babushkas big adventure

trying to make my second ever babushka doll (with alterations to the pattern) in two nights was never going to equal success. if you are following this story, you will know that i was making the one red robin babushka doll for baby Adelaide's christening. after finally finishing the machine sewing part and turning her inside out i realised that i could not possibly give her as a gift and decided to go to bed. so at 1am after beating myself up i crawled into bed for a 5:30am start. lucky we did start early as we got LOST getting out of Brisbane!!! because of all the road works we missed the toowoomba turn off and took the long scenic route (not) through Ipswich (sorry Jo no time to stop and visit you )

anyhow i took the doll up to show what they can expect when i try again. they were happy with the babushka and are looking forward to her arrival.

happy with my hand stitching that isn't a problem, although her eyes look a little far apart.

it is the machine stitching i hate. see how lop sided she is?? and the base is not good enough either. i am going to have to read up on clipping as well.

this angle shows how lop sided she is as well.

i altered Johanna's front and base as i found it very hard to do the round base to make her stand. i am happy with the idea but i need to sew it better next time.

the ribbons are so darling! i just hope i have enough of each fabric to do her the same!! i hate choosing fabrics for other people plus my stash isn't that extensive.

so this little lady had a trip to toowoomba and back... the next one will have to travel in the post! eekk hope the ride isn't too bumpy.

thanks for following her adventures.

xxrosey

oh thought you might like to see what the new owner looks like!

isnt she just the most adorable baby you have ever seen??

she is so loved! smooches to you my baby Adelaide

another babushka beauty

well hello, i have interrupted my sewing to show you what i am working on.... we are heading to my home town of Toowoomba this weekend to celebrate the baptism of baby Adelaide who is the first child of my very good friends Darren and Sarena. a little while ago Darren said that they would rather a hand made doll from me over a bought gift, so nothing like me leaving it to the last minute...

i have decided to have another go of one red robins babushka doll. that is my first attempt on the right. i added bells instead of ribbons and i made an absolute dogs breakfast of the base on my first doll, so i have decided to just sew her up as a softie that doesn't stand up!

my first attempt is old now and well loved, she is fuzzy from all of the hugs and kisses over the past year :0)

i have decided to use all the one fabric on the front, which i am guessing will change the length somehow but i will cross that bridge when i come to it. as you might imagine, so far i have hand sewn the ribbons on and i am about to hand blanket stitch the red felt on because i really don't know how to use the sewing machine to do this next step. anyhow i hope she turns out, i only have tonight to finish her as we head off bright and early tomorrow.

have a great weekend, i know i will.

xrosey

kid friendly cookies

OK that title doesn't really make sense does it, cause lets face it cookies are kid friendly, unless of course you have a nut allergy and you eat a nut filled cookie then they could be very unfriendly indeed. what i mean to say is my girls made some cookies that were dead easy to make thanks to the easy step by step guide which can be found on the blog planning with kids.

we were invited to attend a mad hatters tea party at lilly cottage today. why? i hear you ask... well Vanessa from a fanciful twist is hosting a blog party based on the mad hatters tea party and Linda from Lilly cottage wanted to really make it come to life. my girls wanted to help out in a small way so we decided to make some sweet treats to take along. we thought tea cup cookies would be perfect and found planning with kids blog page straight away. i took some photos of the girls having some fun.

we made a sort of production line

a little bit messy but oh so fun

tic toc base, marshmallow, freckle and then musk lifesaver cut in half on the side.

all done!

here they are displayed on my favourite tiered cake stand, need more of these types of stands. don't they look great??

well i am off to ice some cupcakes for our little mad hatters tea party that we are having tomorrow afternoon. i must be off....

