being careful to line up shoulder seams and sleeve seams

 ~lay your lace on top of the sleeves to get an idea for where you would like the hem of the lace to fall. i chose to make the top have more of a 3/4 sleeve, so i decided to position my cut about 7 inches in from the bottom of the sleeve.

 ~place your straight edge along the sleeve at the point where you decided the lace would look best.

 ~and chop that sleeve cuff off!

 

~now lay your lace once more on the sleeve, this time to get a feel for how much lace you will need for each sleeve. my sleeve was about 3.5 inches wide when folded, so i cut 8 inches of lace for each sleeve. be sure to cut at least .5 inch more lace than sleeve width to allow for the seam you will create on the lace.

 ~so here is what you have now!

 ~fold your lace in half, right sides together and pin, making sure that the edges line up.

 ~ sew the right sides together in a straight line with at least a 1/4 seam allowance.

 ~now flip it right side out so that this is what you have now.

 ~to give the lace more security, fold your seam allowance to one side and top stitch so you have lace that looks like this now!

 

~now pin your lace to your sleeve. match the seam of your lace with the seam on the sleeve so that both seams are on the underside of the arm. the ribbon band is the perfect guide--just line up the bottom edge of the ribbon with the edge of your sleeve.

 ~now sew very carefully, attaching the lace to the sleeve, but being careful to only catch the portion you are working on. i lined the edge of my presser foot up to the edge of the lace to be sure that i caught the lace and the sleeve when sewing.

 ~once you work your way carefully around the entire sleeve, examine the inside of the sleeve to be sure that you caught both layers. if you missed any portion, just go back and sew that section together--the extra stitching will not be noticeable--just be sure your thread color matches your lace! now repeat with the second sleeve!

 and viola! your princess sleeve top is all ready for wear!

i turned my tee into a dress since i had already transformed all our tees...

 

it's guaranteed to be a hit at the ball or on the playground!!

if you decide to revitalize any tees, i'd love to see your finished projects, so send me an email at chickadeechickadeee at gmail dot com!

red and pink giveaway! ~closed!~

In celebration of Valentine's Day, I am so happy to announce a new giveaway! And not only is a little chickadee chickadee in the prize bundle, but also included are some absolutely yummy goodies that I know you all will love!

I love getting to know my customers because you guys are just the best! One of my sweet customers has just opened up her own etsy shop and it has been lots of fun watching her creations take place! Julie makes the most adorable chunky beaded necklaces for little girls. As a mommy of two little ladies, she knows all about what girls love--color, spunk and fun in their jewelry! My girls have a little jewelry box and every morning when we get dressed they pick out a few pieces to accessorize... I rarely have time to even apply a little lip gloss these days, much less dress up (my workout gear--haha!! especially ironic seeing as I also barely make time to exercise these days either!) with necklaces and bracelets... but somehow those little chickadees of mine never had to be taught that accessorizing is fun! They put on some jewelry and bam--they feel so special and beam with excitement! I ordered necklaces for my girls and nieces from Julie for Christmas presents and when all four of them opened up their new baubles, they all smiled from ear to ear! (check out some pictures of my oldest pairing some chickadee chickadee with lil mar & co here!) I have no doubt that your little babes will have the same reaction when they see Lil Mar & Co.'s beautiful pieces! My husband likes to give the girls something special on Valentine's Day and these would be so perfect for that! Anyways, Julie is graciously giving away one of her Lots of Love necklaces!

And do you know what would go absolutely perfectly with that gorgeous necklace? A pair of red and white candy stripe double ruffles pants!!  And a matching red or red and pink hair clip or headband!! Yep, I'm giving away a pair of ruffles in your choice of size--6m to 5t and whichever kind of hair accessory your daughter would like best--headband or hair clip. And since I love banners for every occasion, I will also make the winner a reds and pinks circle garland like in this photo!  (sorry, the dress and bloomers aren't included in the giveaway--I sent those off to my little niece already!)

And now that the outfit is taken care of, let's move on to one of the most important things about February 14th...the valentines themselves!! My dear friend Tracy owns the most adorable paper shop and I've told you all about her amazing designs before! She is a party planning mastermind...seriously! She created all the chickadee chickadee icons and labels and business cards, but she does way more than that! Birthday party invitations, Thank you cards, personalized stationary, baby shower invitations, wedding stationary and shower invitations, Christmas cards, birth announcements...you name it...if it involves paper, she can do it!! Tracy is giving away printable Valentine's favor tags and flat card "love notes"! yea!!  {4 PDF customized printable files (no printed materials will be shipped).... 2 flat note styles and 2 square card styles.  The square cards come in your choice size: 2.5 inch favor tag or 4 in. Valentine card.}

Alright so on to the details...

-For your first entry, become a facebook fan of each of our shops--super easy, just follow the links below and click "like"!

     -Lil Mar & Co

     -Sweet Peach Paperie

     -Chickadee Chickadee

Once you've liked all three pages, leave a comment on this blog post with your facebook name!

-Want another entry, just share this giveaway on your facebook wall (be sure to link to this blog page!) and leave another comment that you've done so!

-For an additional entry, become a public follower of each of our blogs--and leave another comment!

   -Lil Mar & Co

   -Sweet Peach Paperie

   -Chickadee Chickadee

-For an additional entry, browse through Lil Mar & Co on etsy and leave a comment with the name of your favorite necklace!

-For an additional entry, browse through Sweet Peach Paperie on etsy and leave a comment with your favorite item!

You can get up to five entries into this giveaway so, follow those easy steps to increase your chances to win this fun prize package--be sure you've left a separate comment for each of the five entries you complete and also be sure there is a way to contact you through your blogger profile!!  This giveaway will end on Friday, January 27th at midnight so that we can mail off your goodies in time for you to enjoy them this February!

Thank you all for being such wonderful customers and friends!!

(If you don't have a google account but want to participate, you can email me your entries at chickadeechickadee at gmail dot com)
~~~congrats to hillary, comment 94!~~~

ready to ship photo shoot!

i know, i know...this blog has been sorely neglected! so much has happened since i last posted which was...um five months ago! but i'll save that for another day... right now i figured i'd release a few early pics of some of tonight's ready to ship items...i let my girls try on a few pieces (and don't worry, they only had each item on for all of two seconds!) to model them for you! they'll be up for sale in half an hour!!