Winter Wrap Up

Wow . . . it has been a long while since I last posted. Getting through the holiday rush with a newborn and toddler kept me pretty busy and lacking in time to blog (or to eat or sleep). Despite the craziness I was still able to create many gifts for our friends and family so I thought I would share some of the items that I was able to sew. Most of it was dolls for my younger cousins that I created using more of the wonderful patterns from www.dollsanddaydreams.com!

The first set of dolls were created for 2 sisters, made wearing their favorite colors with eyes and hair matching each girl. I added tutus below their skirts to really dress them up! 

I also added a bit of bling to this sister with a sequined bow and some tightly curled hair! 

This sister had a plain ponytail but I used glitter tulle for her extra special touch. As a side note, I now hate glitter tulle. It looked like I had taken my kids to a strip club for the day!

The real challenge came in creating something for a 5 year old boy . . . until I turned to my son and asked him what stuffie he would like to make for his favorite cousin. He immediately chose the reindeer as we were in the midst of anxiously awaiting Santa and his reindeer! By the time I finished this cute little dude, I didn't want to gift him anymore. There were many moments where I thought I might just steal him for myself. However, I think instead I will celebrate Christmas in July by making myself one then! 

My final cousin gift was for a high school girl. I wasn't sure if she would like a doll so I tried to make her as glam as possible while using my cousin's favorite color for a dress. I adjusted her bodice to create a more glam looking dress with silver ric-rac peeking out from the hem. I also tried some looser curls to create wavy hair and added sequined shoes and bows for some bling. 

My grand finale was creating a Cindy Lou Who doll for my mother who collects Grinch items. Ever notice that they never sell any stuffed Cindy Lou Whos modeled after the film? I designed her facial features myself and hand embroidered them on. But the true challenge was getting her hair to look right. 

Lately, I have been working on sketching some new quilts to stitch up. I hope to start on them this week! But in the meantime, I did a little bit of sewing for our house. I created a Valentine's banner for our fireplace. I simply sewed some burlap to felt rectangles and then created felt letters and shapes that I sewed on top of that. I absolutely love how it turned out!

I also created 2 stuffies for my own kiddos who requested some birdies. Okay, the toddler requested the birds but he was so cute picking out the fabrics for his bird and his baby sister's bird as well. I must say, he has quite the eye for selecting fabrics. 

I hope to be back to quilting this week. I also hope to take a stab at paper piecing hexies in the upcoming weeks! We will see if my daughter decides to start napping before I make any solid plans though.

Until next time . . . Happy Sewing!