Ember Costumes and Crafts

I know, I know, I've been posting a ton of baby quilts lately, but they are so fun! This one is for my cousin's new baby due in May. I've gotten pretty good at quilting, and these only take me a few weeks now. (It would only take me a few days if I wasn't full time momming!). The fabric is a fat quarter bundle of  Evening Stroll Hello Jane from the Fat Quarter Shop online. Teal and purple is my absolute favorite color combination and I've been dying to make a quilt out of it. Honestly it was really hard to give this one away. I hope my cousin loves it as much as I do! I made the chevron blocks by following this tutorial  from Missouri Star Quilt Company's youtube channel and arranged them in pairs of chevrons. I tried out a few different combinations of chevrons, but this one worked out the best. I used a light greenish teal minky for the backing, which I quilted into a sort of plaid square pattern by sewing 1/4 in from all of vertical and horizontal se...

Inspired by discount fabric section at the craft store and my successful christening gown, I decided I need to make more dresses and stuff for my baby girl. I got half a yard of fabric on sale and searched pinterest for some free patterns. I found this tutorial: Flutterby Top and ran with it! (I didn't print the pattern since it's so simple and not her size, just used it as inspiration to draft my own pattern based on one of her dresses that fits.) Construction-wise it was simple and went together quickly. I wish I had sized it up a little bit so she can wear it longer--I will on the next one I sew.  I used snaps on the back closure because of laziness (Both sewing and fastening wise), though buttons probably would have looked better. I added some ribbon and a bow that I had laying around in my fabric stash, and it was done in one day. It would have taken more than one day if my husband hadn't been home to watch kids though. #momlife    There it is! My model wa...

Gunnar and I took our kiddos to the Sherwood Forest Faire this past weekend and it was...COLD! The forecast said it would be in the 50's, which means longsleeves and light jackets, but it was actually in the 40s and so windy that we were all frozen! I nearly bailed and had us all leave after an hour. I'm pretty tough, and I was wearing a hoodie and my fleece cloak,but I was still freezing cold. James lay huddled under three blankets in the stroller and got mad when I uncovered his face to make sure he could breathe. Baby girl's hands were red little ice cubes even though we kept shoving them back under the blankets or into our armpits while we held her. Gunnar was had it the worst, since he forgot half of his costume and his jacket at the house. He wrapped a blanket around himself, borrowed one of the boy's hats, and bought some leather gloves. But we made it! We stuck to the back part of the Faire where there was less wind, the adults each had a pick-me-up of...

I think that everyone has that "one toy" that they always wanted as a kid but never got. A poll of my friends included things like an Easy-Bake Oven, Crossfire, a Transformer action figure, or the Millennium Falcon Lego set.  For me it was the American Girl Doll. I was almost too old by the time I became aware of them, and they were ridiculously expensive (for a kid with a $5 a week allowance!), and I already had tons of Barbies that I played with all the time. But I pored over the catalogs and the exquisitely detailed doll-sized antique furniture and accessories. I especially wanted pioneer girl Kirsten because of my obsession with Little House on the Prairie. And so I got one! 31 years old, mother of 3, and I bought myself a doll. There are stranger things, I guess!  She's an American Girl #55 and I love her! As you can see from her home-made outfit, I've been making lots of doll clothes recently. It's fun and really quick. Expect to see a lot more doll clo...

        Last Fall my mom's group at my church organized a Saint-themed Peg doll swap. Everyone would make enough of one saint for everyone in the group, and then we'd get together and trade them so everyone would have a full set. I like painting, and saints, so I signed up..and so did 24 other people! I had been expecting to paint like 10 or 15! First I did some research and sketched out my design on paper. Then I sketched out my design onto a peg doll for reference and did batches of five dolls at a time in steps. The first layer I painted was the skin, then I blocked out the other big under-colors, then added highlights in paint and metallic marker, and outlined it all with a black paint marker. After it was thoroughly dry, I stamped the back with tiny fleur de lis using a stamper I found on Etsy and finally signed the bottoms with sharpie and sealed it with a glossy sealant.  I think they turned out great! My mom said that Joan looked too mean, but...