Category Archives: Painting

Cheetah Girl

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A friend of mine is expecting her firstborn any day now… for her baby shower a few weeks ago, I wanted to create a unique onesie to match these sweet Cheetah print legwarmers from her Target gift registry:

Onesie Leg Warmers

My idea was to create a cheetah cub similar to this lion I created for the onesies I made for my Etsy shop a few made months ago:

Lion Onesie

So I sketched a cub/kitten…

Kitty Sketch

Transferred it to the onesie by tracing it with a fine tip Micron pen…

Transferring Design onto Onesie

Painted it with glitter fabric paint, and adding some details with a black paint marker and blending/mixing paint:

Painted Cheetah Cat On Onesie

All of my one-of-a-kind onesies have an element of applique to them; since she is expecting a little girl, I selected some pink fabric from my scrap bin, ironed a piece of stabilizer to the back of my painted cheetah cub (inside the onesie)…

Prepping Onesie for Applique

and gave the little girl cub a bow around her neck (the pink fabric is fused with Heat n’ Bond Featherlite, and satin stitched over the raw edges):

Applique Done

Her is the ensemble, complete with a wee cardigan sweater to match:

Applique w/ Sweater and Cheetah legwarmers

I also purchased some bedtime lotions, etc. from her gift registry, so I bought a basket to gift them in, pulled out a lavender fat quarter from my stash (her nursery decor is primarily lavender) and sewed up a quick and easy basket liner.  I’m hoping she can use this to hold supplies near the changing table:

Basket Collage

Her is the gift, ready to give (I wrapped it up in a lavender polka dot swaddling blanket that can be reused as well:

Basket1

Looking forward to meeting this little lady soon!

I have a major finish (my final 2012 finish!) to share with you soon — when I have pics to show! Until then, a very Happy New Year to you and yours!

Oh, Baby, Baby

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(my apologies for triggering any unwelcome pop music rhthymn in your subconscious…)

But what I was really referring to are the baby onesies I’ve been having fun painting and appliqueing… 100% cotton onesies, pre-washed, and decorated with my freehand artwork in fabric, glitter fabric paint and fabric paint markers….

I made these to sell at a craft fair, but it just wasn’t the right market for baby stuff, so they are now listed in my etsy shop: madebyabrunnette, along with the leftovers from last weekend’s blog sale.

There are cute tiger and lion cubs, 

elephants that would look cute on any little peanut…

ladybugs,

and doxies….

onesies fit for a princess….

or a real sweet-heart….

All onesies are customize-able, add a baby’s name, nickname, or request a special color or different size, etc. Maybe you want a dog or cat on the onesie that looks like your own pet?  Sky’s the limit, just ask!

And, on all items in my shop, Shipping is FREE within the United States!  It’s not too late to buy for Christmas…

Blogtoberfest Day XXIV–The Littlest Mermaid

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Ifinished up the Pig Will and Pig Won’t Costumes on Friday evening, andon Saturday, got out my paintbrushes and fabric paints to create amermaid costume for baby sister…

I started with a white onesie, gave her a clam shell top tied with seaweed and a starfish clasp at the back…

added a pearl and seashell necklace, and a seaweed bracelet…

 

Made her a clam shell quilted fin…

and a matching headpiece, complete with clam shell, pearl and mother-of-pearl heart…

Her she is, the littlest (and possibly the cutest) mermaid…Miss Zoe Seaweed:

and here she is with big brother, Pig Won’t (he looks a little too happy to be Pig Won’t but he was extremely excited about his new costume!):

There is no photo of their middle sibling, Pig Will, because my camera is simply not equipped to photograph perpetual motion.  

Pig Will & Pig Won’t Costume Details:

  • took 2 yards of pink flannel for one size 3T and one size 4T costume.
  • I started with a pattern, but ended up free-handing most of the costume, including hooves to cover their hands and shoes.  (I could have saved my time and effort, the “hooves” stayed on about 10 minutes).
  • snouts were purchased, as were the polo shirt and shorts

Mermaid Costume Details:

  • Purchased onesie and white headband
  • fin was freehand drawn and cut from Me & My Sister “Smores” fabric, lined with flannel and free-motion quilted in a clam shell design.  Top is finished with rick-rack.
  • All details painted on onesie were freehand drawn and painted by yours truly
  • From start to finish, this costume took me about three hours.  (MUCH less time than the pig costumes…)
  • It just fits her, I’m guessing by November 4, when she turns 3-months old it will no longer fit.  I cannot believe how much that child grew in two weeks!!!
  • She didn’t mind wearing it all, the fin was sort of like she was swaddled up for bedtime…

Tomorrow is Day 2 of the Ghastlies Blog Hop–MY Day!  Come back to see what I created with the Ghastlie Family Portraits…

My Handmade Holiday 2008

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As you know, if you’ve been here before, I made a pledge to myself to make as many handmade Christmas gifts as possible this year. Other than stocking stuffers, and some books, I bought very few gifts. The rest I made…

There was a rocket for Robby and one for Sam…

Pillowcases for the big boys, Tim and Michael…

A pillow for Leah, Matti, and Mike…

Wallhangings for the nieces….

