Girly Birthday T's

Big boy and his playmates are turning 3 this year - wow. Weren't we just half asleep, hauling around bucket carriers and talking about starter foods?! Nonetheless, this age of toddler independence is lots of fun and we're ready to welcome another year of bliss. This past weekend we attended a birthday party for our sweet twin friends. The bash was held at the local nature museum and the kiddos had a blast. It's a favorite spot for playdates on cold/hot/rainy days, and this time we got a hands on meeting with a few of the animal residents too!

I'm always keeping an eye out for blank items to embroider, and was lucky enough to score a pair of pink Gap tees on sale last fall. I immediately pegged them for the twins' birthday gifts. I found this layered applique heart over at Planet Applique. If you embroider, go get it - it's a terrific freebie!

Both fabrics are from my stash. They're actually remnants from the shopping cart cover I made...must post on that project soon! I added each girl's initial in the center. If memory serves (preggo brain is somethin' else), I'm pretty sure it's the Techie font from Monogram Wizard. It just so happens to match their backpacks.  The camera flash made the print show thru the solid aqua more so than in person. Perhaps next time I could double up, line or cutaway to avoid any show thru, but I think they looked sweet no matter!

Plans for big boy's 3rd birthday bash are already in motion around here. Hopefully it will work out to be a fun, simple affair. It's so easy to get revved up with all of the cute ideas floating around the internet and blog-o-sphere. Here's to keeping my nesting instinct focused and equally spread out over the many projects in the works!

Baby Things

Ever since we found out baby #2 is a GIRL!!!, I've had practically nothing but babies on the brain. I still think of my little boy as a baby, but looking at the size of a newborn onesie quickly jolts me into a new reality.  We're slowly starting to work on moving our boy to his big boy room and converting the nursery into girly-land. Lots to do over the next several months, but lots of fun as our family prepares to grow!

Speaking of babies, I made a couple of bib & burp cloth sets for my mother to give as gifts recently. The baby girl has 4 initials, so I wasn't quite sure how to accomodate. Thank goodness for Facebook and Yahoo Group user suggestions!

I went will all 4 initials on the bib, and used the first two only on the burp cloth. The patch is the same one used here but without the additional applique inside. I don't remember the exact fonts I used, but they came from Monogram Wizard. I kept with pink letters and used white mini polka dots on black fabric for the patch. Sweet & simple!

For the baby boy gift, I chose to applique the bib and monogram the burp cloth. I really like this set - so sweet!

The adorable elephant came from Applique Alley and the font is another from good ol' Monogram Wizard. I used a gray print fabric from my stash and kept the theme simple with gray and black thread.

Now I'm off to work on several other gifts...we've got a couple of birthday parties and baby showers to attend. More to come soon!

Hostess Gift

Our family was invited to a holiday party last month, so here's what I whipped up as a hostess gift. A fun hand towel - you know I have a love for them.

The party hostess is another crafty mommie, so I had a good feeling she (and her little one) would enjoy this gingerbread man. I purchased the applique file a couple of years ago and was excited to put it to good use. Find it here at Embroidery Library.

On a tan blank towel, I used brown corduroy for the body and outlined him in brown thread. Then I used green, red and white threads to create his face and handsome buttons. So simple but sweet!

This post is a tad overdue being that I made & gifted it last month, but still worthy of sharing. It's too cute not to - don't you agree?

 

 

Snow Days

  The big talk this week around here, and many places for that matter, is SNOW. First a white Christmas, and now another blast ending with lots of ice. It was beautiful to watch coming down, but now I'm ready to defrost. All of the toys have been played with, food has been eaten and cabin fever is setting in. Ice and school closures are no fun as a mommie!

 

So I found a fantastic ear warmer tutorial a few weeks back via Prudent Baby. I already had the necessary supplies on hand, and finally finished it during Monday's nap time. Talk about the perfect snow day craft! I blended a few of Delia's techniques - pleats and a "Lucy" flower. This video tutorial really helped me understand how to work up a rosette for the first time. Fun stuff!

 

I've had this cream fleece since I received my sewing machine years ago. I was living in Florida at the time and pining away for cold weather accessories. I'm so happy to finally have made something cute & functional for the NC cold weather!

Stay warm!

Homemade Holiday Apparel

My baby boy is growing up. How can he be turning 3 so soon?! He'll always be my baby, but a tall lovely boy is emerging...one who likes to tell us he's a "big boy" often. For the past 2 years I've sewn him holiday longalls, but this year I knew it was time to move on to "big boy" apparel. I decided to applique a long sleeved shirt and match it to a sweet pair of soft corduroy pants. Ta-da!

I found several Tree-in-a-Truck applique files online, but landed on this one at Planet Applique. It resembles Daddy's truck closest, and little boy is all about equipment these days. The red gingham truck fabric is left over from the very first holiday outfit, the gray pattern bumpers were in my stash, and I picked up the wheel & tree fabrics at Hancock. The tires are black corduroy with a black & white polka dot cotton print in the hubs. The green fur tree was a really fun find. It matched the pants perfectly and little boy loved touching it! I originally wanted a green corduroy tree, but things have a way of creatively working out for the best!

This may be the most complex applique I've stitched to-date. I had to baby-sit it like mad, but had fun making it come together. The fur could have been a disaster, but I tamed the beast and would use it again. I also used Heat 'n Bond Lite for the first time. I've been reading about others swearing by it, and am so glad I tried something new. It really gives the applique an extra smooth and professional finish.

As usual, our holiday season flew by. We visited with Santa (aka Ho Ho Ho) at least 3 times, took a holiday train ride, and even met Frosty & Rudolph. I guess this shirt is now set to hang with other special garments of holidays past. Sigh. Perhaps one day I will make a quilt or other keepsake with all of his mommie-made things...or hold on to them for his children to wear. My mother has a cedar chest full of homemade lovelies just waiting for the next generation. What a southern & grand tradition - I love passing it on!