I'm late, I'm late for a very important date!

cheers rosey

ninja v.s. babushka...who will win?

it was my gorgeous niece katie's birthday last week and when asked what she would like the request was for a babushka phone charm doll! now the title i go by is icantsew for a reason... eeeekkkk a phone charm?? as all procrastinators do i started on something else, a ninja. i recently won a giveaway hosted by urbancraft where i won a miniature ninja, i decided to copy it and give it to katie to keep a watch over her. it is nowhere near as good as my one from urbancraft but i still think it is cute.

even though i have a healthy collection of buttons, i could not find any small enough for this project, if you haven't worked it out yet mine is the one without buttons for eyes.

i still have no idea why the photos aren't turning the right way, but i wanted to show you how small these little guys are.

now don't worry, i did give Katie a proper present, little bits and pieces that teenagers love. so once i realised i had to bite the bullet and make this phone charm i decided that i would leave it the same size as the other dolls but just add a piece of ribbon for hanging. i am not sure if it will fit in the phone as i didn't really have any ribbon thin enough and i didn't want to use thread as i thought it wouldn't be strong enough. if it doesn't work she can hang it from her back pack. anyhow hope she is happy with it.

dont you just love the apple button?? hope she likes it.

have a great week.

rosey

a surprise and a mystery...

things have been crazy round here since i was struck down with the flu, so much in fact that i have to blog about it over a couple of days otherwise you might die of boredom. head over to my other blog agapanthas and goldsworthy to read about the week that was...

ok onto the SURPRISE. here is the absolutely gorgeous tissue holder that i won as part of sewfunkys giveaway. she included some sweet buttons that will be put to use on a few projects i have in mind. thank you so very very much for these sweet gifts Dione i simply LOVE them.

and now for the MYSTERY...

some sweet person who lives in Australia and knows my address sent my girls these extremely sweet dolls!!! i wish i knew who it was so i could thank them... i am putting my sleuth skills to the test and i think i am closing in on the kind giver of treasures :0)

i will be back when i know the answer. the girls were thrilled to receive them and have taken them to school for show and tell today so i couldn't take any better photos.

so a big THANK YOU to whoever you are.

smooches for a great second half of the week.

rosey

sweet stitches

thanks for answering my questions in the previous post... i am still a little confused but a little bit wiser at the same time. i just dont want to stand on any toes as i go about my merry way trying to make a little money out of what has become a very threapeutic hobby.

anyhow i thought i would show you the end product of the stitching i have been doing for my friends swap. as my blog title suggests... i started these stitcheries and really have no idea what beki will do with them or how to display them. i was thinking that perhaps she could pin them to a cork board somewhere as a way of displaying them. i guess i didnt really think that part through very well :o)

the first is for her daughter

i backed each piece with a matching fabric.

the next two are for her little boy, he has just made the switch from cot to bed and she wants to create a space for him in his corner of the bedroom. i guess he could have a bit of monsters v.s. cowboys going on...

trixie from coloured buttons came up with the idea of using the famous quote by dirty harry 'go ahead make my day' and changing it to ' you make my day'. thanks trixie it worked a treat!

and the final one is for beki, i do hope she likes them.

i found the quote on the internet and the picture is from a childrens book from the poem polly put the kettle on.

love the stockings!

i really enjoy stitching and if i had the knowledge i could turn things into pillows and other things other than a long peice of calico that you cant do anything with.

well i am off to warn beki not to come and read this post.

have a great weekend rosey

questions of a wannabe

i have not been crafting long, perhaps just over a year so i don't know any of the protocol or unspoken rules that may exist when it comes to creating items to sell. i have decided to post some honest questions on this blog in the hopes for some answers from fellow bloggers that have been successful when selling at markets, etsy etc...

1. can you sell items you have made from a pattern in a book?

2. sometimes i draw my own designs other times i copy from a book or image on the computer, can i sell the items that i have copied?

3. can you sell items you have made from a pattern you have bought, for example could i sell the babushka doll i made from a pattern that one red robin published? or a stitchery from a pattern from Clare's craftroom?

4. is it OK to adapt a pattern from a book, for example turn a finger puppet into a brooch?

5. can i find a quote on the Internet and then find a picture in a book to match and sell the end product?

6. if someone writes copyright on their site what does it mean? and do they really have the right to type it?

