Fall color

  Down here in Florida, we don't get much fall color.  There are no spectacular color tours where you drive around to see the leaves changing colors.  There are no pumpkin or apple-picking adventures.  There is slightly cooler in the mornings and evenings and hot summer-like days for awhile longer and then we'll have a brief fall before winter starts.

So...we have to make our own fall color sometimes!  As I mentioned on Saturday, the kids had some fall pictures taken on Friday by a friend who set up her own fall-like environment.  All we had to do was dress our kiddos in fall colors and clothing and find a happy medium between fall apparel and summer temperatures!

I ended up putting both of my two in jeans, but I whipped up a skirt for Emma as an alternative in perfect-for-fall colors.  I knew I wanted Oren in the shirt he ended up wearing--it was a plaid featuring dark turquoise, navy, orange and green.  And I decided that the accent color I'd pick out of his shirt was turquoise for Emma--it's one of my favorite colors and I hoped it would stand out from the fall decorations while still coordinating with them.   Even in Em's jeans, she wore a turquoise headband and earrings.

But for the skirt I picked this lovely fabric I bought from Connecting Threads last fall to make a simple elastic-waisted skirt.  I believe it's called Golden Afternoon, but is all sold out.  The colors all matched the colors found in Oren's shirt and the brown matched her boots well.  Plus, can you get more fall than this?

I just cut a rectangle of fabric 16 inches long by the width of the fabric (~44 inches).  Then I sewed the selvages together (with turquoise thread!) and folded the top down to make an elastic casing.  Inserted a strip of elastic 1 inch smaller than Emma's waist, sewed the waistband shut and hemmed.  Done.  The entire thing took me maybe 20 minutes.

She tried it on with this turquoise shirt and I loved it, but she said for the pictures she felt more comfortable in the jeans.  Another way I know she's growing up--this kid has been a skirt and dress fanatic since she was old enough to point to what she wanted to wear.  Who let her grow up into a preteen so soon???

I didn't mind, because I knew going into it the skirt was a backup plan. Plus, it's not like she won't wear it ever.

So...since I didn't get professional shots of her in it Friday night, I decided to do a little mini-photo shoot at our house yesterday.  She loves to model, so she didn't mind too much.  ;)

AND...when I was cutting out this skirt panel--I accidentally cut two!  So...I've got another one ready to whip up and I thought I'd share!  So, let's have a giveaway!  Comment here if you'd like to win a skirt just like Emma's.  I can shorten the length if your little girl is smaller.  And because I am so thankful to all of you who come back repeatedly and keep me company, I'm going to give 2 entries to followers.

All you have to do is comment with your favorite fall color.  And then comment again to tell me that you follow if you do.  **Edited to add--this giveaway will be open for 1 week--you've got until Monday, October 8 at 11:59 p.m. to enter!  I'll chose a winner Tuesday morning.**

Thanks for making my fall brighter just by visiting and going on this journey with me!