Wordless Wednesday

Holiday Craft Gifts

First up - for my niece and nephew. My sis-in-law told me that they have their own table top trees this year. It was her idea for tree skirts....one I thought was just perfect. Funny thing is, I had just made a treasury post of some lovely full size versions I found on Etsy.

These were what I came up with...the red one for her & blue for him.



Second...through 18th....
I was browsing around online & found these cute little fabric stacking trees on The Small Object. And the tree skirt fabric bits were just perfect for this project. I gave out a tree to each family at the Xmas Eve get togethers.

As much as I love them, I will have to make a small change if I make them again...sturdier fabric. The solid color fabrics I used were too flimsy to hold up well. I suppose I could just use a fabric stiffener along the bottom edge if I had to. And I am sure to make them again - they were too cute & simple not to!

Happy Holidays

Ho Ho Ho..."MY" tree...the Whedonverse tree...
thanks to all the great participants of the Buffyfest Ornament Swap these past 3 years :)

Wordless Wednesday

Bye Bye Buffy

It was a little hard to package this one up. Every time I check my shop and see this red bag still there, I wonder if I should keep it for myself. I just love it. And I put so much into it. But it has gone off to a new home. I hope it is a happy place. Full of fun & whimsy :)

I also had to say goodbye to these pretties...

I wondered if she had been to the sale in Ypsilanti at the Riverside Arts Center since she lives about one town over. I suppose I could ask, but it'd be weird to bring it up now that I have already acknowledged the order & thanked her.

I must admit - I needed that. It is easy to get discouraged...especially when I haven't been producing as much as I would like. This little boost and the spark I am feeling lighting up inside...I have a good feeling for next year. Here's to creating!

Holiday Sale a Success

These are some of the things that sold during the past 2 weekends at Riverside's Holiday Sale in Ypsilanti. I consider the sale a success because, well, I sold stuff. Which is the whole point. Would I have liked to have sold more? Of course. Am I happy with what sold? Of course.

Now...what to do with the rest? Aside form relist in my shops...of course.

I have been enjoying the pillows and such I have been making. And the embroidered ornaments. So I know I will continue with these and add the quilts & such I planned on. But as for the bags...I need to decide which I will make more of and when. Maybe one batch of home goods, then a batch of embroidery pieces, then bags and repeat.

Someone had pointed out to me that I should be sure to point out just how few of each bag design I made as this only helps to support the one-of-a-kind aspect...and thus lends itself to higher price points without further explanation. She may be right. Where I see a mish mash, she saw a sea of unique items screaming "buy me - no one else will ever have the same one". I like that :)

I need to actually sew more to achieve this. It'll help. Need to wait for a non-snow day though :P

Scribble Tree

I got the first one down, many more to go. This is what I made from those sketches last week. I think I will be spending my evenings embroidering. What am I going to do with them? Not entirely sure. It is a bit too late for listing them in the shop. I suppose I could keep them around for a fun Christmas in July sale. But I am sure some will find their way to my tree & some family trees also.

Now to decide how to finish them off...glue the excess fabric to the inside of the hoop? Most likely. And I will probably keep the hoop bare & natural rather than trim it with a ribbon. But after inserting a thick paper backing with a date so I remember when I made them :P

Wordless Wednesday

a peek of what I am up to at home

Blue Pillows

I finished the blue pillows. I am still on the fence about this first pair. I love the Federal blue color and the Brandon Mably's fish lips print underneath. So I am not sure just what it is that makes me go "eh". Maybe it's the cut outs. Or maybe just because I had so much trouble with them. The sizing was not quite right. The 16 inch pillow I had was too fluffy. I think all I need is a more solid pillow with less puff.



This second set of Federal blue pillows was fun to make. Making the overlapping kaleidoscope circles to match the kaleidoscope print underneath took quite some time, but so worth it.


The backside still needs the piece with the snap for closure. Or maybe it doesn't? I do like the clean lines. Hmmm....what do you think?

Now I just need to decide whether or not I am taking the pillow covers to the Riverside's December Holiday Art and Crafts Sale. I do not have enough inserts for all of them. Between allergies and personal preference for pillow fillers, I figure less than half of the people would need one. But still, very bulky to have sitting out. Maybe I just keep them home & put them in my shops online. Which means photo shoots. Hmmm....

Black Friday thry Cyber Monday

Simply put - I am having a sale. Free shipping worldwide from both my Etsy and Artfire shop. Now, Black Friday, through Cyber Monday. Hurry on in, because many of my pieces will be gone in December enjoying some time in a holiday craft show at the Riverside Arts Center in Ypsilanti.

Pink Hair Pieces

I did not get much sewing done this past week. Most of my time was spent reworking listing wordage and taking some more pics of home items. I did manage to finish off a couple hair pieces from some pillow leftovers though.

This first one is a headband attachment. I just wanted something simple and not too large.

The underside has a piece of velvet ribbon that the band can slide through. This way you can position the decoration anywhere you want. Plus, the velvet ribbon helps hold it in place.

