Xmas Gifts 4: Horse of a Different Color

Do you remember Rainbow Brite and her horse Starlite back from the '80s? I had both toys as a kid. Several years ago I got rid of the horse by giving it to one of my nieces. It recently turned up when my mom moved. Mom showed up on my doorstep all pleased that she had found it for me.

It was dirty.

And it had rainbow colored hair.

My youngest little monkey took to it immediately, tucking it under his arm and blowing raspberries (that's his horse impersonation). But as much as I love looking at rainbows in the sky, seeing one on a toy horse's mane in my son's arm was a little disturbing. I hated to throw it away and waste it, especially since the kid liked it so much. So a master plan began unfolding in my mind: I'd give the horse a makeover. I wouldn't be wasteful, it would be a fun challenge, my son would have a "new" toy horse for Christmas, and it would be cool to think that it was the toy that I once played with.




I covered the hoofs by sewing little caps of black stretch velvet and stretching them over the glue-covered old hoofs (FYI I used flexible fabric flue). Later, close to the end of the project, I hand-sewed the hoofs in place to the bottom of the newly covered legs.




I made small triangles for the ears, then hand stitched them in place around the base. The next step was the to cut out the body pieces of the gray velvety fabric to fit onto the horse. I used the seam lines from the original horse as a guide. I machine stitched the fabric for the horse's back from behind the ears to the tail, then pinned it in place. All the other pieces were first pinned (or rather stabbed) in place then hand stitched.





These pictures were taken at various wee and not-so-wee hours of the morning on Christmas Day while everyone was asleep. Jane Austen on the DVD player kept me company. It was almost dawn when I went to bed. The horse was still hairless and had pins sticking out in a few places, but I wrapped it and put it under the tree anyway, then finished it up later after it was unwrapped. A 19-month-old child doesn't know the difference, right? Just as long as he can open a present on Christmas morning?



I really would have like the horse to be brown, but I couldn't find the right fabric in the little time I had to look (It was a busy season). So the color gray had to do. The fabric is so soft. It's some sort of velvet, though I don't remember exactly what. The black hoofs are stretch velvet, and the mane and tail are simply yarn. I'm happy to say that my little monkey loves the horse. And now I do, too.

Xmas Gifts 3: Melanie Purse

Inspired by the shape of a favorite purse I own, this purse was my first "big" project in vinyl (and by big I mean in size of the individual item, not in scope of the entire project). I found the vinyl difficult to work with because I couldn't get my machine into the little nooks and crannies at the bottom of the purse very well. Also, the thread was a mess. I adjusted the tension quite a bit, but in the end it seemed to be more luck than science. Other than those hiccups, I'm pleased with how cute the purse turned out. I think the flower/bow (inspired by the flower on my favorite flats) makes the purse, but I also love the green vinyl (from Design Company Fabrics) and the fun black and white Alexander Henry fabric (from JoAnn). This purse was for my sister-in-law, Melanie.

Xmas Gifts 2: Football Fan Blankets

My brother-in-law is a huge BYU football fan. So for Christmas I went in search of his team's fleece to make him and his 18-month-old son matching blankets. While I didn't find the right team fleece I did find this fabulous minky football fabric that is even better. I lined the back side with fleece for thickness and made my own logo on the front out of the same.


This blanket was for my nephew. It's about four feet, square.


Here's the blanket for my brother-in-law. It's about 6 feet long, maybe longer.


I only had to cut the "Y" out once. I used the reverse for the baby's blanket.


He looks pretty happy about the gift, don't you think?

Xmas Gifts 1: Monsters, Inc.

My 5-year-old son made these Mike Wazowski softies as Christmas gifts for his brother, his cousin, and even one for his uncle and aunt. Okay, so I helped a little. I was amazed at how long he was able to concentrate. He worked on these for a few days in a row, for several hours at a time.


First he drew pictures of what he wanted the toys to look like. Next I cut out the fabric, according to his specifications. The bright green is fleece (leftover from the Little Green Alien Halloween costume) and the rest is felt.


My monkey helped with the machine sewing by pressing the pedal. As you can see, we had a good time.


Next, time for hand sewing. I really wanted this to look like it was from him, so I had him do the stitching around the circle by hand. I got him started, but almost all the stitches were done by him. I think he worked on it for about five hours one day. Yes, I am beaming.


Next, the stuffing.


