savoring the details

From the archives...

I was going through some old photos for a little home project I'm working on and I was delighted to find so many photos that are even more special to me now that the subject is older and on to a new phase. This one I fell in love with because of that sweet giggle (and crazy hair) on daddy's shoulder.

Meet Lily...

If you love to make soft toys and dolls in particular, then I am sure you are familiar with the fabulous Hillary Lang of Wee Wonderfuls.  I have been a long time visitor to her blog so I was ecstatic when I saw that she was publishing her own book of dolls to make.  I immediately pre-ordered it from Amazon and it arrived last week.  It is fabulous!  Every project inside is cuter than the last and the directions are clear and easy to understand. The patterns are terrific without any enlargement needed...I love it when I don't have to run to the copy store to enlarge a pattern.  

Today is my mom's birthday and wanted to make her a doll.  I chose to create the 'Tag-a-long' doll in the book.  And here she is...Lily.

 

She was so fun to make.  I always love how dolls/soft toys come to life when you add the facial features and a little stuffing.  We visited Grandma today and she loved Lily.  72 isn't too old for a homemade doll, right?  Good thing, my mom doesn't think so!

 

Next on the agenda is a doll for Jackson.  Hillary has a pattern in the book for a boy doll named, Eddie (you can see him on the front cover).  I love that she included boy dolls.  

You convinced me...

I cannot thank you enough for your encouraging words and guidance in convincing me to take the plunge into the world of Macintosh. I am so happy I did! I love my new computer, though, I am still getting used to the new set up and how things work.  This photo is awful, but it was late in the day when I took it and just wanted to let you know that I am so thankful to all of you for sharing your stories with me regarding the switch from PC.  And, not only did I get a Mac, but I got an iPhone too.  I am having so much fun with the apps and the games, etc.  I feel like I have entered a new world.

I am thrilled to be back to the world of blogging and with Easter just around the corner, I have been busy making gifts for the boys' teachers.  I thought I'd share them with you.  I know it is probably too late for this year, but perhaps it will be useful to someone even for another holiday.

I made a little fabric basket and filled it with sponge candy and a chocolate novelty item from my favorite candy shoppe.  

I used this tutorial to make the fabric basket.  Here is the basket alone, so you can get a better look at it.  They are really easy to make and can be used for so many different things.  I have made several (in varying sizes) for my house already and I have used them in my office to hold supplies, etc.  and the boys have been using them to hold some of their toys.

 

And the gift tag was made using a new Easter punch by Martha Stewart.  I just adore all of her punches and this one is perfect for a little Easter card, gift tag, etc.

Thank you again for all of your help.  Now, I can return to blogging regularly and keeping in touch with everyone! 

A little of this, a little of that...

I love to make cards, especially cards for little girls because nothing is off limits in terms of flowers, pink, jewels, ribbon, etc.  This is in complete contrast to cards for boys which I am usually making for my own boys and their friends.  So,when I saw the darling 'self-portraits' on the Copy and Paste Project blog (sidebar), I knew something similar would be perfect for my sweet niece who turned six today.  So, I made her a little paper doll card that is a mini version of herself. 

A little closer:

And these photos from today make me laugh.  I guess this is what life is like when you are the third child.  My other two boys NEVER held their own bottle (and even sippy cups for a while)...they wanted mama to hold it for them. But, not Jackson...I guess he realizes it is easier to feed himself than to wait for me.  Smart boy! ;)

 
 Fall is in full bloom here and we love it.  This week has been especially beautiful.

And lastly, don't let this ferocious lion scary...he's all ROAR!

 
 
 

Pumpkin Bumpkin...

I have been wanting to make some fabric enhanced onesies for Jack for a while now and finally got around to it.  I decided to go with a Halloween theme and made him a pumpkin onesie. 

Now, this is not a tutorial per say, but I have a few photos to show what I did in case you are interested in making some of your own.

First I used Heat n' Bond which is an iron-on adhesive that will allow the pumpkin fabric to adhere to the onesie prior to sewing.  Following the instructions, I just ironed the Heat n' Bond onto the back of the orange fabric and brown corduroy.  Once you have this on the back of your fabric, you can draw your shape etc. onto the fabric and easily cut it out.  In this case, I drew a pumpkin onto cardstock first and got it just the way I liked it and then moved onto my fabric.

Once the pumpkin was cut out, I removed the Heat n' Bond paper backing and ironed it onto the onesie.  With both the pumpkin and stem in place, I'm ready to sew. 

For sewing something like this, I just move real slow so that I can go around corners and tight areas.  Once the sewing was done, I just pulled my thread through and tied the threads in the back. 

And that is that...super easy, but fun and cute for little ones.

Now, here is our model showing off his new shirt.

