If L'bug were a Doll

I have become completely addicted to Pinterest! If you aren't in the "know" it's basically a virtual cork board. You can have as many different boards as you'd like, look at everyone else's boards, and virtually "pin" pictures of well... anything on to your boards. It really makes the action of combing the web for ideas way more easy, fun, and efficient.

If there's someone that has pictures that I'd like I can either become their follower - as you would on a blog or twitter - or you can simply repin the particular photographs that you want.

Having said all that, I found some really cute whimsy dolls there. It was before I was a member (BTW membership is free,) so I wasn't able to repin the photo - ergo I don't remember whom posted these dolls to give them their due credit. But they are awesome!

I made my own pattern and after I made one, the ideas just started flowing for patterns for more of them. I started basing the Whimsy Dolls after children that were playmates of L'bugs! I thought it would be cute for her to have dolls of her friends so that they could all go on imaginary adventures together ;)

The hair, faces, and a few of the details are felt, but the

body and the clothing are all vintage fabrics. I had crocheted the scarves too.
The (above) on the left is one that I've made to look like my own L'bug and the one on the right is for her friend B'ly. B'ly has long darker blond hair with beautiful eyes!

These are of her friends C'bear, P'girl, and Rhys.

Rhys and B'ly are brother and sister ;) I keep looking the Rhsy Whimsy and visions of Huck Fin always seem to come to mind *wink*

My idea also included the possibility of using old clothing/memory clothing from the child to make the doll's clothing. Then the Whimsy would be even more special.

As always - let me know if you'd like me to make you something!!!

sing_82@yahoo.com (or) follow me on Facebook: Eclectically Home Grown

Noah, the Ark, and Lots of Animals

I am never disappointed with felt!
Ok, that's not completely true... I do wish that there were more color choices, but other than that it's such a great material to work with.
This past month my aunt made L'bug a really cute purse out of felt from a pattern that she found on ETSY (by Jennifer Goetz). It came with a makeup compact, blush brush, lipstick, and more! [I will totally post the purse she made so you can enjoy!]
Anyways, after I saw that, I too went searching through Etsy to find more fun felt patterns.
I came across a wonderful seller, BuggaBugs! If you haven't checked them out - ya need to!

I purchased a Noah's Ark pattern, which included Noah, his wife, the Ark, a chicken, rooster, a nesting box with eggs, a hay stack, and an apple barrel. The pattern was only $6 and is an Adobe file so within a day they had emailed it to me :) :)
They do have a pattern for the animals, but since I'm in budget mode I decided to make up my own rather than purchasing that pattern as well. On a different note - they do have tons of other patterns for all sorts of things so again, if you haven't checked them out you should!
I made some subtle changes to the pattern I purchased, such as felt color choices and some of the details on Noah and his wife.

The animals that I wanted for L'bug were:
Camels, Horses, Lions, Elephants, Giraffes, & Aligators
She went to the zoo last week and is now all about the hippo so I'm going to come up with a pattern for them here soon!

My animal patterns are available for purchase, in pattern only form as well as kit form.
(Kit form will include the pattern as well as the felt and other supplies needed to make them.)
Just email me if you'd like to purchase them!
L'bug has loved playing with it and likes making random animals noises ;-)
Here are a few action shots of her.

(giving the elephant a kiss)
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sing_82@yahoo.com or you can friend me on Facebook at: EclecticallyHomeGrown

yea felt! hehehe

Picking Things Back Up Again

"What's up yo!"

Well, my life is now pretty much back to normal. 'Normal' being a very loose word... as much as it can be with a two year old who's very intent on asserting her independence! *sigh* Well friends, I'm going to be selling my items in a craft fair this coming fall, and so I've been

experimenting with different items. Here are a few that I've made this past month.

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When my husband and I got married he gave me a really cute colored pencil/note book holder. It was really great for the obvious portability reason. L'bug is very in to coloring so I've been taking her a coloring book and some crayons in my diaper bag. This got really old especially when the crayons would get lost or broken... or when I didn't want to take my whole diaper bag with me I'd end up finding crayons at the bottom of my purse.

I've seen the crayon "roll" but never a crayon/note book creation so, I made one.

It wasn't hard to make, but the outcome was really cute and quite handy.

The note book is just the average size of any they sell at Target or Walmart so that can be replaced. The wrap holds 16 crayons and a pencil.

Definately an item I don't mind having in my purse!

Plus, if it gets dirty it's totally machine washable! Just a quick touch up ironing when it comes out of the dryer and you're good to go again.

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The next items are dresses for L'bug. I've really been on a "fabric find" kick the last couple of months. It all started when the Catholic Thrift store in my home town had a Quilter/Fabric sale. Sale, really doesn't give you the full scope of how awesome and inexpensive it was!

There were antique sewing notions, and tons of cool fabrics.

Also on my 'fabric finding' adventures I've been to the GoodWill Outlet. Didn't know they exist? Well they do and they are awesome! At $.79 a lb... yes you read correct, a pound! Be prepared to dig a little, but the treasures are there, and they are well worth the trouble.

