Smurf-in Hoodies

 When I took my five-year-old grandson shopping for fabric to make him a fleece jacket, he choose a color that I'll simply refer to as "Smurf Blue." I tried to talk him into another color, but he wouldn't budge. This is what he really, really wanted.  I let him carry the fabric to the lady to cut it and you should have seen the huge smile on his face. He really loved this color!  He was in heaven smiling all the way to the front of the store to have the cashier ring up his fabric. 

Not only did he get to pick the color himself, but he also wanted to help me make his jacket. I had to get pretty creative coming up with jobs for him to do. I cut the fabric out and let him be in charge of pulling out the pins and putting them into my owl pin cushion.  I also let him help with the foot petal, which was his favorite part. Here's a photo he snapped of himself helping with the foot petal:

Oh this boy is so funny!  He actually got really good at knowing when to stop the sewing.

We didn't just stop with his jacket, we made one for his cousin too, and then another one for his five-month-old little brother.  If I recall the Smurfs cartoon, there were always more than one working and playing together.  So, here's another "1980's Cartoon Inspired" piece for Project Run and Play season 10. 

Enjoy these three cute grandsons of mine in their lovable, goofy, adventerous Smurfs inspired hoodies. xoxo Grandma

Linked to: 2 Crochet Hooks, Project Run and Play, Lou Lou girls, Nap-time Creations

This Outfit Takes the Cake

Name your favorite 1980's cartoon!  Ready, go! I bet you all have your favorite. Do I remember 1980's cartoons?  You bet I do!  Although I didn't watch as many Saturday morning cartoons as my children did, I still admit I watched a few as I fixed breakfast.  My favorites were the Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake.  

Project Run and Play just launched Season 10. The first week's theme is "1980's cartoon inspired." So, here's what I created with Strawberry Shortcake in mind.  Using Strawberry Shortcake's friend Raspberry Torte as inspiration, I sewed a pink and raspberry floral skirt onto a white knit bodice. Since all the characters from this cartoon had stripped leggings this outfit needed some too.

To make those leggings, I refashioned some pink and white stripped leggings by removing a solid pink band and inserting stretch lace into the bottom of the leggings. To top off the look, I used THIS free pattern to make a coordinating floral baseball hat with bright pink and white accents. If you recall, Strawberry Shortcake and her friends always wore hats but I wanted a hat that was more contemporary instead of a 1700's night cap or a visor style from the 1980's.

Yup, I guess you could say this outfit takes the cake! At least this three-year-old liked all the pink...YEA!    xoxo Grandma
Linked to: Nap-time Creations, Lou Lou Girls, Project Run and Play

Blog Hop - Why I Blog and Create

I was recently asked by Gina from Gina's Craft Corner to participate in a blog hop and answer a few questions about my blog. On Saturday my house will be brimming full of my family with the arrival of three more grandchildren.  So let's get to it before things get too busy over here!

Question #1:  What am I working on?
Geesh... what am I not working on?! Let me just share a few of my favorites. On Saturday night I finished a Halloween costume for my oldest granddaughter.  I let her pick out what costume she wanted me to make because she is a very opinionated girl.  When I finished her costume (which was quite challenging because there isn't a pattern on the market for her request), she said, "Grandmother, I still want a Tinkerbell costume too!"  Oh my. Just one costume at a time, please!  I still have three more costumes to make. Thankfully, three of my grandchildren are still babies, so they  need a costume this year.  Did you hear me cheer?  Though, costumes really are my all time favorite thing to create.

I'm also working on outfits for Season 10 of Project Run and Play, and another easy refashion for a baby girl with a tutorial I'll show you soon.  

On Wednesday, I finished six different Christmas tags for a class I was asked to teach to a bunch of women at my church coming up in October.

About a month ago, I cut out several snowmen to sew, they haven't moved since I cut them out.  I'm not in the mood to think about winter just yet.  I'm giving myself another month to sew these because these snowmen will be part of my yearly donation to The Festival of Trees.  Here's a glimpse of the pattern I'm using:

Question #2:  How my work differs from others in my genre? 
Ha ha, do I have a genre?  Well, yes, I do, as a matter of fact. Are there any other grandmothers out there whose children & grandchildren all live far, far away that sew and craft for them and then blog about their experiences?  If so, please let me know because you'll have my empathy. 

