I can sense winter is coming to an end. I have goat kids in the pen (pics soon!), a package of honeybees for my second hive on order, seeds ready to start and blackberry brambles to tackle before they get whiff of spring. Which means my time for the indoor crafting is slowly coming to an end, too. Well….mostly….we do still get our share of rain…

I have two nieces and two nephews, and every year for their birthdays I sew or make something. I figure I can just be the weird aunt that uses a needle and thread instead of a credit card at Toys R Them (ala Dave Ramsey). For my January birthday-niece, this is what I made: a way so ca-ute doll pillow with clothing to put on it. It’s sort of like a paper doll, but it’s fabric. And did I mention that it’s SO cute?! She’s got sort of a smirk on her face, and of course I had to add the belly button (of course!).

This is the back of the pillow, with clothes and shoes stuffed into the pocket.

The clothes were totally fun to make! And all I used were scraps, so the cost (other than my time of course!) was minimal. My girls loved playing with them.

Aren’t those mary janes so adorable?! Check out her jammies and slippers.

And here are some play clothes.

Way too much fun to make! It only (well….“only” is relative) took me a few days to sew up. I got the pattern and directions from this book:

It didn’t take long for my 8yo to whip up some scraps and start making toys. Here’s a cute little puppy puppet she made for her little brother:

And he doesn’t even care that it’s not from a store.

Being a mommy is pretty fun most days. But being an aunt is pretty cool, too.

Blessings,