Happy Friday to you all. Firstly let me say a big thank you to all who joined in again last week....I do really enjoy sharing what makes you smile.
Then let me say that this week I am sharing some of the colour from around our garden as I am away from my desk making more smiles this weekend at the WOYWW crop. I am joining many friends that I have known for years but many of which I've never met before....it's a funny old world we live in isn't it but I am more than happy to move with the times and make the very best of every day and I'm certain this weekend will be filled with fun, laughter, hugs and friendships......I will do my best to snap a few photos to share with you next week.
So here is some of the riot of colour in our back garden at the mo....I am catching it before Mr Frost moves in and spoils a lot of it.
Now hasn't that made you smile? I love all the gorgeous colours as they change through the seasons.
Hope you all have a wonderful week and will leave me a little message before linking up to share a few of your own smiles.
Hello folks. I'm baring all again and sharing some of my creative space with you.
This week I have been working with requests from the dog breeder where we bought Milly from who is setting up her dog grooming business in a new location that will allow her to sell other dog related items to the public. You all know just how much I love a challenge so when she asked what I could make for her my brain went into overdrive, out came the fabrics and I started pattern making and sewing. It's early days yet but along side my other customer sewing this week I have been creating so that's my excuse for the photos I'm sharing today....
First I'm going to stun and shock you all by these two pics. So many of you paper crafters have exploding boxes that I thought you'd like to see mine only of course mine are overflowing with fabrics!!
The top one is my smaller scrap box but of course it's been piled high with other things and the bottom pic is my fabric box I made to hold my fat quarters and as you can see it just doesn't!!.....but it will one day when I can get my head around using some of it. :-)
I have laid out some of my fat quarters so my customer can decide which she would like her bunting making out of for her shop.....but I have a feeling she has decided for me to use something else now....so I guess this lot will be piled back into the box again.
See! I did try to use some of it.
I sorted out some of my tartan fabrics to show her and I may well be making bandanas or bow tie out of some of these.....but for now I will put them back into one of my 16 Ikea storage boxes full of fabrics.
I have made another batch of bandanas....I really love this fabric and so does my customer so I will be buying more of this.
I've also made my first batch of doggy bows that fix on the collars with a loop of elastic....I love the little paw prints on these.
And finally, some of you may have seen on my Friday post that I made covers for Milly's fav little brown dog toy firstly in brown fabric .....which she chewed straight through! and then in denim...... she doesn't mind it being blue.....or does she?
As you can see she has chewed one of it's legs off to get little brown dog's leg out :-) :-) :-)
Well folks that's it from me for today. I will be getting my dumfing ready to bring it with me to the crop at the weekend......getting pretty excited now folks.
Well! These weeks sure do fly by don't they? It only seems like 5 mins since I was sat here uploading pics for last week's smiles. Many thanks to all who joined in the fun last week. I hope you all enjoy a little time each week focusing on the smiles you've had.....I know it does me good. So I will get straight to my smiles for this week....and there have been many.
Birthday celebrations continue in our family this week. Little Theo's mummy, Gina and these two all have their birthdays on the same day so, as you can imagine, there has been lots to celebrate.
It really only seems like 5 mins since Sam and Lexi arrived in the world but yes, as you can see on their cards, they are now 6!! Their birthday party is at the weekend and I'm on duty to make the teas and coffees there....it's my excuse for hiding in the kitchen because they have the Animal man coming bringing snakes and other exotic animals for the children to handle!! [I really don't like snakes but I'm sure the children will have fun!!].
Phoebe and Lulu started Brownies this week and here they are showing me their new Brownie outfits....they have changed a lot since I went....just a few years ago!!
They have already got their first badge to sew on their hoodies [so I guess Nanny Annie will be sewing those on soon]....it was their First aid badge and Lulu even got the special award for being the best at putting someone in the recovery position so I'm really proud of them both.
Gina sent me this pic of Theo playing on the activity mat I made him for his birthday....as you can see he loves it so that really made me smile.
My other smiles are of this bundle of mischief. It was suggested by one of my blog followers that I would always find a way of repairing her favourite 'Little brown dog' toy and that's just what I have done this week. I made a pattern from her original toy and made a lovely brown 'cover' to go over it. Alas within 5 mins she had chewed a hole in it as the fabric wasn't very strong so I made another one in denim. As you can see she is really pleased with the now 'Little blue dog' and I have kept the paper pattern I made because I have a feeling I may be making more as she chews her way through each one!!
She has also been modelling my latest range of Doggy bandanas for me and her photo is now on the wrapping of each one I've made.....fame at last eh?
That's my smiles for this week. I hope I have found something to make you smile too and you will leave me a little message before linking up to your own smiles below. Have a great week.
