a couple of (11th hour) handmade gifts finished!

These were a few of the gifts I'd planned for the handmade holiday challenge, and I'm happy to report that they're done with 4 days till Christmas!  Nothing like a little pressure to get me moving!

For Travis:

A gigantic fleece blanket shaped like Nemo.  This is from Simplicity pattern 3955, and it's HUGE, like 6 feet long..  Look at how it dwarfs my couch in this photo:

And for Maura who is 14, (I hope she doesn't read my blog):

A cool cover/holder for her Amazon Kindle which she will (hopes to) get from her grandparents this year.

 Here is a shot of the inside.  It has pockets and also a reading light holder.  I wrote her name and phone number already...my kids might be a bit forgetful.

This was a great pattern to follow, very sturdy and well-thought out.  I got the pattern here on Etsy.  The fabric is Michael Miller Script which I love, and plan on using on more projects.

Next I'm hoping to make some peppermint bark to hand out to the teachers next and get to wrapping.

Have a wonderful holiday everyone!!!!

My Neighbor Totoro + Vans = the perfect gift for Maura!

So yesterday was Maura's 14th birthday.  Though we already took her to King Richard's Faire and I made her this dress and gave her spending money for her birthday, that was a few months ago and I wanted to give her something inexpensive to open on her birthday.

I found these plain gray Vans on sale for 15.00!  She's wanted some embellished sneakers for awhile and was upset that the Yo Gabba Gabba Vans didn't come in adult size.  So I let her choose what she wanted on them and she of course picked My Neighbor Totoro!!

Love these guys, you wish they lived in your woods:

The cat bus, I had no yellow/brown paint so I left him monotone:

I love the soot sprites on the toes:

Materials used: Sharpie fine point marker and Tulip Soft fabric paint. 

Back to working on Travis' gift now:

Have a great weekend!

our first craft fair

Maura and I participated in our first craft fair on Saturday. 

I wish I could say it was a huge success, but it was a learning experience for us.  There weren't many shoppers there unfortunately.  The few people who came through probably thought my table was "weird".  One little girl expressed interest in one of my hats, to which her mom said "you'd look like a freak of nature in that!"  Nice.

So I learned that a church basement might not be the best venue for my items.
Maura did very well with her dragons however, she sold 4!

On a positive note, we did make a new friend!  It turns out my table was right next to another Etsy seller, Andrea, of FabFindings.  We hit it off and it was great to have someone to talk to.  I bought some of her handmade cards and a hair pin.  Maura just about cleaned out her stash of magnets, she has some really cute gifts for her friends to decorate their lockers now.

I also got a taste for how to display my items on a table, which is a good start.  I used my Silhouette Machine to make labels and signs.

So it was a fun day even though sales were so slow.  Maura and I had a chance to hang out withOUT the T-Bomb (2 year old Travis).   And lucky for her, at the end of the day she walked away with a new messenger bag, ipod case, kitty hat, and a stuffed owl.  Her birthday is on Friday the 17th, and I know they're going to someone who appreciates them...I don't care if she looks like a 'freak of nature'.   She's a great kid!!

Now I'm going to get serious about finishing some Christmas gifts!  See you soon!

Look out ladies! Little (reversible) menswear

Yes, I realize I'm late in finishing and posting this week's gift for the handmade holiday challenge.  But look what I was doing!

Making a reversible outfit!

I was asked to be a pattern tester for Little Lizard King Patterns newest reversible vest pattern.  This was such an easy, fun pattern to sew.  Perfect for dressing up over the holidays.  I knew I wanted to try it with menswear fabrics. 

The pants I made to match are also reversible.  One side is flannel suiting, the other is brown plaid.  All fabrics are from JoAnn's.  I made the pants reversible by making 2 pairs of pants, and sewing them wrong sides together, folding under the edges to meet.  Then I inserted elastic for the waistband.  The patch pockets are made using this tutorial found on MADE.

This will be so cute for Thanksgiving.  I'm not sure which side I like best.  All he needs now is a scali cap to complete this outfit I think.

I just found this pattern Etsy that would look so cute with this.  I can't believe it's reversible too!  I like that it comes in a wide range of sizes.  I think I have to get that one.







I promised him a lolipop for modeling!

UPDATE: This pattern is now available at Little Lizard King's Etsy shop!  I'll have to tell Travis that he had a brief modeling career!



DMK Pea Coat for tiny T.

I had hoped to have this coat done earlier in the fall, but having it done by Thanksgiving is OK.  This is made with the DMK Trendy Unisex Pea Coat pattern.  Just now looking at the pattern online, I just realized I forgot to attach the wristbands.  Will do!

