FIVE!? Disbelief and a Doll

Jemima turned 5 last week! It feels so different having two kids at school who really aren't little little anymore, and Jemima turning 5 really emphasized this for me!

Wow, where did those 5 years go? *sniff* Happy Belated Birthday Jems, love from Mummy's Blog.

We celebrated the day with a toilet paper birthday crown I made the night before, after reading this blog post, and the giving of a handmade-by-me doll (and various other presents including a bike-with-purple-streamers!)

I love this pattern. This is the fourth one I have made! Now, each of my children have their own doll. Caleb's is the zombie variation, and Eve got hers for Christmas 2010. (Eve has a somewhat perplexing fluff addiction, so in recent times she has picked holes in the doll's bonnet to eat the wool felt fibres.... so her doll needs a new, thicker wool felt bonnet.)

Jemima requested that her doll have hair rather than a bonnet, so I used instructions from one of the dolls in the Wee Wonderfuls book.

I really love making dolls. And I really love giving them to my children.

The cutest zombie evah!

The computer game/app/whatever of the year around these parts was Plants vs Zombies. I don't usually get into games, but this one is a lot of fun. It isn't too hard which helps!

I had planned to make Caleb a zombie doll for his birthday but never got around to it, but I have done it in time for Christmas. I made him using the Folkster Wee Wonderfuls pattern, and purchased the wool felt from Winterwood (which is deliciously thick and awesome- none of this happening here!)

I used some scrappy off cuts of one of Chris' old work shirts left over from Jemima's skirt for Mr Zombie's shirt. I guess I could have made him more like the zombies on the game, but I really wanted to use stuff I already had- my stash is a *little* out of control.

I love this pattern, and it really isn't too hard to make. If course with no hair or bonnet, he didn't take as long as Eve's doll.

Hello, world.

Little Eve with her "Fleur" from OneGirlDesignwks Christmas 2010

Pink baby oobee

Yellow baby oobee

Hi Blog!

I'm sorry to say it has been a while since I posted! As punishment, blogger won't allow me to move my images around. Fair enough.

I did some sewing (weeks ago now)!

I won the baby oobee pattern in a giveaway from Leslie (One girl blog) and bought 2 of her baby oobee fabric packs to make my girls one each. Eve will get hers when she turns O N E in a few weeks, and Jemima will have to wait until Christmas. Jemima can't wait! (My latest strategy is to make the kids their gifts in front of them so that they will be excited to get their handmade-by-me items: a little manipulative, I know. ha!)

I love Leslie's work a lot. I bought Eve a "fleur" for Christmas last year and the fabrics are so cute. And her quilts inspired the quilt I made for Eve before she was born.

Jemima's is the pink one- yes that is a liberty quilt, lucky oobee!

Eve is likely to just chew on hers for a while, but oobee will be sure to get awesome cuddles as well.

Thanks Leslie for the freebie! I will make heaps of these in the future I am sure!

Mermaiden

When I discovered Hillary Lang of Wee Wonderfuls was writing a book, I knew that one day it would be mine. I send my husband a wish list on email with links in November each year and he uses my list to buy me my Christmas and birthday presents. It's not necessarily romantic, but it works! And thus, the book of softies was mine in January.

The kids and I looked through the book, and Jemima fell in love with "Mermaiden". I was going to make her a Folkster for her birthday, but she was so taken with this little lady, I changed my mind. This is actually the second one I made, but didn't take a picture of the first before it became my niece's birthday present. I don't often make the same thing more than once, but I actually enjoyed the process more second time around.

I decided to give her the mermaiden the day before her birthday, so that I could enjoy her enjoying her handmade present without the distraction of all the other stuff she was soon to acquire. Selfish? She wasn't complaining! She looooved mermaiden more than anything I have ever made for her, and took her around town with her all day. I really enjoyed that! So much so, that in future I think I will give the kids anything I have made for them on their birthday eve. Why not?

The birthday party preparations have been in full swing for a few days now. I wouldn't say it was a complicated party: in fact I have tried to keep it as simple as possible, but it's still a lot of work! I would be happier if it would stop raining, but it is a rainbow party (yep, I am making one of these), so the rain is in theme I guess!

Happy Girls

I hope you had a lovely Christmas! We had a really great day, which kind of turned into 3 days in a row of family get togethers. Great loot was given and gotten and hanging out with family is always rewarding.

Plus, I finished Eve's doll sitting around at my mum and dad's chatting and stitching. I am so happy with this one. This time I embroidered her face before attaching the hat which made it easier to hide the knots. I bought the felt for this doll from Winterwood which I think made all the difference. The wool felt for the original doll (which I bought off ebay) was just too thin and stretched when I stuffed the head.

As for the original doll, she will be going to a new home today. I hope she will be loved! I have a soft spot for her now!

