Just in time for Valentine's Day: easy freezer stencil totes kids' craft

 

First off, hello!  Long time no blog! 

 

Secondly, it's almost Valentine's Day!  Are you getting ready to celebrate? 

 

The girls and I created these easy freezer stencil bags for their teachers (if J.Z. is reading this, spoiler alert!).  It was fun to get back to some crafting and be able to do it with little E and A.

 

 

Disclaimer: this bag is pretty much a knock-off of one I have from Old Navy.  I LOVE it and thought the teachers would find it handy and cute.  We found a 3 pack of medium totes at Joann's and some Tulip Soft Matte fabric paint.  Oddly, the pink and yellow were sparkly, but you cannot tell from the outside!  A roll of freezer paper from the local grocery store and we were good to go.

 

 

Little E dabbing on the yellow.  We found these thick, strong brushes were best to really get the paint in all the grooves of the canvas.

 

 

Little A's hand moving at super speed!

 

 

This one is done and drying...

 

 

...and the big reveal.  It was really cute to watch the look on the girls' eyes as they peeled back the paper.  I love how the "messy" heart turns into clean lines. 

 

 

Here are three of the six we made.  With four paint colors, we managed to make all six different.  This was the perfect project for the little ones - they could be messy and inexact, and it didn't take too long to dry so their interest was maintained.  I loved that they thought of their teachers as they picked colors, reasoning who would like which combinations.

 

We are blessed with wonderful teachers and we hope we make them feel special this Valentine's Day with our gifts.

 

 

 

 

 

Bike Bucket Birthday

It's the summer of bike buckets! 

We had four friends' birthday parties this weekend, and they all received their own, handsewn bike bucket.

Three of the friends received new bikes, and one inherited a bigger bike from her brother.

 

 It was so much fun to pick out fabrics to match their tastes and latest interest (guess which one was for the six year old boy!).  We hope E, A, C and E have many wonderful adventures with their new bikes and new bike buckets! 

Happy Birthday!

Fabric bookmark

Anna Maria Horner "Good Folks" fabric

 I have been in the middle of yet another auction frenzy this spring - hence less posts.  However, I didn't want to miss the chance to enter Zaaberry's giveaway.  She asks you to comment on a favorite tutorial.

This fabric bookmark with clear vinyl pocket is definitely a favorite of mine.  I made this one for my sister-in-law at Christmas - the perfect little something to give a book store gift card.

Are you wondering how I made this at Christmas but the tutorial just came out?  I got a sneak peek from Ruby and have been waiting for the tute ever since!  It really is a great little project.

Don't forget to enter her giveaway - it ends tomorrow!

Good luck!

Doggy love sunhat

 First off, thank you for all the lovely comments about my spring top.  I didn't win, but I honestly feel like having it be a finalist was such an honor!  There are two more weeks, so maybe my color block top will find its way into the judges favorites, or I'll get my act together and actually sew one of the MANY ideas floating around in my head. 

I also wanted to share a quick project: another Oliver + S sunhat.  This time, it is a bit more "boy" - for a little friend who turned ONE yesterday!  Happy Birthday, little man!

The party theme was dogs so I thought this print was perfect!  The blue is Robert Kaufman Whiskers and Tails "Dog Park", and the green magically coordinated (from Joann's).

I love the pop of red - I think that white dog does too - sniff sniff! 

Hope you have a tail-wagging kind of day!

Chalk mats...in the shop!

If you don't want to make one (http://www.roseleej.blogspot.com/2011/09/monkey-applique-shirt-some-news-and.html)...

...you could buy one instead.  

They make a great gift for a little one - for birthday, older sibling, Easter basket, or party favor. 

You decide.

Jazzy Heart Clip Tutorial

Valentine's Day is just two days away.  Looking for a quick, cute, simple project to surprise your little one?  Try the Jazzy Heart Clip.  It will add just the right sparkle to your Valentine's Day!

You will need a glue gun (or fabric glue), one bendy clip, two felt heart pieces (mine are around 3" x 3"), and about a half yard of sequins.  These are from Joann's and come threaded - they are very pliable, which is perfect for this project.

Step 1: lay the clip on one heart and mark two small lines about a half inch in from the ends of the clip.  Snip these lines.  Put the clip aside for now.

Step 2: put the two felt hearts together and sew a simple seam around the entire edge - mine is about 1/4".

 

Step 3: start gluing the sequins down.  Use a THIN layer of glue and work in sections.  Follow the outside of the heart, curving the line of sequins as you go.  Overlap the sequins a bit.  When you get to the almost-end, you may need to go over some sequins a bit to even out (see how my bottom left photo just had a little space to fill in?  I went up to the right (see bottom right photo) to even out the last two lines.)  Cut the thread between sequins and glue down the end - try to tuck the thread under, into a dab of glue.

Step 4: open up the clip and slide through the two slits you cut.  That's it! 

Now, go make a bunch and surprise your little Valentine!  (Little E. likes the white one best - she says it looks like a cookie with frosting.  YUM!)

