It's ATC Time Again!

I am very excited about this round of Artist Trading Card swap at VeryBerryHandmade. Firstly because I love the theme "Winter Comforts". I can just imagine how cute and cozy all the cards are going to be. And secondly because I am being one of the guest bloggers at Ali's blog that I really enjoy to visit regularly.

If you would like to have a sneak peek at some more photos and read about my work in progress, head to straight to VeryBerryHandmade. Have a wonderful day! Larisa xox

First Christmas Placemat + Embroidery Pattern

Everything first. First cuddles and kisses, first favourite toy, Winter and Spring, first visit to a beach, first walk in a park, first pretty flower and the feel of soft grass under tiny feet, first taste of berries and cookies, and of course the ever first Christmas. So sweet!

Tutorial: A Pincushion in a Lid

We were having our usual afternoon tea with my not so Little Son the other day. The last bits of the delicious cherry jam were spread on a warm toast, so the jar was going to be thrown away. But not the lid. I could not part with it. If it was just an ordinary, plain lid, I would have thrown it out without any second thoughts. But this was a special, red gingham lid that asked to be kept and used for something. But what?

Baby Bib

A last minute present for a little girl. I was meeting a lady I used to work with who had a baby girl a month after me. I felt like making something special for the Baby. What could be better than a bib? They always are useful and if they are pretty, it's a plus too.

Hand Embroidered Baby Onesie

It was a lovely calm and quiet afternoon, the baby was playing next to me and babbling away while I made this - a teddy bear embroidery with an appliquéd red balloon. I borrowed the much loved bunny from my So Little Boy for the photo session but did not notice that the ears were quite wet, they were munched on a bit. Hehe...

So Sweet...

Little note... Oh, I am so excited! Come, have a look. I just finished this candy sweet piece. So much pink and so many tiny stitches. What do you think?

Pocket Tissue Case

A small gift for a friend. Well, for four friends to be exact. I haven't seen them for a while and finally we are getting together to go out for morning tea - my ever so favourite. So I thought it would be nice to make a small present for each of the girls to mark the occasion. Just something quick, simple and useful at the same time. My choice was pocket tissue cases.

Gone Fishing...

Just doodling away... A boat, a man, a fishing rope, some scribbles on a small piece of "paper" and of course fish. Big. Red. Fish. A couple of pieces of pink "wash tape" to help hold the note in place. That's all what I needed for this simple placemat.

Bib, Bag and Pouch - a Baby Set

All made out of scraps. Oh, I love tiny scraps of fabric! So many things you can make out of them and at the end you are left with a lovely feeling of achieving something really good. For all the three things I have made I did not cut into any new fabrics, I only used the scraps from my box, apart from a tiny piece of Milk, Sugar and Flower - a cute kitten on the pouch.

Tutorial: Tiny Bag

A tiny bag that is ooh so easy to sew and fun to use. It really is very tiny but at the same time big enough to store a few small items. It would also make a lovely case for a gift for someone special. I have made quite a few of these so far and going to make a few more before Christmas. Did I say Christmas? Ooh... Is it too early?

Fabric Stash: Small Additions

It's been a long while since I took any photos of new fabric additions to my stash. I keep buying fat quarters mostly of prints I like when I get a chance to visit any of the fabric stores. I also enjoy checking out some online stores, just to see what pretties are out there.

Sewing Late at Night

It was last Friday evening when the baby was peacefully asleep and I didn't feel sleepy at all for some odd reason (even thought I have been quite sleep deprived lately). I felt like a bit of hand sewing, making something sweet but useful and quick. A baby bib! They always come in handy.

Tutorial: Sweet Little Note

So easy and quick, simple but rather sweet. A little notepad page with a doodle note for someone special. You don't need much, just a few supplies, a "pinch" of time and a bit of happy mind.

A Gift With a Condition

I received this lovely gift from a very dear childhood friend of mine. A gift with a condition it is. You see, my friend L. made this lovely cross-stitch embroidery especially for me. (Yay! Thank you so much!!!) She enjoys occasional sewing or embroidering when the time permits. Well, she embroidered this and sent it over to me with one particular condition - that I make a pillow with this piece. She made me promise her that.

One Piece Tiny Bags

This idea has been on my To-Do list for a very long time. You see, I was given a box of chocolates as a small gift a while back. It was packed in a cute golden cardboard box in a shape of a handbag. When I opened it, it was just one piece of cardboard neatly folded to keep its shape. Right away I thought that it would be interesting to sew a bag using this cardboard as a template.

Pencil Zipper Pouch

You know what I like the best about this pouch? The cherries of course! Little bright red berries. I got carried away and did not even notice how I covered the entire front of the pouch with them. It was a real cherry overload, so I had to "pick" quite a few.

