A new camera means a new camera case

This Christmas I was lucky enough to get a new digital camera.  It has been great so far (and took these wonderful pictures).  Since its shape is a little different than my last digital camera, I needed a new case.

In an attempt to make one that would protect the screen and be compact enough for carrying in my purse, I decided to do a simple felt case.  I couldn't make it too simple, however.  It had to have a little pop!

So it got its own little camera.  Not too bad for free handing (well, free cutting) it.


Have you made anything to complement a holiday gift?

Naked Mole Rat...Gets Made

One of my nieces turns three this month and this year she received an Aunt Karen original :-)

We found this adorable book by Mo Willems entitled Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed and thought that the perfect way to complete the present was to make a Naked Mole Rat that my niece could dress while reading the story.

 
So, after shopping around for the perfect Naked Mole Rat materials (a very difficult task if I may say so!), I went off of Willems fabulously illustrated Naked Mole Rat...with a few personalized modifications...added a few inventive felt garments so Naked Mole Rat can "get dressed"...and arrived at:

 

I love how he turned out.  I think he managed to be so ugly that he's cute!  So, he can be casual in his pants and tie-dyed shirt, or professional in his suit with fun red tie.  I made one horrifying discovery, however, after taking these pictures and looking at the book....I forgot to give Naked Mole Rat a tail!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Yet, it is fairly quick and easy to fix...

 

The picture is a little blurry, but you can see the new tail, and you get a glimpse of the Midwest Nutmeg tags I made.


And, there is no way to spend an entire afternoon sewing without a little snack.  Vanilla and Lace put up this yummy recipe for peanut butter chocolate pretzels on her blog; to find it, go here.

 

I hope everyone had as happy and productive of a weekend as I did!!!



Have you created with inspiration from a book lately?

An Owl and A Tree

When my niece turned one last summer, I made her a little owl in a tree.  This year, I decided to give it another try.  Here is the result:

I think it turned out pretty well.  And this time I remembered to measure how high the hole had to be for little eyes to poke out before cutting it!  You always learn the more and more you do a project.

 
Both the owl and tree are made completely of felt.  I love using felt for projects like this because it is super durable, easy to work with, and you do not have to turn under all those pesky little seams.  Plus, you can get felt that is made of recycled plastic bottles!




Do you find yourself constantly fixing problems along the way?

Earth Day and Puffins

Happy Late Earth Day and Happy Early Spring!!!!

In celebration of Earth Day, I decided to wear one of the earth-inspired felt pins I made this winter.  They provided a great way to think of the coming spring in the middle of the cold snowy winter we had this year.

I had a hard decision to make...ultimately the tree won out because it celebrated Earth Day and Spring.

I hope everyone had a happy Easter, and is having a great start to Spring.  This is what Spring looks like around here...

These were taken across the way at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center.  They have some beautiful grounds.

This morning, before continuing our early spring activities (taking walks and spring cleaning) we tried a new recipe....Puffins!  A puffin is a tiny pancake-muffin from Bakerella.  And they are delicious!!!

We had ourselves a little Puffin Picnic with real maple syrup, peanut butter, butter maple syrup, and blueberry syrup.  Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm :-)

I hope you all had a great weekend.


How do you celebrate Earth Day and Spring?

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

After making some creative valentine's, I decided that there needed to be a little something special in everyone's envelope.  I have been working on making different felt pins, so I thought some valentine themed pins would be appropriate :-)

For my adorable little niece, I made something special.  I got this new book from my sister and brother-in-law for Christmas called Softies: Simple Instructions for 25 Plush Pals by Theresa Laskey.  Since my niece is potty training at the moment and enthralled by everything that involves, I made her "Lonely Dollop" designed by Shawnimals.

I added a special note just for Mary to make her Valentine's Day complete!

I hope you all have a fantastic Valentine's Day!!!!!!