My Elevation Creations

Category: Crafts and Other Creations

Kenna’s Wedding Dress

Wow! I can’t believe that it is already November and I haven’t posted anything on this website since…I can’t even remember. I promised so many people that I would put out an article about Kenna’s wedding dress and I’m finally getting to it. I’ve done several dresses through the years, mine included, and I’ve enjoyed the process on each one. The only snag I find with making dresses is finding a pattern that fits the vision. I have a wonderful friend that was so helpful in helping us put together a pattern for Kenna’s dress. She wanted a simple dress with a v-neck and a straight waist line that actually sat at her waist. You would think that a dress pattern would be easy to find with those parameters, but alas, they are not easy to find. Thank you Jennifer Nelson for your amazing wrapping paper pattern! I think my next creative venture needs to be pattern making, so I can turn a sketch into a beautiful gown.

It’s all cut out, now on to assembly.

Lining, because layers of satin and lace are not enough by themselves.

She picked out a beautiful lace, that looked so nice over the satin.

Making sure the pleats line up just right.

Before you can assemble, you have to combine each piece with the lace.

I’m so focused, and tanned! You can tell it was still summer.

Marking the lining pleats.

I love that the pattern was made from wrapping paper!

More pleat markings.

I mark with pins, maybe not as accurate as using a marking pencil, but easier to get out.

I love the lace pattern for the back pieces!

Ready to join to the front.

Trying to keep all the pieces straight and not sew the wrong things together.

uh-oh. The seam ripper is never a good sign.

Can’t remember what I did wrong, so it must not have been that bad.

All fixed, let’s try that again.

Lining’s going in.

Hoping it all lines up. Wow, I need a manicure!

Work in progress.

All right folks, we have a bodice!

Saving the scalloped edges for the sleeves.

Making sure it fits. We had to do a little altering so she could bend her arms.

That’s better.

So Pretty!!

Now we have sleeves!

On to the Skirt. We have about 5 yards of satin and 10 yards of chiffon in the skirt!

It may not look like it, but that’s a lot of fabric.

Two layers of chiffon over the satin.

Doesn’t is have a nice drape?

The first try on, without a zipper.

Zippers can be stressful, especially with so many layers to deal with. I guess I needed my rally hat.

Just be straight, Just be straight.

It worked! I was so happy when the waist seam lined up!! Doesn’t always happen on the first try.

I love the way the lace came together on the back.

Time to trim the length. Don’t fall off the stool Kenna.

It would be easier to hold all that chiffon if you could use both hands.

Here is the finished product. She was so beautiful that day, as always, and she loved the dress.

The Carroll Family

11/16/2017
Mom, I Need a Dress…

How many of you moms out there have heard this request a time or two? I have three daughters, so I’ve heard it a few times. Most of the time for special dances or play costumes, and once for a wedding. This time it was for my youngest daughters Junior Prom. Her invitation came about a week before we left for New York, so I told her the dress would have to wait until we got home, which only gave us about a week and a half to find a pattern, fabric, and to construct the masterpiece. But, apparently I thrive on pushing the time limits on projects, so it was a perfect scenario. One challenge for this dress was the requested color. Kamee wanted dark green which isn’t exactly a typical spring formal kind of color. We went to the available “fabric” stores, and I used quotes because there really aren’t any fabric stores around here anymore. Joann was a bust; Walmart…NO; Hobby Lobby, again, NO; I didn’t check at Michael’s because I didn’t even realize they had fabric. I knew the quilt shops would not have satin. Then I remembered a little place I found last summer. It’s a dress shop run out of a house, and she has everything! Tons of lace and satin and tulle, and colors! She had hunter green lace and satin at a very good price. Her name is Jeannie, and she is a sweet lady. But, if you look her up and go to her shop take cash, because she doesn’t take cards (one quick trip to the ATM and we were in business). In an attempt to save time looking through pattern books, we searched online. We found a pattern pretty quickly, and Walmart said they carried it, but when we got there they were out! So much for saving time. Joann had it, as well as thread for my serger so we were in business. Back home with all of the “ingredients” we got busy. Kamee helped me lay out the pattern and also with some of the cutting.

Hunter Green Satin and Lace

So pretty.

getting ready to overlay

bodice is coming together

done with the first phase

close up

pressing the sleeves

sewing sleeves

scalloped edge on lace sleeve overlays

we have sleeves!

pinning pleats

finished pleats

hand-stitching the lining

selfie shot

all done!

Very nice!

Hey Mom, Can we make a matching bow tie?

Sure, why not?

I’ve never made a bow tie before. In fact I’ve never tied a bow tie before. Kamee found a pattern online so we gave it a try. It was pretty easy and it came out very nicely. But, we also had to pull up a tutorial on how to tie it!

