Friday Photos - The Garden Path

Another photo taken by me:

... and edited with Photoshop within every inch of it's surface :) I wanted to make it look like a painting.

This photo was taken at a Durian farm somewhere in Southern Philippines. Somewhere in South Cotabato, I think. (So good with Geography, I am! I didn't even know where we were!) The place had several fruit trees and gardens and I took this photo of a covered path which leads to... I have no idea. It was a little dark at the end of the path and I was with my 3-year old niece at the time so we did not venture that way.

When I was looking at the photos from our trip, I didn't think this particular photo captured the beauty I saw that day. But when I started looking for photos to compile for our photo book, I saw this again and thought that the shot had some 'drama' to it and with a lot of little editing it can pass for 'artistic'. I worked on the photo in Photoshop, using Filter > Artistic > Watercolor. I love how it looks now.

NOTE: Regarding Durian by the way, I am not particularly fond of the fruit... and the smell!

My first documented UFO

UFO - Un-Finished Object. I've been reading about UFO's from Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom and I was amazed how some people are so good at finishing what they started. You see, I often start something... and when it doesn't turn out right or how I wanted it to, I lose interest in fixing it or starting over. And I move on to something new.

A month ago, I posted about this blue dress I sort of finished for Andrea. It's sort of finished, because it can be worn. I can't call it finished because, it looked a little plain and I know it can do with more... um... flair?

See?  Boring.

I got a few good suggestions from the comments section and I tried to get some more work done on the dress but with all the cleaning and preparation last week for my in-laws' arrival, all I managed to do was add some ruffles around the front part of the neckline.

The ruffles don't even extend to the back of the neckline :-/

I'm still thinking of adding a small pocket to the center of the bodice... watchatink? Can I call it done? or does it need more... flair?

Creating Success Around the World with Ser Tyan of Sertyan's Sewing Corner

Welcome to

Creating Success Around the World

The worldwide blog hop tour that introduces you to creative people from all corners of the globe.

Click here to learn more.

-oo0oo-

[Janelle] Today I will introduce you to Ser Tyan of Sertyan's Sewing Corner. Ser Tyan comes to us from Sabah, Malaysia.

[Janelle]: Welcome to our weekly Creating Success Around the World blog hop Ser Tyan! Please tell us a little about yourself and your country.

[Ser Tyan]:  I am a full time working mother from Sabah, Malaysia who loves to sew. Malaysia is a multicultural country, with lots of sunshine, home of the orang utans and lots of exotic and authentic food! 

I've been following your blog for more than month now and I must have read all your posts. I love looking at your projects! Can you tell us more about your sewing?

I am currently sewing for my Little Terror who is going to be 2 years old in August.   I used to sew a lot for my dollies a few years ago, I can say that sewing for dollies gave me a lot of practice for my transition to making children's clothes. I love peter pan collars, piping and covered buttons, I am afraid that I am so old skool.

I love your style! Especially love your choice of fabric... mix of vintage and fun! Our readers seem a little interested about your 'Little Terror'. If you haven't been to Sertyan's Sewing Corner yet, this 'Little Terror' is like THE top model over there. You wanna meet her? Ok, but prepare yourselves for the next photo will surely strike terror in the hearts of the steadfast...

Aaaawwwwww... Isn't this little girl the cutest??? Wonderful model too!

What inspires your projects?

Seeing my Little Terror wear my creations gives me a lot of satisfaction although I know children's clothes can be cheaper store bought when on sale. When the craft bug bites, I always try to make time to sew, which may means less sleep and very little tv!

In addition, there are so many good tutorials and good books out there, I can't resist to try them!  I use a many Japanese pattern books and can't believe how generous are online sewists with free tutorials/patterns.  I seriously learned a lot about sewing online and glad I didn't sign up for a brick-and-mortar sewing lesson 2 years ago.

Store-bought dresses might be cheaper sometimes but the ones you make are definitely prettier! Do you sell them?

I used to sell most of my handmade dolly clothes just by posting comments in dolly groups.  It was quite profitable as I was able to fund my doll collection that way, I was only studying that time so I couldn't justify using my tuition fees to buy collector's edition dolls.

