Visit with Santa!

Today was our visit with Santa. The girls (and Santa as well) had a great time! Let's hope that Santa brings them what they asked for! :-)

I'm going to mention the unmentionables...

It's not something that we ladies like to talk about, but let's face it - it's reality! Yes ma'am, I'm talking about that time of the month! And, more directly - how not to walk from your desk at work to the restroom with your unmentionables in your hand - alerting everyone that it is, in fact, that time!

My attempt, until now, at being discreet was basically just to shove my 'monthly things' up my sleeve and walk to the bathroom. But, now I don't have to! Yay....

Inspired by the ease of making the tea bag holders, I made this ...

It's functional, yes! But, I think it's also kinda cute (well, cute may be a stretch ... but, still).

So - now I'm wondering - how many ladies would like to get these for Christmas??? Or is this just too personal for a gift? What about for my teenage niece? Is that just a weird gift?

And, another tea bag wallet....

These are so flipping easy, it's ridiculous! Here is the latest one.

I love, love, love these fabrics and it will be all I can do to give this wallet away! I used one of the lining fabrics for a button on the outside.

And, I just happened to have a lovely ribbon that worked well!

I'm pretty sure (actually, my 8 year old suggested this) that if I slightly modify the dimensions, that I can make some adorable card holders too! Look for those on here sometime soon!!!

Now ... I gotta get back to work! ;-)

Tea Wallet

For a couple of my friends, I will be making tea wallets and matching cup sleeves. I decided to make one to get my measurements correct. This is it...

I think that it turned out cute! It holds 4 tea packets or sugars/etc.

Here is a picture of the outside:

And, a picture of the inside with tea packets in it:

Inside, with no tea packets:

I decided to make it a simple elastic closure, with a button.

I hope that the friends that will be receiving these will like them. I'm pretty sure that I'd like them if one were given to me!

Now I just have to decide on the fabrics for each person and make the tea wallets and coffee cup cozy / sleeve!!

School Projects

My daughter, who is in 3rd grade this year, has had the most 'projects' already this school year. She has just finished her latest diorama. This one was on the Cherokee Indians. She still has a paper to finish, to go with the diorama ... but, at least the diorama is finished.

She did a great job - actually, she had the whole family - Mommy, Daddy and her baby sister, help in one way or another ... but, it's her project. And, I think it turned out great!

I thought that I'd share a couple photos, since ... well ..... see below .... I'm so ashamed ......

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I DIDN'T FINISH THE AFGHAN OVER THE HOLIDAY! I'm so ashamed that I didn't keep my commitment to myself! I could blame the school project - but, that wouldn't be fair ... it'd be more appropriate to blame the nap that I took yesterday and the nap that I took today .... I'll get it done .... I promise!

What was once a shower curtain is now a makeup bag

Several months ago, I purchased a canvas shower curtain from Goodwill. I knew that I was going to cut it up to make something. I was planning on grocery bags (but, I have not yet made them!). Anyway - as I was sitting in my sewing room, I noticed the shower curtain still sitting there and decided to make a make-up bag.

I haven't decided if I'm going to keep it or give it away for Christmas, but I think that it turned out cute!

The fabric seems a bit nautical to me, so I decided to embroider an anchor on the front of it.

It has a chunky zipper closure. Can you tell that I stuffed the bag, in order to get decent pictures?? lol

All in all, I'm very pleased with how it turned out.

Birthday Gift

One of my dearest friends has a birthday next week!!

I couldn't decide what to make for her (but, I knew that I'd make something). Her birthday is difficult, because it's so close to Christmas - so, how do I decide what is for Christmas and what is for her birthday??

I have seen lots of portfolios or pad-folios online and I decided to make that for her. I didn't use a pattern, just kind of winged it based on the size of the note pad (in this case 5"X8"). I decided to have it close with ribbon and D-rings. I figured this way it is can hold a lot and still close. I put a pocket on the left hand side, as well as a vinyl business card (or whatever card) holder. On the right side there is a full pocket to hold the mini-legal pad.

For stability, I used Timetex between the outside (which is a decorator weight fabric) and the lining (which is quilter's cotton).

While I am sure there are some things that I'll change with the next one - overall, I'm pleased with how it came out!

I hope that she'll like it!!

On another note... I'm still working on the afghan for my mother in law - I'm still committed to finishing it before the holiday is over (and I'm not considering Thanksgiving to be over til I go to bed tomorrow night... lol)!

