FLOWER GIRL DRESSES

My daughter-in-law has four adorable nieces, three of which would be flower girls for the wedding, the fourth was an honorary flower girl since she was just nine months old.    All of the girls live in states other than Colorado, so to begin, I asked for some basic measurements from their Moms.  With a chest, waist and length measurement I could get started in the spring,  then after a double check on the length about a month before the wedding (to allow them time to sprout over the summer), I could hem them.

The dusty pink color was so sweet and complimented the bridesmaid dresses so nicely, and with the kissing balls I made of burlap and lace, they looked absolutely adorable.   I made the 9 month old a matching lace headband to compliment her dress.   

To create added fullness, each of the flower girl dresses has a full crinoline petticoat underneath the dress.  

I also made personalized hangers for each of the girls.

Love it!  It's going to be fun for these girls to look back on the pictures from their Auntie's wedding as they get older and see how sweet they looked, and what an awesome job they did on that special day!

STRAPLESS LACE WEDDING GOWN WITH SHRUG

Wedding gowns are my passion, I love the design process and the opportunity of creating a couture gown for a bride.  It's also fun looking back afterwards on the creative process and all the steps in between-from bolt to the finished gown.  I've been so anxious to share this, but of course wanted to wait until after the big day.  Now, after months of secrecy, I can now give you a behind-the-scenes look at a Shea Marie Designs original.

This particular gown was special since it was for my daughter-in-law-to-be.  I first began the process back in December of 2014, shortly after she became engaged to our son. I can't believe I've been able to keep a secret all this time!  Let me take you through the process.......

Obviously, when the bride lives in another state as in this case, it can add some challenges, but nothing that can't be overcome. I've created two other "long distance" gowns; one for a sister-in-law and another for my niece and both worked out well.  I will say I'm particularly proud of this one since I only had the opportunity for the initial muslin fitting; that's really unheard of....but, as you can see, it fit like a glove!

I had Sarah take a plethora of measurements for me, so that when she came to Denver in January, I could have a muslin prepared for fitting purposes.  She had been looking at strapless gowns, so I made a simple strapless muslin to ensure my pattern was correct. I found a couple modifications that needed to be made during the initial fitting, but nothing too significant; raise the bodice and take it in a smidge at the waist and hip for a really good fit and flare silhouette.


During that initial visit, we also went fabric shopping. Sarah picked out some beautiful lace and the most luscious and unique latte' colored satin for the underlayer.

I constructed the satin underlayer first, and then began "piecing" the lace to create the final silhouette and train; I also had to applique' pieces of the lace motif pattern onto the bodice to create the pattern I was looking for throughout the bodice and waistline since I really wanted to accentuate Sarah's narrow waistline and hips.

lace shrug....view from the back

Sarah also chose to have a shrug that she could wear during the ceremony and then remove for the reception. This added design element really set her gown apart from so many others and was ultra flattering for her.  Sarah stands a good 5'9" tall in her bare feet, so she looked so statuesque in this design; it highlighted her square shoulders and narrow torso.   She looked absolutely stunning!

The gown has covered buttons all the way down the back of the bodice to the very end of the train; a total of 73 to be exact.  Another nine buttons are on the back of the shrug.   The lace train extended beyond the edge of the underlayer by about a foot; It is also shaped somewhat like a three leaf clover.

This particular gown was very labor intensive as a result of piecing the lace overlayer.  As corny as it sounds, it truly was a "labor of love".   In case you're wondering,  I spent a total of 65 hours from start to finish.

I am so honored that Sarah asked me to create her gown.  It touched my heart to see her wearing it on her wedding day.  She was absolutely glowing!  Congrats Sarah and Clint...Best Wishes on a long and happy marriage.

Thank you KB Digital Designs for the beautiful photos.

BANANA CRUMB COFFEE CAKE

This coffee cake is so yummy, it's good any time of day!  A robust banana flavor with a streusel filling it's a great alternative to your standard banana bread.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups flour

3 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

3 ripe bananas

½ cup butter, room temp

2 cups granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup milk

For the streusel:

3/4 cup cold butter, cubed

1 ½ cups light brown sugar

1 ½ cups flour

1 tsp. cinnamon

For the glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1-2 Tbsp. milk

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray, set aside.

In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.

In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mash bananas until they become liquified.  Mix in butter until combined and then mix in sugar, eggs, milk, and vanilla.  With mixer running on low, carefully add flour and mix until just combined. 

Prepare streusel by combining all the ingredients in a medium bowl, cut the butter in with a pastry blender until a coarse crumb forms.

Pour ½ the batter into the prepared pan.  Top with 1/3 of the streusel.  Cover the filling with the remaining batter and top with remaining crumb mixture.  Bake for 50-55 minutes until the center is set and a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool at least one hour before drizzling the glaze over the top.  

Enjoy!

recipe c/o: tideandthyme.com

BAPTISMAL GOWN

These types of projects really melt my heart.  Taking an existing item and re-tooling it to benefit the next generation.  I've done this with veils, garters and other bridal related items.  The gesture is so generous, sentimental and heartwarming; I'm all in....one way or the other, all you need to do is ask!

This particular project was a first for me.  Taking Mom's wedding gown and constructing a baptismal gown (from the train) for her six month old daughter.  The skirt of Mom's gown was so unique, I knew the minute I saw it, that it was going to make an awesome baptismal gown.

