Observer Fabric Tour: Handmade Home

I'm so thrilled to be a part of April Rhodes Observer Fabric tour, and to get my hands on her newest fabric line Observer with Art Gallery Fabrics. I'm not sure what it is - be it the color palette or the prints - that make me want to associate leather, raw wood and plush yarns with April's fabrics, but it's always there. It all just plays so nicely with one another. Don't you agree?

I was so slammed for the past month and sat staring at this stack of fabric she sent me, itching to get started on this project, but couldn't. I had a few ideas in mind but couldn't settle on just one thing. I asked my family which they would choose and the vote was unanimous.

A couple of years ago I made my cousin and his beautiful bride a nautical themed table runner and place setting complete with cloth napkins. As I shipped it off, my daughters voiced their disappointment that we didn't have our own set of "mommy made" place mats. I knew someday I was going to have to make some - but when it's "just for me sewing", I don't get to do much of it. Finally the chance presented itself and I couldn't say no.

After finding some huge leather hides at a local discount retailer shop (for only $25 each - total steal!) I knew I had to work leather into the blocks with these observer prints.

 I didn't want to have blocks with multiple sections that would require a bulky leather seam so I kept them simple. The fabric inspired me to start with either a square or a triangle in each block. Each 7" block started with the leather piece and work outward with April's fabrics, so the leather remains flat. 

  I After trimming the blocks, I then added the log cabin style border The place mats are 12" x 17" finished, which is a fairly standard size for placemats.

I only quilted the top layer with batting and decided to quilt each one with a simple echo style fmq pattern based on the leather piece in the middle. I then added the backing, right sides together, turned them right sides out and top stitched the edges.

Eventually I will make some cloth napkins to go with them and some leather napkin rings.

I had so much fun making these and each of my family members are thrilled beyond belief that I don't have to mail these babies out to someone to be photographed or to keep. These will so happily live on our wood table for a very long time. 

I love April's sweet demeanor and her fabrics exude the same feelings. I hope you will all take the opportunity to place with it too and see what it inspires you to make. Thanks so much for stopping by and reading all about these placemats as inspired by April's Observer Fabrics. For more information or to find out where you can get some of April's new fabric, visit April's website (link above) or the Art Gallery Fabrics site. Holly from @hollygetsquilty is the next blogger up on the tour tomorrow.

Disclaimer: I received fabric from Art Gallery Fabrics to design these placemats with. Opinions are my own, and there are no affiliate links. Thank you.

Would you like some Sprinkles with that?

Hi everyone - Dana Willard's (MADE Everyday) Boardwalk Delight Fabrics party is ramping up, and today I'm sharing my sweet little Sprinkles doll with you.

Sprinkles was always the first one in line when the ice cream truck rolled around the corner. With a quarter in her hand (I know ice cream off a truck is not $0.25 anymore - but let's go back to that sweet time when it was) she excitedly picked the Cherry Chip ice cream pop covered in chocolate and got a free warm pretzel. Everyday she tried to pick a different ice cream and liked them all, but if you asked her, she would say "anything with sprinkles on top, is my favorite".
She was always decked out in her favorite playtime summer dress (the one with sprinkles all over it of course) her comfy Mary Jane's and little bows around her perfect pig tails. After her ice cream was all gone, she skipped and played hopscotch along the boardwalk until the sun was setting and it was time to go in for dinner.

As soon as I saw Boardwalk Delight, I knew I had to make a little doll that was obsessed with Ice Cream. Sprinkles is that little girl.

I was so grateful Dana asked me to make something for her Boardwalk Delight Lookbook. I loved the fun and playful vibe of Dana's new fabric line and love that it brought back awesome memories of running down the beaches and boardwalks of Long Island, N.Y. when I was younger. It reminded me of the days when guys walked past us carrying coolers filled with novelty ice cream and sodas. (Do they even do that anymore?) It's the perfect fabric to remind you that when you see the ice cream truck coming through your neighborhood for the first and last time of the summer...you make memories and buy ridiculously expensive ice cream, because our children will be grown way too soon and summer will be over before you know it.