Question #3:  Why do I write/create what I do?
I've always been the creative type, even when I was a kid. Now I'm enjoying being a creative grandmother.  I'm lucky because I have eight darling grandchildren.  I feel a little unlucky because they all live so far away.  I create "stuff" for them because it helps me feel like I'm doing something for my family and staying close in some small way. And of course, I visit them to hand deliver their gifts whenever possible.

Why do I write? My daughters encouraged me to share my creations on a blog. They all have blogs they follow and told me my creations would rival the ones they see online. I'm not so sure about that, but I've been having fun sharing what I make anyway. Its more fun to share!  

Question #4:  How does my creative process work?
If I'm making something for my daughters, I simply look at the things they have pinned on Pinterest.  I copy those ideas onto paper & print a copy so I have something to reference as I'm working on my creation.  I'll often sketch out my ideas too - which is where all that art training I got in college comes in handy.

If I sew for my oldest granddaughter, I'm learning it's smart to get her opinion because it'll save me from being disappointed that she won't wear what I've made for her - don't you just love opinionated three year olds?

If any of you who are reading this have other questions, just let me know by commenting below. I'm happy to answer almost anything at all! 

Now it is my turn to ask a talented blogger/artist to answer the same questions. So, here we go. 
Catherine from cathgrace, is an over the top talented woman in so many areas.  I am constantly amazed with her sewing and crafting skills.

Never Throw Away an Old Wallet! Doll Purse & Shoes Tutorial & Free Pattern

Ever heard the old adage, "Waste not, want not!" My mom used to say that to me all the time. And it stuck. In the case of this doll purse and shoes, never throw away an old wallet even if it's looking worn. After I purchased a new wallet and emptied my old wallet out, I looked at the fabric and decided that it was only the edges that were worn so why not use the other parts to make a doll purse and coordinating shoes?  Waste not, want not! 

I'll admit that my first attempt at sewing this idea failed.  The shoes were too small for my doll and the purse turned out okay, but was kind of boring looking.

Another thing my mother always taught me was to "try, try again."  So, try I did. For round two, I purchased another faux leather wallet (though any type fabric may work if you'd like to go for a different look) for $1.50 from a thrift store and finally, I created a winning combination. So, here's how my second attempt turned out...

To get started, you'll first need to cut up the wallet.  

• With sharp scissors, cut the wallet apart as close to the seams as possible.
• Put a size 14 needle into your sewing machine.
• Using a scrap of your "faux" leather, test the needle on the leather to make sure this is the right size for your leather.
• Download the free doll shoe and doll purse pattern HERE.
  
  
  

HOW TO MAKE THE DOLL PURSE:

 

1. Sew together the front seam.
2. Sew together the bottom of the purse.
3. Clip curves.
4. Sew the buckle onto the center of the purse.

5.  Reinforce the buckle by stitching from both sides.

6.  Sew on the handles on both sides of the bag.

HOW TO MAKE DOLL SHOES:

Trace your doll's foot.  Make the tracing 1/8" larger than the doll's foot for your pattern.

1. Cut out cardboard; 2 each for the lining
2. Cut from the faux leather; 1 each for soles

To assemble:

1. Sew the back seam together using 1/4" seam.  
2. Sew the strap together.
3. Trim seam.
4. Glue cardboard to soles.
5. Glue body of the shoe to the soles.
6. Sew small buttons onto the outside of the shoe.

Have fun cutting up your old wallets!  I'm wondering if this pattern would be cute if I cut it out of felt. Hum, maybe that will be my next project.  For one more way to use an old wallet, see this POST.  - xoxo Grandma

Shared at:  The Dedicated House, Nap-time Creations, Creating My Way to Success, as seen on Sewing Gossip  

Baby Clothes Refashioned into Doll Clothes

Just in case you didn't see this post that I created for Mother's Niche on turning baby clothes into doll clothes, today I'm going to show you how to easy this is to do.  These two outfits designed for American Girl Dolls are super easy projects for beginner sewers.   

