Christmas presents revealed….

So as many as you know I was trying my best to give my family home made gifts for Christmas. The only person I didn’t make anything for was my baby girl… Oh well I make her things all the time :)

I made these notepad holders for my sisters-in-law, I must say that this is not my original idea, I was inspired by something I saw on the internet. I truly hope that they find a way to use them in their life…We also stuck a gift card of some sorts in them that hopefully they will share with their husbands!

For two of my brothers. I made them these IPod sleeves. I am really happy with how they turned out! I was inspired by ones I had seen while browsing etsy.

After much thought I came up with something for my most difficult brother to give a gift. I hope that he loves it since I really didn’t ever want to know anything about Magic: The Gathering card game. I made him a bookmark with the five different manas on it.

For my youngest sister I made her a sketchbook/pencil crayon holder. She love to draw so I know that it will be well used. I used this pattern.

For my other sister I made her a make-up brush holder that she asked me for like two years ago.

Next I made something for my Mom. She is a seamstress and love vintage machines. I thought she would find joy in these coasters.

For my Mom and Dad I made them a Blurb book of all of their wedding pictures. If you have never made one you should! It is so much fun!

I enjoyed coming up with the gifts that I made and I am glad that everyone loved them! I hope that everyone had a Merry Christmas!

A Transformers Christmas…

So as some of you might know my husband loves Transformers. He thinks they are so cool well cool might not be an accurate word to describe how he feels about them. Since I had been making presents this year I decided that I could make him something with a Transformer theme.

So I came up with some coasters for his desk… 

and a sleeve for his brand new PSP Go…

Both items are made out of felt. I found images off of the internet of the logos that I needed and went from there. I must say that he loved them!

Christmas Projects

I have been pretty busy making Christmas Projects lately. Since they are Christmas gifts I can’t really post them on my blog. That would ruin some surprises. Although I thought I would share a past project.

I have made a few of these advent calendars but only have one to show you since I do not have pictures of the others. This is an advent calendar where you have miniature ornaments in the numbered pockets and hang them on the buttons as you count down the days to Christmas. I am sure that you could put a candy or two in the pockets as well as a treat for the children. 

Anyways I hope everyone is having a great holiday season so far no matter how you are counting down the days!

What in the world can you make a boy?

So I have taken on the task of making Christmas gifts this year. I am trying my best to have a homemade Christmas except with a few bigger items of course. I have come up with ideas for all the girls around me but what in the world can you make a boy? I have seen a few items that could be cool but I have no idea if they would like them or even use them. So I need some help. Would a boy in your life use any of the following?

A reusable cup cozy…

A reusable snack bag…

A Ipod case…

Cookies in a jar…

A zipper pouch…

Or maybe a lovely framed picture from Scott’s dinosaur collection…

I have a had a few other ideas but my lovely husband thought they were silly. I am not too sure what to do. Maybe I will just have to go to the store and buy something. Boys are so difficult sometimes…

My biggest project yet…

So I have fallen in love with some fabric, it is designed by Lila Tueller from her Santorini collection…

I bought some of it along with a few other prints from the Santorini collection from an  etsy fabric shop today! I am so excited for it to come to my house! When I saw it I knew it would be prefect for a quilt for Lorelei’s future big girl bed. I went on a search for a pattern and found this one from the moda bakeshop. I think that looks somewhat easy for a first quilt. Hopefully mine will looks as nice as this one,

The cutest Strawberry ever!

This was Lorelei’s first Halloween. At first I wasn’t really going to dress her up but then I saw a picture of a little girl in a strawberry and fell in love with the idea. So after finding some scrap fabric from grandma’s house, a few hours of sewing, some creative pattern drafting, and a search for red tights *poof* the cutest Strawberry ever appeared!

We took her trick or treating. I was surprised how into it she got, knocking on the doors and being so friendly even trying to invite herself in a few times. My toddling little strawberry did good at getting her Mommy and Daddy some yummy candy. Hey I deserve something after working so hard at making her costume! 

Crayon Rolls

So I was asked to make some crayon rolls. There is a possible chance that I might be teaching a class on how to make them. I am not too sure if I am a good person to teach someone how to sew but I am going to give it a try. I made a boyish one and a girly one:

You can find the measurements here. I didn’t put the rick rack on them or use interfacing although I did put a thin piece of quilting batting inside to give it some substance (That is all that I had at home and I think it worked great!)

Baby Legs…

Well I have been eyeing a pair of baby legs for awhile wanting a pair for Lorelei but I was not willing to pay $12 to $15. I came across this blog and then went on a search for some cute knee high socks. I found this pair with the pok-a-dots and then a print with bright argyles. Two pairs cost me $8, sweet deal! 

