Giveaway of Maryellen's ADORABLE Birthday Dress!

Go here for your chance(s):  delightfulworldofdolls.com/giveaway-of-maryellens-birthday-dress/

 

Good LUCK!!!

Want a Chance to Win the Newest AG Doll, Maryellen?

If so, just go to DollDiaries.com and enter -- Good Luck!!!  ;~)

Sew, Sometimes I Craft Without (#25) . . .

paper -- the norm around here lately, it seems!  So enjoying my 18-inch American Girl (and a few other) dolls, including the newest addition:  Julie (circa 1974), whom our DD wanted (and I 'may have' too -- just sayin'!

Julie is here today to model her brand-new California Baja  - 'a light-weight woven unisex top which can be worn as a jacket or shirt. Easily recognizable by its vertical and horizontal striped design elements, this doll-size version is a replica of the iconic summer wear, which was introduced to the US from Baja California in the 1970s.  Off-the-shoulder sleeves, side slits, and fringe keep the Baja popular today at bonfires on the beach or campfires in the mountains'.

This Flossie Potter pattern (sold @ PixieFaire) has easy-to-understand, clear sewing directions to quickly add this great staple to Julie's '70's wardrobe -- LOVE it!!!  Thinking her brother Henry may want to borrow this, but never fear, I have yet another striped fabric I'm dying to sew. Once it's done, I think Julie will be fine with loaning out this piece, but Henry will definitely be needing some bell bottoms.

Sew, Sometimes I Craft Without (#24). . .

paper.  Another in my sewing series today, an additional pattern from the one I used in my previous post. You can sew a jumper or a sundress and even add the simple button-up blouse under/over this sundress!

This pattern is by JenWren and can be found here and be sure to visit her blog for other doll patterns, MANY of which are FREE!  She's very talented, very generous and shares a LOT about many dolls in all sizes, as well as historical information!  ;`)

Kit was happy to pose today in our summer heat, managing to stay cool as a cucumber on our patio in her new sundress with coordinating red shoes and barrette!

Think I'll make a simple blouse in white with puffed sleeves this time (same as one in my previous post, but there are 2 sleeve choices!) as a little throw-on for when Kit's feeling chilled. Here in the desert SW I have several tops/sweaters handy @ home and in my car, as I hate when my arms/shoulders get cold. 

Sew, Sometimes I Craft Without (#23) . . .

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My Sheri Crafts Challenge #156: Birthday Bash

I chose this theme for our challenge @ My Sheri Crafts, asking that you create a birthday card and coordinating envelope. You may either decorate an envelope you already have or create your own -- then stamp, emboss, add a frame for the address, or whatever you think of to 'dress it up' to coordinate with your card and create a 'hint' for the recipient as to what awaits them inside!  ;)

For my first project, I made my DD a card for her birthday, using Spellbinders' Die D-Lites: Asters and Poppies and Frame One, as well as in'spire dies: Birds on a Wire and Celebration (sentiment). Again, no stamping on this card! ;)  I then used the Birds' dies as a decorative cut on my envelope's flap. DD is a florist, so she loves flowers and nature and that's what inspired me to create her card.

My second card was for a 9-year-old's birthday.  She wanted to have a tea party with just a couple friends her age, adult family members/friends. Her gift set had to be special, so I used Spellbinders' Tea Service as well as Nested Tea Cup dies for her card front, the front/flap of her envelope (created with WRMK's Envelope Punch Board) and her gift bag.  A sentiment from JustRite's Birthday Floral Vintage Labels Eight and Nine seemed fitting.  These metallic papers were difficult to capture in a photo, but very pretty IRL! ;)  Think she liked her card/envelope, but it was totally trumped by the handmade tea party-themed Footie Jammies I made for her 18" doll & her friends' dolls!  I had sooo much fun creating her card/envelope/gift bag and sewing jams and other items for the 3 girls -- felt almost like being a 'Grandma'!  ;'}

Hope these inspire you to create a birthday card and coordinating envelope for someone you love and post it @ My Sheri Crafts for us to enjoy too!

My Sheri Crafts Challenge #155: Mother's Day

With Mother's Day just around the corner, we're asking you to create "something girly" for this go-round @ My Sheri Crafts!  I'm glad we're able to do something feminine, but not specifically for a Mother.

My inspiration began with a couple Spellbinders' dies today, quickly followed by three MORE Spellbinders' dies and NO stamping -- LOL!  I began by cutting poppies from Asters and Poppies Die D-Lites in Papertrey Ink's Spring Moss, then in Pure Poppy and using a bit of creative cutting to add them for my buds/flowers.  Next up I used Labels Fourteen for my sentiment, cut from Spellbinders' in'spire word die IN-012, and adding Want2Scrap's Labels Fourteen Lime Green gem border.

