Happy Holidays Dear Friends!!

Here's wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!!  I also wanted to say a HUGE 'THANK YOU' to you all for your visits and comments on my posts!  I always look forward to reading what you have to say:)

As this will more than likely be my last post befor Christmas, I thought I'd share a couple of things I've been working on this week.  I just finished up three new mohair Petal Bears:  Francesca Kitten, Charlie Bunny and Blossom Bear.  The kitten and the bunny are now available in my shop, but the Bear was a gift for a very dear friend.

For Charlie Bunny, I made a tiny, embroidered felt book that will keep him busy on his travels.  He wears a cream scarf to keep off the chill.  Francesca loves playing dress-up, so I gave her a lacey scarf and headband and added tiny glass beads and a felt flower.

Both are filled with generous pinches of fragrant lavender, so they smell divine!

Lately, my head has been full of new ideas and I'm excited to give you a sneek peek of my next project!  I'ts going to be something completely different....

These are but a sampling of some ideas swirling around in my head.  One of my plans is to make them into bigger prints, painted of course and embelished with all sorts of pretty things like glitter, beads and lovely papers!  And maybe, just maybe (it's still a thought..) make some into paper dolls with different outfits. 

For now, I am going to finish this busy week and enjoy Christmas with my family and take a much needed break!  I hope yours is filled with peace, love and joy:)

Warm Wishes,
Shelly
xo

Lulu and Clementine

I've just finished making two new mohair Petal Bears.  Lulu is a sweet little kitten made with pink and cream long and short pile mohair.  She wears a delicate lacey scarf with a chartreuse green beaded flower and she never goes anywhere without her best friend Fishlette.  Clementine is a dear little bear with a bit of a sweet tooth, so I've made her two 'iced' cookies with sprinkles to take to her new home.

Both are available for adoption in my shop.

Posing in my cream jug.

That's Clementine on the left with her little cookies and Lulu on the right with her best friend Fishlette.

And just a quick shot of their work in progress:)

Are You Counting Down the Days??

It seems that time is whipping by, getting ever closer to the big day!  My days are filled with finishing up little projects I have on the go, chatting with clients while I do their hair, going to band concerts and shopping, shopping, shopping!!

Since I've been pretty bad at posting anything for over a week, I thought I'd just share what I've been up to.

I finally finished the four dresses I've been working on all week.  I just want to make a whole bunch more because they were so much fun to do, but I need to move on to something else.  I'm thinking of making a couple more mohair bears/kittens.

The little fellow above is Clarence.  He loves baking and has just made some delicious cookies with a creamy filling.  Clarence was made with short pile mohair and his little cookies were made wtih felt and embroidery thread.  He wears a beaded ruffle collar.  He's been adopted.

My mom knitted these gorgeous coat and hat sets and I finished them off with hand woven felted flowers.

And last, but not least, I finally finished creating a new pattern for the Miniature Sweet Stuffling Ornaments.  Thank you to Vicky for the idea!! I had so much fun creating both of my patterns and I look forward to coming up with more in the future!

Short and sweet, but that's all I had time for!  Hope the rest of your week is wonderful:)

Shelly





Little Ladies in Waiting...

My Little Ladies are back!!  For a while, I've been busy creating Petal Bears, Sweet Stufflings and a few Petite Poppets, so I felt it was time to whip out my old pattern and make some new Ladies!  These cloth dolls are what led me to open my etsy shop and they have always been a pleasure to create!  I just love how each one is different and unique!

These two are sisters, twins in fact, though they're not identical.  Wren, on the left, has golden hair and blue eyes and Robin, on the right, has green eyes and auburn hair with a sprinkling of freckles on her nose.

Each Little Lady has hand embroidered faces and organic wool hair that has been securely hand stitched onto their heads.  

 

Both girls wear dresses made from Japanese linen and I've edged them in lace and embroidery thread.  My mom made their pretty hand knitted cardigans and I added embroidered flowers to them.  Felt mary jane shoes with working buttons complete their outfits.

Wren and Robin will be listed in my shop sometime tomorrow and they're both hoping to find good homes:)

CYBER MONDAY SALE!! 10% off EVERYTHING in my shop!!

I'm having a SALE!!  Please pop in for a visit and get 10% off everything in my shop on Monday, 29th November 2010!  http://www.etsy.com/shop/Gingermelon

I just finished up a new Petite Poppet.  Peach is her name and she has hand painted features with a sprinkling of sweet little freckles.  Her hair is made from an organic wool and she wears a cotton dress, edged in embroidered lace.  Tiny embroidered felt shoes and a hand knitted cardigan complete her outfit.

Of course, there are other goodies available too, so don't waste any time, come and take a peek:)

Sweet Stuffling Christmas Ornaments

Just a quick post to share my Sweet Stuffling Christmas ornaments.  These little cuties measure about 3 inches tall and are made from my favourite hand woven felt.  I received a request to make two of these for a dear lady who has a few of my other bears in her collection.  Thanks for the wonderful idea Vicky!  I didn't think it could be done because of the tiny arms and legs, but I think they turned out quite nicely:)



So, the first pink and white bunny and the last red bear above are spoken for, and the rest will be available in my shop tomorrow.



I'll be working on some Little Ladies and some tiny Christmas Poppet ornaments and hope to have them done by the end of the weekend.

To all of my friends in the States, I wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Enjoy that turkey!

Giveaway Winners!!

I just want to thank everyone who participated in my Sweet Stuffling Giveaway!!  It was such a pleasure reading all your lovely comments and because there were so many entries, I decided to add a second winner.

Drum roll please.....  The winners are Gret and MissLK!!  Hope you have fun making these sweet little Stufflings!  The pattern is now available in my shop.   When I designed this pattern, I wanted to give you the option of making ALL the animals, so that means you get to create Bunnies, Bears and Kittens!!  It's easy to follow and I've included hand drawn illustrations along the way.

