Topsy Turvy Doll mini - Doll & Sailor Mars

I was in such a hurry to get these last few dolls wrapped that I forgot to take a photo of this topsy turvy doll with both heads showing, like I have for my previous topsy turvy dolls. So I instead had to edit the picture above to give you an idea of how these dolls look together, not that you will usually ever see both dolls at the same time being flip doll.

This particular doll is a gift for my sister, I have a few sisters so I have a few dolls I have made for them. As with my other mini flip dolls I used the face template that came with the pattern, that of the traditional happy / sad face. I embroidered black for the eyebrows, black and white for the eyes, a pale tan colour for the nose, then I used red embroidery for the happy lips and a light pink for the sad lips.

The last bit of embroidery was done to the hands of each doll to give definition and create fingers. The hair for each dolls head is made from yarn stitched first in a layer to cover the head, then followed with a second layer to create the length of the hair. This was done to ensure no bald spots on the dolls heads.

I loosely based the ginger haired doll on my sister, as her hair is gingery, and the material for the dress was once a skirt of hers that she gave to me a while back. I like to use recycled materials as opposed to buying new materials and as my sisters tend to donate their old clothing to me for this purpose, so they often find familiar patterns in the items I make them.

This black haired doll is actually based on the sailor scout Sailor Mars, from the amine Sailor Moon, I chose her as she represents the month of my sisters birthday. The hair for this doll was sewn in the same ways as the ginger haired doll, only with the added fringe that Sailor Mars has. The outfit is a simplified version of Sailor Mars' fuku, that is a white top with her signature red skirt, only as I didn't have red material I used a maroon instead.

This mini size topsy turvy doll was made with the intention of it being a display piece as opposed to a play piece, however that dosen't mean that a doll this size is no good for play. This doll measures about 8.5 inches from head to head and about 9.5 inches from head to hem as the skirt hangs a little lower to fully cover the doll under it. As with everything I sew, this flip doll was completely sewn by hand, including the hair and dresses, so as a result these dolls do take some time to make.

Mistletoe 3D

While searching the net I came across this design for a 3D Mistletoe and loved it so much I had to try it myself. Unfortunately I can not remember where I found this or who originally made up this design, but regardless it makes a beautiful decorative piece to hang for this time of year.

This piece is made up of two separate pieces that interlock, sliding together at the stem of the mistletoe. Iron beads such as perler, hama or pyssla were used to make this along with two large peg boards for each piece. To the top of the mistletoe I added two jump rings to thread a ribbon through for hanging.

Mistletoe is not something I have ever seen in real life, but I have always loved the look of it as a Christmas ornament, the simple look of green and white is so pretty. So with this mistletoe measuring 18cm tall, without the ribbon, and 20cm wide, it seemed the ideal size to round out my Christmas decorations.

Mooncalf (inspired by the Harry Potter Series)

Sometime ago I became the adopted mother of a Baby Mooncalf that had been separated from its herd after dancing under a full moon. I had fully intended to insure that this shy little creature was restored to its proper home amongst its own kind on the next full moon. Months later this still had not happened, until finally one night I was able to coax him out into the night. The last thing I expected was to adopt yet another mooncalf. But this is exactly what happened and I couldn't be more happy about it.

At the time of making my first baby mooncalf, over a year ago now, there were surprisingly no patterns available to make this sweet fantastic beast. Even more surprising is that in doing a more recent search, there are still no sewing patterns available to make a mooncalf. So I returned to my original pattern I designed myself. I do think that the first small version I made using this pattern turned out quite well actually.

Back then I designed the pattern by starting with a basic body shape I was happy with, adding to that an extended neck and slightly rounded larger head. The feet were a bit more tricky, in order to get a more webbed like look I used the Cornish Pixies feet as a guide. The shapes for the ears, tail and eyes were easy enough to draw and my pattern was complete. Only for my baby mooncalf I used buttions for the eyes which was a simple alternative for a plush that size.

This larger mooncalf was made in the exact same way and with the exact same materials as my first. The only exception to this is that for this larger mooncalf I instead sewed the eyes on using needle turned appliqué, the eyes were then also stuffed a little to give them a more round shape and a black safety eye was added to the centre of each for the pupil. This larger mooncalf was also given a mouth, something I did not do for the smaller version as it would have been too fiddly.

