Stuffed Owl

When ever I have time I love to make things for my friends or family with little girls. Since I have two boys I never get to use 'girl' colors! And I really like pink!

Owls have been trendy for a while now and they are so easy - and cute! I made this owl as a gift for my friend's daughter Ava. I used scraps from my sewing box and hand stitched the whole thing with embroidery thread then stuffed it full with cotton. Simple and inexpensive!

Vintage Potholder Remake

My Great Grandma Hall was fantastic at sewing and embroidery. She made this potholder and eventually passed it onto my mom. My mom still uses it and will likely never part with it. Since it is literally falling apart (and dirty) I decided to copy the pattern and make a new one for my mom's birthday.

It was very enjoyable to take something vintage and give it a fresh look. I was happy to make it in honor of my great grandmother.

Quilted Bird House and Toy Bird Rattles

When a beautiful little baby girl Lily was born and her mom (my cousin) decorated her room all in birds I decided to make this quilted bird house with a few bird rattle toys to go along with it as a baby gift.

I used scrap fabric, a few pieces of felt and a lot of thread to sew this creation. This is a combination of machine sewing, hand sewing and embroidery. I worked on it each night for about 2 1⁄2 hours and it took me about 7 days. I had fun taking pictures of it in the newly fallen snow before shipping it off to sunny Florida.

You will need the following items to construct the birdhouse:
- Scrap pieces of patterned cotton fabric – if you are buying fabric you will need no more than 1⁄4 yard of each pattern.
- 4 or 5 sheets of felt
- 4 bundles of thread
- Scrap batting – if you are purchasing the batting you will need very little – about 1/3 yard to be safe.
- Sharp scissors
- Sewing needles
- Sewing machine – it could be done all by hand but would take longer to do.
- An embroidery book if you don’t know the stitches by heart.
- A pattern of pieces you need to sew the birdhouse and birds.
- 4 bells – if you want the birds to be rattles when completed.

I originally posted this on Instructables so if you are interested in the steps to make a bird house like this one here is the link:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Quilted-Bird-House-with-Toy-Bird-Rattles/

Bed Bug Bean Bags

No matter how cold it is my two little boys, ages 2 and 4, absolutely refuse to wear socks around the house. Every time I feel their feet they are literally like ice.

When I put them to bed they often complain that their toes are cold but still don't want to wear socks. So, in an attempt to keep their little tootsies warm, and have a great excuse to sit around and embroider, I made these bed bug heat packs to throw under their covers at night.

I warm them up in the microwave for about 1 1/2 minutes and they stay warm for about an hour - as long as they stay covered. The boys love them because they get to have bugs in their beds! And I love them because I don't hear about freezing feet anymore!

I call these 'bed bug bean bags' but they are really filled with organic soft wheat. Rice, lentils, dried beans, and split peas also work well to fill something that will be heated in the microwave.

To see step-by-step instructions on how to make these bugs visit http://www.instructables.com/id/Bed-Bug-Bean-Bags/