Hi there, I’m Jane and I blog over at Buzzmills where you’ll find me most days sewing, crafting or going on adventures with my two kids.  I am so happy to be joining you today for the summer sewing series Sew Many Books!
When Emily contacted me about this series I knew what book I wanted to do immediately…

Ladybug Girl and Bumblee Boy has been in our house since Violet was about 18 months old.
We (my husband and I) have always had a thing about bees and ladybugs…I’ve always been fond of ladybugs because of their theorised good luck…and, as you may have read before, I call my husband Buzz, because he was busy as a bee when we first started dating…So, you see, our love for ladybugs and bumblebees has been around for quite some time…
But, this Ladybug Girl book series has turned our love of the bugs to a love of the characters…
Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy were the first “super heroes” introduced into our family.  We love these books because they are filled with so many imaginary ideas and just the right amount of super hero play that is accessible to even young toddlers. 
Who is Ladybug Girl?… She is a little girl who has a GIANT imagination, who thinks knows she can do ANYTHING!  She doesn’t let any obstacle stop her no matter how big… One day, at the playground she sees one of her friends, Sam, and wants to play with him…but, despite many different play options, they can’t seem to agree on what they want to play…
Lulu (Ladybug Girl) comes up with a solution…“Do you want to play Ladybug Girl with me?”Sam is intrigued and wonders “How do you play that?”…Lulu fills him in on Ladybug Girl’s superpowers…
They decide that Sam looks just like a bumblebee…he see a stinger (a stick) and picks it up to become  Bumblebee Boy!

And they are off…

to fight bad guys…

and to save the playground!
And to stretch their wings…
They are a success.  The playground is safe.  There is a parade in their honor…
See, isn’t this a fun book!  It’s pretty much how my kids play at the playground every time we are there, but that might be because of this book. 
I will admit, that sewing these outfits up seemed a bit mundane at times for me…I mean sewing a red shirt is not typical for me, it’s a little too basic…but I did.
The details for Ladybug girl…  
Shirt: fabric, Red cotton knit lycra from Girl Charlee, pattern, Beachy Boatneck from Blank Slate Patterns
Skirt: fabric, ruffle knit from Girl Charlee, tutorial, layered skirt from Dana Made It
Wings: old fairy wings covered with stretch polka dotted fabric from local fabric shop, FOE for the arms.
Headband:  red headband with pipe cleaners and pompoms attached.
I wanted to try a new shirt pattern thus the beachy boatneck instead of my usual flashback skinny tee, plus it seemed more appropriate for “summer wear”.  And for the skirt, I wanted something wearable and washable.  We already have a red tutu, we didn’t need another.  I wanted this skirt to be bouncy and fluffly, but also a real skirt, not just a tutu, which is why I went with a ruffled and layered skirt.  Oy, ruffles and gathering and layering was quite a process, but the end results are great!  Bouncy and fun!
The details for Bumblebee Boy… 
Shirt: fabric, stripey knit from Girl Charlee, pattern, Beachy Boatneck from Blank Slate Patterns

This stripey fabric made me CRAZY as I was trying to line up the stripes my eyes kept blending the lines together and I couldn’t see straight!  No joke!  The shorts are not black.  They are as black as I was willing to go though.  I am not a huge fan of black and I just couldn’t bring myself to make a pair of black shorts, so very boring.  So, instead I went with a little bit black and used yellow top stitching.  I think that is perfectly Bumblebee Boyish and I enjoyed making them, although after I was finished I realized they looked an awful lot like Henry’s Easter pants.  Oops!
While making the clothes might have seemed a bit mundane to me seeing that they are quite basic…Seeing them on Violet and Henry was not! 
They loved their new outfits!  So much so that it made it nearly impossible to take their pictures…every time I tried they were off to save the world again! 
And, upon seeing their pictures next to their book characters, their eyes smiled and they grinned big happy grins!  I am happy to have been able to make them into their favorite super heroes! 
And, I’m happy that I actually remembered to put an all too fitting tag on each piece as well!  Thanks again Emily for having me here today to share our Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy adventures!  Or should I say the beginning of them…because I am sure there will more, till next time…

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