The baby mooncalf I made previously was only 4.5 inches tall, but this larger version is exactly double this size measuring 9 inches in height. This larger sized mooncalf made the job of turning out the feet so much easier then it was with the baby mooncalf, as seen by comparing the feet of each below. I also really like the wide eyed look of the larger mooncalf as it stares of into the distance in search of moonlight.

While I am very pleased with the pattern I created and the two mooncalf creatures made from this pattern, I am a little sad that there is not a bit more love in the world for this adorable yet shy creature. Newt Scamander's text Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them does not do these majestic creatures justice, however their appearance in his suitcase has seemed to create greater appreciation for these lovely, shy beasts.

Cuddle Pillow Toy - Kitty #2

This fat cat pillow toy is another gift I have made. I loved this purple fabric I had and just had to use it paired with the same pink accent fabric I used for the first Kitty Pillow Toy I made. As with my first kitty, this kitty also has eyes that are pink coloured safety eyes, the whiskers and mouth  embroidered in black using backstitching and a pink nose, blanket stitched in white, that is also the same pink fabric as its ears.

This cuddly Kitty Pillow Toy is the perfect size standing at roughly 9.5 inches tall, not including the ears, and about 8.5 inches wide, not including the paws, making this colourful kitty the ideal size to cuddle up with, or fall asleep on if desired. This kitty also has a long tail measuring just under 12 inches long. The pattern for this, along with many other toys can be found HERE in the Shiny Happy World shop.

Plush Rodent

This cheeky little critter was made from another vintage pattern I happened across. He stands about an inch taller then the Beanie Rodent I made and as you will see he is also a lot wider, so I decided to instead stuff this fella in order to accentuate his shape, instead of using plastic pellets like I did for the Beanie Rodent and My Beanie Mouse.

The pattern for this actually recommends using fur fabric which I think would have looked great, however as I use only recycled materials and I had no fur fabric this is what I came up with. I used the white on the belly and in the ears to contrast with the darker maroon colour of the body and tail, black was used for the paws, embroidered nose and safety eyes and a pink tongue completes this plush.

The total height, including the ears, is about 13.5cm, so he is quite a comfortable hand held size, and with a tail 19cm long, he is also quite comfortably swung about, not that I'm actually in the habit of swinging him by his tail. Front on this critter is about 6.5cm wide, however as seen in the picture below, he is much wider side on measuring closer to 10cm.

I love finding old vintage patterns that are not commonly used any more but are still cute and unique, like this little critter. I think a larger more cuddle friendly version of this would make such a great gift for little ones. In the meantime this little fella will join the Beanie Rodent and My Beanie Mouse on my increasingly crowded bookshelf.

Supergirl Key Chain + Necklace + Hairband

This is an iron bead gift set I created for a special someone who is a fan of the cartoon series DC Superhero Girls. Supergirl is a specific favourite of her's, and so I thought this a fun accompaniment to go along with her Supergirl & Wonder Woman topsy turvy doll I had previously made her, seen here. The Supergirl symbol was one I found online, but the rest of the pieces were designed by me.

All the pieces making up this set, except for the last piece, were created using a square peg board and iron beads, also known as perler, hama and pyssla beads. The key chain of Supergirl was designed by me. She is small, about 6.5 cm tall, which is a cute size for a keyring. Once she was designed and ironed together I added a jump ring and a cord that I made myself from a waxed blue cord, cord ends, smaller jump rings and a lobster clasp.

The necklace was designed to resemble this version of Supergirl outfit, namely her collar and Super symbol. I used my Sailor Moon Fuku Necklace for reference when designing this. After the pieces were ironed I connected them with jump rings and then made the chain from a silk blue cord, cord ends, smaller jump rings, a lobster clasp and added a few chain links to make the necklace size adjustable if needed.

This last piece is Supergirl's crystal pendant, a gift from her mother, that I decided I liked better as a headband. This was so simple to design, for this one piece I used a star peg board to create the diamond shape and after ironing this was hot glued to a plain black head band that I bought from ebay. Overall I was very pleased with how this Supergirl gift set turned out, I especially liked the necklace which is definitely a statement piece.

Fantastic Beasts Wand Wallpapers set3 - Frenemies

I have previously made wand wallpapers for both Gellert Grindelward and Albus Dumbledore but as these two character possessed more then one wand within their lifetimes I decided they needed more then one wallpaper. Gindelward's previous wallpaper was for his original wand, but here he is master of The Elder Wand. Dumbledore's previous wallpaper was for The Elder Wand, but here he is still using his original wand.

