a year in review

This year was not the most productive year, there was less crafting and sewing than usual. The kids are getting too old to sew clothes for them, Miss C. plays less with her dolls, I was quite sick for a good part of the summer, and I went from part time to full time in the last 4 months, to project leader this month! I do not want it to sound like a list of excuses, just a view of what is going on outside of this little blog.
Now here is the top post of the year, like last year and the year before: the Brownie vest for doll!

Here are the dolls clothes for this year:

Brownie vest, undergarments, vet, shorts, dress form.
And let's not forget my favorite: the advent calendar!

Santa hat, outfit1, apron, Disney, Nutcracker, spa.
Of course I cannot finish without some house project and some little sewing...

backyard halloween decor, shed, cocoa bar, Christmas quilt, sewing kit.
Farewell 2014!

fabric book for baby

This is another Christmas present that I made this year,

this time is for my nephew who is 9 month old.

I made a more complicated book for his sister when she was older,

this one is quite simple with almost no moving parts.

I followed this tutorial from Lella boutique,

but putting some of my own spins on the picture.

First thing first: there is always a need for dogs in any book!

Then of course, Dinosaur and Elephant have to join the fun,

they are simple applique shapes, the elephant has a few more details,

both have nice textures, the eyes are sewn, nothing to pull!

I cheated for the hungry little caterpillar,

as I had a print, I did a lot of quilting to add texture,

once washed it should be even cutter.

I sewed a little pocket and put in a little puppy, there are never too many dogs in a book!

It should be safe enough for a little one, but if not, it is easy to remove it 

and keep it for some later time.

The truck is also just a simple applique, with different texture from the use of various fabric,

felt for the wheels, chenille for the dirt.

The back of the book has a simple little dog house, just the right size for the little puppy in the pocket.
I was able to give it directly to my nephew, he seemed happy about it, but he is the very happy type! More importantly his parents enjoyed it....

Happy sewing!

forest finger pupppets

Now that I am done blogging about American girl doll advent calendar,

I can share some more of the Christmas presents I worked on during December.

This super cute present was for my niece Toddler K.

She is almost 4, and I thought she was ready for some finger puppets.

These little guys come in the tree trunk,

isn't it the best idea?

I followed the pattern from "present perfect" by Betz White,

I met Betz at a quilt meeting, and was so impressed by all the projects from her book,

she brought them and we were able to look at them,

so of course I bought her book!

The tree cover is hold by 3 leaves, and the opener is a little worm 

with eyes,(not visible on the picture), just perfect.

The 5 puppets fit inside, making it easy to carry.

My niece will be able to play with a fox, a skunk, a raccoon,

a bunny and an owl.

Most of the puppet's parts are glued together, easy to make,

a few details are hand stitched like the eyes and the belly.

I was able to give them directly to toddler K

and she seemed very pleased with the puppet.

Happy sewing!

Day 24: pet and Santa's hat, the final day!

This is it, the final of our American Girl doll calendar! Today we celebrate Christmas and the arrival of Saige's new pet!

Of course he came with his own Christmas hat! This cute dog is from Build-A-Bear, Miss C. loves their little dogs, so I thought it would be the perfect addition to the final countdown.

Saige also received a hat, I followed this tutorial for the Santa hat, I reused the fabric from an old Christmas hat to make both of the hats, they will look perfect with the Disney hat Miss C brought back from our trip.

Well my friends, Saige, Miss C. and I wish you all a Merry Christmas, and lots of fun time playing with dolls!

Day 22 and day 23: pet bedding and food

Saige is pretty much set for Christmas, she has made cookies, decorated a gingerbread house, dance with the nutcracker, spent some time at the spa, and put on her fancy dress. But a last minute guest is arriving, and she needs everything ready for her new furry friend!

No pet can arrive without proper bedding or food and toys! For the bed, I cut some plywood and covered it with foam  and batting, and finally fabric. I stapled it together to the wood, and covered the mess with felt, so it is all clean underneath. I used some feet from the Tim Holtz collection for stamping/scrapbooking, they are perfect for crafting too!

This bed is also perfect as an low table or ottoman, in a small cabin, everything must be functional! For the food, I used a picture from some ad, cut out some actual wrapping paper from a bag food (Malou's favorite dinner, well people food is always better!)  and glued it all together to make a bag of dog food,  Oops did I just say who is coming tomorrow?!

And with some threads I made a toy by braiding them together. I tried to made some treats with polymer clay, but it did not turn out, which is why I purchase the mickey treats! We cannot wait until tomorrow... Happy crafting!

Day 21: Holiday outfit

Now that Saige has spent the last 2 days at the spa, she really needs to get ready for the main event, so of course she needed a Holiday outfit.

Nothing says Holidays like a beautiful plaid dress. I used some remnants from a Christmas dress I made for Miss C. many years ago. Obviously it does not fit her anymore!

For Saige, I used this pattern from the pixie faire,

it is actually for top, I just added a few inches at the bottom.

The nice touch is the zipper in the back,

it gives it a nice dressy look,

perfect for a Christmas dress.

It is not really harder with the zipper,

I actually like it better  than velcro.

To keep Saige warm, I sewed a little shrug from an old sweater,

dolls like cashmere too!

I used this free pattern from Many Small Friends,

very fast and easy.

The shoes come from Michaels, not great but they do the job.

Just a few more days until Christmas.

Happy sewing!