During all this time you spent sewing, do you make mistakes?

Recently I made some mistakes when I joined a sew along which required me to draft my own patterns.  Seriously, it is quite tough compared to just tracing and sewing a pre-made pattern, so I really am grateful to online sewists who shares free tutorials and patterns.

I know! When I make my own patterns, it's hit-or-miss all the time. It's nice to hear that someone as talented as you makes the mistakes too, just like us sewer-wannabes :) How do you define success, and at this point, can you say that you have already achieved it?

I think success is about finding happiness and balance in all I do.  I wouldn't say that money and career is not important but it is about finding balance in everything at the end of the day and I feel happier if I can achieve that.  For me there is always room for improvement.

So what's next for you? Do you plan to take your creativity to 'the next level', whatever that might mean for you?
Some of my friends have encouraged me to open an online shop to sell my handmade dresses.  Actually I harbour a secret dream (well not secret anymore, hey!) to do something creative to earn a living.  However with a full time job (not related to sewing at all!), I have to be contented just making clothes for my Little Terror now, it is my creative outlet.


I hope you realize your dream someday. You definitely have the talent to excel at it. Thank you for joining us here today Ser Tyan! I look forward to seeing more of your creativity in your blog!

-oo0oo-

If you want to see more of Ser Tyan's work (and her Little Terror too!), make sure to visit her at Sertyan's Sewing Corner.

Be sure to check out the other interviews from my co-hosts:

 Australasia - Jill @ Creating My Way to Success

Europe - Yaga @ The Shiny Bubble 

The Americas - Suzy @ Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom

Africa - Adepeju at Peekadot

Asia - Me! :)

And now, it's your turn! Join our blog hop by linking your blog to our link party below! After linking, make sure you visit a few other links because that's what this hop is all about :)

Friday Photos - Potomac River

For this Friday, let's skip to another continent.

And for a change, this photo was taken by me, not my husband.

This photo of the Potomac River was taken from the Mount Vernon grounds while we were taking the tour. I looked out the door and saw these 2 tourists on the grounds, thought it looked pretty and snapped the photo using a cheap point and shoot camera. 

Mount Vernon, the former residence of George Washington, is beautiful! Though initially the attraction for us was that it was related to the movie, National Treasure 2, haha. I hope we get a chance to go back. I'm sure we took loads of photos but for some reason, this is the only one that made it to my supposed-to-be-Photo book project. Oh wait, here is another one... again, taken by me!

I'll dig around our hard drive for some more. Hope you guys have a lovely weekend! I have guests so it's sure to be busy around our house this weekend.

Creating Success Around the World with Thendral of Kavin

Welcome to
Creating Success around the World

The worldwide blog hop tour, that introduces you to creative people from all corners of the globe.

Click here to know more.

-oo0oo-

Today I will introduce you to Thendral of Kavin. Thendral is from India and her blog is all about her amazing embroidery, sewing and other craft projects.

[Janelle] Welcome Thendral! Before we start this interview, I want to show them first what I mean when I said you have amazing embroidery skills.

See what I mean? 

So Thendral, why don't you tell us a little something about yourself and your country?

[Thendral]: Hello, I am Thendral from India, a country which is cherished for its culture and traditions. Kavin (my blog), is the place where I share my experience with other crafty people in the world. I too learn from them. I love nature, I can spent hours together watching the sky, birds and flowers.

I have been following your blog for a while and what I love most about your work is that you are able to share a little of your culture through your style. Can you tell our readers what kind of things you like working on?

Sewing is my passion. But I do all sorts of needle works, craft works, embroidery, painting, clay modeling, recycled crafts and so on.

What made you decide to start making things?

I do crafts from my school days. I love making something unique. Crafting and sewing makes me happy.

But now at present I have a valuable reason to make things… it is my daughter, I create for her, I create with her. I am happy that I make her happy.

You have a beautiful daughter and I can tell she loves modelling your creations for you. Aside from making things for your daughter and for your home, do you sell the things you make?

No, not yet. Till now my creations are given to friends and family as gifts. I make dresses for my family. I may start a business in future.

With your talent, I'm sure this is very possible for you. Have you made mistakes during your crafting and can you share with us what you learned from them?