Tutorial: Fabric Bookmarks

Looking for a quick present to make? Or a way to use that teeny weeny embroidery you made a while ago or some of your favourite pieces of fabric? Or maybe you find yourself using anything but a bookmark in a book you are reading? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then this simple and truly quick tutorial is for you. All you need is just a few minutes of spare time and bits of fabric.

ATC Received

Look what landed in my mail box last week! This lovely Cluckity Cluck Artist Trading Card from Karen! Aren't these chickens cute?! And isn't the garden just amazing?! Thank you so much, Karen! When I saw this card on Flickr, I really liked it. There is something heartwarming and sweet about this card. So many different colours, textures and plenty of tiny stitches.

Liberty Flex Frame Pouch

I need to do some shopping. Definitely. I have to buy more of these flex frames because they are great. I really enjoy making small pouches with this type of lock. The frames are quick to install and the pouches are easy to use. You can easily make cases for glasses, small purses for coins or make-up bags using one of these frames.

Cross-Stitch Bookmarks

Where and how do you find inspirations for things you create? For me, the process of finding new inspirations is always different and quite often it's unexpected, something I see or something I make leads to a new idea and it's a never ending story. It always fascinates me because I don't know what I am going to make next. Just like with these cross-stitch bookmarks.

Making ATC

"My Favourite..." is the theme for the latest Artist Trading Card swap ran by Ali at VeryBerryHandmade. It's a great theme, but... it leads to too many choices... Don't get me wrong. I probably would be the first one to complain if there were not any choices in life but if there are too many choices, I struggle. I struggle sometimes with making decisions, with choosing, choosing the right one. So... it took me a while to decide what was really "my favourite" and what I was going to make for my partner.

Baby Makes

A couple of small things have been ticked off my To Do list. The first one is a knitted baby hat. It was kind of a quick and a necessary project. It's winter here in Australia, and days are quite cool and windy. I was trying to find a baby hat to keep my little boy warm but the only hats I could find were the big ones or very thin ones, or ones that were really unattractive. Maybe I was looking in all the wrong places but anyway...

Morning Baking: Raspberry Coconut Muffins

If you like to bake like me, you would enjoy this quick and simple and absolutely delicious recipe. It takes no longer that half an hour to make and you have freshly baked muffins that are just perfect as a snack with your afternoon cup of tea or as a lovely addition to your breakfast.

Garden Pansy and Making Mistakes

It's one of my favourite flowers. Delicate petals in a myriad of vibrant colours mixed with rich green foliage. Always a lovely addition to any garden or a window planter or, in my case, to a little linen pouch. I have been playing around with some cross-stitch mini patterns lately. They are so much fun! Just a little bit of time, a few lovely colours and a few tiny crosses. That's all what you need to turn a piece of bleak linen into a beauty that can be used for anything really.

Helpful Tip: How to Cut Linen in a Straight Line

I find working on mini cross-stitch motifs very amusing at the moment. Each design doesn't take long to complete, I don't get bored and I can use all these small bits and pieces of linen and snippets of embroidery floss to create something pretty. I love working with linen, but sometimes it can be quite difficult to cut it in a perfectly straight line. Unless you have a small trick up your sleeve.

Liberty Splash

So colourful! So cheery! This is my first encounter with Liberty Lawn. I was surprise to see how light and delicate these fabrics are but at the same time a pleasure to work with.

Little Friends. Mousy Mail Notepad Cover

An envelope, a pencil, a few stamps and a lovely note. "Patchwork, Please!" by Ayumi Takahashi inspired this little project. I was going to try out a smaller version of an envelope paper pieced block featured in this book before making something bigger. The envelope turned out really cute...

Three in One

A very quick and easy make. A toy, a learning device and a comforter - all three in one small piece of cloth called taggie or "Loops-a-Playsies" how Dina of BossyMamma calls them. I would have never thought of making taggies if it was not for Dina's makes. And that's what I love about the network of blogs - sharing and inspiring.

Dressed in Red

Dots, stripes, tiny flowers...why not dress some tins and jars up a bit in something pretty? Patchwork "coats" for baking powder tins to store small scraps of linen and some sewing tools. A stripy "scarf" for the mini jar to match the red lid and a fancy thread catcher. A collapsable thread catcher it is. Have you seen them?

Triangular Zipper Pouches

Our Little One doesn't really like dummies but occasionally he needs one to help him fall asleep especially when he is in a pram or simply too tired. But the thing is that the dummy has a tendency to get lost in a large nappy bag when we out and about. No matter how many dummies we take with us, at least one will mysteriously disappear exactly when we need it. I remembered that a while ago I saw a cute pouch in a Japanese magazine called Cotton Time that I wanted to make.

Sewing Folder

It's been a long while since I made my stitching companion. Floral fabric Old 30's by Atsuko Matsuyama for Lecien is so pretty that I could not resist making one more folder. I really like all these purple, red and pink flowers together with a tiny splash of green leaves.

