Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Hungry Hungry Hippos



This little hippo spoke to me. She really wanted ruffles--kind of like a tu-tu for this little underwater balleterina. So how can you say "no" to that?

Happy Birthday Kimberly



I made this cake this morning for Kimberly's birthday. It was actually a little more purple than the photo shows, but I've been playing around with the options on my camera and I didn't have time to re-do the white balance so the colors came out a little off.

Monday, August 25, 2008

We're going hiking



Don't you think Uncle Justin needs one to match? Just wait until Christmas...





(Just kidding, Justin. High schoolers are a little "too cool" for shirts like this--eight grade, maybe)

Quilts

I couldn't resist. I made a doll quilt for Bella. All she needs is a doll bed (which is in the making). It never fails, I always pick the worst material in the world for quilt binding and this time was no exception. I love the color and the texture, but I wasn't expecting it to stretch so much when I was sewing...even at the loosest tension. Oh well.



I particularly like the quilting...little loop-di-loops. I think it makes it a little more whimsical and kid-sy despite the grown-up patterns.





I also got the duvet cover and pillow cases that I ordered from ebay (it's the Ikea set I've been looking at). These will be cut up to make a queen-sized quilt for Bella once I can fully decide on the pattern and the fabrics.




(Ignore the shadow image--the print on the other size is showing through)

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Snack




What else would you do with a kid that looked like this?




She's actually not blinking here...she's winking. At you.

Am I a quilter?

Um, no. I don't think so. Ok, so maybe I WANT to be, but I don't want to spend the time. Instant gratification. What a downfall.

So, I LOVE these quilts. I think I will make Bella a nice and easy block (or strip) quilt and then make her a more complicated one. I absolutely LOVE these.


American Jane


Blooms for Annabelle--I actually like the fabric more than the patter, though the patter is pretty.

And this one using Freshcut from Heather Bailey:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tuttifruiti/2142652505/in/pool-heatherbailey_freshcut

(I couldn't save the picture since it was from a flicker photo group)

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Help me

...pick fabrics. I've been trying to decide on fabrics to go with Bella's quilt and I'm torn between whimsical fabrics similar to these below. My idea is to cut the ikea quilt into blocks (so that each character is on a separate block) and have the characters dancing in a spiral-type pattern around the quilt. There will be an inner (or outer) spiral of other the other fabrics. Unless anyone has any better ideas...









Or, one of these collections. All designer fabrics which mean that the quilt would cost significantly more, but so beautiful, modern, and vintage all at the same time (I may even nix the ikea pattern I've already picked out).


Park Slope Fabrics



Bell Bottom by Jennifer Paganelli



Annabella by Tina Givens



Modern Collection by Amy Butler

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Wish List

So I don't have very many craft and sewing books--mainly because every time I look at them I think "I can make that" and there's no need to buy the book. But I've recently discovered that craft/sewing books are the same thing as pattern books--that's a WHOLE new world. That I've jumped right into. It's unfortunate that I don't speak japanese, because the cutest books are in Japanese, but there are plenty of blogs which reassure me that all you really need are the patterns--we'll see.

ISBN: 4056041792


Girly Style Wardrobe


Toys to Sew


Kwik Sew for Toddlers (I just purchased) Supposedly this is full of great basic patterns


Bend the Rules Sewing (I LOVE one of the toddler fairy/elf hat patterns--need to buy this before winter!)


I'm sure I'll find more!

Wanted: One Doll Bed

Bella just loves babies. When I pick her up from daycare, we can't leave without visiting the infant room (she was there not too long ago). At home, she will wrap her babies up in blankets, rock, and pat (or hit) them. If she can't find a baby or blanket, she's quite the little cub scout and will make do with what she can find--a lotion bottle and washcloth are a satisfactory substitute.

Anyway, I've been thinking she probably needs a doll bed. I started looking on ebay and fell in love with this antique one:





Well, the starting bid is over $60 with shipping, so I don't love everything about it. Because I'm cheap, I've added this to Abel's "to do" list. And a small doll quilt to mine. We have to be fair, right?

