The Brown swap of September

I participated in one of my team's (Etsy Texas Crafters)  September gift swaps.  The theme was brown. 
My partner was Gina of AllieCatBeads and her favorite color is purple.  So I thought, hmmmm, purple and brown. 
I wanted to make Gina a decorative pillow but knowing that she has 3 little ones, I couldn't use buttons and other choking hazards to decorate it like I wanted.  So, this is what I came up with:
Front

Back

I used Tina Givens Tip Toe fabrics and cream trim.  I think it came out cute and I hope Gina likes it.

Gina makes jewelry and cards and this is what she sent me.

Two sweet pairs of earrings.  I love the 'cafe au lait' lampwork beads and as you can see, I've already worn the amber ones.

Thanks Gina!  I enjoyed swapping with you!!

And I'd like to give a little shout out and a BIG thank you  to Jen at Mama's Magic Studio for the great feature she put out on her blog about my Handmade Whimzy shop.  Give it a look see here:  http://mamasmagic.blogspot.com/2010/10/friday-feature-handmade-whimzy.html

Pet Swap Gift

I want to share with you the gift that I made for Danielle of ZandDart for the Pet themed July swap in our Etsy Texas Crafters group.  When I finished it, I was so excited about it that I almost wanted to drive it to her house and give it to her.

I wanted to make a bed for her cat, Archimedes.  One of Danielle's favorite colors is blue and since Archimedes is a boy, I thought that would be a good color to use.  So, I went online and started looking up how to make pet beds.  I went through several ideas on how to do it and also several ideas for decorations that I wanted to attach to it.  For example, I wanted to make some of those corker bow ribbon thingys and attach bells to them, then attach them to the pet bed.  But when I found the instructions on how to make those, I found out you have to bake them.  I had no idea.  Bake them.  Huh.

Anyhoo, I didn't like any of the instructions or beds that I came across so I started thinking to myself that what I'd really like to make was a box pillow and use that minky fabric and stuff it with fiberfill so that it would be all squishy and squashy - and that's what I did!

I found instructions on how to make a box pillow here.  I didn't have Archimedes to measure so I just winged it.  I wanted the bed to be big for him so that he'd have plenty of room to squiggle around.  I ended up making it 24 x 16 inches.

The first one I made, I put buttons in for the closure.

I wanted Danielle to be able to remove/replace the fiberfill as needed and also to be able to wash the cover.  And as we all know, cats puke on everything - so it needed to be washable.  But once I got it finished, I realized that smart me had sewn the side band that goes all around the pillow, upside down.  I had even sewn the buttons on upside down.  It was really noticeable too because I used this cute cat and dog fabric.

Then, I realized that the 3 buttons I had put in wouldn't be enough because it left huge gaps on either end of the closure.  Ack! I said.  But hey, it was my very first time to make a box pillow and to use the minky fabric (which sews real well but tries to suffocate you when you cut it).

So, that was when I decided to just put in Velcro to close up the big gaps and give it to my cat.

Look, she likes it!

I then forced myself to return to Hobby Lobby (only kidding - it's my favorite store!) to get more cat/dog fabric so that I could remake the pillow.

This time, I was smart and looked up how to put in a zipper on youtube.com.  Isn't it great how you can find instructions on how to do almost anything online?  So this time I got the side band on right side up AND there are no gaps in the zipper closure.

 

The finished product turned out great.  I thought it looked very professional.  And Archimedes the cat looked happy in the pic Danielle sent me.  I learned 2 new skills - how to put in a zipper and how to make a box pillow.

The finished pillow is very lumpy and squishy looking.  That was intentional.  My cat and dog both like to wiggle/knead/squoosh and squash their beds until they get them just right.  I'm hoping Archimedes is the same.  I had some thick foam but I felt it would make the bed too ridgid and who wants that, right?

Let me know what you think!

July's Swap gifts

The July swap that I participated in for my Etsy Texas Crafters group was themed a Pet Gift Swap.  We didn't swap actual pets - LOL.  We swapped gifts for our pets.

My partner was Danielle of ZandDArt.  Danielle makes crocheted amigurumi.  You can read more about her creations on her blog.  She has made some really cute things so far including Mario mushrooms which my son would LOVE.

