One of my favorite people happens to love eagles, and the color purple. So for her gift, I made this eagle using felt and purple eyes. I started with the head, cutting the shape in white felt and hand sewn around. Same with the beak, then the body. The feet were also cut separately, sewn and stuffed. The wings were just cut out brown felt pieces, then attached to the body. The eyes I got at the craft store, and eyebrows I painted with 3 dimensional fabric paint. It is a simple gift, but I am sure will make her happy.

Countdown to Christmas

This year my gift factory is starting late, and I am not sure there will be enough time for handmade gifts. My first accomplishment is a little doll for my friend's baby. I used to make these dolls about 2 decaces ago, so I tried to rely on my memory and the power of Internet.
The arms and legs are pretty straight forward, using pink stretchy fabric. The body is a rectangle made with any fabric, leaving a hole for the neck to be connected.
For the head there are a few steps. First you make a head with a neck using any fabric. After stuffed, put a layer of cotton to shape the face, putting extra for the cheeks. Then use a big piece of the pink fabric, place it on top and sew in the back of the head, pulling and shaping the face. With a separate piece of pink fabric, cover the neck and sew on the back (these areas will be covered by the hair).
For the hair I used the sleeves of a knitted sweater. I thought the knitted pieces would undo after being cut, but depending on the direction you cut, they don't come apart. Pull it to make it longer, and it will curl a little. Then it can be attached to the head.

Finally the head, arms and legs were sewn to the body. Then I made the dress, and painted the face with a paintbrush.
So now I am relieved, that something was done. Let's see if I have energy for more.

Old sweater, new hat.

Every year I spend money on hats that end up getting lost somewhere. So this year, to keep my head warm, I decided to recycle and make my own. I found this great site that gave me this idea of making hats using old sweaters. Make it and love it shows the different hats for kids, and tels the steps on how to make (my kind of stuff). It feels cozy and I could make it to fit my head.

Thanksgiving

We don't carry the Thanksgiving tradition in my country, but now the more I live here, more I feel the importance of celebrating. We are greatful for our lives, and we want the kids to appreciate it too.
So I grabbed some tree branches from my tree (they fell from the hurricane), and placed them in a vase. The color was very unattractive, so I used a glitter craft paint from Martha Stewart. When it was finished, I hang all the school projects the kids made for Thanksgiving.
I'll try my best to teach my kids about this tradition, also because when they grow up to be in college, I want them to come back to spend the holiday with me.

Happy Birthday Lilyan!

Our little friend Lilyan is a big girl now, turning 5!! I wouldn't miss this opportunity to make a few things for her celebration.
First her mom asked me to make a few thank you cards. So a couple of drawings later, she chose the design. So I scanned the illustration and painted in Photoshop. For a personal touch, I asked the birthday girl to sign her name, and we put in the card.
As a gift I made a little doll for her, just using flannel and painted her lips with 3D Paint Pens.
Her card was made with scrapbook paper, a cute sticker and a ribbon to decorate. Making gifts it is always a pleasure for me. Making for people who you care, is a blessing.

Pajama pants

The last two weeks weren't what we call the most inspiring days for arts and crafts. Between a hurricane, snow storm, no power, people who lost everything they have, the priority was try to help people, and be grateful for what you have. Making sure that neighbors weren't hungry or cold, asking if people needed to do their laundry, or donating some money to the Red Cross. We were the lucky ones that only lost power for 24 hours, and didn't have any major damage in our house. So now that the community is a little better, schools on and I can at least go to work, my brain is working better and I feel that I can make something again. Since my kids were in need for pajama pants, I figured this is one way I could save some money. Considering each pair would at least cost 5 to 20 dollars (the cute ones cost more), and that I found some adorable fabrics for 2.99/ yard (enough to make one for my 7 year old), I decided to give it a try . JoAnn Fabrics have super cute flannels and no cost shipping for a minimum order. Just to remind that I am no seamstress, even if I made a mistake, nobody but us would see it, as long as they were comfortable. So the best tutorial I found on line was on this web page. It shows all the steps on how to take a pattern, cut the fabric and make the pants. I was able to make all of those pants in one weekend, and with leftover fabric, I was even able to make a little dinosaur for our baby friend Leandro.

It is a big satisfaction when you can dress your family for less money. But even more when when you can say your loved ones are safe, and able to enjoy life.

Still Halloween...

The town is still recovering from the effect of hurricane Sandy. And with no schools for the week, and streets still damaged, Halloween for the kids has been put aside. No lights and no trick or treaters.

So one thing I could do for the kids was to use the one thing we had home: a pumpkin (or 2). So we decided to carve a pumpkin .I had them choose a pumpkin face, them I cut the design.

It was so much fun to carve it (it was my first time), that I wanted to try a more complex design( I did copy this design but I can't find the website now).
And because we are on a situation that we can't waste fresh and healthy food, I scooped the pumpkins with a melon baller, cooked with a little bit of water until soft,and made a base for food. One thing I can make to feed my picky child is pancakes.



Here is how I made:
- 1/2 cup of cooked pumpkin
- 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/3 cup apple sauce
- 1 cup cake flour
- 1/4 cup maple syrup Mix everything and cook on hot griddle until fluffy.
My ninjas ate the pancakes, and reminded me of how fortunate I am in so many levels