Part 1: A Baby Blessing Quilt

In honor of a friend's new daughter, I a working on a handmade blessing for the new life. It is made up of 5 pieces that will each be complete with a blessing for the newborn and her parents.

Piece 1 (nothing square). Hand embroidered on white fabric.

It reads:

"Golden slumbers kiss your eyes
"Smiles awake when you arise
"Sleep pretty darling do not cry
"And I will sing you a lullaby."

Embellished Pirate Patch

Who wants to wear a boring, plain, plastic eye patch when dressing up like a pirate? There might be someone out there, but there is an easy fix.With some glue, scraps of fabric or jewelry, and a little inspiration you can turn blah into something fun.

I took a plain plastic eye patch (the cheap ones you can usually find pretty easily) and gave it new life by cutting a scrap of burgundy velvet-like fabric to cover the entire front of the eye patch. (You can trim the edges for a cleaner look after the glue is dry.) I then glued it securely across the front, making sure not to leave any air bubbles. Using my trusty hot glue gun, I embellished the front with a simple cross using a decorative pearl wire.

It only took a few minutes to fix the boring blah patch into something fit for a Pirate King or Queen. A nice addition to my costume collection and sure to be used soon.


Go! Play dress up. You're never too old. Arg!

A Clown or a Scarecrow?

In honor of "The Ladies Who Craft" I share my clown scarecrow. He didn't start out as a clown, but he ended up as one. Sometimes things just evolve.

A Puppy from my Past

Years ago (no need to get exact with numbers & ages), I learned a little about ceramics by making a ceramic puppy for a Girl Scout fair entry. It was exciting to make something that wasn't out of popcicle sticks or salt dough.

I got to go to the ceramic shop and pick out something, then take it back to the house where my aunt taught me how to clean up the edges and paint the eyes. I even got to learn to a painting technique of dry brushing to accent the brown with white to make it look more like fur.

I don't what or if I placed on it when I entered it in the county fair that year, but I remember it being a chance for me to take on something new and to learn new techniques. It still sits on one of my shelves, initialed and dated on the bottom.

God's Eye

I learned to make God's Eyes with sticks and yarn many many years ago as a Girl Scout. It's one of the ultimate camp crafts and also a great Cinco de Mayo project and decoration. Over the years I have made them with yarn, craft sticks, Popsicle sticks, sticks from outside, and even toothpicks with embroidery floss for little ones. You can use any mix of colors you like and add tassels or a string to make it easier to hand.

All you need is some yarn or string and a couple of sticks.

And, because I can't resist: Don't forget to take a moment to look at the other side. We don't remember that often enough.

Embroidered Sleep Mask

The sleep masks were pretty easy to construct, the most time being the hand embroidery work on the front of each. (I'm headed on an eighteen hour car trip with my family for a family wedding. I wanted to make sure I would be able to sleep comfortably, or as close as one can when in a car for that long. It's important to be prepared.)

Once again I used what I hand on hand, which happened to be some scrap from a t-shirt sleeve one of my brothers cut off (the black) and the velvet-like red (left from a big project, the scraps showing up again & again). (I love be thrifty and handy with a needle. What a great combination!)

I made my own pattern using just a piece of paper. I figured the size I wanted the sleep mask(s) to be, then added space to make sure to leave space to sew. I was making two, so I cut two black pieces and two red pieces of each. I used one red front with a black back, and one black front with a red back. It was important that I chose fabrics that were soft and would be comfortable against my face. (A front and back for each sleep mask.)

Keeping with the black and red theme I used a combination of black, white, & red embroidery floss to embroider the front of each mask. One has a Gothic-inspired butterfly design approximately over each eye and the other reads "Let Me Dream" in script bubble letters with a butterfly. (This isn't your grandmother's needlepoint.)

Pin right sides together. (Look, the backside!) Using my machine, I sewing the right sides together leaving a gap on each side where the elastic would go as well as to turn the right sides out. (This was about an inch or less on each side as marked with the pins to keep things even on both sides.)

Trim strings. Turn right sides out and iron.

I cut the elastic the right length and pinned inside the openings on either side. Using a zigzag stitch all the way around, securing the elastic as I did. Then I ironed it again. I'm ready to go.

Felt Doll

This felt doll and her clothes were made using a pattern I found on Martha Stewart's crafting site, with a few adjustments of my own. I had found the pattern and decided to use what I had on hand to try out the pattern. I used brown and gray felt for the body (there wasn't enough brown so I used gray for the legs), black yarn for hair, embroidery floss for the eyes and a heart on her chest, and some pieces of material for the shirt and pants.

Most of this was done by hand.