Christmas gift done and preview of another gift, almost finished

I have finished one of my Christmas gifts for one of my nieces! I decided for the kiddos that I'd make crayon rolls. I would give them that, with crayons, along with a tote bag (which will have their initial on it, in the same fabric as the crayon roll) and a coloring book. I've not yet gotten the bag done, but I did make my first crayon roll. Until I finished, I had forgotten that I had mentioned making one of these before. Mine might have turned out cuter had I remembered and used the instructions! Oh, well........

I made this one using decorator weight fabrics. I used a ribbon to close it up, but I'm thinking that I may try sewing a button on and using some elastic for the boys ones (a little more 'masculine' than the ribbon).

The picture below best represents the true colors of the fabric used!


I like how it turned out - but, I learned several things ...

1) I need to make my fabric wider than to allow only for 1/4" seam allowance (with just 1/4", it makes it kind of 'curl' on the ends once the crayon is in place)
2) I may need to add a 'flap' to the top of the crayon roll - so that I don't have to worry about the roll being tipped upside down and the crayons falling out. I don't REALLY see this as an issue, as the crayons fit rather snug - but, it might be a good idea.
3) I really want to use a thinner ribbon - today I just used what I had on hand.

I hope that the kids are going to like this little gift - it's always so hard to find something that all the kids will like - boys and girls!

Now the preview..... I'm still working on an afghan for my Mother In Law for Christmas. I've committed to myself to finish this over the Thanksgiving break ... so, look for the final pictures soon!!

New pajama pants

I've been saying for a few weeks that I was going to make myself some new pajama pants. Only today did I finally do just that!


I had some old fabric (circa 1980-ish) that was gifted to me some time back and I thought it might be nice to use for my pj pants - considering that I wasn't using a pattern or anything - didn't really want to cut into some fabric that I love! The fabric is a nice comfy cotton floral print. Not really a floral that I'd like - but, I admit, it takes a lot for me to like a floral print - but, I think that they turned out cute (and, even if not cute - they are certainly comfy!).




Mind you, I do have a pattern for some pajama pants ... but, I was too lazy to cut the pattern out! It took some 'tweaking' to get the crotch/rise just right - I'm kind of short waisted. Also, there is a little bit of bunching in the front that, while comfy, isn't flattering.... So ... a few things to be changed next time!

I'm thinking that I may go ahead and get my daughter's Christmas PJs done before thanksgiving - that would be unique, as normally I'm down the wire with them. Last year, I was down to the last minute - as usual - and decided to make pants and then buy a sweatshirt and do an applique on them, using the same flannel as the pants. Those PJs have gotten more wear than any of the others I've made in the years past - so, I'm thinking that I might do that again! Is that cheating? And, if so, is it okay to cheat on making the PJs?? I used to make them sweet little gowns - with monogramming and everything - but, they don't like to wear gowns ... :(

The coolest coffee cup sleeve yet!

At least I think so .......

I was going through the tiny little scraps (I'm not the only one that saves them, am I?) in my sewing room last night and decided to piece some of the cooler ones (leopard print, hand dyed fabric, a jacquard decorator fabric, a cool polka dot fabric and leather!!) and piece them together to make 'something'.

That something turned into the coolest coffee cup sleeve! But, I made it with the intent to put it in my Etsy shop - and, now I'm not so sure! But, seriously - how many coffee cuffs does one person need?

Help me ....... keep it, sell it? keep it, sell it? keep it, sell it? ;-)

And, a new coffee cuff / coffee sleeve / coffee cozy .... for ME!

I was so inspired by the Star design coffee cuff that I made yesterday that I decided to make one for me (I'm also going to add them to my etsy!).

For mine, I decided to use a purple vinyl for the star. I used the same black denim as with the other one, and lined this one in purple (to match the star). I think that it came out cute! Don't they kind of remind you of the Converse products?

Also - I thought that I'd participate in the One-Word meme that is floating around right now! You should too! ;-)

Where is your mobile phone? table
Where is your significant other? somewhere
Your hair colour? wild

Your mother? funny
Your father? gone
Your favourite thing? daughters
Your dream last night? dreamy
Your dream goal? security
The room you're in? bedroom
Your hobby? everything
Your fear? failure
Where do you want to be in 6 years? happy
Where were you last night? home
What you're not? organized
One of your wish-list items? camera
Where you grew up? everywhere
The last thing you did? sew
What are you wearing? clothes
Your TV? on
Your pets? sweet
Your computer? lifeline
Your mood? tired
Missing someone? Yes

Your car? dirty

Something you're not wearing? coat

Favourite shop? Target
Your summer? HOT
Love someone? Yep
Your favourite colour? Purple
When is the last time you laughed? today
When is the last time you cried? today

And - just because I found this beautiful picture on my camera recently ... thought that I would share! :) How BEAUTIFUL are these girls??? Be still my heart........

