Modular Star baby toy

I started this toy a while ago, and finally got the chance to finish it! I used 30 different scraps of fabric (60 triangles). *Here* is the tutorial. It's a great tutorial, and this was pretty easy to make, but it was surprisingly hard to sew!


With a little wresting of tiny triangles, it worked out, and I love the result!! Everyone who has seen it so far has said, "wow, how did you make that?!"


I want to make another one for my baby sometime soon. It doesn't have to be a baby toy though, I think it would be awesome just to have sitting out on a coffee table! It would look really interesting to use some high contrast solids... I'm thinking teal, lime green, chocolate, and white. People would have fun just tossing it around, and it would be an attractive decoration!


I hope my cute little niece likes it! :)

Top knot baby hat

I have been so busy, I haven't had time to make much for my little one. But this project is perfect- it only took about 20 minutes from start to finish, and didn't cost my anything! I cut it out of one of my husband's old shirts, using the existing bottom hem of the shirt for the edge of the hat. And it's super cute!!

The tutorial is *here* at Prudent Baby. Now go make an adorable little hat!

Sakura-Con 2012!!!

I have been keeping this secret since November, but now I can announce... I am the official plushie maker for Sakura-Con's (Seattle's Anime Convention in April) annual collectable mascot this year!!

I'm so excited... I have always loved narwhals and have wanted to design one. They are adorable, and I hope I captured that in my plushies!

There will be 135 (plus one giant one, which will be sold at the Charity Auction), and they are available exclusively at Sakura-Con. No more will ever be made! (However, I am working on a different narwhal design that will be available in my shop sometime in the near future!)

Do any of you plan on attending Sakura-Con? I wish I was going! I love anime... some of my favorite movies of all time are anime! These are some really good ones... I haven't seen The Secret World of Arrietty yet, but it looks really cute! I read The Borrowers when I was little, and loved it.

I'll have more pictures of the narwhals later, but right now my poor baby has a stuffy nose and is very grumpy, and he's refusing to nap much longer than half an hour! Hope you enjoyed the photos! :)

Book Page Paper Rose Wreath

This was a last minute Christmas present for my parents. I am shocked that I actually finished it in time! It took much more time than I thought it would. I originally saw this on Pinterest, and just knew that it would go perfectly in my parent's lovely home!

I couldn't find a cheap foam circle wreath form, so I went to the Goodwill. I found a REALLY ugly (I mean... seriously) floral wreath on a square foam form, and bought it for a buck. The cashier just looked at it and said, "um... beautiful wreath... great choice...". When I told her I was ripping all the flowers off and just using the form, she was extremely relieved!

When I got home, I removed the hideousness from the form, and then hot glued book pages all over the whole square, front and back, to hide the color.

I found some old, unwanted books at my library's book sale for 50 cents apiece. I ended up using three books. I used two pages for each rose. I inked the edges of a few of the finished roses, just to add a little variation. The really strange thing was that I ended up using exactly all of the roses that I was able to make from the three books, and there wasn't a single empty spot on the wreath! Do you think that was just a coincidence, or did I subconsciously space all the roses to perfectly work with the number I had? Funny.

It took a LONG time to finish, many many hours, but it was definitely worth it!! I LOVE how it turned out! I think it would look beautiful hung with a wide ribbon and bow, or even with a black and white wedding photo inside, like a frame!

I used this tutorial for making the wreath:
DIY Faux Curled Rosewood Wreath

Here is another great little tutorial for paper roses:
HOW TO- make paper flowers

One thing I would add is a little time-saver I figured out! Do everything in stages. Rip out all the pages first. Then cut all the circles out. Next, cut all the spirals.

Then, as you make each rose, stick a pin through the top of the rose down through the little circle piece that makes the bottom of the rose. Then do the same thing in a different spot. This will hold the rose in place so it doesn't unravel.

You can make all your roses this way (or in batches, if you run out of pins), and then take out the pins as you hot glue the bottom of each rose together. It saves a ton of time!

This was an easy and affordable gift to make, with stunning results! I can't wait to make one for myself!!