How cute is my new bag?! I was in Hobby Lobby, and this fabric caught my eye. And it was on sale! I hadda have it! Late Saturday night, when I should have been working on nice Father's Day gifts for all and sundry dads in our lives, I was designing and sewing my new bag. I lo-o-ove how it turned out.
For whatever reason, Sugar Monsters seem to be a big hit with folks. These guys are their close cousins, the Molar Monsters. Their scary little mouths are a pocket for lost teeth, which they will guard until the Tooth Fairy comes to take them. They also have a nice back pocket for whatever goodies the Tooth Fairy decides to leave behind.
I suppose a Sugar Monster could be used as a tooth fairy pillow as well, but really, isn't a Molar Monster just a lot more fun?!
I had to go to the dreaded Walmart AGAIN yesterday (it's becoming an epidemic lately). Believe it or not, I'm actually glad I went. I decided to stroll through the fabric section, and the softest, fuzziest blue fabric jumped out at me. It immediately started begging to become something soft and squishy for my boys. How could I say no? The boys were on such sensory overload they didn't even notice that I bought fabric, or that I spent time looking for heart-shaped buttons.
So, last night after the boys went to bed, these Sugar Monsters emerged their hiding place in my imagination. They have to stay in the closet until Valentines Day, when they will sneak into bed with each of my boys before they wake up.
The pocket on the back will be for hiding sweet treats and love notes, this Thursday and in the future. These super simple little monsters didn't take long to make, and I know my fellas will love them to pieces!
Do you like this view? It's all I saw for the last week before Christmas. I woke up, ate breakfast, and retreated to the sewing machine until lunch or catastrophe, whichever came first (with my boys, it was usually catastrophe!). I came back to it in the afternoon, and stayed there late into the night. Sometimes I took breaks, but always with embroidery or knitting in my hands. It was a lot of fun, but at the same time there was a level of stress involved. I would find myself gnawing on my lip with my shoulders tense and hunched, and realize I was totally stressed about giving gifts that I made. Will they like it? Will it turn out the way I picture it? Will it fit? Will it suck? Will they think I made this cause I'm cheap?
Does anyone else feel this way about gifting handmade things? Maybe it's just because I'm a rookie seamstress/knitter/embroiderer. I dunno. There are a few people I know loved their gifts beyond the shadow of a doubt. I made my neice (who loves purple and pandas) a purple purse with polka dot lining. I appliqued some of the polka dots and a big tare panda on the front. She had a fit over it (as I was pretty sure she would), and I didn't realize I didn't take a picture of it until after we came home. My nephew immediately put on his University of Auburn flannel pj's and pronounced them the most awesome and comfy pj's ever. (He then proceeded to my parent's bed and napped there until 4pm, having worked all night long restocking at American Eagle).
Grant and Grayson are very gratifying to sew for, because they are always thrilled with what they open. I made Grayson a new backpack:
And Grant a Bulldog outfit:
Grant was especially happy. All week long, he would run up to me and ask, "Mommy, 'zat fer me?" And all week long I had to tell him to wait and see on Christmas morning. He was a little jealous on Christmas Eve when other family members opened the things he'd seen me make, so I was very happy to hand over his bulldog threads on Christmas morning!
These are the beginnings of the first homemade gifts of the season. I have plans of making a puppet entourage for the boys, and my brother Andy will be making them a puppet theatre. I foresee many a drama played out for Jeff and me involving this wizard and ninja, along with all their friends who are still in my head. Wish me luck, as so far there has been a lot of thinking and figuring and very little sewing!
I seem to have slowed down on sewing lately. I'm actually trying my wings at knitting for a bit. The last thing I did sew was a gift, completed a week or so ago. I've been putting off posting the pictures until it reached it's new owner, but now the wait is over!
What I made is a baby bunting, or sleep sack, for a little Georgia Bulldog fan whose parents were having trouble finding him anything in their hometown. I had so much fun making it. I don't have any little babies to sew for, and it was so much fun to see all the cuteness come together!
This was the first zipper I've ever attempted, and it wasn't perfect, but I don't think little Zach will mind!
I am so happy over what I got in the mail today. I ordered this banana fabric, and it finally came in today. I'm going to make pants for Grant and a shirt with a monkey applique to go with it. I'm so happy, I think I'll go start right now! Hopefully pictures to follow in a couple of days!
I have been a sewing madwoman lately. I can't help it, it's so much fun! The kids are so excited every time I show them something I made for them, and it's so much fun to wear something I made for myself. Here are two of the products of this week's time in the sewing room...
These are the pictures you get when you ask an almost two-year-old to pose and say cheese for a picture. Maybe I should have asked him to dance and be crazy. Then he would have smiled like an angel :) Grant is in love with "mouse toodles" (for those who don't know, that's mickey), and when I showed him his shirt today, he wanted it on and wore it all day... it was 104 degrees. So I'm guessing if it was worth being even hotter on an impossibly hot day, he must have liked it!
And here's a picture of my boobs new shirt. You know, it's really hard to take a flattering picture of yourself ever, but especially when you're trying not to get your face or hair in the pic. Anyway, this is the second shirt I've made for myself, and I like it best. My friend got a shirt much like this on Etsy, and I liked it so much I decided to be a total copy cat and make one for myself! There are lots of other projects on the way, but I think I need to clean my house first. It's been awhile...
Can you believe I sewed Grayson's whole pajama set last night? Okay, so that doesn't sound like a major feat, but when you consider that it took two days to make Grant's, I'd say it's an accomplishment! And I made it through the whole thing without having to rip out a single seam ( I lost count with Grant's).
So now both my boys have Georgia bulldog jammies to watch the games with their dad this fall. Can you believe college football starts in like two weeks? Ugh. There go my Saturdays.
Another reason I haven't been posting as much is that I've been sewing a lot. Not that I've actually accomplished much, but I'm working on it.
These jammies for Grant are the first actual clothes that I've made. It was pretty fun, or at least it would have been if I hadn't sewn the pants together upside down... twice. Now that I know what I was doing wrong I'm hoping to breeze right through the next ones. We'll see, though. I surprise myself with my ditziness sometimes.
I've got some really great projects in mind for the boys, and I plan to make an extra of everything so I can start an Etsy shop with it. I'm really excited about that one! So, moms of little boys (or aunts, uncles, or cousins) keep an eye out for some super-cool boys stuff (*deep announcer voice* Coming soon to a blog near you...)