Congratulations ladies!  Hope you'll send some pics when they're done:)

Giveaway!! Sweet Stuffling PDF Pattern!!

I'm very excited to announce that I will now be offering a Sweet Stuffling Pattern in PDF format in my etsy shop!  Sweet Stufflings are adorable, easy to make and fun to give as gifts.  When I designed the pattern, I wanted to give the sewer the option of making ALL the animals, so pattern pieces for the Bear, Bunny and Kitten are included.

I have created this pattern with simple, easy to follow instructions and illustrations and have included a list of materials and supplies.  It is suitable for all levels of sewing skills.

Now, for the best part!  I will be giving away one free pattern to a lucky reader.  If you'd like the chance of winning one, please leave a comment with your name and I'll draw for the lucky winner on Friday, 19 November.  I will be adding all names from both blogs,  flickr and facebook.

Best of luck to you all:)

Twizzle and Honey Bunny

Twizzle and Honey Bunny are my last two Sweet Stufflings.  They're finally finished and that means I get to move on to something new!  What shall it be??  Little Ladies, Petite Poppets or something entirely different all together?  I'll keep you posted...

Twizzle belongs to a family of musical bears.  He plays the bassoon, a large, low-pitched woodwind instrument that he finds a tad cumbersome to lug around!  Twizzle is made from a luscious, cherry red hand dyed/woven felt and a swirly printed cotton.  I added a ruffled collar and glass bead 'buttons' down his front, and embroidered a tiny beaded flower to his footpad.  As usual, I added a generous pinch of fragrant lavender to each Stuffling's tummy, so they smell divine!

Honey Bunny has a bit of a sweet tooth and if you're not careful, will nibble on any candy she sees!  She is made from a cream and brown hand dyed/woven felt and a pretty paisley printed cotton.  Honey Bunny wears a ruffled collar with a silk rose and a rusty bell.  A tiny flower is embroidered onto her footpad.

 I am almost ready to make the Sweet Stuffling patterns available as a PDF.  I'm hoping that they make great Christmas gifts for anyone who likes to sew and I'll include a list of my favorite on-line felt and fabric suppliers.

The Stufflings make wonderful pets for Blythes!

Honey Bunny's work in progress:)





















Have a creative week:)

Clara and Belle

Clara and Birdie are an unlikely pair, but that doesn't stop them from being the best of friends!  The same goes for Belle and Fishly, who enjoy each other's company very much! 

Clara and Belle are made from long-pile mohair and measure about 4.5 inches tall.  Each was completely hand sewn and coffee stained to create a well-loved, vintage look.  I added ruffled seam binding to their necks and then secured a tiny flower on for each.

Birdie and Fishly are made from brightly coloured Japanese felt that I embellished with embroidery thread.  I used glass beads for their eyes.

Above left is Clara the kitten and Birdie, and of course at right, Belle the bear with Fishly.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend:)

A Fresh Batch of Stufflings

My little stufflings have been a labour of love!  I'm so glad to say that the first batch is finally ready for new homes and I'm going to be sad to see them go!

From left to right:  Tickles, Sweat Pea, Waffle, Whimsy, Peanut and Pickle.

Please meet Peanut. She's a Sweet Stuffling kitten and she's looking for a good home. She loves to take long naps and rather enjoys being cuddled!




 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I have to say that Sweet Pea is my favourite! He loves to dress in outlandish costumes and would never admit this, but he rather enjoys having a good ear stroking! While I was deciding what to embellish him with, he was deciding what his name should be. When he whispered it into my ear, I just knew it was perfect for him:)



















                                                                                                  

This little bunny isWhimsy. She loves to eat marshmellows and tends to be a bit of a cuddle bunny!

I had so much fun creating these little stufflings and I'm hoping they make sweet little Christmas gifts.  I've got many more planned for my shop!  Oh, and I'm working on a PDF pattern for these too.

Sneak Peek! More Sweet Stufflings on the Way!

I'm sure if I counted each tiny stitch as I sewed, I'd have second thoughts about making any more of these little sweeties!  I really was hoping to have all six finished by tonight, but alas, I underestimated how long each one would REALLY take to 'whip' up!
Anyway, I got three finished and the others are well under way.  Here's a little sneak peek...

These three are the creamy ones, the others are a tad more colourful.



I have some names picked out, but would like some opinions please!  Tickles for the bunny, Waffle for the bear and Pickle for the kitten.  Please let me know what you think:)

Of course, I couldn't end this post without a work in progress shot!  I'll post pics of the rest as soon as I'm done and they'll all be in my shop soon.

Hope you all had a SWEET halloween!

The Beginnings of a New Idea...

Don't you just love it when you come up with an idea that you can't wait to make?  I had such an idea this week and couldn't wait to get started on my new creation! 

I took my original bear pattern pieces and tweaked them here and there, adding length to the body, rounding the belly some more, trying different ear shapes and eventually I came up with Periwinkle, a cloth and woven felt bear.  I'm working on six more, each in different colour combos, shapes and sizes. 

As you can see, Periwinkle is able to sit or stand, and she wears a double ruffled collar to which I've attatched a pretty rose and a rusty bell.

Periwinkle is on her way to one of my favourite customers in England where she'll join some of the other dolls and bears I've made in the past.  I'm sending lots of hugs with her for her new mom!

I had fun making some new outfits for my mom's shop this week - I did three Domestic Goddess outfits, each in a different colour but all included the dress, reversable head scarf and an apron.  Perfect for the girl who loves to keep everything spic and span! 

By the way, we have a new girl on the way....  She's an Angelica Eve Blythe and the girls and I are super excited about her arrival!  Now, just got to think of a name for her:)

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!