Handmade felted doll

Meet our sweet new friend Valarie.  This is one of my handmade favorites this year.  I came across this pattern on Etsy by accident and fell in love!  I have 3 more in production now. 

The pattern also came with a little stuffed toy rabbit for Valarie, a purse, jacket, and shoes.  I made Valarie for Madeline and felt those items would be lost.  I can't wait to finish another one with all the accessories.  The pattern is excellent!  It is well written and very easy.  It would make a great pattern for young girls.  It's all hand sewing and supplies are minimal. 

I made a few mistakes with the eyes.  I used 100% felted wool, found at Hobby Lobby, and it fell apart a little.  Next time I plan to use a wool blend for the eyes.  I was also able to find 100% wool fabric at Joanne's and felt it in the washing machine for the main body which made this project much more affordable than the recommended Etsy store sources for felted wool.  The rest was made out of synthetic felt and it still came out super cute.  I can't wait to get started on more of Gingermelon's sweet dolls. 

Handmade gifts and such.

I feel like it's been forever since I last posted and I was thinking it's because I haven't been doing anything creative.  The past few weeks I have really felt the daily work load of directing a Classical Conversations group, violin lessons twice a week, art classes, and all the other work that comes with keeping up a home and educating little ones.  Most of it has finally come to an end until next year and when I sat down and thought about what I have done creatively over the past few weeks, I realized I have accomplished quite a bit in the midst of our busy schedule.

I need to touch up the walls still.

I changed things up a little in the homeschool room.  I really needed a dry erase board to help me focus on a few key things during the week.  I didn't however want the room to look to much like a classroom so I ended up painting some black Pottery barn frames that I already had with an antique finish and putting maps from Ballard design in them.  I used a sheet of scrapbook paper for the middle one with notes for violin practice.  I also hung the violins to make practicing daily easier.  I like how it turned out.  It's much more functional and still feels like a home instead of a classroom. 

For our Classical Conversations Christmas party, Tony cut wood discs so the students could make Christmas ornaments.  I love having a handy husband!  It was fun and they turned out great. 

We have started renovations on our new family doll house.  I wish it was vintage but it's not.  It is however in need of a huge makeover which is exactly what I was looking for.  We found it on Craigslist and Nate went to work on the electrical problems right away.  This will be a fun project we will enjoy as a family for many months.  I have been wanting to do a dollhouse renovation ever since I first saw my sweet friend Corey's doll house collection.  If you love vintage you should check out her site.  She is absolutely amazing!

 I whipped up a nook cover for a Christmas gift and started painting this vintage chair I found.  It doesn't look like much but I love this chair!  Notice the slats on the bottom for holding books?  I have a special plan in mind for this lovely chair so I'm hoping to finish it up over Christmas break.  The flowers are for a wreath I'm creating for the front porch. 

I hope you are having a wonderful time with your family this Christmas season! 

Little French Dress for sale.

Sorry it has been so long.  My Classical Conversations community doesn't end for the holidays until next week so it has been a busy time preparing for company, violin and art lessons, and school!  Next week we finish up and I'm ready to spend the month of December creating all the things I plan to give as Christmas gifts this year and enjoying time at home with the kids without the pressure of getting school work done. 

The boys have been busy creating decorations for the Holidays.  They made a couple scarecrows for Thanksgiving and started on bird house ornaments with daddy today.  They turned out really cute.  They have a tree in their room this year and I'm a little jealous of how nice it's looking filled with handmade ornaments.  I'll post pics soon........

Yep, that's my Mason.  It took lots of bribery to make this happen but I needed to check my sizing on someone! 

He ended up making the best of it and did a little modeling for me.  They are never going to forgive me for this when they get older!  Nate had to try on a few as well.......hehe....

I've also decided to sell a few French dresses this month.  I need to clear out some fabric to make room for new fabric and I'm raising money for a program to help me make more professional sewing patterns so I can share this super cute pattern I created with everyone.  The sizes I will be selling will be 12months to 6-7.  They will most likely be one of a kind since I'm creating from my stash and all the fabric will be designer quilt fabric.  Nothing from Joanne's or other discount fabric stores.  I will post more soon!  I hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving!

Little Fall Dress

It has been a busy time around here.  Projects, Fall fun, and more projects.  I'm also still working to correct the Little French Dress pattern.  I made Madeline the 3T-4T size out of some of Heather Ross's linen fabric with a light pink vintage lace at the bottom.  I love this fabric but I feel like the dress needs more vintage lace and some pockets.  It is also a little big on her which means my sizing is just about right for this pattern.  

The weather here is amazing.  Warm and breezy one day and cold enough for a fire the next and as much as I love teaching my children and watching their minds and hearts grow with books I know the real lessons come from exploring God's gifts in nature so during this time of year we let God teach. 

Fall

Taken by Mason

We are savoring every moment of this special season of life. 

French inspired sewing patterns

I'm still working to create some French inspired pdf sewing patterns.  This is a design inspired by Citronille.  I don't own any Citronille patterns because of the cost but if I could I would purchase them all!  They are so precious.   



Both of these dresses still need a little reworking but I'm very pleased with the progress so far!  This dress is an extremely easy sew but doesn't look like it is overly handmade which is what I love most about it.  I also know I'm on the right track because I find myself heading to the sewing room daily to whip her up another one.  It has a boutique quality about it but is still playground friendly.

I couldn't resist doing the matchy matchy thing for a visit to the pumpkin patch.  My boys love when mommy makes them clothes and I know someday that will not be the case so I'm enjoying it while I can.  The shirts are raglan tees made from Figgy Patterns and I did the design using wax paper stencils and a bleach pen. 

What do you think of the design so far?

Falling leaves.

catching leaves

This moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor, and remember.  Inspired by soule mama.