Yay! I got a project done!

It's not my Hoffman Challenge doll, but that's up next...

This one is the guitar case I started at Christmas for my grandson. I bought him a small scale student guitar, but it didn't come with a case. So I started one in December, made of pre-quilted fabric. It was basically done except for the binding, handle, and pocket.

 

It certainly took a bit longer to complete today than I'd anticipated. I had to figure out where the handles needed to go so the whole thing would be balanced as it was carried.  

 

And then as an afterthought, I added the pocket for picks and spare strings. 

 

I'm so glad to be done with this. Now I need to make the case for my granddaughter's accordion!

Valentine Project with the Grandkids

I decided I needed to create a Valentine project to make with the grandkids this year. I frequently have sleepless nights (insomnia sucks!), and used the awake time to imagine a child-appropriate project.

This is what I came up with:

My prep-work was minimal. I cut heart shapes from chipboard and painted them with gesso so they'd take the red paint better and maintain a brighter color.

 

I bought a jigsaw puzzle several years ago (cheap at a second hand store) for the purpose of crafting. If I were to do this again, I'd paint the puzzle pieces with gesso, too. I didn't, and it took several coats of craft-grade acrylic paint to get decent coverage (which taxed the attention span of the kids).

 

 

They enjoyed painting their hearts red.

 

 

 

Fingers are great for applying tacky glue, but only for those who don't mind messy fingers. Ivan had no qualms, but Fiona wasn't a fan and delegated the glue application - then she had no problem placing the puzzle pieces on the heart.

 

Felt Ornies

I've been slow to post a photo of some felt ornaments made during a November evening of crafting, food & wine. It's been fun collecting ideas, and the folder is getting mighty thick!

I made the snowman, but still haven't finished the red and orange heart yet. Friend Julie made the little deer (her dog ate the one she painstakingly made a couple years ago).

 

Danielle made the Mickey ornament.

Gretchen worked on an owl, but left before I could get it photographed.

 

Julie had her eyes closed in the one photo I took of her and she'd probably kill me if I posted it here, so I won't.

 

I'm looking forward to next year, and have collected even more ideas and examples of felt ornies. 

Tooth Pillow (for grandson Ivan)

Ivan lost another tooth today - his third. So I decided to sew some sort of pillow with a pocket to make it easier for the Tooth Fairy to find that tooth. I wanted to make it from wool felt and wanted it to be big enough - but not too big. This is my first attempt, and it's about 4x4 inches in size. I think it will work just fine.

The little pocket was sewn to the tooth back by machine, as was the ribbon. The pink wool cheeks were sewn by hand. The front was sewn to the back by hand.

 

Naturally I'll be making one for Fiona in a couple years - maybe one with blue eyes.

Turkey Project

I've been trying to come up with some sort of easy, unique, inexpensive Thanksgiving project to do with my grandson (he's 5). I didn't want to buy anything, but use what I had on hand. This is what I came up with. He had a great time cutting and gluing. I cut the felt pieces, just because my sewing scissors are very sharp and the pieces are small. I also cut the body, and the layers were pretty thick (cereal box and corrugated paper). He cut the feathers on the turkey on the left (I drew the shape, he cut along the lines.)

These turkeys are actually a little bit more 3-D that they appear in the first photo. Magnet strips on the back allow these birds to be affixed to the refrigerator.

I'm trying to decide if we need to add wings of some sort.

 

And here he is on the refrigerator:

 

 Supplies:

Cereal box cardboard

Plastic spoon

Felt (for eyes, beak, waddle, legs)

Construction paper

Corrugated paper

Elmer's glue

Magnet strips

Tan acrylic craft paint