sunshine ribbons plushie

well i conquered the sunshine ribbons plushie rattle that i posted about here.  the organic cotton fleece was only available online and was very pricey so i opted for a cream-colored terry cloth from wal-mart ($2/yard).  it will be perfect for all of the slobbering.  i can't wait to introduce this little guy to henry in the morning.  it isn't perfect but it will do.  i found it to be pretty quick & easy but there are a few things i learned that i would do differently next time.  what a darling (and cheap) baby gift, eh?

Fabric Flower Clips & Pins

These flower clips/pins have been really fun.  My sister-in-law and I figured these out one night.  We just kind of winged it and made stuff up as we went along.  Polyester fabrics are your best option for the real flower-like edges.  You can use other fabrics but they don't burn well.  It totally depends on the look you want.  Get your layers ready, stitch them together in the center and finish off with a button or beads.  Then attatch to a clip for an adorable hair accessory or a pin to pin to anything.  I also used a similar flower to embelish an embroidered pillow for a birthday party.  You can find a tutorial for ones similar to these here.

sunshine ribbons plushie

i love to give a homemade baby gift.  it just says 'love'.  tutorial and really funny story here.

Homemade Ugly Dolls (or Monster Dolls)

These are so colorful and fun. Your imagination is your only limitation. I had so much fun making these 'fake' Ugly Dolls for my kids for Christmas. They were relatively easy for how cute they turned out-and much cheaper than the real thing. I just made shapes up for the dolls themselves-using the real Ugly Dolls for inspiration. You can cut out any kind of shape out of any color and add whatever details you want on the face. I used different colors in different kinds of fleece for the bodies. My favorite was the green fleece which turned out kind of knappy. I used embroidery floss & felt for the faces, and some ric-rac trim for some of the embellisments. The kids love them and have given them each a name.

position: center

recycled tights snake

another gift for another birthday party. i got this awesome idea from this crafter. i loved the idea to repurpose the tights plus it was just so fun & bright! plus this idea is great for a girl or a boy, depending on the fabrics/materials you have available. since there wasn't a tutorial i had to just make a go of it. the body is recycled tights, the hair clip is a crocheted flower that i had previously done. the eyes and 'hair' clip have button embellisments and the tongue is felt. even though i will do a few things differently next time, it really was pretty easy.

car caddy

i saw this little cozy car caddy and loved the idea. i also found similar versions on other websites that have popped up. i made this for my son for christmas following this tutorial at homemade by jill. truthfully, i don't know why, but i found the tutorial to be a bit confusing. i think it may have been one of her first attempts at a tutorial. (and it's HARD to explain how to do something when you just know how!! i know!) nevertheless, i love what she has come up with and think there aren't enough little homemade goodies for our little boys. this is a perfect little caddy to take with you when you need a portable little toy. (measurements are intended to fit hot wheels cars)

little girl's apron

this project was for one of my twin girls' friends. it was an 8-year-old birthday party. the little gal loved to cook so i thought i'd whip out an apron for her. i have to say that this was not one of my most favorite projects. i saw this apron in my head and went from there. i actually do that a lot because, for me, sometimes patterns are more confusing than just winging it. (the drawback is that i do end up unpicking and making mistakes this way). i was literally making it up as i went along. i used a cute black & white ticking fabric. i did horizontal for the bodice part and vertical stripes for the apron. i found a cute simple black & white floral for the pocket, and i used a contrasting red fabric to make my own bias tape to outline the whole thing. it was pretty cute in the end.