Tooth Fairy Pillows Faced and Stuffed

Faced? Hmmm...not the best choice of words. But I put their faces on, so they were "faced". Sort of. The stuffed part is pretty self explanatory.
Last time I showed them in progress. I was not quite sure what do do for the pocket portions. I wanted something that went with the theme rather than a simple pocket or envelope.

The fronts - fully "faced"...

And the back sides...

I am assuming the tooth fairy leaves something other than a quarter nowadays. So the pockets are sized to fit a folded up dollar bill. Do people...um, I mean tooth fairies...leave more than that?

And this is the next one up. Perfect for the kid who loves nature & bugs. Can you tell those are supposed to be ants...or some such bug... on the log? The back pocket is going to be a stump and caterpillar.

Fruity Oaty Bar Girls...Finally Done!

I finally finished up this piece completely! I had added some scrap fabric to each girl's hair. I am much happier with that than the plain embroidery. Gives it some texture.

This is the front of the pillow. I used a blue diamond Matelasse fabric to frame the embroidered area. The girl's faces still seem a bit dark. I am debating on whether to add some paint to their eyes and dresses. What do you think? Too much? I'd hate to take it one step too far when there is no way to undo.


The back side was simply the Matelasse. I used a zipper so the pillow insert can be changed. Or so the cover can be washed I suppose. Although, I would stick to spot or dry clean because of the embroidery and crayon tint. I know people do wash them...and someday I will have to be brave & try it. But I am not so big on brave :P

One last pondering I have...should I pillowize my embroidery pieces or mount them in finished off hoops...hmmm...maybe I'll go halfsies.

Wordless Wednesday

fantastic dark chocolate from Gayle's Chocolate in Royal Oak...yum :)

Getting ready for visits from the Tooth Fairy

Well, we still have a couple years to go here. But the little guy's soccer mates and cousin have started losing some teeth. I had a few sketches worked up. Some were in the shape of a tooth. Others had ribbon to hang the pillow from a doorknob. I settled on a tooth fairy applique with varying themes. I like this best because of the vast number of options. I already have a list at least 20 long of themes. The 3 I have made so far are sans ribbon. I may design them for a hanger to be optional. Still thinking this one over.
The very first pillow was hijacked by my youngest. I had a feeling. That is why I started with the tooth driving a car...he just loves toy cars.

The back of the pillow has a "tooth face" pocket for the tooth/money and a stop sign. Get it? For the tooth fairy to stop. I think I will stick to a small pocket that follows the theme on the front of each pillow for now on.

These two are almost done. They just need the pocket on the back & the front sewn to the back. And to be stuffed of course :) Oh...and ironed.

This is the pink tooth fairy, um, well, fairy. Her magic wand looks more like a tail...I think I need to give her arms. I love the tulle tutu and wings though. The pocket will most likely be a sparkle or a butterfly.

This space tooth is my fave of the 3. I couldn't resist adding the "42". Most people won't get it, but I couldn't do without :) The pocket on the back will be either a satellite, moon or another planet. Still deciding.


Oh...and they do have faces. They were not on at the time of the pics. I stuck with buttons for eyes and hand embroidered mouths. I may applique &/or embroider all of it in the future. Although, if a child is old enough to lose a tooth, they are most likely old enough to not go eating buttons off of pillows. But you never know.

New Tags

It has been a busy week here. Unfortunately, not with crafting. But it is fun stuff...prep for a new'ish kitchen. Changing the cabinetry around got me thinking about changing up something for my shop. I already did a mental revamp. So I decided to update my tags that I sew onto my bags.

In the graphics I have been making, I always change things up. But I do want something regular for tags & cards when it comes to the font/style of the shop name.

This is the old old tag...the one I made in the very beginning which was not used too much:
And this came next...these were on the majority of my bags so far:
And this is the newest version:
And yes, I am sure it will change again someday...that is just the way I am :)

Wordless Wednesday

Custom Clutches 8 Pack

I just completed a bridal party set of clutches in a variety of prints. Amy Butler did dominate the bride's choices. But there are a couple non-Amy prints in there. The green hippie batik has these wonderful rivers of metallic silver running through it. I am so glad I ordered some extra fabric for myself. Actually, I ordered extra of a few, they just looked so yummy! She who dies with the most fabric wins...right?!? :P

Anyway - on to the bags. I love this style. Simple, clean and cute. There was one point I looked over at the pile mid-stage of sewing and noticed how they looked like a bunch of skirts.

Do you see it? The handle portion is like the waist & the exterior pleated part looks skirty. The lining, well, pretend it's not there. Now I want to make some clothes!

And this is the whole set...more pics here...

I am also doing my first blog party with this post over on Everything Etsy.
I think I'll do this with all my "me" things I make...which I hope to do more often! Now crossing my fingers that I am linking up correctly :P update...the linky isn't working for me to add mine :( Maybe next week. Okay - now it worked! woo hoo!

