a little baby doll basket

It is Baby E's first Christmas,

and almost birthday.

I know she will receive a baby doll,

so I could not help myself and made a baby basket!

(not the actual doll, but the only baby left at home,

Miss C.'s days of dolls are long gone!)

I used this pattern from Made Every Day,

a well written pattern, and quite easy to follow.

Dana (from Made Every Day) was my inspiration for starting 

this blog almost 9 years ago...

So yeah, I was happy to buy her pattern!

I used a pink/white/yellow and green striped fabric,

between a canvas and a regular weight cotton.

It has not too much pink as my sister did not want too much of it.

The lining is more pink, with large daysies.

For the interfacing, I used some iron-on foam, usually used for bag making.

It makes the basket stable but still very soft, perfect for a one year old.

In the basket, there are also a mattress and a pillow 

made from the same lining fabric,

and a double sided blanket.

I hope she enjoys playing and carrying her baby doll

around with this sweet little basket.

Happy sewing!

The fantastic beasts advent calendar, half point

The fantastic beasts advent calendar I made for Miss C. has been a total success, she loves it!

I have been posting the surprises on Instagram every few days, but since we are at the halfway point, here is what she has received so far:

Fantastic beasts 2: the crimes of Grindelwald,

she had already seen the movie, so the book was a must!

A Slytherin spatula (she is a baking fan)

and a mini Lego figurine for days 2 and 3.

A handmade slytherin flag, a Ravenclaw cookie cutter

and a niffler in a suitcase ornament for days 4, 5 and 6.

A Slytherin tie, another Lego figurine,

another cookie cutter and a little for days 7, 8, 9 and 10.

A box of every flavor beans and

for days 11 and 12.

At this halfway point,

the calendar still looks good....

which is great part of this design.

Mon Cheri has definitely enjoyed his own calendar:

 (the beers are quite large, 500ml, about 16oz!)

Happy day!

Xlarge Christmas mug rug

I love making mug rugs,

they are mini quilts, met to be used everyday,

and it is ok to spill on them!

(here is a link to some of mine)

This one is larger than most, perfect for sharing or more space for cookies!
The mug rug is almost a copy of this mat from Fabric Mutt from 2014. I had been saving the fabric for a special occasion and the Polaroid set up is just perfect for this print! 

A little border and some candy cane binding complement this simple mini quilt. I sent it to my mom, so I might one more for myself!
Happy sewing!

first aid cocoa station!

We have had our cocoa station for a while now, as it is a family favorite, probably our 6th time setting it up there in the kitchen, by the side door, perfect location for the children coming back home from school. Of course, no more bus for Brick Master, but still time to enjoy some hot cocoa after a long day!

We are calling this year version, the first aid station because of the st Bernard dog,

and its first aid kit!

It is a super cute embroidery, and the pattern is from my favorite designer,

Veronique Enginger, I have made quite a few of her embroidery,

like the advent calendar, and the beach bag.

Under the carousel of goodies (chocolate mix, marshmallows, peppermint sticks)

I put last year Christmas table topper.

As usual Miss C. created the art for the easel,

Nothing like a nice cup of cocoa with whipped cream and a cookie or two to fight the cold, and the short days of December!
Our cacao station, edition 2017

the 2016 version: natural....

The 2015 red version:

The 2014 deer edition:

and the 2013 snowmen version:

Looking at them, they are all different and quite similar, I reuse the lot of the same things, like the scale and the easel!
Happy day!

a trip to a wonderful Christmas shop in Belgium

During the summer, we visited Bruges, and while we were meandering down the streets and eating chocolates, we found the most wonderful Christmas shop: the white pelican.

It is in a underground cave,
so amazing and cool (temperature wise)
and totally unexpected!

This one with all the white mushrooms was my favorite,

and all these ice sickles!

totally enchanting!

I purchased only 3 things as we had very little space in our luggage,

and unfortunately my precious mushroom broke:

I wanted to buy a full box of them....

but I have still the wooden heart,

and some plastic mushrooms!

(before being obsessed with acorns, I had a mushroom thing!)

Luckily I have some fun family pics of the town...

 and great memories of Belgium waffles! Happy Day!