MONSTERS! One is stuffed, one is not. The monster in the middle is my son.


Proud Parent


Next we started Sulley for dad. Unfortunately, Monkey One lost some of his momentum so Sulley is still only half complete. Hopefully soon I'll be able to post pictures of him whole.

Snowflakes Roasting on an Open Fire

I know the title doesn't make sense, but that's what keeps popping into my head, so it stays. We have a somewhat-annual tradition of making paper snowflakes and hanging them in our windows. Most of these are made by me, but a few of them were made by my husband or son. Each one truly is unique! I try to mark each snowflake with the artist and year, so I can remember as I look through our growing collection.


(Marito and Monkey One are so cute, aren't they?) The snowflake in the left corner was made by my husband, I believe, in 2005. This was when I showed him how to cut 8-pointed round snowflakes. The closer one was made in 2007 from thick silvery wrapping paper, which was harder to cut, but the effect when the light shines on it was totally worth it. That year I was playing with a more retro look.


This year I only places the snowflakes on the top half of the windows, as Monkey Two just discovered the concept of step stools.


This top left one is a family classic! Again, my husband is the artist. We call it "Casper the Friendly Snowflake." The other one is another 2007 edition. I was playing around with 6 points.


(Our neighbors' funky yards and horses might ruin the effect for you, but to me it's charming)




These are the windows on either side of our door.


Christmas morning 2008. Can you make out the snowflakes in the windows?

Giveaway Results!

Hi Everyone! Thank you so much for your entries into my giveaway. Everyone had such nice things to say (with one minor exception, but I'll let it slide since it was directed at a fictional character :) ). Seriously, I appreciate your kind words so much, especially from those of you who took the time to do the second entry.

I'm sorry for the long wait. I meant to post the winner Monday morning, but I've been having some trouble with my Internet.

Winner!
Now on to the good stuff (I'm guessing you're all just skim-reading for this anyway). The winner is Catherine, who said: "Ah those are lovely as simply coin purses, and hilarious as Twilight coin purses...Team Jacob!" Hurray for Catherine! And thanks for thinking they are funny. I smiled at myself a lot as I was making them, especially as I was cutting out Edward's hair and had next to me what looked like a growing stack of miniature Edward toupees. Yes, hilarious. So Catherine, you'll be getting your own Jacob (or Edward, if you change your mind) coin purse in the mail as soon as I can get some packaging and mine and my kidlets' little bums to the post office.

Team Results
I suppose you want to hear the Team Edward vs. Team Jacob results. Some of you said you were Team Jacob, but asked for Edward if you win so you could pass it along to a friend or relative. Sorry, but I'm counting you as Edwards (Edwardians?). Even so, Edward would have still won. (Though I admit I am biased, as my husband is so much more of an Edward than a Jacob.) The results are...
Team Edward: 63%
Team Jacob: 29% (but still won the coin purse!)
Team Switzerland (nuetral or undecided): 8%

Also, some of you showed some interest in purchasing one of the Twilight coin purses if you didn't win. So... I'm opening up an Etsy shop just for you! Well, I've been intending to do in the future, but I may as well do it now since you've asked. You can find the shop at here. I'm listing the items tonight so if you don't see them right away then don't worry... they will be there soon! I'm going to put up Edward, Jacob and Alice coin purses, and a Bella and an Alice mirror. I'm out of the Bella coin purses for now, but let me know if you're interested in her and I'll try to make some more. Or if you would like Edward or Jacob as a pocket mirror, let me know. I haven't made those yet, but certainly could.

Thanks again, everyone!

Giveaway Day!

**CLOSED**
Thanks for your entries!

Sew, Mama, Sew! is hosting a blessed day of giveaways, and I am participating. This is my first blog giveaway, so I'm quite excited. The giveaway will be open from December 2 until December 6.

It's understandable that my mind has been on Twilight lately, right? My giveaway item is something I made for the New Moon Experience in SLC. It's a zippered coin purse, perfect for stocking-stuffing or for tucking into your own pocket, purse, or hand. I made them in four characters, as you can see in my previous post, but for this giveaway I'm going to have the winner choose either Edward or Jacob.



Edward has bronze-colored hair and white skin stitched with sparkly thread, and Jacob has black hair and that beautiful, dark, Native American skin that I spent my entire adolescence coveting. Both coin purses open and close with a zipper and are lined with fabric that matches their characters (Jacob's reminds me of fur and Edward's is heather gray, like his pea coat).



