A Dozen (felt) Donuts

I have a lot of people that say things like "ooh, you should make - " and then go on to list off really fun tasty treats, that are however, impossible for me to make (my skills only go so far). But when the husband said "you should make a dozen donuts" I thought, yes, I can do that. So here are my dozen felt donuts. They were a lot of fun to make.















My favorite has to be the raspberry filled jelly donut dusted with powdered sugar.
















I have them listed as a set in my shop.

I HAVE MADE FIRE!

Ok, not really, fire, just felt cupcakes, though I'm sure my feelings of elation at creating the perfect cupcake would mirror the elation one would feel if they created fire whilst stranded on a deserted island.

It was a very long and arduous process for me to make these little cuppies. I have for awhile now, not been very fond of my tea party cupcakes, not just as far as making them goes, but also the fact that they looked more like a little fondant covered mini cake, rather than an actual cupcake. So one evening a month or so ago I got out my rusty, trusty muffin tin and began trying to figure out how to get the right size and shape.

It was a long battle, going from tyring to make an actual cupcake liner with a separate cupcake to go inside, or a liner with a sewn-in cupcake, or just the actual cupcake. The only thing I succeeded in doing was finally getting a chance to use my new pinking shears. I dropped the project out of frustration - nothing I did looked good/right.

Then, last week, I picked up one of the failed patterns I'd made - I traced, I cut, I stitched, and then like magic, or a spark of fire, I had created the perfect cupcake. Yes! A skill I'm sure would help me if I were ever to get stranded on an island.

Sweet Girlie Purse

A new purse for my shop. If anyone has any suggestions as to what I can name my little girl's purses I would love to hear them. I really like the pattern I came up with for my purse and want to stick with it (as I'm not really in the business of making purses) so I feel the need to name it.

For awhile I called them Prairie point purses, but then went back to Sweet Girlie Purse (which I'm not a fan of really) because I didn't think most people would realize that the little fabric triangles are called Prairie Points and then therefore not understand the correlation between the item and the title. I want them to have a cute name, but also one that says that these are little girls purses. Any suggestions would be welcome!

The Art of Crochet

Ever since my friend Ash came to visit in January and showed me how to crochet flowers, I've become obsessed with learning how to knit and crochet. My grandma helped my cousin Jennifer and I crochet potholders. She showed us this awesome method. I called her to tell her how I wished she could teach me again and she explained it over the phone. She said, "You won't believe what will happen, it's the coolest thing!" And she was right. Man, I never thought I'd get so excited about things like knitting and crocheting when I was younger. BUT I DO! I love them.

So here's what I did: I chained like 60 stitches. (I wanted it to be an over-sized potholder.) Then I single crocheted along that first row. Then I turned on the other side, chained off the stitch and then I skipped the first two stitches on the other side, and single-crocheted along that row. Let me say, I am so unqualified to give these instructions it's not even funny. So try it and see what happens. Don't be afraid to come back and tell me these instructions are useless. I promise, I can take it.

As for the flowers, I followed this pattern which also includes a video which I found very helpful. I'm finding this website to be a great resource.

When I called my Grandma she said that she'd love to teach me but that I should just learn the way she did, from one of those pamphlets you can buy in the craft section at Walmart. But you know what I've found even more helpful? Youtube videos. Here's the one that finally helped me figure out how to knit: The Knit Stitch.

Cream Pie Cookies

So I'm pretty much in love with this new creation of mine. I am desperately craving cream pie cookies now. I actually discovered how to make these while trying to make something else. I think they turned out fabulous - they're soft, and squishy (as I used 3 layers of batting instead of fiberfill) and I really want to eat one.

Orange Slices

Sometimes I drive myself crazy trying to create something new. Luckily these only took me one day to figure out. I made them to go with a set of bacon and eggs for my shop.

Stay tuned for my cream pie cookies I've got in the works - chocolate chip cream pie cookies, oatmeal cream pie cookies, chocolate cream pie cookies...

Happy Go Lucky

I made this little sign out of felt. Surprise, surprise. I totally forgot St. Patrick's Day this year. No special meal, no gold coins for the kiddos to find. I remembered in the middle of the day and we all had to have a wardrobe change to stop the pinching. Thankfully my kids didn't mind - me forgetting or the pinching.

Felt Raspberries

I spent most of this past weekend trying to make felt raspberries. It wasn't pretty. I started out searching the internet for felt raspberries just to look at them, see if I could figure out how they made them. No luck - there are very few examples of felt raspberries out there. Then began trial and error. Folks, I almost didn't make it through, my attempts were so horrid. Here are the 11 misses:
I'm not quite sure how I did it, but I figured it out. Here is the best looking felt raspberry I have ever seen (you can fact check that statement. Go ahead, google "felt raspberries." I dare you.
I liked them so much I had to make a fruit tart for my shop.

Peeps

I made Peeps. Who rocks the blanket stitch? Yeah, that's right, I do.

Have you ever visited the official Peeps website? You should, it's weird.

Machine Organizer

I made this for my mother-in-law for Valentine's Day. I had made a few of them for Christmas presents for some sewers I know and my mother-in-law requested one. They're actually pretty handy. You just sit your sewing machine on it and let the pockets hang over the edge of your table. I haven't once had to search and search for my seam ripper since I started using mine.















I also use one of the pockets to stuff the threads I trim off. My floors have never been cleaner.

This is from Simplicity pattern 3776. Pretty easy beginner stuff. There are five sewing accessory projects, one of which they call a Project Organizer that has handles and lots of pockets - I made them last summer and converted (by converted I mean I used shark and lizard fabric, not that I actually changed the pattern) them into travel bags for my boys. It's a good pattern, that 3776.

Sweet Pink Sampler

This is a new set I created for my shop. It's similar to my starter set, though has a few new items and some new twists to some of my classic sweets.
















Though I try to make my sweets somewhat neutral these are admittedly geared towards girls. I have a Little Chocolate Lover's Set in the works and I have a mind to make a set centered around my cherry topped cupcake (you can't stop me).

On a side note, my chocolate covered strawberries have been showcased on Etsy Stalker (http://www.etsystalker.com/). CuratorBeatrice is an Etsy fan (if you couldn't tell by her site's name) and creates groups of Etsy items (sort of like the items on Etsy's home page) centered around a theme. Check out her site to view her Valentine's Day favorites.

Doll Quilts

I found this fun tutorial on Crazy Mom Quilts for an adorable little doll quilt and pillow. It was fun to sew a quilt that didn't take me two months to complete, and this was my first time using just my regular old machine to quilt. I didn't bother with an invisible stitch for the binding, since I knew my children wouldn't care.

The first one I made for my daughter Sophie.
Then our friend Jack had a birthday and since he got a baby doll for Christmas, I thought he might like some boyish bedding for his doll. I can't imagine boy doll bedding is easy to find. :)


And then Franny saw Sophie's and just had to have one for herself. :) (Her's has an "F" on it, but it's upside down. Whoops.)
My girls seem pretty happy with the finished product:

Chocoalte covered strawberries

Here are my chocolate covered strawberries. I used 4 different pinks/reds and a light and dark brown for milk and dark chocolate. I think they are one of my favorite creations so far. And check out this:



I made them so that the chocolate cover can be taken on and off. They come packaged in a little white box tied with a ribbon. They are now in my shop along with a bunch of other new creations. Check it out!

Lunch Time!

Are these Dino Nuggies a staple at anyone else's house?

Despite my best efforts to diversify my 3-year-old's diet his answer to the question "What do you want for lunch?" (or dinner or snack for the that matter) is always "NUGGIES!"

This set includes 5 different types of dinosaur nuggets, a handful of baby carrots, a ranch dipping cup, and an apple juice cup.

I have yet to post this in my shop because for some reason Etsy hates any pics taken with my new camera (thanks Santa). Hopefully I get it worked out soon, I've been making some awesome stuff - look forward to my super cute chocolate covered strawberries!

Aprons

I accidentally sewed the sash on the apron above wrong. I fixed it but didn't photograph it before I sent it on to Julia.


My sister ordered two aprons for gifts last month and I made three for her to choose from. She chose the bottom two.

Some new stockings!

Felt is so much fun!! I spent some time sewing this past week and I intend to do some more this week. Keep an eye out for more stockings and aprons. I should be posting more in the next day or two.

Stockings are $15 each or $12 if you order three or more.

Coloring Books

I had so much fun making these little coloring pouches. These aren't for my etsy shop (I actually saw the idea on another etsy shop and knew I could figure out how to make them on my own). These fold up and tie with a ribbon so they are the perfect thing to take to church, in the car, to a restaurant, etc.

I made them for my boys and 4 of my little nieces for Christmas. I forgot and wrapped the boy version before taking a picture of them - I used the Farmer's Market Spring Apple print with a dark brown fabric as my solid background.

I added a little initial on the front to personalize them.

Advent Calender

Not to be out done by Katherine's Christmas spirit, I whipped this up this past weekend (ok so it took me two weekends to finish). I have a little tree that my boys can hang an ornament each day until Christmas. And yes, I cut out all those numbers by hand. Sorry about the fuzzy pics. Santa better bring me a new camera for Christmas if he knows what's good for him :)

Deck the Halls!

I'm so getting in the Christmas spirit. Which is great, since I have not purchased a single Christmas present yet. Yikes!

After having so much making this for Sophie, I've been experimenting with felt lately and decided to start selling Christmas stockings in my etsy store.

I hope you like them. Let me know what you think!

I think I like the poinsettia one the best. It reminds me of my Mom. She loved poinsettias.

I will accept custom orders if anyone is interested in ordering multiples.

I finished my quilt!

Last summer I posted when I finished this quilt top. I am very happy to show you the finished product!

Ta-da.



Look how pretty! I decided to decorate downstairs with pinks, reds, tans and browns. I am so fortunate that Melody came through town and I could accost her for decorating tips. She told me what to do and I wrote it all down. She's a genius. Anyway, so far we've stained the wood furniture we had dark, dark brown. We have and old dining set that we were just going to get rid of and then decided we'd spray-paint the chairs brown, re-upholster the chairs in fabric coordinating the curtains and quilt, and stain the table-top. It looks great. I'm going to have to search for a before picture and post it with the final outcome.


I thought it would be fun to photograph my 2 year old cuddling up with the quilt. It didn't work out quite like I'd hoped. She was in the middle of watching Backyardigans, you see.

Sophie, please do not wipe your booger on my quilt.

Here she looked at the camera long enough to say, "Go away." Nice.

I couldn't have finished this quilt without my mother-in-law's help. She helped me figure out measurements for the backing, the batting, and the ruffle, and she even paid her good friend Connie to machine-quilt it for me. I love you Louise! I had fun working on this with you and I can't wait to show you now that it's all finished. See you on Thanksgiving!