The lesson learned “Always be clear and take quick decisions”.  When friends keep on insisting me to start a business, I am confused whether I can balance both business and family.  If I could make it clear and quick, then I would have started my business by this time.

I can understand your concern being a mother myself. For you, what is success? And can you say that you have achieved it already?

What has happened till now is like a success for me. When my talents are recognized I feel that I have achieved something but still there is a lot to achieve.

You definitely have the potential to achieve more. So after you have reached this point with your crafting, what's next for you?

Learn new crafts, making new patterns…

Good plan, and I can't wait to see what you make next!

Thank you Janelle, Thank you Jill, Yaga, Suzy and Adepeju for hosting these interviews. I am happy to make new friends all over the world. Hope they visit me at Kavin.

Thank you for visiting us here today too Thendral!

-oo0oo-

If you want to see more of Thendral's work, you can visit her at Kavin.

Be sure to check out the other interviews from my co-hosts:

Australasia - Jill @ Creating My Way to Success

Europe - Yaga @ The Shiny Bubble 

The Americas - Suzy @ Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom

Africa - Adepeju at Peekadot

Asia - Me! :)

And now, it's your turn! Join our blog hop by linking your blog to our link party below! After linking, make sure you visit a few other links because that's what this hop is all about :)

Janelle will be M-I-A

Just want to let you guys no that I will not be posting much here for the next two weeks. It's a little busy at work this week and then we're having some company at home next week. Andrea's grandma and grandpa and grand aunt will be in town :) That also means that my craft room/ Andrea's bedroom/ sometimes-guestroom will be occupied and I won't have anywhere to work so no crafting next week.

The Creating Success Around the World blog hop and interviews are still going to be posted on schedule. Be sure to check it out because I have some amazingly talented ladies lined up for the interview.

When I get back, I am doing some serious sewing because I was able to buy cute polka dot fabric and will be trying to follow a sew-along for the first time! See you when I get my craft room back! :)

Friday Photos - Corregidor

Ruins in Corregidor

Corregidor is an island located a few hours from Manila. It can be reached by ferry boats which make daily trips from a port in Bataan and a port in Manila Bay. Every inch of Corregidor's landscape tells a story. During WWII, American and Filipino troops retreated to this island during the Japanese invasion. It was their last refuge... though not much of a refuge because people on this island taking shelter in underground tunnels endured heavy bombings from the Japanese. 

After WWII, this island also bore silent witness to the massacre Moro Muslim soldiers, formed and trained for a secret mission during the Marcos regime. The Jabidah Massacre. When their mission had to abort, the President ordered all soldiers who have knowledge of the mission killed. Or so the story goes.

If you visit today, you will still see the ruins of buildings, barracks, and underground tunnels. There are also several monuments. It is also said that the entire island is haunted by the ghosts of the many soldiers and other people who died there, during the way, and after. One of the attractions is a ghost hunting activity facilitated by the hotel there if you stay over night. My husband and his officemates went, but according to them, aside from the whole island being eerily quiet at night, they did not see or feel anything unusual.

My 'Project' - Bye-bye Tiffany

I was finally able to start my 'project' last night. And no, I wasn't really making anything, rather, my 'project' is that I joined...

... and as part of The Toy Society, I am supposed to 'drop' off the toys I made. And last night I said good bye to Tiffany, wished her well, and made my first drop.

Ready for drop off!

I printed my tags and my letter. The Toy Society provides standard tags and letters but I changed my tag a little. Instead of the 'Take me home, I'm yours' tag, I made mine 'This toy is FREE and it's yours!'. This practice is a little unusual here and I want the message to be simple and clear. I used the standard letter provided by The Toy Society and I made another set where I translated the letter and the tag to Tagalog (local language). 

And there she is... left on the pavement in front of a chapel which I pass by on my way home. Kids play in this area in the evenings and I was hoping that one of them found it.

