Thursday, December 23, 2010

Ballerina Doll….

Just 2 days before Christmas, and I finally got the doll done. I tried to be sneaky and not let my 3 year old know what I was doing. I told her Santa asked me to make something for her, and that she couldn’t look at what I was working on (like that was really going to work). I thought I was doing O.K. until Day said, “Mom Addison is going to get my doll.” She totally knew. Oh-well….I love how it turned out. 2003I added a ballerina bun to her hair (it ended up a more square than I intended it too). 2008Ballet Shoes 2007 And a ballerina tutu. I made a mini version of this tutu.2009

Friday, December 17, 2010

Ornaments…

This weeks the craft I decided to make was ornaments.  The first one I made (and didn’t take pictures of) was this from Little Birdie Secrets.  She made a star wreath, and below showed making ornaments with the stars instead of the wreath.  I made one and added it as an embellishment to a gift.  It was really cute…if only I’d taken a picture of it to show you all. 

The next ornament inspiration came from this Pottery Barn ornament.  After making the signs last we decided we could make this ornament.  So a group of us got together and that’s just what we did!  We decided to make them square, since squares are so much easier to cut than circles. My friend Tori is planning on putting them on Martinelli’s bottles as gifts for families.  Good idea huh???  I decided to just make them for my family (selfish I know), and put them on our tree.
Pottery Barn Ornament 2002What you need:
Cardstock for squares (or circles)
-Big Square 9cm x 9cm
-Small Square 6 1/2 cm x 6 1/2 cm
Mod Podge or glue
Glitter
Hole Punch (I used my handy crop a dile for the hole punch/grommets)
Grommets
Ribbon
Letter (stickers or cardstock)
Scissors
Decorative Scissors
Glue Gun

Instructions:
Cut big square with decorative scissors.
Mod Podge/glue edges and add glitter – let dry
Use Glue Gun to glue the small square on top of the big square.
Punch hole in top (I did mine on the diagonal, but you can center it in the middle and have it hang square).
Insert Grommet
Add Ribbon
Glue/Stick on letter.  (I traced/cut my letters out of cardstock)

The finished ornaments
A-Aaron, L-Lindsay, D-Daylynn and A-Addison
2012Sticker letters probably would look better, but it works.
2014
2015

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Christmas Sign…

My friend found this cute Halloween sign at The Bateman Buzz, and thought it would be cute to do one for Christmas.  We originally want to have it say, “Merry Christmas.”  When we really thought about it we thought a shorter word would be more manageable with all the kids.  We went with Noel, and I am in love with it!  I didn’t have any Christmas decorations in my eating/computer area, and this added just the right touch. 

What you need:
Scalloped Note cards (one for each letter)– we didn’t have any, so we used cards and cut them with scalloped scissors. 
Scrapbook Paper
Letters (we traced ours off the computer.  Vinyl, stickers or dye cute would work great too).
Ribbon to string the cards
Hole Punch
Pom Poms (optional, but they do add a little something extra)
Sparkly pipe cleaners
Glitter (optional)
Glue Gun

Take note cards glue layer(s) with paper.  Add embellishments like glitter, pom poms and pipe cleaners and letters.  Punch holes in the top (easier if done before adding everythig), string ribbon through holes and hang.2013_edited-42017 Now I have to make one for every holiday!

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Blocks…

I found these blocks awhile back after Daylynn was too old for them. So when a friend said she wanted to make them, I pulled out the tutorial I found on Make it and Love it, and decided it would be the perfect gift for Addison. I will give an attempt at a tutorial here, but you might just want to use hers.
Start with 6 squares. These are 4 x4.2003Decide which fabric you want to be the top and bottom. Then cut the coners a quarter inch in. It’s best to measure…I learned from experience. 2006Sew the other 4 squares together. 2009Fold strip of fabric in half right sides together and sew together creating a box. 2010 0112 With the right side of the fabric inside add the top and bottom piece. 20132 2014Leave a small opening on one end of the square, so you can flip it out and fill with batting. 2015When done, hand sew the opening closed.
Block one – Texture fabric. 2016Block 2 – jingle bell inside. 2022Block 3 – Tags 2023Block 4 – crinkle paper inside. 2024Set of 4 blocks! 2026 I got a preview of how she was going to like them last night. They were a big hit! She army crawled on over, and started grabbing them while I was finishing them up.

