I bought the big gold letters spelling "NOEL" from Hobby Lobby last year for my mantel. I am not a fan of gold. I wanted to change them last year, but time got away from me. It is nice and warm today...perfect for spray painting gold things green, right?
I got a package in the mail the other day addressed to my boys Boston and Trevor and myself. It was their birthdays so getting a package wasn't too much of a surprise. But, included along with their birthday gifts from my parents was a surprise for me. It was a Fall table runner that my mom had made. I needed and wanted one of these. I have a few tables around here that need some dressing up...real bad. So, it is perfect. It might have even inspired me to make one of my own for Christmas. We'll see...
For those who wanted the pattern for the turkey applique...follow this link!
My friend had a last minute idea to applique some turkeys on t-shirts for our girls. She saw this one over here and thought we could do something similar. In a few hours we had two shirts appliqued - one for her girl and one for mine. I forget how much I like to sew since it seems like I rarely get a chance to do it anymore. I drew out the pattern for this applique since there wasn't one on the blog we got the idea from. Let me know if you want me to post it!
I am going to be hosting a Cyber Monday deal over at Mique's Thirty Days Blog on Monday, November 28th. If you go to her blog that day, there will be a special deal in my etsy shop for Thirty Day readers. I am excited because I have been working hard on many new charms - in all new shapes and sizes for the shop! Check my facebook page (AmazingMaeCharms)soon for a preview.
I love making fabric or paper banners/pennants for holiday decorating. A few years ago I made this spooky banner to add to my Halloween decorations. This year, I made another banner. It's a Boo banner that I stenciled on using freezer paper stencils and fabric paint. Quick and easy.
I made a few of these soldered Halloween ornaments last year for my Halloween tree and decided to make a few more this year. I sent one home with my mom and gave the other to my friend. I still have the two from last year, so the Halloween tree is happy and full.
I completed another baby quilt this week. I used vintage fabrics and a vintage sheet along with fabric from Girlfriends by Jennifer Paganelli and yellow seersucker. I added 2 inch white strips in between the printed fabrics to help the colors pop. This quilt is for a baby girl, but I think the mom of this little girl is more of a cool mama instead of a girly mama, so I kept the colors cool and not too bright. I just stitched in the ditch for the quilting which made long horizontal quilting stitches. My mom was here visiting so I had her help me (or completely do) the binding. She likes and uses the binding tutorial from Heather Bailey's blog and as I watched her, it seemed much easier than the way I bound the last quilt.
Halloween is just around the corner and I have updated the may and mae etsy shop with some new Halloween charms as well as a few other fun ones - Alice in Wonderland, the Union Jack, and a few Christmas too.
Mallory wanted me to make her a lil' cutie pouch from Noodlehead's tutorial and she uses it quite a bit as a little purse to carry her change when we go out. So, we thought it would be the perfect gift for her friend when she got invited to her birthday party. We added a special soldered charm necklace for her and put it inside the pouch. Instead of a key ring, we added a large lobster claw on the side so that she can hook it on her belt loop when she takes it out with her.
Awhile ago I got a special bag in the mail from Dana at Made. It has become a perfect bag to carry in my purse where I can keep a treat or two just for me. Although, the fish on the front give it away and the kids know they can probably find some Swedish Fish in there. I thought that my friends might need some candy stash bags of their own. I made a few and this is the one I made for my friend Sara who has recently moved to Philly. I filled it with her favorites - dark chocolate. The pouch is just big enough to carry a few treats, but not too big that you might overload it (but, is that really a bad thing?). I followed the directions from Noodleheads's blog for the Lil Cutie Pouch and just beefed up the size a bit and eliminated the tab for the key ring. Oh, and I lined the outside fabric with fusible medium weight lining just to make sure it can hold all that chocolate and not collapse!
I am a bit sad that I don't have a photo of it right out of the dryer. You see...I finished it the day of the baby shower and took photos before I put it in the washer and dryer. I didn't get it pulled out until a few minutes before I left for the shower that night. I loved how it looked after it had been dried. The front fabrics are a combination of fabric left from outfits I have made for Mallory in the past. The back is fabric I picked up at a flea market a few years ago. I like that color combination is made up of both new and vintage fabric. I got so excited that I finally overcame my fear of binding a quilt that I have already started a new one for another little baby girl!
I have a friend who was able to go to Paris with her husband for their 17th anniversary. For some reason (I think she lost her camera while there) she doesn't have any photos from the trip. So, for her birthday, I made her this charm necklace as a reminder of her special vacation.