How I made the Sprinkles Doll:
I have posted some other tutorials (Queen Phoebe Bunny Doll, Bubbles) that can show you how to make the dress on her. I used my Kid Giddy Sizzix Doll die for her head, body and hair. I used my Kid Giddy Sizzix Fox die for her arms and legs, as well as her socks and mary jane's.

Her collar and bloomers (which you can't fully see in the pic above), were made using my new Kid Giddy Sizzix Doll Clothes die. The quick belly button is a must when making your new dolls with clothes.

I love sharing a new tip, trick or tutorial with each new doll that I make...so if you want to make some little socks for your dolls, you can do so using my quick and easy tutorial below. This tutorial will work with the doll leg/foot piece as well as the fox leg/foot piece as shown in the pics.
Step 1: Begin by cutting out 4 leg/foot pieces. Trim to desired length. If you want to add a cute edge, do so after cutting the sock pieces from the leg/foot areas on the die so you can be sure they are all the same length. I decided to add a little cotton lace detail on the top edge of the socks (because that is how socks always were back in the day). You can do a rolled hem instead or use some other fabric trim. If you do, be sure that you put the right sides together, so the seam of the hem or edge is showing as shown below.
Step 2: Stitch the top 1" - 1 1/2" on the sides. (TIP: I used a thinner old t-shirt material for these socks and used a serger. If you are using quilters cotton, a simple straight stitch will be sufficient.)

Step 3: Turn the sock right side out (according to the top area) and sew the remaining raw edge of the sock from one side around the toe, and up to the other side.

Step 4: Turn the sock right side out again (according to the bottom portion of the sock).

Step 5: Fold down the top edge of the sock. All seam allowances are hidden and the socks go on and off easily. Perfect for kids learning fine motor skills.

Her Mary Jane shoes were made using the same leg/foot piece on the Fox die as were the legs and socks, just cut, trimmed and top stitched accordingly. If you are making a doll using the doll legs, you can do the same thing, just eye ball it as I have done, and add a little strap and button.

For more information or to find out where you can get some of Dana's new fabric, visit Dana's website (link above) or the Art Gallery Fabrics site. For more information on my Kid Giddy dies with Sizzix, please visit Sizzix.com where you can find projects and videos to help you make your own special soft toys.

Thanks so much for stopping by and reading all about Sprinkles as inspired by Boardwalk Delight.

Disclaimer: I received fabric from Art Gallery Fabrics to design this doll with. Opinions are my own, and there are no affiliate links. Thank you.

A Little Pixie Doll

I'm so excited to share what I made using Tasha Noel's newest fabric line Pixie Noel with Riley Blake fabrics for Tasha's Pixie Noel blog tour. This fabric is adorable and so great for multiple holiday sewing projects with all the various colors and prints. I always enjoy getting the fabric and being inspired by it. This line was no different. I couldn't resist making my own "Pixie", since gnomes and I go way back.

This little girl, Crystal, is always cold and loves to quilt with her hat on. Right now she's debating which fussy cut center to use in her next block.

Crystal has made 6 blocks already and thinks this one with the little birdie singing in the center is her favorite so far. She has so much fun making these blocks and using all the cute pics in the centers.

Crystal also enjoys making her own clothes. Here's her newest outfit...a button down collared shirt, with a skirt and striped bloomers. When she's warm, she scrunches the bloomers up a little like capris, and when she's really cold, she will tuck them into her boots.
Her reversible hat and fuzzy mittens and boots, keep her cozy warm in the studio. Luckily they match all of her outfits, so she only has to make more when she wears them out. Maybe tomorrow she will make herself a little dress...or some more fussy cut blocks?
Thanks so much for visiting and sharing in my Pixie Noel creations and thanks so much to Tasha and Riley Blake Fabrics for asking me to be a part of your Pixie Noel tour!