Doll 2…

2003 I made this doll (start to finish 2 hours) for my neighbor’s granddaughter.  She lives in Hawaii, and thought the Hawaiian print would be perfect for her.  I still plan on making one more for my 3 year old…just got to get motivated!

Thursday, November 18, 2010

8 Hour Doll…

O.K. so it’s not supposed to take 8 hours, but it did!  Add 3 kids, 2 babies, 1 sewing machine, a short intermission for dance class, and it ends up taking 2 moms 8 hours to make one doll each.  We noticed there weren’t a whole lot of girly baby toys, so we decided to make our own.  We decided to make the always adorable Black Apple Dolls.  I’m in love with this little doll!  It’s going to be hard to wait until Christmas to give it to her.  I added a tulle hair bow and some shoes to give her a little more character.2452A close-up on her face.2462 And her feet.  They didn’t turn out exactly how I wanted, but I do like having them.  2482

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Princess Party…

I had so much fun putting things together for Daylynn’s princess party! I ended up making a lot of things, and what better place to post it than here!
Table Cloth
I bought this crown flannel and scalloped the edges to add a little extra touch to it. SO EASY!
0022Princess Wands and Prince Swords.

Wand: I wrapped ribbon around the wood dowel, added some sequence strands and glued felt stars to the end. I finished it off with a little glitter!

Swords: The swords took some creativity. I wanted to buy them, but they were so expensive! So I wrapped the dowel with tin foil, cut a “blade” out of cardboard and wrapped it with tin foil. Then I bought some sturdy felt and cut the handle out of it. 00720082Tissue Paper Puff Balls0062 Frog Prince bean bag toss.

This was one of my favorite projects! I love how he turned out. I found a frog prince on-line and managed to cut him out of the felt. I glued the felt to cardboard, and there you have it!0122I loved this adorable castle flannel, and made bean bags for the frog. This is the only time I used a sewing machine.
0172Pin the Crown on the Princess
I wish I could take credit for this one, but I can’t. Tyler and Megan drew and colored this. Thank you!
0112
7482Felt Crowns to pin on the Princess.
0152Princess Cupcakes.
0362Sugar Cookies.
My mom gave me this set of cookie cutters last year, and it became my inspiration for the party.
0042 All Decorated at the park.7492

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Fall Felt Projects…

We used scraps of felt to cut out an empty tree, and lots of different colored leaves to glue into the tree.0362   I loved how creative she was with lining the leaves in the grass.0442 0452Jack-O-Lantern 0652
0672
Scarecrow.
0682

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Addison modeling a re-fashioned creation…

Last March as I was anxiously awaiting the arrival of Baby Addison (she’s a little over 5 months now) I was busy refashioning onesies for her.  This particular one didn’t have a whole lot of umph to it just hanging on the hanger back then.  Now with with our cutie to fill it, some baby legs and a puff ball it has come to life!   
01420062 0102 0172 0302Things I’d do differently: 
- I would probably use elastic thread for this project.  When I put this on her this morning, some of the thread started to break.  I now have to glue (I’d re-sew it, but my machine is broken) it back on. 
-I’d make the skirt fuller.  It’s cute as is, but it would definitely be more fun that way.
-I’d sew the skirt at least an inch higher up on the onesie, so it would sit around her waist. 

Side Note:  Gerber onesies run small!  These are 6-9 month, and she has been wearing them since she was 4 months!  I’m glad I tried it on, or else we might have missed wearing it.