Sweets for a Sweetie

One more down!

This was so easy to do! I found the canvas tote at WalMart for $2.50. Made the cupcake pattern and letters with my good friend Felt. Then I took some hot pink bugle beads and sewed them on as sprinkles. My other great friend, Felt Glue, helped me put them all together and TA DA!

A cute bag for my pre-teen niece!

Personally, I think it is stinkin cute. I would rock this tote. Fill it with my library books and walk on over to the Annex to pick up some more. Hopefully she'll be able to put it to good use! 

One Down, Two to Go

I am trying to make as many presents as I can this holiday season. It's making it hard to keep up with this blog! :)

Today I finished a little dinosaur for my nephew.

The girls LOVED him. I had to hide him from Rory so he will still be cute and cuddly as he makes his way across the country.

Up next, I'm working on a bag for my niece. Pictures to come!

As Promised

My project can finally make it to the blog!

I was making my sister an Advent Calendar as a surprise!

Chelsea: "Where did you find this pattern?"

Me: "I made it myself."

Chelsea: "Well, you bought these letters, right?"

Me: "Nope, I made them myself."

Chelsea: "OMG! You are the coolest, most beautiful, 

amazing sister in all the land!!"

Ok, I definitely made that last part up, all by myself.

Absent

I have been absent for quite awhile now! What a month this has been. I have a big project in the works that I will reveal at the end of the month.

I know you are at the edge of your seat!

Until then, Happy Thanksgiving!

Score!

I took a trip to my favorite thrift store yesterday and the place was exploding with Christmas items. I cruised through to the craft section, where I found a lady in no hurry to let anyone else near the bin. I was itching with anticipation, hoping to find something exciting like last time. I watched as she snatched magazine after magazine of cute Christmas craft ideas. My girls were in no mood to wait for this lady to finish, so a little dejected I moseyed over to the book aisle and hit the Christmas Jackpot!

I found books from Betty Crocker, Martha Stewart, and this gem from Better Homes and Gardens circa 1974.


This book is awesome! It is filled with pictures and projects, even patterns. And for $1 - what a steal!

Here is just a small sampling of some of its coolness...

(I apologize for the wonkiness of this last picture, my camera was not cooperating.)

What I LOVE about these decorations is they all use non traditional colors. Bright pinks, blues, yellows! Plus, I am digging the Dutch vibe most of them have. I just want to braid my hair, throw some clogs on, and get to creating!

I will share more as we get more into the season, it still feels too early, but I couldn't resist sharing.

That lady would be kicking herself if she saw my goodies. Ha!

Get out and VOTE!

Exercise one of the greatest freedoms we have...

Let your voice be heard!

And then go get a free Starbucks coffee

or a free scoop at Ben & Jerry's!

The choice is YOURS!

Projects!

Today I ran over to Michael's Sister to pick up some accoutrement for my latest project and was disappointed to see candy canes decorating the parking lot. Now I'm eagerly awaiting the holiday season, but it still feels a little too early. BUT, it is not too early to get hopping on Christmas projects, at least that is what I'm telling myself. 

So, my BFF's are bringing their legacies over and we are going to churn out some cute Christmas decor. I'm thinking the mitten and Christmas tree garland is a must! I need to get some patterns made pronto.

I've also already decided on a few Christmas gifts, but unfortunately my family reads this blog so I won't be able to show them off until after Christmas - but at least I'll have fodder for the blog! Since my girls don't read the blog I am able to divulge that I will be making dolls that (hopefully) will look like them. I'm really excited, I'm hoping that each will reflect their different personalities. 

Sew much to do! 

Do you have anything you'll be working on before December arrives?

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

To you and you and you!

Sew Darn Cool

Welcome to the first ever "Sew Darn Cool" link!

"Sew Darn Cool" will be links to 

exciting, interesting and/or amazing things

that I find on my journeys around the 

world wide web.

Today's link will take you to a free pattern!

Make a cute lil bird for your mantle,

or make one all black as a ominous Halloween crow,

or make one to carry around on your finger as you sing

A Spoon Full of Sugar 

while you clean your house

by snapping your fingers!

The possibilities are endless 

and the choice is yours!

Click here or here or here!

Tweet tweet, my friends, tweet tweet!

And if you venture to make one,

leave me a comment and let me know how it went!

Copy Cat

I am growing wary of being a copy cat. I love the little things I have made, but I long to come up with a new fresh idea of my own. I see so many things that I like, everywhere I go, and it feels good to know that I can duplicate them. But there is this part of me that slightly cringes at the thought of copying someone else's cute idea, yet again.

That being said, and disregarded,

I saw these at Target today in the bargain bin for a whopping 50 cents. Had to buy them both. Pages and pages of cute little monsters, that I can copy. MEOW!

and don't even get me started on The Land of Nod catalog that showed up last week. These will be mine once I get past Thanksgiving. MEOW!!

Old habits die hard, I guess. I think I just need to try a little harder and attempt to manifest my own ideas. After I finish these, of course.

Concee

Here is "Concee", Daddy's green monster. :)

One for Daddy

I have been commissioned by one Sascha Ryan to create a "green monster" for Daddy. After a quick google search, she chose this one...
I only have one sheet of green felt, so I'm going to have adjust the shape a bit. Off I go!

