Cars, Cars, Cars!

This is the second "Cars" pillow I have made this year, but I never took photos of the first. I think travel pillows make wonderful gifts for little ones. I like to couple them with a puzzle, book or pajama. You can never have too many pillows when it come to kids.

Presley Bag

I love making these bags! I decided to make a matching Initial bow with the bag as a gift. This is a for a little friend of Maddy's whose birthday party was canceled because she came down with Mono. Bless her little heart!

Meowwww.....

I thought it was time to make a "raw-edged" pillow, so I had a little fun with this cat head....Madelyn and I had fun putting it in fron tof our faces and pretending we were cats...ha!

Hot Rod Pillow

April 11, 2010
Madelyn has a little crush on her classmate Jackson. His birthday party was this weekend, and I wanted to make sure he received something from Madelyn that was extra special. We decided on a "hot rod" pillow. I found all four fabrics I wanted to use at Hobby Lobby...here is the result:

Tristan Tidbits

April 10, 2010
I painted this for my dear friend's son, Tristan... I originally wanted to paint it when he was born, but it never happened. A year later, it is complete. I found a great quote I liked and added it along with his full name and date of birth. When I was finished with my canvas, I headed over to Michael's and had them mount it on a black beaded frame. I hope it adds a little extra "fun" to Tristan's room for years to come!!

Abraham's A

Sunday, March 27, 2010
I was fortunate to see my cousin Ashley and her little three-month cutie Abraham today. I made a super-sized letter A for his room. I had a lot of fun painting it and finding all the papers I wanted to use...I even gave it an antique-look at he very end. I went with his room theme of transporation. Enlarge the above picture to see greater detail.

The Halle Dress

Maddy's friend Halle is turning four, and her birthday party is tomorrow. I saw this fabric a month ago and thought of her (there are three different fabrics used...click on picture to see more closely). I decided then I would make her a dress, so here it is. I pinned on a coordinating pin/hairclip with a little handmade card to finish it off...hope she likes it!

Packaging Fix

Thursday, March 4, 2010
I made a simple bow tonight for a friend and, as usual, had a dilemma as to how I would present it to her. Usually with hair accessories, I add them to a gift bag or what-not, but I didn't want to go through all the hype for a simple bow...It's just one of those little "thanks for being a great friend" type of gifts ..you know, the little trinkets and heart-felt items we give to each other for a pick-me-up, smile or as just a kind gesture.
So, I decided to do the following in case you want a good idea too...I took a couple of colorful note cards and my favorite stamps and decorated for fun...I had a cute hole punch to add a little depth, cute slits for the bows, and wa-la...I loved the outcome. I went ahead and made a half-dozen or so to keep on hand for those times you want to give a little something last minute or for a final touch on a gift or birthday present fit for a little princess :).

Pillowcase Perfection

Wednesday, March 3, 2010
So my friend Katie asked me to make a pillowcase dress for her daughter to wear for a school rodeo function. I told her she had to provide the material and supplies and I would definitely do it.... I was super excited about this task because a) I had never made a pillowcase dress before (it was on my list of things "to do"..don't get me wrong), and b)this was my first official "request" from someone other than me to sew something, and I felt special (yay!). With my excitment I wanted to jump right in and do my own special thing. Those of you who know me well, know this is very me, but of course it always comes with mishaps...so, let's skip to the outcome -I made the dress way too big then altered it too small, learned a ton of lessons, had to go buy materials and start over..ahh, the joys of trial and error..so, here is my second try, feast your eyes on this beauty....no pattern or numbers followed, BUT a ton of thought and precision played out (late last night..)AND I was patient (key word)...I hope you like it Katie, and I made a little yo-yo bow to match!

Strawberry Fields forever...

Tuesday, February 23, 2010
I have been wanting to sew a dress for the upcoming "strawberry picking" season, and today I saw this fabric...I really liked it, so I made this dress tonight for Madelyn to wear for her first "picking" trip of 2010....hopefully all this cold weather won't delay the March start...I created a flower-type brooch for the waistline that is removable and can be placed anywhere...Maddy was all about it...if you click on the pic you can see more detail...too bad this will be strawberry-stained after the first trip (hopefully Gain will be powerful enough to get it out!!). This is Maddy's first official strapless (non-swimsuit and non-cover-up) dress.

Callie's 33rd Celebration Apron

Monday, February 22, 2010
This past weekend we celebrated my good friend Callie's 33rd birthday with a girl's night out! We decorated our hotel room and took it easy. I decided to make her a personalized apron...I really liked how it turned out...the colors and fabrics went nicely together.I also made some "party cups" for the occasion by using "rub-on" appliques, ribbon and wine glasses...the balinis were flowing!

Missing Camera

Friday, February 19, 2010
Ok, so I haven't had my camera in a while....but I have been sewing and crafting...unfortunately I don't have pics of everything (DARN!)....but here are some things I finished recently, and thankfully I have my camera back..yay!I made this tonight for my niece Izzy....I had bought her a couple of books for her fifth birthday, so I thought I would make her a cute personalized "book bag" to house her books...hope she likes it and the matching blinged-out hair bow!So I have been making a several bibs and matching burp clothes lately...here are some examples...it seems like there are a ton of friends and family with new members or soon expecting! This little trio is for little Gwyn...It's a bag with a travel pillow and little hair clip...sorry for the blurry picture... This is also a gift for Gwyn's second birthday....I made it on a whim...and after I made it I fell in love with it (so did Maddy!!!)...I just used different pieces of fabric to make an owl...I did not use a pattern, I just had fun....it's definitely not even close to perfect, and yes, it is missing a nose...but that just makes it all the more special...I hope Gwyn and Phoebe like this piece...it should match Gwyn's owl/bird-themed room nicely...This is a picture of my friend Kristin's son and the reversible burp cloth I made him...what a cutie (Aaron that is!)
This is an apron I have been promising my friend Erin since last April...good thing I made good on promise....10 months later! I did a free-form (pattern-free) design...reversible...a pocket on the front and the fleur-de-lis print featured on both sides...

Bling Bling Jumper

January 12- So I decided to create this piece this week, and I learned several things...a) don't forget to leave room for the child's head, and b) practice, practice, practice when it comes to sewing in zippers (so not my favorite)...I like this jumper, and Madelyn loves it too...she is wearing it today for her daddy's birthday....I couldn't decide on one pic, so I posted several

Bowtiful girls!

January 8- Madelyn has a birthday party tomorrow for one of her favorite little friends, Sarah. Sarah and her sister Anna are ten months apart and the best of friends...when it comes to their birthdays, I like to give them something they can both enjoy. I really hope they like this bow holder...their bedroom is very colorful with lots of flowers, so I decided to add to the theme a bit...princesses and mermaids...timeless treasures for little girls...
Click on the picture for more detail...

Classic Americana

Click on any of the pictures below for larger view... January 6: When I saw this material in the store earlier this week, I immedicately thought of the flour/potato sack dresses popular during the WWII era of rationing....I decided to fully line the dress with a rich crimson red and add a few details inspired by the 'American Girl' HBO movie Kit Kittridge. I added a special cut-out design on the back, but I will most likely have to make revisions, as I had to carefully squeeze Madelyn's arms in to fit (I opted to leave out a zipper or button backing - my mistake!)...all in all, I am very happy about this dress, and I think the title of "Classic Americana" suits this piece nicely.