proud mommy moment

I just had to share what my 3 and a half year old son made with his Lego today... (no help!)

I think he's going to grow up to be a lot like his Dad :)

funkytown pants

I've been working on a variation of the reversible pants I made in this post. 
I wanted this pair to be thin summer pants so I made them just one layer (not reversible).

They still look like they are 2 layers because I used a bit of extra coordinating fabric for the rolled up cuff at the bottom and then brought in another fabric on the inside for the top elastic casing. Just for fun. 

elastic casing

faux rolled cuff

I think they would be super cute with a matching top. Maybe with a ruffly half-sleeve?

a toolbox for my little men

My boys and I love hunting for treasures at the Thrift store down the street. It's fun, inexpensive and an eco-friendly way to shop. It's recycling at its best and I love that it teaches my kids the value of a dollar too. They can often afford to buy things there with their own money. Hallelujah!

I recently picked up this little wooden box in the housewares section. I think it was used for napkins and utensils - maybe for a patio or something. 

It had a little golden rooster on it that was easy to remove. I stenciled it with a Sharpie marker and turned it into a portable tool box for my boys.  
Just the right size.

sleeping beauties

We've all been there.

You just get your little one to sleep and someone comes to the door, waking them up. For me it's usually the delivery man... and it's usually a day where I really needed a break at naptime!

Here's my solution. These little pillows can be hung from the doorbell, knocker, or mailbox. If you don't have a way to hook them on, you can use a clothespin or magnet on your metal mailbox or steel door.

And may your little beauties sleep tight from now on....

seek and find

Over the next couple of weeks I'll be showing you some of the things I'm working on for an upcoming sale in my neighbourhood. Many of these items are similar to those in my Etsy shop, but there are a few new things too (still geared towards little people).

My latest project has been to make some themed 'I spy' bags. They whip up quickly but it has proven to be much more difficult to find the little trinkets to put inside them.  My local dollar store doesn't seem to have much of what I want, so although I found a few things there, the rest was from the fabric store and my own crafty stash.

So here they are - 3 complete so far:

The first one I made was much larger than these but I decided I wanted smaller, more manageable ones for toddler-sized hands. These ones are about 5 inch squares. 

There is one 'on the farm' theme and the other two are all about Spring.
I'd love to make some for each season, but I will have to wait for those assortments of trinkets to become available throughout the year. 

I plan to include a legend of what is hidden inside the bags, but they already provide enough sensory fun for the really young ones as is.

Lots more to come so check back again soon.
Thanks for stopping by!

lovebirds

Next month marks the beginning of Spring and I just couldn't wait to start making some little Spring things!

I made this dress for a sale I have coming up in March.

It's a pillowcase style dress, lined with pink fabric.
I made the matching undies using the Simplicity 5079 pattern.

This outfit is sized to fit a 6-12 month old, but is fairly adjustable and could likely fit a slightly older child as a top when paired with leggings.

be mine

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's day vanilla cupcakes

Just a little peak at what we made today.

a place for books

You haven't heard from me much this week because I was hit pretty hard with the stomach flu that is going around. I have managed to putter around and get a few little things done but mostly cleaning and organizational type stuff. 

It was a slow recovery process but I'm better now and ready to get back to it!

Back in January I picked up this strange little piece from the thrift store nearby. 

I couldn't resist its quirkiness and thought it would work well in our playroom.

 

I gave it a few coats of white paint (no primer on hand) and did my first ever 'distress' job.

And, because it's for my kids, I added a little pop of colour on the inside to make it a bit more playful.

Just a small project - but enough to get my confidence up to try something a little bigger... (more on that later)

paradise

This is one of my most cherished pictures. It was taken 4 years ago in Barbados.

It is just as meaningful to me for what you see, as for what you don't see.

This is a fun, loving picture of my husband with my oldest son during one of his first experiences in the ocean. 

Their faces couldn't possibly smile any bigger. And I can still hear the sound of the ocean that day and the cackling laughter of my boys.

I took this picture - in paradise. At sunset. Pregnant (and possibly glowing) with my next son.

So to me, this picture represents my family at one of our happiest of moments.

Just looking at this picture warms me up.

I wish we were all back there together now...

2011 handmade olympics

I've been a busy little bee over here, training, working hard for the Olympics.

... the Handmade Olympics that is!

Image courtesy of the rikrak studio

It's a friendly little contest that looks like a lot of fun so I thought I'd give it a shot.

Here's what I've been working on for the event...

 

  
It's an extra girlie version of the reversible crown I posted last week. 

The pattern of the fabric is echoed by the embroidery on the reverse.

 

 
I've been learning how to embroider by hand and this was a big project to take on (bigger than I thought it was going to be). But I love the look of embroidery - it's well worth the effort.

Wish me luck!

airplane applique

My youngest son saw me working away in my sewing room recently and asked if I would make him an airplane. More specifically - a jetplane.

We moved into our home a year and a half ago and I have yet to decorate the little guy's bedroom so I thought this would be a great opportunity to get to work on his airplane themed room that he I had hoped for.

His furniture and accessories are mostly dark blue so I hope to (one day) paint the walls a pale shade of gray. Sounds strange for a kids room but I think it would go so well with the blue and last beyond his preschool years.

The first thing you see when you enter his room are large plain white curtains covering the window so I figured this was a great starting point to decorate.

First, I drew a picture of an airplane and created a template from that. 

I cut the template pieces out and traced them onto the smooth side of fusible interfacing  (adding a little extra for a seam allowance). Then I cut the fabric and interfacing pieces out. I used 3 different shades of blue for the plane body, wings and tailpieces. Then a brown-ish colour for the two propeller pieces, and a pale neutral fabric for the cockpit.

 I stitched the interfacing to the fabric pieces along the template line, with right sides together (or 'fusible' side in). I stitched all around the shape.

I cut a slit in the interfacing so that I could turn the piece right-side-out. 

I repeated these steps for all the airplane parts. Then, I arranged them onto the curtain and ironed them in place with the fusible web facing down.

I was going to hand stitch the plane to the panel, but changed my mind at the last minute and top-stitched it with my machine instead.

I added a button between the two propellers and embroidered a few little extra details by hand.

Please note: If you have a little airplane enthusiast at home and want to try this, I would recommend using the two-sided Heat N Bond instead of interfacing (and cutting the pieces to the exact size). This would be much easier to work with and would save you a couple of steps along the way. The reason why I used interfacing was because I wanted the curtains to remain washable - it is after all a white curtain in a little boy's room!! BUT if I were to do it again - I would definitely use the Heat N Bond sheets to applique the plane and just hand wash the curtains from then on!

You may have noticed that this isn't quite a jetplane, but lucky for me, at 3 and a half, my son is still too young to really know that!