Then my PTI Vintage Cream card base seemed too plain, so I took my A-2 Fancy Ribbon Threader and did partial cutting twice, first cutting out the top, then reversing to cut the top again for my bottom edge by matching some of my previous cut-outs. To get a perfect border, I then lined up my A2 Matting Basics A die #5 (#1 being the smallest) and cut out the middle.  I'd not done partial die cutting in awhile, but it was just what my card needed today!

I'll be anxious to see your 'girly' creations posted over @ My Sheri Crafts!  ;~)

My Sheri Crafts Challenge #154: April is National Humor Month

In honor of National Humor Month, we'd like to see something funny for your project this go-round @ My Sheri Crafts!
Pondering what to do for this challenge, I recalled a Fiskars' stamp set (Make A Wish Quotes) I'd purchased.  Since I always need birthday cards, it fit my needs perfectly.

I had a punched strip of off-white striped/embossed Bazzill paper sitting on my craft table so I layered two shades of purple CS on solid Bazzill CS that matches my embossed piece.  My JustRite (Birthday Wishes for You) greeting was stamped onto a Spellbinders' Labels Ten die cut and accented with purple sequins.  A simple bow tied with embroidery floss finishes off the front of my card.

Inside I used a larger Labels Ten die for my humorous quote from Lucille Ball -- what woman would ever lie about her age???  Ha-Ha!

Hope to see some humorous inspiration from all of you @ My Sheri Crafts these next two weeks!

My Sheri Crafts Challenge #153: Easter Wishes!

For our current challenge @ My Sheri Crafts we're asking that you create an Easter card including EITHER a bunnies, eggs or a cross.

I seldom send many Easter cards any more, but in my 'spring' stamps and embellishments I discovered some Studio G stamps, as well as a tiny bunny from Inkadinkado. Looking at them, I decided to re-create one of those plastic eggs used for an egg hunt -- it's supposed to look like the itty-bitty bunny and some small eggs spilled out when the child opened the large plastic egg -- at least that was my hope?!

I embellished the top with a banner from JustRite's Buntings and Banners Clear Stamps and cut/Copic colored my lower edge with Spellbinders' Curved Borders Two and rounded my corners with the WRMK Corner Chomper. 

Can't wait to see your Easter Wishes cards @ MSC!!!

My Sheri Crafts Challenge #152: Happy St. Patrick's Day

Hard to believe that we're nearly to the middle of March, 2015 already, but we are and that means that St. Patrick's Day is closing in on us!  Our My Sheri Crafts Challenge for you this go-round is to create a project that includes a pot of gold, four-leaf clover or a leprechaun -- pretty simple, huh?

For my card I went with a chipboard pot o' gold to which I added a rainbow fashioned with gems in five colors.  My A2 card is made using Papertrey Ink's Vintage Cream CS and I added 3 folds for dimension just beyond the folded edge.  Next I added a piece of October Afternoon;s Cakewalk designer paper with a cream and green ric-rac design and a fun Irish sentiment to accompany that lucky pot of gold.  The Inkadinkado stamp has been in  my stash for many years and was stamped using Memento's Bamboo Leaves, a good match with my DP also.  Finishing off this CAS card is a shamrock bow cut from shoe strings that I found for $1, so I have plenty for my St. Patrick's Day needs to come!

Sew, Sometimes I Craft Without (#22) . . .

paper.  My sewing enjoyment remains and the flood of new patterns for dolls of many shapes and sizes (though I prefer 18") keeps me excited to sew more.  However, my nearly three-year-old sewing machine hasn't been very well behaved lately, so I 'hospitalized' it on Wednesday.  Since it's electronic, it had to be shipped from the East Valley to the West Valley for service.  Ugh, a whole week without it finds me sooo wanting to sew.  I think I'll print out more yet-to-be sewn patterns and get some cut out in the interim and be ready to truly put it to the test when I finally get it back.

In the meantime, here's the latest completed creation, made for my dear friend Marilyn's Journey Girl Doll from ToysRUs, Meredith (modeled by my Meredith).

Meredith's sundress for spring/summer fun @ Lake Minnetonka in MN!

