Sock Monkey Wine Bottle Cover

I posted this Sock Monkey Wine Bottle Cover on another one of my blogs and didn't realize it would be such a hit with other designers!

It all started this past Spring when I had a friend ask me if I would be able to make a couple of Sock Monkey Wine Bottle Covers for her upcoming Wine Tasting Event.  I jumped right to the challenge.  I had seen these in stores, but they just looked like a work sock with a red mouth and a couple of buttons sewn on for eyes.  A real Sock Monkey needs Ears!

So, I sat and thought, then put my plan into action and this is what I came up with:
(I have a lot of orders for these from friends and customers wanting to give these as gifts with a nifty little bottle of wine..)  Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's back to sew I go...

ChristmasTime = Crazy Time!

Every year at Christmas, I come up with new ideas - totally different than the year before.
I spend a lot of time thinking ahead as to what kinds of new homemade gifts I can make for my special friends and family members.

For the last 2 weeks, I have been hunkered down in my sewing room drawing templates, making samples and going over my existing fabric and ribbon collection in order to figure out what additional supplies I need for my new projects.

The other day, my husband said to me "if I am looking for you, I know where you will be, in your sewing room."  He also is beginning to get tired of tripping over the endless supply of craft supplies that seem to make their way through our front door.  Ha!  We are only in the middle of November, just wait until 2 weeks from now when things really start picking up!  I had better be especially sweet to him :)

Secretly though, I am worried that my husband is going to put a "ban" on me for buying any more craft supplies.  Keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the best!  Hey, maybe I will just keep distracting him with my new creations...yeah!  That should work! (fingers crossed)...

Homemade Momji Doll

When Ava was in the hospital this past weekend, I bought her a little Momji Doll at the gift store run by volunteers.  The one I bought was called Dance Dance Dance.  It is made of a hard resin-type kind of material.
After playing with it for a few moments, it was dropped on the hard hospital floor and the head broke off.  I have had to re-glue it back on...crazy glue is very useful in our house!

While I was gluing the head back on the doll, an idea popped into my head...Why not try and create a fabric version of these dolls???  Ava always gets my prototypes so I knew she would be surprised with this one in particular.  I have some adjustments to make as you can see that the lower body is a little longer than I wanted and I wasn't happy with the "hair", but all in all, not bad for a first try right?

Here's a pic of the Momji Doll I purchased:

And a pic of the one I sewed this afternoon (Ava was delighted!):

Little Hibou and More!

I wasn't able to sew this past Canadian Thanksgiving Weekend as my little Ava was hospitalized for emergency surgery due to an Incarcerated Strangulated Umbilical Hernia.  We spent the entire weekend in the hospital (my wonderful neighbours brought us over Turkey Dinner!  How Sweet!).
Ava is recovering at home very nicely, but it is hard to keep her in one spot for long...I have tried every craft imaginable in order to get her to stay put and rest...Good Luck to that One!

So, in the meantime to preserve my sanity, I have been sneaking off to my Design Room every chance I get.  I have been sewing more and more of these cute little Owls while having fun playing with fabric combinations!

Pillowcase Dresses. Oh My!

I love making Pillowcase Dresses for dear Ava...they are easy and can be made within the hour.  I admit that I have been known to get up early in the morning just to make a special dress for her to wear to a party that same afternoon.  You got it, I don't have a life outside my home...but it's a life I love! 

I even select different fabrics based upon the event.  For example, we attended a Jazz Festival in our city and I selected fabric that was covered in wind instruments to suit the occasion...We received many comments from people saying she looked like a little "Movie Star"..

                                                       Little Miss Hollywood

The great thing about Pillowcase Dresses is that they can be made from a variety of fabrics but I do prefer the clean look of cotton or a cotton/poly mix.  Pair the dress with leggings and a long sleeve shirt for the cooler months and you have a completely different look.

I am never satisfied with the HO HUM regular stuff, I love to add a touch of glitz and glamour to my Creations!
I add ribbons, trim and whatever else I can think of to "glam up" these dresses. 

                                                      

Little Hibou

Anyone who knows me will tell me that I always learn the hard way.  I proved this to myself while attempting to sew a stuffed Owl for Ava's upcoming 5th Birthday.
I had seen stuffed Owls around different craft shows and decided to draw my own pattern and create my own.  Well, it took 3 tries to get it just the way I wanted.  My husband showed me that he has a "real" interest in my sewing as he had a lot of input after reviewing each drawn paper pattern (I only started listening to him after sewing the second owl and still couldn't get it right!  boo hoo).

So, the first one was too wide (I didn't even bother sewing on a beak), the second one was too long...but....the third one was perfect!  Three strikes and you are out!!!  Whew! I narrowly escaped that one :)

                                                         Too Wide

                                                        Too Long


And now for the final reveal....Drum Roll Please....I would like to formally introduce "Olive Owl"

                                                  I finally got it right!

                                         I even sewed a pocket on the back!  Woohoot!

Preparing for Our Canadian Thanksgiving!

Preparations are underway for our Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend!
Fall is my absolute favourite of all seasons...crisp morning air, warm afternoons,  colourful arrays of leaves and best of all, Ava's Birthday! (October 16th). 
We have really worked hard on our Fall/Thanksgiving Crafts this week and I can't wait to show you the finished products...
But first, I wanted to share you Ava's rendition of a coloured "Scarecrow".

                                                         Happy Thanksgiving!

"Mother of All Bibs"

I admit that it's harder during the warm summer months to be "holed" up in my sewing room when I would rather be spending time outdoors.
Now that we are officially in Autumn and the weather  has cooled off, I find that I'm spending more time in my sewing room again.  By early September, the room springs back to life!  All those colored fabrics seem to jump off the shelves and land onto my cutting mat.  My mind is brimming with ideas these days and my husband seems to wonder if I am off in another world.  The truth is, yes my mind is on creating new designs and thinking about that next project.
Once in a while, my husband saunters out of his "man cave" to check on me (I think he's really wondering where his dinner is?).

I am truly excited about my latest creation!  It's called "The Mother of All Bibs" and is really one of the niftiest things I have ever seen.

The "Mother of All Bibs" is carefully sewn using waterproof (PUL) fabric which is generously cut so that it covers and protects a child's outfit from messes and spills.
Outfitted with a front pocket and Velcro neck closure, these bibs are ideal for messy eaters and little artists and one size fits ages 1 year to 5 years old.