Pumpkin Pillows

Bring on Fall!!
Fall is my favorite season.  Maybe because here in the South, it's a little bit like a bearable, mild summer.  Hmm.
Well, I saw these pumpkin pillows on Someday Crafts.  And here are the links she gave: Deck the Halls and Blogging with Holly.  I love them!

So this morning, my boys are fussy and driving me crazy (will those molars and eye teeth EVER come in??).  So I got out my little portable machine and put in the kitchen and got to work!  The boys "helped" a little.  And here's what we made:

The stems are a little too long and they flop over!  But the boys probably just think they are pillows with handles - which they seem to find really funny.   :)

Happy Fall Y'all!

Jewelry Hanger

I wish I had taken before shots of this one, but I didn't.  So here's how it happened.  I started off with a long skinny frame that had  no glass and no backing.  When we were first married, I painted it yellow and added a hanger.  Then I hung a vase with a flat side on the wall and hung the frame around.  Wish I had a picture of that, too!  It was super cute - kind of the idea of the picture frame around the peep-hole in Monica's apartment on the TV show Friends.  But then the vase fell (a couple of times), and it wasn't so pretty.  And we moved into our house and I didn't know what to do with a glassless frame.  Just last month, I figured it out! 

I've never had much jewelry, but I've recently gotten several long necklaces that I don't like to throw in a draw or box.  And I've never kept the necklaces with the matching earrings which takes me longer to find them.  So... I got my fabulous father-in-law to supply me with some chickenwire type screen.  It's metal and the square holes are about half an inch big.  He stapled my screen to the back of my frame.  I used some free wall paint samples I received from Glidden to paint the frame and the screen.  That paint is excellent, by the way!  It covered the frame so well.  It didn't cover the metal screen as well, but I like that look.  And now...

My jewelry has a home and I can see it all!!  And my bedroom wall isn't empty any more, so two birds with one stone.  I've got the necklaces laced through the screen where they hook and the french hoops just hang on there nicely.  And did I mention that I spent nothing on this one??  Absolutely free.  LOVE it.

Toddler pillows!

My boys love pillows.  If they get to sleep in our bed (when they're sick or up too early), they love to lay their heads on our pillows (or our heads, whichever).  They've gotten into a phase where I can put the big couch cushion pillows on the living room floor, and they will roll around and laugh for most of the day!  I guess they just like to be comfy.  No complaints here.  So I decided to make them some small pillows.  My mother has done this before by cutting a full size pillow in half and then making her own cases to fit.  I knew I could handle it, so I scoped out some info online.  The two that I found most helpful are these: This one inspired me to use the boys receiving blankets as cases.  I loved the little jungle prints and they matched so many of their itty bitty onesies and they also match the heavier blankets that we have to go on their toddler beds.  I hated to get rid of them, but how many blankets do you really need?  And you know you'll get new ones with new babies.  So using these blankets just warmed my heart.  This site is a cute craft blog that I have yet to fully explore.  But I can tell I'd like her and I'll bet you will, too!  She already had a small pillow and simply made the case for it.  But I liked her case because it closes envelope-style in the back.  I'm not a big worrier or what might hurt/suffocate/cause SIDS in my babies, but I must say this type of closure on a pillowcase seemed safer.  After all, the boys are only 11 months old and most people would tell me it's still not safe for them to have pillows or blankets at all.  To each his own.

So!  I grabbed my 4 blankets (which I wish I'd taken a picture of before hand) and my notes on measurements and set out.  The first blanket I grabbed is the cutest print, but it had gotten wonky from washing and drying.  And by wonky, I mean crooked... ya know, not a real square anymore... more like a diamond.  I couldn't figure out how to cut it straight (I've been foggy this week, I tell ya), so I made my own pattern using newsprint.  It was all straight edges - easy enough - so I just measured it and cut it out. 

There is one piece of material for the front and two for the back.

The two back pieces simply needed to be turned under, pressed, and stitched to ensure a nice edge on the envelope closure.  I did a 1/2 inch twice.

Then I pinned the back pieces to the front and sew all the way around.  The corners need to be clipped to turn out nicely.  And voila!

A pillow case!

I made one more (and have two left to make) and the boys love them!  Jordan has slept on his every nap and bedtime since.  I love that.

Here's the two together in the bed.  I'm so proud of myself for making a pattern and getting these done.  It goes a long way toward my confidence in my sewing skills!

Bows

So.  While baking is fun, it is time-consuming!  I loved my final versions of Santa Hats and Christmas Trees Cake Bites (they didn't have lollipop sticks) and they sold SO well at the craft show!  But I will refrain from any more baking until craft show time again in the fall.  It's always more fun at the holidays anyway, right?

New thing:  I'm making gift bows.  I'm making them out of magazine pages and I think they're super cute.  I'm not going to give you the instructions on how to make them because I want you to buy them from me!!  :)  Sorry.  I do intend to sell these this year, so I can't give away all my tricks.  but look how cute:

this last one is my favorite so far.  It was a picture of a river with a lot of Christmas lights hanging down.  I will probably be using this space now to show what I'm making for craft shows, so look for more updates to come as the months fly past to Christmas!

Baking

I've decided to learn how to bake!  I'm not much of a cook and I don't really enjoy it, so I let Andrew do it most of the time.  But give me a recipe for something sweet and I can follow it perfectly.  For the craft show last weekend, I made cake bite Santa hats and Christmas tree cake pops.  They turned out so cute!  The hats were chocolate cake and the trees were red velvet and they were so yummy.  Craft show went great!  We'll be having another one at my house on Dec. 12.

These are some of the wire art creations I've been working on.  I've done ornaments, packages, trees, and snowmen and I think they're pretty cute.  Hoping they sell!

Handmade for Baby

My mom and I have started doing some applique work on onesies:








on baby shirts:



and on burp cloths:



We have more designs (including a train, a crown, a puppy, etc.) and they can be done with any pattern fabric. We will also be making working with some larger size shirts and dresses soon. I am working to get a sample one of each design done so that I can post them here. Here are some up close shots of the craftsmanship:

Baby Letters

I have painted the letters of babies' names for nursery walls recently. I love how they've turned out and would love to do more like these. They are 9 inches tall and about a half inch thick. They have openings on the back for hanging. They fill up the space on an empty wall really well without being overwhelming. I can match any color scheme with polka dots, stripes, stars, paw prints, simple flowers, etc. Just ask!