These wallpapers are for Gellert Grindelward with The Elder Wand and Albus Dumbledore with his original wand. To download click on the picture of the wallpaper you want and "Save Image As" to save to your computer or alternatively you can select "Set As Desktop Background". Please let me know if your having any problems with these. Hope you enjoy.

View all the wallpapers in the Fantastic Beasts Wand Wallpaper Collection HERE.

This last bonus wand wallpaper is for the Albus Dumbledore wand that could have been. This wand was to be used during the Fantastic Beasts series by Dumbledore as his original wand, it was even seen in the first promotion image, however it was later replaced by the one above J. K Rowling felt it was too similar in appearance to The Elder Wand.

Dress Pillows #3

This is another Dress Pillow I made as part of a set that I gifted to my niece. The first two I made can be seen HERE and HERE. However this dress pillow is a little different from my first two as this did not start out as a dress at all but was in fact a baby sleepsuit. In order to make this into a pillow I remove the legs that made up the bottom half of this suit and also trimmed the sleeves from its original long sleeves to the caped sleeves seen here.

The cute butterfly design, along with the embroidery on the bib of this sleepsuit, makes for such a sweet pillow for a little girls room. This pillow is also a nice little keepsake for a favoured piece of baby clothing that my sister don't want to just store away in a box somewhere, but wanted to be able to display and use. I found it was nice to be able to come up with the idea, as simple as it is, to turn these precious baby mementos into something new and useful.

Simon's Cat Car Plush

This is a Simon's Cat car window plush. I still have not watched any of the cartoons, I just made him because I think he is cute. I have a previous cat car plush I made, only that one was made with a stretchy fabric which gave him a more chubby look than this cat. Here I used a more stiff fabric giving this cat a taller look, funny how the one pattern can give differing results depending on the type of fabric used.

For this I blanket stitched the eyes and added a black bead at the centre of each, used black embroidery for the nose and mouth and stitched suction cups to each paw. This cat car plush was created from a FREE pattern by Katrin Black found HERE. Her website is actually in Russian but there are plenty of pictures provided to guide you in making this and there is always google translate to translate the page if you prefer.

Random Necklace Design #3

Again playing around with iron beads I made yet another, larger, necklace. This necklace has a somewhat tetris like feel to this design with the blocks of colour being fitted around each other with only a black border between them, along with a few jump rings. The jump rings are used to give the necklace a little more movement and comfort while wearing, as opposed to wearing one large ironed piece.

This iron bead necklace is definitely a statement piece with the full measurements for the three ironed pendant pieces being about 21 cm wide and 10 1/2 cm high. It is very much a bold and bright design that also features two red hearts on its centre piece. I'm not exactly sure when I will wear this, but it was a fun piece to make.

Ponyo & Rilakkuma - Book Bags & Bag Tags

Something a little different are these book bags I made based on the characters Ponyo, a goldfish, and Rilakkuma, a bear. To accompany these book bags I also made matching bag tags using these same characters, and again gave these away as gifts. The book bags measure about 10 inches tall and roughly 9.5 inches wide, a comfortable size for most book sizes. The bag tags measure about 3.5 inches tall by 2.5 inches wide, not including the ribbon or 4 inch chain.

These book bags are made using curtain scraps. I liked the look of the colourful stripes for these bags so I measured, cut and sewed up the sides, folded over the top and sewed again to create the space for the drawstrings. I made these drawstrings from yarn, plaiting three pieces of yarn together for each drawstring, threading it through the tops of the bags then tying the ends together. I made two drawstrings for each bag so that when holding one in each hand and pulled, the bag is drawn closed in the centre.

These bag tags are made using fabric, paper templates for each character that I made from images found online, a plastic sheet cut to size for the clear window on the back, ribbon and handmade chains using a length of chain, jump rings and lobster clasps. Once stitched up the front and back pieces were blanket stitched together. A second front piece was made of each character using just the fabric and templates and were again blanket stitched to the front of each book bag.

Book bags are a handy thing for anyone to have, especially if your a reader which I always encourage. These book bags were simple enough to make and finished up looking fun, bright and very practicable, and not just for books. These bag tags were more complex to design and put together but they turned out very cute and usable. It was fun to branch out a in a way and make something a little different.

Magizoology Wallpapers set2 - Pygmy Puffs [or Henrietta and Barney Sitting In A Tree...]