Three more tablerunners in addition to the one I made for Marguerite, my Pink Christmas pal. These went to my Mom, Tonya, and Harriet….

Pajama pants for Toni, Lacy and Elice…

Personalized onesies for the newest addition…

Some handmade food gifts of Rice Crispy treat kits and Hot Chocolate Mix, courtesy of Lolly Chops….

I helped play Santa to my little friend Addison by helping to paint and decorate the dollhouse her Daddy made for her…

Did some baking using new recipes…and utilizing my recently thrifted cookie jar (love it!):

Wrapped lots of gifts, “Doris-style”, (my family would be glad to define that for you…) with help from Maggy, as usual…

Phwewwww….No wonder I’m a little tired these days! All in all it was a wonderful Holiday season, full of blessings, great company, good times, and yes, even some loot for me:

Don’t forget to visit my December 31st post and sign up for my giveaway…the table runner is nearly complete, so new photos coming soon!

Today is the Feast of the Epiphany, the day the newborn Jesus received his visit and gifts from the Kings. The word “epiphany” comes from the Greek epiphainen, a verb that means “to shine upon,” “to manifest,” or “to make known.” Thus, the feast of the Epiphany celebrates the many ways that Christ has made Himself known to the world, mainly the three events that manifested the mission and divinity of Christ: the visit of the Magi (Matthew 2:1-12), the baptism of Jesus (Mark 1:9-11), and the miracle at Cana (John 2:1-11). The visit of the Magi is emphasized on Epiphany Day, and Christ’s baptism is celebrated the first Sunday that follows.

Blessings to you all on this Holy day.

Parrots, swords and skulls–oh my!

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That’s right, it’s getting close to Halloween and creepy characters start to rear their *not-so-pretty* heads. It’s also the month of my little pal Brennan’s birthday, he turned 4 last week. He has a very vivid imagination, and is currently obsessed with all things Pirate. His party is this coming Saturday, and it is, of course, a pirate themed party. He has had a collection of gold and silver coins, or treasure, for quite some time. They get buried and dug up from the sandbox several times each month. I played “pirate ship” with him early in the summer and we had to carry our treasure in a Glad-ware container. Not very pirate-y. So, I thought, he needed a treasure chest. I bought this unfinished one at Michael’s and I got to work:
The sketches on it are mine, it was pretty much a blank slate. Here is the finished product I gifted to him last night, along with a pirate hat, flannel eye patch, some new pirate coins, a few tattoos, and a 3×5 pirate flag that my sweetie found at Menard’s, that Brennan’s parents will be proudly flying this weekend!Near the clasp is his initials with a skull and crossbones insignia. On one end is his very own pirate, and on the other, silver and gold crossed swords. Yes, I free-handed the drawings/paintings on it, that B.F.A. degree comes in handy once in a while! It’s lined with pirate flag fabric, applied with Mod Podge.
His reaction was worth all the effort, time and expense (although, that was quite minimal). He had to find a special place to “hide” (store) his “very special treasure chest”, his words, :-> !! The “real” pirate flag was a huge hit, too! It’s easy to impress someone who is four, no matter how worldly and brilliant he is!

A touch of autumn from my window sill:
Mum’s I trimmed to bring inside for some color…don’t you just love the reflections from those glass jars?
and from my brother-in-law’s garden:
Oh, and one more lovely Autumn sight:That’s right, folks, gas dipped below $3.00/gallon on Sunday. Oh happy day! Another reason for you to come here, for this….!

Happy Autumn…Happy October….and Happy Halloween!!!!!

Ahoy, Matey’s!

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AARGGG! You’ve wandered into pirate territory, matey! Prepare to walk the plank!

I’ve been helping my best friend prepare invitations and decoartions for her little guys upcoming 4th birthday. Guess what theme he chose?

These are the invites we made last weekend, crumpled and distressed with love to make them look like old treasure maps…
He and his little sister were watching us make these, and he asked us, after about five minutes, why we were crumpling them up in a ball like trash. We explained what we were doing and showed him how cool the finished product was, and he was not impressed. He said, “it hurts my feelings when you make my invitations bumpy.” Serious. Bumpy invites=hurt feelings. He conceded after he saw the final product being removed from the envelope and unfolded that it was kinda cool. No more hurt feelings.

I’ve been working on some gifts for him that will be delivered early so he can use them as decoration and costume on the big day.

Here is the treasure chest I started the other night, with a parrot I sketched and his initials under the lock…
The inside is bare wood, but will be covered with the fabric it is sitting on in the photos when finished. And, of course, filled with Pirate Booty! (You know, treasure…)
More piratey goodness to come…

The vintage linens, hankies, fabric and patterns are almost all posted for sale in the store…check it out here. The rest will be posted very soon…