And just so I don't forget, the dimensions are: 28" long x 22" high x 16" wide. It's definitely bigger than most doll beds (standard doll bed size is 20" or smaller), but I think the extra size is kind of nice. After all, what doll would want to sleep by themselves?

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

A Sweat Shop

So call me addicted. Really. This is it. No more. Bella now has a total of 5 pairs of lounge (t-shirt) pants. The ones I made today weren't as cute as the Freebirds pants I made yesterday, but these I just didn't have as much to work with. Today's shirts were all freebies so I was stuck working around advertisements (aka walking billboards). I'm disappointed in the blue shirt--I didn't realize when I was cutting out each side that the words across the top wouldn't line up right (to be honest, I didn't really notice that each side had a word across the top, otherwise I would have paid more attention). These are just for wearing around the house and sleeping in (and our trip of course) because they are ultra comfy but not all that great looking--maybe good for school where all of her clothes get stained (who feeds kids spaghetti and fruit punch with their clothes on?!)



Is anyone else amazed that I could make 4 pairs of pants after work while taking care of a toddler (walking tornado) and making dinner? I love my new machine. I decided to keep my old machiene because it's trusty and will be great for Bella to play with. She already shows an interest in sewing (or rather, pulling out all my pins and drawing on fabric--that's close, right?)

To prove I have been making something cute lately, I also took some pictures of some corduroy pants and a kimono-style top and a hat (of course) that I made on Saturday. (All of the fabric except for the hat I bought at thrift stores this weekend--I'll post pictures of my finds later. The hat fabric I found at Walmart for $1/yard. Steal!)



The main shirt fabric was actually a sheet--I kept the flat sheet to make a table cloth out of because I love the colors so much. I made the bias tape out of an old bedskirt. I love the combination so much. Hold me back or we'll have another t-shrirt pants incident with this fabric (which might not be so bad).

Monday, August 11, 2008

The Lettuce Leaf Dress

No, it's not edible despite of the name. I call this the "lettuce leaf" dress because of the rippled edges on the hem and collar.

So call me obcessed, but I dove into my drawers and found this t-shirt that I don't wear anymore because I think it's just a tad too short (you know how finky shirts can be). I decided to make a dress out of it and I have to say I just love it. It looks so much better on her than me...and the color looks really great on her skin tone. Plus, it looks so cozy--again, I wish there was a t-shirt big enough for me to make a dress out of (or maybe there is?). I'm not so sure it would look as good on me...





Saturday morning--we're obviously pretty relaxed!

Is she looking like a true "kid", or what? She's getting so big!

Free Cycle

So I decided to go through some of my drawers and toss some of the clothes I haven't worn in a while (which I'm never very good at because I always think that I may wear it later).

I found this old Freebirds t-shirt that I never wear anymore because people here don't know what it is...and decided I could recycle them.






I :heart: these pants. I wish they made t-shirts big enough for me to make a pair for myself. Anyway, Bella should be VERY comfortable in them and should get lots of use on our trip to the Sequoias! (Hmmm maybe I should make a few more pairs. I need to find some more t-shirts.) Plus, we've been calling Bella "Monster" lately because she gets into everything...so I was glad I was able to preserve the word "Monster" when making her pants.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Room Makeover

No, not my room. Bella's room. Soon she will be getting a "big girl's" bed--how soon will all depend on Abel. The estimate I received a few days ago was February (AHHH!). (Patience should have been one of my New Year's resolutions.

Anyway, I've been thinking about Bella's bedding. Since Abel is making the bed, I thought I would make her quilt. The problem is that her bed is going to be a queen size--we decided on a larger bed so that the playhouse underneath will be bigger, to accommodate sleep overs (are we thinking about that already?!), and for guests (who wouldn't love to slide down a slide first thing in the morning?). Unfortunately, all of the cutesy bedding only comes in twin sizes.