Here in Australia it is officially Spring and, although the weather is yet to feel like it, it seem that Henrietta and Barney, my two pygmy puffs, certainly know it is. Not long ago I noticed they had disappeared from the house. I was beginning to worry about this couple, that is until I today stumbled upon their nest in the hollow of a tree in my backyard. And they were not alone.

I decided I should make some desktop wallpapers of Henrietta and Barney sitting in a tree. These wallpapers are size 1366x768, which is the size of my own computer, but if other sizes are wanted I can make those too. To download click on the picture of the wallpaper you want and "Save Image As" to save to your computer or alternatively you can select "Set As Desktop Background". Hope you enjoy.

Topsy Turvy Doll mini - Doll & Sailor Jupiter

I finished another smaller topsy turvy doll, this one as a gift for my sister. These smaller dolls are made not so much for play but as decorative pieces, but they are still very playable if that is desired. Standing at about 8.5 inches from head to head and about 9.5 inches from head to hem, as the skirt hangs a little lower to fully cover the doll under it, these are an ideal size for display.

Although with my larger flip dolls I embroidered individual face designs for each character, for these smaller dolls I decided to stick to the patterns original face templates. This meant making one dolls face happy and the doll on the flip side sad. These more basic faces were embroidered on using black and white for the eyes with black eyebrows, a pale tan colour for the nose and either red for happy lips or pink for sad lips.

The hands of each doll is also embroidered to give definition and create the fingers on each hand. The hair for each dolls head is made from yarn stitched first in a layer to cover the head, then followed with a second layer to create the length of the hair. This was done to ensure no bald spots on the dolls heads. For the brunette doll I created a fringe and a ponytail tied with a green ribbon to match her skirt.

For the hair on the blonde doll, I create the hair length and left the loops on the ends so it wouldn't look choppy or uneven but instead was left soft and rounded to better disguise any uneven ends. The dress on this blonde doll originally belonged to my sister before she donated it to me for sewing materials and she was pleasantly surprised to see it returned to her in this new representation.

If it was not already obvious, the blonde doll was made to represent my sister but the reverse brunette doll was actually made to represent Sailor Jupiter, the sailor scout who represents the month of my sisters birthday. The outfit for this second doll is a simplified version of Sailor Jupiter's fuku, that is a white top with her signature green colour for her skirt and hair ribbon.

As with everything I sew, this flip doll was completely sewn by hand and this includes the hair and dresses for these dolls. At some stage I will have to find the time to make a topsy turvy doll for myself, I would really like to make a Harry Potter themed doll for my shelf, but in the mean time I have another two sister I am making these dolls for and because they are hand-sewn they tend to take some time to make.

Pokémon Pikachu Bookmark & Ash + Pikachu Key Chain & Poké Ball Box

I've never made anything Pokémon related before but my nephew is a fan so I decided to make a Pokémon  gift set for his birthday. This set includes a Pikachu bookmark, two key chains, one of Ash Ketchum and the other of Pikachu, and lastly a box made to resemble a Poké Ball.

When I found this design for a Pikachu bookmark online I thought it was so cute I had to make it. Using a square 29x29 peg board, the finished design was ironed pretty well flat on both sides to make it as thin as possible so the finished piece could be comfortably used as a bookmark, with the finished size being about 13.5 cm tall.

These two key chains were made directly from patterns I found online and seemed to me to be the perfect designs for key chains. Ash Ketchum and Pikachu are very iconic to Pokémon and were a must to include in this set. The actual key chain part is also handmade by me using red rope, jewellery endings, jump rings and a lobster clasp.

The Poké Ball was was a bit trickier to make. After searching online for a Poké Ball I found a few that I liked and a few that I didn't, so I combined a couple of these designs to create a look I liked. I used a round peg board and made rings of white, black and red in differing sizes to create an oval shaped box.

Once all the layers were ironed together I then had to hot glue these layers to create the 3D box shape. I preferred a more oval, flattened circle a perfect round shape as it was more box like. I also added a magnet closure which, along with the front button piece, was hot glued to the finished box to create the Poké Ball.

I was so pleased with how these turned out and I think my nephew was too. I especially like the Pikachu bookmark, its such a simple design but so adorable. I again ran out of so many colours when making this, you might have noticed that the Poké Ball has some orange iron beads on the inside as I ran out of red. Once I get more iron beads I plan to make more themed gift sets.