Personalized Handmade Dolls

So thankful all of the personalized dolls are done!  Now, time to introduce them to you all!

First up....Baylie!

Baylie is made from designer fabrics by Robert Kaufman.  She comes with bloomers, a slip (hehe, remember those) with a vintage crocheted edge, and a one of a kind "leaf" apron.  Her shoes are made of red corduroy.  Her facial features are all hand embroidered along with her name on her bum.  She now lives in Vermont with her new mommy.

Meet Avery....

Avery was made for a friends daughter. Avery is made of a cute pink fabric.  Her "hair" fabric is some lovely fabric I picked up at the International Quilt Festival.  All of her seams have been double stitched and fray checked, her arms and legs have been sewn on by hand using quilting thread for extra durability.  Her scarf is made out of some left over knit fabric from my infinity scarf tutorial.  Her leg warmers are hand knit using a designer yarn I picked up at my local yarn shop.  Avery now lives in Los Angeles, California with her new mommy. 

Meet Aidrey....

Aidrey is my niece, and I decided to make her a doll for Christmas this year. She is made from fabric I bought at the International Quilt Festival.  She has purple yarn hair that I picked up at my local yarn shop. I love her jersey knit chevron scarf.  Her face is all hand embroidered and all of her limbs have been stitched on by hand using a strong quilting thread.  Aidrey is made to have thin, easy to grab limbs.  This is the perfect style doll for a girl to "drag" around with her.  

Her name is also hand embroidered on her tush.  

Will be posting more custom orders in the days to come...... 

Personalized Infinity Scarf Tutorial for Child or Adult

This infinity scarf is meant for a child, but I have also included measurements for an adult sized as well.  It is super simple to make and would be great for a quick handmade gift.  Adding the initial or monogram is optional and I have included a picture of one I made without it at the bottom.  Let's get to it...this is supposed to be quick remember!

Supplies Needed

• 1.5 yards of your favorite knit. Medium to light weight work best.  (for an adult, buy 2 yards)
• embroidery floss in contrasting color and needle
• water soluble marker or chalk or a pencil or ... you get the point
• sewing machine or serger
• pins ... if you like to pin...I don't (I am lazy) so I usually skip this part
• thread and needle 

Cut your fabric to 12" x 1.5 yards (you will have enough fabric left over to make at least 2 more)

For Adult size, cut fabric 44" x 2 yards and follow the same instructions

Then fold in half, just like the photo.

Draw an initial onto your fabric (skip this part if you don't want to personalize it).  Notice I am drawing roughly 6.5 inches down from the folded edge.  Be sure to put something under that top layer so your marking tool doesn't bleed through.

CONFESSION: I am terrible at drawing letters, so I just found an "s" I liked on google, and put my phone under the top layer and traced it from the screen.  Pretty cool, huh?

Upclose of my finished "S"

Now hand embroider your initial using your preferred  hand embroidery stitch with your embroidery floss and needle. You can use an embroidery hoop if you like (I do) but it is not necessary. You can also use an embroidery machine if you have one, but personally I like the hand stitched look.  

Here is a really fun quick tutorial for hand embroidery I found on youtube.

Here is my finished "S" clearly not my best hand embroidery, but who cares...it's handmade!

Now fold your fabric right sides together the long way and pin (if you want to).

Use a zig zag stitch  to sew together.  You can also serge this if you have a serger.

You should end up with a tube like this.

Start turning the tube right side out, follow the seam as your guide.  Pin the two "tube" openings right side together.  Be sure to line up the seams. 

Zig zag or serge around leaving a gap to be able to pull the scarf right side out.  

Pull the scarf right side out and sew the opening closed.  DONE!

Throw on your favorite girl (or adult) and brag about how you made it! I told you it was simple.  It would probably take you 15 minutes or less if you didn't do the initial, like the one pictured here.  I plan on giving these as class gifts to my daughters class for Christmas. I think it would even look smart on a little boy...think black fabric and a red or grey initial.  LOVE IT! ~Ellie

Don't forget to like Hector's Granddaughter on Facebook!

