Philly Love Tea Towels
I had another fun order of the state love tea towels for a bridal shower gift a few weeks ago. Both the bride and groom are from Philly, so it was a little different than my last order where the couple was from different states. I was told by my customer that the bride loved the Philly Love sign so I ended up using that in place of Mr. and Mrs. on the towel. Since it is a June wedding I picked out a summery print fabric- one of my favorites from Heather Bailey's Freshcut line! I love love the way these turned out! These towels are sure to brighten up any kitchen!
Philly Love Ruffled Tea Towels
Tooth Fairy Pillows
When I first started Crafty Natalie I had a suggestion to make tooth fairy pillows. I can't remember what happened with that inquiry, I don't think it ever turned into an actual order, so maybe that's why I never gave it a second thought! This weekend I was given the suggestion again, so I figure, if I'm told twice I should probably make it right?! The suggestion couldn't have come at a better time! I've been in a sewing rut lately- been tired of sewing the same things over and over again, so making a new item was a definite welcome! I was able to whip several up the last few days during B's nap! I've only made a couple and I can definitely make custom ones to be personalized, but I figure for the time being, it will be nice to have a few samples on hand if the inquiry ever pops up again!
When I think of losing teeth I think of slightly older kids (around 5 years), so I didn't want to make these too baby-ish! I figured the robots and sock monkeys would be pretty universal for all boys, and since most girls love pink and purple I chose two of my favorite girly prints! I have a few other ideas that don't involve the tooth "fairy" on the pillow, and a couple ideas with the child's name on them! Hoping to make a few of those as well!
State Love Ruffled Tea Towel
Last month I was approached to make a gift for a bridal shower. Remembering some of last years bridal shower gifts, I thought a ruffled tea towel set would be a really cute add-on. Since I've been seeing how popular the state love products are I thought incorporating them would be a good idea for the young couple! (If I had thought about it at the time I would've included personalized hand-stamped spoons into the set as well!)
The difference between the tea towels that I've been making this year and the tea towels that I first started making last year are that now they are double layered. Even though they are fairly large, I felt that the extra layer really made them last a bit longer before having to toss them in the laundry! Since the states are hand-painted on with fabric paint and the flour sac cloth material is fairly thin, I lined the back of the towel with a white flannel cotton and stitched around the front in a contrasting thread to outline the state.
I'm loving these towels! I think they make the cutest wedding/engagement/shower gift! They'd work great for a couple who loves to cook together too! They were a ton of fun to make (I love that in most cases the bride and groom are from different areas, so it makes it a bit more fun to create something truly unique to them!) I've already got the next set lined up to make for another bridal shower, and can't wait to show that one off!
Handmade Dolls
A few months ago I was in a pinch and needed a small gift to add on for a little girl's second birthday. I remembered my friend over at Pinkberry Patch who makes the cutest handmade dolls. In fact I have one of hers myself that sits on my sewing table! Since I was in a bit of a hurry (the gift was going out in the mail the next day!) I knew that I didn't have time to get one ordered and figured I would try my hand at doll making! I had all the necessary supplies, just needed to figure out a pattern! I came across this amazing blog that had a free template so I decided to go for it! It was the perfect size- about 16 inches tall once finished (with tendonitis/arthritis I honestly don't know how much smaller I could make a doll without killing my hands even more!) I love the two little pigtails I gave her as well!
I had also been wanting to make B a boy doll too. Every now and then he will carry my niece's doll around and it's the cutest thing! I had seen some super hero dolls on Etsy and decided to make my own using the free template that I had used for my cousin's doll. Since I was also planning my son's second birthday party which was a super hero theme it turned out perfect as an add-on to his gift as well! I had also made his invitations with a Super B logo and decided what better emblem to put on the front of his doll! I was excited to finally use some of the superhero fabric I purchased by Michael Miller- it worked out perfect as the doll's cape!