The doll, and all of the doll clothes were made using my Kid Giddy Sizzix: Doll and Doll Clothes die cuts. The boots and mittens were made using my Doll die as well, with a scant seam allowance. Please visit the link above for more info and to see multiple videos to help you create your own one of a kind dolls and stuffies. Want to come sew dolls with me? I'll be teaching all of my tips and tricks for doll/fox making and doll clothes sewing this August at the Kid Giddy Missouri Star Quilt Co Retreat. It's not too late to sign up and come have fun sewing with me!

Disclaimer: I received fabric from Riley Blake Fabrics to use for this project. Opinions are my own and there are no affiliate links. Thank you.

Queen Phoebe of Wonderland

I'm so excited to be helping Melissa from Polka Dot Chair kick off her Wonderland Fabric blog hop with my newest creation, Queen Phoebe (Queen of the Wonderland Bunnies).

Queen Phoebe clearly loves stripes and lots of ruffles. She is a good leader in her colony and loves taking care of all the bunnies by reading to them and giving them lots of cuddles. Queen Phoebe's staff is the same one her mum used and passed down to her, as is her golden crown. She reminds all of her bunnies to be good examples and to always be kind, helpful and of course, cuddly.

My family has had a bit of a bunny obsession since Christmas as we have been searching for a Netherland Dwarf for our daughters. Combine that with the fact that Easter is around the corner, the obvious choice was to make a bunny. I got this "Queen of the Bunny" idea from the laurel wreaths on Melissa's bunnies and thought if she was the Queen, what would she look like. This bunny is made using a mix of my Sizzix dies - the Kid Giddy Doll (head and body), and the Kid Giddy Fox (arms and legs), adding simple bunny ears and a quick muzzle.

A lot of people have asked me how I made the Little House on the Prairie dolls from quilt market, so I decided to make this little bunny dress the same way and write up a little tutorial (photos are coming) for you. The Bubbles dress tutorial is similar but does not lift up as this one does, as it is part of the body. This Queen Phoebe dress acts like a separate piece, except at the neck where it stays attached. Neither dress is completely removable and only requires an extra piece of of fabric for the skirt (cut from a fat quarter).

To make this dress, you'll need two body pieces cut from the bunny fabric, and two body pieces cut from the dress fabric. You'll also need your rectangle panel cut for the skirt (please refer to the Bubbles tutorial for additional photos, details and the sleeves to help make your bunny/doll with a dress). 

Step 1: Cut the dress fabric body pieces across the midsection so it's 2 1/2" from top to bottom, and sew the dress body pieces right sides together. 

Step 2: Cut a piece of fabric that is 5" wide x 19 1/2" long. ((Please note: If you have a ruffler foot, PLEASE test a length of 19 1/2" fabric to see how long it is once ruffled before continuing)). Gather the top edge of the skirt panel, and pin it to the dress fabric body pieces. Sew the ends together (which will be in the center back of the doll) and sew the whole skirt to the bottom edge of the body pieces. Trim seam allowance accordingly.

Step 3: Sew Bunny fabric body pieces together. Turn the dress right side out and place the bunny fabric body piece wrong side out over the dress. Sew a zigzag stitch around the top neck edge to connect the two layers making it easier to sew the body to the head. The above pic is what it will look like after turned right side out. The bunny body is underneath.

Step 4: Adding a Collar: if you want to add a collar, you need to attach a collar to the neck edge on the head before attaching the arms to the side edge. Sew a zigzag around the neck edge on the head pieces to keep the arms and collar in place, again, to make it easier to sew the body to the head. It will be very thick and difficult, but baste stitching helps tremendously.

I decided to make her ears have pipe cleaners in them so I could bend them just the right way for her photos. If you want to use pipe cleaners too (also called chenille sticks), sew up your ears and turn them right side out. Bend a pipe cleaner in half and push it up towards the pointed top of the ears, and out to the sides. Using a zipper foot, sew around the inside of the ear to secure the pipe cleaner towards the outer edge of the ears. Using jewelry pliers, roll the very ends of the pipe cleaner and crimp, to prevent the wire spikes from poking anyone or the fabric. Continue sewing the bunny head with the ears in place, being careful as you sew over the wire. If your needle hits the wire, it will break it the wire making the ear flop a little more at the base.