When we just can't seem to look at the camera at the same time...

Like every mom, I want to have an annual beautiful family photo.  I don't even care if everyone is smiling in the photo, I just want us all to be looking at the camera at the same time.  Year after year, I find myself getting so incredibly frustrated with the whole photo shoot process. I spend FOREVER picking out everyone's outfits, and ironing and looking up cute poses for us to do....and every year...my kids (by the way, this includes my husband) last all of 2 seconds and then they are OVER IT.

So this year I decided to try something different....I decided NONE of us would look at the camera. I would set us up for success.  My husband and I would just carry a kid and hang them upside down...and steal a quick kiss.  I can't tell you how easy it was!  Hope you enjoy your family photos as much as I did this year...well more than I did this year...the picking out outfits, ironing and getting everyone ready was still a pain!

Washcloth Cupcake Tutorial

Supplies Needed:

(this is to make 1 washcloth cupcake)

2 baby washcloths

small rubberbands (I like to use the hair tie elastics instead)

toothpick

small pom pom in color of your choice

1 white cupcake liner

1 decorative cupcake liner of your choice

hot glue gun

Lay your washcloth out flat

fold over one side about 1/3 of the way.

Fold over the other edge as shown in picture, then fold in half.

Begin to roll tightly

Make sure you roll at a slight angle to give the "frosting" height.

This is what it should look like all rolled up.

Fold the 2nd washcloth (cupcake) in the same manner as the 1st washcloth (frosting).

Place the 'frosting washcloth" in the "cupcake washcloth.

Roll tightly. (do not roll at an angle like you did with the frosting)

This is what it should look like all rolled up.

Place two elastic hair ties (or rubber bands) around the outer washcloth to secure.

Place in white cupcake liner.

Place white cupcake liner and cupcake in the decorative cupcake liner

Place a matching elastic hair tie (or rubberband) around the decorative cupcake liner for a more polished look.

Get your toothpick and pom-pom.

Place a generous dot on the pom-pom and press the flat side of the toothpick into the glue and hold until glue sets.

This is what it should look like.

Push the toothpick with the pom-pom down into the center of the "frosting" washcloth.

There you have it! A washcloth cupcake!

Make 6 washcloth cupcakes and place in a decorative cupcake box. (I bought this one at Hobby Lobby)

Decorate the outside of the box with ribbon and 3-D stickers (you can buy 3-D stickers in the scrapbook aisle at your local craft shop)

You can use these washcloth cupcakes as party favors, or to put several on display as a centerpiece, or give to your favorite expectant mom!

What to do, oh what to do, when grandma is in town....

My grandmother is staying with us for almost 2 weeks while my parents are on vacation. I used this time to take advantage of making memories with my 89 yr. old grandma for my kiddos!

So...what did we do? We went to Build-a-Bear of course! Isn't that every 89 year olds dream????Ok, I admit, I had a hidden agenda.......2.5 years ago, before my daughter was born, I took my grandma to Build-a-Bear to make a rabbit for my daughter...the best part about it was having her record her voice telling her great-granddaughter a little something special. My daughter calls her great grandmother "nonna" and she LOVES,LOVES,LOVES her rabbit and often presses the recorder that has been stuffed inside to hear Nonna's voice telling her she is loved.

Now that I am on the verge of giving birth to our little boy, we took advantage of having grandma here to make him a bear (or in this case monkey) of his own. Here are some pics...

..... a kiss for the heart that goes inside

and now time for a fluff bath

grandma with her finished monkey for our son....when you press the hand you here Nonna telling her grandson that she loves him and hopes he will be a good boy!

My kids and I will treasure these stuffed animals forever! I love that years and years from now, we will still be able to hear her voice and know how much she loved us!

~ellie