Have a sparkly Valentine's Day!

Handmade Fabric Doll for Miss M.

Our friend turned one at the beginning of January.  What better way to recognize this milestone than with her very own dolly.

This one looks just a wee bit like Miss M - blonde hair, blue eyes and super cute all over!

Her eyes are hand-embroidered, courtesy of this tutorial over at Sublime Stitching.

 I love these little feet - just like our friend who is about to master cruising all over!  And, the dress fabric is a sweet corduroy print my aunt sent from her stash (I should say, she sent along WITH her stash - all 70+ pounds of it!).

I hope Miss M. loves her dolly as much as little A. loves hers (see here).



Felt bird ornaments

Each year, we like to treat our family friends to a small, meaningful gift for the holidays. We have friends that are known for their granola, hot chocolate and gingerbread men. While I've made peppermint bark in the past, I wanted to do something different this year.

Little E had planted sunflowers in the garden that yielded beautiful yellow heads full of seeds. When they dried up, we got the idea to save them and give them out as our holiday gift - something to either save and plant or share with the birds now.

After a few trial runs, I came up with a felt bird ornament with a fabric applique wing and bell to accompany the sunflower. Unfortunately, when we went to retrieve the flowers, they looked less than gift-worthy. Plan B? A sack of seeds the birds will enjoy in the coming winter months along with a handcrafted ornament I hope our friends will enjoy in the years to come.

The bottom right was my first bird - the wing came out a bit too big. I love the paisely brown one, probably for the sheer luck that the print landed on its eye. In the end, I opted for the simple felt birds - I love the striking contrast between the saturated color of the felt and the fabric print.

Here are two gifts, packaged and ready to deliver (can you tell my color ink was running out?).

Wishing you the joy of creating and giving!

Holiday dog treats

This guy deserves a treat! He puts up with a two year old climbing all over him, an almost-five-year-old practicing her dog training on him, and waiting his turn for attention. While he is our first-born, he often comes third in the line-up.

So, to give him a special treat for his birthday (seven!), we found this dog treat recipe. He LOVES them, and I love that they are all-natural and easy to make. The girls love to help roll and cut, and it's really fun to find cookie cutter shapes to match the season.

You can find the recipe here: a super easy peanut butter dog treat recipe

One batch makes two cookie sheets full, so bake some for your favorite furry friend and share some with others. This is the perfect holiday gift for a dog-loving friend!

I guarantee your dog will come running for these treats!

Wishing you delicious moments baking this holiday season!

Merry and bright

Hello, my friends.

It has been a long time since I last posted - not for lack of crafting, taking photos or thinking of posts to share. We had a busy, eventful fall and it felt like every week was a call to tend to family, house and friends.

After little A turned 2, we faced a long stretch of illness. Luckily, through it all, we were blessed with good spirit and love, and now health again.

We then experienced the October snow storm that took out our power for close to a week. Again, we were blessed with good spirit, a sense of adventure and good friends to help clear the debris.

November brought two craft fairs that kept these fingers busy sewing for weeks. Both events were successful and fun - a chance to connect to community and friends new and old. We also celebrated two birthdays in our house - one for a furry friend and one for yours truly. While the number hit a bit harder this year, I am thankful for so much and consider myself a very lucky lady.

December is now here and we are in the throes of preparing for Christmas. The decorations are up, the tree is lit (cut from our backyard - it is beautiful!), gifts are purchased and parties are beginning.
It is a magical time of year and I wish all of you the very best for your seasonal celebrations.

P.S. The photo is of a holiday swag I made for a friend using many of the broken tree limbs from the October storm and berries picked on the side of the road. 

And, I'm done...

...with the doll clothes, that is. 

This last batch all come from this book.  Very good, easy to follow patterns. 

I still can't get over how detailed doll clothes can be.  I think I could now create an entire wardrobe for MYSELF after this experience. 

But, it was all good fun and a great project.

First off was this little fleece vest with fleece trim and a separating zipper (pay no attention to some extra stitching on one side of the collar!).

Fleece vest

Collar detail

 Next, some khaki pants to go with the vest.  Two issues here: first, there are supposed to be cargo pockets on the pants, but my brain wasn't processing the directions for making the box pleat (or the measurements were wrong in the book) so I put those aside.  Second, these patterns don't call for much finishing of seams.  After sewing up the pants, I decided to serge the inside - hacking off part of the fly.  So, it looks a little lopsided because it's missing about a 1/2" of fabric.

Khaki pants with REAL fly...

...and REAL pockets!

Lastly, the tweed overcoat for chilly New England winters.  I originally wanted something in an animal print, but this fabric jumped out at me.  I really love the red piping with it.

More REAL pockets!

Tweed overcoat

Sleeve detail - see the slight gathering?

Lined, no less!

Back view -  I love the piping accent

All assembled..

...packed, and ready to go!

I hope Chloe enjoys her new clothes (and fits into them!).  I think I'll take a break from sewing small things and get going on some birthday things for an almost-two-year-old in our house. 

Wishing you the satisfaction that comes from a completed project!