Twirly skirts

I decided not to make fabric ornaments this month because we are actually not spending christmas at our own home. So, instead, I found this great twirly skirt pattern online for free. It is pretty simple and I have started on skirt number one. Will post pics when I get it done!

http://houseonhillroad.typepad.com/photos/twirly_skirt/index.html

Felt cookies

For some reason, I am enamored of felt cookies. They are just so pretty and sweet to look at. So, I got it in my head I could make my own. It was easy and fun and my 6 year old daughter had a great time helping me. All I did is take two pieces of same color felt as one cookie, decorate the top, and then sew the pieces together. If the cookie was supposed to have been cut by a cookie cutter, I used my good scissors to carefully trim edges. Otherwise, I used pinking shears to give them a rougher look. I either glued on or sewed on decorations. My 6 year old is in love with them!

Here they are, with a closeup of my three favorites. The white cookie has little shiny lavender beads sewn on to look like sprinkles.

Next up, I may have to investigate making a felt cake for tea time!

Ribbon disaster!

My beautiful Ottobre corduroy dress had a mishap! See the beautiful butter yellow french velvet ribbon? I forgot to sew the end and it came unravelled during the first washing. What a mishap! And I don't mean slightly unravelled. I mean it unravelled all the way around! It was a disaster! Luckily, I found the same ribbon from the same seller on Etsy, Kiwii, and was able to order more. I will be seam ripping as soon as it arrives and you can be sure I will sew the ends this time. Ooof! What a mess. Oh well, live and learn.

Kids can be crafty!

My 6 year old daughter is quite an artist, in my opinion. She loves to draw and color. This weekend, she made this absolutely beautiful flower picture with regular crayola markers. I love the details. I loved it so much, I scanned it and uploaded it to Shutterfly where we turned it into mugs for the grandparent's Christmas gifts.

Crafty inspiration!

I need to spend less time on the computer and I decided to get some reading material to help me make that happen. What better than crafting books! So, I took some inspiration from some of my favorite crafting mama bloggers and ordered their books. These can all be found on Amazon. I will review them when they arrive. In the meantime, behold my crafty inspiration:

The creative family by Amanda Blake Soule and her other book, Handmade Home. Amanda's blog, Soulemama, is one of my faves (see sidebar for link) and I have often turned to her for inspiration. It will be great to be able to take her ideas wherever I go.

Alicia Paulson's book is about turning keepsakes into memories. It is more than just scrapbooking, which I actually find time cons

uming and not pleasurable, but about taking precious items and reworking them i

n a way to appreciate and keep them. I am excited about this one. You can visit her blog, rosylittlethings, by clicking on that link in my sidebar. Enjoy!

The increasing fabric stash

New fabric arrived at the house this weekend. Yeah! I love pretty fabric. It is like jewelry, only cheaper. I love going to the fabric store or shopping online and looking at all the combos. I have to spend time mixing and matching for a while before I actually buy. At this stage in my sewing, I do try to have a pattern in mind when I shop so I know how much to buy. And then I add a bit, to round it off by a half yard. That way I have extra and can make little things to match or fix mistakes.

First of all, my next project is going to be yo-yos for christmas decorations. I found this McCalls pattern, 6002, and fell in love. I want to make the yo-yo christmas trees and the yo-yo garland. My oldest daughter is going to help me. She is only 6 and a half but this will be a good project to get her help with. I bought the pattern and the Debi Mumm fabric at Joann's Fabrics. With four different patterns to chose from and one yard of each, I think my daughter and I will be able to have some fun with this project.

The absolute finale

This is the absolute finale of this dress. I added the butter yellow velvet ribbon to the waist and made a headband out of remnants. I love it! But more importantly, the munchkin loves it too! The headband is made from the same dot print as the underskirt and has a yellow velvet ribbon tie at back.