You ROCK #1

I am so glad you made it to our first link party. I want this party to inspire you to Make and Create. The party will be open until Monday night, then on Wednesday, I will feature the #1 link that ROCKS (so make sure to "like" your favorite).  I will also showcase my 3 favorites. And to entice you just a little more, the #1 link that ROCKS will also get to be a guest blogger at a future date...Sounds like fun, right? 

Just like every great party has rules...

These were sleep over rules that Sam had for her party in April.

So does our linky party...they are very simple:

1. Link up something that YOU made: sewing, craft, recipe, anything that you would like to share, etc…

2. Link up to the specific post; not your blog.

3. No linking giveaways or items for sale.

4. Grab this button and post on your blog or post.

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.rocaandcompany.blogspot.com" title="rocaandcompany"><img src="http://i52.tinypic.com/u3mky.jpg" alt="rocaandcompany" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

5. Visit and comment/encourage at least one fellow blogger friend.

And just a simple request, it's optional, only if you want, I'm not gonna make you, but it would be nice if you would follow RoCa and Company.

So you ready to Party?! Let's ROCK this place!

Baby Rose Shirt Redo

I hope you are not getting too tired of my kid's shirt redos, but I REALLY like to make their shirts, especially if I can reuse their baby clothes.  My kid's baby clothes were/are so cute...I just can't help myself.  
So, this refashion comes to you courtesy of my daughter's long sleeved 2T shirt.  I love the details of this shirt and how cute it looked on Sam when she was little.  When she outgrew it, it got put away. I figured I would let Sam use it for her dolls someday. Well, forget the dolls, I used it to make a cute shirt for Sam ...six years later.

Here is what the 2T shirt looked liked before the transformation.  See how wrinkled it is from being tucked away in a chest for years?  I love the rose cut-out and the striped sleeves especially the ruffled edge at the end of the sleeves...

So, basically what I did was cut out the flower cut-out  and centered it to the new shirt. I did this by folding the shirt side ways and ironing a line down the middle.  Then I did the same with the cut-out.  

See the thread running down the middle...that is just to show you how to line up the shirt with the cut-out to get it to look centered. 

Then pin and sew around the cut-out

I sewed around the cut-out twice just because...and then trimmed the edge (sorry, forgot to take pic)

Make several strips by cutting up the sleeves. Fold and iron your strips length wise

and use them to trim out the sleeves like you would with bias tape.  Just start with one strip and when that strip runs out, layer another and continue around the sleeve.

Just sew around the sleeve.  I used the width of the foot as a guide. 

Once I was done sewing, I just trimmed off the extra fabric.

Don't forget to do the same for the neckline. Remember the cute ruffled edge on the sleeves? I cut the ruffle close to the edge and made these pretty roses. I pinned them to the flowers that were printed on the cut-out.

I sewed/tacked them down by hand and added clear beads.

and there you have it...still cute six years later ...

and, um, yeah, don't you think the shirt is cute too...?

Just a quick update...

we are safe and we still have our home.  The fire that was inching towards us was contained and is out!  But unfortunately MANY were not as fortunate.  One of today's headlines in the local paper is: 1,386 homes estimated to be destroyed in Bastrop County.   I am feeling pretty blessed right now...


Please continue to pray for the families affected by this deadly and terrible disaster. If you want to help the victims, please click {here} or {here}. You can also click this button on the sidebar. 

Thanks.


Carmen




http://www.statesman.com/community/central-texas-wildfire-fund-1825425.html

RoCa and Company will be off line for the rest of this week...

due to the devastating fires in Bastrop County.  It has been a stressful day...we packed our vehicles with all of our stuff and are ready to move out at any moment.  There is one fire that is really close to my neighborhood, about 3-4 miles, and that is too close for comfort.  Many of my closest friends have either been evacuated or have lost everything. Prayers for everyone affected by this are really appreciated. For more information on these wildfires you can visit http://www.statesman.com/ and http://bastropadvertiser.com/.  


I hope to be back next week with better news.  


Till then be safe, kiss your loved ones goodnight and think about what is really important in your life.


Carmen

DIY Angry Bird Backpack

When we bought my son's backpack for school, I was surprised that he wanted a plain Jane backpack.  No Spiderman. No Batman. Not even Spongebob. He chose a black, red and grey backpack.  But I was not surprised that Joshua already had something in mind for his plain Jane backpack. He wanted an Angry Bird backpack...more specific, he wanted the black bomb bird and the red angry bird.  So this was my solution to his 'simple' request.

I found Angry Bird clip art online and traced it with freezer paper.  I cut out the images and ironed them onto the flaps.  Cheri at I Am Momma-Hear Me Roar has a really good tutorial on freezer paper stenciling.

Right about this point is when I regretted the whole idea of the freezer paper.  See how I burned the nylon around the black edge of the flap...ugh! But I just carried on...the only option I had was to try to make it better.  So once I was done, I went back and painted in the burned part with fabric paint. It doesn't look that bad. And the best part is that Josh didn't notice...or at least he didn't say anything.

So, I painted the flaps with fabric paint, including the beaks.  I added googly eyes with fabric glue.  

A week later into kindergarten and the eyes are still on.

Overall, I'm happy with how it turned out, burned flap and all.

It's the perfect backpack for Buddy to wait for Joshua every day.  We NEVER leave home without Buddy...

not even on the first day of school. 

Sam's shirt tutorial.  Rose clip tutorial. Joshua's shirt tutorial. 

So far, Buddy has perfect attendance 

and he doesn't mind waiting in the backpack until the end of the school day. 

That is when he gets to come out of the backpack and ride the bus shot gun with his best bud, Joshua.