A New Herd of Elephants

Here they come...a whole new herd

of baby elephants!

The last time I posted,

I introduced my first bunch of these little elephants,

made using the Tilly and Tommy Elephant Softie pattern,

by Retromama.

They sure were fun to create,

using the pattern pieces printed a bit smaller, at 75%.

Turns out...I needed a lot more BOY elephants,

so this time I chose some brighter prints.

{I think they are actually suitable for little girls, too!}

I'm just crazy for the navy blue and lime combination!

The checkerboard print is from Bonnie and Camille's

Happy Go Lucky line. 

I paired it with a retro flower print

from V and Co's Simply Color, both for Moda.

I got a bit carried away with some of my stash

of Heather Bailey prints, in Bijoux and Fresh Cut.

A couple of the others were made from

Tula Pink's Hushabye line,

in baby soft aqua and white, with tiny raindrops

and sweet circus wheel motifs.

See that gray elephant in the center,

with the red gingham ears?

I think I'm playing favorites here,

but I.Love.That.One.

{The gray print was from another Bonnie and Camille line, called Vintage Modern.}

I really enjoyed taking in a bag full of baby elephants,

so my friends could choose one just right for their special little baby!

It was more fun than a 3-ring circus!

I'll be making more of these someday...


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My New Summer Cottage - June Across the Pond Sew Along

Welcome, friends,

to the June edition of the 

Across the Pond Sew Along!

It's The Patchsmith's turn to choose the theme,

and she has selected a sweet House Ornament.

As of June 1, Amanda had already

constructed two adorable little cottages!

Pop on over to her post, to see her clever innovation 

for the red one shown below.

{You won't be sorry!}

Photo by Amanda The Patchsmith

The best part about this month's project is that

we can all make these adorable houses 

from a free pattern by Kim of Retromama!

If you go to Flickr and search for "Retromama houses,"

you will come up with all sorts of inspiration.

Here is a super sweet one made by Kim - Retromama herself.

Photo from Kim of Retromama

I found this darling little Christmas house,

made by Kylie of Three Honeybees.

It's just one of many cuties she has made.

{Look at the Christmas tree in the window...heavenly!}

Photo by Kylie of Three Honeybees

The little houses are made as ornaments, with ribbons for hanging.

Take a look at what Josee of cul de sac blog has done with her houses,

decorating a beautiful curtain valance.

You must visit her post to see and believe 

the astonishing details on each little cottage!

{Utterly charming, right?}

Photo by Josee of cul de sac blog

And now...there's a new building over at Susie's Sunroom,
and she's added all the charm of an English garden
to her sweet little cottage!

{I think I had an English accent when I read her post to myself.}

Photo from Susie's Sunroom

I must say that if I'd seen Susie's house first, my window
might have had a contrasting color of thread
for the stitching.  Brilliant touch!

I have to admit that I've had this house ornament

on my must-make list for quite a while.

I even had this issue of Make It Yourself 

magazine by BH&G since late 2012,

which featured the same pattern,

among dozens of other great projects.

{My pages are nearly all dog-eared.}

The Across the Pond Sew Along

provides me with that little

kick in the pants that I need,

so that I actually make a few of those must-do things!

Using some scraps from a recent project,

I set to work building my own little house.

Here's the result, and I'm so pleased with it!

Why, oh why, did I wait so long to build my dream house?
I love every little detail.

It's just so tiny and sweet.
I made the house number from a bit of selvage,
and it happens to be the house number of someone
in my real life. ;)

Like The Patchsmith,

I found myself missing a coordinating 

piece of ribbon for hanging.

I improvised with my pinking shears,

to make a fabric strip hanger.

The back of this house is plain,

but if I make any more, I might invest

some time into adding details on the reverse side.

{The Patchsmith's back yard puts mine to shame.}

I have to admit that

this house is really very small,

and it took me a while to turn it inside out

after stitching it together.

I think it was worth the effort, though.  I love it!

I'm so glad that I waited until the last step
to add the little button doorknob.

I have some great polyfil that resists clumping,

and it was just right for this tiny project.

I picked it up at my local Walmart
and would recommend it for stuffed softies
and really small projects like this one.

Wouldn't this house make an adorable pincushion???

{Or a little housewarming or hostess gift?}

We hope you'll be inspired to join us in our

little Sew Along and add your photos to our Flickr group.

{Past finishes or latecomers are always welcome, too.}

Next time I post,

I'll let you know what else I made with my little house fabrics.

{If you want to know where my scraps came from...come back soon!}

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More elephants...

What is it lately with me and ELEPHANTS?

In my last post I shared my pincushion

from Heather Bailey's pattern,

Ollie and Effie Elephant.

And now, today's post is all about more baby elephants!

My husband's goddaughter recently welcomed a third baby boy into her family.

I made her this diaper bag...

And a matching baby elephant softie for the little sweetheart to cuddle.

Then I thought it would be fun to make a couple more,

for the two big brothers!

You have to admit there's something really sweet about baby elephants.

They're as much fun as a 3-ring circus.

This time the pattern is from Retromama on Etsy, called Tilly and Tommy.

  I just LOVE the little knotted tails and floppy ears!!!

Suddenly a lot of my work friends are becoming grandmas, 

so I needed lots of new baby gifts. 

Perfect!  And so much fun to make. 

They're my new "signature" baby present!

Watch for an extra or two in my shop on Etsy...OR...I could always make a custom baby elephant just for you...I'm just sayin'...

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