Danielle sent me a gift for our evil cat, Sparky and also a gift for our sweet Mac.
She sent Mac this awesome dog bone with his name on it - in red, his favorite color.  And she sent Sparky this adorable fish toy.  It can be dangled from a pole or a door knob or just your hand.

Mac immediately started playing with his bone and loved it! 
Sparky was in hiding at the time we recieved the package but wandered into my sewing room a couple of hours later.  I showed her the new toy and she played with it for awhile.  Then she tried to bite me.  Bless her heart.

We love our new toys Danielle!  Thanks so much!  ---  Love Mac and Sparky

I'll post all about the gift I made for Danielle's cat Archimedes in my next post.  Stay tuned, same bat time, same bat channel.

June's Gift Swap

I participated in the June Color gift swap with my team Etsy Texas Crafters.  The color of the month was Pearl or White.

My swap partner was Stephanie of Gemuine Creations and she made me this lovely bracelet out of howlite and hematite.   She wired the beads together with sterling silver wire.  I love it and it fits perfectly. 

There was really no way I could go wrong with this swap as all of Stephanie's jewelry is beautiful.  She has a shop on etsy as well as her own website.  I was so impressed with her website.  Especially when she told me that she and her husband built it by themselves.  It's so professionally done and I have to say that I've been to websites before that looked very Mickey Mouse and they were much larger companies.

My swap gift to Stephanie was a decorative pillow for her home.  I used black fabric with white flowers and I appliqued the word "HOME" in white letters on one side of the pillow.  Then I made flowers out of satin fabric with turquoise satin for a pop of color and attached those on the front.  I really had to edit myself with this pillow.  I changed it about a hundred times.  This picture is one that Stephanie took after she received the pillow.  I think it looks really nice in that chair (and I love that chair!).

Thanks for being my June swap partner Stephanie!  I love the bracelet and I've already worn it several times.

Gift swap gift

I recently participated in the Etsy Texas Crafters April Color Green Gift swap. My partner was Jaclyn of the etsy shop Jaclyn43552. She sells charming hand knit and sewn items for baby.

Our task was to use the color green predominantly in our gift. After reading Jaclyn's profile and visiting her blog, I discovered that she likes to bake. So, of course, I had to make her an apron. Funny thing is, she made me one too!

Here is the cute green apron I got from Jaclyn.

It is a gardening apron but I think I will also use it at craft shows. It's perfect for holding money and pens, etc. She attached a key holder and put in 3 pockets. The fabric is very durable and washable so I should get lots of use out of it. Thanks Jaclyn!

Now, here is the apron I sent Jaclyn. It's a half apron similar to the full aprons I sell in Handmade Whimzy but without the bib. I hand embroideried the "J" onto the pocket. I also sent her 2 of my families favorite recipes - the Peanut Butter Bars that I've shared on this blog and also my Buttermilk Pie recipe (my son's favorite).

I think this half apron turned out really cute. Mayhaps, I'll start offering them in my shop.:)

Swap Gifts

Guess what I'm doing right now? I'm sitting at my dining room table, watching it snow! I know the people in colder states are wishing it would stop snowing but this is really exciting and unusual for East Texas. We may even be able to make snowballs by this afternoon. There's a chance we'll get up to 4 inches. My son was so excited this morning to wake up to snow. Unfortunately, it's not enough yet to cancel school but I told him maybe they would get to go play in it this afternoon during recess. And there's always a chance of a snow day tomorrow.

So anyhoo, I participated in 2 gift swaps in January through my team, Etsy Texas Crafters. One was a Winter Blues swap where we had to use the color blue in the item that we made. The other was an "I made it with leftovers" swap, where we had to use leftover scraps of some kind to make our gift.

My swap partners for the Winter Blues swap was Duane and Ben from MoltenGecko and Surfbunny. I was so excited to get Duane and Ben for my partners because they seem like really cool guys. Since they like to read, I made them 4 bookmarks - 2 beaded ones with blue beads and 2 long ribbon ones with blue ribbon. And they sent me this awesome suncatcher: I love it! I'm going to hang it in my dining room window.

