Making Gifts again. . .

Somewhere between work, school, wiping boogers & butts I've managed to make a few gifty items for my lovely super hero son, Carter (who is officially potty trained! YAY!) and my niece & nephew (who are having a joint birthday party this Sunday).

I purchased the Transformers fabric about a month or so ago because Carter said "I weely, weely want it Mommy, you're the best mommy in the whole wide world." How could I not buy it, right? So we agreed that I would buy some & would make him a special super hero cape out of it when he stopped pooping in his pants. (I'm not above bribery.) That day has finally arrived & so I had to live up to the expectations set forth.. . .so I fashioned a couple of these out of the fabric & some black duck cloth I had laying around. I used velcro for the closure. It was so easy to make that I decided to make 2. One for Carter & one for my nephew. I'll have to take an action shot of the Cartman in his. For now, Batman is sporting this one. . .

My husband shared with me that in conversation with his sister, she mentioned that the 8 year old niece hinted "Auntie Jen made a really cool skirt for Ruthie (her American Girl doll) for Christmas & it would be really cool to have a baby doll blanket. . . ." I'm such a sucker! Of course I had to come up with a plan. While not really having "extra" time in my schedule for such craftiness. . .how could I resist? So I came up with this.. . it's very simple & quick to sew together. No binding. . .no quilting. Just piecing & sewing straight lines. Gotta love simple!

Pleated Petal Tank ANTHROPOLIFICATION GIVEAWAY!!!!

Pleated Petal Tank ANTHROPOLIFICATION GIVEAWAY!!!!

My Birdie Sling

I finally finished my Birdie Sling by Amy Butler. . . it's HUGE! I do love it though. You could fit a small human in this bag. I started it before Christmas. I found Clearance upholstery fabric at Hancock Fabric for the body of the bag. For the handle & band I had some scraps here that matched quite well. for the lining of the bag I used a clearance priced chair cover (one of those meant for kitchen type chairs - shiny & sturdy off white material) and for the inside pockets I used some scrap pieces of duck cloth in a tan shade. There is olive/sage green in this bag. . .the colors are not so great on the pic due to poor lighting. . . but I'm loving this bag! It wasn't too difficult.

Christmas Gifties

I've been making some Christmas gifts. First are the Twirls for Girls Doll Skirts. . .pardon the boy doll wearing one of them. . . They're meant for dolls like The American Girl Dolls. These will go to my nieces. I hope they like them. They were fun to make - kind of a quick fix. . . well, it's patchwork. . so as quick as that can go. I plan to make more in the future to donate for Toys for Tots. I ran out of time this year.

Next up are Spencer & Parker's Teacher Gifts. . . I made a couple of artsy clutches from Bend the Rules Sewing. These were fun & quick to assemble.

& inside I added 5 handmade greeting cards each:

This was a lot of fun. If I had started earlier I would have created so many more things. And thanks to the many talented bloggers I read up on I have TONS of projects to keep me from sleeping, doing housework, making meals or socializing publicly for quite some time. I wonder if I could get away with not working for the next couple of years??? Tee hee. . . just kidding.

I'm about 2/3 of the way done with The Birdie Sling by Amy Butler. This bag is HUGE! Holy cow! I could fit a baby in this thing. {but I don't plan to - just in case someone thinks I would want to bring one of those home with me} This might go to my niece. . . but I'm not sure if she'll like it or not. . .so I will wait & see. And a little birdie told me that I will be getting another one of Camille's Awesome Quilt Patterns for Christmas. I'm SO excited! Oh! And I have, on good authority, that I will also be receiving some new fabric from Gracie Lou's Quilt Shop!!! Not to mention that I should probably be winning something from their fantastic Grand Opening Giveaway. . . . . {fingers crossed & praying for some giveaway goodness - fabric would be so fabulous}

There you have it ~ my attempt at some homemade goodness for Christmas. Wish I had more to share:) Merry Christmas to all! God Bless you all & remember to Keep Christ in Christmas!

Jennifer B

I'm still creating. . .

In fact, I made 12 + cards this weekend. . .It was SO MUCH fun! I have been thinking about creating things non stop since then. . .Thanks a bunch Val B. . . in a good way. . really.
I am also planning a quilt but shouldn't give too much detail just in case. . . just in case what? you may ask. . . Well, it's a Christmas present. enough said!

My computer is possessed. . . it's doing weird things. I need to get off of it & get sewing. . .

More Pumpkins

I've been at it again. . . and I was right, it IS a lot easier working with sweater material vs the corduroy. I've also expanded the use of the yarn to make the vines on these little numbers. The tiny pumpkin was a fussy little bugger. . .and probably has WAY too much for a stem. . .


The multi colored pumpkin - I'm not entirely pleased with how this turned out.
I think I need to redo with a solid yarn. WE'll see. And it's stem is a bit too plump
as well. . . this was one of my favorite sweaters back in the early 90's. . .
I'm such a packrat! But I knew I'd use it for SOMETHING eventually.

These pumpkins by Deb are so stinkin' cute & easy that I HAD to try them out! No sewing involved. . . . but I'm warning you. . .be very cautious. . . You will find yourself sacrificing your last hair tie/ponytail holder for the rubber bands because you just have to make one or two. Here are my little cuties. . . I didn't use sweaters. I used the bottom of some old corduroy pants. I also used dried pinto beans in the bottoms to give them more weight. Oh, and when I ran out of fiberfill. . .I used scrap pieces of fabric left from my bean bag adventure. (I don't throw anything away.) I think I have a couple of worn out sweaters that will accent this combo very nicely. . . and I do believe that sweaters will be easier to work with. As you can see, corduroy gets a little bunchy. And I used yarn. It's no wonder I don't get enough sleep.