Little Clay Flower Girl

I like trying new things and I am very inspired by other crafters out there. One of my favourite crafters is Aimee Ray who has a lovely little shop selling her unique range of clay 'NOMS' (gnomes) on Etsy called littledear. You can follow her blog at littledeartracks . I absolutely love her gorgeous hand painted gnomes and I love her style of illustration. She also sells a variety of felt plush patterns and swirly embroidery patterns.

An example of Aimee Ray's latest NOMS

A few months ago I was using some clay to use in a school craft project at my children's school. With some of the leftovers, I sculpted a little girl, similar to Aimee Ray's gnome designs but with my own unique twist. I finally got a chance to paint it the other week with some watercolours. It was very fiddly work and I also had to contend with the beady eye of my little 4 year old daughter watching over my shoulder. Everything I make at the moment she claims for herself and often tells me what she wants me to do or how it should look! I tell you, she is definitely my harshest critic!

     

Finding time to create...what time?

There are some days I just struggle to find time to make anything! And when I say 'make' I don't mean dinner, or lunches, or beds! I mean something creative like a painting, some writing, a cloth doll....anything. Do you ever have days like that?

I am very blessed that my husband and I work from home. So I do have time around the busyness of family life to create although some weeks it just doesn't happen. Like this week. Everything this week has been bitsy, too many little bits and pieces of things that mean I haven't been able to pull any creating time together. Apart from this afternoon which my sweet husband gave to me even though our kids, at the time, were running and screaming around our house. He decided that rather than both of us ending up frazzled, one of us might as well do something productive, and I feel very blessed that it was my turn.

So apart from a few minor interruptions of one of my four children entering my study to tell me something, wipe away some tears or put on a  jacket; I have had an hour or so to write and also post on this blog. It has been heaven, just some time (I wouldn't say necessarily peaceful but now the kids have gone outside so it's quiet now....for a minute), to reflect, create and reconnect with my creative self.

Sometimes I actually itch to make something....I just feel the need to sew somethings, or paint something....and I know when I get like this I just need to do it or I take my frustration out on other people. There are instances when I randomly go into my study and just do something, and usually the kids end up following me! Often, when I really want to get things done, I distract them with something else or promises of a game when I'm finished.

Sometimes like in this picture, they just play around me. Actually, I end up sewing around them and the mess they create. But I don't mind really. A bit of creative play can be very inspiring so instead of letting it annoy me,  I try at times to let it inspire me, to be creative as a child, without inhibitions. And who cares about the mess anyway?

Two little shells...

The other day my husband brought home two shells from his walk on our local beach. Because of the  recent crazy storms here off the west coast of Ireland, all these shells from some sort of sea snail, had been swept into one area of beach, tucked between some sand dunes. Who knows, maybe the snails had swirled together to get some shelter from the storm without realising they would get trapped between the dunes when the water retreated.

It's been great to take close up pictures of these shells as they are only small, about 1 and a half centimetres wide. Zooming in close I've been able to study the beautiful swirls that so intricately decorate them. These are perfect spirals, not the imperfect unbalanced swirls I draw with my paintbrush. Even these tiny sea snails have absolutely gorgeous, careful crafted coverings, created by a mighty and powerful hand so much greater, more artistic and perfect than my own.

When I think about these shells I'm reminded of that Bible passage where Jesus talks about not worrying and to consider the lilies of the field that are so regal and delicate. "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you little faith?" (Matthew 6: 30). Will not God, who provided these little snails with tiny, ornate and precious houses; will not this God much more provide for me in the chaos and swirly mess of my life? Just like these snails, sometimes I feel tossed about by giant waves or swelling tides of doubt. Sometimes I feel swept away and trapped by sands of troubles. But unlike these poor little snails, God will provide for me for I am a child of his. How much more has he crafted and made me who I am, not just a painted shell but a beautiful human being who lives and breathes, sings and loves, writes and creates.

Only two little shells but such a wonderful lesson to me about the goodness of God and how precious my life is to Him.

