Paper Dolls

As a child I loved making and playing with paper dolls.  My mom and grannie would go into fabric stores and get outdated sewing pattern books (like Butterick) and bring them home to me.  I carefull cut out the model and then all of the clothes for each pattern, making my own tabs for the shoulders and sides like my mom showed me.  I kept them in a shoebox and would play dress up with my dolls for hours.

As I come across vintage paper dolls I will post them here so that those of you with "littles" can enjoy this old-fashioned craft and doll fun.  Just click, enlarge, and print! Enjoy!!!

Hugs,
Betty & Deanna

Cameo Pillow: Finished!

I did manage to finish this pillow sham. Here's a picture of it flat (the pillow form is out) so that you can see all of it. I opted for a narrow satin ribbon and small, flat velvet flowers in each corner. I also did a knotted bow at the bottom. I think my mom's cousin is really going to be pleased!






Thanks for everyone's input on the ribbon trim!!

Hugs,
Betty & Dee


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And another WIP!

My mom stitched this beautiful cameo and now I'm turning it into a pillow...I've sorta forgotten how to do this pattern. Will let you know if I get it figured out tonight!!



Hugs,
Betty & Dee

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February WIPs

Altho my mom is still suffering from that awful coughing virus, she did begin her own Angel project. A darling cherub in white on rose fabric. She may be doing the flowers in grey ~ will keep you posted!






Hugs,
Betty & Dee


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Angel Challenge 2011: Wing Sachet Update

Oh, look at the heavenly wings that just flew in for our challenge! Made by my Twitter friend Susan of @susanhemann.

Are they not beautiful??? So vintage looking, like they've been hiding away in an antique store. Well worth the wait!

Thank you, Susan, for finishing them up and sharing them with all of us!




Hugs,
Dee


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Feb Angel Challenge: 02

So I took my image and made my 12"x12" square:






(it's upside down! Sorry!)

Then I added another row of quilted strips all the way around:







And now I can keep adding and turn this into a functional or decorative piece...wheels ate turning :)

Next posting you'll see what my easy quilt block was turned into!

Good night ~
dee


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Feb Angel Challenge: 01

Lets begin our project! When printing your image choose 100% cotton with a tight thread count. I went with a cream on cream large floral print since my project is leaning toward vintage:



Here you can see the front and one with the freezer paper on the back. I prepared two because you never know if your printer is going to rebel!

My first one got a bit mangled:



But that's okay. My second one came thru perfectly. It measures a bit over the 8"x8" but at least I'm pretty close.






Now I can cut my image out and start adding my strips at the top and bottom.

Be back in a bit with more photos and tips :)

Hugs,
Dee


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Angel Challenge 2011: New Project and Sachet Pictures!!!

Hi, and thank you for your patience!  Wow, what a crazy month this has been so far.  Both of my darling offspring have once again left for the far corners of the world and I am slowly turning the house right-side-up again.  I have cut out my project for this month, but I haven't completed it.  But you all can still get started!

*** Our project for this month requires you to use a printer.  If you do not have one, please email me and I will print your image onto fabric for you and mail it to you. ***

You will be making a 12"x12" block.  Once you've completed your block you need to:

- make a pillow, or...
- make a tote bag, or...
- make a small wall hanging, or...
- make a sewing maching cover, or...

Well, you get the picture.  You must incorporate your block into something functional or decorative and then send me a picture of your finished project.

Here are the pictures that inspired me for this month's project:

But, FIRST let's take a look at the Angel Wings Sachets that were made last month! (Ok, lets!!)

These sweet, sweet wings were made by Rhonda of Lil Bit Sassy.  I LOVE the curly-queues in embroidery thread and that the wings are pink.  What is really surprising tho is that Rhonda's wings are so delicate looking and "angelic" and yet she is such a lil STINKER!! Right?? roflmfao!!!!  We all love you, Rhonda.  These wings would look darling in a little girl's room.

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These wings were made by Susan of Sew Darn Simple. They were made from scrap fabric that she fused and then overstitched together. Aren't they fabulous?! (One pair, a front and a back, but I don't know which is which!).  I don't even know how to fuse fabric!  Maybe Susan should do a tutorial for those of us who are interested...hmmm? :-)

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These wings were made by Layla of  Made By Dolly.  Due to running out of lavender it is scentless and stuffed with fluff only, so she embroidered 'angel' instead of 'lavender' because that seemed to make more sense!  She even put them in her Etsy shop!  I love how Layla gave her wings a shabby chic flair.

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Of course, these wings were made by Sally Keller.  (She is very, very bad tho as her ribbon hangar is not attached! lol).  Sally chose a modern print and took advantage of the open white space to embroider the word "love" and really that is the perfect word for these LOVEly wings.

Isn't it amazing that we all had the same directions but all of our wings have their own style and personality?  This is so much fun, it's like playing that old telephone game where you whisper something in the first person's ear and then the message goes around the room.  We all heard something different and unique that spoke just to us and the fruits of our labor above perfectly reflects how uniquely creative everyone is.  A HUGE THANK YOU for participating. 

Okay, I want you to be able to work on this month's project, so here's the scoop:

Find an IMAGE of an angel that you love.  It should be copyright free.  I found mine at this website: Karen's Whimsy and it looks like this:

Once you've chosen your image, cut a piece of muslin the same size as printer paper, 8.5"x11".  Also cut a piece of freezer paper and iron it waxy side down onto one side of your fabric.  Hand feed this fabric "paper" into your printer and make a printed copy of your image.  This fabric is going to be cut into an 8"x8" square, so make sure your image is smaller than that so you have room for seam allowances.

Now you can cut your muslin into a square and then peel the freezer paper off of the back. Set it aside.  This is where you can be really creative.  Cut strips to sew onto the top and bottom of your image, and then the sides, repeating until you have a 12"x12" square. Use plain or patterned fabric. Go country, gothic or vintage.  Look at the pillows above for ideas.  If you use a photo of an angel statue you might want to stick with whites and creams.  If you print your image in color you might want to use fabric that brings out the colors in your image.

When you have a 12"x12" block you can start thinking about what you want this block to BE.  A pillow? The front of a tote bag? Will you add fabric onto each side and make a table runner?  How about finishing it off like a doll quilt and running a dowel along the inside top and attach a ribbon and maybe even tassels for a small wall hanging? 

And just like Layla did, you can make something for your Etsy store -

Ok, as I progress I will post pictures of each step, but at least you all can start looking for your image and get it printed.

I'm very excited to see what we all create with our blocks!

Hugs,

Dee

Hellooooooooooooooo!

Hi! I know you guys are waiting on me! I'm sorry I'm behind. I am caring for ill DS23 and visiting with DD25 and still trying to work on our Angel Challenge 2011 for February: an appliqued angel quilt block that you can make big enough for a wall hanging, a tote front, a square table topper - whatever you choose! Almost finished, and I will be posting our angel wing sachets so if you are finishing one up, please get a photo in to me so I can add it to the group!

A lot of you have littles at home, so I wanted to at least offer up something you can print out for some snowed-in Valentine fun! Enjoy!

Hugs,
Betty and Dee