To make the staff, I fussycut one bunny head and a fabric backing. Place them right sides together and sew around the outer edge, leaving the bottom open. Clip and notch around the edge accordingly, and carefully turn right side out. and gently stuff the head. Using a left over piece of ruffled fabric, sew the ends together and cinch it up tight. Sew the opening of the bunny head, to the center of the ruffle. Sew a few strands of matching ribbon to the underneath side of the ruffled fabric and then place a bamboo stick up into the center of the ruffle and into the head.

To make her crown, I used a piece of glittered acrylic felt from National NonWovens as the base and fussy cut a gold bunny from Melissa's fabric. I glue basted it to stay in place, and then stitched around the bunny. I used some gold iron-on 1/8" ribbon (not realizing it was iron-on) and stitched it down all the way around the edge of the crown, top and bottom.

Thanks so much for stopping by and reading all about Queen Phoebe. Thanks to Melissa for inviting me to be a part of her fabric blog hop, and to (Riley Blake Designs) for sending me the beautiful fabrics. If you have any questions about this tutorial, please leave me a comment below so I can answer it for all to see and benefit from as well.

Please sign up for my emails to get info about new patterns, new dies, future sales and other fun stuff. I have yet to send out my first one - but I will soon and will surely include something fun.

The Banner Adventure Swap

I am so excited to be hosting a really awesome Banner Adventure swap with Christopher from The Tattooed Quilter. To give you a little background...I fell in love with April Rhodes fabric a long time ago (didn't we all?) when her Arizona line came out. When she sent me some of her new BOUND fabric from Art Gallery Fabrics to play with, I was so excited and knew exactly what I was going to make. I've had tons of paper piecing pattern ideas kept under wraps since I haven't have any time to work on them. The day that I knew April's fabric was coming, I sketched and drafted the first block. This weekend, I finished sewing up all the pieces for this guy...the Eagle.

After getting her beautiful fabric, one idea led to another. I started emailing April to get this idea off the ground. I knew I would need some help from someone awesome - because swaps are really fun, but lots of work, enter Christopher. YAY! I'm so glad he joined in on the fun. Have you seen his work? It's awesome and tremendously inspiring. I hope I get his banner! lol.

Soon Christoper and I began emailing back and forth, (lots of emailing going on here)! I threw a couple of ideas his way because I didn't want to do another "mini quilt swap". Everyone's been doing mini quilt swaps and a big one is going on right now - so in talking with Christopher, we decided a small wall hanging - banner style - would be best. But that's not all...we decided to add a challenge! (You know - to mix it up a bit, and because anyone that knows me, knows I don't do simple very often.) 

So now that you know the back story...you want in? Want to know what you are getting yourself into? Here's all the official details about the swap....read them carefully before signing up. Then read the sign up form again - before you fill out the form. We want you to be super clear on what this is - and super committed to delivering a banner in the end.

The Official Details for the Bound Banner Adventure Swap  

1) You MUST use April Rhodes fabrics from Art Gallery Fabrics. It can be fabric from any of her lines, but only her lines, and must be pieced or appliqued, and quilted where applicable.
2) Size requirements: This is for a banner - not a mini quilt. It must be a rectangle no larger than 8" x 16". It can be vertical or horizontal.
3) You MUST incorporate one of the following: feathers, yarn, leather, etc. (think April Rhodes).
4) Because it is a banner - it must be able to hang, so it MUST contain a way to hang it. Think driftwood, rod or other cool factor.
5) We have decided to not allow extras. No candy, supplies, etc. with your banner. We feel this will require all participants to focus on the banner itself and really put in their best effort. Not to mention cost of shipping (overseas) can be crazy. Please respect this.

