So, I’ve had this “train case” for about five years. I’m sure you’ve seen these in the department stores around Christmas. This one was full of makeup. I needed something for my sewing supplies next to my bed and I decided to repurpose this case. I was inspired by the photos that Helene shared from a book she owns. This was a really fun and easy project. I just removed the white, cardboard liners that were already in there and “reupholstered” them by hot glueing everything into place. I did add padding to the panel under the lid so I could use it as a pin cushion. I love that cute print with the little girls. It was a fat quarter and it’s a pretty large repeat so after doing that top piece there wasn’t much usable fabric left. The yellow fabric is a tiny yellow gingham and the black edging inside the compartments is chenille stems!

Now that the inside is so cute, I want to do something fun to the outside! I did cut out some of the little girls from the red fabric. I was thinking about a black glossy paint and decoupaging the girls randomly. Any further ideas?

In doll news, my $1.50 American Girl is going to a new home this week. I finished up her outfit and wanted to share with you how cute she turned out.

The print on her dress is a thirties-like print of cute white puppies. The puppy looks like the American Girl dog, Coconut. I even made a necklace for her that says PUPPY LOVE. Dannielle probably recognizes the hair ribbon! I just love the white, pink, red grouping since it’s right before Valentine’s Day. As a girl, I thought pink and red were just beautiful together even though other people told me they didn’t go together. The design of the dress was inspired by the kinds of dresses we wore back in the early 70’s.

I’m sending her to Sandy’s little girl and I am so thrilled that this doll is going to get played with! I thought about selling her on ebay, but I don’t want her to go to an adult collector- I want her to have a little girl again. Remember Jessie on Toy Story 2? Wasn’t that so sad that she ended up in a dark carton? This little girl came to me with frizzy, girl-cut hair, green glitter nails and toenails and eyeliner all over her pretty eyes. She’s going to a new home now and she is just about as “new” as I could make her. Abby, I hope you think up a great name for her and that the two of you will have lots of adventures together!

P.S. Dannielle, do you see Hitty in the background? She has really taken to “Bindy” as we call her. They are sitting together again here at my office right now!