My little Jumper

Peanut loves to jump. Even love seems like an understatement. So, one of her Christmas gifts will be this great indoor hopscotch game. The tutorial came from Komfy Kountry Krafts found here: http://komfykountrykrafts.blogspot.com/2009/09/fabric-hopscotch-tutorial.html. It's not the easiest thing I've made, but I think it turned out really well. My biggest tip is to not use any fabric with lines in it for the background. Nothing on here is straight, but you can't tell with the pattern I used.

Munchkin had a little lamb

There's a little bit of a back story to this project. My eldest daughter, Peanut, has a lovey. It's an adorable bunny and she's attached to it at the hip. The bunny was given to her by our neighbor back in PA and only cost about $10. Since then the original bunny has gotten "old" and we ventured on the task of buying back ups for her. I soon found out that the bunny was stopped being made shortly after ours was purchased and they are very hard to come by. Almost $100 and 2 Ebay purchases later, we now have 2 replacement bunnies. When one gets dirty we just swap it out for a fresh one and throw it in the wash.

I did a lot of searching for a lovey for Munchkin, but haven't been able to find one that liked that was machine washable like the original bunny. And since I've vowed to only make gifts this year, I decided to make one for Munchkin. This way if something happens to it I can just make another. I found the most adorable teddy bear, but then found out the pattern is in a magazine only available in the UK. This lamb was made using Simplicity's 2921. He's not perfect, but hopefully E will love him for his uniqueness!

- J

Black Friday Madness

Since I am only making gifts this year, I had only one stop on Black Friday. Of course it was the craft and fabric store! Since the point of making gifts is saving money, I had a very specific list of what fabrics and materials I needed and how much of each. I was surprised at how many women were there just buying everything they saw without any plans for it. I hope to be able to do that myself one year, but this year it just made my wait that much longer. Now, to work!

- J

Happy Thanksgiving!

This turkey was too beautiful not to share. We brined it using Alton Brown's recipe and then stuffed it using a recipe I got from one of my magazines. It was the most amazing and flavorful turkey I've ever had. If you want the recipe, just let me know!

Felt Fish

These fish are for my daughter and for my nephew. I'm using this tutorial found at Just Another Day in Paradise: http://zitzmanfam.blogspot.com/2010/07/felt-fishing-set.html. My only modification is that I decided to stay away from the velcro and use magnets instead. I went to the hardware store and for just a couple bucks got little metal washers. I sewed them on using embroidery floss in the same color as the felt for the body. I think they make great eyes. I will be making the fishing rods later, so stay tuned!

- J

Advent Calendar!

Well, I thought my pocket advent calendar was super inventive until I found a bunch of other people doing it as well. I was inspired last year by a banner with the word "Joy" on it my grandmother had hanging up in her house. Each letter was felt sewn on a felt square and then placed on a piece of fabric. The felt squares were pockets, though that seemed more like an accident or laziness on the part of the company making them. I thought it would be great for the girls to put little toys into for christmas. It was hard keeping the pockets small, but I think it turned out great! I can't wait to fill it!

- J

College Football

Today I made footballs for two of my friends' little boys. One is a Michigan fan, the other a State fan. These are made with fleece and are nice and plush. I used the tutorial found here: http://www.makeandtakes.com/toss-around-this-toddler-approved-toy-football. I think they turned out really well!

-J

Christmas is Coming!

Hi All!

I know that it's early yet, but Christmas is just around the corner! This year in order to save money I have decided to make ALL christmas gifts for my family and friends. So, stay tuned for updates on what I've made!

- J