Hello all. I'm afraid to say there is C*******s activity going on in my sewing room this week. I have a craft fair at the beginning of December and as this week has been rather more quiet so far I have been using my time wisely. As some of you wont be ready to see festive items yet I have stood back to take my photo so you don't have to see in detail if you'd rather not.....
You can of course click on the photo if you want a closer snoop but I'm going to list what's there for you.....
My two latest Memory bears awaiting collection later today.
My store boxes with my Tooth fairy pillows, P E bags etc etc at the back.
A stack of baby activity cubes
A pile of doggy bandanas I've made this week.
6 Fabric covered pin boards I've made this week.
41 Fabric letters I've nearly finished to hang on C*******s trees...they just need little bells attaching. I made one of every letter of the alphabet them made a few more of the more popular letters.
Of course there's all my jars of ribbons, a few special cards and clutter on the shelf above.
That's about it for this week. Feel free to have a good snoop and if you have any questions I will do my best to answer them. Hope you all have a great week.
Hugs,
Annie x
Hello all. It was so lovely to see so many of you calling in and leaving me such lovely comments last week. Not all of you linked to your own smiles but it makes it all worth while just to know you've called by. Many thanks to those who also shared their own smiles...I really love seeing what is making you happy each week.
I've had another busy week filled with smiles so here's my catch up for you....
Saturday afternoon my darling hubby went to watch our local footy team....[Shrewsbury Town and they are top of the league still so he had lots to smile about too]. I had these three little visitors come with their mummy and that much older sister of mine came too as her hubby also goes to the footy. We all had a good catch up and here you can see the children playing cards together....they are such lovely little people and play so well together.
The girls arrived with a home made thank you card they had made together and this gorgeous bunch of flowers for me for spending time with them and making the Barbie doll clothes for them.
The flowers have made me smile every time I look at them so I just had to share them with you all.
Tuesday afternoon I had little Theo come to play for the afternoon while his mummy was at a staff meeting at the school she teaches at. While he was here we also had a visit from the twins on their way home from school...I missed to snap a pic of them all but it's always lovely to watch the little ones all playing together.
Our little Lulu is starting guitar lessons at school. As you can see she isn't much bigger than the guitar but what makes me smile most is that it's the guitar my mum and dad bought for me and they would both be so thrilled to see her playing with it.
I'm so easily pleased when it comes to materials as you know.
Tuesday morning Jo and I popped to our local material shop and I stocked up on the iron on interfacings I use to stabilise my Memory bears with....nothing pretty about it but it means I can enjoy making more special memories for my customers and I will enjoy that.
I was contacted by a friend this week to see if I could make some doggy bandannas so, even though my fabric boxes are full of course I didn't have anything suitable. I sent a message to Cabin Crafts on Facebook and straight away Denise sent me pics of the fabrics she had, I paid for them via Paypal and she posted them to me the next morning.....what a brilliant service. She comes highly recommended.....Aren't they just perfect too?
And if you're still not smiling then here's a selfie from Milly. If I'm engrossed in my sewing and she needs my attention then she jumps up onto my knee between me and my desk as you can see here so I snapped her pic for you. She's such a gorgeous little thing....that is when she hasn't been digging in the one bit of wet muddy garden we've got like she did yesterday!!!! ....She needed a bath......enough said 😁😁😁
That's my round up of smiles for this week. Please leave me a little message so I know you've called in and if you can then link up to your own smiles below. Have a happy and fun filled week.
Another Wednesday and another catch up with the creative desks around the world hosted by our group leader Julia over at The Stamping Ground. Just click on the link and pop over if you want to find out more....go on be tempted to join in. We are a very friendly bunch.
So on my desk today....
Yes it's a police vest that needed repair but don't worry I've not been avested [excuse the pun]....it was just a play one belonging to my grandson.....I get asked to do all sorts of jobs....cos Nanny can do.
Another little job for the family....Lexi has an 18" doll coming for her 6th birthday soon and she will be wanting some extra clothes making for her but finding patterns for a doll you haven't seen isn't easy.....I think this one might be adaptable but want to see if it fits before I make more.....apparently they need to be more glitzy!
And for those that don't follow me on Facebook here's the 5 bears I made last week for customers benefiting from my 10% off special offer. From left to right...
Made from a much loved mum's cardigan.....I managed to add the beaded flower embellishment to the front and have to say this is one of my favourites....I love purple.
Made from a special little boys christening outfit....I made the waistcoat and cap as extras.....cute isn't he?
Made from a child's school uniform.
Made from a much loved dad's scarf with matching green ribbon.
Made from a student nurses uniform when she qualified ....rather special to me being an ex nurse.
There you go folks it was a really busy week for me last week. On top of what you can see above I also....