New Coffee Cuffs.... with more of a masculine feel

I have been thinking for a while about trying to make some masculine coffee cuffs / coffee sleeves. And, having been asked by my best friend to create one, today was the day! One is decidedly more masculine than the other, but I think that they both turned out nice. Of course, as is always the way, I can see room for improvement!

This is the first one ... made with skull fabric and a couple of buttons. I think that the buttons make this one less masculine - that said, I'm using it... Worked out great! ;-)

Close up of the button closure

The second one is the one that I made for my friend. I hope that it is well received! I do see where there is room for improvement - particularly with the star - either I should have made a smaller star - or a taller cuff... however, I still think it turned out cute!

Now, I think that I'm going to finish watching this movie!

Cute little vinyl bag, with flower embellishment!

I was, as I normally am in the evenings, reading the blogs that I follow. And, as I was looking at Jodie's (Ric-Rac) blog, I was reminded of a tutorial that I had been meaning to try. She wrote an easy tutorial for making a pencil case. I didn't follow it to the letter, but I definitely used it for inspiration!

I decided to make a makeup/whatever bag. Anywho - that said, mine is a little bigger..... And, I love how it came out.

This picture gives an idea of the 'overall' view of the makeup bag/case/pouch.

This picture shows the zipper .... the purple zipper matches the flower...... see how my brain works? ;-)

This picture is just her to give a better idea of the true colors..... The pictures above were washed out with the flash.

Now I want to make this same style bag out of cotton!!!

Flower power

Today my girls wanted me to make them 'something'. They really wanted me to make them bags today, but I just wasn't feeling up to it. I wanted something small and quick!


As a result of my need for it to be small and quick. I decided to make them little hair clips. We've done hair clips before. But, these are a little different. I used a die cutter to cut the flower shapes and then just sewed them to the clips that I had on hand. As a side note... have you ever bought something, put it away only to NEVER find it again? I bought some new clips a week or so ago and now I can't find them - that annoys the you know what out of me.


Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming ...

The clips. They turned out really cute, I think! And, the girls liked them. I've already made them more in their school colors. Adorable....




I definitely think that I'll be making these for the girls on my Christmas list this year!

Happy Halloween! A little late.....

Whew ... it's over... I love it, but I'm glad for it to be behind me! Between making costumes (til the wee hours of the morning) and helping a friend with a Halloween party (which was so much fun, for the kids and adults a like), I'm beat!

I mentioned before that we were doing the whole Wizard of Oz theme. With me being Dorothy, my oldest being Glenda the Good Witch and my youngest being the Wicked Witch of the West. I didn't have to make the Wicked Witch costume, but I made both the Dorothy costume and Glenda costume.


Dorothy ... I already blogged about the shoes here. They did turn out well, but the sequins did pop off a bit after I wore them. I did modify them a bit from the prior post, in that I added a red satin bow to each of them. I made the dress, without a pattern and just made it as quickly as I could. So, I didn't take the time to 'fit' it to my shape. So, I look kind of boxy in it, but I think it turned out cute as well. I already had the white shirt. I bought a wig and cut it shorter and used ribbons with the braids. All in all, I thought that my costume turned out well.


Glenda ... my daughter was thrilled with her costume. Basically, I reclaimed the bodice from a thrifted dress, added the skirt portion and puffy sleeves. I also made the crown. She already had a wand. Costume done!




Wicked Witch of the West ... I borrowed the witches dress from a friend and bought a hat. Painted her face, added tights and we're done! But, she's WAY too pretty to look wicked.

As we were getting dressed, my girls were already discussing what they want to be next year... That is how it goes in this house! The Wizard of Oz theme was decided on Halloween last year!

This was the scene when we got home from the Halloween party last night ... How sweet.....

Even though it is late...... Happy Halloween!!

Crown for Halloween Costume

My oldest daughter is to be Glenda the Good Witch from The Wizard Of Oz. I'm fighting with that last 25% to be done (adding puffy sleeves to the dress and some type of embellishment to the bodice). Our town in trick or treating tonight, so the pressure is on... but, I'm going to be happy with small victories!!! And, I'm tickled pink with the crown, so I'm taking a break from the dress, having some lunch and posting pictures of the crown!

