Christmas Table Runner

Hello!

It's hot here in Southern California!
Some days it's so hot, that you feel like doing nothing. I made a couple of little crafts with Brenda, and lots of cleaning and organizing.
We did some summer activities, like movies and things like that. Still about a month until school starts.
This week I managed to do a little sewing, and finished this table runner .

I used only scraps and fabrics from my stash. I am really trying to use the fabrics and craft supplies I have at home.

I got the inspiration from here.
My blocks are smaller, the runner was made to fit my sideboard.

I think I need to do some more quilting, and them machine wash and dry.

I used about twelve different prints in green and red. None of the six blocks have the same combination of prints.  I always have a hard time piecing.  Somehow, I always do a little bit of mess up. These blocks were fun to make, but they are not perfect. I enjoyed very much making this table runner. I love the colors and the pattern.

I specially love the candy cane binding. It adds a nice finishing touch.
It took a long time for me to decide to make a Christmas table runner.  I could not make up my mind on the pattern to use.  Now, I just need to make a Valentine one to complete my small collection.
Have a great weekend and stay cool!

Ana Paula.

Christmas House

Hello!

Today I took a break from the sewing and finished a cross stitch project that took me a while to make: A Christmas house!

The patterns are by Perrette Samouiloff.
It was fun to stitch, and not very hard, really. The hard part was to choose the designs, and to count the stitches to make sure they would fit. I had to find some small designs to fill the empty spots. I think that was the most difficult part.  But I love how it looks!

The attic is full of secrets. They are hiding the presents. I added more presents and the teddy in a box to balance things a bit.

Now, the middle part of the house.
This little boy holding the hearts is adorable!  I stitched some ornaments to fill the spaces.

The little girls. They are so cute! The one holding the teddy bear is my favorite.  Here I added the cat, the presents, and the ornaments.

The living room. I just had to add some more presents to fill the spaces and join the two designs together. That's the fun thing with Perrette's patterns. There are several small designs in one pattern. You stitch all or as many as you want.

I had this frame for a long time. It's from a kit by Bucilla. I decided not to stitch the kit, and stitch these little kids instead.  I painted the frame red, and made several changes to make things more colorful. The original colors were a bit too dark for my taste.

I glued a piece of red felt on the back to make a nice finish.  A mini wreath on the top of the house  finishes the look.
Brenda helped me picking the colors and designs for this project, and she loves the finished piece!  Now, let's put it way until Christmas!

Thanks for stopping by my blog! Have a great week!

Ana Paula.

Patchwork Christmas Stockings

Hello!

I know... funny posting Christmas stockings in April.
I wanted to make them last year, but I got busy, and never made them.
Now, here they are!

I love the Scandinavian look. The matching stockings had to be red and white.
There are several online tutorials on how to make stockings like these. Here is one I like.
The quilt as you go style is the best. Very fast and easy. It's a no brainier.
The pattern for the stocking shape I got from one of my Holiday crafts magazines. I find it very hard to draw the pattern myself. I love this shape, not the old booty one!

The hard part for me was to attach the cuff. It was very bulky, It took me a while pinning and ripping seams. But I love the way they look! My family finally has matching stockings!
I made a stocking for Brenda when she was little, but never made for me and my husband. We had some old plaid ones for a while, borrowed from my MIL. I returned them so I could have a real reason to make our own. I did it now.

I like how they are similar but different. I collected red and white fabrics for a while to be able to make some projects, including these stockings. Not easy, Joann's has a small selection. A couple of years ago they had some new ones, and I got some. Besides Joann's, I only have one more fabric store near by. Sometimes I get lucky there. Sometimes on e-bay.

This is the fabric I picked for the back of the stockings, a cute peppermint candy print.

Now I just need to get some wooden letters to personalize them. I like this idea.
I am very pleased with our new stockings! It's so nice when a project comes out the way you imagined it!

Have a great week and thanks for stopping by my blog!