They only took about five minutes to make. I altered the instructions slightly by taking in the cuffed bottom so they stayed on her ankle better. I loved the fact that she could wear the baby legs in the morning when it was cooler but when the sun came out and it was hot they were super easy to take off.

My baby girls’ dress made by me!

So a few months ago my Mom bought me some patterns so I could make Lorelei a dress or two. I decided to try the simplest one first. I recycled an old denim skirt and used some pink fabric that was left over from another project. The only thing that I had to buy was the ribbon for the flower stem and some hot pink thread :) I am pretty proud of how it turned out and am excited to start the next dress even though I have to learn how to do button holes. I usually just let my Mom do that type of thing, button holes, zippers, you know the tricky things but I am a big girl now and should learn how to do them.

The completed dress:

The dress is a little big for Lorelei still but I couldn’t resist putting it on her for a quick photo shoot. 

I just liked this picture. Bagheera is Lorelei’s new best friend whether he likes it or not!

Nursery Rhymes…

As some of you know I went to school and got my Early Childhood Education Certificate. During that time you have to build up your resources and props for circles and other activities to keep the children from climbing up the walls. One of my favorite places to go on the internet is Kizclub.com  they have a ton of awesome things.  One section is full of Nursery Rhymes that we all grew up on. I thought that I would simply print some out and one day soon Lorelei will have a blast with them!

So this is something quick and easy! All you need is a printer, cardstock (normal paper works too but it is not as durable) and some clear shelf liner or a laminator (laminating the pieces makes the pieces stronger than the shelf liner, it depends on how destructive your child is). Oh and of course some self-adhesive Velcro for the back if you plan on using them on a felt board. I just printed them in color but if your child is older they may enjoy coloring the pieces them self.

Down By the Bay: Old McDonald: Pussy cat, pussy cat:

Coasters…

Recently I made some felt coasters for a friend who got married. I sat in front the computer trying to get inspiration for my design and came across some lovely paper which I can not find the website at the moment to show you. After I drew out what I wanted. I cut out the pieces, pulled out some embroidery floss then sewed it all together. I really enjoy sewing by hand, the control and exactness you can achieve. Although when I was a teenager and was forced to sew with my Mom I hated it! I am thankful for the skill that I have, I could not imagine what I would do without it.

A couple Christmases ago I also made these coasters for my sister in-laws. I can not take credit for designing the leaf ones or the green ones but I designed the layered sunflower. I think that one day I should sit down and make some for myself :) Oh did I mention that I LOVE  felt, I want to learn how to make some one day. Although I think that involves knitting and I am not good at that :(

 

Not very pretty but very handy…

So I made this nursing cover before we went on our family vacation in May. I must say that I love it. I find that it is perfect when you are out at a restaurant or even at the mall on a bench and you need to feed your darling baby. I had no problem nursing without it but now I am not concerned about flashing the world or having that darn receiving blanket fall off of my shoulder while I am trying to nurse.

You can’t see it very well in this picture. All it is a rectangular piece of material with a strap with d rings around the neck also a piece of boning to have the fabric stand away from your body so you can see your baby still. I found the instructions to make one here. I think that it is the perfect small project to make for yourself or to make as a gift :) The nursing cover was super easy to make.

My Mai Tei

I took on this project to see if it would help me when I am out shopping and Lorelei refuses to stay in her stroller. I know I could have gone to a store and bought a carrier for a little bit of money but instead I wanted to see if I could make one. I found an amazing blog with a step by step tutorial that was very handy. I probably couldn’t have done it without it.  The Mai Tei took me a few hours from start to finish, I sewed it in two evenings once Lorelei was in bed. All in all it was fairly simple. It looks a lot harder than it actually was.

We went to Lynn Valley for the day where we had the opportunity to use it for the first time. I tried Lorelei in the front and she did quite well. When it was her nap time and we had no where to put her down I placed her in the Mei Tai on my back, it was exactly what she needed! She fell asleep and stayed that way for quite a well. We even went for a small hike with her on my back, it worked perfectly. I found the carrier to be very comfortable and so far I am happy with it.

Dollies!

Today I was on the internet once again finding too many projects to add to my list of wanting to make one day. I came across this beautiful little rag doll! One day I plan on making one of these for Lorelei.  You can find the pattern on the Martha Stewart website.  I found this version of the doll on this lovely inspiring blog, Allsorts. I think that it is going to be a lot of fun to make a little dolly for my princess!

 

Flowers, Flowers Everywhere!

Today I went a little flower crazy! I made some more large flowers for headbands. Some smaller ones for just hair although you could put them on a headband as well. Needless to say I have a few extra flowers hanging about. I can’t wait for Lorelei’s hair to be long enough to have pigtails so I can adorn each one with a small flower. I must say I am glad that I had a little girl I can dress her up and make her look pretty!

( I know all my posts so far have been about hair accessories but soon I will post about something new.)