Holiday placemats

Now that Christmas is behind, I can share the homemade gifts I had to hide before. I absolutely loved making this holiday placemats and napkin rings for my friend Amie and her hubby. She moved in an apartment recently and I wanted her to be able to make a pretty table with her white porcelain set.

I knew this would be perfect for her because she loves grey, yellow and mustard. I bought the fabric with a big smile on my face then had fun figuring out making the napkin rings, making sure they are all distinctive.

I will certainly will do this trick again for a set to keep for myself.

Kitty for my cuties

Do you have Hello Kitty fans in your life ? I do. 3 of them: Bug and her  2 cousins. . I'm guilty for part of it. My sister may not be super happy about this but my nieces will be thrilled with the little bags I whipped up for them (and the Hello Kitty goodies I put in them)

I found the fabric in the remnant bin at JoAnn's

and pulled some red satin from my stash for the bows and lining

They are so cute. Bug certainly would like one too. I almost want one for myself :) 

CinderFiona

 This year, both my nieces have a doll just like Fiona... well one is blonde and one a brunette but thankfully, I can use Princess Fiona as a model to sew for their dollies. Miss L has the blonde doll is a HUGE Cinderella fan... So by special request I fitted Fiona with a blue ball gown CinderFiona style :

I must say I had to get friendly with my seam ripper a couple of times to pull this one off since I was putting this together without a pattern.

Shirred bodice  to make it easy for little hands to dress and undress the doll

I think it turned out OK but I'll have to wait until later to find out :)

Oh and Bug wants a ball gown for Princess Fiona now :) 

Not exactly a surprise

Reversible table runner

The holidays are behind us and it is time to share some of the handcrafted gifts that came out of my studio this year. This table runner went to my sister in Switzerland and she loved the colors and the fact that you can use either side either for a formal setting or for a fun colorful table.

I confess I was tempted to keep it... but I can make another one as long as I find a fabric combination I fancy for this use

Satin flowers ear warmers

 In case you were wondering... Yes,  I still make satin flower any occasion I get but you would probably get tired of seeing them all the time. With winter right around the corner, I figured a different way to use the unending supply: Instead of headbands, brooches and barrettes I made some cosy and chic ear warmers! I made quite a few but I still have some many fabric flowers I'm going to need other ideas ... Since I can't stop making them :)

Bug really liked the one with the pink flowers... the color is perfect for her

And Amie picked out the grey and yellow ... What a surprise...

Merry (early) Christmas Amie!

Trading Posts - Christmas Bunting

 Another Trading Post... this time Amie (Kitty Cats and Airplanes and myself were joined by a third crafter, Megan. The 3 of us whipped together something festive and simple to put Megan at ease with her brand new sewing machine: Bunting. We were able to finish one for each of us all the while, Megan learned some sewing tips, how to use a cutting matt and a rotary cutter safely and how to make custom binding. I think she left with a new sense of confidence on her new sewing skills and we definitely had a good time

I still have to find a good spot to hang the finished product...

After Megan left, and while waiting for a pizza (and Amie's husband), I helped Amie putting together a cutie little pincushion in shades of green. She did a great job !

Rustic terra cotta and pearls necklace

Santa's workshop entails a lot of sewing of course but for the past year I have enjoyed creating jewelry. For this necklace, I mixed some Swarovski crystal pearls and more rustic glazed terra cotta beads. I wish I had taken more pictures because it looks fabulous on a rustic sweater as much as on a blouse. I love it. Too bad Santa has to deliver it somewhere...

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Ruby Lou rag dolls quadruplets

A couple of month ago I was lucky enough to win a Ruby Lou doll pattern. Ruby Lou is totally adorable and I knew immediately I would sew a couple for Christmas to make some little girls happy. Last weekend, the Ruby Lou quadruplets were born. I was driven to get them finished quickly so I could send them overseas to their future little 'mommies'. I even enlisted my mother-in-law to help with the "stuffing". Of course I had to put my own twist on this set of quadruplets: they have yarn hair rather than felt and they shoes are made out of flannel.

Here they are looking happy and relaxed

They had to have pretty names: 

Ruby (of course), Rena

Rachel and Rebecca

Here they are sharing one last big hug before they are going their separate ways. I think they are going to be happy in their new homes!

Cancan ruffled satin scarf

The studio is in overdrive. Only a few weeks until Christmas and still so much to do. I had started this scarf several weeks ago but it was kind of bland, just the chocolate satin with a crushed raspberry border. 

Finally I figured out how to bring a bit of pizzaz to my creation: Ruffles. Out came the ruffler foot. And soon a completely different look:

Now not only does it have fun colors, it also has a feminine vintage feel. I decided to call it the Cancan scarf.

 

Don't forget to check out my Shabby Apple Giveaway

To enter click HERE

 

You can win this awesome necklace !!

Ends TOMORROW November 21st

Trading posts - Felt ornaments

Christmas is approaching and my list is not getting any smaller. Actually it has been growing. But I did cross off a few items this past saturday with Amie (Kitty Cats & Airplanes). Felt, lace, trims, sequins and glitter came out of boxes and drawers for a feast of Christmas ornaments. A lot of the designs we picked out came out of my Pinterest Ornaments board. We both used the same design ideas but apart from the first ornament we came out with different results. 

In the following photos, Amie's ornaments are on the right and mine on the left except for the second one

First one... just a warm up 

Just felt and beads

Second one  -  Amie's is the beige and black one

Lace, beads, sequins vs rickrack and sequins

White vs. colors

Then came the trees

Rickrack and sequins vs. Lace and beads

White vs. colors

The birds

White lace vs. black lace

And last the angels 

I tried an additional design

 Amie and I had a great time despite a couple of slight glue gun burns. We are looking forward to our next crafty meeting!!

What I have been up to - Week 41

Week 40?? Week 40 !! It is October already.  This year has flown by so incredibly quickly. 

Half of the year was a blur to be honest, between my father-in-law's cancer treatment and my own health issues there wasn't much time or energy to spare. Thankfully my father-in-law is back on his feet after months of chemo and several surgeries. So far he has a clean bill of health. I'm not yet 100% in the clear and I've been dragging my feet scheduling a follow up appointment dreading I may have to go through another surgery but I am thousands times better now than 6 months ago. And oh so thankful because the next few weeks are going to be so busy. People talk about the stress of the holidays. It is true. I'm already feeling it. 

Work is a bit hectic with a transition phase still dragging. Our interim manager is fine and I like working with him but who knows what will happen when a permanent replacement is found. I imagine there will be more changes, more stress. Just what I need right ?

Anyway, this week is the last one before I go into full "Santa Gift Shop" mode. 

We had one last grill party with friends on Saturday evening, on the terrace, and enjoyed a fantastic weather, the last hurrah of the summer. 

In preparation for the event, I had to seriously clean up the studio ... It had not looked this neat in quite some time.

But not before I finished a Halloween costume for a friend's daughter: 

I hope this makes one more little girl feel just like a princess

What have you been up to?

Ruffled apron

Among the number of handmade gifts I sewed for this pas Christmas, there is one that stands out because I know how much time I saved on it just by using my ruffler foot. I made a holiday inspired apron for my mother in law. The execution time: under 2 hours including selecting and cutting the fabrics. I didn't have a pattern or a tutorial to follow but it turned out pretty good.

Check this out :

More important than anything, my mother in law loved it