How to enter: Leave me a comment telling me which character you would like if you win. Are you Team Edward or Team Jacob?

For a second entry: Just so you don't think I only make Twilight stuff, browse through my blog and/or Flickr photos and comment on something else I've made. Be sure to leave me a comment here letting me you've done so. (By the way, many of my blog and Flickr photos overlap, but there are some older pictures on Flickr that aren't here.) I label/tag all my things, so browsing should be easy.

Since this is my first giveaway I'm going to keep the shipping to the U.S. Maybe next time I'll feel more adventurous and venture into international shipping.

Remember, the giveaway is open until midnight on Sunday, December 6 (but don't worry, I'm flexible with time differences).

One more thing. I still have a few of these coin purses left. If you're not the oh-so-lucky winner (and I hope you are), let me know if you're interested in purchasing one and we can work something out.

Good luck!

♥ Brittany

Silhouette Coin Purses and Mirrors

These little coin purses and mirrors have been my babies for the last couple of months. I made them for the New Moon Experience in Salt Lake City. Each vinyl zippered coin purse is lined with fabric that corresponds with the character. The eyes and eyebrows are all stitched on by hand. The two vampires' faces are stitched with sparkly thread.

My favorite one is the first one pictured, Alice. She reminds me of an old-fashioned silhouette that used to hang in my grandmother's house. She also looks a little like Snow White.


A few of the Alices and Bellas I made into mirrors instead of coin purses.


Alice


Bella


Edward


Jacob


Here is my setup at the event. I had a fun time trying to decorate it, but now that I look at the picture it looks a little busy. I came up with the ideas for the setup at 5:30am on the morning of the event when I was too excited to sleep. This was practically my first attempt at selling my crafts, so I was a little nervous. But it was fun and a good experience. (Notice Bella's hair was too big to fit into a frame!)


(The other shelves in this picture are from different vendors. I like the way they all looked together)

I had also planned to make some rectangular zippered pouches with the silhouettes stitched onto the fronts, but unfortunately I ran out of time. These cutout ones are so much fun, though. But boy, they sure took a lot more time than I had initially anticipated! I bet my family is glad not to have tiny little vinyl scraps all over the carpet anymore.

I still have a few of the coin purses and mirrors left over, so just let me know if you are interested in purchasing one and I'll let you know if I still have the one you want. Along those lines, I was also thinking of opening an Etsy shop. I have a few ideas of some other things I'd like to make to sell, as well (For example, some variations on the Little House play set I made for niece last year). There are so many different things I like to make that I fear the contents of the shop would be constantly changing! If you have any feedback or suggestions I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Also, not to give too much away, but you just might want to peek back here December 2 for the Sew, Mama, Sew! Giveaway Day.


Finally, here are a couple of related items I've made in the past, in case you're interested:

• Toy Story Bullseye coin purses
  
• Fire and Ice coin purse
  
• All posts labelled "Vinyl"
  
• All my Flickr photos tagged "Pouch"(These have some older items not on this blog)

In Honor of Thanksgiving

Here are the Native American costumes my kids and I made for homeschool. We used a Simplicity "Historic" pattern for these and costume fabric from JoAnn. I couldn't tell you what tribe they are supposedly representing, but I still think the costumes look cool, regardless. Plus the boys love wearing them.

I had them wear their costumes for Thanksgiving, and took these pictures on our post-feast walk. We've actually had the costumes since early October, but I hadn't gotten a picture of them yet.

It was impossible to get both kids smiling at the same time. It was really bugging me that my oldest little monkey was covering his mouth for the only picture where my little one smiled.


The view here is so pretty. That's Utah Lake and Mt. Timpanogos in the background, on the left.


Monkey One


Monkey Two

Grograin Giveaways

Peppermint Stick Holiday Frock GROSGRAIN GIVEAWAY!!!!

The Hop, Skip and a Jump Maternity Frock GROSGRAIN GIVEAWAY!!!!

The Brass Hussy GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

The Last Minute Frock GROSGRAIN GIVEAWAY!!!! (with free bonus pattern in post)

The Last Minute Frock GROSGRAIN GIVEAWAY!!!! (with free bonus pattern in post)

Charm Design Bags and Totes $50 gift card GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!