A Handmade (by Children) Birthday

For our Little Gal’s recent birthday, we wanted to resist the temptation of giving her plastic toys that only cost $1 (bargain!) but that break within 24 hours (not a bargain!).  Still, we needed to give Little Gal something for her birthday. So we turned to the overflowing craft drawers/bins/shelves/baskets/closets and found things to make.  Everyone [...]

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Embroidery Inspiration

These sites have inspired me to pick up my embroidery hoop, needle and thread again:
Dacia Ray embroidered a beautiful bird quilt.  It is such an inspiring project!  Go here to see the Martha Stewart article that inspired Dacia Ray. 
These line drawings of Wildflowers can easily be used as embroidery patterns, provided by the Umatilla National Forest.
And….something [...]

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Project: Turning a Child’s Art into Embroidery

Our children like to embroider their drawings.  The following one was created by our eldest daughter (the ballerina) when she was 8 years old.  Just this week she created another one (she is now 10).  Below is a tutorial that originally posted in 2006 on my homeschool blog:
STEP ONE: 
First, draw a picture.  This is a picture [...]

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A Hand-Tied, Hand-Embroidered Blanket Project

 Our little guy, who turned eight this month, had his first sleepover last weekend.  To help him feel at home (and remember his mama) while he was away, I made him a cozy blanket.  He chose the fabric:

Perfect.  A cowboy print for my tiny Cowboy. 
I sewed the fabric print onto a chenille fabric backing, with batting in [...]

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Softies at the Beach

Softies at the Beach, Lori Seaborg, 12/31/2007
I’ve been making softies (little stuffed critters) lately. They are just too much fun! I love the speed of each project, and how simple they are, yet so very very cute.  Don’t you just want to squish them?
On my recent birthday (no, I’m not saying how old I turned, but I’ll [...]

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