ETA: The pattern I used to make this doll was from this pattern. I had a few questions about construction and Hillary Lang herself was very helpful!

Some Christmas makey

Dolly pre nose job.

Despite being eternally distracted by my computer, I have managed a fair bit of craft for Christmas in the last few weeks.

Another cute little owl from my trusty Craft Schmaft pattern. (I think I have made about 6 of these now!)

Some applique singlets and fabric hair bows from this tutorial. I have never done the applique singlet thing before. It is such a quick gratifying little project, I think I will have to do some more soon!

A flower crown which I sort of made up as I went along. (Jemima is sporting a lovely black eye that she got by walking into a pole on the school run last week. Nice.)

And I repaired Evie's doll, but now I am more than half way through its replacement, and I don't know which one to keep. The nose job turned out not too bad. I will have to give her to someone very special if she doesn't stay with us. I have a little girl in mind.

Only a couple of days to go!

Folkster

My Christmas crafting is well underway. I have made a couple of gifts that will have to wait until after Christmas to be blogged, but this one is for Evie, and advanced though I am sure she is, at 3 months old, she is not yet reading my blog.

This is Elise the Folkster doll from the incredible Hillary Lang. The pattern is perfect, though my execution has my trademark wonkiness! Still, she has been a very satisfying little project, and I finally found a use for the beautiful black and white trim I won in Angie's giveaway many moons ago. You may notice the lack of a nose which is supposed to be a double french knot. I am too afraid of ruining her little face. I already embroidered her mouth too tightly which looks a bit weird.

I feel like I haven't conquered this pattern yet- especially in regards to the hair. I couldn't quite understand the directions and just had a crack at it, but after a discussion with my mum I think I know now how to do it. And as for the seams on her face, well.... Fortunately Jemima has eyes on this dolly and has declared she wants one too. I think I might make her one for her birthday though, as I think she has plenty of Christmas presents coming her way already.

More quick fix craft

We are having a nice day here today. The kind of day I thought all my days would be like when I used to think about what life would be like as a stay at home mum. A day at home with the kids, popping out for a walk (the sunshine is lovely today), some kid crafting, some housework. And a quiet early afternoon with a young one fast asleep in bed from the morning's exertions and an older young one having a "rest" in his room. Sure, the kids have been pretty fighty this morning, but having nowhere to be and nothing pressing to do makes me a much more relaxed mummy to deal with these things.

Alas not everyday turns out this well. There are obligations, appointments, grocery shopping etc etc that can stress up our time, but I enjoy these days when they come about.

Above is Jemima's baby doll called "Ella". She doesn't get a lot of use, Jem prefers Kia the cat, so I felt like Ella might appreciate some attention from me. She now has a new outfit that is reashioned from one of Jemima's old suits. Size 000 *sigh*.

I saw this tute and slapped my forehead in a "why didn't I think of that?" moment and whipped it up last night (apart from all the hemming- I did one sleeve by machine = disaster, and a leg by hand = looks good but time consuming.)

And completely unrelated- here is a bowl from the op shop near my doctor's that I bought for 20c. I love it!

No crochet=dollies

I have been missing my crochet this long weekend whilst on myself imposed crochet leave. So I have been making these gals. They are of course using the black apple doll pattern (again! again! again! yep I love these little dolls.). I was yet again inspired by Miss Emily's new doll recently. (She is such an artist, and I am such a copy cat). Those little stubby legs make for cute toddleresque dollies- and the legs are easier to turn inside out and stuff too. I decided to machine sew the seam closed this time as unfortunately my hand sewing sux. So it doesn't look as finished off, but it will be much more durable.

 3 of these little pretties are gifts for some little friends I know, and the white blonde one will probably live with us. The kids have already named her Princess.

This little girl was the inspiration for the white blonde dolly, and here she is posing with her softie love. This is Kea, named thus because she is from Ikea. She loves this animal ever so much, and will hold her tenderly and say "Kea's my baby", and the next thing you know, she is flying across the room. Oh so tenderly, of course.

Crafty Rejects

Here are a couple of projects that didn't turn out quite as I had hoped. 

The blonde doll was the reject when I wanted to make my own pattern, and the brunette was my first attempt at an offering for Handmade Help. 

I'm not completely sure what to do with them. They reside on my craft shelves, waiting for a job to do. I feel a bit sorry for them actually. Poor unfulfilled toys.

Thanks to those who hoped for a better week for me- I am already feeling better. I just needed to re-prioritise some things and have long talks to a few people who understand (many thanks for their listening ears too!) I am a talker, you know. 

Lulu helps out

I can't stop thinking about the people caught up in the devastating bushfires. As a small contribution I am going to list this Lulu Pillow Doll on ebay and donate the proceeds to the red cross bushfire appeal, as many other craft bloggers are doing.

