I have been making pincushions for my swaps lately. I’m loving them. This one was inspired by this tutorial.

The first one I made was this one:

It’s a mason jar. the fabric is from a pair of old pjs. I stuffed it full of polyfill, plus a little bit of super fine steel wool. Glued it to the lid, stuck it with a bunch of star felt pins, filled the jar with ribbons and voila!

This is my most recent:

Using felt, I made an egg for the egg cup! And of course, the star felt pins!  It’s really adorable.  It was easy to make.  After sewing the felt pieces, stuffing the egg shape, I glued it into the egg cup!

This was my February Coloriffic Swap-o-rama that I sent:

I received this lovely Winter Bird Embroidery from Vidya

Then I received this amazing March Coloriffic Swap-o-rama package from Rain. It came all the way from England!

I sent off this little embroidery (oh so late…so sorry dear swap partner!)

and I sent this to my March Coloriffic Swap-o-rama partner in a land far far away…..

This swap thing is so addicting. I love it. I love the things I get in the mail and I love sending things. I have a lot of fun experimenting. For example…

I made this egg cup pincushion:

Which I think turned out really adorable, especially with the star felt pins.

Then I made this bag:

based on this really cool tutorial . The way she does this lined bag with a zipper is quite easy to follow. Another way to do a zipper.  I  *heart* the internet!

JAN07 Colorific Swap-o-Rama – Received!, originally uploaded by zannestar.

I can’t tell you the thrill I got when I found a package in my mailbox from PORTUGAL! The heart beat a bit faster, and I couldn’t wait to get inside and take it all out! There are so many wonderful things in the package from Cristina. THANK YOU!

First – the fabric, red and white floral that is STRETCHY! It’s a nice weight, will be fun to work with. The ribbons. Oh the ribbons. Perfect for someone who had a little girl and loves to sew. Ric Rac (need I say more?).

A handmade pincushion. It’s so fabulous. (I’ve decided the first of my collection of handmade pincushons – they are so awesome!) Red with white dots and a button center. The flip side is a beautiful white felt with a red button center. Which one to use? Hand painted clothespins. Some of them are decorated with STARS! Cristina did her homework! Beautiful, glowing glass beads with red centers.

A star shaped container of bath gel, floating ball candles and some delicious hard candy – perfect for a night of pampering.

The cutest little red barretts with sweet birds on them, just for Izzy! She loves them! I showed them to her, the next thing I know, one is missing and I find it hours later in her bed. True love!

A sweet little red duckie bank with white hearts, a heart clip (to hold photos of my sweethearts) and a precious cute “woof woof” aka dog keychain.

Izzy loved this package as much as I did. I was lucky to snap this shot before her little hands tore it apart.

Thanks Cristina! It’s a very thoughtful package! I love it!

This wonderful package will be on it’s way tomorrow.

It’s been crazy around here. So much going on. Projects to do, businesses to begin, people to take care of. I did have a bit of fun with this swap.

The Red and White theme was fun and easy. My secret swap partner was wonderfully descriptive. I put a lot of my own fun stuff in it – especially the buttons. For those of you who know me, I LOVE buttons and collect them like a mad woman (ok – I’ve stopped bidding on them on ebay, I have a college education to think about!). I made the pin cushion. It’s my first handmade pincushion (except the pin “pillow” I made in Home Ec class 20 years ago (jeez), and it was super simple. I think the key to making them is lining the fabric with super fine steel wool so pins and needles stay sharp. If I make more of these, I think I’ll invest in a hot glue gun, would make it much easier I think. I was going to make something with the fabric, but decided to continue with my gift theme for the holidays this year – giving inspiration – so the receiver will “make something”. The poodle yarn is yummy and I love how it knits up – and would make fun “hair” for a softie I think. Then there is the button star card. I used to make those left and right! The Japanese paper is sweet and fun for decoration and wrapping. I might have to go back to the store and get more so I can play with it too! I absolutely adore the French Bull Plate. If I were to ever register for anything again, I want a set of those. They are wonderul. Have you seen the monster plates? or the superhero ones? Might be an Izzy birthday present this year?