Wordless Wednesday

Oval Fabric Basket

I decided to make my fabric baskets in varying sizes rather than varying shapes. But I already had this one cut out. It was supposed to be more of an oval shape. Almost like a football cut in half lengthwise. But it did not flare out as much as I thought. Think banana bowl, kind of. But it still works great for me.

The "corners" where the side seams are could use some smoothing out...maybe another time I will sit down & work on it...but not now. Now I making other changes in the shop & working on a couple bridal party orders. And don't forget to check out all the styles I just put into my clearance section :D *hint hint*

Grr Argh Again

Yes, another Mutant Enemy has made it's way to a messenger bag. This one is hand embroidered brown on tan twill to top off the olive canvas bag. The bag itself is a bit more tweaked than normal. Under the front flap is an open pocket with a flap. On that pocket is a small zip pocket for, well, whatever is tiny & tends to get lost. Hubby has one on his Watchmen bag & it holds my biz cards...isn't he sweet? It could hold keys to a bike lock, or small set of house keys. Moving on....inside. There is a dividing wall at the front of the bag. And the back wall has a large zippered pocket. There is also a clip on a tether on the side wall. Another good spot for keys...or the little zip pouch I made for it :)

I hope my customer enjoys it...I know I had fun making it!

Wordless Wednesday

...crafts of the past...

Custom Backpack Completed

It is always fun when the customer lets you chose things. She knew she wanted basic black for the exterior with a specific pendant she saw on another bag I made. But when it came to the lining...it was all me. So I chose this fun bold almost psychedelic print - very fun :)

The Last of the Fabric Baskets...until the next round

I showed you the blue set last week and here is the brown set:

Thanks to everyone who threw out some ideas/suggestions. I think the next round will be different sized baskets - 1 set smaller and 1 larger. Maybe a couple large enough for some towels.

It Took Like a Year!

Felt like it anyway. This embroidery piece seems to have been picked up and put down more times than I can count! It got to the point that I almost just gave up. I am not sure why exactly. Maybe I was just playing during the wrong times. Like soccer practice when it got too windy & I couldn't see past my hair blowing in my face. Or a craft show that actually picked up too much to be doing such work (which was a good thing). But whatever the reason...it's done!

Well...almost. As I looked at it again, I decided to make a small change, an addition really. For each girls hair I am going to sew on a piece of scrap fabric for their hair scrunchie thingies. Only the center one has anything now. Somehow I totally skipped over the other 2 :P

And then it will become a pillow. That is what the fabric framing it in the pic is. I hope to complete it next week. I have too much on my plate right now to start. I'll show you what later, but here's one of the WIPS...it's going to be a backpack...

Fabric Baskets in Blue

The past couple weeks have been busy with family things, but I did get more baskets done. I showed off the fire truck basket that I gave to my son already. These are the remaining blue themed baskets.
I did take the "easy way out" and used pre-quilted cotton fabric for the insides. But I do think it looks nicer than the one I made myself with cotton batting last year. They also stand up nicer.

I have a trio of brown coming soon as well. I still need to figure the pricing on these, so they probably won't be in my shop until after the 1st craft show this season...May 1st, so only a week away!

I know I want to make some smaller & possibly different shapes. But I am trying to decide if I want to make any larger ones. These are about 10-12 inches tall & oval shaped, about 9x6. What do you think? Larger? Or just stick to different shapes & smaller?

Wordless Wednesday

Fabric Buckets

I have started another sewing round. This time they are fabric buckets. Baskets? I think bucket is best. The first one with the fire trucks went to my son. He loves filling it up with a batch of toys from his bedroom to bring out to the front room. I have about 7 more to make and then...photo shoot! woo hoo? At least the sun should be out more now.

Wordless Wednesday

Easter Yummies!

I like to make something to bring my mom on Easter...besides the usual desserts. Last year it was a flock of chicks and an embroidery piece. This year, well, I have the how-to sitting on my sewing table. And all the bits 'n pieces. Just no actually bunnies were made.
So I went for the next best thing...chocolate! Dark chocolate! Yum!


And could you read that bit in the lower corner? I enlarged it for you...it is quite important when dealing with chocolate....

Fixed It With Buttons

Buttons - sewing's duct tape. Fixes many an oops. Like my front zip pouch I made some time back. I think I may have been on too much of a roll because I skipped a small step when making this one.

The ribbon trim that also serves as the strap. Well, I did not sew it down before I finished off the pouch sides. Oops. First try...glue. But it could be seen through the ribbon. Almost like a mild stain. I do not have a pic that shows it, but the one below does show the gap left by not sewing it down.
Button time! I chose buttons that matched the medallions of the print & added until I liked the look. I am chalking this one up as a "mistake" that led to a better ending.

This happens often in pretty much any media I ever play with. I make sure to teach my kids this also...that we learn from our mistakes...and usually they are not mistakes at all...merely "creative paths".