Bright Blooms

Just completed my Mini Art Quilt for Round 4 on Craftster, and I was sorry to see it go! But I am really hoping my swap partner will love it too. :) She wanted something in the tree theme so this is what I cam up with:

My partner is also an owl fan so I added a little owl nestled in the leaves.

I sewed each leaf individually, then turned them right side out, tacked them on the tree and then added a button. It meant for a lot of hand sewing, but I wanted the tree to have that texture.

This is the back side:

The quilt measured about 18x25 when it was done I think.

And speaking of being a fan of owls....
Looky what my Mommie found for me at Goodwill for $6! A beautiful ceramic owl lamp:


Now I know this might not be for everyone, but I just love her!!! I named her Olivette and she perches in my entryway. She makes me happy :) it's the little things right?

Trying to find my MOJO ;)

There have been some big changes in my life over the last few months...the biggest being my family moving from sunny Florida to the Northern Virginia/D.C. area. I could go on and on about it but I am trying to move onward and upward, so no pity parties here!
But, with all the change I feel like I have lost my creative, crafting, sewing mojo...
In an effort to get it back I headed to a good source of inspiration: CRAFTSTER.ORG and joined in their mug rug swap. In case you are unfamiliar with a "mug rug" it is basically a small quilted place mat used to put your coffee or tea cup on. AKA a mini quilt. I figured this was something I could handle and it would get me sewing again.
I signed up for 2 partners and got to work!

Mug rug #1





This partner is a nature/owl fan, loved using my wood grained fabric! I also sent both partners a little goodie bag of tea bags and Starbuck's Via and made a matching tag.

Mug Rug #2





This partner likes kawaii, and I have had this cute fabric in my stash for a while and knew it was too perfect!

Here is a shot of the backs:



Luckily both partners loved their mug rugs, woot woot!

Did my plan work?? I think it did! I had a lot of fun planning and sewing these mug rugs. And it has motivated me to finally get my sewing closet organized and orderly...more on that later, yes I typed "sewing closet". I am not quite ready to photograph yet. ;)

I hope to keep my rear in gear, I appreciate everyone who reads my blog, thanks for sticking with me! xo

Okay my Creepies are all done!!

Well, all my creepy girls are officially done now and are being sent out today to their new Mommies. Hopefully they will all be pleased and not be too creeped out by my work. I must say that I will miss them but I took pictures to keep. Wouldn't that be a great scrapbook for future generations to come across??? They would certainly begin to wonder and want to hear stories about crazy Greatgreatgreat Aunt Carrie. LOL
So here is The Black Widow:

And last but definitely not least The Wicked Witch:

I made a card to send with each of them

and inside is a great quote I saw in one of my magazines. "Where there is no imagination there is no horror." -Sir Arthur Canon Doyle. That is a great quote because for me, making these dolls was a great adventure for my imagination. =)

A Break from the Creepy, YAY! Cute

If you are my swap partner for the Black Apple Doll Swap on Craftster, LOOK AWAY NOW! =0 Okay, I guess that was fair warning. I have yet to finish all my creepy dolls, the last 2 are almost there, but I need a cute break.

I signed up for this swap because I have been wanting to make a doll with the pattern created by an artist named Emily Martin who was featured on Martha Stewart. You can find the pattern HERE
I would recommend this pattern to anyone new to doll making, it is a very easy pattern to put together and I think you'll be pleased with your results. If you are an experienced doll maker, you could always add accessories or clothing, paint a detailed face, etc to increase the challenge.

My swap partner wanted a Christmas themed doll and enjoys cooking/baking so I had the perfect Christmas cookie fabric to use. I also made her a candy cane apron and a star cookie to hold. I am pleased with how she turned out, hopefully she'll be pleased too.

I am pleased with how she turned out, hopefully she'll be pleased too. I requested a Halloween themed doll, can't wait to see what I get! The mail deadline isn't for several weeks tho-... must be patient.

Beware! Creepiness ahead!

After my last post about cute, sweet Fiona this post is a major about face. I have completed my first doll for the Craftster Creepy Doll Swap. This one is titled "White Wedding" and basically she is a zombie bride. Poor girl.

I think she turned out great. She started as a doll head on a wire and was very perky with pretty long brunette hair....and then I got a hold of her. I sewed a body and added the forearms that came with the head, weird. She doesn't have legs just a ghost like dress. She is only about 5 inches tall so she's mini creepy. I have completed all the heads for this series of dolls, 5 total, all very different but very creepy. I have been surprised at how easily it is for me to make these kind of dolls. I think of myself as more of a pink sugar cupcake kinda girl, I guess I have a dark side.....oooooooh....spooooky...

Dolly Day!!

I know I am a little old to be playing with dolls, but it's SOOOO FUN!! I got really brave today and did a lip redo on my Ashlette Blythe Fiona. I actually even carved Fiona's lips a little and then did a repaint and gloss!! I love the end result and am so relieved I didn't screw it up. Here is the result:

She actually looks like she is smiling a little now, and the lip color is so much better than her stock rose color, yuck. I did learn that the more color blending you do the better, and using an extremely small brush helps of course. Here is how her lips used to look:

Okay, now on to the creepy stuff. I am doing the Creepy Doll Swap on Craftster and have to make 5 creepy dolls. I decided to do some dolly recon for my projects. I bought some cute little dolly heads and arms and plan to creep them out and then sew them some soft little bodies and make clothes etc...I did my first doll head today. Here is a before and after:

I plan to give her ratty hair and tattered clothes etc. What do you think?? Does she look creepy enough?