{3/52} Pillows for Wendy

My good friend Wendy recently moved into a new (old) house with her family, and has been decorating each room to fit their adorable eclectic style. She found a vintage bark cloth curtain at a local shop and asked me if I would use it to make pillows for her couch and loveseat.

We both loved the "paint-by-numbers" look of the fabric, and I decided to sew red piping into the edges to make the bright colors pop. There was only enough fabric for the front of the pillows, so I used a new soft green upholstry fabric for the back.

I had never sewed a bolster pillow before, so I looked for a tutorial and ended up using this one from PrettyPrudent.com (link isn't working now but will hopefully be fixed soon).

I think they turned out great, and look especially nice with the new paint color on the walls!

{2/52} Sleeping Mats

 
Earlier this week, I needed to stop at JoAnns to pick up a few things. As we pulled in, Kenley said, "I wish this store would have Elsa fabric..." and I said, "Guess what, I'm SURE they have Elsa fabric!". Sure enough, there's a whole Frozen section set up. So we picked up a yard of fleece and she asked me to make a sleeping bag for her stuffed dog, Luna (who received her own Elsa dress and pjs for Christmas - ha!).

After I made the sleeping bag for the stuffed dog, I realized that I could buy Frozen fabric to make a sleeping mat for Kenley, too. I've been meaning to make one for her rest time at preschool, and who can go wrong with Snow Queen fabric and cozy fleece?

 
I planned to spend a couple hours on Saturday whipping it up - but then I added homemade piping... decided to patchwork the fleece blanket... added a few decorative stitches and binding on the blanket... and one whole Saturday later, the sleeping mat was complete!

 
Don't ask me the details of how I made it - I pretty much winged it as I went along. But if you're looking to make one, I have sewn one based on this tutorial by Prudent Baby before, and recommend it. The Snow Queen fabric from JoAnns is heavier weight and also wider than the usual cottons (also much more expensive, thank goodness for sales!) but I think that worked out perfectly for a durable napping mat.

happy customer testing out her sleeping mat (with bluish mouth - still trying to kick the popsicle habit post-tonsillectomy)

{1/52} Lachlan's new scarf

Here's my first creation of the new year! Lachlan requested a scarf a few weeks ago. He wanted it to be "half green and half blue" to match his new winter coat. Well, I know it won't be long before clothing items made by mom aren't in fashion anymore, so I jumped at the chance to make him a scarf. I found soft cotton yarn at Home Ec Workshop and finished it on his first day back to school. That proud smile when I asked him to model his new scarf for a photo makes me so very happy!

 Here is the pattern I used. I actually used the adult width for Lachlan, just eyeballed the final length on him (it ended up being 36"), and left off the fringe.

Waving hello!

 

Only a year since my last blog post? ;) Well, I'm resurrecting the blog for a 2015 project that goes back to the reason I started my blog  - documenting and sharing my creations. The collage above features some of the items I made in 2014 - most of which were given away. I miss having a place to keep the details for each project, and maybe a few of you miss hearing about them? Regardless, this year, I'll be sharing {52 things I made} (inspired by a blog I follow called Green Valley Crafts). Each week, I'll pop in to share a photo and details of something I created. It might be a long-term project, like a quilt, or a quick birthday card made for a friend. I'm looking forward to the process, and the motivation to make time for creativity even in the busy weeks. Thanks for following along!