Last Year.

Hello! Last year I made a lot of projects, did many things with my family, but was not able to post everything.
So, today I will try  to post some things, just for record.

The first ones are these fleece blankets. They are for Brenda's bed. Both are reversible.
The blue and white is on her bed right now, and it's very soft. The floral has a green back and it's also very soft. About two  years ago, we got a nice blanket for her bed at the store,but  she suddenly  got watering eyes and a running nose. After a couple of days we figured out that was the blanket. It went to Salvation Army and I made these ones for her. No more allergies.

For Brenda's baptism last June, I made cupcake liners from paper doilies. My friend Wynter made the cupcakes.

For her Baptism I also made the little satin bolero to match her dress. The dress is from Burlington Coat Factory.

For Colorful Clothes Day at school I made Brenda a new dress.

I also made some new hairbands.

As a birthday gift, I turned two of Brenda's cute old dresses onto new dresses for her American Girl doll Felicity. Ooops! Felicity was wearing the pink dress when I took the pictures. The lavender one inside the trunk is her original dress. I also made the thunk. The basket is from Great-grandma's. I used a lovely Laura Ashley fabric for the inside. I can't find pictures of Felicity wearing the new dresses.

I finally made the rainbow pencil roll, also for her birthday.

And a CTR towel for her Baptism using another of her sweet old dresses.

The last handmade gift,  was this set of scripture bag and cover that  I made using a lovely flower fairies fabric. In our religion is a tradition the child get a nice set of scriptures on her Baptism day. Brenda's Grandpa gave hers.

And I did more sewing :)  A cover for a bowl. Great for potlucks!

I worked on a couple of skirts for Brenda.

And for Christmas I made for her this sweet little doll that she named Daisy Rose. Her skirt is from another of Brenda's old dresses. I got the doll pattern on Etsy, and it was fun to make her.

Now, we did many things as a family this last year.

We went to the Children's Tumor Foundation Racing for Research Party On January.

And to the San Diego Walk on Fall.

We also went to the Highland Games, as we do every year. It was fun, they were promoting the movie Brave!

Even living near Disneyland we don't go there often. When we go is a real treat for Brenda.
This time it was amazing. Always is, but somehow things worked better than ever. The characters were just lovely. Such kind sweet people, that take the time to make a child feel special. They do a wonderful job! Oh! I made the top Brenda is wearing at Disneyland!

But, the highlight of the year was the trip to Brazil in August,  to visit my family.

Well. That's a huge post, but I guess I was able to show some of the things we did in 2012. There is a lot more, but I think I am fine now.
I will try very hard to post more often this year.  And to craft more.
Since we still in January, Happy New Year!

Have a wonderful day!
Ana Paula.

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.