Head over to the The Mom Reviews! She is having an awesome giveaway for this cute Melissa and Doug Grocery/Lemonade Stand. So darn cute!! check-out The Mom Reviews and this awesome giveaway. Giveaway ends Dec. 18th so hurry!!

So i have figured out, that i am not much of a blogger. That lack of blogging however, does not signify a lack of doing. Infact, i've been incredibly busy lately with way too many projects going on all at once. i have a difficult time finishing half the stuff that i have started, and then jump into new projects as soon as the desire hits me.

i have been crocheting up a storm, hats and dish clothes and lots of play food. i have also begun to play with felt. i have a huge stash of scrap felt that has been gifted to me over the years. i have never really done much with it. i have been completely enamored with all of the beautiful felt play food that can be found on Etsy, and finally decided to try my hand an making some for Sage. i always handmade many of the kids Yule gifts, and this year is no different.

i have been wanting to make a picnic set for a while now, and just finally got around to making it. The basket is about 5 1/2 x 7 inches, perfect size for a preschooler.

Our picnic consists of a stackable sandwich, carrots, banana, chocolate milk, chips, chocolate chip cookies and a cherry pie and picnic cloth. The cookies were crocheted, everything else is made from felt.

i used all scrap materials that i had at home, and purchased nothing for this set, except the basket. So, some of my colors are a bit off. :)

If you do a search online you can find all kinds of free tutorials on making different felt foods, and etsy has some amazing felt food patterns for sale. i used several different sites/pictures as inspiration for my set, and did the best i could with the colors i had. This sandwich has two slices of whole wheat bread, a slice of cheddar cheese, a slice of swiss cheese, a tomato, and a green leaf lettuce and spinach leaf. Since this is a veggie sandwich, i would still like to add some avocado slices. :)


The cherry pie, is scented with just a hint of black cherry perfume oil. :) i used this tutorial for the pie and this one for the banana. Although, i never really follow them exactly. :)

It was a real trick getting this made without Sage actually seeing it!! This will be a great gift for her, hand made from scrap fabric and lots of love.

i have really been slacking on doing any kind of crafting lately. With summer here, most time is spent outside playing in the dirt. The gardens become my creative outlet, and all craft projects are put aside until the cooler temperatures of fall bring us back inside.

i recently saw a picture of a little girl wearing a tutu and knew immediately that i had to make one! So i bought some tulle and then search online for a quick tutorial on how to make one.
i came across this one. Which is quick, easy and fabulous!!

i recently pulled out my beads for another attempt at beading. Of course, i still haven't finished the dolls...and i have a whole bin full of half finished crocheted projects that still need finished. :) hee hee. i'm trying though, trying to find the inspiration..trying to get back some of my craft passion... trying to find the time while juggling everything else in my life.

As much as i would love to jump right into making a big gorgeous necklace, i knew i needed to start small. So i dug out a few of my old basic patterns. i have always loved to make these 'pearl divers'. Basic doesn't mean easy, these little ladies caused me a lot of frustration as i tried to counted out beads, and then recounted beads...lol. Still, it was a good way to try to get back into it.



Not a bad start, three girls done. One necklace finished, one almost finished..and one to go.

i couldn't seem to get a non-blurry picture, so this will have to do. She is holding a fresh water pearl and the necklace is created using a combination of seed beads and fresh water pearls in a variety of shapes and sizes.

The first of the three, i think it came out alright. The colors are difficult to see, and i'm going to have to figure out a different way to get photos. The freshwater pearls used are lavender and teal. i hope to have these finished soon, and posted for sale. Eventually... :)

We have been so busy outside in the garden these past few weeks that i have gotten very little crafting done. i'm slowly finishing up the rag dolls i have started, and also began a new Waldorf doll, as well as a mini needle felted alpaca. :)
So although i keep promising to start creating some new things for my website, i admit i would much rather make stuff for my kids.

Now that the weather has turned warm, i realized Sage was in a need of a few new clothes for the spring. i let her pick out her own fabric at the store, and she picked out this really fun pink panther print!
She loves the pink panther, but doesn't love getting her picture taken. :)


i stitched her up these basic capri's with a matching head band.



i did a 'Melody inspired' applique' on this brown shirt when i thought i was getting a pair of the See Kai Run Melody shoes. (i won a free pair of See Kai Run shoes, but the ones i wanted the 'melody' pair were out of stock! Doh!)

i dug into my fabric stash to find the prints for this super cute set. Patchy skorts and yellow calico top with butterfly applique and another matching headband.

i love seeing little girls in skirts, but Sage is a really active kid and doesn't do skirts well. So instead i made her skorts. They have overlapping panels with shorts underneath. So they are easy run, jump and climb in and she doesn't trip over them.

i love making kid clothes, and will be stitching up more and sharing photos soon!

i finally finished the custum Chinese Waldorf style doll i have been working on for the past few weeks. i am quite pleased with how she turned out, and decided she really needed a little panda toy to go with her. This is only the second Waldorf style doll i have attempted. i was able to over come a few of the challenges i faced with my first doll, but then a couple of unexpected challenges pop up as well. All in all, i am very happy with her.

Although it's not very visable in the picture, i used a little pink mica powder on her cheeks. Her hair and slippers are made from wool yarn, and the panda is made using cotton and wool.

i am also in the process of finishing these three rag dolls that i have been working on.

This is Sarafina. She has on a basic pink/purple strip dress with spring butterflies. She will entually have bloomer and perhaps a bandana or tote bag.

This is Calliope. Her hair is a mixture of rainbow wool blend, and a deep midnight blue underneath. She is wearing a plain purple tunic, and a tie-dyed wrap skirt. She is still waiting on accessories, jewelry and more.
The last doll is still without a name, although she will get one as i finish the details of her and her personality becomes more obvious. i truly love adding all the little details that give these dolls their personalities. The rag dolls will be for sale soon on my website and/or Etsy.