A Chocolate Tradition...

My mom's family in Canada has had a tradition of making chocolates for as long as anyone can remember. It's an art that has been altered and perfected over the years...serious business. I'm not kidding! Since we don't live in Canada to join the girl party over there, we had to start our own here in the states. I thought it would be fun for Carly to come with me this year - get her goin!

I saw the cutest aprons at Anthropologie. What I loved about them was how much they looked like real clothes. So I had a thought!....why don't I take a shirt I don't wear anymore, and convert it into aprons for me and Carly....a CrAzY thought since I only learned how to thread a machine a few months ago. But, what the heck? So here's the shirt pre deconstruction...

You can laugh at the pose if you want, but Frank already did...for a while, and I don't care!

Daughter/Mommy

For the "mommy" apron, I popped off the buttons, sewed it together, cut off the collar, cut a v-neck, cut off the back and arms, bought a coordinating fabric for the skirt, used the belt as a waist tie, added a white ruffle trim for halter, ruffles at the bottom, used th arm ties for faux pockets, and added a bling button - all the embellishments really help hide the fact that I can't sew a straight line!

For the "daughter" apron, I had this idea that the collar would look really cute as a little flap for the front. The collar was too long, so I just cut one smaller using the fabric from the back of the shirt. I added ribbon trim and two pearl buttons. I made a belt to match mine, faux pockets like mine, and ruffled bottom. It was a lot of fun...took way too much time :)

We each had to make two batches of fondant prior. While making it, I think I said out loud "this is so stupid, this is so stupid, this is so stupid" about 20 times! Fondant is not easy, and not quick. My palms were bruised, and I had 2 wooden spoon casualties. It's all worth it though, right? All in the name of TRADITION! The next day, we met at my moms at 8:30, and didn't leave the kitchen until 8:30 PM!

AND HERE'S THE FINAL PRODUCT!