Category Archives: Crafts + DIY

Dottie’s Kraft Korner

Crafts + DIY, ,

Well crafty cuties out there, it’s time for another:

This is an extra special one because it features my all time favorite blogger Alicia Paulson, whose snuggly blog, Posie Gets Cozy is such a wonderful crafty way to spend a few moments of your day.  Oh mercy–how I adore this blog!  It is the blog equivalent of hot chocolate and warm buttered toast.  And delights of delights–Alicia and her darling husband Andy are hoping to adopt one very lucky little girl!

How lucky is this girl, you might ask? Lucky enough to have a gorgeous wardrobe that Alicia is making for her little one.  Turns out our dear heroine set her crafty cap on sewing the “Most Adorable Baby Wardrobe in the Whole Wide World” and I must admit, I think she’s meeting her goal. Pulling dress ideas from all sorts of sources–from Japanese craft books to childhood reads to vintage patterns to favorite artists–and yet it all feels perfectly well matched together like any good wardrobe should be.

Let’s take a little look inside this sweet baby girl’s closet and check out Alicia’s home sewn goodness. All of the photos are taken by Alicia herself.

I love a good calico print of wee roses–like this darling dressie called, “Little Prairie” would totally work on Laura Ingalls.  OK–could I take a moment to talk about how much I loved Little House on the Prairie?  My obsession led to a job at Old Sturbridge Village later in life milking cows and cooking over an open fire. (That is another story best told over drinks…)

But back to the dresses. Like this citrusy ray of smocked sunshine Alicia calls “Lemon Layer Cake“.  I can’t get over the smocking. The hand smocking. And the little pink flowers in the hand smocking. Wow. Just wow.

This one is my favorites called Bouillabaisse.  Who doesn’t love a good ruddy tomato red? And mix it with bias tape–well color me yours! What I particularly love about this is that Alicia bought the fabric from Goodwill along with a matching hardcover copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking covered with its signature fleur de lis.  And thanks for hipping me to Swedish tracing paper. Is there nothing that isn’t awesome that comes out of Sweden?

And back with the hand smocking on this pretty dottie dress Alicia calls “Watermelon smock“. I love this contemporary take on a dress that would have been at home at the turn of the last century.

The Strawberry Ruffle dress is so springy and sweet and includes an APRON. If this isn’t something that Anne of Green Gables would have worn, well, I don’t know what is!

Me thinks I am not alone in my love of all things Swedish. Clearly Alicia has been bitten by that bug if she is creating such a endearing dress as this one called “Swedish Sunshine“. I love how she’s paired lace with the gingham. Well played, Alicia!

Oh, but this is just the start of a very wonderful journey of sewing for her baby and beyond.

Good luck Alicia with your impending mommyhood! May it be full of sweet little sugarfoots that must be kissed and tickled and fluffy baby hair. And pigtails and giggles and dresses dresses dresses.  And thank you for sharing your dresses and dreams with us!

Dottie's Kiddie Kraft Korner

Crafts + DIY

What can I say, I love a good craft.  I don’t feel right unless I have some sort of project out involving needles–whether it be knitting, sewing, quilting, needle-pointing, embroidering–anything I can get my hot little hands on.

But then that little bundle of Peachy joy came into my life and it seemed that all of my creativity went into thinking of all the ways I could hug and kiss her.  Sadly, there’s a bit of dust on my sewing machine and my knitting needles are on a high shelf away from Baby’s prowling hands and mouth. But it is hard with my little muse, Miss Peach toddling around and there are so many great things I *could* be making for her.

But I’m gonna turn my craft frown upside down and instead buckle up for some armchair crafting!  I will craft by osmosis, sucking up the wunderkind cleverness of others out there in the blogosphere. Because hoo boy! is there some serious crafty awesomeness out there that deserves a shout out.  Handy mommas,  daddies,  Nanas, Grandads, unks and aunties–let me salute you here at:

Expect features on great crafters, terrific crafts, crafting trends aplenty.  To start this little bonanza off, here are some great craft tutorials that will surely send you hotfooting it to Michael’s asking for glue gun stick refills and ric rac.

You all know about Prudent Baby, right? Because they are totally awesome and make me melt with happiness over their very crafty cleverness.  Those charming ladies are overflowing with genius ideas that are not only completely cute, but also stretch clothing beyond their original uses. For example, check out these adorable denim knickers.  Another reason to love them–we share that irrational sewer fear of button holes.


Of course you could sew a skirt, but knitting one for your little one just takes it up a notch.  And they are so comfy–like this one from uber online knitting magazine, Knitty called, Oh Mickey and designed by Jacquelyn Landry.


There are moments in Craftlandia, where you see something so head smackingly ingenius that you want to run out and make it right now.  That’s how I felt about this make your own baby tights tutorial by Rae from Made By Rae.  I love that she used old stretchy knit shirts that were probably destined for Salvation Army and gave them a second life!


I nearly lost it when I saw how adorable these cutie patootie hankie bloomers are from This Mama Makes Stuff!  I’ll let that mama make me stuff any time if they are as darling as these bloomers made from vintage hankies.