For the "leftovers" swap, my partner was Monica from theIDConnection. She made me this sweet, pink earring and necklace set as well as an ID badge holder. She also sent me a vintage tea cup set which I loved!
I do have pictures of the gift I sent Monica. I made her 3 potholders from leftover scrap fabric. The orange and blue fabric is leftover from skirts I made myself last year and the blue/white fabric is leftover from valances I made for my son's room.
It was the first time I had ever done any piecework and I was excited about how it turned out. I didn't use any kind of pattern, just kind of winged it. I want to start doing more of this kind of stuff, maybe make some pillows for my etsy shop. I've had this idea in my head for awhile and I just need to get it out. :)
Even the Insul-bright that I used inside the potholders was leftover from when I made potholders for my mom and MIL last Mother's Day. So, I think I did pretty good with the leftover idea. :)

Oh, and the bathroom is finished. I'll get pics posted soon! It looks so pretty!

Gift Swap Goodies!

I received my gift swap goodies on Wednesday for the Etsy Texas Crafters 3rd quarter 1-1 gift swap.

My gifts were made by Holly of EdenEssentails. She sent me 3 yummy smelling handmade soaps. I love handmade soap, so this was very exciting! Holly sells the soaps along with essential oils at her Eden Essentials etsy shop.

Thanks so much Holly! I love it!

My Gift Swap Gift to Deathlycute

As mentioned in a recent post, ETC just finished our 2nd quarter 1-1 gift swap. I've showed you the cute gift I received so now I'd like to show you the gift I sent. My Giftee was Michelle of DeathlyCute. She wrote in her profile that she loves Gone With the Wind and likes to decorate with purple.

So I made her this sweet pillow cover with a quote from Rhett Butler. I also wanted to give her husband "ideas" (wink, wink).

The white fabric is some that I picked up recently at the local Salvation Army Garage Sale - don't worry Michelle, I washed it first. The purple flowers were made from scraps and buttons. This was a great opportunity to practice my sewing and embroidery skills and I really enjoyed making it.

Michelle has received her pillow and says that she loves it! I'm so glad. This was a really fun swap!

Gift Swap Gift

My Etsy Texas Crafters group is just finishing up our 2nd quarter 1-1 gift swap. I received my gift from Kelley of TatteredTapestry. She sent me an adorable business card holder and a key fob. I love the fabric that she used for both. So pretty and springy. Also, I had seen the fabric she used on the key fob and had been thinking about getting some to make me a skirt. So, then they would match!

If you haven't checked out Kelley's shop, you really should! You will be in for a real treat!

She has things for baby, things for the kitchen, toys for baby, and really pretty totes. I can tell you that the gift items she made for me were really well sewn and great quality. You will not be sorry with a purchase from her shop.
Isn't this baby onesie adorable?Love these kitchen towels!This pear and apple set would make a great baby shower gift.

Thanks so much Kelley! I loved your gift!!

ETC Gift Swap Goodies!

My team, Etsy Texas Crafters (ETC) recently had a gift swap where we matched up fiber artist with jewelry designers. I was matched with Lisa from TipTopsDesigns. Lisa sells adorable girls hairbows and ribbon supplies in her etsy shop. Her bows are so adorable, I love this one.

Check out Lisa's shop for all your upcoming Easter and spring hair needs! Her prices are great and her bows are so cute!

And apparently, she's a great seamstress too because this is what she sent me. A pretty, pretty tote in two of my favorite colors, turquoise and bright green and some matching flip flops.

She even put one of those little korker bows on each side. I love it! I think it's so cute and fun. And look, the inside is lined with matching fabric!

Here I am modeling my new flip flops. Ignore my yoga pants. They don't do the cute sandals justice. I'm wearing them today with my new pink Mickey T-shirt and jeans. They look way better with jeans than my yoga pants. LOL

And this is what I sent her. She said she likes handmade beads and greens, blues and browns. She can't wear earrings right now because she has a baby and baby likes to pull dangly earrings. So I made her this pretty necklace. The heart focal and two beads on either side are handmade lampwork beads made by Dungeonbeads. I paired them with Picasso finished turquoise colored beads and amethyst Swarovski crystals. She said she loved it - I'm so relieved!

Thanks so much for being my partner Lisa!! I love my tote and sandals and I'm so glad you love your necklace.