Little things, more color

To cover up the previous post so I don't have to see those awful white photos every time I check my blog, I'm going to do another post right away. One with some color! 

I made a simple little pouch, because I needed something to store my large size Wonder Clips in. The fabric is canvas from one of Jess's older collections from several years ago.

I boxed the bottom wider than usual...

... so that it would open wide for easy access.

I used techniques that I learned from sewing Dog Under My Desk patterns, which are THE best. Look how those seams came together at the end of the zipper!

I'd also had so much fun making doll-sized "crocs" (the first of which you can see here) that I decided to make another pair.

The holes are made with a paper punch, and since I had a star punch, I went with that. Too fun!

So now there are two pairs!

Next up... a garment. But it isn't finished yet, so you'll have to wait. :)

Blizzard in April

I mentioned in my last post that we had several more inches of snow predicted for the following weekend. We got that, all right, and then some. It became a full-fledged, record-setting blizzard... on the 14th of April! We got around 18 inches, with wind gusting up to 50 mph. Ugh.

I'm posting these photos just for posterity. It's not like I'll ever want to look back and see them myself. As a matter of fact, I'd be quite content to never see snow again! 

The mini lilac bush in front of the house:

The backyard got more snow than we've ever had there before!

The top of the drifts were higher than the bottoms of the kitchen windows!

Grandpa finally gave up with his snowblower and got the tractor and loader out to push the snow out of the way so he could get out of here.

Such fun. NOT. The good news, however, is that it's been melting very fast. We still have some left, but here's a comparison from yesterday.

That's it. Enough reminders. It's spring now, hopefully to stay. The birds, who've had a really tough time the last couple of months, are busy singing and nest-building, and the rhubarb is peeking out. Hopefully the farmers can get into the fields in a week or so, which is very late, but better late than never, right?

Enough. The end.

I needed some color

We've had snowstorm after snowstorm this 'spring', and I'm sooo tired of seeing the white scenes out our windows. Many of you can relate. I decided I needed a quick, fun and colorful project to work on. At about the same time, I'd gotten the Pixie Faire newletter. You know the one... that comes every Friday and offers a free doll clothes pattern? I've gotten so many free patterns, although I confess I haven't made many of the items... yet (I have lots of good intentions). After downloading last week's free cute dress pattern, I happened to look back at the newsletter and made the mistake of scrolling down to see what other patterns were listed. I say "mistake", because all the patterns are so stinkin' adorable that I'm always tempted to buy, and on occasion have. This was one of those times! I couldn't resist. I bought.

I bought this pattern. And look what I made!

I've made little American Girl doll shoes before, some from patterns by the same writer, so I knew these would be pretty simple and fun to make. They certainly were! There was no sewing involved - just a lot of hot glue (which I admit I'm pretty messy at doing, but the photos hide that). The holes were made with a regular hole punch, and there are eyelets on the sides that hold the straps on.

I chose that color (which, thanks to Blogger's thinking it knows better than I do, is not quite true) so that they'd go with the dress I'd made for my doll from Jess's corduroy fabric. You can read more about that here. Below is Kit, modeling both the dress and the "crocs".

Yes, that in the background is some of the white that I'm so tired of seeing (and which we have potential for getting several inches more of this weekend). My sweet model got pretty chilly, but she didn't complain a bit. I was glad Grandpa didn't drive in while I was taking photos, or he'd have thought I'd lost my sanity for sure, since I was lying on my stomach on the cold cement. Hey, a photographer's gotta do what she's gotta do! At least I had a winter jacket on.

Making the little "crocs" was definitely a day brightener. In fact, I smiled and even giggled a little during the process and when seeing the final result, because of the cuteness. I think I just might make another pair while the how-to is fresh in my mind. I have a couple of colorful sewing projects lined up, too. So I'd better go get busy............

Flip Flop Wallet #2

I told you in my last post that I had another Flip Flop Wallet in the works. I finished it last week but couldn't show you right away because it was a gift for someone. It's been received, so here it is!

Can you guess who it was for? If you said Jess, a.k.a. How About Orange, you were correct... although I don't know why you'd have guessed her. Ha. :) It was her birthday on April Fool's Day, but I fooled her... she didn't get it till yesterday. ;-Þ The ribbon on the outside was designed by her. I added it to differentiate front from back, because I thought that might be a good thing so she wouldn't be opening it upside down.

This time I chose the closure that includes hidden magnets in those little "wings" on the sides. I don't really know which version I like better - I like them both.

If you want more details, read my other post here. The pattern is by Dog Under My Desk, and you can read her blog post about it here and see a lot of the other tester versions. Due to some technical problems, the discount price has been extended until this Friday, April 6th, so now's a good time to get it and save $2.00!