The last doll I made was for my niece's fifth birthday. Like every little girl, she LOVES dolls, so of course I had to make her one of her own! She even got to pick out the fabrics herself (though she had no idea what was being made, just that I was going to make something for her birthday!) I decided to give her dollie two braids, just like she requests to have her hair done nearly everyday!
I've had several inquiries about whether or not I'd sell dolls...short answer is I always refer everyone to my friend over at PinkBerry Patch!! She's much better at this than I am, and as much fun as it is to mix and match patterns and hairstyles, I think I will stick to making these as gifts for my friends and family! 
Bowtie Onesies
I know what you're thinking, thank goodness the moustache craze is finally dying down! As cute as the "Little Man" moustache shirts are, I'm glad that I am no longer getting as many orders for them and can move onto something new! I decided that since Easter and Spring are quickly approaching, what better time to start making bowtie onesies!
I've recently bought a bunch of great boy prints- who knew plaid could be so fun?! Can't wait to get started on more bowtie shirts, and of course bowtie bibs!
Infinity Scarves
Over the holidays I made a TON of infinity scarves, both as orders and as gifts! Every time I think I'm done with them I get more requests, so I thought I'd post some of the ones that I've made or have available! You can find what's left of my stock here in the shop! I do have several others that I am working on (I know I keep saying that, but seriously, I wish there were an extra five hours in the day!) I've even stocked up on some linen cotton blends for some fun Spring scarves!
Fun Shirts Using Heat Transfer Vinyl
I love making fun shirts for B! The other week I was at H&M and they had some striped shirts on clearance for $5 (originally $13!) The cutest thing about the shirts- they had contrasting elbow patches on them! I grabbed a couple just to add to his wardrobe- never hurts to have enough clothes for a toddler boy! I think we do at least two clothing changes a day! I went back in last weekend and found that the clearance shirts were an extra 50% off! I ended up grabbing a striped black and white one that I didn't originally the first time- seemed too jailbird-ish for me! BUT I knew that adding a design onto it would be just the thing! I originally wanted to put one of the new designs from the Silhouette shop that had the woodland animals- a raccoon or fox would've been perfect, but I didn't have all the necessary colors! 
I ended up doing a robot design and in order to make it stand out just a bit more I added a circle cutout for the background so that the orange robot would really pop out against all the black and white stripes.
Striped Shirt With Robot
With Valentine's day coming up I decided to make a couple other shirts for some baby friends who would be celebrating their first love day!
I absolutely LOVED this image I found in the Silhouette store! I ended up changing the colors of the whales and also their eyes around than what was originally posted in the Silhouette shop! The teal heat transfer totally pops against the pink!
I Whaley Love You!
Last year I had made B a "Heart Breaker" shirt and when I saw the cute little chevron hearts in the Silhouette shop I knew I had to make more! I can't remember the font I used (that'll happen when you spend a weekend downloading nearly a hundred fonts onto your computer!) but I loved the little heart cutouts in the font and thought it'd be perfect for the shirt! And in keeping with the chevron theme I added a chevron burp cloth for my friend as well!
Chevron Heart Breaker Shirt with Burp Cloth
Covered Chairs
Crate and Barrel Chairs before
Last summer my sister gave me some old chairs from Crate and Barrel. She and her husband originally wanted me to reupholster the chairs for her but I was too scared to take on such a big task (mainly because her fabric taste can be a bit more expensive and the idea of taking on something I'd never done before with pricey fabric made me nervous as hell!) When they ended up passing the chairs on to us I knew we'd have to cover them since they kind of clashed with the current cream couches we already had. I ended up buying some Premier Prints Suzani in Chocolate from Fabrics.com- I think I only paid about $55 for the 9 yards that I bought- much more affordable than some of the other designer prints I found that I liked! I didn't want to go overboard on the fabric in case any of what I did got messed up or I cut the pieces wrong, at least $55 was easier to swallow than $100+!!
So.Close...Almost done!!
It literally took me a year to get motivated to work on these chairs! (Yup, held on to that fabric for a year and of course once I decided to get started on it I was sick of looking at it and wished I had picked something else out!) Once I measured each of the sections out and finally got around to piecing everything together, the covers weren't as difficult as I thought they'd be. There are definite room for improvements but for my first attempt at making chair covers I don't think I did too bad! The very bottom of the chair skirt is straight, however the back has some small pleats just to dress it up a bit! Dare I say that the next time I decide to redo these chairs it'll be out of some velveteen from Anna Maria Horner, or something just as fabulous from Amy Butler! After placing the chairs in our living room, it was such a huge improvement! The living room that it is in is hardly ever used and is pretty much the same as when we first moved in five years ago! The walls are still white and there is hardly any art on the walls, so the design of the chairs really add color to the room! All in all I'm content and now that I've finished the chairs it's motivated me to get the formal area more done up!
Finally done!
Where did September go?!
I just realized my last post was in August! I have no idea where September went off to and now it's practically mid-October! I've had quite a few several orders to keep me busy and tried hard to create new items for the fall season. I'm already thinking ahead of what kind of fun Christmas stuff I can make!
With the fall season starting and kids going off to school, I added laundry bags to my inventory. Some of these were available for purchase at EarthWorks.
I also made a handful of Kindle Fire cases. Since then, the new Kindle Fire HD has come out, and I'm not quite sure how much bigger those are in comparison to the regular Fires. From the pictures I've seen they are slightly larger, so for now these cases will only fit the original Fires. If and when I can get a hold of an HD version then I'll add those cases to my inventory as well! (I just hate to make a product if I can't test it out myself personally!)
And for all you Apple fans, I've got some IPad cases now too!
I had been getting a lot of inquiries about banners/pennants, so I decided to make a one that would be available, ready to ship in my shop. I chose an owl theme because I know that I am not the only one who is big into birds/owls, and figured the fun girly colors would be a hit!
I also started making some boxy toiletry bags. I was surprised that after I posted these on Facebook, I had so many requests for more and had a few custom orders too! These are available in two sizes- small and large. The smalls measure approximately 5 x 7 in and 4.5 in tall. The larges are approximately 5.5 x 8.5 in and 5 in tall. I use them as more than just toiletry bags too- I've made my son a few for him to store some of his knick-knacks in! At 20 months he is accumulating quite the collection of trucks and cars!
And lastly, I'll finish off with something that I made for my son! Since mustaches are quite the trend these days I've been seeing a ton of these shirts everywhere! Since I had an order for some ringer tees, I ordered a few extra ones for my son and made him a fun "Little Man" shirt! I stenciled his and painted it in to match the navy blue ringer on the shirt.
I've also made several onesies using iron on vinyl.
Reusable Snack and Sandwich Bags
Since the new school year is quickly approaching, I decided to add something new to my inventory! Reusable snack and sandwich bags! I will be selling these as sets (unless requested otherwise, but I think sets of one of each make the perfect combo, especially with all the cute fabric choices out there). I've made a handful of snack ones for my little guy, and love how much easier they are to store in my purse than a snack cup container (which the boy has been known to chuck at me after he's finished with his snack, thus resulting in a cracked cup! I thought those plastic cups would last longer, but apparently my boy has a good arm, and we've already had to throw a few out!) These are definitely easier to tote around and just ball up into my purse once finished too! And because it has a velcro closure, it makes opening slightly harder for the little ones, so snacks tend to last a little bit longer too, which is great during errands!
The snack bags measure approximately 6.5 inches x 5.5 inches, and the sandwich bags measure approximately 8 inches x 7.5 inches. The interior lining is made with ripstop nylon, which is considered to be food safe (I know there is a lot of controversy over what plastic people consider to be food safe...) The bags are machine washable (and are also dryer safe as well. I've run mine through several times and they haven't had much shrinking problems or anything else!)
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