Green Quilt Dress

With this dress I used an unfinished quilters block for the top and some random green fabric for the bottom. The lining is a very soft cotton bed sheet. The bottom ruffle is some vintage cotton "farm print" material. I didn't use a pattern, so it is a little long on L'bug, but she'll be able to wear it again next summer.

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Variation Pillow Case Dress

This dress was inspired by a couple of things. The first was the pillow case dress. The second was a skirt that a girl was wearing at the baseball diamonds.

The top part of the dress is from a pair of men's slacks, and the bottom layers are from some random fabrics, bedsheets, and pillow cases. I think what really makes this dress are the details. The buttons are vintage and when I bought them from the thrift store there were only 3 still left on the package so it worked out perfectly!

Is anyone else addicted to pom poms??? I love them! They instantly give the garment a fun and whimsy feel.
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Felt Flowers

These felted flowers are so fun to make. You can pretty much use any color or felt or fabric, and you they don't require a lot of material. You cut several circles and gather them to create a wonderful looking 3D flower. I've been using them on hair pins, head bands, and as broches.

I love the floral details. I purchased some Japanese made flower stamens and Poppy buds and used them as details in the centers.

It gave them a less "crafty" look and more of retro, 60's look.

Well, that's what I've been up to! Hope you like them. Please feel free to comment or by all means email me at: sing_82@yahoo.com for questions or orders.

Camera Case & Japanese Sunshine

Oh the rainny... well should I say snowy days of good ol' St. Louis Missouri...

Let me start from the beginning -

This past Christmas my loving parents got me and my husband an amazing new camera because the flash died on my old one. The camera came with all of the extras except for a case. Truly - a case is a total need, however I am not one that would go out and purchase your everyday black Nikon one. It's just not my style...

Having said that, I was in the bookstore about a month ago and came across an awesome camera case. The only problem was that the pattern was designed for a regular sized digital camera. You know, the ones that are about the size of your average cell phone. Not having one of those, but still loving this pattern I tweeked the pattern to make it fit my needs ;) (surprise surprise)

The case encompassed an old Japanese fable about the Teru-teru bozu. Rough translation: Shine-shine little buddy of mine. It's a little traditional hand made doll of white paper or cloth that Japanese farmers began hanging outside their windows. It's supposed to bring good weather and prevent rain. I talked to a friend of mine, M, who's Japanese and she also told me that Japanese children hang up a teru-teru bozu the day before a school field trip to wish for sunny weather.

The case is just slightly larger than the camera to prevent it from moving around and getting scratched. I used an older baby blanket to help line the inside of the case to protect my camera even more. The best part is the door on the front that opens to reveal my little Sunshine Buddy.

Teru is a Japanese verb to describe sunshine, and bozu is a monk, however it is also a term of endearment for addressing little boys. There is a song that goes with this sunny little buddy which my own Japanese grandmother sang to me over the phone! I have to say it's up there as one of my most precious memories. One, because she's in her late 70s singing me this nursery rhyme, and two, because she was laughing so much that it's hard to understand her ;o)

Here's the rhyme:

Teru-teru bozu, teru bozu

Do make tomorrow a sunny day

Like the sky in a dream sometime

If it's sunny I'll give you a golden bell

Teru-teru bozu, teru bozu

Do make tomorrow a sunny day

If you make my wish come true

we'll drink lots of sweet rice wine

Teru-teru bozu, teru bozu

Do make tomorrow a sunny day

But if the clouds are crying

Then I shall snip off your head

Ok... a little morbid with the last bit, and truly the original Japanese language makes it sound much more beautiful!

Bring on the sun!!!

Quiet Afternoon

Even before I became an Etsy "seller" I always looked around. What can I say - it's a great place for inspiration! Yes... some of the items I truly feel belong on Regretsy ;-) but the other day I found a really cute Nesting Doll Brooch.

(I tried looking for it again this morning and it was no where to be found for me to give credit to the original designer - but whoever you are.... awesome work!)

After L'bug didn't eat her lunch she played and then took a long afternoon nap. *sigh* Peace and quiet!

I have a couple larger projects that I could've worked on, but I really wanted to do something that I could finish in an afternoon.

So, here's my version of a Nesting Doll Brooch.

I used a kniting stitch holder for the pin and some random parts of old jewelry I had lying around for the details.

Like I said, I'm not sure who the person was who originally had them posted on Etsy, but they also had other brooches with different themes. Like there was one with random pieces of breakfast foods and another one for lunch foods...

I don't think I will be making either of those, but the whole concept of a felted theme brooch is a pretty cool idea. Hmm...

Felt Doll House

After the success of the Felt Globe Kits I realized that many parents

would love to be able to make their little ones a treasured toy. Well, make it themselves or as a family project. But a lot of my friends either don't have the supplies or they don't seem to believe that they can sew.

