Daily Life and A Little New Decor

 Just A Few Things Here Lately

Hi friends! I'm just popping on today to share a little bit of daily life and a little bit of new decor around the house. Really, just a little bit of this and that. Hope you enjoy! I wanted to add a little something to the guest bathroom shelf and I found this cute cat wearing eyeglasses at Hobby Lobby. 

So this is what the shelf looks like now. Just a little simple vignette for a pre-Spring look. I love anything with cats and this adds a little whimsy to the bathroom shelf. 

I also added this cute hanger to the front door. Three important words to live by....Faith, Hope and Love! I found this at Dollar Tree and it's also perfect for the pre-Spring and Easter front door style. 

I pulled out a few carnations and some baby's breath from my Valentine's flower arrangement and created a bud vase arrangement for the living room mantel.

The miniature battery operated white lights add a cheerful glow to the mantel in the evenings. So pretty. 

I've also been creating more doll clothes for Barbie. I sewed this paper bag skirt for her. 

The pink cold shoulder top and pink shoes were ones I ordered. 

I sewed this V-neck dress for Barbie and styled it with white boots and a purse that I ordered online. 

I tried lining this dress and fashioned a tie belt to cinch the waist. It turned out pretty well. 

I picked up some Fat Squares fabric and some colorful buttons at Hobby Lobby and have plans for more Barbie outfits and possibly some other items. I love these fabrics, especially the blue! I have been doing some online research, also, and am finding other folks who also enjoy creating and sewing doll clothes and that has been fun to discover!

In other news, I'm currently reading, "An Unlikely Lent," by Rachel Billups and will be leading a study of this book at my church. Our first class got cancelled this week due to bad weather so, hopefully, next week will bring blue skies and warmer temps so we can meet! This book looks at people who were on the periphery of the Easter story and yet played an important role in the events of Holy Week. It's very interesting and thought provoking. 

I also had the opportunity to bring the message at our church last Sunday while our pastor is on a mission trip to Africa. It's always a blessing to be able to share a sermon and lead worship. This particular sermon was written from the text about the walk to Emmaus. I emphasized that Jesus is walking with each of us in our daily travels through life even when we don't recognize that He is there. I hope that each of us can experience an Emmaus walk as we go through the Lenten season. 

And, finally, The Mr. participated in a brass concert on Sunday afternoon that I attended. The music was really spectacular and was a relaxing way to spend a Sunday afternoon after a busy Sunday morning! All in all, a very nice day. 

So, this is how I've been styling life lately. How about you? What has daily life, for you, been like? Hope you will take a moment to share in the comments. I enjoy hearing from you!

Until Next Time,

Debbie This and That

A Little Bit of This and That and A Barbie Doll Hobby

 Sewing, Flowers and New Hobby

Hi friends! In true "this and that" fashion, today's post has a little bit of everything in it. I hope you enjoy and find something of interest to read about. Did you love on yourself for Valentine's Day? I hope you had a wonderful day and treated yourself well. Above you see the flowers that The Mr. and I picked out together at Sam's Club. If you haven't checked out flowers there give them a try. They had HUGE amounts of flowers the day before Valentine's Day that were reasonably priced. It was fun to look at all of the choices and pick out what we wanted. I arranged the flowers in a large Longaberger pitcher and they are on display on our kitchen counter where we can both enjoy them! BTW, I'm not paid to promote Sam's Club. I thought you might just enjoy finding flowers at a good price. To me, flowers bring joy and beauty to whatever room they are in and I love having them on display. Although I use faux silk flowers around the house, there is nothing quite like real, live flowers!

I've been doing several different types of sewing projects lately (more to come on that later) and one I completed recently is this cute cat pillowcase. I found this fabric at Michael's and bought enough to sew two pillowcases. I love the black and white and how some of the cats are wearing bow ties! This fabric definitely fits into our house and Cassie and Garden have both told me that they approve! No word yet from River, however! (I may need to look for fabric with dogs on it!)

And guess what? I have a new "hobby" that involves Barbie dolls. This topic requires some explanation-a "back story" if you will. When I was a little girl, I absolutely LOVED Barbie dolls. I had a collection of dolls with clothes, some purchased and some handmade, that I played with all the time. I had a little suitcase that I kept my dolls and their clothes in and I carried that suitcase with me whenever my Mom would go someplace and I went along or when we visited friends and family and I always had something to play with and occupy my time. As I got older, I also had a Crissy doll (remember her?) that I also played with. My Mom sewed several outfits for my Crissy doll which I still have and one of my sisters sewed some Barbie outfits for me. These dolls were special to me. But, of course, eventually I outgrew them and they ended up in the attic. I believe my nieces played with the Barbies over the years and I don't really know what happened to them. My oldest sister returned my Crissy doll and the outfits my mom made to me several years ago and I have them stored safely. 

So, here we are.....ohhhh 50+ years later or so......and I began thinking about Barbie and all the fun I had styling her in different outfits. I had bought a Dollar Tree doll a few years back (some of you may recall those posts) but somehow it just wasn't the same and so I passed her on for someone else to enjoy. And I even had a fourth grade student and her mother buy me a Barbie doll years ago as a Christmas present after I shared with the class how much I had fun playing with Barbies as a little girl. That was such a sweet gift from them! But, again, after a few years of Barbie being up in the closet, I gave her away to a thrift store. 