I made one of these before, but this one is a scanned image printed onto printable fabric. She is backed with light pink fine wale corduroy so she is quite soft. Obviously Lulu 2 is a rectangle shape which is a little different to Lulu 1. Jemima loves her Lulu 1 and is quite put out that I won't let her cuddle Lulu 2, so she has some cuddly doll cred right there.

I have never listed anything on ebay before, but I am determined to figure it out. (Or get Chris to do it for me, probably tonight.) Look out for her on the Handmade Helps Out blog. I will get her posted there when I have worked out this listing thing.

UPDATED: I was just visiting the handmade helps out blog and discovered that ebay is no longer an option as apparently each of us would need certification of some sort to show that we were approved for this fundraising option. To spare them the paperwork, crafters will be selling their items in online shops. I don't have one, so I am off to figure something out. Stay tuned.

The family and an imaginary cat

The easiest way to ensure that I keep a new years resolution is to make it one I really really want to do. 

Tick! (And it is still January.)

The making of dolly

I am trying to be clever and make my own dolly. I want something that is nice and plump to cuddle, but is pretty and cute at the same time. 

I am finding it a lot harder than I thought. 

This is Dolly 2. Dolly 1 has been abandoned. Call me critical, but she really looked like a stumpy legged, long-necked alien. Poor Dolly 1. Dolly 2 is not perfect, but she is OK, so she got finished. She has borrowed a little dress from another doll, while I contemplate if she is OK enough for a dress of her own. Which sounds very mean, actually, when you see it in black and white. Of course I should make her a dress of her own. Poor Dolly 2. I am not a compassionate doll maker. Clearly.

Jemima has adopted her, and fell asleep last night giving her a cuddle. Aw.

I wouldn't call myself a perfectionist really, but when it comes to crafting, I very much am. Funny these little discoveries one makes about oneself. 

Deja Vu

Yet another Black Apple Doll, a little twin of this miss for a craft swap with Sarah Jo. She will most likely be posted tomorrow if I can move at all in this heat! Dolly must be roasting in her jacket and scarf!

Meet Louis

I've been working on this little guy for the last couple of days and have called him Loius, mainly because I plan to make him into a "pillow doll" like Lulu. I was inspired by a photo in an old "Shop Til You Drop for Kids" magazine I came across in one of my clean ups in the last couple of weeks. I experimented with some different mediums with Louis, using indian ink and water colours. I think I like the look better than the acrylic paint I used for Lulu. I think he is cute, but I was a little too lazy with his hands... 

I also tried out that printable fabric for Lulu 2nd gen and so far so good. I wonder how "child proof" this fabric is? Does anyone have any experience with "Matilda's Own" inkjet printable paper?

And do you know those moments when you are suddenly aware that the house is a little too quiet. I had one of those today. 

Don't you love how the body art echos the quilting on the quilt she is sitting upon? (Quilt made by a friend's mother for Caleb.) The pen marks came off her skin very easily, but the white bed sheet will bear Jem's mark for a loooong time.

New additions

How much am I loving being home with my little Singer? A lot!

I painted the doll on holidays and then did the old t-shirt transfer thing and made a little "pillow doll". We have named her Lulu, though she was looking like she might be called "Tim Tom" for a while there. I have ordered some printable fabric from ebay so that I can make a Lulu pillow doll that is nice and soft. I think I will paint some more babies and make a few different ones.

And yes, I have had some little "red chocolate by bek" tags made up. They just make stuff look like I am all professional and so on. Love them. I did not sew them onto the chair covers though... Our chair pads were looking pretty gross, and I have been wanting to replace them for ages, but then I remembered that I could sew, and decided to make removable covers for them with this lovely sunny retro type fabric from an op shop excursion. I have made 4, and have run out of cotton. So back to the shops tomorrow for some supplies.

Another Black Apple miss

This blondie is for a little blondie for Christmas. 

I am so thankful for the black apple doll pattern. This is the 4th one I have made and I really love making them. I keep giving them away, so we don't have any living with us yet. Maybe next year.

I am thinking of designing my own doll. A doll I can really call my own. Something more baby like and cuddly. I have made some sketches but I am trying to resist really getting started on pattern making until after Christmas. So many presents still to make!

Black Apple Doll

I've made a few of these dollies, but this little lass is my favourite. I made her this weekend for a 4 year old girl in my mum's group as a christmas present. I struggled over dolly's face for a while and got a bit grumpy when she looked like a creepy Bratz doll, but I think she turned out quite sweet in the end. I hope she is well received. I might throw in a bright pink (child sized) tutu to cover my bases as the gift recipient is partial to bright pink. I was especially inspired by this post in making this dolly. Emily's dolls have an x-factor that I could never hope to replicate. 

Making doll clothes is so much more fun than I ever thought it would be. A fun way to practice "designing clothes" without using much fabric, and the way it fits is not all that critical. Try it. You'll like it.