Strawberry Butterscotch: animals

Showing posts with label animals. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Wordless Wednesday: June Bugs

Take near Mill Avenue in Tempe, Arizona.

Wordless Wednesday: Flutter Bye

Sewing for Baby

As I mentioned before, I have friends who are expecting their first child this month, so I made a boat load of things for their baby shower which I haven’t shown yet. :)

But first here’s something else I haven’t shown here much. My notebook sketches.

Before I do a lot of my sewing, I like to sketch out ideas in notebooks. This one page is dedicated to all the baby things I wanted to make. Some of the things I didn’t actually make, this time anyway. Let’s save something for later.

First up is the diaper bag. I designed it based on a tote bag I saw someone using at work. Large and roomy with lots of pockets on the inside and a useful little one on the outside. The twist?

This is the fabric I picked out for it. I found it at Wal-Mart, have I mentioned before how glad I am that they brought fabric back to their stores? I just couldn’t resist the little turtles and elephants, plus it works for boy and girl babies.

Here’s the finished bag. The straps go most of the way down the sides of the bag for security, plus it makes the pocket look good.

Here’s the inside. There are six pockets all ready to shove stuff in and carry. That’s exactly what I did. I crammed it with all the other stuff I made plus some essentials I bought on sale.

Now the blankets. Here’s the baby blanket…

…and receiving blankets. The receiving blankets were just a single square cut from a knit fabric and hemmed. The baby blanket involved a layer of sweat shirt fabric sewn with the softer side facing outward. I used this tutorial as a guide.

Here’s the fabric I used. I got it at SAS. Dalmatians and fire trucks, perfect for a new little boy. :)

Here are the finished blankets. In addition to blankets, I made some birth cloths and wash cloths. The wash cloths are made like the receiving blankets but smaller and using plain white knit fabric. The burp cloths are made like the blanket only smaller and rectangle shaped.

Now the best part, the teddy bear. Because every kid needs a stuffed best friend.

Here’s the finished bear. All ready for hugs

I made the patterns from scratch using newspaper. It was easier than expected, I must be getting better at making patterns.

Here’s the fabric I used. It’s fake fur from SAS. It’s a perfect off-white and super soft. I have plenty of leftovers so be prepared for more teddies in the future.

Some in progress photos just for fun.

Sewn and turned partially right side out. The legs were a pain to sew.

And now the jacket. Sad thing about it, I seem to have lost the finished photo. I have search all over my computer and it seems to have totally disappeared. It looked totally adorable and almost exactly like my sketch except I put a turtle applique and an elephant applique on the front. Obviously I cut the appliques from the bag fabric.

Here’s the patterns I made, they are based on a dress pattern but were perfect for a jacket.

And of course this the fabric I used, I used it for the blanket as well. I got it a Goodwill. It’s always nice to find good fabric at thrift stores. I have plenty of it leftover so I will probably make another one soon. Look forward to it.

Here’s Bun-Bun

I know a certain little boy who has been good all year and seems to like bunnies. What would make a better gift than a cute little bunny?

How about a bunny like this one? It came out a little differently than I had planned, but it’s still cute and that is all that matters. He is made from some remnants I found at a small thrift store. He is stuffed with actual cotton, has large button eyes, and of course he has a little bowtie for reasons I can’t share right now.

Also he just has to have this little cotton ball tail. What else could be more perfect?
Here’s the updated list:

Pouches
Zip, zip, zip
Red skirt
Black skirt
Bird skirt
Hair accessories
Ribbon fun
Top
~~Wreath~~
Ornaments galore
~~Bun-bun~~

Two down, nine more to go. The next will probably be up tomorrow or possibly Friday with some good news!

Wordless Wednesday: Big Charlie Black

Wordless Wednesday: “Hello Mr. Butterfly”

As seen in the Mesa Urban Garden.

Wordless Wednesday: Arachnophobia

Spotted while waking up one morning.

Relax, it’s the size of a pencil eraser.

Wordless Wednesday: Duckies!!!

It’s been like a year since I took these photos by the canal zone, all of ducks of course. I love ducks, for a lot of the same reasons I like pigeons (see My Favorite Things: Pigeons). Anyway, I completely forgot I had them until recently. So here they are for your amusement.

What’s in a (Pet) Name?

Whenever I go pretty much anywhere I have a tendency to spot animals all over the place be it a stray cat, birds, even horses and cows. I also have a tendency to give names to the animals I see on a regular basis. Basically the first thing that pops into my head becomes their new name. This sometimes brings unusual results, there are two cats that I have dubbed “Fluffy Kitty” and “Friday”. Anyway, to assist me in this naming mission, I have made myself a list of cute names I have discovered. Many of them came from an excellent pet naming book I found at the library, I just wish I could remember the title. I thought is would be extremely beneficial to post it here to inspired others in their pet naming endeavors. So here’s:

My List of Cute Pet Names

Nibbles
Henny
Penny
Delilah
Jack Be Nimble, for a cat
Ozzie
Tiptoe
Tippy
Brillo
Bill
Charmin
Nutmeg
Bonkers
Cujo
Gypsy (for a cat)
Nibbles (for a rodent)
Alfred
Arnie
Jezebel
Jodie
Lolly
Magnum
Miles
Timmy
Dickens
Sweetie
Cajun
Sweetums
Tootsie
Jiffy
Lipton
Beauregard
Kipper (Book and Cartoon)
Nelson (Churchill’s Black cat)
Artemis (Goddess of hunting wild things)
Hermes (Zeus’ Messenger)
Toutou (French for doggie)
Kipling
Opie
Lavern and Shirley
Cue Ball
Sergeant Pepper
Bentley
Crouton
Noodle
Pringle
Taffy
Turnip
Hickory
Truffles
Whiskers (my late gerbil )
Plushball
Friskie
Bonbon
Tom Thumb
Jeeves
Jeffy
Scruffy
Sunny
Muffin
Tootsie Roll
Tiny (great for large breeds)
Swiffer
Spot (for a cat)
Almond

I will probably add more as they come to me. And if you know of a few good names feel free to leave a comment.

Wordless Wednesday: Rose Garden

So one day I had just got out of class and missed the bus, and I realized it’s been too long since I last checked out the rose garden at Mesa Community College. It’s on the north side of campus, open to the general public, and wonderfully in bloom this time of year. The first thing you notice when you go near it is the delightful scent of roses. I thought, why not go and take some photos while I still can. So here they are for your viewing pleasure on my very first Wordless Wednesday. Well, maybe not completely wordless.