I had several doubts about joining The Toy Society, mostly concerning the culture here. I like the concept (that's why I joined) but I wasn't sure how a home made hand made toy is going to be appreciated by whoever finds it. I tried imagining what I would do if I found a toy inside a plastic bag lying on a street or hanging from a pole somewhere.  I would probably ignore it and I definitely won't let my child touch it because I have no idea where it came from. I think that this kind of thinking is pretty common for most families here. We are just not used to finding something for free lying around (yeah... we don't have anything like Craig's List here). But I decided to go ahead with it anyway. On the tag I made for Tiffany, I added '*SAFE * CLEAN * HANDMADE*'. I hope that convinced whoever found her last night to pick her up and take her home. I know she was found because she wasn't there anymore when I passed by that same chapel again this morning.

I don't think I will ever hear from whoever found Tiffany, or from whoever will find the other toys I plan to 'drop' (yeah, I have a couple more ready for 'dropping'). Another culture thing. But I guess that's ok.

Edited (2011-07-18): My drop is already in The Toy Society blog. I'm drop #1563.

Creating Success Around the World with Divya from Jewels of Sayuri

Welcome to
Creating Success around the World

The worldwide blog hop tour, that introduces you to creative people from all corners of the globe.

Every Wednesday our hosts on each continent will introduce you to someone new whose creativity is inspiring! 

Here's how you can take this worldwide tour with us: 

1. You can follow all the hosts to support them and keep up to date with the fabulous posts they will share every week.
2. Then if you are inspired to join, just link up your own blog to make some new international friends (link party is at the bottom of this post).
3. Remember to leave us a comment when you follow us so we can follow you back.
4. And of course we'd love if you added our button to your site to help spread the word! (you can grab the code on my sidebar)

Here are your hosts:

Australasia - Jill @ Creating My Way to Success

Europe - Yaga @ The Shiny Bubble 

The Americas - Suzy @ Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom

Africa - Adepeju at Peekadot

Asia - Me! :)

-oo0oo-

My guest today is Divya from Jewels of Sayuri. Divya comes to us from Tamil Nadu, India:

[Janelle]: Thank you so much for joining us here Divya! You make beautiful things and I always like browsing around your site. Can you tell us a little about yourself and your country?

[Divya]:  Hey I am Divya, a freelance fashion designer and jewelry enthusiast. I teach at local colleges, do apparel & accessory designing for upcoming brands, write for online magazines and craft a lot. I am from the southern part of India, Tamil Nadu, a land that is famous for its art, architecture, craft and folk tradition. My mother tongue - Tamil is one of the oldest languages in the world and five of the most important works of the language are named after Jewelry pieces. No wonder my fascination for jewelry!!

 

What kind of items do you make?

I love collecting and creating jewelry - ethnic, traditional Indian, western, recycled -paper, plastic,leather scraps,spectacles- with any and every material I can find. I make floral arrangements and home decor items, sometimes on a whim. I love making cards and gift items for friends and family. As a part of my share alike endeavor I conduct craft and jewelry workshops and post DIY tutorials regularly on my blog. Recently I have started crocheting, so lets see where that goes. 

I can't wait to see you incorporate crochet in your future works. Can you tell us what inspires you? Why do you make things?

To quote a famous line " I am God's daughter and I too can be like him". Frankly, I design because thats what I love doing :) 

And you are good at it! I saw the design you made for the Nine West contest. I love it! Are you currently selling the items you make? 

I mostly sell (my regular beaded jewelry) through word of mouth and it goes quite well. I am just about to complete three years of running my brand. I also do have an online store, Jewels of Sayuri. The online store could do better, but I guess with time, everything will work out just fine. 

With your talent, I'm sure it will! What lessons have you learned in your craft that you can share with others?

Initially when I came from the corporate world, I was so frustrated at brands just copying one another so I wowed to not look at anybody else work while crafting. But now I have realised that every artist needs new ideas and these ideas can also be inspired by works of others as long as the interpretation is ones own and is not just a copy. I have also learnt to share my ideas more freely for I am no longer insecure about them. On the practically side I have been assured that good branding helps in the long run.

What, to you is success? Have you achieved it yet, or are you on your way towards success?

If success is only about money or fame then I can safely claim that I am unsuccessful. To me, success means, the ability to do things that I want to do, at my own pace, with sincerity and honesty and be rewarded suitably for that. I will remain happy as long as it is that way. It also feels nice to be recognized along the way :)

I totally agree with your sentiments and I'm sure there will be more recognition coming your way in the future! So what's next for you?