I apologize for the too-sunny BG, but I snapped a quick pick shortly before I wrapped this little sundress up to take it to its new owner.  Marilyn bought the very fabric I'd purchased recently, as well as the cute daisy trim she wanted.  Once I had sewn it on, I thought it would really be cute to add tiny green beads to the center of each flower -- she liked them also!  ')

Top from original pattern

 


Wren*Feathers' Heirloom Sundress served as my starting point.  It's a FREE pattern on Jen's fabulous blog created for KidznCats (which are smaller than Journey Girls) and has a drop waist.  It wasn't difficult to up-size, by adding 1/4" at the front fold and cutting it wider @ center back to close using Velcro (rather than adding button bands that her historically-proper dress requires).  I first made a top for my Meredith in order to better fit the sundress for Marilyn at her doll's natural waistline.  I then knew how much to take in the side seams for a better-fitting waistline in which to add the gathered skirt she wanted.  I also decided to lengthen the straps a bit and criss-cross them in back. My Meredith earned a sweet little top for her many fittings to wear with her existing white jeans (borrowed from Kyla, another JG doll)!

If you're looking for LOTS of fabulous patterns for many different dolls and great historical information and tutorials, go check out Jen's website at the link above.  She has many free patterns and then you can show her your appreciation by purchasing some from her Etsy shop (link at top of her blog).  Enjoy!!!  ;)

Sew, Sometimes I Craft Without (#21) . . .

paper and I have had so much fun over the last few weeks making Footie Jammies for a young lady who just turned nine using Matilda Jo's pattern. Since I was invited to her birthday tea party, hosted by my friend, Marilyn, and asked to bring a doll, I thought it would be fun to make her two invited friends jammies for their dolls also!

I was so fortunate to have a very sweet lady @ SAS Fabric in Tempe take time to dig through stacks of knit fabric to find this perfect tea-themed fabric and another sweet lady during my next trip there came up with non-slip sole fabric.  I'm such a lucky girl and I highly recommend SAS to anyone who sews for a great shopping adventure!  Finishing off the jammies, I added teaspoon zipper pulls in coordinating colors made with shrink plastic. I wrote 2015 on them to remember the birthday tea.

Then I just HAD to make them something with AG's 2015 Doll of the Year Grace in mind.  Each received a Paris-themed apron (FREE pattern by Lee and Pearl PLUS MORE for signing up for their newsletter!), chef's hat and oven mitt (FREE instructions here) -- all so easy and fun to make! The glittery Eiffel Tower iron-on is sold @ Joanns (both online and in stores).

I needed to add my own label.  With the help of my talented future son-in-law who took my very rough idea using my initials, he turned it into the perfect label I'd envisioned.  I was truly surprised when it was almost as big a hit with the birthday girl as the footie jams!!!  ')  What a sweetie!

For gift bags for the girls, I used my Spellbinders' Eiffel Tower die and bags/ribbons I had on hand: 

I also made a birthday card, but I'm saving it for a later post since this one is photo heavy.  ;)  Thanks for stopping by -- come back soon, as I've done even more SEWING.  ;)

My Sheri Crafts Challenge #151: Welcome, Spring!

Our new challenge at My Sheri Crafts is: Welcome, Spring!  We're simply asking you to welcome spring with a spring-themed project!   Hopefully it is SOON going to be spring for so many of you who've already had way more than your share of winter/cold/snow this year!

For my CAS card, I started with a 5" square card of Stamper's Select White CS and a layer of New Leaf from Papertrey Ink.  I then cut another piece of white CS with Spellbinders' Labels Three die and filled that in with a Grate Works die cut -- love how pretty it is!

Finishing off my card is a Les Papillions butterfly in pink and my Just Rite sentiment from Buntings and Banners in True Black on a Spellbinders' banner backed with a New Leaf banner.

My Sheri Crafts #150: Cherry Pie Day!

In honor of Cherry Pie Day, coming up on February 20th, our latest challenge @ My Sheri Crafts is to create a project featuring EITHER a cherry or a pie.

I created a very CAS card for this challenge by stamping my cherry stamp onto watercolor paper in Papertrey Ink's Ripe Avocado and Pure Poppy inks (yes, my two FAV colors).  I then fussy cut and mounted them onto a Spellbinders' Petite Oval in Ripe Avocado and white Petite Scalloped Oval die cuts.  My base card is PTI's Stampers Select White layered with Pure Poppy CS and rounded @ the bottom corners.  A strip of cheery cherry plaid ribbon finishes off this fun little top-fold A2 card.

Please consider joining us with your cherry or pie project @ My Sheri Crafts for a chance to be our next Guest Designer!

My Sheri Crafts Challenge #149: Valentine's Day

For our challenge: Valentine's Day "include a heart" starting today @ My Sheri Crafts my card began with a piece of designer paper from Pink Paislee's Secret Crush 6x6" paper pack.