To get started, you'll need the following: scissors, seam ripper, thread, a needle or a sewing machine and baby clothes of course.

Project #1: Baby Top into a Doll Dress
Skill Level:  Beginner
Need: A baby shirt preferably one with a 1/2+" casing along the neck

I decided the appliqued apple was too large for this doll so I unpicked it.  Hopefully you won't need to do that step.  Follow the steps below:

Project #2:  Onesie into a Doll Sized Maxi
Skill Level:  Intermediate  
Need:  Infant onesie - I used a 6 month size  

Follow the steps below:

To finish up this maxi dress, add about 1 1/2" velcro to both sides of the back opening (see step 7). Turn your dress right side out, iron it and be amazed that you can make doll clothes without spending hardly anything.

Are you ready to dig out those old baby clothes and see what you can do with them?
Trust me, your child will think you are amazing when you tell them that their "new" doll clothes were once things they wore.  - xoxo Grandma

Summer Ramblings and a Few Newborn Creations

It's been a busy summer for me.  I attended a family reunion at the beach and a few weeks later a big high school reunion.  Last week, my husband and I celebrated our 37th anniversary at my favorite coastal town in Oregon.  On top of all these activities, instead of wishing my family was close by, they've actually been around a lot this summer! As you can imagine, I've been enjoying a house full of children and grandchildren.  

At the end of July, my son's family was able to leave the country were they've been living in tumultuous circumstances and come back to America.  This weekend, my son finally gets to leave that same country and join his family here too!  What a relief it will be to this mother's heart to have his family all together in the U.S.  

Later this week, I'll kiss my youngest daughter and her family goodbye as they journey over 6,000 miles away to live for a few years, while her husband serves in the military.  I keep wondering if my children and grandchildren couldn't try living a little closer to us?  Of course, I realize that their oversea adventures just means I have some pretty cool, new places to visit.

This past month, I discovered a few fun things.  One discovery was a great little fabric store in Cannon Beach, Oregon called Center Diamond Fabric, where I purchased two wonderful batik seahorse fabrics - I'm excited to show you these fabrics and make something adorable for my granddaughters out of them!

I also learned that the clothes I make for my newborn grandbabies look much cuter on the babies than on my clothes line.  I know, not much of a surprise with that discovery. Remember the lace shoes I embellished for my granddaughter to coordinate with the lace dress I refashioned?  Here are a few photos of that outfit on this baby girl.  Isn't she precious?

Stay tuned, because I just finished another sundress and the cutest outfit for this little one, so she'll have plenty of outfits to wear in her new home overseas.  I'll post those photos later when my house gets a little quieter!    - xoxo Grandma

Refashioning 3 Jeans + 2 Sweatshirts = Slow Progress

When refashioning three pairs of jeans, two sweatshirts and leftover fabric from a men's dress shirt, this jacket took about FIVE weeks of off-again, on-again sewing....not the TWO hours that the pattern stated! To be fair to this pattern, if I hadn't cut-up so many articles of clothing, it surely would have taken me less time... at least that's what I'm thinking.  Next time, maybe I'll find a large cozy blanket to refashion into a jacket. But I'll wait until next fall.  I'm certainly not in the mood to sew this pattern again. At least not for a while.  

I think my problem stemmed from starting this jacket when it was still chilly but once the weather hit the mid 60's, I kind of lost interest in finishing it.  Now that it's finally done, I love how it looks. But it wasn't the right size for me, so I gave it to one of my sweet sisters-in-law. Doesn't it look great on her?

I love how the gray fabrics look with her hair. Alas, I will not be attempting such a pretty blazer for quite some time. But if you're feeling up to the challenge, let me know if you need some tips. In the meantime, this photo sums up how I'm feeling about making this: 

- xoxo Grandma

Shared:  Creating My Way to Success