Finito Bandito

Sascha has stated that he is a she, and has named her Ello. 

The never mentioned sister of Elmo, maybe? 

Sneak Peek

Here is a sneak peek of "Red Monster".

Hopefully, I will finish him tomorrow. :)

And sew it is...

As I was browsing a cute shop online today, Sascha came and sat next to me just as this little guy popped up...

"Oooh, Mommy! Make me that!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! Mommy please make me the red monster!"

And then she ran and began to pull out the colors of felt I would need.

I can't resist her.

So, off I go!

Here he is...

When Hailey discovered what I was making, she informed me that the picture I took the idea from is a Skeleanimal. A skeleton of an animal - stuffed. I don't like that idea too much, so my little guy is a black cat who has dressed up as a skeleton for Halloween. 

I think he came out cute if I do say so myself.

And I do.

Blame it on the Internet

Or the lack thereof....

Today my internet went down for six hours! Oh the humanity! I never realize how much I use the internet during the day until it is not there for me to use. My dinner plans were based on a recipe that was on the internet, so I had a sandwich. Not nearly as yummy as the goat cheese enchiladas I was planning. At least I don't have to plan dinner for tomorrow!  

The free time left me itching to do something, so I started a new project! I saw this little guy on a website and thought it would be a cute little addition to my Halloween decor.

 

Now, I had to make the pattern myself so this should be VERY interesting! I'm trying to apply things that I learned from making my other little toys, so hopefully this won't be a catastrophic disaster! Wish me luck! 

Feliz Cumpleanos!

Today is my sister's birthday!

Happy Birthday Chelsea! 

For your birthday, I've arranged a dance for you with Troy Bolton! 

I'm sure Leland won't mind...

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Hope you have a great day!See you tonight!
And here is another gratuitous picture of my Countdown for good measure!

Geëindigd, Terminé, Beendet, Τελειωμένος, Rifinito!

Yes, that's right, I'm finished!

Ta Da!

And here is the little guy I made to use as our day marker...

My first major project done!

I think I will make a few tiny toys 

before I jump back into something big. 

Maybe a pumpkin... or a turkey... or...

Road Block!

I have reached a road block (I'm watching Amazing Race right now, can you tell?) on my project. I feel flabbergasted about how to put it together. Here are my main questions, any help or ideas are greatly appreciated!

1.) What is the best way to attach the blocks onto the black part to assure that they are evenly spaced?

2.) Should I attach the blocks to the front of the fabric and leave extra fabric to create a back, so you cannot see the stitches? 

3.) Am I crazy for attempting to do all this by hand, because I am scared of my sewing machine?

I am losing confidence that this will come out well. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Just please don't U-Turn me. :)

Almost There!

I've finished all 35 squares! 

Now it is just the matter 

of putting them all together.

And I'm already dreaming of this...

Seriously??

When Hailey got home from school today she immediately asked, "Mommy can I sew?"

I found this pattern here.

With very little help (I cut the felt, made the face, and some starter stitches) half an hour later...

It's wrong to be jealous of an eight year old, right?

I mean, seriously, that puts Beary Bear to shame.

Way to go Hailey!

Bitten

Hailey has the bug.

Every day she asks me when she can sew.

Today was the day!

Now, if I can just get her to finish the countdown! :)

7 Down, 12 to Go

From Unproductive to Nonproductive.

Instead of working tonight, I went and got my hair done. I read and chatted, and my hair was given the TLC it has gone without for the over 2 months my gal has been on maternity leave. I was channeling Emily Valentine a la 90210, major roots. Not cute. 

Now back to the business at hand...

If I had to guesstimate, I would say that I will be done with the Countdown in one week. That will give my family 17 days of utter enjoyment, and then hopefully many years thereafter. I get antsy very easily and try to think of ways to cut corners, but then I have to remind myself that I would like this to last longer than 17 days, so no shortcuts allowed.

Goal for tomorrow? 10 blocks. Fingers crossed. :)

An Unproductive Day

All I completed today was block #14. :(

It is now 8 pm, and normally I would have 2 hours of kid free time to work on my project. But, and this is pathetic, I think I am going to call it a night and go to sleep.

I'm sure I'll have dreams of felt and pins and 

super sharp (amazing) scissors.

My New BFF

So, this weekend my BFF and I got to hang out A LOT!!! We watched TV together, we sang along to the Mamma Mia soundtrack, we even read some blogs together. Plus she helped me out with my project. What a lifesaver!

Thanks BFG, you're my BFF, 2 good 2 be 4 gotten!

Slowly, but Surely

It's coming along..

I only fear it may look like 

my 8 year old put it together.

Cut it Out

Finally! I have cut everything out!

Now, I just have to put it all together.

Stay tuned!

Sister Shout Out

Look what my sis made!

His/her? name is Hooter!

Which makes me think of this....

Go to the 1:10 minute mark, I'll wait...

Hooter!

Hilarious, and far superior to Honey I Shrunk the Audience. Whenever my girls want to make me laugh they shout, HOOTER! just like Michael. 

Ahhh...good times.

Now I'm going to be singing 

We Are Here to Change the World, 

ALL DAY! WOOO!

Anywho, way to go Mahoney! Now, what's next?