 Here is my favorite shot, he can't read so I can get away with this!

The outside is pinwale corduroy, the inside lining is this great Alexander Henry dragon print.  I added a little pocket inside for his "guys".

I just love it when I find good sewing patterns for boys!

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I need to find something cool to make for his oldest brother.  It's more challenging to make something he will wear in a men's size!

linking up here for cool stuff for Guys:

Here she is, gift #1...

Clucky is done.  Maura is going to love this gift for Christmas.  I've actually had this Melly and Me Pattern since the spring. 

Maura loves chickens, and until recently had her own flock which she fed and took care of, until tragedy struck and they were killed by some kind of viscious animal that snuck into the stall one night, only one was left alive.  Maura was devastated.  She especially misses her favorite, Odin, an all white leghorn who despite a deformed foot hopped around anywhere the other hens would go.

Maura and Odin

I especially loved that this pattern has chicks that fit into the mother's wings (just like my 4 children!).  So I made one of them to look like Odin.  Maura will be so surprised!  Better go hide it now!

 

Next in line for the Handmade Holiday Challenge: Something for Travis!

If I've been a bit quiet lately...

...It's because I've been working to refresh my shop a little.  It really took a backseat to sewing for my family (and myself) since spring.  I decided to make sewing for us a bigger priority, and have been very happy I did!



Here are some new things I've made the last few weeks to add to my shop and sell at my first craft fair in December:

I hope to keep updating the shop right up until Christmas.  In between I am making some handmade gifts.  I thought I'd be brave and join Emily with her Handmade Holiday Challenge. 

Emily is totally amazing.  She's also doing crafting with the stars and recently won purse week with this amazing bag design.  

 

Check back tomorrow to see my first finished gift!

more Halloween fun

This past weekend Maura attended the Teen Halloween Party at our town library.  We made these Cauldron Cupcakes from Meg at MegaCrafty.  These taste as good as they look!!  Mine aren't as neat as hers, but everyone sure did like them.

We also made a Halloween "Tree".  I got the idea from martha stewart Living a few years ago.  First I spray painted some branches black, put them in a vase, then added some 'ornaments'.  This looks great on our kitchen counter!

 The bats, cat, and 3-D pumpkins were all cut on my Silhouette machine.  The Raven and Owl images I got from the Graphics Fairy, I made two copies of each, then glued them back to back with some cardstock and hanging ribbon in between.

The skeletons are from the dollar store.  I went there looking for mini skeletons and there they were!  Amazing.



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And now I'm off to try to get some sewing done before this guy gets up:

We've been BOOED...

A few nights ago we opened our front door and found this mysterious package.  It was full of halloween candy, so the kids were thrilled!  We read the note and found out it was our job to keep the "BOO" going by secretly distributing treat bags to two more families.  How cool is that?

Here's what we came up with:

We made these homemade goodies to throw in with the store-bought candy.  It's Candy Corn Cookie Bark.  I got the recipe here.  It looks pretty impressive with all those colors, and after a, ahem, taste test I thought it was actually very good!

 
The papercutting was all done on my Silhouette machine.  We also made these little coffins to put candy corn in:

The kids had a rush trying to drop off these treat buckets without being noticed!  When they came back to the car their hearts were pounding!  Maura got busted, because for some reason her friend was sitting in the car eating applesauce and saw the whole thing!!  Liam had a successful mission, his friend was playing on the trampolene and didn't see a thing.  That was our excitement for the day!

animal pajamas

Again with the pajamas, I know!  But that's what he needed.  I also had this animal fabric laying around since 2005 and needed to do something with it or get rid of it. 

The shirt is freezer paper stenciled on a 90 minute shirt both ideas I found from Dana at MADE.  I know now I will never ever get tired of making the 90 minute shirt.  I can get one done in about 60 minutes now, and the color combos are endless!

I've had a little less time this week, Travis is now in a toddler bed.  Some of the time he lays right down and goes to sleep, other times he runs out of bed, and I put him back, and this pattern goes on until he passes out from exhaustion!  He's one determined little bugger.

Here he is helping take the crib apart with his toy drill.

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linking up to this today:

 

Right now I've got a few sewing projects going on.  When Travis goes in for his nap I'm not sure what to work on!  I'm thinking of making some gifts for the kids to put away for Christmas.  I'll have to work on those secretly.  For Maura I've been meaning to make Clucky the Chook, so that's in the works.  I'm thinking Travis would like some quilted letters, so I started on those too.  I'll post the pictures as I complete them.  It may be a little while because I just ordered even more new patterns and I'm having idea overload at the moment.  See you soon!