All in all, it was a successful project, and I look forward to the next request!

They’re so cute, and doesn’t his tie match perfectly!

05/04/2017
Happy 175th Birthday Relief Society

A few weeks ago, they announced the Birthday celebration for the Relief Society. The Relief Society is the women’s organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, of which I am a member. We are the largest women’s organization in the world, and we are celebrating the 175th birthday this month, as we were organized in March 1842. The purpose of Relief Society is to “help prepare women for the blessings of eternal life as they increase faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and His Atonement; strengthen individuals, families, and homes through ordinances and covenants; and work in unity to help those in need. Relief Society accomplishes these purposes through Sunday gospel instruction, other Relief Society meetings, visiting teaching, and welfare and compassionate service.” (https://www.lds.org/topics/relief-society?lang=eng&old=true)

As part of our celebration this year, we had a cake decorating contest. I may be just a little competitive, so I singed up and started thinking about what I wanted my cake to look like. I decided to try to incorporate the Relief Society seal somehow, and after checking pinterest for ideas, I settled on a two tiered round layer cake, with a fondant base and white on white piped writing. I had never tried fondant, so I looked up a recipe and that’s what I did. My sister had used homemade fondant on my daughter’s wedding cake and had said it was pretty easy to work with, and I’ve watched just about every cooking show on the food network, so I thought, “what have I got to lose?”

This is the crumb coat with buttercream frosting. I used a cream cheese frosting in between the layers. Yummy! This is the 10 in bottom layer, I didn’t take pictures of the 8 inch at this stage.

Here is the fondant on the 8 in layer. It’s made from marshmallows, powdered sugar, a little water, and a few drops of doTERRA lemon oil for flavor. It smelled so good, and tasted delicious.

Adding the Relief Society motto, and the first few lines of the declaration: “We are beloved spirit daughters of God, and our lives have meaning, purpose, and direction. As a worldwide sisterhood, we are united in our devotion to Jesus Christ, our Savior and Exemplar. We are women of faith, virtue, vision, and charity…” I haven’t piped since I worked at Cookies by Design in Ohio, and then it was on a nice horizontal surface, not a curved vertical one!

Adding some swirly borders.

At this point, I thought I was done, but the plain yellow borders didn’t quite look finished, so….

Adding both colors on each layer pulled it all together. While the work isn’t perfect, it was really fun to decorate again. And it was very well received at the party. I even won an award:

What a blessing to share in this special night with my sisters in Relief Society! We shared wonderful stories and yummy cake and other treats. I love that the gospel of Jesus Christ can bring us together and give us cause to not only worship together, but to celebrate and entertain each other. I’ve added friends to my life in all of the places we have lived, through Relief Society. To all of you from here to Ohio, I love and miss you and am so glad to count you as friends.

03/19/2017
Yards and Yards of Skirt

I love to sew. I like to make clothes, and table covers, and curtains, and bags. Pretty much anything. This year, I have had the opportunity to hem choir dresses and pants for the high school choir, and band. When we lived in Ohio, and Kiah started playing in the high school band, I was recruited to be on the sewing committee. We helped with fitting and altering marching uniforms and concert attire. Then when Devon got to high school and joined the choir, I added choir robes to my repertoire. I think sewing is becoming a lost art and I’m so thankful that I learned this skill from my mom, and my 4-H leader when I was young. I’ve made a few wedding dresses, and I’m sure I have at least a couple more to make. I’ll do another post about that later.

So here I am, taking over the living room to finish a few dress hems. One of the styles is a gorgeous full dress with an organza overlay. It takes me about 30 minutes just to serge around both layers, and I have to mark them with chalk so I can see where to cut them. It has been a fun project throughout the school year, and it was a good way to earn money for Kamee and I to go on the New York trip with the choir and actors ensemble next month.

02/17/2017
Jelly fish and Dollies

My youngest son needed a secret Santa gift last Christmas for a girl in his choir class at school. One of her favorite animals is a Jelly Fish. I happened to see a cute jelly fish pattern on Pinterest so I thought I would give it a try. I loved it, and so did she!

Then my Granddaughter came to visit for Thanksgiving and she loved it too, so I made her one for Christmas. I also have made dolly purses for quite a few years. My good friend in Ohio came home from a trip to Amish country with this cute bag that folds down into a baby bassinet. She showed it to me and asked if I could replicate it. So I took a good look at it and gave it a try. I wish I had taken pictures of all of the bags I’ve made since, but I just didn’t think about it. Anyway, I made Gwen her dolly bag to match her Jelly.

Here is a picture of a doll bag turned into a “purse” and with it opened into a bassinet.

02/08/2017