Betty Davis Eyes......

Yikes, where have I been?? I am doing a Poppet swap on Craftster right now and I am having soooo much fun with it. The Poppet pattern was created by a craftster named ghilie and it has taken off!!! Here is a link if interested: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=205341.0





I would highly recommend making a Poppet, especially if you are new to doll making. Really easy way to give it a try. If you are experienced in doll making it's a BREEZE! So here is my girl's head I am loving her blue glass eyes. I have never done eyes like this, I usually use safety eyes. Sorry about her head being stuck on a wine bottle, it was late and fit perfectly! And a shot of the body parts, poor baby.

Then while I was making these adorable sun dresses, I had to make one for my original kitty Poppet, little Sylvie Sparkles. Love her! Here is the link for the sundress pattern, super easy and could be modified to fit any size doll.

http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=228402.0

My swap Poppet now has hair and arms and legs attached, so once she is completely done I'll post some more pics.

Strawberry's BFF

A couple of months ago, I was at my friend Cheri's house and she brought out her beloved panda bear she has had since childhood. I just about fell out of my chair because I knew I had a twin panda at home from my childhood! I don't think she really believed me until I brought it back over to her house later that evening.

The panda on the left is mine and her name is Strawberry. I'm not sure exactly when I got her, but she is at least 35 years old. I remember once when I was 3 or 4 something got on her left ear, so I washed it in the sink with Head and Shoulders. That ear is a little crunchy to this day!

Well, at least Strawberry has found her long lost friend!

The Bag Lady...

I have been busy making bags for Teacher Appreciation week at my son's school. Vera Bradley bags are sooo popular here, that I knew if I used quilted fabrics they would be a huge hit. So far, all the teacher's have been thrilled. I also did a blue quilted set, but they got our the door without a photo being taken. When I am cranking out the projects, it is really easy for me to forget about photos!

The second picture is the set I made for my son's homeroom teacher and I had extra fabric leftover so I made a matching bag for her daughter who is the same age as my son. I hope she loved it!

Now that all the bags are done, and Mother's day packages have been sent, I can focus once again on my chunky pages that luckily we got an extension on. :-) And I have a Mother's day present for my BFF to finish.

Next week will be a super busy one so I am trying to gear up for that. Come on summer vacation!! I can hear the Outer Banks calling me....

I <3 MANATEES!

I just sent all my "I Love Manatees" goodies for the Craftster swap. Yesterday was the deadline for mailing, and I can't believe I made it. I have sooo many projects right now, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed.

The swap was for 5 items. I decided to embellish a journal with a photo topped with microbeads and trim. I love using the clear microbeads it adds a really nice effect to the photo. Then I made a card portfolio with 4 manatee cards inside. I used the polished stone technique on the paper I stamped the manatee on. That technique is a lot of fun! The portfolio template is from a stampin up class I took.

And my fave, a Manatee tote. I used white denim and gray microfleece. She had requested a softie, but I just ran out of time, so as a compromise I made this manatee out of fleece and stitched and used polyfill to give him some softie dimension. SOOO cute.

Last but not least, I made her some scissor charms with a manatee shrinky dink charm, and a crystal bead bracelet and earring set with a polymer manatee dangle. I did not make the polymer dangle, luckily for me my local bead shop had one (YES only ONE!) which saved me a lot of time. I did use the Sculpey glaze on it to make him look better. I think the glaze makes all the difference with polymer.

Phew! It's done. Now off to finish the 4th Vera Bradley type bag for teacher appreciate week. I only have till Monday!!!