You know how it goes ... sometimes if the sewing machine is being a pain - you have to step away for a bit.

The crown is made using a cut from a thrifted tablecloth, muslin, ribbon, crystals (hot glued on) and timetex. It also has an elastic band in the back.

I had a hard time getting a photo that truly showed how cute it came out... :( But, I am THRILLED with it. Wish I could get the dress finished, so I'd be thrilled with it!!!

Neckwarmer ... made last winter, but worn today!

I'm cold ...... I'm very cold...... I should turn up the heat, but I'm dreading those high gas bills as it is.

I made this neckwarmer last winter and I realized that I never blogged about it. I'll tell you what I like about neckwarmer (or cowls), you can wear them without the 'ends' hanging down in your way - SO, they work great when you're cold sitting at the sewing machine (which is what I'm doing today - or at least am suppose to be - yet I'm here ... blogging.....hmmm). Anyway.....

I used 3 vintage buttons as the closure. It is so pretty, I think! And, it is very warm!

Dorothy Shoes ... AKA 'Why am I so cheap? Shoes'

So, as I mentioned earlier, I'm to be Dorothy for Halloween. Now, being a 'do it yourself-er', I decided to make my own red shoes. Let's just say ... I'm so stupid!

I have, painstakingly, placed each of these sequins (I lost count at 500 sequins on one shoe) on an old pair of mary janes. Surely I could have found some sparkly red shoes for not TOO much, right? Anyway - I want to be proud of these shoes, I really do - but, they just aren't as cute as they could be! I will say, however, that they are more sparkly that the pictures seem to suggest... odd. After the initial application dries, I intend to go back in and fill in any 'empty' spots!

Anyway - here are the pictures.......

Hopefully, they will be okay with the whole outfit... which, by the way, is not complete. I'm about 75% finished with Sarah's dress (which is a recon of another dress and reclaimed chiffon fabric) - I've decided (after the fact) that it would have likely been easier to just make a dress from scratch. But, alas, as I mentioned above .... I'M AN IDIOT! lol

Cute little felted pouch

I recently felted an old wool sweater, making a bag for my daughter. I originally blogged about that here. I still had a bit of the sweater left over and did another small project...

I made a cute little pouch that can hold cards, lip balm, etc. I attached a key chain to it so that it can be carried with keys, for convenience.

OHHHH, now that I type that out, it makes me think about something else that it could be used for. Once, at my former job, I took a CPR class and at the end of the class we got a little key chain with a few CPR items (gloves, barrier, etc.). As I recall, it was about this same size... so, I guess you could use this little pouch for that, as well... anyway, I digress..

Anyway - cute little pouch that was easy to make......

Now, I have to stop making little things... more heating pouches and more sleep masks... and finish up Halloween costumes! I am doing a recon of a dress for Sarah - she's Glenda the good witch from Wizard of Oz. And, I need to finish my costume - I'm Dorothy! Hannah is at least done!!

Sock Monkeys

I actually made these a few years back. I don't know why I didn't blog about them... but, while we were going through old toys today, we found these. I know they aren't anything special ... but, I SO love sock monkeys! And, I'm still happy with how they turned out (even if my girls played very little with them!)

I happened (somehow) to have some of these socks stuck back in a drawer and decided to try to 'wing it'. I had never made a sock monkey before, but I think that i did okay.

As I was making them for each of my girls, I decided to make one with a pink ribbon and the other with a purple ribbon.

Cute little sleep masks....

For some reason, my girls decided that they NEEDED - yes, needed! sleep masks. So, of course, I made them for them. They chose their fabrics... so, you can definitely see their personalities (and the difference in their personalities) in their fabric choices... I promise, they were happy (though, you'd never know it from Sar's face in the picture below ... lol).

Sarah chose to have hers made out of a purple and pink polka dot fabric. The lining is a purple fleece and hers has ties on either side.

Hannah (my little rocker child! lol) chose a skull fabric with a red lining. We chose to have hers made with a thin elastic as opposed to ribbon ties.

I really like the one with the elastic best, but it was a bit more painful to sew (though they were both REALLY easy to sew) because the elastic had to be shorter than the width of the sleep mask.

All in all - they turned out cute. But, for the girls' small faces, I think that I should have made the masks a bit smaller - but, we just used the same pattern that I had drawn out for my own sleep masks.