(Yes, I said "don't seem to believe..." because I, myself only started sewing about 6 years ago. My advice is - just pick up some cheap fabric and a pattern and start hacking away!)

So the kits... ;-)

My favorite part of the Felt Globe Kit was the suitcase that held all of the little icons.

I love things that have a place or container.

So I got to thinking of other kits and patterns that I could make, but the suitcase kept coming into my mind. Long story short... an awesome "God Idea" light bulb lit up and a list of new projects flooded into my head.

The first of which is the Felt Doll House.

This little suitcase unfolds to reveal a doll house complete with furniture, decorations, and people!

The pattern for this kit is open for the maker to either follow the pattern to the letter, or they have the ability to make it more specific to themselves. Meaning, the house frame and all of the items are in the pattern, but you can make however many pictures, people, or pieces of furniture that you'd like.

My main thought was - what if you had a family of two girls and a boy... the hair and clothing pattern pieces are all separate so you can decide what you'd like them to look like!

Just like the Felt Globe, this kit comes with everything you would need to make the Doll House... such as thread, needles, plastic canvas and felt.

Also, like the Felt Globe, this kit can be purchased as either a full kit or just the pattern. But if you just can't find the time, and really want a Doll House for your little one, I can make one for you!

I used a variety of fabrics... new and vintage for the "wall paper." And the pillows for the bed and couch are three dimentional to make them more fun.

For our house I made three girls and two boys. The girls were made to look like two of L'bug's friends ;-) C'bear & Sweet P

She might be a little young to fully express all of her imagination, but at the moment she loves studying all of the pieces, and putting them onto the house.

Felt Doll House Kit is $50 (+) shipping

Pattern is $25 (+) shipping

Fully assembled Doll House $125 (+) shipping

*Fabrics will vary depending on availabilty - but know, they will be selected with care! ;-)

Shipping cost for Full Kit is $15 / Pattern $5 / Assembled House $10

All payments can be made via paypal using the account: sing_82@yahoo.com

Hope you enjoy!!!

Thanks!

Peter "knitted" Tail

Little fuzzy rabbits!

My mom's on a very noble quest to make a basket full of knitted toys for her granddaughters.

This past week two more have been added to the pile.
There's a mama and a baby rabbit. She said they were really fun and quick to make. And the fabric on the ears was such a cute touch.

I love the smiling faces!

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I've been combing through books that I borrowed from the library and found tons of fun projects that I want to do. Ok, so I'm currently working on three... but who's counting! huh?!

My biggest flaw is that I start projects, but there are so many I don't finish. Admitting a problem is half the battle right... so I'll just work on the other half another day! hehe ;-)

These two projects don't look like they'd take a long time - and you don't have to sew on either of them. I hope they give you inspiration like they did me!

Here they painted a picture frame purchased from a thrift shop. The glass had a small crack in the lower left hand corner - so they cut out flowers from printed fabric and then glued them onto the glass - a very clever way to fix the glass and make the frame one of a kind!


The classic silhouette!
I remember my third grade teacher making one of these for each of her students. We stood against a wall while she shown a spot light on our profile. Then she drew the outline onto a paper that hung behind us. It's like a good black and white outfit... something that never goes out of style! Wouldn't it be pretty to have a collage of silhouette pictures of each on of your family members.... oh - and with a vintage oak tree painted behind!!!! *sigh*


sing_82@yahoo.com
Happy Crafting!

Bringing in the New Year

Heeelllllooooo 2011!!!

As I looked back over this past year's posts all I could think about was how much fun I had... and, for the past two weeks all I've been doing is looking for inspirations.

Ok, it's not "all" I've been doing, but I do have tons of new projects that I'm totally itching to make. On the list of things to do I'm going to officially create and ETSY account!

My hope is that it will be up and running within the next month.

So - December - to complete little L'bug's Christmas... DRUM ROLL PLEASE....

Most Awesomely Ever Tent!!!

Right after I made it L'bug jumped in and started reading me her book. Ahh, I love her!

Der worked so hard with building the frame and then I went to the GoodWill and found a twin sheet set for $4!! My craft room mess is actually an oasis of peace for me... as crazy as it seems.

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I thought I'd give you a look at some of my special Christmas things.

My Santa on a chili pepper! Happy Hot-lidays yo!

And then I saved the best for last.

After I set up all of our decorations I realized that I didn't really have a proper nativity scene :(

I was tempted to purchase one, but even when I looked around all the ones that caught my eye were really pricy.

My mama saved the day and gave me hers. Please don't fret - she's still got another one that my brother gave her made by Willow Tree (it's awesome!) I remember mom setting up this nativity under our tree - it brings back so many fond memories!

I even remember when she first bought it - it was from one of those base ceramic stores. It was plain white and she painted and glazed it herself. I thought at one point it had a manger, but that item didn't make it over to my house. I'll have to ask her about it - it might be needing to be found in her basement or storage room...

On to January - cold but cozy!

As always, if you see anything you'd like please shoot me an email at:

sing_82@yahoo.com