THE HOODED CAPE-ANOTHER DESIGN FOR YOUR AMERICAN GIRL DOLL FROM HANNAH'S CLOSET

This cape pattern kept bouncing around in my head so I finally got it done. It still took weeks to get it finished with all the distractions here. For every step forward, there seem to be 3 steps back. I know a lot of you know the feeling.

The Red Riding Hood Cape was the original thought for the pattern using the polar fleece since it is so easy to work with. It is heavy enough not to need a lining. It doesn't ravel so it doesn't even need to be hemmed or edge finished if you choose. The fleece comes in a nice wide 60" and an abundance of color and patterns. The pattern is so simple and easy to put together you can complete the capes in an afternoon from start to finish if there are not to many distractions.

I hope to share another version soon using the same pattern. It is really quick and easy to do and available in my Craftsy pattern store @ http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/sewing/Toy/AG-HOODED-CAPE/15386. The pattern for the girl's version will also be available if you want to make matching outfits.

The morning to take photos I was still putting on finishing touches when great granddaughter, Maizin, was brought over to model. The plan to have everything completed the day before had gone out the window but Maizin's momma and daddy [Andi & Joey] are very patient with me and we had a beautiful sunny day.

Maizin couldn't figure out why she had to wear the very warm fleece cape. She kept saying "But Momma, I not cold" but she did well and we got done fairly quickly with a lot of help from Andi setting the scene for me and here are some of the results with that beautiful child-she really is a diva and so much fun to work with:

 "Now why did I want to come to grandma's house?"

 "I gotta sneeze"

 "Are we done yet?"

After Maizin left, I realized I had not taken any back shots of the capes so I improvised by dragging out my large doll to pose even though she is no where near as gorgeous as Maizin, she would just have to do.

  Construction in the video for the doll's and girl's capes is the same. I hope it helps

My HANNAH'S CLOSET patterns are the way I sew-simple, quick and easy. The pieces can be dressed up or down for a casual, sporty look, mixed & matched or even for a pageant with the right trims and accessories.  Those ideas will be in future posts if I can stop walking backward here.

Thank you for stopping by and I would love to see the clothes on my facebook page [https://www.facebook.com/pages/Carolyns-Canvas/151145938331115] that you make using HANNAH'S CLOSET patterns. We can have our own style show.

Have a great day and happy crafting

Carolyn Wainscott



How To Promote Your Crafts

I love every phase of crafting from the initial designing to completion of my own creations and then there are all those neat new crafting supplies and tools to try. So I sew, glue, bead, felt, draw, color, transfer, print, collage, decoupage, crochet, quilt, repurpose, etc., etc., etc.

Now what to do with all those works of art? I would keep crafting if I didn't do a thing with them except put them in a closet but have set up at outdoor fairs, flea markets, consignment shops and craft fairs. Ebay is an interesting experience also. All these outlets help keep my house from being featured on one of those tv hoarder shows.

If you have joined me here you know how important the internet has become in almost every phase of some of our lives. It is especially so in the crafting world, anyway it has for me.

I found guidelines on marketing, displaying, and pricing my crafts that have been a great help even if I don't follow them exactly posted in:

Now I have subscribed to the Creative Income newsletter to try to keep up with the latest.

In a recent newsletter, I learned about Pinterest and other links all pulled together in one spot. Links that I was not even aware of.

Here are some suggestions from Creative Income that I have found most useful to make my crafts more attractive and eye catching that were in my most recent newsletter.  

        How to Take Great Pictures of Your Crafts 

        How to Take More Product Pictures in Less Time

       Quick Photo Tips: Do What You Can With What You've Got 

       Show it Off: Tips for Photography Your Projects

       How to Light Photo Displays

 Even if you have been displaying your wares for years, check out Creative Income and the newsletter to keep up on all that's new.  The goal of Creative Income is to help independent crafters succeed.

Here's to much success in your crafting

Carolyn Wainscott 

The Wedding Photo Wallhanging-Easy To Do

The special wedding gift I had wanted to do is finally done-not that it was so hard to do or took so much time or so costly. None of that. Just doing it-that's all.

The fabric sheets were prepared first [there was some fabric I had already done that I forgot about]. All I had to do was cut to size and iron to freezer paper. You can purchase fabric sheets if you wish. I prefer to use fabric I have prepared. See http://carolynscanvas.blogspot.com/2012/04/take-photo-put-it-on-fabric.html  for step by step instructions on preparing your own fabric sheets for photo printing.