Another store (Etsy or a blog store) for craft supplies is definitely on the cards. More projects and even a collaboration with other bloggers and definitely learning new techniques. But if I had no financial or time constraints, my dream project would be a design studio, where I could work with artisans to create innovative, quirky Indian products for daily use. It would be a place where interested people could learn about art and craft directly from the artisans. 

That's a great plan and I hope you achieve this dream! Thanks again for joining us here today Divya!

-oo0oo-

I know you want to see more of Divya's work. You can visit her at Jewels of Sayuri to check out her amazing talent in making jewelry and other things. 

Now, it's your turn! Tell us something about yourself and link up your post or blog in our party below. We will be happy to meet you!

Surrounded - Part 2

Since last week, nothing much has changed:

• I still don't have agate slices
• I still don't know how to crochet

But my first attempt at making a Surrounded-inspired necklace didn't go very well. When I wore the necklace, I saw that the white glass bangle was overcome by the black rope and silver rope chain and you could hardly see it.

So I decided to try again.

Those rectangle pieces are made of some sort of shell set in resin. They were once part of a cuff (8 pieces held by elastic to form a cuff). I guess I must have found use for 4 of them before because there were only 4 of them in my stash.

It's not very visible in the photo but those rectangle pieces are actually pale peach in color. I used white rope to surround the pieces to make this bib necklace.

Here's a closer look?

I bought several colors of rope and I still have those 4 pendants I showed you in my previous post. So if I find time... more to come!

Oh by the way, we are having another guest here tomorrow for our weekly Creating Success Around the World blog hop.

 

I interviewed another talented lady from Asia and tomorrow, you will get to know her too so check back again. Hope to see you!

I am linking to the following parties:

Made By You Monday at Skip to My Lou | Market Yourself Monday at Sumo's Sweet Stuff | Handmade Tuesdays at Ladybug Blessings | Take-a-Look Tuesday at Sugar Bee Crafts |  Show Me What Ya Got at Not JUST a Housewife | Tuesday To-do Party at The Blackberry Vine | Tip Me Tuesday at Tip Junkie | Tuesday Party at Running With Glitter | Confessional Link Party at Confessions of a Stay at Home Mommy | Link Party at Tea Rose Home | We Did It Wednesday at Sew Much Ado | Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts | Your Whims Wednesday at My Girlish Whims | Weekend Wrapup Party at Tatertots and Jello |

Meet Tiffany

Last week, I mentioned that I was making toys for a 'project' I'm working on. Last weekend, I tried Jenny B. Harris' free Scotty Dog pattern and made...

I named her "Tiffany".

You know, because she looks these charms from Tiffany:

(photo source)

I also decided to give her a dog tag that says "Tiffany".

The heart tag is a knock-off. I bought a pack of these years ago for P45 (approx $1). The pack contained 3 of these heart-shaped tags. I never got to use them because I don't use knock-off items with labels on the jewelry I used to make. I don't even know why I got them... maybe because they look the one I have.

If you want to make this dog, you can get the free template and link to the tutorial from All Sorts. Click here to go to the free pattern and tutorial.

By the way, I showed this to Andrea and she squealed, "Horsie!!!!"... uh... um... *sigh* I think I need to adjust the pattern for her. Good thing this toy isn't really for her ;) The 'project' I'm working on hasn't kicked off yet. I will post about it here when I'm ready to unveil :)

I am linking up to the following parties:

