Friday Foto - Ernest the Owl (6 of 52)

Ernest the Owl

I took this with my phone which doesn't take the best pictures, but I thought it was so cool so it's my photo of the week. We went to Savill Gardens for lunch the other day and it was hanging in the entry way. What a clever way to use old boxes, right?

Felt Valentine Tutorial

This is how to make felt valentine pouches, pockets, purses, wallets, envelopes...I'm not exactly sure what to call them, but they're what my daughter is using to package her Valentine's Day gifts for her friends. I was originally going to use ziploc bags, but have been feeling so crafty lately now that I'm creating things on a regular basis. So, I made these.

What you need: Felt, Sticky Felt, Cutting Tool, Ruler, Velcro, Pencil, Heart Shape...

...and of course something to sew on or with. 

First, cut felt to desired size. My original piece was 9"x12" so I cut it in half in order to make two pouches from one felt piece.

 Next, fold 1/3 of each piece up. Since mine was 9 inches, I folded up 3 inches. Pin in place.

 Then sew in place. I used about a 1/4" seam. My thread was red and didn't show in the pictures so I added stitch lines to the pic.

 Next, place your velcro where you want it and stitch (or iron on) in place. I took the easy, lazy way and ironed mine on since that's the kind I had in my stash.

Then I used heart-shaped cookie cutters in two sizes to trace hearts on the back of the adhesive felt.

 Next, stick the hearts on the front of the pouch...and they're done! I let my little girl help with this part so that she could feel a part of making her Valentines.

 We filled them with our heart shaped crayons.

These were so easy and quick to make and I'm pleased with the result. Definitely much cuter than ziploc bags!

If you make one, I'd love to see it. Feel free to share a picture on my flickr group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/sunnystitching/

B Boy Hat

It snowed last night! I've been waiting for snow for weeks now. It's been cold enough, but didn't happen until last night. It's so brightening and beautiful. We bundled up and spent the morning building snowmen, tossing snowballs, following footprints, and making snow angels. Of course, after getting wet and cold outside, we had to warm up with some hot cocoa. Yum. Our neighbours hosted and had some amazing Aztec chocolate. Sweet, spicy, delicious. 

While we were sipping our cocoas, their little boy took a liking to my little boy's winter hat, which led his mom to mention that they needed to get him a new one. I immediately offered to make him one...seconds later realised I had no idea how. I do this occasionally...get in a bit over my head. However, it's a good challenge and gave me something to do (other than cleaning the house or folding laundry) during the kids' afternoon rest time. I hoped to find a tutorial on one of the great blogs that I follow and it didn't take long to find this one from Made by Rae. 

It was so easy to make and I finished it in one sitting, almost before my little boy woke up from his nap, which is a small miracle. I used some brown fleece left from CW's spider costume so I couldn't make it two-toned. I think it still turned out really cute!

   

I added the letter B on top and the ends of the ties to help distinguish it from my little boy's hat which is also brown, fleece, and ear-flapped with a pom pom on top. Hopefully, the boys' teachers will appreciate this! EV was my model because I wanted to get pics before I gave it away. I bribed her with chocolate. This hat is definitely a new favourite. I have some other fleece left from the ladybug,  dragonfly, and bee. This could just possibly be the perfect way to use it up!

Friday Foto - Balloon (5 of 52)

C had a transparent yellow balloon. 

I took a break from basketball pictures for yearbook and snapped some of C through the yellow balloon.