Our Lady of the Craft, Martha Stewart, must be mentioned because she is all things home-ec and to not include a project by Martha would almost be a sacrilege to any craft focused post!  And it is one of my favorites–a girl’s shirt dress! So sweet!


I hope this post spark your own inner craftiness and I hope it will inspire me to pull out those needles and get creative! And I’d love to hear what you are working on right now that is making you smile!

Happy crafting, ya’ll!

2-4-6-8, Donna Wilson's really great!

Art + Design, Crafts + DIY, Kiddo Rooms, ,

Hello pals! So today I have something a little bit different. It’s not really a children’s brand, per se, but I think after you take one look at British designer Donna Wilson‘s fantastical creations you’ll agree they will appeal to kiddos of all ages. I know I fell head over heels! Donna began her career creating an amazing wonderland of stitched and knitted monsters that celebrated fun and quirky characteristics: some have extra long legs or extra big heads, some have two heads, some are grumpy or shy and all are not what they seem. She has also branched out to produce groovy pillows, cozy blankets, felted doilies, pom pom rugs and crazily charming kitchenware. Trust me. You’re gonna love these!





How cute is that little orange slice “barrette” on the little plate?? I love how all of these items would be equally at home in a cool couple’s flat or a sweet kid’s room. And wait til you see Donna herself. She is as cute as her designs are whimsical! Take a gander at this little sunshine gal:

When asked to talk a little bit about her work, Donna had this to say!

“When people ask me what I do I always say I make weird knitted creatures with two heads and angry faces, I love the reaction I get!! Most people look a bit confused and some just think I’m mad. My work is playful, tactile and bright, inspired by the everyday oddities and deformities of life. I like to think of each of my creations as a character in my very own wonderland…where everything is made of soft wool, trees are knitted and instead of growing leaves, pom poms sprout out, strange knitted creatures eat cup cakes and doughnuts sprinkled with stitching.”


So what do you think? Pretty fun stuff huh.
Get yer mitts on Donna’s goodies (ermm, that doesn’t sound quite right…) at these stores in the US:
the future perfect (new york)
Eden&Eden (san francisco)
Eli-phant (portland)
For international stores, check out Donna Wilson’s site here.

images from Donna Wilson.com

Upcycling Sweaters

Crafts + DIY, Etsy Love, , , ,

People, let’s be clear about one thing. I love a good tag sale. I was raised on them.

Saturday mornings in my childhood were spent riding shotgun in my mother’s Ford Escort careening around the backroads of Connecticut looking for tag sales, with a bagel clutched in my hand– “breakfast on the road” and quarter to go wild with at the first stop.  Who knows what treasures await?  Balls of yarn! Old books! Vintage fox stoles! Oh, adventure!  Still to this day, I can’t resist the pull of that large piece of cardboard saying “Garage Sale”.

But this weekend is the Superbowl of tag sales.  The Olympics of thrifting. People of the Bay Area–I give you–the annual Oakland Museum White Elephant sale!

It is a hullabaloo of second hand goodies that makes me break out in a sweat of shopping excitement as soon as I enter the sale.

Every year, I set my cap on a certain item–cool vintage sheets from the seventies, old knitting magazines, used board games.  This year, I’m all about the sweaters. Yup! Because I want to try that green craftiness that I’ve been hearing so much about from Martha.  You know, taking old sweaters and turning them into something just as awesome, if not more so than the original sweater.    It is even greener than recycling–upclycing.

If you are not in such a crafty mood or too busy to craft (cough cough), you should check out other people’s craftiness at Etsy.

Sesame Seed designs creates these gorgeous felted caps for babies that kills me!  I can’t decide between the deer and the dinosaur… Or the leaf.

I love the sweaters made from a sweater!  Like this bye bye Birdie sweater!

Or this ric rac rainbow cardi. People, you know how I feel about ricrac.  Both are from Etsy seller, Poppytop Sweaters.

Etsy seller Snugglepants turns the sleeves of sweaters into the cutest and warmest pants around! Like these orange stripey ones or these crazy striped ones.  Very clever indeed!

But I had to finish this post the same way I started it. With this little lady.  Joseph may have had his technicolor dream coat, but check out this very colorful patterned skirt made from old sweaters on it’s charming young model.  I’ll take the boots, the rabbit fur vest and vintage luggage too, please!  Actually, I’ll take the little girl to boot! She is working that skirt like nobody’s business!

The perfect ensemble for going to a tag sale with your Mom!

Pretty Hair Pins :: Everythings Coming Up Roses

Crafts + DIY, ,

I know the rose just had its shining hour with Valentine’s Day, but the queen of flowers does deserves flourish under such love and adoration.

Mind you, roses are pretty fancy and usually reserved for adults, but who says you can’t bring a little rosiness a little girl’s wardrobe with a special crafty project–like with the help of this stunning rose hair clip tutorial from the wonderfully genius Molly from everyone’s favorite craft site, The Purl Bee.

What a nice way to bring a little spring into your February.