Photos from the wedding were chosen, put into a file so they would be easier to find and collaged to tell the story with my antiquated software that I just can't give up because I am comfortable with it and hate to change. I haven't taken the time to learn how to use my Photoshop software and probably won't until my LivePix is completely incapacitated for some reason. I am not of this computer wise generation that hops from one new app to another. Shoot-my grandkids think I gas up my dinosaur on grass clippings.

Anyway, I've come a long way, baby.

Now that you have your fabric sheets ready it is time to print. I hope this video  on

@ http://youtu.be/hCukdzeSzLs helps you get that photo quilt done that you have been planning but just needed a little encouragement.

Soooooo,  photos were printed,

all sewn together, border on, machine quilted, binding on

 
but it just didn't look as right as I wanted. The border print was off a couple of shades. It needed to be more mauve

and though it doesn't show here the difference [the top center is the original print], I over painted the fabric with a rose dye paint and embellished with a gold metalic paint

but this still wasn't quite enough

 the hot stone setter came out to add some quick bling.

It took a little nerve to be painting on a completed quilt but I did it! What if I had dripped some paint on the fabric, what if, heaven forbid, I had tipped over the jar of paint after all that work. Well, I didn't and everything turned out ok. The wallhanging is ready to give to the bride and groom-I don't think they have celebrated their 10th anniversary yet.

If you have been planning a photo quilt but didn't know where to start, here is where you start-the rest is up to you-enjoy.

God bless you

Carolyn Wainscott

Take A Photo-Put It On Fabric

If you have been thinking about taking those treasured old photos and making a Memory Quilt, I hope this will make the thought less daunting and help you get started. Getting started is the hardest part.  Don't let the thought of a few more steps in preparation stop you. Just think of the end result-a one of a kind, spectacular, instant heirloom that tells its own story. I think the most fun part is going through the photos, It is a trip down memory lane.

Needing to come up with a wedding/house warming gift had me dragging out the equipment for a wallhanging. I don't want to make it sound as though it is drudge work so am sharing the step by step in the following video which is featured on

 @  http://www.favequilts.com/Special-Occasion-Quilts/How-to-Make-a-Photo-Quilt-Part-1-Preparing-Fabric which includes a printable set of instructions @ http://youtu.be/34QJzZ8ymZk.

An earlier post on April 22, 2011, http://carolynscanvas.blogspot.com/2011/04/making-photo-quilt.html , featured multi-generation family quilts that were a collaboration of whole families sharing their photos with the complete process also.

I never got around to the actual photo printing which is coming up, I promise.

I am not a computer wizard, far, far from it but I will be touching on cutting, pasting, and collaging my photos to be printed on fabric. I use an old, outdated program that is no longer available because I haven't taken the time to learn Photoshop. I am old and set in my ways.

Just a further word [well, several words] about www.FaveQuilts.com, if you haven't checked it out already. FaveQuilts is a great site for free quilt patterns, instructions, video tutorials and links you to everything you want to know in the quilt world.

Happy quilting and God bless you
Carolyn Wainscott

Little Girls Love To Dress Up

My sister told a coworker that I have made matching outfits for my little girls and their dolls so I get the phone call to see if I would make them for her daughter. She wanted something really frilly and girly and there wasn't anything in the Doll catalog that she wanted.

This is what I have some up with:

The blue gingham check pinafores have coordinating crocheted headbands with large yoyos and tiny pink rosebuds while the burgundy outfits have lacy crocheted beanies with frayed fabric flowers.

I spent hours just ruffling all the yards of fabric and tulle for the pinafore skirts. I really love my ruffler. I decided on the pinafore style because the way it is constructed, it will go between 2 sizes and is a easy fit and just needs a little knit top or blouse.

When I get around to it, I hope to make a video showing the way these are made. They are so cute, they are well worth the effort and not really hard to do.

I do know that if sis's coworker doesn't like these, I have 3 great granddaughters that will love to have them. That was another reason for making them in these sizes-Ashlynn, Jenna and Hannah can all wear them and they just love to dress up.

Check out my doll patterns in my Craftsy pattern store if you are making doll clothes. Just follow the link on the right. There is a step by step video for each of them here and they are a perfect project for a beginner sewist. Future plans are for videos showing how to combine the patterns to create an endless doll wardrobe of mix and match.