This barrette is just about done. I was not sure if I wanted to add something more, but I think I will stick with the simpler is better theme. Since I still have to sew the front and back together, I do have time to change my mind. One thing I will most likely do is stuff it a bit to make it puffy.

Paler Pink Duo

More pink pillows. This time a duo. These are for 16 inch pillows. I can't wait until the inserts arrive so I can see how they look full.

I went back and forth on what to do for the decorative stitching. I like where I settled...little bursts to match the print.


The bolder pink pillow I made last had that small concern of enough fabric to cover the backside, so I added the strip of print. Well, I really liked it, so I did it again.

Once in the middle of one panel...

And the other on the edge of a panel...

Next up...blues!

Pretty in Pink

I got started on that batch of pillows slated for circular cut outs. This first one is a single. The material is a bit stretchier than the rest I have made and therefore came with a few choice words that make it even more original :P

I only had enough fabric for one pillow, but I loved the combo with this print too much to pass it by. It is also a biggie...made for an 18 inch pillow insert.


The color was difficult to capture well, but this shot shows the stitched matching bead pattern well enough. Some circles have a single stitch line around it and others are doubled. No reason, I just liked the look.

Remember I said I only had enough fabric for one pillow? Well, that was pushing it. I added a strip of the print on the backside...and loved the result. I liked it enough to make 2 strips. Which also gives me the bonus of more fabric for some hair pieces to match.

This pillow is a bit larger than the last batch of 14 inchers, but I think the snap closure piece still works well. If I were to make a super large one, I'd have to forgo the snap & go with a zipper.

Next up...more pink. Read: easier to keep going with the same thread :P

Pillow WIPs...Circle Cut Outs This Time

I have started on another batch of pillows. I loved the olive circle applique one so much that I decided to make more with the round cut out.I also varied the sizes, some as large as 20 inches. I love big pillows, so cozy.

There will be blues...

Pinks...

And olives...

I decided to use the cut outs on some of the pillows as well. In the end there will be solid pillows with print peek throughs and print pillows with solid color circles appliqued to the front. I hope. In my head it looks great...we'll see.

I'll be making the hair WIPs alongside the pillows since the machine will already be threaded with the right colors. Yes, lazy can determine the order of getting things done. But I prefer to call it efficient.

To Be Hooped

I have a bunch of embroidery pieces that I have been, well, procrastinating about. I did turn my skull piece into my purse.

And the Fruity Oaty Bar girls into a pillow (reminder: list pillow in shop).

I think I may just do the rest as wall pieces in the hoop. The crafty bunny is on a silky linen like material and the roses are on silk, which do make better pillows than hoops, but there is not quite enough fabric around the images for that. And if I hoop them, they can always be reworked into something else if someone wants the piece, but in a different form.

Now to decide how to finish them off...paint or wrap or keep the hoop bare? Back it with sewn fabric stretched across or felt or even scrapbook paper stamped & glued on the back? Or maybe a combo of each to see which I like the best :)

Hair WIPs

I have not sewn more since the last batch of pillows. But I have been prepping. And cleaning the house. Lots of that. Don't worry, I won't be showing pics of the messy house :) Instead you get to see the mess of fabric that has been slated to become hair pieces. And yes, they match all the pillows I made earlier.

Wordless Wednesday

Baker's twine from The Supply Owl ... 15% off purchases now through Nov 30th

Hair to Match the Pillows

Why should hair goodies match pillows? Um, no reason. I just had the perfect leftovers from all the cutouts. Some are going to be headbands and some will be on barrettes. This is what I have so far...

To match the ocean blue pillows:


To match the orange diamond pillows:


To match the olive circle pillows (these were yesterday's WIPs):

Olive Circle WIPs

Remember my olive green circle reverse applique pillow? Well, I made some matchy stuff. Okay, to be honest, they are not yet "made", I am in the midst of these projects.

First off, there is a headband. Headband attachment might be more appropriate. I love all the headbands out there with all the fun foofy stuff attached. The only problem is where they are the band. So few tend to fall on the right spot for my head. So I came up with these...

The band slips through the underside of the piece so you can slide it to where you want it to lay. The velvet ribbon is nice because it "sticks" to the hair pretty well. I used them on some elastic hairbands in the past & they stayed in place nicely.

A table runner was in my head since I first cut the pillow. There happened to be a perfect strip left after that initial cut :) I am not quite sure what I am going to put on the underside though. Maybe red and have it wrap around the edges to peek over onto the top.

And lastly, a potholder. All I need to do to finish this off is the trim.

I can't decide what color to go with. I am thinking it would be best to wait until I decide on the runner's trim and match it. I would use the green, but there is not enough left for strips. All I have are a bunch of circles from the applique cut outs. Hmmm...what to do with them?

Wordless Wednesday

handmade for me by The Art of Joy

Circular Applique Now

Same idea. Different shape. And I love the swirls! The fabric in the circle cut out is one of my faves. I just love red and black. Throw in the green swirls and I am a happy camper. I made my cousin a diaper bag with this fabric a while back and luckily I still had some leftover.


I had fun with the swirl & circle stitching too :)