Felt, Felt, Bo Belt...

I'm up to my ears in felt. I gave in and headed back to Joann's, luckily I was able to return the dreaded gold felt since I bought it in precut sheets. Now I have 1 yard of nice orange felt begging to be cut into 4" x 3 1/2" squares. I have cut out everything that required purple felt, and 90% of the white. Now, I'm off to do yellow. Hopefully tomorrow I will have some pictures to show off. :)

Temptation, thy name is Foamies

Today I went to 3 stores to get the supplies I need to finish my project. Each one had a box of Foamies - On Sale Now! - with pieces that would easily work on my countdown. I may be stubborn, or a little crazy, but I want to do this myself. No Foamie help. I may not be able to fashion the little skeleton or Frankenstein perfectly, but I'm going to try.

Yes, I'm determined! That is why when Michael's was sold out of orange felt - how is that possible? Halloween is right around the corner? I just think the sales girl did not want to go to the back to get me some.  - I drove over to Joann's. (Michael's sister? Hmmm....) I picked out what looked like pale orange felt. Cut to me back at home taking out what is clearly gold felt. 7 sheets of glorious GOLD felt, will not work on my countdown. Now I have to decide if I want to take care of this tonight, or tomorrow. My goal in driving all over the OC this afternoon was to ensure I wouldn't have to for the rest of the week. 

This week I will receive the gold star for sighing. I can already tell. 

And so it begins...

We'll see how it ends. :)

Darn You, Pottery Barn!!!

I made the mistake of flipping through the Pottery Barn Kids Catalog that came today. SO many cute things that I would just love to have - IF I had $500 lying around. 

Something that caught my eye was the Halloween Countdown Calendar. After checking ebay, I found last years calendar which I personally think is cuter than this years.

And now I am tempted to duplicate it. I found this site, which will really help. Only thing is October starts in exactly three days, which doesn't give me a lot of time. Maybe if I can relinquish some control we can work on it all together as a family. Hmmmm... maybe....

It's a girl!

Miss Ella Fonte was finished today! 

She weighs barely anything, and is 4 1/4" tall. :) 

Miss Rory greeted her with a big kiss.

Next, I think I owe Sascha a well put together tiny toy, 

she so loves playing with her sisters'!

I wonder what she'll choose this time?

Solved!

The Case of the Missing Kangaroo

Inspiration

 This is where I keep my sewing gear. Not the typical way to store my stuff, I know. But really, my things consist of a couple of pieces of felt, some sewing needles, a pin cushion and a pair of scissors. I also have a measuring tape around here somewhere, it's never where it needs to be because my girls love to play with it. 

I really like some of the little creatures on this box and bag. The colors inspire me. I'm hoping to make the bunny into a little doll, minus the fangs. I'll let you know how that turns out. :)

I'm still working on Rory's elephant, my white felt has disappeared and I realized I do not have grey embroidery floss. So, there will be a trip to Michael's this morning for me and the little ladies.

So, in the spirit of inspiration, please share what inspires you! 

Look what I found!

When I was a wee lass, I used to adore thrift shopping. 

I would match old adidas jackets with polyester blouses from the 70's, 

and old man's corduroys. 

The boys would come a runnin! :)

I hadn't been to a thrift store in years, but after my sister found 

a cool couch locally, I decided to check it out. 

In the craft section I came across two beauties that I just had to snatch up:

First up:

Someday I hope to take these secrets and make a quilt.

Plus I just loved this little picture on the top of the quilt...

Next up was this gem from the 70's, it just made me giggle...

Now you can scare your children with this frightening hand puppet 

Grrrruff the Dog

Or how about a bodiless duck?

Good times, and good finds!

A new look!

I did a little redesign on the blog today, any thoughts? 

I worked on a starfish last night, 

and my dear husband was kind enough to ask,

"What on earth is that supposed to be?"

I think the baby will be getting an elephant instead. 

Special Delivery!

Last night I received an e-mail from my good friends at the library, saying there was something special waiting for me at the annex. So, this afternoon I grab my little ones and we walk over to see what is in store, since I had no clue I still had items on my waiting list!

I punch in my code, my little cubby goes "pop" and inside I find...



and



My attempts at crochet have been pitiful. Especially working in the round - yikes! One night I spent a good two hours trying out a pattern of an amigurumi bunny, and created what looked like a snowflake not the belly of said bunny. That would have been great if it were December, but not so much in August. I gave up after that. Now with the arrival of the new books, I will have to try yet again.

I taught my oldest how to make a chain and she is having a blast making bracelets. It makes me smile and reminds me of when I was little. Sigh....

I hope I can find something I am good at, something I have a knack for.

My hands are just itching to create.

Krystal the Kangaroo

Here she is... Krystal the Kangaroo!






I'm so proud! It actually looks like a kangaroo! And I made it, with my own two hands! I'm feeling super exclamatory!

Next up will be something for the baby. I want to use some scraps of her old clothes for material, I just don't know what to make. It has to be simple, no small pieces, maybe a starfish?? Guess you'll have to wait and see!

Introducing "Beary Bear"

Today my little sis came over and we had our own little sewing circle as the girls took a nap. Actually, we watched Tivo'ed episodes of Gossip Girl as we both worked on our tiny friends. My sister chose Sheldon the Sea Turtle, and she needs to get me a picture of her finished product, because I'm sure it is adorable.

Tiny teddy is.... well, wonky. :) She doesn't have eyes, and I think I inadvertently gave her butt cheeks. This picture was snapped after a few hours of cuddling and playing and now that I see her up close, all of my mistakes really stand out! Though, I like the mistakes, they give her character. So, try not laugh.. but here she is...


I put my daughter's initials on the feet, and she loves to show them to anyone who will listen...


She has renamed her "Beary Bear" and as I type this she has no idea where she is....ahhh the fruits of my hard work. :)

Next up, my oldest has chosen a kangaroo. I am a little fearful for how this one will turn out especially since she wants hers to look like an actual kangaroo which means no funky mix mashed color scheme. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, I'm gonna need some serious luck for that one!

Trying Tiny Teddy

I'm going to brush past the fact that it has been 3 months since my last post. Excuse me as I hide my face in shame, but I still haven't opened the sewing machine! I could give you my laundry list of excuses, though I'd rather just give you my laundry. :)

My neighborhood has a fabulous Library Annex that is within walking distance from my house. I can browse the catalog from my computer, request it and within a few days it's in the annex waiting for me! Well, a few weeks ago I received a book called,
"Sewing Tiny Toys" by Carolyn Vosburg Hall. Realizing that it was time for me to return it, I thought maybe I'd give one of them a try. Turns out most of them can be hand sewn, so I can put off my sewing machine fears for a little while longer.

Now, the most I have ever hand sewn has been a rouge button here and there, but I am nothing if not determined when I get the urge to do something. I turned to my three year old and asked her to pick one, and eyes wide with excitement she said, "I want the tiny teddy!" So here we go, tiny teddy it is...

Here is my hi-tech pattern...




She chose brown felt and bright pink thread, so this is going to be one fierce little bear!







TO BE CONTINUED......