Ana Paula.

Pinwheel Table Runner

Hello, and Happy New Year!

I while ago I made a new table runner.

I used some red polka dot fabric I got in Brazil.

It was made to fit the new Ikea shelf behind the couch.
The piecing is not perfect, but I love how the table runner turned out.

 

And I made a felt garland for Brenda's room, inspired by this one from Nana Company.
Brenda had the visions of sugarplums dancing in her head :)
She had a great Christmas, and  even a special tree in her room.

This sweet lady gave Brenda several Barbie Hallmark ornaments, enough for her to have her own Barbie tree.

Our girl loves Christmas, and we try our best to make it meaningful and memorable for her.

Thanks for stopping by!

Ana Paula.

Christmas "Paper" Dolls

Hello, and happy new year everyone!
I am late here again, there is never enough time, but I wanted to share something I made this Christmas.

The inspiration for the paper dolls set comes from here.  Make sure to check it out, this girl has the cutiest blog.
I found the fabrics on e-bay, for a very good price.
I made some changes on my set (in reality I made two sets - one for Brenda and one for her best friend).

Here is one set with all the parts. Five girls, seven outfits and nine hair accessories/hats.

A close-up of some of the girls and some more pictures of the set.

I used spray starch and heat n' bond ultrahold to make the fabric stiff enough to cut all the parts.
I used a normal iron on by the yard for the case. I got everything at Joann's, including the polka dot fabric. Only the two paper dolls fabrics were from e-bay. I got one yard each, one with the girls and one with the clothes and acessories.  I believe I have leftover fabric enough to make another set with less pieces.
I think it came out pretty cute, and the girls love it! Paper dolls are really fun!

Since I am talking about Christmas, I will share some new ornaments we got this year.

I finally have Elvis!

 We got a Fancy Nancy ornament too. I made it from a fabric scrap and some fancy trims.

German toadstools.

A gnome.

A dessert stand.

We gave Brenda a piano ornament to celebrate her first year taking piano lessons.
That's our tree. From baby Jesus to annual pictures of Brenda,  we have it all. It is a tree of memories and things that we love.

And here is my girl, waiting her granparents to arrive for Christmas dinner.

 And here reading a Fancy Nancy book to her great grandma.

And opening a present.
Well, that's all for now. A big Christmas post in January!
Thanks for stopping by!

Ana Paula.

Glitter Trees and a Couch Sleepcover!

Hello! I hope you are all having a great day and getting ready for Christmas. I am not ready yet. Still working on some projects.
Recently I got this lovely nativity on e-bay.

We have a Boyds bears and a Playmobil nativity, but I wanted a "real" one.
This is "A King is born" from Lenox, and it was a bargain. It is small, what fits our space and budget. After displaying it on a shelf I decided it needed some kind of background. I choose to make glitter trees.  I got three cardboard cones at Joann's (sorry, I forgot to take pictures of the before).

Some glitter and spray glue...

And there you have it!

Just a little tip: Cover your work area very well with newspaper.  Or use the spray glue  inside a box.
Now, don't you think the nativity looks a lot better? Even with the bad light.

I just love it! I am very happy with my new nativity.

Another  project I made this week.
We have this hand me down old couch that is so old style, but comfy. For now, we are keeping it. I wanted to make a slipcover to hide it, but it was a project way to big for me.
Other day Joann's had fleece for $4.00 a yard. The couch's fabric is some kind of plush. Fleece sticks well to it. I got six yards of beige fleece, made a big blanket from it, and after tucking here and there, here is how it looks now.

I know it is nothing like something from Country Living or a Pottery Barn catalog. But, it works for us. When Brenda arrived from school she said: You got a new couch! I liked the old one! She had to look under the cover to make sure it was the old couch. We added pillows and the Christmas quilt from my previews post, and we are ready to go.

Keep warm,  and thanks for stopping by!

Ana Paula.