To my DP I added the required heart as my focal image die cut from Lace Hearts by Samantha Walker for Spellbinders. Topping off my hearts is the key from this same die set tied on with a silver cord bow.

Next I stamped February in Papertrey Ink's Pure Poppy using Winter Words and date using Autumn Words, both clear stamp sets by JustRite onto an edge piece cut from my DP and backed by red to make it pop.  A couple of extra hearts and a lattice border from Spellbinders' A2 Bracket Borders One completes this card.

Thanks for your comments and I look forward to seeing your heart creations over @ My Sheri Crafts! ;)

Sew, Sometimes I Craft Without (#20) . . .

. . . paper, as many of you visiting here know!  Once I saw this sweet FREE pattern from Many Small Friends including the perfect French graphic from The Graphics Fairy, I couldn't resist making an apron for my Gotz May (Pottery Barn Kids) doll, as she's a baker/chef who came with a rolling pin and chef's hat, but no apron! ;/

I definitely plan to make her one in pink and turquoise to better match her pink chef's jacket and 2015 American GOTY Grace's baking set, but I wanted to see first IF my printer would print well on fabric.  I had a small scrap of red fabric that would compliment her black/white hounds tooth check pants and chef's hat IF my printer cooperated,  SOOO . . . I had to try my luck!

Everything worked beautifully, except my brain -- as I realized AFTER I had my graphic printed and perfectly centered on my pocket that (DUH!) it's supposed to be centered near the top of the apron itself!  Oh my -- I didn't have enough fabric for another pocket, so just went with it -- LOL!  Since I had 'goofed' on the graphic placement, I had to make my pocket into thirds instead of halves, but I think it works well.  I left my bias tape longer to tie in a bow around her waist, just in case one of my older AGs want to borrow the apron. I did use Velcro on the neck strap though.

I learned along the way that the pigment ink my Canon MX860 uses is best for fabric printing, so I'm psyched now to get some personalized sewing labels made for my doll clothes.

Just LOVE how sweet May looks in her apron and chef's hat, rolling pin in hand!  So appreciative for the fabulous apron pattern, Stephanie, and perfect graphic, Karen, and next time I'll put it up where it belongs!  ;)

My Sheri Crafts Challenge #148: Let it Snow!

Sheri chose the theme for our challenge @ My Sheri Crafts, asking that we use a snowflake on our project! Normally, this wouldn't be hard, but after having 'cold' weather by my 'desert-dwelling' standards, we had a record-breaking high of 81 in Phoenix Wednesday, so creating a card with snow was a bit difficult!  I so dislike being cold that I'll honestly take 110 degrees over cold any day!

Today I'm sharing a CAS card and envelope.  I began with an A2-size card base of blue Bazzill CS, then a layer of DP to which I added a foil snowflake. My sentiment is from Our Craft Lounge, a clear acrylic set from many years ago that I love still!  I stamped it in Papertrey Ink's Enchanted Evening onto a Spellbinders' Ribbon Tag die (retired) and tied with a silver ribbon.

I guess my post today is 'a blast from the past' as everything on this card is from awhile ago, but still perfectly relevant for our Let It Snow challenge, so let's see what you can find in your craft room for your snowflake project to post @ My Sheri Crafts! ;)

Sew, Sometimes I Craft Without (#19) . . .

paper, so I wanted to share a darling 18-inch doll Half-Zip Pullover I made. This pattern is by Matilda's Closet, as is my Too Cute to be Ugly Sweater in my previous blog post. 

I was the lucky random winner of her contest, so there WILL be more sewing posts in the near future!  `)  For this pattern, I used fleece and rib knit on the cuffs.  Just LOVE how it turned out!  Her patterns are awesome, easy to follow and sold through Pixie Faire, where you'll find a plethora of fabulous doll patterns for many popular dolls of various types/sizes.

For all you doll sewists out there unfamiliar with Pixie Faire OR anyone who wants to learn to sew, doll clothes are an easy way to start, especially if they're larger dolls (such as 18").  A great way to begin is to go to the Pixie Faire website for several FREE easy patterns she offers, PLUS every Wednesday, PF posts four patterns to vote for your FAV and on Friday, the most-voted-for pattern is FREE!  Sooo, IF you want to learn to sew or already do but need great patterns either free or at a great price, what are you waiting for?  PF also gives you Pixie Perks w/each purchase and before long, you'll earn Pixie Rewards to use on future purchases @ their site -- can't beat it! ;)