This outfit certainly screams, “Bring on the sun!” —something my subconscious was certainly yelling at me when I made this pattern. I was rewarded with a little sun today…I even managed to sit on my neighbor’s front porch for a couple of hours and soak it up while my kids played on the trampoline (and asked to put swimming suits on—I put my foot down at that request).

The top is so adorable with it’s “surprise” crisscross straps in the back. Place the buttons on the outside or sew them into the inside for a more modern look.

I put together yardage for using 1 fabric on the skirt or 3 (one fabric for each ruffle). I love the effect of both skirts! Should you get creative with this pattern, be sure and show off in our Flickr Gallery.

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(Felicity decided that some jumping was in order for a good portion of the photoshoot).

Check out our sewing pattern page if you haven’t had a chance to do so already. You’ll get a chance to look at the back and front of the pattern (click on the images to see them bigger). I hope you enjoy these patterns and please be sure to call your local quilt shop requesting these so you can get your hands on some!

Happy weekend!

Carina

If you are looking for sophisticated, you need look no further than the High Tea Soirèe Dress Sewing Pattern! I adore this pattern because the fabrics can change the look of this pattern in an instant. Make it fabulous and fancy or super sweet.

I only a had a couple of days to get ready for this photoshoot and once I had decided on the name, I knew that I needed the perfect tea set.

I wanted a mixed and match set so I went to a local antique shop. I pulled all my favorite teacups and pitchers into one area and came up with this precious set (I can’t image the antique shop owners loved what I was up to).

After the shoot I left the tea set out on the coffee table and my girls had great fun pretending to make tea. Of course, Felicity broke one of the plates after a couple of days of play (a pretty good record if you ask me). It was kind of a sad end to the antique tea plate, but I’m not the kind of mom who won’t let her kids play with a delicate tea set (or draw on the ceilings, or graffiti on the cabinets…sigh). What’s the fun in that?

And those delicious little cupcakes came from Mini’s. I heart their vanilla bean cupcakes!

All of the fabric used in this line is from my Love Nest™ Collection. It’s a tiny line with a lot of possibilities!

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This dress can be made with two or three fabrics, and you will need interfacing for the clutch. The bows on the side of the cross-over bodice is mimicked in the bitty bow clutch. I’ve been meaning to see what kind of crazy concoction I can get if I use only striped fabric and make part of the dress horizontal stripes (fabric 1) and the other parts vertical stripes (fabric 2). I’ll show you when I get around to making it!

While my passion is dresses, I absolutely adore a great little shirt and capri. The Playdate Outfit comes in sizes extra small to extra large (covering 2T, 3T, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ) and includes pattern sizing for a dress, blouse, capri, and shorts. It’s by far my most versatile pattern.

I’ll admit I had a tough time making sure that this pattern stayed simple and true to my own style. We even went as far to shoot this outfit twice…with the first pattern being changed in favor of this one.

What do I love about this outfit? I adore the tiny little ruffle sleeves and the small gather on the front of the blouse and dress. I like that I can see Flissa romping about in this dress with leggings all summer long. Or hanging out in a pair of capris on a playground.

My little model, Olive, was very sweet, and we had Felicity dress up to keep her company (although the Suntop and Skirt wasn’t shot until two days later).

Unfortunately, Flissa spent a good deal of time sticking a white mum in Olive’s face. Here’s the mischief maker doing her worst (As Olive diligently looks at her flower and obeys the photographer!).

Did I mention I bought A LOT of flowers for these photoshoots these last two months. It’s been a naughty excuse to have flowers constantly in my house.

Okay, now I’m off to finish off a free digital kit I’ve been making for my facebook page. If you haven’t joined in for a little chit chat, please drop by!

We are trying to reach 1200 followers after which I’m sending out a link to download the kit. If you’ve never digi scrapped before, this is a great way to get into it (because free rocks:).

Be back tomorrow!

XOXO-Carina

I can hardly contain my excitement about this new line! I started thinking about this project over a year ago and to finally see it come into fruition…well, it’s a bit overwelming.

What’s my philosophy about children’s clothing? Well, I believe it needs to be

If my girls won’t wear it, there’s a good chance yours won’t either. So the clothing needs to feel special while being comfy. Siri and Flissa have tested out all the clothing (Man, it’s a tough life!) and have given the outfits two thumbs up! I hope your little ones like them as well.

The pattern featured today is my Love Nest™ Ruffle Dress. It’s so swweeet! I originally made the pattern for Siri. The bottom ruffle peek-a-boos along the entire bottom of the dress and the scrunchy ruffle flower is the perfect embellishment for the dress or headband.

This sewing patterns comes in sizes extra small to extra large and covers children sizes 2T, 3T, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.

All sewing patterns come with a metric conversation chart, glossary of terms, illustrated instructions, easy-to-understand child sizing charts, and yardage.

Our first shipment of products will be on April 1, 2011 (I’m positively jumpy with excitement!). We are taking pre-orders now.

Want to make sure that your local retailer knows about these sewing patterns? Add them to our mailing list and they will get our latest discounts and offers. And feel free to email them or give them a call if you want them to carry our lines!

Retailers and Distributors: We do have a brand new site just for you! Please email us at wholesale@carinagardner.com so we can send you your password to login to the site. In the meantime, check out our wholesale site.

Can’t wait to see the other patterns? You can take a sneak peek at the sewing pattern section of our website. I’ll be back tomorrow with more pictures and info!

Finally, our  March-April quarterly newsletter will be coming out sometime next week. I’ll talk about my process for creating the patterns and my upcoming (HUGE) digi sale at JessicaSprague.com. If you haven’t signed up for the newsletter in the past or haven’t read previous issues, please check them out here.

Thanks for letting me share all the good news!

XOXO-Carina