Advent calendar

Advent calendar, originally uploaded by pearljamfanatic.

Finished it just in time!

I went on a search for an advent calendar tutorial without pockets. I wanted something different than the norm, something that I wouldn't have to think hard about what to put in pockets. I'm too lazy for that (and cheap).

I came across Wee Folk Art's Advent Tree tutorial and went for it. I liked the hand sewing aspect, which allowed me to stay warm by the fireplace while working on it. I also was able to use up a good bit of a box of 1" buttons I'd bought a while ago that I never used.

You might not be able to tell from the picture, but the star has a button hole, and it starts at the bottom. Each day, a lucky kid (in our case) gets to move it up to the next number. They are already stoked to begin. :)

My new file cabinet

My new file cabinet, originally uploaded by pearljamfanatic.

Okay, so it's not sewing, but it does involve fabric.

This was my first time to decoupage anything and I think it turned out pretty good. It beats an old ugly putty-colored file cabinet and fits in a lot better with sewing room stuff. :)

I used fabrics from the out of print Moda Uptown line by Erin Michael, one of my very favorites. I consider myself very lucky that I had a fat quarter of all the fabrics in this line. I was real nervous and was hoping that I wouldn't be wasting my fabric on this project. Now I get to sit and look at it whenever I want. :)

Clothespin bag

Clothespin bag, originally uploaded by pearljamfanatic.

I found another use for a couple of snaps! This is a clothespin bag I made using a tutorial from My Lucky Chicken. It was very simple and fast, and now my clothespins have a real home.

November 2009 008, originally uploaded by pearljamfanatic.

This was made several months ago, so I don't remember the pattern, but it's from Ottobre. :)

Kiddie snuggle blankets

The kids saw that commercial for the blanket with sleeves and wanted one for themselves. I'd gone on a fleece buying spree a few years back and was happy to find a reason to use it up. Note the sideways flames on the boy's "snuggie". I was not impressed when I discovered the printing was sideways (not my fault - it was actually made that way). The boy was a little disappointed that his didn't come with a free book light. I handed him a flashlight.

The tutorials and templates for both the adult and children's versions can be found here.

50s day at school

poodleskirt, originally uploaded by pearljamfanatic.

Today at the kids' school they are doing a 50s theme. They're supposed to be "twisting out drugs" or something like that. Anyway, I couldn't let this chance go by without dressing my girl up in a poodle skirt. Soon she won't let me do things like that. :)

This is just a simple circle skirt out of purple felt. It's not even hemmed, just a simple waistband with elastic. I went to all the stores around to buy a poodle applique, but being so close to Halloween, they were out of all but the tiny ones. Then I ordered one off of eBay (just me being lazy), but it still hasn't arrived. Luckily, Embroider This! has a free poodle embroidery pattern on their site and I was able to finish the skirt. The embroidery came out nicely and she was thrilled!

A couple of years ago I bought way too many snaps from the Snap Source (love them!). I have more snaps than I know what to do with. So whenever I find a cute and easy project that involves using up some of my snap stash, I'm all for it!

Last night I was cruising the sewing and craft blogs and came across this cute needle book tutorial. I had the perfect fat quarter of some Japanese canvas Little Red Riding Hood fabric that I knew would be great for this.

I love the way it turned out, even if I did have to decide to close it the opposite way of the tutorial. That'll teach me to not pay attention to the direction of the fabric pattern when I'm cutting something out. Next time I'll be on the ball, I swear.



Here is my first version, because I'm definitely making more of these, the Little Letter Needle Book: