Joy Leanne

Just when I was getting back into the rhythm of blogging again life get's crazy. We have Bear's birthday this weekend which means sewing gifts, cleaning house, prepping for a party ect. I am also working on a ton of custom orders, trying to keep the shop stocked for holiday shoppers and preparing for the two shows I'm doing this year. But, I wanted to drop by in the midst of the craziness and share some show prep I have been doing! If you are going to be in the Montgomery County area in Maryland Nov 12th or the Lynchburg, VA area Nov 18th-20th you should stop by the shows and come see me at my booth! :)

My style has definitely been evolving a lot lately. I chopped all my hair off over the summer. It is now super short. Like pixie short. I love it! It's inspired me to bring a casually girlishness into my accessories since since my three requirements in my wardrobe are simple, basic, and comfortable. Pretty much anything that is in my wardrobe my fit into one of these categories. Fitting into all three (like my favorite jeans) guaranties you will be worn till you fall apart. The one problem with this is that is ends up being a little boring. However, since I am very unwilling to change my wardrobe requirements, I have been having a lot of fun with my accessories. Red shoes are a new favorite. As are my standard blue flats. Those add such a fun pop of color to ANY outfit. Rings, and bracelets have been my other go to since I feel like dangle earrings just don't work with the new do. Vintage Wrist Warp Basic Gray Wrist Wrap Blue Rose Cocktail Ring Bow-utiful Ring These four pieces

Picture Curtsey of Amy Stillings Photography. Bear's birthday is just around the corner. Two weeks from today in fact. I am so excited. I am, for the first time ever, attempting to make clothing for my girls. I am starting with a winter coat made out of fleece. Truth be told it rarely gets THAT cold here in VA so they don't need anything to heavy duty. I am using this pattern. Can't wait to get started. Also hoping to get a couple skirts made for Bear before her birthday. Hoping I can use some fabric I have on hand so all I have to purchase is thicker elastic. Add a couple Mama Made hair sparkles and I think it will be a pretty special birthday.

It's really starting to feel like fall around here. A couple weeks go we had our pictures taken by a friend of mine Amy Stillings . She is a local photographer who does great work and a good friend of mine. This Sunday we are laying low. Goose has allergies and sounds like a purring kitty cat she is so congested. So it's been lots of naps and cuddles and hot baths and reading blogs and watching foot ball and the first fire in the wood stove. All in all a pretty good Sunday.

Three years ago I fell in love with a beautiful style of doll known as Waldorf Dolls. They are beautifully simple dolls made by hand out of all natural materials. I literally spent hours drooling over these dolls (at the time made primarily in Europe) on Etsy and Ebay. Two years ago I was looking for a special gift for my Bear's second birthday and found myself re-visiting Waldorf dolls. Having more time and determination than money I attempted to make Abi Bear a doll. Annie was made by trial and error. Including Bear taking blue marker to her face before I could get around to putting a face on her. Since the natural materials usually used to make these dolls were not available locally I used whatever I could find. My sister loving knitted the poncho and scarf. Tacy (named after a character in one of my favorite books) was made last week. She is made with wool stuffing, wool yarn hair, cotton interlock, the works. She is so precious and it's fun to see two dolls so similar yet

I have had a CRAZY fall. One of the many reasons I haven't been on the blog much. One of the things I have added to my plate is being the creative coordinator for my local MOPS group. (If you don't know what MOPS is and you are a stay at home mom with ANY children under the age of 6 click HERE to learn more about this amazing organization. We try to keep our crafts useful since no mom needs more random junk floating around her house. Our theme is games this year and the game our group picked for October is Apples to Apples . We discussed personality types last meeting and tomorrow we are going to make tote bags. I was originally inspired by this bag and the idea of apple stamping. However, then I came across this  bag on pinterest and fell in love with that to. In the end I bought supplies for both as well as made a bunch of iron on appliques for those who have no desire to pain. Here are some pictures of my demo bag. Doily stenciling. Finished bag. I can't free hand anyt

Central Park Make Do Quilt A little under two years ago I had chance to meet and get to know an amazing gal Chelsea. Since then she has become a dear friend. She is a huge inspiration to me spiritually as well as creatively. She is the talent behind Scrapped Crafts and responsible for the art on our Ebenezer wall. Back last summer she gave birth to an amazingly cute little guy named James. This is his very, very late baby gift. I tried a bunch of new techniques on this quilt. Some worked, some didn't but over all I really like it. I hope James and his Mama enjoy it as well.