Little Red Riding Hood

Even though a health issue has been interfering with life and has kept me from posting as often as I'd like, I have been creating some fun things. Here are two different versions of Little Red Riding Hood. I participated in a swap with the theme of Little Red Riding Hood. I couldn't bear to part with these two.

Going Animal Crackers

I realize it's been a while since my last post. Rest assured it's not because I haven't been sewing and crafting. Rather the opposite. I've been so busy...I can't keep up. I will start posting more now that I've taken pictures of all the current projects.

I'm on a bit of a mini box fad. It all started with those matchboxes. They are very addictive to make and have so much potential. Anyway I was doing a swap for swap-bot which is how I came up with this elephant and his animal cracker box. The box is two inches long by one and a quarter inches tall. Animal cracker boxes are fun to begin with. But miniaturize it and it's more fun. Of course, the mini size doesn't have any cookies in the box but that also means no calories. Thus the mini version is a no calorie treat.

This brings me to another version of animal crackers. Williams-Sonoma, a couple of months ago, had animal cracker cookie cutters which my daughter bought. They made the cutest tastiest cookies. Which, in spite of having calories attached to them, didn't last long. Unfortunately those cookie cutters are sold out.

Playing with Matchboxes Two

This is another matchbox with it's inhabitant, Scottie. Decorating matchboxes is rather addictive. So is making the tiny stuffies to go inside. I made it for a swap-bot swap.

Playing with Matchboxes

Decorating matchboxes is almost as dangerous as playing with matches. It sparks the creativity. They are both made from small matchboxes. The first one was for a matchbox bed and creature inside. I couldn't resist making the matchbox look like a bed. Of course if the mermaid wants she can also sleep inside.

The second idea came from The Tiny Traveling Doll's House. The recipient of this matchbox likes elephants. So of course I made an elephant to fit inside. The elephant in the room, literally. These were very fun to make.

Spring Things for Swap-bot

This is a picture from a Japanese zakka swap I did on swap-bot. It is a sakura (cherry blossom) bag. I love Japanese craft/sewing projects. They are usually quite clever and very cute. The word zakka generally means cute and useful. I'm not sure how useful this particular bag is. The bag (which is behind the flower) is only about 2" in diameter and about 1 1/2" tall. But it is very cute.

This is a set of matryoshka dolls for a swap-bot swap. I love making matryoshka dolls. I love the concept of small nesting dolls and animals. I've been working on many variations of them. Currently I'm designing a set of nesting owls. I'm almost done and will soon start on the next set of nesting animals. Hopefully I can post pictures when they are done.

Happy New Year and Happy Hedgehogs

Happy New Year everyone and happy hedgehogs. Why the happy hedgehogs? Well, my daughter has been asking for a real hedgehog for the last couple of years. You know how kids can be when they want something. But, they are illegal in Ca. So then, my daughter decided she wanted hedgehog earmuffs for Christmas. This was the only thing she asked for. So of course I had to design them. They kind of look like a green Princess Leah hair style when worn. They look very cute on on my daughter and I know she will wear them. The hedgehogs detach from the headband. This is useful if you just need to hold a hedgehog. The picture of the other hedgehog is one I designed for a swap-bot swap. He's about 4" long. I'd better mail him quickly before my daughter discovers him...

My Matryoshka

I can't believe it's been so long since my last post. I've been very busy sewing. This is a good thing. Two scrap quilts have been cut out. The center of one is completely sewn. It just needs borders. I walked into one of my favorite fabric stores and found the border fabric in just about 2 minutes. I'm still working on the four patch squares for the other one. As well as sewing quilt tops, I've been making fun small things. I'm involved in several swaps at Swap-bot. These swaps can be helpful for stimulating creativity. Anyway there is a Matryoshka doll swap which lead me to create my own. Yes, they do nest. Some more details need to be added, like some decorative embroidery. Because I'm so pleased with the way these turned out, I'm sure they will multiply in my sewing room, hopefully faster than the dust bunnies.