7. the photos that i will show in this post are inspiring me... can i copy them and perhaps turn them into a stitchery or softie?

8. if i do use pictures or patterns that are not from my inspiration or drawn by me do i have to quote the original source?

i probably have more questions but i just cant think right now. i have been honest and would like your honest, informed answers.

now onto my finds for the day...

look closely... yep that is a babushka doll SHOWER CAP!! i have taken photos of the kids wearing it which i will post on my other blog tomorrow. and look at these lip glosses... i have already added some to presents, the rest are destined for the reward box. (my girls have been angels since this purchase)

this is a card for someones birthday this month, it is so sweet printed on brown recycled paper. part of the woodland folk set, i have already sealed the deer, oh so sweet. this might inspire a painting or softie...

and i couldn't go past this for my 12 year old god daughter, isn't it beautiful??? it is part of a silhouette series. i can just imagine it as a stitchery :o)

there you have it, i love finding sweet things, they make me feel good.

i really hope that those of you who read this leave a comment no matter how insignificant you think it might be. i want so much to be successful at this crafting business (not holding my breath or giving up my day job) but i would hate to offend anyone or do anything 'illegal'.

thanks for you time and support.

rosey

stitching my fingers to the bones..

i wish stitching was my real job, i just love to stitch and could do it all day and night. in the back of my mind are report comments to write and pop quizzes to compose about earth and beyond... but all i can think of is finishing my swap parcel. ssssshhh don't tell my swap partner, but here are a few more peeks at the other pieces i have been working on.

this is so cute but i am working on something to rival it. i will post about the other stitchery over here, some come look when you get the chance. for some reason these photos wont turn?? this is so cute and might be my favourite. cant wait to show you the end product it looks so sweet.

bit annoyed that those photos wont turn, i did the usual turn before you post business but it still made no difference. well i am off to post on my other blog, see you in cyber space.

mmwwaaahhh rosey

p.s. have i told you lately that your comments make me smile and feel so good?

so good in fact that i wish to pass this award on to you....

one of my newest followers julia has awarded me this and i wish to pass it on to my loyal followers, especially those who comment. (thanks julia it is nice to know that you, a fellow teacher, reads my blog from the other side of the world. yours is great too!)

so if you don't have this gorgeous award and want it, consider yourself LOVED.

smooches %*_*%

the mouse is out of his house

my girls love to stitch and quite often when i am stitching something they ask to do their own. when middle child ~Mia~ was home from school she ask me to sketch her a mouse so that she could stitch around it. she does quite a god job for a 5 year old. she normally does all the stitching then i blanket stitch it into whatever she wants. i can add a ribbon so it can be hung or we put lavender inside to make it smell sweet and other times we leave one end open so that it can hold treasures. this one just became a softie, i think she is going to give it to her best friend. just backed it with brown felt and blanket stitched it together. i added a little black bead for a nose... here it is outside its new home :) i have only taught her running stitch, one day i will teach her back stitch and then blanket then she can conquer the world one stitch at a time (cue sinister laughter) back with a few more peeks at my friendship stitching mmwwwaaahhhh rosey

workin on my swap...

thought i might just give you a peek at what i am working on at the moment. i am in a FRIENDS swap with the lovely beki . we have decided to make it a swap more for the kids and after making my purchases i felt that it lacked a personal touch. so i have started a stitchery for each of them and here is a peek at the first one.

i found a little quote and to add beside this sweet angel, hope the new owner will love it. not sure what to do with it when i am finished stitching but i will back it with some matching fabric. it might just look sweet on the bedside table or placed under the pillow for sweet dreams.

any suggestions are welcome. that is the problem with me, because i am new at this sewing game i start something without knowing how to finish it off.

smooches

p.s. i love rainy winter days off :)

winner!!

yikes i have won something again.... i entered a few giveaways during the sew mama sew may giveaway and i won a tissue case and some buttons! to have a peek at what i might be getting in the mail head over to sew funky and check out her cute place in cyber space. retro and vintage are all the rage on her blog. thanks again dione. %*_*%