Crochet and Lady Bugs

Hello!
I am really interested in crochet lately.   Probably is because I see so much pretty stuff some talented ladies make all over blog land.
The problem is that I never learned to crochet...but I am trying to fix that :)  It will take some work!
My Mom and aunt both know how to crochet, but I never had the desire myself when I lived in  Brazil.   Now, miles and miles away from them, I will have to learn it on my own.   I did some things on the past, like this Crochet Fabric Basket , but I never went further.  I dream on making Granny Squares and Crochet Snowflakes...  The good thing is that with so many crochet  tutorials and out there, if I persevere, I  may learn something.
Anyways, months ago I  saw some gorgeous  Crochet Stool Covers.
I decided to give it a try. First one for Brenda's room. I choose an Ikea Marius and yarn in pastel colors.

It was surprisingly fast to make.
I liked it so much, that  decided to make another one.  I got a bar stool at Target, to add an extra seat to the kitchen.
Here is when I started.

I am very happy with both of the finished stools.  They look so bright and pretty.  Now, I just need to keep challenging myself and carry on.  Should I try a granny square now ?

With the arriving of Spring, many lovely things happen.
Look what Brenda brought home last week.

As every little girl, she loves lady bugs. She takes very good care of them.

Now they live happily in our garden.

I just love Spring. Beautiful gardens and some lovely holidays.  We had a little Saint Patrick's dinner and cake. Grandma and Grandpa joined us .  Brenda told some Irish jokes and we watched Darby O' Gill and the little people. We had sparkling lemonade to drink and mostly green food.

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great week.

Ana Paula.

Heart Sachet

Hello! My last post was a little over a month ago!  I have being busy with a million things, including  organizing my home and and trying to do a little clean-up on the blog. 
Blogger gives me hard time, I took forever to fix some problems.
Today I was finally able to make this Cross Stitch sachet and write a post.

I stitched this bird on the early ninety's. It was stitched on a blouse I used for years.

I saved the bird and now I finally turned it unto something. I used denim, blue polka dot fabric, and lace trim. I like how it looks, not bad for a piece of cross stitch from an old blouse, don't you think?
The bird pattern is from a Verena Burda magazine in German.  When I moved to America almost ten years ago, I was not able to bring my collection of Cross Stitch magazines with me.
 When I went back to I visit my family in Brazil four years ago, I ripped off my favorite pages from the magazines I left behind, and now I keep them in binders.

They are old, but have many lovely patterns!

Anyways, after over a month without posting I have some other photos to share.

A couple of CTR towels.

Valentine's Day.

 

And the early Spring on my little garden.
Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Ana Paula.

My Cross Stitch Goal for 2012

Hello!
Some months ago I was able to get a great bargain on e-bay : Lizzie Kate's flip-it stamps.
My goal is make one a month.  I just finished January.

I changed the colors to mostly blue, inspired by this ornament .  The trim is ruched ribbon.
The pattern came with 3 tiny buttons but I decided to use snowflakes instead, like on  the ornament  I was copying :)  But, I was not able to find such small snowflake buttons like hers. I had to use just one.
I finished it as a flat ornament, and the fabric on the background is the one I used on the back of the ornament.
I love this design and I am so pleased on how it looks after finished. I love it!

This has been a busy month, and I am happy I was able to finish it before January is over.
The plan is to display a new ornament on a little easel every month.  Eleven more to go!
Thanks for stopping by!
Ana Paula.

Cleaning, an old project, and a Cookbook

Hello!
Not much crafting going on around here.  All I am doing now  is cleaning and organizing.
We took lots of stuff to Salvation Army and I still have more to take there.
I am working on a little cross stitch on some free minutes. I will share it soon, I hope.
Since I have no new projects to share today, I will show something that I made in December but never posted.
I am keeping it out because I love it.

It is very simple to make. You will need :

A bag of moss - I got it at Joann's.
2 plastic deer - You can find at Michael's.
Small toadstools - my friend Jodie made mine from wooden knobs in different sizes.
A pretty container - I found this one at Home Goods, but Tai Pan Trading has lots of them.

To make the little meadow scene, you  cut a piece of moss to fit the container you chose and tuck it in.
Now you just have to place the deer and toadstools over the moss and you are done!

Since I don't have any real deer near by, these ones are good enough for me!

Now, on a complete different subject.
I got this on the mail this week.

I sent a recipe to Gooseberry Patch and it was published in this book, Fresh from the Farmstand.
If they publish your recipe, you get a free copy of the book.
My recipe is "Berry Sweet Trifle" on page 215.
I love their cookbooks and it was very exciting to have my trifle recipe published.
That's all for now. 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.

Christmas Rag Quilt

Hello! Very busy around here, but here is my last project.

It was made using cotton and corduroy for the top and flannel for the back, and it has a smaller
piece of cotton batting inside each square.

This kind of quilt is  very easy  to make, since unmatched corners will not show so much :) Perfect for me!

This is after 3 washes. Corduroy makes a LOT of lint. But the quilt is very soft and fluffy.
I love the paper doll fabric, and I think this little quilt looks great with my Christmas decor.

Thanks for stopping by!

Ana Paula.