Fast forward to this past Christmas season.....I was feeling very nostalgic about Christmases past, missing family members and the "way things used to be." Probably all of us have been there with experiencing these kinds of feelings. Anyway, I once again began thinking of Barbie dolls and I decided to give myself a nostalgic Christmas present. So.....I ordered myself a Holiday 2025 Barbie Doll!

Here I am Christmas morning unwrapping my doll. Yep, I wrapped the box and put it under the tree and the gift tag said, "To Debbie from Debbie." And yes, The Mr. might have thought I was a little silly but he's used to me! (wink)

So, here I am embarking on a new hobby of collecting and styling Barbie clothing and accessories. The doll arrived wearing this gorgeous ball gown with heels, earrings and a stand so she can be displayed. I decided to turn this gown into a bridal look and so I created a wedding veil for her using gold ribbon that I wound around a small pipe cleaner that I cut to size and then tied the tulle veiling strips to the headpiece. 

I enjoyed creating the veil so much that I began to think about whether or not I would like to try creating outfits for her using fabric I had on hand. So....I went online and started researching sewing Barbie doll clothing. I found a simple pattern (I knew I would need something simple) and I gave it a try.

Here is the first dress I sewed for her. I added the yellow ric-rac to the hem to add a little something extra to the fabric and I also gave her a yellow headband to pull the look together. 

Isn't she a beautiful doll? I must tell you that I had no idea how Barbies have changed over the last half century! When I ordered this doll I was able to choose hair color and skin tone. There are Barbies in all sizes, skin tones, ethnicities and hair colors available for purchase. There are also special Barbies that celebrate famous women and special needs dolls, as well. There is a whole world out there that revolves around Barbie doll collectors and merchandise that celebrates Barbie! How wonderful, also, for little girls (and big girls) to be able to have so many choices in choosing a Barbie that looks similar to them! But I digress....back to sewing doll clothes. 

This is the second dress I sewed for her using white polka dot fabric on a black background. I added an elastic belt for good measure. I love this fabric and wouldn't mind having a dress for myself made from this fabric. As I contemplated the dresses I had sewn, I decided to order some outfits online to see if I could learn a little more about how they did finishing on doll clothes. So, I ordered a set of outfits and accessories on Amazon.

The set came with about six mix and match outfits, several pairs of shoes and boots and a little purse. Also, this ball gown was in the set. It's a pretty pink gown with sparkles at the shoulders and on the bodice. 

And this is more of a business suit look. 

I prefer a longer skirt but this is how the outfits came. They all use Velcro as fasteners on the back and the shoes have slits on the back so they can slide on the doll's feet. 

The fabric quality of the purchased clothing is just so-so. I used higher quality fabric on the dresses I sewed in my opinion. But, I do like having more variety for styling and having the extra accessories in shoes and boots. I was concerned about the finishing on the dresses I sewed, especially around the neckline area. But I noticed that some of these purchased outfits don't have finishing either. For instance, the white top above doesn't have finishing around the sleeves. The jacket covers that up. 

So, this is a long post, I know, but I wanted to share my newest hobby with you....collecting Barbie dolls and sewing doll clothes and styling the dolls. I definitely plan on adding another doll in the future. Perhaps, as another Christmas or birthday present to myself? I was a little hesitant about sharing this on the blog as I fear some may think this is "silly" at my age. But, I can tell you that this new hobby gives me joy and is an outlet for creativity. And isn't that what hobbies are all about? I don't have room for lots and lots of dolls so probably two or three will be enough. And I want the fun of choosing the dolls myself. I hope to become more adept at sewing the doll clothes and, who knows, perhaps I will learn enough to sew a simple top or dress for myself?! Time will tell. 

What hobbies or interests have you been enjoying lately? I hope you will take a moment to share in the comments. I look forward to hearing from you!

Until Next Time,

Debbie This and That

 

The Joys of a Corduroy Dress

 Looking For A New Dress Idea?

Hello friends! I don't do many fashion posts anymore, but this dress is something that I decided to share with all of you. Let me assure you that this is not a paid post and I receive nothing for sharing this dress and where I purchased it from. 

This winter season, I have rediscovered a love for corduroy pants, skirts and dresses but have discovered that finding styles I like in these items can be challenging. Lo and behold, I saw an ad for The Vermont Country Store online and, after checking it out to make sure it was legit, I went to their site and discovered this pretty corduroy dress! This store carries so many interesting and hard to find items! And they carry many different styles of clothing. 

This particular dress is long sleeved with a tie in the back to adjust the waist area to your particular shape. It has buttons all down the front and pintucks on the bodice. ( I think that's the correct description for the front of the dress.) There are different color choices and you can choose a solid color or a pattern. The dress also comes in a jumper style if that is what you prefer. I found the size chart they offer to be accurate. I am wearing a Medium and it fits perfectly. This dress is not a "stiff" corduroy but soft and warm, but not overly hot. I just love this dress and have worn it a few times already! I know I will get good wear from this dress. 

So, if you're looking for something different or hard to find in a dress or jumper, or household goods or whatever, give this store a try to see if they have what you are looking for. Again, this is not a sponsored post, but I do like what The Vermont Country Store has to offer. Just my opinion. 

I hope that you are having a good day/week and that temps are getting warmer wherever you may be. We are supposed to be in the high 60's today which will be a welcome change from the recent single digits we have experienced!

Until Next Time,

Debbie (This and That)