Presents and a Chicago Picture!

I just thought I'd share a couple of gifts that I gave three awesome boys!

For the oldest - a fake beard! Really now, everyone needs a fake beard or at least a mustache. This one is reversible! Blonde on one side, old man gray on the other.

For the middle - a tie! He's a ladies man and he looks quite dashing in a tie! The bright colors really suit him as well!

And for the youngest - a crayon wallet! It was like the one I made in the last post, except for this one there's a cover over the crayons so they don't come out as easily.

Other things I've made lately include a purse I took to Chicago (super fun city by the way!) and a dress (also super fun and awesome!). I'll try to post about the dress soon! I went based off a book, so it'll probably end up a bit of a book review.

(The blue thing to my side is the purse I made. You can't see it too well, but trust me - it's awesome!)

Way too close

Christmas is WAY too close! How did it get here so quick? It was just thanksgiving!
Oh well. I've been pretty busy! I've made a bag or two... a table runner... jewelry bags... what else? Crayon wallets! I've made two so far and I've loving them!

And one of my other new favorite things - coasters!
I made 3 sets of Christmas ones! Each set has 2 patchwork ones and 2 of each of the other fabrics (stockings and trees). We've been using one set around the house and they're working really well!


Now I've got a list of other stuff to do:
2 more jewelry bags
a crayon roll for a 5 year old
a tie for a 7 year old
a fake beard for a 10 year old
something for my mom (which I know what it'll be)
something for my dad (which I don't know what it'll be)

Only got a couple days left! Ahhhh!

On my way out of town...

I'm heading out tomorrow to spend the week on a Middle School Mission Trip! It should be fun! Interesting, but fun!

But I wanted to show a little bit of stuff I've made lately...

First - Coasters as an anniversary gift to an awesome couple I know! (Who also have a super cute kid!)

Second - five pouches for some girls I've never met... It's a long story, but to put it shortly: I've been writing notes to a friend of mine at a camp and the girls who pick up and deliver the mail have noticed that I send lots of stuff. So I figured they should get some stuff too!

Third - A purse for my cousin who is currently on her way to Israel! She wanted a purse with a strap that was long and would go over her shoulder. It's a dark tan linen so it shouldn't get too messy as she travels. And it's got some green and brown fabric that I'd seen at Joann's and kept thinking about getting but couldn't decide what for. I finally had a reason! This purse is a lot like the other one I did - with a zipper in the back side and reverse applique on the front.

Fourth - A pillow cover using my cousin's son's handprint. She had a towel that his handprint was on for mother's day, but she wanted it made into a pillow case! It was fun!

Fifth - the picture does not do this justice! It's a pillowcase dress - my cousin gave me the pillowcase and asked if I could make it into a dress and I'd seen directions online so I figured I'd give it a try. It was pretty easy and that pillowcase was adorable! Really though - I think it'll be way cuter on an actual cute little girl...

Sixth - a bathing suit cover! It turned out really cute, but I just can't seem to get a picture that makes it seem as cute as it is in person. It's for a contest - first place gets a sewing machine but I'm going for 2nd, 3rd, or 4th - which get a dressform!

Alright - that's it for now. I'll be back in a week!

A Throw for Minnesota

An awesome friend of mine is going to be moving to Minnesota pretty soon because she got a really cool intership with Mayo! It's very excited and I'll miss her - but she'll only be gone 8 months and we'll always have facebook!

But to keep her warm, I decided to make her a granny square throw. She's been known to crochet a bit, so I knew she would appreciate it!

It started out with these:

And ended up with this:

I used mostly yarn I already had. And used black to sew it all together and for the border. It looks a little 70's-ish, but I love all the bright colors!

I think it'll keep her warm enough... :)

Munchkin... being eaten by a frog

For the munchkin's birthday back in November, I made him a frog jacket. Complete with frog eyes. And the other day, he fell asleep in the backseat, and this was the image I had to capture forever.

Man, I love hanging out with that little guy on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Pink Girly Bags for Twin 5 year old girls

I was asked by a friend of mine to make cute girly pink bags for her twin year old girls. They were both turning 5 (of course, or else they wouldn't be twins) and they both have names that start with M, which she also wanted on the bags. So as long as they were pink and had the letter M she was going to be happy. Which made me happy.

I decided to have some fun and make them each different. But I wanted to use applique, which was fun!

On the first one I just did some patchwork and then put a big M on the front. The pink fabric was some I got at Target - it was a twin sheet set and I've been able to get a lot of fabric from it.

And the second one has an applique flower and a green ribbon as the stem.

I didn't get to go to their party, but their mom liked them - so hopefully they did too!

Long time no post

Alright... I haven't posted in a while. I'm definitely going to try and post more. I promise! I've been super busy making stuff - commissioned bags, crochet bunnies, skirts, towel rolls things... Lots of stuff.

To start with - here's a marker holder for a 6 year old's birthday:

He's a super creative little guy ("the chicken nugget" as I refer to him as). A ladies man too.

I thought it was a fun little gift. The notebook was on sale and had all blank pages. The book (Make a World by Ed Emberley - of the fingerprint fame) has very easy to draw pictures. And who doesn't love markers? Washable markers of course. The marker holder had Velcro on the back so it was easy to take on and off with little kid hands.

He was excited to get it! Hopefully he'll have fun with it.

Ring Bearer Pillow

Two people people I knew from high school, Fernando and Amelia, are getting married! I remember when we were in spanish together, we had a potluck lunch one time and Fernando was bringing in mangos, but I'm allergic. So he brought me a banana! (I always remember the weird things.)

Anyway - I was facebook snooping one day and Amelia had a link to their wedding website. On that website, she had a picture of a ringbearer pillow that she said she wanted but might have to try making or something. I knew I could make, but I was worried she would think I was crazy if I just randomly sent her a message saying I could make it for her. But I decided not to worry about what she thought. And I'm so glad I did. She said she had just given up on getting it or trying to make it!

We met and she picked out the ribbon and material and then I made it and just delivered it to her last week. I think she liked it and I was more than happy to put it together.

I was able to embroider their names and wedding date too! And we decided she could snip off the ribbon that the rings will be tied to and they can just keep the pillow as a reminder of the day.

I'm going to be way more forward from now on - good things happen when I go ahead and offer to do stuff!

Reversible Baby Bag for the Essentials.

After I've made a gift it's really really really really hard for me not to give it to the person immediately. Really really hard. I just get so excited! But I handed over a present today - so here's the reveal!

It's an essential diaper bag - a bag that you can take if you don't want to take the whole bag - like for a couple diapers, a bottle, some wipes. Just the essential stuff.

This particular bag is for the parents of Josiah - whose dad loves FSU and whose mom loves UF. It's a house divided. The poor baby just won't know what to think. But I felt the only proper bag would represent them both (though I am partial to UF - since I know all their cheers), so it's a reversible bag! That way - if he wants to carry it, he can have the Seminole side out. Or she can flip it to the gator side.

The actual pattern is super easy - it's the Fantastic Five Fat Quarter Reversible Bag. Of course this time there weren't fat quarters. But it's still an easy and fun bag to make!

I can't wait to meet the little guy!