The flowers are made with a continuous ruffle of taffeta and organza (taffeta layered on top of the organza) wound and sewn into a large circular pattern; the center of each flower is filled with pearls and beads.  In between the flowers is a serpentine of ruffling, creating the illusion of a solid floral pattern.   I was amazed at how heavy the gown was, I can't imagine how exhausting it must have been wearing it on the wedding day!

Mom and I both agreed that the top of the gown should be very basic, allowing the skirt to be the centerpiece of the gown.  Mom wanted a sleeveless bodice similar to one of her daughter's two piece outfits that is one of her favorites.  I had some remnants of satin which perfectly matched the color of the gown to use for the bodice, so once I created the bodice pattern, I was ready to go to town at the sewing machine.

Once I had sewn the "skirt" (that I had created from the train) to the bodice, I chose to strategically place some additional smaller flowers in between the larger flowers, specifically on the front of the gown.  I wanted to create a more continuous floral pattern and eliminate some of the spaces between the flowers where there was just ruffling.

The back of the bodice has a keyhole opening in the center back with a single loop and covered button as the closure.  

A tiny matching ruffle flower made from some scraps, added the finishing touch for the center front of the bodice.

I absolutely adore how it turned out!  I am so honored to have been a part of creating this piece for the Knight family.  Who knows, maybe this gown can be passed along to another generation in the future?

"KEY LIME" CLOUD SQUARES

If you are looking for a refreshing summer dessert.  Look no further.....this is a special treat for sure. Great lime flavor, refreshing and light!  So good.

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs, divided

¼ cup butter, melted

3/4 cup boiling water

1 pkg. (3 oz.) JELL-O lime flavor gelatin

1 cup ice cubes

1 pkg. (8 oz.) Philadelphia cream cheese, softened

1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk

3/4 cup lime juice

2 cups thawed COOL WHIP whipped topping

DIRECTIONS:

* Reserve 1 Tbsp. graham crumbs. Mix remaining crumbs with butter; press into bottom of plastic wrap lined 9-inch square pan.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

In a small bowl, add boiling water to gelatin mix; stir 2 minutes until completely dissolved.  Add ice; stir 2 min. or until thickened.  Remove any unmelted ice.  Beat cream cheese in medium bowl until creamy.  Gradually beat in milk, then lime juice.  Add gelatin; mix well.  Whisk in 1 cup Cool Whip. Pour over crust.

Refrigerate 6 hours or until firm; Cover with remaining Cool Whip just before serving; sprinkle with reserved graham crumbs.  Use plastic wrap handles to remove dessert from pan before cutting into squares.  

* I chose to use graham cracker squares for the top of mine, versus the crumbs.

Enjoy!

Thanks to Kraft recipes for this yummy treat!

LAMP MAKEOVER

We're about three months out from moving into our new home.  The last move we plan to make!  A move that has us sifting through 20 years of STUFF, to decide what to move with us, what to donate, what we could maybe sell, and what the heck, I didn't realize we had that?

Since making our way to the design center to pick out cabinets, carpet, paint, counter tops, etc.  I've been getting more and more excited about how this house is turning into a home.   We have plenty of good furniture, prints, and accessories that will be coming along with us....but, a few new touches are definitely in order.   I mean, a new house, deserves some new touches!  Nothing that will break the bank, but some new life along the way.

So, I started with some lamps.  I can't remember any other table lamps in this house, so I'm thinking they could be going on 20 years old....and frankly, they look it.  Rather than purchase new ones, I thought I could give them a makeover since they're made of a ceramic and could be easily painted.

BEFORE

I have had a southwest theme going in the family room of this house for a long time; in fact, had we not planned to move, I would have been swapping them out anyway.  As you can see, these babies are southwest all the way!

AFTER

So long Southwest.....Hello my Pretties!!

The new home decor is going to be earth tone with the accent color of sage green (my absolutely favorite).  With that in mind, I went to town. First thing I did was spray paint the entire lamp a light beige color. This would eliminate the southwest color scheme and give me a good base coat to work with.


Next, I had a collection of craft paints with some of my colors already, a quick trip to Hobby Lobby with a 40% coupon allowed me to pick up a couple of the others that I needed.

As for the look, I knew I still wanted to highlight the mosaic tiles in the center band and felt the bottom would look good in a separate color. For the majority of the base, I wanted to blend some of the colors together.

The second step was to spray paint the bottom with the dark brown (I already had that leftover from another project).  The base of the lamp was  my own technique of sponging and blending.

I'm really pleased with the way they turned out!  They look great in our family room now and will look even better in the new house.

So, for the cost of a little paint (roughly $8.00) and two new lampshades (just under $16 per shade at Walmart), I have two "new" lamps.

What do you have in your home that could use a "makeover"?

RHINESTONE BELT

This particular belt was a stunning addition to this gown.  Lindsay contacted me to make a custom belt for the beautiful champagne gown she purchased for her summer beach wedding.  She definitely wanted it attached to the gown, plus she was hoping for a trim that would somewhat match her beautiful diamond halo engagement ring.

I found a large signature piece along with a separate trim that was a nice match to her ring.  Between the two pieces, and some additional pearls and gold beads, I was able to put together a belt for her gown that screamed elegance.

Lindsay wore her gown for the beach wedding in Mexico and about a month later for the reception she had in Colorado for family and friends.  She looked absolutely beautiful. 

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Rider.  Best Wishes on a long and happy marriage!