Seamstress To The Dolls

These are the matching dresses and jackets I just finished making for Maggie's and Emma's American Girl dolls. They don't know about the dolls, yet. Pam is giving them as Christmas gifts.

These are a lot easier to make than Barbie doll dresses! The girls don't play with Barbies much and have never asked me to make clothes although I have crocheted a few things for the dolls.

I'm also making two other dresses and knitting sweaters for the AG dolls that will match the girls' sweaters that I plan on making. I also bought two tiny teddy bears for the dolls and I want to make matching sweaters for the bears.

No Time For A Job

I'm in the process of making the girls' sweaters. Maggie's is Blue Mint and Emma's is Limelight. I didn't choose the colors, they did. The plan is to make Maggie's with a stripe or two of Limelight and Emma's will have a stripe or two of Blue Mint.

They will be getting American Girl dolls for Christmas from their grandmother, Pam. She asked me to make a few dresses for the dolls and gave me a pattern and some Christmas-y fabrics. I thought it would be cute to make matching sweaters for the dolls. A few weeks ago, I saw some little teddy bears at Michael's that were about 3" tall. How cute would that be if I make tiny sweaters for the teddy bears and each doll had one?!?

I have finished the cross-stitch birth announcement for our soon-to-be-born grandbaby. I just have to wait to see who it will be - Alexander or Kaylee. Then I can finish with the baby's birthdate, weight and name. I probably won't get it finished - matting and framing - until some time in January. It will go great with the nursery. Justin has painted a moon, stars and a sun on the walls. This cross-stitch is of a mother sitting on a crescent moon, holding a baby. The verse reads "A mother's arms are made of tenderness, and sweet sleep blesses the child who lies therein." It's a verse by Victor Hugo.

The pink teapot cross-stitch is also finished. I need to sand and paint the tray, get a mat and a piece of glass and put it all together. I think it'll look nice.

I probably won't get back to making the Barbie gown until after Christmas. The scrapbook pages of the two of us are also packed up, waiting for another day. I don't have to make any cards anytime soon, either. I have plenty from the failed attempts to sell them at craft fairs.

The Last Craft Fair, Ever!

I went to the craft fair with lots of cards and boxed card sets. I only sold $62 worth. By the time I subtracted the $15 table fee, I came home with $47.

I will never do this again. It was the most boring day I've had in a long time. The crowds were there, the room was nice, the weather outside was glorious. It should have been a slam dunk. People came over to my table, admired my cards and walked away, saying "Such beautiful cards!" I received lots of compliments but not many sales.

Sitting there from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. was actually painful. My back started hurting so I got up a few times and stood for awhile. My foot started going numb so I sat back down. This was evidently not my cup of tea.

I now have a large box of finished cards for all occasions so I won't have to make any for a long time! I'll start working on the scrapbook pages I have planned. I'll start crocheting on the new doll outfit for next year's fair (it's gonna be beautiful!!). There are a couple of cross-stitch projects to finish. I've got a couple of sweaters to knit for the girls and then there's Justin's baby, due in December. I've got a full plate!!

Craft fairs are not for me.

Crochet Heaven

I ordered the pattern for the new Barbie-doll creation! It's called Plantation Party Frock. I think it is going to be more elaborate than the last one. I can't wait to get started!

Clean Up Or Create?

My craft room is very messy with bits of ribbon, slivers of cardstock and the left overs from punches. I also have to clean up the hundreds of dead ladybugs and flies. Indian summers are always so nice after a cold snap, but I hate the flies, wasps and ladybugs that seek out my windows, especially the south and west ones.

I'm finishing up some last minute cards for the craft fair on Saturday. This new batch has the glittery snowflake ornament tied to it with pretty sheer ribbon. I made this card several years ago as our Christmas card.

I have a few more ideas rattling around in my head...

Big Sister, Little Sister

This scrapbook page was fun to put together. The girls always loved to have a tea party and they loved to blow bubbles, too. The day these pictures were taken, they decided to do both - a bubble tea party. It was a pretty summer afternoon and they were wearing their matching sun dresses that I made for them. I love the pretty lavender paper and the purple brads. Emma's favorite color is purple, so it worked out just great!

Water Babies

This is one of the scrapbook pages I made for the book I entered into the fair that won 1st place. When Kara and I would take the girls to the pool, we had to take the stroller, diaper bags, sippy cups, sunscreen, hats, pacifiers, sunglasses, bathing suits with those lumpy swim rings, snacks, an umbrella, pool pants (no diapers allowed in the pool), towels and more towels, dry clothes and water toys. By the time we got there, she and I would be exhausted. The girls were ready to hop into the pool but we weren't finished unloading everything.

We did truly have a lot of fun with them in the water. We'd take them over to the big pool during adult swim. They liked to watch the "big kids" jumping off the board and making huge splashes. I wanted this page to reflect all the fun we had and also all the trouble involved in having all that fun.