Monster Rag Doll Tutorial

* I have now updated this pattern & it is for sale in my Etsy store! *

I have realised I am hopeless with this blog thing! I haven't posted anything since June! Well, it's not because I haven't been busy....actually it's quite the opposite! In between being a mum to four beautiful, growing and crazy kids, I have found time to make things, some of which I'll share one day. But for now, with Halloween approaching, I've posted a 'Monster Rag Doll Tutorial'. I came up with this doll pattern for a friend's daughter who wanted to me to run a 'sewing party' for her 9th birthday! She wanted to make 'monster dolls' based on the Monster High dolls she is obsessed with. I think these ones  are a great alternative, especially for younger girls like my almost 4 year old!

Step 1

You can buy the pattern now on  my Etsy store: EilishTree Etsy Store

Print off pattern (it should fit on A4) and cut out pattern pieces. Choose skin colour and trace around body and ears onto the back of the fabric with a pencil. Choose fabric for the arms and legs (I like to choose all different fabrics to make my monster dolls more bohemian looking!) and do the same thing, tracing around the pattern pieces with a pencil on to the wrong side of the fabric.

Step 2

Cut out pattern pieces leaving about 1/2 cm seam allowance around each piece.

Step 3

Sew the legs, arms and ears together following the pencil line.

Trim aorund the curved edges making small cuts around the curves so that they turn easier (be careful not to cut through the stitching!)

Step 4

Cut out some clothes for your doll based on the body pattern. I traced around the doll body (leaving out the head) and made up a few dress patterns but you could do anything...patchwork, vests, stripes etc. Make sure the clothes cover all of the body and add belts or patches to jazz it up a little! This is your chance to get as creative as you want, remember, she's a monster so crazy and messy is good!

Sew clothes onto the body of the monster doll, on the right side of fabric, front and back. I use zig zag stitch to cover up the edges (around the neck, and over the sides of the belt). You want all edges on the right side of the doll to be well attached so they won't come off or fray too much.

Try to match the belt so when the bodies are sewn together they match on the seam.

Step 5

Before sewing bodies together you need to turn your arms, legs and ears inside out (I push a pencil in the end & push through as shown in pics). Then stuff your arms and legs nice and firm. Put a little stuffing in ears too (although not too much). 

Step 6

This is probably the trickiest step of the doll making process. Put the two body pieces right sides together. Match where the ears should go (according to marks on pattern) and pin ears inside the head (point facing down).

Do the same with the arms placing them inside the body, between to the two inner layers, and pinning the edges together. 

Then pin the rest of the body together so it looks something like this (a bit lumpy with the ears and arms pinned inside)....

Next, sew body together, following along pencil line. This is a little tricky as you need to make sure you are sewing the arms and the ears in well, but I find that if you take your time and go very slow it works fine.

Step 7

Before turning inside out, make small cuts around the curves of the head as you did with the arms and legs earlier. Then turn your monster inside out. Your arms & ears should be neatly attached, seams on the inside.

Stuff your doll nice and firm, especially the head! Leave about an inch of space at the bottom.

Step 8

Pin the stuffing in the doll about an inch from the bottom (this makes it easier to sew the bottom hem). Fold up the bottom of the doll with about a 1cm seam. Insert the two legs (each one placed right against the seam edge with a gap in the middle) and pin into place.

Sew across the legs as close to the bottom edge as you can. You may need to sew this twice to make sure the legs are secure, just make sure it's fairly tidy as this seam can be seen. If you want to make it more hidden, you could also hand sew this seam. Remove the pins holding back the stuffing.

Step 9

Your doll is now finished and just needs hair and a face!

I made my hair by ripping pieces of fabric into 1cm strips and adding various shades of wool, but you could use anything you want! 

I attach my hair by dividing it in three sections and pin a section behind each ear and one in the middle of the head, just to balance it out. I then hand stitch the hair to the doll's head, making sure I go through all the layers of hair a few times so they don't get pulled out.

I also twisted some of it in front of the ears and stitched it in place on the side of the head just to frame the face. Make sure it is stitched in well, especially if kids are going to be playing with it!

Step 10

Now you just need to make your face!! Sew on buttons for eyes, felt for a patch and draw on your face with a waterproof marker or you could embroider it instead! Don't forget to add some monster features like fangs or a stitched mouth!!!

I also added some extra embellishments like a button on the foot or a bow on the dress!

You're doll is finished! Enjoy making many different dolls, they are addictive!!!

I hope my you can follow my tutorial as it is my first one! Any problems, feel free to make a comment below so I can help you!

Happy Halloween!