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!