Carrying a Message of Love
/Well, it is the last week of January - which means the stores are filled with red and pink and chocolate shaped hearts... that's right, Valentine's Day is hearkening nigh. OK, I will admit it - this is not my favorite holiday in the world... BUT that is only because I wish we could encourage one another to love a little more the whole year round. I wish it didn't take a semi-made up date on the calendar to make us remember to tell those closest to us that we love them.
So yes, we have a whole bunch of Heart filled fun for you this week; but I am much more excited for something that we have in store for the ENTIRE month of February. You are going to want to stick with us - it promises to be quite a bit of fun!
But today, we'll share with you an easy adaptation of the Uptown Girl by Ruby Jean's Closet (you can check out the traditional review HERE) to create the perfect Valentine's messenger of love. This easy heart pocket purse will hold all of her treasured Valentines, and as she wears it throughout the year - you can sneak in your own notes to remind her of how much you love her.
Here is Jessica to share her Valentine's inspired version of The Uptown Girl Dress.....
-------------------------------
I think aside from Christmas, Valentine's Day has to be one of my favorite holidays. In what I think was an effort to keep us from getting too giddy about the prospect of an actual sweetie on Valentine's Day, my parents always played the day up and made it a point to help us feel special and loved, even if there were no actual sweethearts to be found (for years...YEARS, people). THEY were our Valentines. :) Our celebrations usually involved fun socks, a heart-felt card, and a rare breakfast of apple pancakes. It's definitely a tradition I want to pass on to my kids
When I had the opportunity to work on a sweet dress with a fun, V-day spin, the wheels started spinning and I knew exactly what fabric and details I wanted to include! Suzanne put the bug in my ear to do a spin on the Uptown Girl Dress from Ruby Jean's Closet and make a functioning heart pocket instead of the purse that the pattern includes.
For each dress, I cut out a heart that was about 8"x 8". You can print one you like online or using clip art, or just kick it old school and freehand one on a folded piece of paper! You can make this bigger or smaller, depending on your preferences, but you get the idea. I sewed the trims on to the right side of one heart, then sewed the other heart on, right sides together, leaving a hole to turn the whole thing right side out. I ironed, the topstitched the top 1/3 of the heart and sewed the buttonhole (because that's WAY easier to do while it's NOT on the dress)! I sewed the pocket on per the rest of the instructions on the pattern, sewed a button on to close the pocket, and VOILA! A super cute Valentine delivery dress!
This dress also has other fun details, like a cute ruffled neckline and options to be sleeveless, or have 3/4 or cap sleeves. It's the perfect length for play or dressier occasions, and the best part is that hearts are really seasonless and can be worn year-round. I did also change the closure of the dress by cutting the bias tape trim a little short and did a buttonhole right on the trim instead of making a loop for the button.
I did play up the "special delivery" factor by choosing the Lovey Dovey line of fabric from Riley Blake. I couldn't pass up this darling confection of birds, flowers, and stamps. I love how the ric rac makes it look like a postage stamp, too!
Huge thanks to Rebecca Laurel Photography for the fun session. My girl always does better when she's with a friend and the girls had a great time...
...getting hopped up on cookies....
...and modeling these dresses. And an extra special thanks goes out to Adrienne and Co. Bakery Cafe for the incredible cookies and the super cute rings that matched perfectly!