 

Teacher Easter gifts

As you may recall, each year I fill a little tin with Easter candy for the boys' teachers.  Here is last year's version.  While I made these for Sean's teachers and had every intention of doing the same for Luke's teachers, I took some photos of Luke yesterday and just had to use one for the gift tags.  It is so him.

Here are the teacher treats:

 

Thank you + handmade teacher gifts

Thank you so much for all your kind words about my 39-week belly shots.  You all made me feel so good.  I apologize that I don't have the time to personally respond to all your kind comments, but I know you understand.  We appear to still be in a holding pattern with this baby.  I had a doctor's appointment today and not much progress is being made.  That's okay with me, though.  I am not really uncomfortable yet and if the babe needs more time in the old belly, that's just fine.  If I don't have the baby this week, I will be having another sonogram next Monday, to check my fluid levels, etc.  I'll keep you posted.

In all the holiday craziness, I realized that I never shared my handmade teacher gifts for the boys' teachers this year.  I really try to make the teachers something useful, yet somewhat personal.  This year, I made covered notebooks with matching tissue holders.  Sean has 1 teacher and 3 aides (it is a job-sharing situation) and Luke has 1 teacher and an aide, so I had a total of 6 sets of gifts to make.  I bought moleskin notebooks and covered them with some of my favorite fabrics.

Here are some images:

The linen tissue holders have matching fabric to the notebook on the bottom.

Inside the fabric pocket, I just added a little personalized note.

 

 

Edited: Here is a link to the tutorial I used to make the covered notebooks.

 

A little crafting...

I haven't been doing a ton of crafting lately as my life has been consumed in readying our home and family for a new little person soon to join us.  Luke is currently working on going on the potty and making the transition to a big boy bed.  Sean has a new room complete with a new bed, dresser and nightstand.  He loves it.

I have all the boys' clothes organized and the clothes that no longer fit have been put into bins for storage.  That always seems like such a big job, at least for me.  We had the rugs cleaned and our laundry room floor tiled. The other monumental task I am working on is getting my photos updated. I am still about a year and a half behind in editing my photos and having them developed.  Even though, I scrapbook, I like to put my photos in traditional albums. I am determined to get this done and I vow to keep up with it each month from here on out. I am also trying to get lots of holiday stuff done this month so that I can try to take it a little easy in December; believe me, I know how crazy that sounds.  It will never happen, but I can at least give it a shot, right?  My due date is January 9th...less than 2 months away and there is still so much that needs to get done!!!!!

As for crafting, I made this bib for Marta's sweet baby boy.

I also made her some burp cloths, but apparently didn't take any photos of them, though I am certain I did.  Oh well.  I did manage to decorate this little moleskin journal for her to keep in her purse.

This was the 'baby boy' card I made for Marta.  I have seen different versions of it on the web both in fabric and paper form. I made my banner from fabric and this seems to be new favorite card of choice.

I made this one for a boy's birthday party that Sean was invited to. I Iove how it can be adapted to a boy or girl just by fabric choice.

Here are two other cards I made in a hurry for other birthday parties that Sean attended.  They are a mini card that use the Maya Road chipboard numbers.  So easy.

 

Halloween Mini Album

I have wanted to make a Halloween mini album for the longest time, but I kept putting it off.  However, when Sharon, the owner of my fabulous LSS, asked me to make something Halloween related using the fabulous new products by Little Yellow Bicycle, I knew this would be my chance to finally make a Halloween mini album.

The photos I took are not too great as I took them on a very overcast day.  When I uploaded them to my computer and realized that they were not the greatest, I couldn't take new photos as the album was already at the store.  However, you get the idea.  I saved everything in Photoshop, so each year, I can add another page to the album.

 

This spider web paper is flocked; it looks really cool in real life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also made a Halloween card.

 

Now, I need to get started on Sean's school album.

Baby Gifts + Cards

It seems that sweet babies are being born to several of my friends right now, so I have been making some baby gifts and just picked up some more supplies today to make some other gifts.  My super talented friend,Erica, welcomed a beautiful baby girl, Izzy.  I am so in love with that name.  It was so fun for me to make something pink and use some of the gorgeous new fabrics by Amy Butler.  I made this bib.  It is big for a newborn, but once the solid food stage begins, it is so nice to have a big bib for maximum coverage.

I used another Amy Butler fabric to make this blanket and the reverse side is some minky fabric...so soft.

Here is the baby card I made to go along with the gift. 

And a close-up.  I just love those velvet brads from Making Memories.

I also had to make some thank you cards for Sean's birthday party.  Whenever I have to make multiple cards, I try to come up with a simple design that I can replicate quickly. Here is the entire batch.

And here is the card.

Have a great day!