Shortened a bridesmaids dress
took in a posh frock for a wedding
shortened 3 nurses uniforms
shortened 6 pairs of trousers.......Oh and I cooked, cleaned, washed, ironed etc etc as is the norm.
I must apologise for any blogs I didn't manage to visit last week but I hope you will understand why lol. No two week are the same for me but I do my best to live every day. Hope you all have a great week.
Hugs,
Annie x
Hello all. Here we are at my weekly catch up of smiles. Many thanks to all who joined in last week....it was so lovely to see a few more of you joining in.....keep up the good work folks.
Yesterday was little Theo's first birthday and as promised I am sharing a few photos of his birthday party on Sunday....the hall was filled with gorgeous babies and children and his family and friends. It was a Peter rabbit themed messy play party which was really enjoyed by all.
Just look at that amazing birthday cake made by Theo's mummy and her friend.
The balloon Peter rabbit was made by my eldest daughter...talented lot aren't we?
My other share today is this one of Phoebe. I've decided she is not only beautiful on the outside but on the inside too.....not that I didn't know it before.
She asked her mummy if, when she had her hair cut to go back to school, she could have it cut really short so that she could send her hair away to have wigs made out of it for little girls who have lost their hair with cancer treatment.....and as you can see this is exactly what she has had done. I'm so very proud of her.
This made me chuckle too. This is the photo of Phoebe with her new gorgeous hair cut next to one of her mummy when she was little sporting the same hair cut.....gorgeous or what?
That's my smiles for this week. I'm up to my ears with sewing jobs this week plus this idiot decided to offer 10% off her Memory bears for this week and very many have taken up the offer so I'm under a mountain of bears too....and they have given me lots to smile about with all the special reasons people want them making for.
Please leave me a little message so I know you've called by and if you can then link up to your own smiles below.
There's rather a lot been going on my desk here at Sewing by Annie's this week so I'm just going to run through it in pic for you now...
As many of you will know we celebrated little Theo's birthday on Sunday afternoon [he's actually 1 tomorrow but his mummy has now started back to work so we celebrated early].
Here's the bunting I made decking the hall....I had many lovely comments made about it too.
It was a Pater rabbit themed messy play party....more pics to come on my Friday smile post at the end of the week. A wonderful time was had by all and I just know many of you will be impressed with the cake his mummy made for him so it's well worth calling in to check it out.
Here's the play mat / bag I made for him...there is a draw string going around the edge to make a bag with it so it can hold some of his toys.
I appliqued two little vests for him to get messy in at the party....cute eh?
This week over on my Facebook page I've got a special offer on my Memory bears....you get 10% off if you order and get the items of clothing to me before this Friday at 5pm. When my customers call in I need to be able to show them the sort of things I make so I have put pics of the 50!! bears I have made all together on 4 sheets to have them to hand.....impressive eh?
These are two of my latest bears I've made and.....
......here's the next one in the making....This one was posted to me so she didn't miss out on my special offer.......Plus I am expecting at least another 6 to arrive this week!!
As they say....it seemed like a good idea at the time :-)
I really love making my bears and especially the fact that each one is different and hold special memories for each customer.
Just in case you think that's all I've been doing this week.....I've also shortened three layers on the beautiful pale peach bridesmaid's dress and the hems on the 3 nurses dress uniforms hanging on my rail.....I wouldn't want you to think I've been slacking hehehe.
Thanks for calling by. I will do my best to call by at yours but some idiot has offered money off on my Memory bears for the week and I am going to be rather busy :-) :-)
There were only two that joined in the fun last week so a huge thank you to Angela and Kate for sharing their smiles with us. I really do appreciate your help to make the world a happier place by sharing a few smiles.
Here's my shared smiles for this week...
We babysat the twins on Sunday and we were joined by Amy and her three for an afternoon of fun at Chirk Castle. We met a knight and maid at the castle gates, had fun in the stocks, had snack time together on one of the lawns, played tennis, rolled down the grassy banks and finished the day off playing with Grandad and the lego....all in all it was a wonderful day watching the little cousins enjoying each others company.
Little Theo enjoyed some quality time with his daddy while his mummy was on a Hen weekend. I'm so proud of the wonderful daddy my 'little boy' has become and as you can see he had no problem keeping little Theo amused.
Milly's special little brown dog toy needed yet more repairs....it morphs every time I repair it and is really beginning to wear out buy it's such a firm favourite that I will always do my best to sew things back together for her.
This is my challenge for you this week. We have such a stupid language that I'm sure English must be one of the hardest languages to learn. I found this on Pinterest and had a good chuckle trying to read it. I really hope you can click on it to have a go. Let me know how you get on.
That's all from me for today. Please leave me a little message and if possible link up to your own smiles.....and try to get your friends to join in too.
