How to: Mini-Dolls

Need something quick and easy to make for your children? Thes mini-dolls are super fun to play with and can be sewn up in an afternoon.

Pick out fabric that you'd like to use. I chose this cute Japanese import with little girls. Fabric with animals or other people work well also. Many of the Japanses imports have a small scale to the design.

Cut out the pieces you'd like to use. Don't worry about them being perfect. I made these into small circles, but depending on the scale of your "dolls" you can stitch them around the body shape.

Pin them to a felt backing. This will give them a little bit of structure [stiffness] and help them stand up better. [any thick-ish material will work]

Sew around your dolls. Make sure to leave an opening so you can turn them right side out and stuff them.

Turn your doll right side out and stuff. I like to use bamboo stuffing. It have a great shape and feel to it inside children's toys. Any polyester, cotton or bamboo stuffing will work though.

Stitch up the hole. I stitch these by hand, as they are pretty small.

Play!! I made a little tote purse for these girls to live in. Keeps them all in one place, and it's extra fun for your little one. A blanket and a kitty were added for accessories. Get creative!

Christmas Gifts

Finishing up the last of my Christmas gift sewing. HOORAY! I still have some things to get done for the kiddies, but everyone else is pretty much done.

No matter how hard I try it seem that I am sewing up to the last minute for everything lately. I'm actually glad I didn't sign up to do all the holiday shows I had wanted to. I would be a sleep deprived crazy woman, if I had!

I'm really happy with the fabric coasters that I made. They are a simple square cut of fabric, backed with fleece, then quilted. I love the randomness of the quilting lines. They make nice gifts to give as a "family present". We are not able to buy every individual member of the family gifts this year. I'm happy to gift these though-they are fun and useful at the same time!

I also made a batch of hand printed tea towels. They are one of my favorite gifts to share. I use hand carved stamps and do each image one by one. I keep meaning to make another set for our house, but they seem to get passed on to family & friends faster than I expect.

How fun are these Eric Carle, the Very Hungry Caterpillar: Coaster Set? [my favorite of the bunch!]

Ready for the Holiday's?

Man, Christmas is really sneaking up on me this year! At this point, I am usually done with shopping, have everything wrapped and most, if not all of the handmade gifts complete. This year I can;t check off any of those things! I have a 1/2 knitted scarf on my knitting needles for my son, and just a LONG list of projects for my children, and a few gifts to make for my parents, and in-laws.
Things around here have been going at a much slower pace since I found out we were expecting baby #4 later this Spring! Yikes, my energy has been zapped. It will be a whirlwind two weeks of sewing, knitting and creating! I'll share some of my handmade gifts here as soon as I get them complete!

The one thing that was done on Thanksgiving was our decorations. The tree is up, the wreath is on the door, and the lights are strung in the yard. Just seeing those things make me smile!

Craftin Outlaws

Last weekend was the 5th annual Craftin Outlaws show, held here in Columbus, Ohio. It was my third year at the event and we had a lot of fun! The Lodge Bar housed the show this year. I got to meet some cool new artists and some great new and former customers. Thanks to everyone who came over to chat with me!

Tomorrow I'll show you the cool stuff we picked up at the show from other vendors! Yay goodies!

This blanket sold, which made me happy. I designed this pieces especially for this show. I hope it has an exciting life with a really special-and cool- family!

Scarves are Here!

Fall scarves are starting to be added to my shop. So far, I've added the "Shades of Fall" and "Theo" scarves. There are more pictures in the shop!

The new scarves, make great fall birthday and holiday gifts! The children's size are perfect up to about age 7, and the adult size fit just about everyone!

I really love making these. The winter months are so bleak and dreary here in Ohio. I'm really looking forward to the pop of color these will bring when we leave the house. My kids have already picked out their favorites...and actually so has mama! Haha. They will each be getting one as a gift for their upcoming birthday's along with a knitted scarf. Yes, I've been busy knitting too. I'll show you what I finished knitting at the festival over the weekend tomorrow!

Independence Day Festival

The festival went great over the weekend. Here's a few pics of my booth space. We had a really nice spot with pretty sunshine filtering in throughout most of the day. This was the only outdoor show, all year that it didn't rain on us. I was SO thankful!!

I got to chat with some awesome former customers, meet some really cool new one's, and talk with some old friends. My favorite moment of the day was playing with a sweet little toddler named, Theo. He has the prettiest little curls in his hair, and an awesome personality.

It was a long, long day, as I arrived about 9:45am and left at 10pm. There was so much going on with vendors checking in, traffic jams and getting the bands, artists and customer, but they pulled if off great[not an easy task]!! Lots of cool stuff to see, lots of fun people to meet.

I even picked up some pretty new blue & green wool yarn. This time, I am actually making something for myself! Yay!

::Sweater Balls and Quilts::

:: Scarves, tote bags and skirts ::

::Center of booth ::

:: More scarves and my mannequin ::

Quilts are done!

I finished up two more quilts yesterday. Hooray!! The brown one has hand sewn binding. It was able to stitch the binding while teaching the kids about adding with the number one yesterday. My favorite squares feature the dancing foxes. It's a Heather Ross Kokka import fabric. You can't tell from the picture, but it also has dancing frogs and bunnies.

The blue/green one has some cool binding also. After making this bias tape, I wanted to sew it onto everything!

I like that both of these quilts could be for a baby of either gender. I am in love with blue for girls-really, any color besides pink. Don't get me wrong, I like pink too, but overall, baby girl stuff has an overwhelming amount of it! Of course this means, my daughter has declared pink is her favorite color. Isn't that the way it always goes? Lucky for me, my boys like blue!

