Book Bag

Hello!

My last post was ages ago! Got too busy with the holidays, and some health issues.
Anyways, I decided to post a little something today.

This is the book bag I made for Brenda.
She loves to go to the library, and it was time for her to have her own bag. It has a pocket to put her library card. She just loves it!

Here is the detail of the embroidery. The pattern is from the WeeWonderfulls Book Club Stitchettes.
It's such a sweet set of nine designs, you buy the pdf and print at home.
I wanted to stitch this girl for Brenda so badly!  A perfect design for a book bag, don't you think?
I had a piece of turquoise corduroy laying around that was just the right amount for the job. So, what can be better? A gift made only using things that I already had.
Brenda wears it very proudly, she gets lots of compliments from the library ladies.
So, kind of crazy posting about  a Christmas present in February, but better late than never.

Have a wonderful rest of the week!

Ana Paula.

Things I Made Recently.

Hello!

I got the worse cold in years, so things are a bit slow here.
But, I am starting to make some progress on my handmade Christmas gifts. I have so many things to do, the cold just messed up everything. But, here you go.

This is Brenda's Frozen blanket. It is one of the top items on her Christmas wish list.
Got the fleece at Joann, with coupons, of course. She is going to love it!
Now I need to work on the Frozen pajamas and the other gifts.

Earlier this month I started to stitch "The Pumpkin Cottage", but lost interest. Suddenly, I don't like the colors I picked, I don't now... it is now is a WIP. We will see...next Fall  I may like it again :)

 

Another blanket. This one I made for a friend's baby. Cute little dalmatian puppies fabric.

 

And here is Brenda as Anne of Green Gables at our Church's Halloween party with her Grandpa.
I made her costume, and the the hat with braids Grandpa got for her last year when he went to Prince Edward Island. Super cool, don't you think? She loved being Anne. We have the DVD series, and soon we are going to read the books.
Hopefully I will get better soon and life can be back to normal.
Anyways, just a little post to register the  stuff I made recently.

Have a good week!

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.

Handmade Christmas Gift #1 and more

Hello!
I am starting working on several new projects. Some are Christmas gifts. So far I finished one.

This is the half way picture. And following, the finished scarf.

It is very simple pattern, since my knitting  skills are a little rusted.

It will be a Christmas gift  for my Mother-in-law. I love this shade of blue and hope she likes it too.

Now the projects I need to finish.

This will be one of the popular rainbow pencil rolls that are all over the net. I will use denim for the pocket and exterior.
Brenda will get it for Christmas. I will post the finished pencil roll when I finish.

And here are the 7" squares for a Christmas rag quilt. The back will be red flannel, and the top red corduroy  and the Christmas paper dolls fabric.

I also started a new crochet basket, this time using t-shirt yarn. But I run out of t-shirts and the basket will have to wait.
I have some other projects that will be finished soon.

Now, some new treats I got recently.

A friend gave me this beautiful Moda Jelly roll. It is from the Hometown collection. It is the first time a have a jelly roll and I am trilled. It is a quite pricey little thing, really a treat because I only buy fabric by the yard at Joann using a coupon. I never buy pre cut fabrics and  rarely buy fabric at other places.  I don't have many choices around here.
I am still deciding what to do with this beauty.

I was crazy for this magazine. The new Just Cross Stitch Magazine Sept/Oct.  My husband stopped by a Joann super store on his way from work to get me one. The two Joann's near by don't carry Just Cross Stitch.

And look what I got in the mail today. The Christmas Ornaments Special Issue and the new Halloween book. They are beautiful. I ordered about  two weeks ago!  Silver Needle was very busy.
As you can see, I have enough to keep me busy for a while.
Thanks for stopping by!

Ana Paula.

Laura Ingalls Wilder doll

Hello!
Hope all of you had a great Christmas and New Year celebration.
We stayed home for Christmas and after opening the gifts Santa left, we went to Grandma's here in town to open more presents. For New Year's we went to San Diego.
Anyways, here is the last handmade gift I made this Christmas.
Brenda told me that she wanted a Laura doll.
I am a Laura fan. I read all her books in Portuguese in Brazil when I was a little girl.
Brenda has been getting the My First Little Books for Christmas and birthdays since she was three, and  just loves them.
So, I decided to make her Laura doll. After looking around a lot, that's what I came up with.
It was quite a challenge for me. My eyes are not the same they used to be.
I had never stitched over one thread. But, here she is.

