Only the kids are decorating the tree this year

In previous years, we would let the kids decorate the x'mas tree with whatever they like. Then after they had gone to bed, my husband and I would do a major edit to the tree decor. This year, I decided to just let the kids decorate everything and not edit anything. It's much more 'organic' that way. They used their Lego to decorate the bottom of the tree. They put their little stuffed toy into the branches. And they put the beaded and fabric ornament I recently made onto the tree too!

Tree decoration in progress by the kids

DIY Holiday decorations

I started making fabric and beaded holiday decorations for our x'mas tree. If I make 1 a day there should be about 20 new ornaments for the tree. The kids had also drew things on paper for me to make into stuffed 'whatever'. My daughter drew a cloud and asked me to make it into a stuffed cloud. My son drew a puppy's head and asked me to make it into a stuffed puppy head.

A little something for a toddler

When my kids were born, I made them stuffed letters that represent the first letter of their given name. I also made that for my expectant female friends. The letters usually make good gifts at baby showers because the expectant moms can use them as decorations for the nurseries. And when the babys grow bigger, they can play with them like a stuffed toy.

This time I'm making a stuffed letter for a friend's little toddler girl. She can either use it as decoration or a toy. I'm using this rainbow striped fabric that I think will go with any decor in the little girl's room. I hope they will like it!

Holiday 2016 Sewing: 6th handmade gift plans - tweed sparkly cushions

As mentioned before, I have too much fabric in my stash. When I dug into my stash I found this plaid sparkly tweed. I decided to make a pair of cushions for family members who have a grey decor. It's difficult to see in the photo but there are silver threads running through the fabric. I figure that black and white cushions will go with any decor. I hope they like them!

Another great stash busting x'mas gift!

Handmade Christmas Presents Challenge - Faux fur Christmas Stockings

I'm trying to get all the Handmade Christmas presents done before the end of Nov! With the remaining grey faux fur that I used for the faux fur pillows, I made a pair of Faux Fur Christmas Stockings with a self-drafted  pattern:

I'm not too enthusiastic about sewing with faux fur because of all the mess. However, I saw that lots of the medium to higher end home decor stores have lots of faux fur stockings. So I guess that is trendy right now. I hope my family members like them! Now I need to get on with making the other gifts.....

Handmade Christmas Presents Challenge - Faux Fur Pillows

Yes we are back with the Handmade Christmas Presents Challenge. A couple of close family members are moving into their new home. So I thought why not give them some home decor presents? I searched through my fabric stash and found this grey faux fur that I bought a few years ago when a local fabric store was closing down. I thought that this grey colour should go with almost any decor or style/colour of their sofa:

There was a good 2 metres of it. I debated whether to make a faux fur sofa throw or pillows. In the end I figured that people probably wouldn't mind having different textured pillows on their sofa. A big faux fur throw could be too much a commitment for them. So in 2 hours I made these pillows:

I am always hesitant in making faux fur stuff because of the fluff they produce during the making process. I swept and vacuumed along the way and I wore a face mask. But I think it was worth it for 2 hours of work. I hope they like the gifts!

Sewing room inspirations

I just found this site with lots of real people's sewing room photos. I have just downsized my sewing room into a sewing nook, and I'm still trying to maximize the space within this nook, especially the wall space. Hopefully I'll get some inspiration from this site.

http://www.sewing.org/html/my_sewing_room.html

Sewing room being downsized!

My sewing room is being downsized because we are moving my son to a new bigger room and use his current room for the new baby. Actually, I don't have my own sewing room anymore. I will have to share the same size room with hubby's computing equipment, desks, filing cabinets, book shelves, etc etc. I had to do some major clean up of my fabric stash.

It was actually a good exercise for me to see what I actually have, and what I don't need anymore. 1 garbage bag of fabric bits that are too small for anything, 1 bag of good size fabric pieces for donation (not sure where yet), and lots of small bits that I'm keeping to make clothing and accessories for my little boy. I even found bits left over from a fleece jacket that I made hubby 13 years ago! The same fleece bits are now 2 hats and 2 neck warmers for my son. Nothing wasted here! I'm trying to be as 'green' as possible by using every single bit of fabric possible.

I need to remember to take some pictures of the clothing that I made my son the last couple of months. I only remember to do it after he has gone to bed, and unfortunately, the clothing are in his room! I didn't feel like waking him up just to take some pictures of his clothes. Will try to do it on the weekend.

I saw this wonderfully organized sewing room on 'The cottage home' blog. I'm drooling! I wish I can have my own tranquil space like this to sew, do craft, make jewellery, etc. How on earth was she able to keep everything this tidy when she runs a business from this room?