Getting Crafty {March}

Remember when I said my goal for 2012 was to complete one craft or sewing project a month? Well, I still haven't completed the project I had planned to do in January (one day maybe) but I did get a couple of things done today for March.

I've been wanting new Easter baskets for the girls. They have small "stuffed" ones that hold all of 6 eggs. It was tempting to "go big" since Ed and I each had gigantic baskets when we were kids. I didn't go too big but I did want baskets they wouldn't necessarily "outgrow" any time soon.

I started out with two basic wicker baskets like this one...

a little spray paint, a little sewing and some ribbon and now we have these...

Overall I'm fairly satisfied with the results. I think they could use another coat or two of paint. And even though I followed the basket liner tutorial precisely and took all my measurements twice and carefully, the liners do not fit as well as I'd like. They both could stand to be a smidge bigger. I have plenty of fabric leftover and can easily buy another can of paint so maybe before I store the baskets until next year I'll find the time to give them a quick touch up.

I also worked on Easter shirts for the girls.

Samantha's shirt went from this -

to this -

Ignore the difference of pinks. The egg appliques did not show up well when I used the flash on my camera so for the after photo I had to turn it off. I think the shirt is cuter in person than in the photo as well. One thing did drive me crazy though. It is impossible to find a cute style plain knit shirt in toddler sizes. I wanted something cuter than a basic tee but they all already had some sort of design on them. I had to settle for this one with the pink rosettes on the neckline. Don't get me wrong, the rosettes are cute but I kind of feel like the rosettes and egg appliques compete with one another. Anyhoo...

I didn't take a picture of Gabrielle's shirt before but of course it was just a plain purple shirt with some cute ruffled sleeves. And here is her shirt after -

Again, not a great picture. The white fabric applique really doesn't take well to the flash and since I know next to nothing about photography, I have no idea how exactly to solve this issue. The eyes and nose actually are not permanent yet. I'm not really sure I like the proportions. I may end up just using some embroidery thread or my sewing machine. Any opinions?