Yes, she has no shoes. The pattern I used had no shoes. I could not find a pattern that fits her. Still working on it.
The cross stitch patterns for the doll's face is from Cross Stitch and Country Crafts March / April 1987.
The magazine only offers the cross stitch pattern. I used a pattern I got at Joann's for the doll's body and head..

The apron and bonnet pattern are from another source. The fabric for the dress is from Lakehouse Dry Goods.
I think her face is beautiful. I am very happy with the whole project. It was a work of love. I love Laura , and making this doll for Brenda was such a pleasure. My sweetie deserves it.

She was waiting Brenda under the tree on Christmas morning sitting on a little chair I got at Salvation Army.
My Christmas morning pictures did not came out very good. Many blurry ones.

This one is from Christmas Eve. Brenda loves dolls. She also wanted the Disney's Rapunzel doll. Santa took care of it.

Tonight I got this picture of Brenda on her Christmas Pjs.

Now, I can't wait to starting reading the "real" Laura books with my cutie. It will be so much fun!
Thanks for reading my blog.

More Handmade Gifts and Christmas Decor

Hi! This is a huge picture heavy post!
Christmas is almost here and I am still finishing some gifts.
I made these bags for my nieces.

They are " In Cahoots" from Quilts and more  winter 2010.
You can find the free pattern at the "All people quilt"  website  here .
I made them on the girls favorite colors. Each one is also getting a gift card and a Barbie dress that I have to make yet. Just a simple velvet black dress and a crochet wrap made from furry yarn (Fun Fur leftovers).  They are ages 9 and 11 and had Barbie clothes on their wish lists.
Now some Christmas decor.
We live in a small two bedrooms apartment, what means not lots of space. But we do the best we can with what we have.
The Tree. This is the first year we have a big one. I need to make more cross stitch ornaments. This is a serious new year's resolution.

Some of my favorite ornaments.

One of my  crochet snowflakes from e-bay. I just love them.

Our first Christmas together from Boyd's Bears and our first Christmas as a family from Hallmark

One of my Bearington bears ornaments. The little tired Santa I got many years ago in Brazil, my homeland. One of my favorites.

This little fireplace ornament is very precious to me, also from Brazil from many years ago.

This is from the same batch from Brazil. I got them at Mesbla, a store that closed several years ago.

This is ginger, from Bearington bears. I also have her brother, cookie.

A school bus ornament to celebrate the first year Brenda takes the bus to school.
We also have annual picture ornaments of Brenda. A fun way to document her growth.
Now some other Christmas decorations.

Bearington bears carolers. So sweet!

Cross stitch Santa bell pull. I made this but I don't know who is the designer.

I made this when I still lived in Brazil.

I got this Precious Moments "May your Christmas be decorated"  cross stitch on e-bay.
The Gloria & Pat  website has this and many more free cross stitch patterns .  Just click on the pictures.

Part of my bookcase and my Boyd's bear nativity.

From San Francisco Music Box.

Snow globe from Hallmark.

I love this house.

My darling gingerbread doll.

Sleigh ride plate from Royal Albert. Another e-bay find.

Redwork Baby Jesus ornament.

My girl's room.

Redwork wall hanging. Pattern from the  Gooseberry Patch Christmas Book number 4. I made this about 6 years ago.

 Cross Stitch Christmas pillow. I got the finished cross stitch on e-bay and made it into a pillow.

I made the cross stitch in Brazil. It is a Santa alphabet that you can find at Patterns online
Later I turned it into a pillow. Feliz Natal is Merry Christmas in Portuguese, my native language.

Last picture. Brenda's Christmas stocking. This cross stitch design is from  the Cherished Teddies for the holidays book. She has the matching resin ornament.
Hope you enjoyed  my long post.
I wish you all a Very Merry Christmas.

Ana Paula