ATC Surprise

What a lovely surprise I got in my mail box! All the way from Brazil! An Artist Trading Card! And I am not even participating in Ali's latest ATC Swap.

Tea Time... Or Maybe Not

I have been drinking a LOT of tea lately, more than I usually would. On some days you can even trace my steps around the house by the unfinished cups of tea left behind.

Tutorial: Lunch Box Elastic Straps

A while ago I made a few lunch box straps. We use them pretty much daily, they are great at holding lids of lunch boxes in place. I needed one to hold a rain cover for a pram rolled in a tube but the ones I made before were too big. So I decided to make a couple more but with a shorter elastic this time. The straps are very easy and quick to make, and they are very useful. Here is a step by step tutorial, just in case someone might need it.

Tiny Needle Books

While working on this place mat, I had some scraps of fabric left. Tiny ones really, not suitable for anything. Well, that's what I thought at first.

Apples, Apples and More Apples...

I felt like doing some paper piecing lately. I kept thinking of making some strawberries but ended up with a selection of apples: Red Delicious, Granny Smith, Pink Lady and Golden Delicious. What a variety!

Interesting Discovery

I was going to make a set of four linen coasters with a diagonal flowery cotton stripe in the top left corner. I cut all the fabrics, stitched it all up.

Quilt For Our Little Bundle of Joy

This quilt was made especially for our So Very Little Baby Boy. It took me a while but I managed to finish it before his arrival. And we all love it!

Happy Easter!

Wishing you all a wonderful, peaceful and happy Easter with lots of laughter and sweetness!

Larisa xox

Almost Gave Up

"Patchwork, Please!", a book by Ayumi Takahashi that is full of lovely and inspiring projects. I bought it because I wanted to make "You've Got Mail Wall Pocket" or to be more precise to play around with the paper pieced envelope blocks and try out some other interesting ideas.

Little Sack Case

The "Hideaway" line by Lauren & Jessi Jung is so much fun! I bought this layer cake a very long time ago and used only tiny bits and pieces of it for various small projects. I love the colours of this collection - warm, sunny and happy. For some reason they make me think of little kids playing in the forest near a river. Must be my childhood memories...

Our Tiny Bundle of Joy :-)

Hello my Dear Friends! It's been a while since the last post and the reason for that is Our Tiny Bundle of Joy. These tiny sweet feet belong to our So Very Little Baby Boy who was born just a bit over two weeks ago and has already delighted us all.

We are so thrilled and happy, and busy as well. Sleepless nights have not kicked in yet but our usual smooth routine has been turned upside down and we love it. Our hearts are melting when we look at or hold our little boy. It's strange and amazing at the same time to have a newborn (Little Brother) in the house together with almost a teenager (Big Brother). So sweet! So special! And absolutely magical!

Wishing you everything beautiful and nice in life! And I will see you very soon! Oh, and I managed to finish this baby quilt just in time for the arrival of our Tiny Bundle of Joy. Larisa xox

A New Cover...

...for an ice pack. It's been hot. Really hot and humid over the last three weeks. I don't like it because I can't spend as much time outside as I wish. I find it really hard to cope with the heat, but I worked out a simple solution to deal with it (apart from an air conditioned environment of course). A small ice pack that I keep next to me throughout the day and put it on my knees, neck or chest. An instant cooler. What a relief!

Cute Baby Onesies

Making something new, cute and very little. Raw edge applique on newborn's onesies. It's so much fun to create your own unique designs for things like that.

Work in Progress: Hexagons...

It's my new addiction. They are quick and easy to make, and once you start, it's hard to stop. All these pretty hexagons let you create new interesting patterns, colour combinations and appliques too.

The red and white flower is ready and waiting to be stitched onto some linen for a new project. Today again I reminded myself how sweet and satisfying hand sewing is. It has a wonderful calming effect on me.

Hope you are having a nice and relaxing weekend! Larisa xox

Pretty Hexagons and Tiny Stitches

You can never have enough of these simple sewing accessories. Pincushions and needle books, I mean. Right? And it's always a lovely gift for your crafty friends.

Totally Scrappy Baby Mat

I have finished my scrappy challenge that was turned into a mat for a baby. A change mat or just a lie down mat. It should be a perfect size for a bassinet, about 43cm by 64cm. A bit of colour and prettiness for a very little one.

Happy Surprise. Indeed :-)

A postman brought a large package for me yesterday. When I went to get it, I kept thinking that I didn't buy anything recently and that none of my friends sent me anything as far as I knew. I was wrong. The package was large and yellow, and it had sticky tape around it with toadstools and cakes, and berries. So sweet! I looked at the name of the sender and a huge smile spread across my face. It came all the way from US from Gina, who I never met in person but we have been following each others blogs for a while now. Gina makes cute, pretty things and she is so GREAT at quilting. You can visit her blog Party Of Eight: Our Story or have a look at her Flickr page. I am sure you will find plenty of prettiness and things to be inspired by there.