Free for All at Young and Crafty | Think Pink Sundays at Flamingo Toes | K.I.S.S. at The Tattered Tag | Sundae Scoop at I heart Naptime | Sunday Showcase at Under the Table and Dreaming | Not Baaad Sundays at Lamb Around | Craft-O-Maniac Monday at Craft-O-Maniac | Making Monday Marvelous at C.R.A.F.T. | Just Something I Whipped Up at The Girl Creative | Craftastic Monday at Sew Can Do | Motivate Me Monday at Keeping it Simple | A Round Tuit at Creating My Way to Success  | Amaze Me Monday at Dittle Dattle | A Marvelous Mess at Marvelously Messy | Made By You Monday at Skip to My Lou | Market Yourself Monday at Sumo's Sweet Stuff | Handmade Tuesdays at Ladybug Blessings | Take-a-Look Tuesday at Sugar Bee Crafts | Sew Cute Tuesday at Creative Itch | Show Me What Ya Got at Not JUST a Housewife | Tuesday To-do Party at The Blackberry Vine | Tip Me Tuesday at Tip Junkie | Tuesday Party at Running With Glitter | Confessional Link Party at Confessions of a Stay at Home Mommy | Weekend Wrapup Party at Tatertots and Jello |

Friday Photos - My Forgotten Project

Two years ago, around January of 2009, I planned on compiling some of my husband's photos into a photo book and give it to him as a gift. I compiled 2 sets for 2 photo books: one I laid out like a digital scrap book containing our  photos from all the trips we took since we got together, and the other was a compilation of his photos. It was the first time I will be ordering a photo book and I wanted to see what it looks like so I decided to order one book first. Since Valentine's Day was coming up that time, I decided on the more sappy one, you know, the one with all our photos together (hehe) and then give it to him as a gift (I'm the one who wanted that photo book...  So in the end I got what I want, AND I had a gift ready for him... I win! I win!).

The book arrived a few days before Valentine's day and I loved it!

However, that was also around the same time we found out that I was already pregnant with Andrea. With all the excitement and preparation for the baby, I totally forgot about the other photo book.

And then yesterday, I was transferring my files from my old desktop to my laptop when I saw a folder marked "Photobook". Inside were my husband's photos which I prepared for the second photo book! I have forgotten that he is actually good at taking photos. Since Andrea arrived, our photo subject is mostly a small moving object that tries to grab the camera when she sees it pointed at her.  

I will still get that second photo book printed (and maybe give it to him for our wedding anniversary). But for now, every Friday, I will be posting some of his, and maybe some of my, photos here, with a little story behind them.  I'm calling it my Friday Photos series.


For now I give you this:

This was taken on the plane our way home from Boracay, where we spent our honeymoon after our wedding. I saw the light shining behind the wing of the plane from the window and tried to take a photo. I wasn't successful. I couldn't capture the light properly. I tried several times until hubby asked me what I was doing and when I told him, he adjusted the camera settings and took a shot. He got it!

Surprise!

I was a little busy at work yesterday, sitting behind my desk typing away, when our guard approached me and asked me to sign for a package.

"What package???" I wasn't expecting anything to arrive yesterday and when I checked who it was from, I saw that it was from Dianne of Dianne Writes!

Dianne is a blogger and she is also from the Philippines, like me. I met her through this blog. I have been following her blog for a while now and what I love most about it is how she makes others see the beauty of our country through her eyes. I have lived here all my life and I guess I take a lot of the things around me for granted but reading about her posts about the mall, the beach, and other places makes me realize that I really should open my eyes and look around to see the beauty around me everytime I go out.  And she takes nice pictures!

A couple of months ago, she expressed interest in the bird's nest necklace I practiced on made for me. She asked if I can make one for her and that she will buy it but since I really like her, I told her I will just give it to her as a gift. I mailed the necklace to her a few weeks ago (yes... it took me that long to finish it and mail it to her... my bad) and I was happy to know she liked it :)

When I opened my package, I saw this:

She sent me some fabric with a hand written note. Thank you so much  Dianne! I love the fabric (and Andrea does too... of course! She was using the fabric as a cape while playing after I showed it to her last night), but I appreciate the handwritten note more. Here's a little something about me you don't know: I have kept ALL handwritten notes ever given to me ever since I was... Hmmm... 10? 12 years old? Yep, I have a whole bunch of them, some from people I don't remember anymore. I just can't throw them away. And I read them from time to time.

About the fabric, I'm already thinking of a project for it. I want it to be something Andrea can use and keep for a long time so we will always be reminded that kindness can be found when and where you least expect it. I can't wait to use it!

