Happy New year!

Hi! Hope everybody had a wonderful Christmas! Happy New year to all!
I really need to catch up on my blogging.
Anyways, here are some stuff I made recently.

I used a wood box I found at Salvation Army to make this Christmas Shadow Box (?)

I really don't know how to call this. But we love it!

It was fun to plan and gather all the little things for the scenes. I had some help from Brenda. Some stuff I had on hand, but we had to go "hunt" for just the right things to complete the little scenes.

I made the pompom snowman and the little girl on red felt cape. The mini water globe is there because I could not find a perfect size Santa. Brenda's picture is from about four years ago, and is one of my favorites.

I wanted to make this shadow box  for some time now, and I am so happy I finally did! I jumped for joy when I found just the perfect little box at Salvation Army!

Another project I wanted to make for a couple of years and was able to acomplish this year.

I had this space by The Christmas tree. I have Cross Stitch Samples I hang on this spot for all three other seasons, but not winter :(   Every year I had to hang something too small for the space.
This Christmas I decided to take action and do something about it.

I got the Holly Jolly Christmas fabric from Robert Kaufman and fussy cuted the pictures.The red and green fabrics are batik.

I just love the fabrics and was a good experience "designing" this wall hanging.

I am not a quilter (yet), and I  don't have a fancy sewing machine.  It is always a bit challenging for me to piece and machine quilt even a small simple quilt like this one.

But I keep trying, and I am very happy with the results.

Now, I have just the right thing on the wall!

And since I am talking about fished projects, we also finished the white shelf behind the tree.
It is a hand me down that was looking so bad! Even with the bad weather, (we are having frost many nights now) we finished painting  just in time to hang the stockings. That's our pretend fireplace mantel :)
I still have to make burlap boxes to fit on the shelves to hide my old VHS movies. That's a never ending list of projects!
I have some more things to show, but I really need to do laundry.
Have a wonderful day!
Ana Paula.

I Am Back!

Almost six months! I really needed a break, but it was way too long!
Life has being very busy, so many things going on, but blogging is like a therapy and I need that.

Let's see, where I start? Ok, my last post was in April (!!!!!!!!)
Ok, I have to take a look at my pictures. We had some serious computer problems, and I don't have access to all my pictures at this moment. Anyways, I will try to post what I have.

In June, we had a great event! Miss Brenda turned 8!
In our religion, eight is a very important birthday, because is when kids can choose to be baptized.
So, here is my sweetie.

She was baptized by her Dad on her birthday, a beautiful sunny day here in Southern California.
We are very proud of her, for her faith and desire to follow Jesus Christ. I can't believe that my baby is growing that fast and turning into a lovely  little lady.
I will post some more pictures of the baptism on a next post, but for now, that's it.
I am helping a friend to get ready for some craft shows doing some sewing for her. Lots to finish today!

Have a great weekend!

Ana Paula.


 

Moda Hometown Table Runner and Pillows

Hello!
Several months ago a friend gave me a "jelly roll", one of those cool rolls of precut stripes from Moda Fabrics. They come on so many pretty prints! Mine was Hometown by Sweetwater.
I finally decided what to do  with it.  Well, part of it, the blue and red stripes.  It's amazing how a jelly roll goes a long way.
First, I made a table runner using this tutorial again.  I followed the same tutorial to make a Christmas table runner last year. Now I have a table runner to use all year long on my Ikea trunk that I use as a coffee table.  I store extra blankets inside.

This was back in March.  Since I had more fabric in the same colorway, I made some pillows.

A brick pattern.

 A rail fence

I don't know how to call this one. The ric-rac pillow? It is smaller, the fabric was almost gone!

I made the backs using a red Moda Marbles fabric I had at home.

Sorry about the bad picture. This was before making the last pillow.
I am not a quilter, I don't have a fancy sewing machine, but I really enjoyed making these projects! Now I still have yellow and grey fabric from the same jelly roll, and I am thinking... soon I will post new stuff.
I have been lazy on my blogging. 

So, let me share some pretty Spring flowers I got recently.

My husband gave me red roses.

I have been cutting lavender from the garden.

Smells so pretty!

And a dear friend of mine gave me these beauties!
Anyways, I am working on a couple of new things, and hope to post again soon.

Have a great day !

Ana Paula.

Easter, Hope, and Neurofibromatosis

Hello! I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter.
We had a great time,  just the three of us. The Easter bunny made his visit and gave Brenda candies, coins, a book, and nail polish.
My decor was nearly the same from last year,with very little changes.
While Spring cleaning,  I found an old Easter basket that I made for Brenda when she was almost two years old.
The cute flower buttons were recycled from one of Brenda's baby dresses. I added a bit of felt, ric-rac,  and hand embroidery.  Here are some pictures I took just before Easter.

And here is baby Brenda with the basket in 2006. She got a delicious Brazilian Easter egg that year :)  How I miss the Easter eggs from my country!

I just love these pictures! But that was a difficult Spring for our family.  It was when Brenda broke her leg for the first time.  She had just started walking some months before.  We knew very little about her condition that time,  and were even accused of child abuse.  It was very scary.
Anyways, back to this year.  We had a delicious Easter dinner and appetizers.
Brenda and Daddy made Deviled Egg Chicks from Family Fun and Pinterest .
The green plate was my birthday gift, a set of two.

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For dessert I made Brazilian  Pineapple and Cream . So good!

Springtime is so special.  A time of growth and renewal, and Easter is a time of hope and faith for Christians.  We are very different from the Spring of 2006.
It has been quite a ride for us since we found out about Brenda's Neurofibromatosis.
We are more mature now, and have learned a lot about NF.  Our faith has improved over the years.  We have found great doctors and some amazing families that live with NF like us.  It give us hope and support.  Brenda is doing very well.  She is a sweet little girl that has great faith in Jesus Christ, and we are very proud of her.

We are on Spring break this week with lots to do. We are doing Spring cleaning, gardening, a play date,  and going to the movies to see Mirror, Mirror.  I have some projects to share,  but it will be for another post.
Have a wonderful day!

Ana Paula.

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.