Oh, Tooooodles!!!!!

I have had so many requests and questions about the Toodles pillows I have made in the past and have felt terrible turning people away, because I simply did not have the time to cut out and hand stitch all of the pieces it would involve. Well...I do believe I have found a solution that allows customers to enjoy a handmade, sturdy, Toodles pillow without costing me tons of time and potential sanity. Using a design program on my computer, I printed a design similar to the Toodles we all know and love onto quality, transfer paper and ironed the pattern onto the fabric. The pillow is machine sewn and made of felt fabric. If you are interested in this item or know someone that might be, please check out my Etsy shop HERE to purchase!

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Toodles Pillow



Derek's Toodles pillow-front view



Check out my Etsy Shop to purchase a Toodles pillow similar to the one shown!

When my sister-in-law, Jen asked me if I could make my nephew, Derek a Toodles pillow (based on the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse character), I immediately agreed that I would try. Little did she know, I had NO idea whether or not I could actually pull it off or how I would even begin! But, for Derek, I was sure willing to give it my all. I started by drawing out a Mickey head and ears on paper as a template then traced it onto two pieces of red felt. After cutting out the felt, I began to cut the pieces to be placed onto one piece of the red felt and (slowy but surely!) hand-stitched them on. I then cut out a half circle of red felt about the same size of  the head to create a pocket for Derek to put the extra pieces I would be making him into and pinned it to the red felt cutout opposite to the hand-stitched one. Placing the sides of the red felt that I wished to be the outside of the pillow together, I pinned the pieces and sewed along the edges, leaving about a 2 inch gap for stuffing. After turning the felt inside out, I stuffed it with Poly-fil and sewed the open edge shut. I then cut out purple, blue, green, and orange felt "wedges" that Derek would be able to manipulate on top of the Toodles pillow (You really must watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse to truly appreciate all of Toodles' accessories). Using iron-on decals, I printed a picture for each wedge and ironed each on to complete my pillow. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised at how the pillow turned out and was so happy to see the joy on my nephew's face when he opened it! Mission accomplished!!!

Note: I have made an Etsy-version of this pillow for purchase. Please visit my page HERE!!!


Pocket view

 

Toodles "accessories" for Derek to manipulate




The grateful birthday boy giving me the "extra large" hug!





Fabric Roses Embellished Throw Pillow

After deciding to “upgrade” the couch cushions in our household, there was one pillow remaining that I couldn’t bear to get rid of without first attempting to update it myself. Using blue cotton fabric (because the pillow itself was brown and I love a good brown/blue combo!), I cut out a 4” and 6” circle. Using the 6” circle, I cut in a circular motion until reaching the center of the circle so that, if picked up from the center, it formed what looked like a coil. After spreading the coil out, I began using a glue gun to glue the tail of the fabric to the outside edge of the 4” circle, coiling it around and securing with glue until reaching the center of the circle. I created two smaller rosettes using 2” and 4” circles and glued all three to the upper corner of the pillow. TADAH!!!

There are a MILLION other ways to create fabric rosettes, carnations, poppies, you name it, there is a way to recreate it using fabric. Here is a cool link that gives instructions for a variety of them!

http://tipnut.com/fabric-flowers/

Elephant Themed Baby Shower

Baby boy bowtie onesie

My sister, Kyra, is expecting her first child, a little boy, in September, which means many things…tons of diapers, loads and loads of laundry, late night feedings, and eventually race cars, mud pies, and high speed chases around the house. But before all of that, it means another reason to throw a themed party to celebrate her BABY SHOWER!!!  Kyra chose elephants as her nursery theme, so we incorporated them into the shower, along with the colors blue and lime green.  We started with the basics…lime green and baby blue table cloths, blue plates and cups, lime green silverware and napkins, and baby blue and lime green  balloons and streamers.  I also cut elephant shapes out of craft foam, added a googly eye and foam polka-dots to each elephant and used them on the walls of the shower room. In addition, we purchased six blow-up elephants (found in the Target “One Spot” I might add) for added décor and whimsy.

Tables set up and ready to go!

Makeshift clothesline featuring handmade and store-bought clothing, as well as adorable blowup elephants!

More table decor...Notice the elephant confetti on the table courtesy of Martha Stewart's elephant stamp and punch

Food table

Since my mother was recently gifted with multiple boxes of empty baby food jars, we decided we wanted to incorporate them in some way into the favors or centerpieces.  As a result, we decided to use them for cupcakes in a jar to duel as favors for guests to eat at the party or take home to enjoy later AND to arrange them in a way that they could also function as table centerpieces.  We filled each jar about 1/3 full of “Whoopie pie” batter (recipe included) and placed them into cupcake pans so that they didn’t fall over in the oven. After baking them at degrees for minutes, we let them cool and eventually place in the fridge overnight, since we wanted to wait until the last possible moment to add icing and sprinkles. The following day, we added icing to fill each cupcake jar, leaving about ½” of space for sprinkles and to twist on the cap. We had previously cut out fabric circles using pinking shears to put on the tops of our jars and tie with ribbon in coordinating colors and add a tag thanking guests for attending and a spoon. I then found four-packs of green, plastic plates, blue plastic plates, green, plastic cups, and blue, plastic cups and glued the bottom edge of each cup onto the bottom of the corresponding colored plate, creating a simple, cake stand to place the cupcakes on.

Decorated cupcake in a jar

Cupcakes on their homemade cake stand

Another glance

Games included a baby pool where guests indicated what they thought the baby’s name, age, weight, and date of birth would be, and a baby-themed guessing game, where tables of guests played in teams to answer questions related to having and raising a baby (for example, “How many diapers does an average mommy change in two years?” The answer, by the way, is an astounding 7,200!!!).  Since my sister is not revealing the name of her little man, we also decided to give each guest seven Scrabble tiles(2 vowels, 5 consonants), markers, and construction paper. The idea was to come up with a name for baby using as many of the letters as possible and write down the final name on the piece of construction paper. Kyra would then chose her two favorite names from the options provided and give their creators prizes.

Team #1 ready to win!

The final activity we had guests participate in at the shower was to take a piece of cardstock with a letter placed on it (one page for each letter of the alphabet). The guests were directed to decorate the page with words and pictures of objects beginning with that letter so that, when the activity ended, the pages would be compiled to make baby’s first alphabet book.

Decorating Baby Boy's alphabet book pages

Here are a few more pics from the shower just for funsies!!!

Punch with rubber whales for added cuteness

My BFF Tammie made these adorable elephant cookies

The mommy-to-be holding the elephant pillow I made for my future nephew

Holding the beautiful and super-soft car seat cover my grandmother knitted for her future great grandson



Placemat Pillow

Here’s an easy one for you! Using three placemats purchased at a dollar store, I sewed two together with plaid sides facing each other (opposing side of each placemat was a solid color)along the edges, turned it right-side-out leaving a gap for stuffing, which I filled it with and hand sewed it shut. Using half of a third placemat, I cut ½” strips of fabric and twisted them into rosettes, which were sewn onto the pillow. 

The End!