Babushka Cloth Doll

I'm making toys! They're for a little 'project' I'm still cooking up. I don't want to give away details until the plans are a little more concrete. But for now, I am showing you some Babushka cloth dolls I made last night. And I prepared templates and a little tutorial so you can try this too!

I was able to finish 2 dolls last night. These are around 6 inches tall and the sewing part only took a few minutes. And it only requires small pieces of fabric so I was able to use some from my scrap pile. The hardest part for me was trying to design the faces.

To make these, you will need:

• A template, available for download below.
• Some scrap fabric (soft fabric, like the one I used for the pink doll, works better)
• Small piece of felt for the face
• Something to use for stuffing (I used polyester)
• Small pieces of felt, fabric or other items to decorate the faces
• Fabric glue or glue gun
• Sewing machine

Step 1: Download the template and resize according to your preference. Print and cut out.

To download: Click on the image to load full size. Once full size image is displayed, right click and select Save As to save the template to your computer.

Step 2: Cut out the fabric pieces using the template as guide. Please remember to add seam allowances since I didn't add the seam allowance to the template.

Cut fabric, with seam allowances.

Step 3: Put the hood part over one piece of the main body. Both right sides facing outward. And then put the second piece of the main body over the hood, right sides facing inside. Wrong sides must be facing out. Sew around the sides leaving the bottom open.

Step 4: Turn right side out.

Step 5: You can choose to iron to set the seams... or if you are lazy like me and if the cloth you are using is soft, you can proceed with stuffing your doll with your choice of stuffing.

Step 6: Sew the opening shut.

Step 7: Decorate the face. I didn't include templates for the face because I didn't use any. I used felt to cut shapes for the hair and mouth, beads for the eyes and black thread for the eyelashes for the pink doll, googly eyes for the black and yellow doll (which I don't like so much).

Step 8. Use fabric glue or glue gun to attach the face to the doll.

I gave them to Andrea this morning to see if she will like them (though they aren't really for her) and she does. I'll see if she still likes them by the end of the day. If she, does then I guess she can keep them. I can make more. She calls them 'babies' and that gave me an idea for another doll *wink*. 

Looking at them after I was done, they remind me a little of the characters from Higglytown Heroes because they are nesting dolls as well. I'll check out the characters in detail for inspiration when I make more. Because I might need more for my 'project'. 

Have you checked out my interview with PC for Creating Success Around the World yet? You should check it out. PC is really a talented lady. And if you haven't linked up to the blog hop yet, you have 5 more days to meet other creative bloggers. Hope to see you there!

I am linking up to the following parties:

Link Party at Tea Rose Home | Sugar & Spice at Seven Thirty Three | Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts | Hoo's Got Talent at Night Owl Crafting | Wicked Awesome Wednesday at Handy Man, Crafty Woman | Strut Your Stuff at Somewhat Simple | Creative Juice Thursday at Momnivore's Dilemma | Get Your Brag On at Gluesticks | Thrilling Thursday at Paisley Passions | Free for All at Young and Crafty | Think Pink Sundays at Flamingo Toes | K.I.S.S. at The Tattered Tag | Sundae Scoop at I heart Naptime | Sunday Showcase at Under the Table and Dreaming | Not Baaad Sundays at Lamb Around | Craft-O-Maniac Monday at Craft-O-Maniac | Making Monday Marvelous at C.R.A.F.T. | Just Something I Whipped Up at The Girl Creative | Craftastic Monday at Sew Can Do | Motivate Me Monday at Keeping it Simple | A Round Tuit at Creating My Way to Success  | Amaze Me Monday at Dittle Dattle | A Marvelous Mess at Marvelously Messy | Made By You Monday at Skip to My Lou | Market Yourself Monday at Sumo's Sweet Stuff | Handmade Tuesdays at Ladybug Blessings | Take-a-Look Tuesday at Sugar Bee Crafts | Tutorial Tuesday at Hope Studios | Sew Cute Tuesday at Creative Itch | Show Me What Ya Got at Not JUST a Housewife | Tuesday To-do Party at The Blackberry Vine | Tip Me Tuesday at Tip Junkie | Tuesday Party at Running With Glitter | Confessional Link Party at Confessions of a Stay at Home Mommy |