Layla's First Circus

Ringling Bros. came to town over the past weekend and I HAD to go!  I had only been to the circus once and that was many many years ago when I was probably in the 5th grade.  I had been wanting to go back ever since then!  Hearing the music, laughing at the clowns, seeing tigers and elephants, and watching the acrobats soar across the sky is not something you get to do everyday.  It is so much fun!  So of course being a mommy...I had an excuse to buy tickets this year!


My oldest daughter is only 15 months old, so I do not expect her to ever remember this experience, but I sure will!  Ever since I was a little girl I wanted to grow up to be a mommy.  I had lots of practice with my dolls and took them everywhere I went!  As I got older I always thought to myself "I can't wait to have babies and take them to the places like the circus!"

I was so excited I decided to dress Layla up for the event!  I went with the option of a cute little clown since some of the girl clown's get really girly.  I made a clown tulle tutu with bright colored pom poms and a matching felt headband.  I layered the tutu over purple leggings and a pink shirt.  All of the different colors looked like something a clown would wear.  Then I just painted the tip of her nose red and tada!  We had a baby clown!  

Sitting in the seat with her in my lap it was all I could do to choke down my tears.  I know I am such a sap lol.  The only reason I didn't choke up right there is because I didn't want Angie to think I was crazy lol.

I was afraid that with her being so little, she would loose interest very fast.  However, Layla was curled up in my lap watching the entire thing!  She was smiling so big, and pointing to all the different things. Shouting "KIKI!" when she saw the tigers and "PUPPY!" when the dancing poodles came out. She would stand up in my lap to get a better view and would just dance away and clap!  It just lit up my heart to know that she enjoyed it!

At the finale of the show, it was really all I could do not to shed millions of little sappy tears lol.  She stood in my lap, wrapped her arm around my neck as tight as she could, and layed her cheek on mine.  I would look up at her and smile and she would rub my hair and give me kisses on my cheek!  It was like she was trying to say "Thank you mommy!"

This will definitely be a yearly thing!  And next year, my other baby girl will be big enough to go too! YAY!

Here are some of the pictures my wonderful Angie caught for us!

Human Cannon Ball

This girl has some muscles for sure!

 Baby Elephant!!  I want one!!

 I'm too much of a scaredy cat to ever ever attempt this!

This looked like fun!

The gymnists guys were jumping through and over the ribbon.

Ring Master

This was my favorite part!  Poodles are hialrious!  This one is walking the baby poodle on a leash.

 This guy has serious guts!!

The moment my sweet girl was giving me lovins :)  So glad Angie took this picture!

This was sooo worth it :)

Clown Tulle TuTu

Having girls, I LOVE to make girly things.  I go a little over board on the tutu making.  I make one for each special event I do believe!  This tutu was used for my little girl to wear to the circus!  I wanted her to look somewhat like a girly clown!

Tutu's are so much fun to make.  You can use your creativity and do any color combination you wish!  You can add ribbons, bows, sequins, and in this case...pom poms!

I have tried making tutu's several ways, trying to come up with cheaper, faster, more creative ways to make them.  This method seems to be my favorite.  It took all of 20 minutes to make (exception of the pom pom additions).  Another thing I like about this method is that it has lasted a pretty good while.  Other methods I have tried have only held up for the event and then kept falling off of her tiny little waist.  This tutu, my daughter has been playing dress up in for days now and it is still holding up pretty well!

All you need is:
scissors
elastic
thread
tulle
pom poms (optional)
hot glue gun (if you're adding pom poms)



First you will need to measure the waist the tutu will be going on.  Cut your elastic an inch or so smaller than that so it will fit really well. After you tie your tulle on, the elastic will have stretched.

Sew the elastic ends together.  Even if you know nothing about sewing (like me) just thread the needle through a lot so the elastic doesn't come undone.  You can see in my picture just how horrible I am at sewing!  But if I made this skirt and it stayed together...then so can you!

After you have sewn the ends together, you can slide the elastic over you thigh in order to keep it stable and in place so you do not have to keep moving it.

Next you need to cut your tulle.  Decide how long you want your tutu to be and double that before cutting the strands.  For example..if you want a 8" long tutu..then cut each strand of tulle 16". 

I actually use a long piece of cardboard from cereal boxes or a box of diapers.  I decide about how long I want my strands, go find a piece of cardboard that size, and wrap my tulle around it over and over again.  Then, I only have to cut twice..and voila!  All of my strands are the exact same size and I didn't have to cut each strand over and over again!

I wish I would have taken pictures of this step, but I forgot!  I'm horrible I know!  Don't fret though, I will have many more tutu tutorials I am sure :)

After you have cut your tulle and have your elastic all sewn together you can get to knotting!  This is very easy, but I took step by step pictures for you just in case!

 ^   Fold the tulle in half so the ends match up.

^  Place the tulle in a "U" shape under the elastic.  Make sure the ends are still even.

^  Grip the two strands and pull them through the "U" on the bottom.  This should make a pretty knot.

^ See? Pretty knot!  Now just pull the tulle strands to tighten the knot up.

Keep tying the tulle strands onto the elastic until the entire band is covered.

TADA! We have a tutu!  Now you can leave it like this, or add details!  I am about to add my pom poms!

All I did, was hot glue the pom poms onto different strands and sections of the tulle.  Be careful not to burn yourself!  The glue goes right through the tulle so be careful!  After a few seconds, the glue will cool and set and then it is safe to touch.