Have you taken the pledge?

I read probably more blogs than I should, mostly looking for answers to practical questions or looking for project inspiration. Many of the crafty blogs have a gadget on the side that says "I took the Handmade Pledge" This means that they will buy handmade for themselves and others.

I try to do that with gifts because it feeds my crafty urges, my desire to give gifts with personal touches, and yes, my cheapness. Frugal sounds better. I haven't fully taken the pledge though because I'm stuck sometimes. Either for time or inspiration or ability.

This week we have three birthday parties to attend and I managed to make all of the gifts. Yay me!

This is for a little girl who picked it out for herself at a garage sale or thrift shop and I remade it to fit her. She loved the fabric because of the sparkly beads throughout. How pretty!

However, it was an adult size and needed a lot of adjustments. I like how it turned out and I hope she does too. I also hope that she waits for warmer weather to wear it. It's been snowing for three days now.

Because all three of my girls are attending her party, I thought she needed another gift as well, so I made three. It actually took that many attempts to really get it right because I'm a trial-and-error type of seamstress and I rarely have a pattern.

The first one in orange reminded me why I don't like to sew with vinyl. I'm hoping that an 8-year old won't look closely at the stitches. It is the most durable of the three though.

The second and third attempts went much better and I'm so happy that I'm done today. One whole day before the first of the parties.

Maybe my life isn't that chaotic. I'm still looking for a better blog name. Any suggestions?