Painting Christmas Signs... and a Cyber Monday Sale

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My life is totally different than it was a few years ago. When I sold ornaments in my etsy shop, this time of year was hectic and stressful. I was not a fun person to be around and it was not what was best for our family. I don't regret closing my shop and I don't plan on opening it up regularly anytime soon.

Lately, I have been actually keeping up around the house- except this weekend, but I don't think that counts- and I had some free time to paint just because I wanted to. 

I like to paint. It relaxes me. It also gets my creative juices flowing and energizes me. Does that make sense?

So, I painted a bunch of Christmas signs, trying some new ideas and techniques. I can't keep them all and I could use some extra income right about now. I am going to sell them in a little "Cyber Monday" sale. I am not taking any custom orders. This is all that I made and when they are gone, that is it.  I am going to offer them to my facebook fans first, then list them on etsy. If you are interested in any of these you can check them out there or e-mail me: pacountrycrafts at gmail dot com.

Each one is hand painted- no vinyl and no stencils- so they are one of a kind pieces. They are all made from solid pine boards.

Thanks for looking!

Vintage Sewing Machine Mini Quilt

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When I made Grace's quiet book sewing machine page a friend of mine joked that she would take a wall hanging like that, so I made one for her as a surprise.

I added some hand embroidery on the "table" below the machine. It says:


Good friends are like quilts- they age with you and never lose their warmth.

I even tricked her into choosing the saying. Heehee!

The background is leftover from Halley's retro apron and the border is pieced from my scraps.  The backing is a cute novelty print I got at Joann's and I thought it went along perfectly! I know it will be against a wall, but it is still cute.

So, there is another quilt I made this year - back in February- that I never blogged about. I doubt I will finish any large ones this year, but there is always next year!

Wave Fabric T Shirt Dress

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When I was making Easter dresses this year, I started to run out of ambition. I ended up making a cheater dress for the youngest. She can't voice her opinion yet and my best friend reminded me that there are no others to pass it down to later, so it would get less wear than the other dresses. I liked that logic.

It is just a simple T shirt dress. I got a basic Garanimals shirt at Walmart for the top. I found this navy wave texture fabric in the remnant bin at Joanns for the skirt.

I chopped a few inches off the bottom of the shirt, sewed the skirt in a tube, and then attached them with my serger. It was ridiculously easy.

To add a little something to the top I made a navy, chiffon flower out of some scraps from the

bridesmaid dress

and sewed it on.

Even with my minimal effort, it is still a cute dress and it is a little more practical for a toddler, too.

So, that is it! These are all of the Easter dresses I made this year. I love the navy and white, which I have mentioned a few times already. You can see the other dresses by clicking on the pictures below.

The Poofy Dress

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So, it is November and I still have not finished blogging about the girls' Easter dresses. The thing about the navy and white theme this year is that they are so versatile. It just looks classy for any season.

This dress turned out so beautiful and - even if the pictures don't show it by her refusal to smile - she loves it! I made a sparkly satin bodice (remnant from Joann's) using The Party Dress free pattern from Cottage Mama. I adjusted it to use buttonholes in the back, though.

The skirt is about 3 yards of shimmer tulle that was cut into strips the desired length, sewn together to make one very long piece, and gathered tightly to fit the bodice. I added a lining with a built in petticoat for a little more "poof" at the bottom. Gathering the tulle was very tedious, but definitely worth it. She calls it her "poofy dress."

The other reason I have not blogged about this dress is because within minutes of putting it on Easter morning, she went up the steps and stepped on it, ripping out a chunk of tulle from the front. I sewed it back together, but it is still visible. It just about broke my heart.

I have been meaning to fix it, but just haven't gotten around to it because I know it is going to be a huge pain in the behind. In the meantime, I have relaxed a bit and if she wants to wear it "just because" that is OK with me. You probably would not have even noticed it before I mentioned it, but now you can't unsee it. Right?
However, she loves it and wears it often. I might get around to fixing it in time for her younger sister to wear it as a hand me down. My mending pile is very neglected. Does anyone else that sews have that problem?
Link Parties where I sometimes hang out...