I've fallen in love with this print from Ikea:



I think we'll have to add some bright green and red to it and re-fashion it into a queen size quilt using that print as the main print and inspiration. It's really cheap (only $14), but our Ikea (which is like 20 miles away) is SOLD OUT and it isn't availble online and no one is selling it on ebay. :o(

I'll have to keep my eyes open!

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

The Model





I want to preface this by saying:
1. Ignore the dirty floor
2. I will clip the threads


So here's our resident model trying out her new hat. It's a little big, but I was hoping it would be so that it would be a good size for her this winter. I think I'll make some in a little smaller size (but not much). She likes pulling on her little "pigtails". I may make one with just one tail in the center. These are so cute. :o) Made the pattern myself. So proud!

On a side note, it's pretty difficult to take a picture of a kid while she's drinking--she wouldn't let me take a picture of the back so I did the best I could.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

When your kid doesn't have pigtails...

...then you just have to make some!



I'm working on Bella's winter wardrobe and here's one hat I made. Unfortunately she's sleeping so I can't try it on her. It looks a little big--it's hard trying to "project" how big she'll be when it's cold outside (or when it will be cold outside for that matter). I'll take pictures of her when she gets up. I may end up making a smaller one so it'll fit sooner. We're going to the Sequoias for Labor Day and she may need it then (I honestly don't even know how cold it'll be).

I sent my swap package today!

So my swap partner FINALLY responded so I sent her package off today. It's sad, but I almost don't want to do it again just because I had such a bad experience with it. I mean, why wouldn't someone respond back when you asked for her children's ages so you can compile gifts that were age-appropriate? Does that even make sense? She responded back...this morning! I was supposed to have her package in the mail yesterday and she just now tells me her kids ages. ::sigh:: The thing is, I know she posted on the forum, so she just chose not to respond to me--it wasn't that she didn't see that I wrote to her.

Maybe I'll try it again with someone else. It's just disappointing because I put some much time into her package for her just to not respond until the day after I was supposed to mail her package.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Will you Swap with me?










I was so excited about doing my first swap with one of my mom's groups (for those of you who don't know, in a swap, you compile a package for someone and someone compiles one for you). The individual I received had three children so I wanted to make something for each of them--can you imagine just one kid receiving a gift? I did some research and knew she liked homemade/WAHM things--so I made something for each of her kids.

For the infant, I made a kimono shirt and matching bias tape. I just love it. The colors and the pattern. So irresistable!

For the middle boy, I made an R2D2 embroidered shirt. I embroidered the R2D2 by hand for character). Perfect for a budding Luke Skywalker.

For the oldest girl, I made a personalized jacket. I should preface this by saying it didn't come out like I wanted, but once I brought it home, I drew a blank on how to decorate it. All-in-all, I like the color and patterns of the fabrics...just not sure I like how it turned out overall.

We were supposed to mail our packages out today. I guess if I don't hear from her in a few days, this will be a good excuse to open up an etsy shop (like I've been wanting for some time). So maybe it's not SUCH a bad thing!

The Crayon Roll










I tried to explain what a crayon roll was to a few people (unsuccessfully). For anyone who has ever taken a toddler out to dinner, you know the importance of crayons. Most places we go are relatively kid-friendly, but Murphy's Law says that there's never any crayons when your kid is on the verge of a meltdown. Little crayon roll so beautiful and all-so-needed, you will be my savior in the midst of the terrible twos (and probably threes...hopefully not fours). Be strong, crayon roll, be strong.

(On a side note, yes I know I need to wash it--you can still see my pencil lines...but I couldn't wait to show it off!)

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Isabella Ballerina















You may recall the skirt I made two weeks ago--turned out very sweet in the pictures. If only Bella wasn't so scared of the camera. It's funny because we take pictures of her all the time, but I guess it's different when you're being confined to a small area and there are flashes and people you don't know...sounds like the zoo!

We didn't get as may pictures as I would have liked, but we did get a few good shots. I love the Isabella Ballerina pictures--a set are about to make their way to Texas (soon...depending on when I make it to the post office).