A Not-so-Secret Swap

Back in the fall I participated in a DIY Fairy swap with a group of great ladies from thebabywearer.com. The setup is quite simple. Everyone posts basic info about what fabrics/colors/patterns you like or dislike, what your kids like and then everyone gets matched up. You only need to make one item but I knew from previous rounds that everyone goes well above and beyond. Check out all the goodies my Fairy made for us!

I'm sure my giftee knew that I was her Fairy, I was not very sneaky and didn't know how to keep Paypal from printing my name in the return address on the shipping label. :) So I feel safe in sharing these projects here that I'm not ruining any secret.

Part of the fun of the Fairy swap was all the sleuthing to make the gifts really personalized. My giftee was a mama with a little girl and boy. I found that the mama had just gotten a tattoo and posted a picture of her arm. I thought the design was really neat so I took the picture, traced it, cleaned it up, played with the colors and made an image I used to print out a notecard set. I'd never done anything like this and I was really happy how they came out.

I made a fabric case to hold the cards and envelopes, of course in a great butterfly print. The closure was an elastic hair band and a fabric covered button. Love those.

For her daughter I saw that the little girl had requested a Darth Vader/Princess theme birthday party. Yes. Really. Coolest theme ever! Of course I had to do something with this. So I came up with a reversible bag. It's basically an Amy Butler Swing Bag made child-sized.

For her son I was just working with a description that he liked just about everything. So I decided a little stuffie toy would be great. I must have been looking at this little evil cupcake monster stuffie I have when I dreamed this up. I know I was thinking of a silly spider toy I made that had these great boots on each leg so that took care of the feet. But for hands? I know I didn't want actual hands for a cupcake but what to do? Then it hit me -- oven mitts! Naturally, a tiny chef hat would be necessary as well.

I love the tiny details

I had so much fun coming up with ideas for this, I hope another round starts soon!

A little Fairy flew in yesterday

And brought us some amazing Halloween (and other) goodies!
This fairy swap was with some lovely crafters from thebabywearer.com. Is it weird that a site about baby carriers got me hooked on sewing and crafting?? So many of us were making and sharing pics of clothes, toys, home items, etc. that we needed a new sub-forum over there just for DIY that wasn't babywearing-related. So the fairy swap was to make almost anything. It could be things for the mama, the kids, the dog, whatever! Really it just has to be one tiem but everyone loves to go above and beyond and my fairy was no exception. We got so many fabulous gifts!!

First, aww... the box art


My boys digging into the box! (They never seem to be wearing shirts after dinner)


An amazing bag packed with goodies!


A super cute Halloween bunting!


Wine charms! They are actually tiny pictures of Lizzie Dish fabrics!! That's the print line I made a lot of kitchen accessories with. How perfect are these?
I have no idea how these were made but I'm in love!


2 adorable bags - perfect for trick or treating


And more pictures of my new bag. I love the shape, the color, the details! Now I need some tips on sewing cording too!




Thank you thank you thank you!! We had so much fun opening up all the gifts and they will all definitely be used!

Doll Quilt Swap

I got my doll quilt completed and mailed and received mine in return already!
I posted pictures of the quilt back and front already but here they are again, all quilted and binding done. Yes I managed to bind a quilt without my mom to help me! I changed the stitch I was doing, used a very very thin and short needle and my hand stitching went much, MUCH quicker. Maybe someday I'll even grow to enjoy it!




And here is the GORGEOUS quilt I received in the swap! I love it and I think it will get hung in our bedroom. Ben likes it too as you can see. :)


Speaking of my mom helping me with my quilts, I need to get going on my next quilt before she arrives for her next visit. I've pieced 28 out of 40 squares for the top. Plus I plan to make the back pieced so a bit of work there too. I'm using a layer cake of Moda Soiree plus some extra fabric. Hope it works out well!
Here is a peak of what I've got so far: