because I felt like it...

I finished the shirt for Alli's pirate costume... arg! The felt is black with glitter interspersed. I would describe this style as girly-glam pirate chic.

This shirt was in the toss pile. It had a few stains from summer fun. The skull and bones covered most of the stains and gave this shirt new life.

I cut the image out of felt and stitched it on the shirt with the sewing machine.



I also reinvented some of Alli's old leggings for Ruby. I'm hoping Ruby will not get tired of hand-me downs if I freshen them up.

I cut off a few inches from the legs, added pom-pom trim and a few felt critters. I sewed buttons on for eyes. The bat on the back covers a spot that was a little worn. Originally the pumpkin was the only thing on the front, but Ruby wanted to wear them backwards so she could see the bat. I added the spider to the front so she would wear them the right way. Ruby loves these pants and wears them as often as laundering allows.

Halloween garland

I love fall. I love Halloween! It is such a fun, creative, imaginative holiday!
This year we made a Halloween garland to hang over our dining table. We die-cut several Halloween shapes (I used QuicKutz Revolution shapes) from scraps of fall-colored paper. Alli and Ruby decorated several of the shapes with markers and crayons. We strung thread from the wall to the light fixture and then used small pieces of clear tape to hang the die-cut papers on the threads.
Alli and Ruby are so proud of their contributions. The garland is whimsical and festive, and just the right project for an afternoon of spooky fun.

pumpkin hat

Ruby wants to be a pumpkin for Halloween. So I made her a costume. I still have work to do on the suit, but the hat is done, and I love how it turned out! Ruby likes it too and has been wearing it everywhere!
I love working in fleece and felt. They are so easy to work with (and very forgiving)! I made six panels of orange fleece in the shape of Gothic arches. I sewed those together and topped it off with a felt stem (rectangle and circle sewn into a cylinder) and a felt veined leaf. I hemmed the hat so it sits just above Ruby's eyes.
The entire project took about 30 minutes... I was on the phone with my mom the whole time. Not bad.
I promise it is easy, but if you need help, come on over and I'll coach you.

Sugar and spice... and hair bows

Here are some hair bows I made recently for a benefit auction. You can bid for them on my other blog by leaving a comment (please don't bid here).
My supply list for these includes: metal hair clips (the pinchy kind), felt, buttons, beads, jewels, silk flower, ribbon, suede, peacock feather, glue gun, thread.
I cover one side of the clip with flocked ribbon or felt to cling to fine baby hair (fewer lost bows that way).

Bathroom Art

I painted these tiny canvases for our bathroom. They are whimsical, gentle reminders for the bathroom.

project runway stroller

Far too often my girls are wearing out their toys (partly because most toys these days are made cheaply and partly because the girls are wildly active and "imaginative" with their toys). The latest toy to be worn out: the beloved doll stroller.
So the choices are: 1. throw out the old stroller, buy another one and wear it out too, 2. redo the fabric on this stroller... and make it stronger and more darling... and add a few bells and whistles.
The choice was obvious.
Alli helped me pick out the fabrics. At one point she held up two pieces of fabric and said "I don't know if these make sense together" (sometimes we watch a little Project Runway together). So we picked different fabric. We added a bead trim to the canopy.
On the back we added a pocket... and more bead trim.
So we ended up using a sparkly pink fabric, the brown canvas with polka-dots, and the mid-century-modern multi-colored design, and a teal paisley fabric. As Tim Gunn would say, "We made it work."
And this is why I doubled up the fabric and reinforced seams...

Mom, don't look at this yet...

Mom, if you are reading this, stop now... until my card arrives in the mail.

Here is a card I made for my mom. I went with a bird nest theme. There are many, many kids in my family, and 90% are out of the nest. My mom is an amazing mother, who has had a busy, full nest for 39+ years. Anyhow, I thought Mom would appreciate the sentiment... and she always appreciates any home-made card from her peeps... er, kids.

This is the front of the card. The mama bird and the nest. (Click on the pictures for a more detailed view.)

This is the inside. There are ten little birds inside (there are ten kids in my family) who have hatched from their eggs and are flying around like chickens with their heads... oh wait, lets stick to nice bird-isms...they are flying around like a bird out of ... oh well. Crazy, busy, colorful flying birds. Here is a little detail on the back of the card... under the heart-felt message to my mom.

The card is made from paper collage and drawing. The paper shapes were made by cutting freehand (with my favorite Tonic spring-cut scissors... essential for detailed cutting), and there are some QuicKutz die-cut shapes as well.

The birds are simple to make: cut out two tear-drop shapes, one larger than the other (I used QuicKutz rain die-cuts). Use the large one as the body, the small one as the wing. Add a beak, eye (googly eyes are great for this), and twiggy feet.

The darling patterned papers are manufactured by Colorbok, Chatterbox, Paper Source, Bazzill, SEI, and others.

My mom will like it. Happy Mothers' Day!