Cozies and Coasters

Well, the creative juices continue to flow! And I'm just trying to keep up!

When I got this idea, my first thought was to embroider the names on my machine. Unfortunately my machine is not dependable. (I need to spend some quality time there.) As I was randomly cruising down the clearance aisle in Walmart, I saw this package of fabric sheets that you can use in your ink jet printer!! I was so pleased! Since I am happy to let patience continue to have her perfect work for a little while longer (James 1:4) before I tackle the embroidery machine, I got right to work on these little cozies and coasters.

In the recent past, I have done some sewing for a lady who designs children's clothing. I happened to have some scraps from some of those cute little outfits stashed away in my sewing room, just waiting for a project like this to come along! Nana and Grandma D were absolutely thrilled with their little gifts. Grandpa hasn't received his, yet, but I'm thinking he will be equally as pleased!

I linked up with Chari for Finished Object Friday even though it isn't Friday anymore! :)

Repurposing...

I've read so many blogs about repurposing stuff, and I want to jump up and down and say, "Me too, me too!!" Don't get me wrong, it's not like I'm a hoarder and have all kinds of junk around the house. (!) It's just that sometimes I see the possibilities in some things just before they go in the trash or goodwill bag!

For instance... Maddie was in need of a new jean jumper. She had a few cute jean skirts, but let's face it. She has a pot-belly and an outie. Not a good combination for wearing skirts! I had a few jean skirts cast off from her older sisters, so I tried to make a pillowcase dress out of one of them. It turned out ok, but she looked like she was headed to the home-school convention (if you know what I mean) (I say this lovingly because I am a homeschooler!) :-) So I caved in and got out a pattern. Got a pair of worn out jeans that my husband was 'fixin' to throw away. (I had to sneak them to my sewing stash. He doesn't necessarily agree with the first paragraph of this post.) The pattern fit just nicely along the legs, and I think the jumper turned out pretty cute! I had previously salvaged the appliques from another something in my sewing stash, and voila! Such a darling little jumper for Maddie!

Pretty Cute!

I have always loved to crochet. My Grandma Russell taught me how, and it is one of the sweet memories of her that I hold dear to my heart. Anyway, while looking at all the nifty gifty things in a truck stop on one of our travels, I saw a cute headband/ear warmer for ten bucks. 'Hmm,' I thought, 'Really, now, why should I pay that much money for something I could probably make in a few hours?!' Well, I found a few free crochet patterns on line, but I couldn't find one that completely struck my fancy, so I used it for inspiration. My daughters had some good advice for the design, and after a little tweeking, I came up with this:

It went from start to finish all in an evening. Maddie has some cute little crocheted flowers for her hair, so after close inspection, I figured out a way to make this:

Here is the finished look.

Don't ask me for the pattern, I'm not patient enough to jot down all the "row 1: 3dc, bpdc *repeat after the *" You know what I mean! While I was putting on the finishing touches, I realized that I would be able to link up to Charity's "Finished Object Friday" for the first time! That makes me pretty happy!