Today's plan are not too exciting. Mr. {D} has a doctors appointment with an ENT. Hopefully that goes well. The color of the week is red, and we are still working on T's and the numbers zero and one. {L} the littlest giant, is running through the house causing havoc and so happy about it.

What does your week hold for you?

Journals

I've been working on some new journals/notebooks. I love giving these as gifts.
They can be personalized to the individual! Kids like to use them to create their very own drawing books. Adults can use them from anything to actual journal to writing grocery and to do lists in them. I always have a few extras on my desk.

Start by selecting paper of your choice. You can use patterned cardstock, or use plain and decorate with stamps and stickers. I also like to use little bits of cool stuff I have laying around, like old card fronts or cool pictures I saved.

Select paper for the inside. This can be anything you choose-plain computer paper, lined, scrap, recycled, junk mail. ANYTHING! Cut them to size to match the cover. Fold your inside and outside papers in the center.

Next you want to stitch them together. Select a long stitch on your machine and follow the crease you made when folding.

Your Done!!

For an extra fun touch, I made a pocket envelope from an old book above. A great way to use books that have seen better days, but still have usable pages. Frame them, make boxes with them, or envelopes. Fun and green.

ENJOY!

Cool Stuff

I've been meaning to write about these little felted animals, since Easter. I, a grown woman, am so in love with these cute creatures!!

The Easter Bunny added these guys to the older kids baskets this year. The little duck is my favorite. She's so tiny and sweet! {D} carries the chocolate bunny everywhere with him. We have been making some paper boxes lately and the bunny has an entire wardrobe of hand colored, paper box homes.

They come in their own little egg homes, but as you know, everyone needs some accessories. It's been fun watching the kids make the extra homes. Lots of smiles and laughter!

Want your own super sweet new friend? Check out the Canadian based shop: Magic Forest on etsy.

{ Featured Artist: Katie m. Berggren}

I came across one of Katie Berggren's pieces while looking through some Etsy favorites. [yes, I LOVE browsing what other people favorite!]

I was immediately drawn in by the bold use of texture, color and the feeling of movement in her work. I looked through every page in her shop!

With each piece, the artist gives incite to the meaning, inspiration, or story behind the work. I was really drawn in by the information in each listing. The feeling of intimacy and love really shines in her work. As a mother, I was quickly drawn in by the warmth and caring that the work exudes.

The shop offers both prints and originals at an extremely affordable price! Any of her pieces would make wonderful Mother's Day gifts for either your mother, or the mother of your children.

Go buy some: Katie m. Berggren art & design

{ Etsybaby Holiday Sale }

Kunklebaby is included in this sale!
FREE shipping with purchase of any 3 bibs. Plus listings showing the Etsybaby Holiday graphic will receive a FREE gift with purchase.

To redeem:
Please add "Etsybaby Holiday" in notes to seller. Shipping will be refunded through paypal before your order ships.

Additional special to my great blog readers:
Add "EB Blog Sale" in notes to seller and receive Free Christmas gift tags with ANY purchase.

Start your Christmas shopping now!

{ Featured Seller: Caramel Jubilee }

-Tell us about your shop:

I have a quaint little caramel shop on etsy called Caramel Jubilee. As you probably guessed--I sell caramels. I currently have five flavors: vanilla, chocolate, pomegranate, black licorice, and pumpkin pie. I'm commited to creating delicious, high-quality caramels. The recipes are all my own creations and they've been very well-recieved here in the etsy community. The caramels are cooked and wrapped entirely by hand.

-How did you get started?

I've been cooking since I was very young, but only recently started making candy. Last spring I was browsing online for a new challenging recipes (I love a good challenge in the kitchen!) and came across a caramel one that seemed to fit the bill. Although I don't use that recipe for my shop, it was the beginning of a wonderful discovery which eventually lead me to opening my own candy store on etsy.

-Where does your shop name come from?

I've been successfully selling on etsy under the name earcmra, but then recently decided I needed a more memorable name. I thought about it for several weeks, and then one day just thought up Caramel Jubilee. It describes my wish that these caramels will be celebrated and bring friends closer together as they enjoy them.

-Advice for other artist?

Do something you love and do it well. I thoroughly enjoy what I do and I hope others can pick up on that when they meet me. I always like talking with people who are passionate about their work, whatever it may be.

-Favorite or best selling product?

My best selling product is the pomegranate caramels. I really enjoy them too because the pomegranate juice gives them a bit of tart tang which is delightful and a bit unexpected.

If you want some yummy treats visit-Caramel Jubilee's Shop

{ Spout }

I just love this little whale clip. The shade of blue goes so well with {m}' s complexion. The little thread spout is the perfect touch! Cute, cute cute!
{M} is forever brushing her hair out of her eyes. I'm always on the lookout for cute, original designs.

Want your own clip. Visit PammyDawn on Etsy.
Lots of other fun little creatures to be had-adorable & affordable.

ETSYBABY Kris-Mouse

♥"there's a mouse in the house...that's right Santa's helper kris-mouse is making his way through the EtsyBABY shops.

Kris wants to help you find special gifts and great deals for those sweet babies On your list.You'll find kris hanging out on at least one item in each of shops listed. If you buy an item Where kris's picture shows up you'll receive a free gift with your purchase."(you'll know kris as soon as you see him)Prizes vary from shop to shop so be sure to look at as many shops as possible.See shop announcement's for prize details.Remember this Christmas Season shop where kris-mouse shops...EtsyBABY!!!

♥visit: http://etsybaby.ning.com for a list of shops