Thanks for stopping by.

Carolyn Wainscott 

My LAST SUPPER Wallhanging Using A Lace Tablecloth

If you need a fairly easy, fairly quick, really eyecatching wallhanging, this may be just the piece for you. It can be made larger than this 50" by 72" sample by just enlarging the backgound and adding more cutouts around or cutting the center larger.  

I made one for my former living room that occupied most of a wall by just using a larger piece of fabric and trimming with a border-don't tell my husband but the whole thing was just stapled to the wall-not a bit of sewing and when Christmas rolled around the Last Supper lace came down and a lace Nativity tablecloth was put it its place. The Nativity tablecloth had angels and other motifs that were cut out and surrounded the center manger scene. Different motifs other than lace might be considered also but I stayed with the lace.

I picked up the tablecoths at Walmart after the holidays so they were on sale. I keep forgetting to check to see if they are still available but there were several on Ebay. I think I got one at a Christian book store while we were on vacation also. Why have more than one or two of the tablecloths-just because, that's why. No, really, my sister and I have helped decorate for several church events and these have been very handy.

Here is a step by step video for putting the whole thing together:

There are also printable instructions on www.FaveCrafts.com @ http://www.favecrafts.com/Quilting.

The wallhanging was constructed so that the Last Supper and other motifs can be removed and replaced with other motifs if desired. I even came up with the idea of using glittered tie tacs [since I had them on hand from other projects] for attaching the lace.

Here is the prepared background before attaching the lace motifs: 

The sewing time wasn't as involved as you might think, even with stitching the three ribbons together to make the border as wide as I wanted.

Hope you like this and enjoy putting it together-even if you do use a stapler.

Good luck and God bless

Carolyn Wainscott



A Doll Cradle From A Oatmeal Box

An article in the Reader's Digest magazine in the doctor's office caught my attention-"Are You Normal Or Nuts?"- I guess because I think most of my family and friends consider me to be at least borderline even though most are too polite to say but some are quite vocal.

I was glad to fit into the normal range in several of the examples but one kind of struck a chord. A daughter was asking whether her mother may be completely nuts when she found that her mother had shelves full of cardboard tubes because she couldn't throw them away. The diagnosis was that there may be a problem there. As I thought about my stash of recyclables, a lot of them cardboard tubes, I just didn't think there was too much wrong with the old gal because
"you just can't throw good stuff away,
you don't know when you might need it some day".
 Don't you just love my last little line, pretty good, huh? I know its not Shakespeare or anything but its mine, all mine.

Since I am a bit of a saver of things that might have a future use-like cardboard tubes and whipped topping tubs and styrofoam meat trays and oatmeal boxes and cereal boxes, etc. etc. etc. I do catch an occasional episode of Hoarders or something to remind myself to keep things in check
 BUT my stuff is used in my crafts.

I've always recycled and reused a lot but the cardboard tube thing escalated one day when I was taking my grandson to school and along side the road was-TADA-a whole bunch of long [maybe 5']cardboard tubes that had evidently fallen from someone's vehicle. I didn't have time to stop because we were running late but I rushed back before someone else could get MY cardboard tubes, came to a screeching stop, jumped out, threw those tubes into my van and sped home before the loser of the tubes realized they were gone. Cardboard tubes have been a staple in my crafting ever since. I even used them to hang window valances once to keep from purchasing anything. Have I told you that I am super cheap?

Ok, enough of my torrid background. Today, I am sharing how to make a doll cardle using a empty salt or oatmeal box-a cardboard tube of sorts.

I made these for my daughters when they were small and now for my great granddaughters. I don't remember making them for the granddaughters but may have. The doll cradle will not last forever but is a fun thing to make and play with and creates a memory for the child of having been a part of creating her own toy.

The only things you need are:a salt or oatmeal box, some fabric or paper to cover, [could also be painted], optional lace or other trim, hot glue gun and scissors or craft knife.

Here is a short step by step video for making the doll cradle.

For printable step by step instructions go to www.FaveCrafts.com @ http://www.favecrafts.com/Green-Crafting/Oatmeal-Box-Doll-Cradle. While you're there, cruise FaveCrafts for lots of reclyclable crafts of all kinds.

I hope you enjoy making this with your daughter, granddaughter or great granddaughter as much as I have enjoyed making them through the years. I loved being able to share this idea with you.
God bless you
Carolyn Wainscott