Grandmas and Quilts Just Go Together

I love, love, love my grandma!  She lives in West Virginia and I'm in California.  She's super feisty and is always doing something!  She is always on the go, keeping busy, doing things an 89 year old shouldn't.  She even travels to CA a couple of times a year to visit with our family. She just had her 89th birthday and unfortunately she wasn't feeling very well.  She has a very bad back and will need to rest a bit.  I wanted to send her something special as an early Christmas gift that she would be able to use while she recovered.  

My own mom has been crazy busy making beautiful quilts for all six grandkids.  She always makes each kiddo something special for Christmas.  This year she went a little nuts and bit off quite a bit.  However, as of 2 days ago, she is finished with all of them!  Not only did she make each of the grandkids a special quilt, each quilt is made specifically with each childs' interest in mind.  So for my three kids she made an owl themed quilt for my daughter, a puppy themed quilt for my oldest son and an elephant themed quilt for my little one...all of these things are their FAVORITES!  I've been hearing about these quilts for months.  She's been telling me all of the details and texting me photos of everything.  I decided that it would be fun for me to attempt to make one of them for my grandma too!  I didn't want to bother my mom since she already had her hands full (even though I know she wouldn't consider it a bother) so I decided to try to make one on my own.  And guess what!  I totally did it and it's super cute!!!  I used this pattern ~ McCalls Crafts 3901.  

I am just an OK sewer.  But I have been branching out and I've surprised myself at what I am actually able to do.  I stick to basics but this quilt actually is very basic.  It's a ton of cutting, sewing straight lines and clipping a bunch of seams.  

Owl Stuffy Success!

Well, my daughter's owl stuffy was a huge success!  

She opened it up, took one look...

and proceeded to fall in love. 

Homemade Halloween

The costumes are done and the kids wore them to school on Friday!  Yay!

We ended up with a "silly monster with lots of eyeballs", a Care Bear and an Angry Bird.  

Owl Stuffy

When I was a kid my mom constantly made me gifts. I still have them and have passed them on to my daughter who now plays with them.  For my daughter's birthday I thought it would be fun to attempt a stuffed owl for her.  She's been in love with owls since she was one!  Since her birthday theme is an owl theme this was the perfect opportunity to try to make her something special.  

Here's what I did...

I drew a picture of an owl using the back of some wrapping paper.

I cut out a front and a back.

Owly Party Favors

I've been very busy!  15 little owl party favors completed!

Here's what I did...

I drew a simple picture of an owl and cut it out to use as a pattern.  Then I placed the pattern pieces on my fabrics and cut them out.  I stitched the wings on first (using a zig-zag stitch), then stitched fleece and felt on for the eyes.  I  hand sewed the buttons on the eyes. Next I put them right sides together and stitched around them leaving an opening at the bottom to turn them.  I filled them with stuffing and hand stitched them closed.  They were really easy to do but making this many was a job!

My pattern consisted of...

* 1 front and 1 back body shape (corduroy, velvet, heavy fabrics)

* 2 wings (cotton)

* 2 fleece circles for eyes (white)

* 2 felt circles for eyes (any color)

* 1 triangle nose (cotton)

I used ALL scrap fabrics to make these little cuties.  All of the fabrics are left overs from outfits I made my daughter or stockings and quiet books I've made over the years.  I had a ton of stuffing too.  The only thing I had to purchase was a $3 bag of buttons for the eyes.

Happy, Little Angry Bird

Halloween is just around the corner so I got a jump start on making my kiddo's costumes.  My little one loves "Angry, Angry Birds" and asked to be the blue bird.  Thanks to pinterest and twindragonflydesigns.com I was able to get inspiration for this adorable costume.  

Essentially this Angry Bird costume is made of 2 large pillows and 2 small pillows.  The large "pillows" are attached with straps.  I fumbled along through this little project but overall it turned out pretty cute and my little one LOVES it!  I was hoping my other son would be an Angry Bird too because I have all of the kinks worked out now and I know I can do it better...but no luck.  He's going to be a "silly monster".

Giving Back

"There is no such thing as a small act of kindness."  Marjorie Pay Hinckley

I'm such a blessed person.  I love my life.  I have so much to be thankful for.  Sure, I have struggles like everyone else and I do have things in my life that truly make my heart ache.  But I know that no matter how bad things in my little bubble are, there are countless others who carry many more burdens than I ever will.  Others who need to smile.  Others who need help and support...maybe even from someone like me.

Finishing Touches

I'm just putting the finishing touches on the superhero capes!  Each kiddo is going to complete a Superhero Training Academy then be presented with a cape and certificate.  The weather is supposed to be 73 and sunny so it looks like it's all going to work out!  I'm getting closer to being finished with everything...but there is still much to do.  

The Stockings Were Hung by the Chimney With Care...

One of my favorite things to do each year is make Christmas stockings.  I usually pick a family I love and make a set for them. Besides a Christmas gift, they are also a perfect gift for a new baby or even a wedding.  After all, they are something the family will keep for years to come.  And everybody loves to have something made (and personalized) just for them.  Depending on the type of fabric you choose, you can make a traditional stocking or you can pick a funky fabric to change it up.  Here are a few samples of the many stockings I've made over the years.

These stockings were made for one of my favorite families.  I made them all out of corduroy but in different colors (dark green & burgundy for the parents, red for their daughter, tan for one of their sons & blue for their other son).  The cuff, toe & heel are all made with the same fabric.  My favorite part is the lining.  I always choose a special lining that reminds me of the person...toy soldiers for  boys, pink & red snowmen for girls, etc.  I like how the cuff fabric is very traditional but the corduroy and the colors are nontraditional.

This is a close up of one of the stockings.  Each one gets a monogram to make it even more personal.

This is my mantel with our family stockings.  I made the stockings over several years, which means they don't match at all.  They are all different styles and fabrics but since they were made from the same pattern they all work together.

Sharing...

My oldest just started Kindergarten and she was thrilled to discover that she gets to have "share day" every Friday!  Her teacher sent home a note explaining that she needed a special bag to bring her share toy in each week.  She said the bags could be as simple or elaborate as we wanted.  We decided to make a simple bag that looks elaborate!

Since my daughter has always loved owls we decided an owl share bag would be perfect.  I went through my scrap fabrics and knew I'd find an owl print.

I drew my design on a brown paper sack and cut it out to use as a pattern.

I used interfacing on all of my fabrics before I cut them out.  Then I pinned the front pieces together.

Did Somebody Say Fancy?

Check out this adorable (and easy to make) t-shirt!  I am planning a "Fancy Nancy" party for my mom, Nancy.  I want all of her grandkids to be fancy, of course!  My first thought for the boys was to purchase tuxedo t-shirts but they were way over my budget.  I came across a tutorial for these appliqued tie onesies on crapivemade.blogspot.com and I decided to give it a try.  I followed the tutorial but had to enlarge everything to fit older kids.  I am happy to say that the shirts turned out great, my boys are super excited to wear them and I know my mom will adore them too!  Best of all, they act as party decor and they are a party favor that the boys can actually use again. What a concept!