By participating you agree to the following:

1) You MUST post 2 progress photos on IG during the swap. (There will be 2 mandatory times - but extra pics are ok.)
2) You MUST post 1 final photo on IG. PRIOR to shipping. (Make it your best photo - there's a reason for this!)
3) You MUST ship swap packages by November 30th for International, and Dec 7th within the US.
4) We will be using the following hashtags:
#BannerAdventureSwap
#BoundFabricsAdventure
#AprilRhodes
#BoundFabrics
If you'd like your projects seen and shared - please be sure to use these hashtags.
5) Tag @kidgiddy, @the_tattooed_quilter and @aprilrhodes in the comment sections so we can see them. If you don't - we may not see them and only those that follow you will. We want everyone to get to know each other - so please share likes and comments through these hashtags.

This is a three way secret swap - because fun secrets are always the best secrets. You will get a swap partner, and someone else will get you.

If you sign up for this swap, please keep your commitment to deliver as you say you would. No one wants to feel like their partner didn't care enough to send their package. I know life can get busy and hectic, so please keep in touch with us (or your moderator) so we can make sure your partner is not shafted in the end. If you do not communicate appropriately AND do not fulfill your end of the swap, you will be banned from all future swaps (and added to the black list). Communication is key!

Sign ups will be open from September 8th - September 12th (or until we have reached 150 participants) and hope to have partners assigned by the week of September 18th. Swap packages must go out by November 30th for International, and Dec 7th within the US. Please use your best judgement when shipping packages and please consider insurance and tracking!

If you are ready - if you are truly interested (read: committed to honoring your swap, so you are not added to the black list) click on the Google Doc link to fill out the form.... HERE IS THE FORM!

By the way....Don't wait too long to sign up - we are only accepting 150 participants. Swaps can be very time consuming on the hosting side - so we were going to make it 100 - but decided to max it out at 150. We'd love for you to share the word, please feel free to share the top banner or button so everyone can find us for sign ups.

I can't wait to see what everyone makes, and for those of you signing up - keep your eyes and emails open for more fun stuff to come. The really good stuff!

Thanks so much!

Sewing with "Story"

I was so excited that Carrie Bloomston asked me to sew up some fun stuff with her newest fabric line "Story" by Windham Fabrics. Although I've made a few other things - the project and "Story" I wanted to share with you today, is this sweet little mouse I've named Pearl.
What's my story? I love making. I love sewing. Sometimes the smaller I can make something, the better (but I am from Texas so big is never a bad thing). I love living in my imagination and taking the things that I see in my mind or dreams and making them real and tangible. I hope to make a connection between the two, connecting it with life, other people and things around me. Life is crazy, and making things with my hands, is way more fun.

I woke the other morning searching for answers to many questions...as I pondered my week, I thought of Carrie's fabric again, with the moon and the stars, I thought of this little mouse looking out a window and a little bed. So I made it real.

Here's Pearl's story...

Pearl is little in size, but large in heart. She has big dreams of being the First Mouse Astronaut, and loves to look out her window at night before getting into bed. She used to live in a big city, but the street lights were always on and flooded the night sky making it impossible for her to see the stars. Pearl decided that since she wanted to go up in space some day, she would need to see space and learn all about it, so she move up north. She talks to the moon when it's not covered in clouds and tries to reach for it when it's really big. It looks so close, but it's still out of her reach.

It's getting pretty late, so Pearl decides to climb into bed, and invites her little bear to come snuggle for reading time.

Tonight they are reading "New Century Book of Etiquette", because every little mouse and bear should have good manners and know how to behave in all different places, even in space.

Finally Pearl and her bear start to yawn ("He's real" she says, "so he yawns too"), so it must be time to put the book down and go to sleep. Pearl tosses and turns a bit, and counts all the stars when she can't fall asleep very fast. She hopes a shooting star will pass by but hasn't seen one since the last meteor shower. Eventually all the stars fade as Pearl slips into her dreams, soaring into space.

I hope you had fun visiting my blog today. Carrie's amazing Story fabric is so fun and versatile, and if you'd like to win some, visit her Such Designs blog for more info. If you'd like to make a little mouse of your own, you can buy a copy of my book through my Kid Giddy Etsy Shop. I'll even sign it for you. Although I was given this fabric for my own use, my thoughts and opinions are all my own.
Happy sewing and storytelling!