A little elephant for a little baby

So, my sister is having a baby. Beyond being really excited about being an aunt and having a tiny baby to love, I am even as excited to make it gazillions of things.

A side view of my little elephant

This project was step #1 of getting this child to think I'm awesome. I was perusing the internet, thinking of things I could make for this child and stumbled upon this adorable creature; http://bit.ly/wZ0w7R

I loved using two different fabric patterns! 

There was no real pattern to make this so I made one myself! I've never made a pattern before but let me just say that it's really complicated but really awesome. I enjoyed drawing the lines, making seam allowances and trying to envision the final product. So I used two different fleece patterns from Field's and really just kind of winged it. Though I wish my final result looked more akin to the picture, I'm pretty pleased with the results!

A purse to love

I LOVE to make purses. This purse I made a couple months ago is one that only took me a few hours and I'm so so happy with the results. I bought this fabric at Field's, along with the button and lace trim and the strap I assimilated from another purse. It was such a simple project, and that's what I love about making purses! My only regret is that I wish I would have made a pocket for better organization.....like maybe that would actually make me more organized.

A skirt to wear when the weather makes up it's mind

One should never walk into a fabric store without expecting to leave with some sort of fabric that was on sale, adorable but totally should not have been purchased.
But I did just that and my friend Shelly said it would be a delightful looking skirt, so it was destined to be. However I've never actually just made a skirt without some premeditated plan, or pattern so I was apprehensive as to how in the world I would pull this off.
First step; how big should I make it?! A good place to start is to measure your waist and hip size, and then try not to panic when you realize that it's maybe bigger than you thought.
Second step; how long should it be?! This depends on what you want your "WOW" factor to be, I made mine to be about 20" long so not-so-WOW but not boring plus I'm taller than your average Jane...so use your own discretion.
Third step; what the heck should I do next?! Good question, start by attaching your front side to your back side, with right sides of the fabric together. Ask yourself whether or not you want your elastic seen; if not, a little pocket (this is not the right term for this) will need to be created to cover the elastic (CAUTION: be sure to make this pocket wider than the elastic, otherwise you're in for a frustrating project). Next the elastic can be inserted into the pocket using a giant safety pin to push it through and heaps of patience because it is NOT fast.
Fourth Step; it still doesn't look quite right.... Yeah, you're probably right. The skirt will need to be hemmed as a final step and then you're done! Yay!

My super floral skirt! 

Want to Sit? You Should Embroider Something....

Seriously. Embroidering something allows you ample amounts of sitting time. I think I watched something around 10 episodes of Psych while making this project. Also, a tip for those who think they may want to embroider something; just buy a darn hoop, swallow your pride of thinking you can do it without one because you can't. I, being incredibly poor and stingy didn't want to pay the $2.99 but after ten minutes of pure frustration I just couldn't take it anymore. So a word to the wise...just do it.

For my sister's wedding back in October I decided to go the sentimental route and embroider their names and their wedding date onto a pillowcase I sewed together.

Teddy Bear & Baby Blanket

I made these two projects in the fall and have been obsessed with making stuffed animals ever since. I found the teddy bear pattern here : http://bit.ly/zAwhqC , and think it's really great. The pattern uses a recycled sweater and I found mine at my local Goodwill. It adds just so much more character to the bear!

The baby blanket I kind of just whipped up. I used some average cotton fabric I found at Hobby Lobby with little bumble bees on it (super cute, right?) and a shiny fabric I can't remember the name of for the border. I also inserted some natural cotton batting to give the blanket a little cushion.