Thursday, June 19, 2014

Welcome to the “Circus Big Top”

We’ve said our house is a little like a ‘Zoo’ sometimes and now we’ve joined the circus!

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Effy and Mimz are playing jacks and entertaining crowds of excited fans for peanuts. (well, they don’t actually HAVE any peanuts yet but I’m working on that)

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I bought the pattern on Etsy HERE and it was very well done and easy to follow. I was so excited to find a nice red fluffy throw at the thrift store to launder and cut up for the elephant. I was excited until I tried to sew it with the sewing machine. I got an ERROR 6….which must be the most serious error EVAH on my brand new sewing machine. So I rebooted it and sewed most of the elephant by hand.

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I used some gray felt for Mimz the Mouse and that was much easier to work with.

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It was a lot of hard work FUN!

I love the results and now we have a few more characters for the ‘ZOO’! hahaha!

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Have you ever had FUN that seemed more like WORK?

I’m joining Ivy and Elephants for

‘What’s it Wednesday’ of course and

 Katherine’s Corner for Favorite Things!

I’m joining the Patriotic party HERE, too!

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Throw PEANUTS if you love these guys!!!

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Looks like they could use some gumballs, too!

SunIsland with a palm treeSun HAVE FUN SunIsland with a palm treeSun

47 comments:

Pamela Gordon said...

These are really cute critters Diane. I also like the dolls you shared in the previous post. You are so talented to sew these things up. That takes a lot of patience too! Have a great summer day! Hugs. Pam

Stacey said...

Those are so cute and you are so talented. I just have to say....you reboot your sewing machine? So out of my league!!!

Anonymous said...

you have the most fun with your creations, the elephant is beautiful but I can see how that would be had to sew, very fluffy!!

Kathy said...

Great post and love your little critters!

ann said...

So cute. Must have been rally heavy material if your machine did not want to sew it. The little elephant has quite the personality.

Primitive Stars said...

How adorable, very sweet my friend, Blessings Francine.

Cranberry Morning said...

You are one crafty lady! I love the elephant. And you can't fool me, that was a lot of work. But you did a great job. They're darling!

eileeninmd said...

Love your cute new critters..Adorable creations.. Have a happy day!

Stephanie said...

My dear Diane, you are incredibly talented! You amaze me with your beautiful and extra cute creations :)

Enjoy the day, my friend!

Diane said...

So cute! You sure have been a busy bee lately. I like the way you shot these too. Fun!

The Bear's Blog said...

Hi Miss Lavender Dreams,

Throw peanuts? At who? I would get into so much trouble if I threw anything at human or animal. But if I could, you would be the first I would throw peanuts at. Giggle.

Like Effy & Mimz, they are beary cute.

Heaps of Hugs
Prudence ♥

TexWisGirl said...

too cute!

Sam I Am...... said...

I love how you made the pictures like cartoons from the old comic books. How did you do that? Do you have special software?
And your zoo friends are just precious. Too cute for words!

Susie said...

I love your little circus. LOL. We had a gumball machine like that once and the neighbor kids would come over with their pennies...that was so sad. Poor things. Of course we let them work the machine. LOL. xoxo,Susie

Susan said...

You are so talented, Sis! I live in a zoo too and makes the saying, "laughter is the best medicine" so true, XOXO

SarahBeth said...

Cute, cute little circus guys! I'm throwing them peanuts! Love that they're playing jacks, one of my most favorite games as a kid :)

Butterfly 8)(8 Bungalow said...

I love the elephant!

Decor To Adore said...

Effy and Mimz you are too cute! A truly happy vignette.

Have a wonderful weekend!

SImple and Serene Living said...

I just love that red elephant :)
xo
Laura

Linda Walker said...

Oh my goodness--you have been very busy! Love your little red elephant and the mouse is so cute! The dolls from the prior post are beautifully made! I see you are sewing up quite a storm and despite the dreaded "ERROR 6" you just keep going! Cant wait to see what you sew next!
xo
Linda
mysewwhatblog

Patsy said...

love your dolls and what fun to visit in your pretend world.

cucki said...

so cuteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee x

Chatty Crone said...

Those are so cute! Just stopping by to say hello!

Nancy Jo said...



Hi Diane,
Boy I wish I could sew like you.
The WAY I GET THE MAGAZINE IS- GO TO Unique magazines, type in the search line- Daphne's Diary. You can buy just a single issue if you want to. The price is in England currency, but its about $12.00 I think. They take different credit cards and pay pal. The next issue comes out in July. They come right away when the new one is out. I have ordered three from them so far, no problems. When you fill out the shipping from, make sure to put in the united states, there is a little line at the bottom to do that. Hope this helps.
Nancy Jo

Vee said...

What are you going to do with all these creations? Are you starting an Etsy store? Gifting to the local nursery? Getting ready for Christmas? Learning ways of designing your own patterns? I'm so curious. It can't be that you're just having FUN!

Debby Ray said...

Diane, you just seem to keep out-doing yourself! How adorable are these darling little circus critters! My fingers (and my back) would be screaming at me if I did all of this sewing!

deb @ frugal little bungalow said...

Lol they are adorable! :)

Linda @ A La Carte said...

These little guys are adorable! Throwing peanuts!!! Oh and my gumball machine is empty also. I'm waiting for Tiger to get old enough to not swallow his gum before buying some.

hugs,
Linda

Linda @ A La Carte said...

Cute Critters!! Love them both. I'm throwing 'virtual' peanuts!
hugs,
Linda

Red Rose Alley said...

Diane,
Mimz the Mouse is darling. His red polka dot scarf is so cute. You are really getting quite talented making all these cloth dolls and animals. You must have quite a collection by now. Your little area of red, white, and blue is just right for the Fourth of July.

Stay cool in this heat; it's supposed to be a hot one today.

love,
~Sheri

Anonymous said...

What sweet critters to add to your OH so creative collections. I love the red elephant. they all all ready for the 4th OF JULY. I have been sewing just haven't had the time to post, I've been watching my sweet grandson a lot the past two weeks. He's 8 months old and is starting to move very fast. I have a few days off to relax. Have a good weekend, dear one. XXOO

Lynn said...

Very cute! And Error 6 sounds... much worse than the previous 5:@)

Kim@Snug Harbor said...

You never cease to amaze me with your ideas and the things you create. xo

Anonymous said...

How cute! You are so creative.

Musings from Kim K. said...

How sweet! And their circus wagon is just as cute too! Have fun playing!

Ricki Treleaven said...

I have a wild animal who'd make a wonderful addition to your zoo…he's white (fits in with your theme) and his name is Finlay!

cynthia lee designs said...

The red elephant is so cute...love it!! I used to work at a sewing store and I'm thinking that you most likely got the error because the fabric was heavy and didn't want to feed thru your machine. Something with heavier fabric you also need to change to a heavier needle. I've had it happen to me several times. Did it say in your sewing machine manual what Error 6 was?
hugs,
Cindy

The Checkered Apple said...

Hi Diane!
Sure wish I had some peanuts for these adorable little guys! I'm loving the red Effy! Thanks so much for joining my patriotic party! Good luck with the giveaway!

EL RINCON DE CHELO said...

Preciosos trabajos, bss

Trace4J said...

Peanuts and gun balls!!!
Super cute and so much fun.
Woolie Hugs

Linda aka Crafty Gardener said...

Your last few sewing projects are adorable.

Jill said...

You have the cutest things at your house!!

Latane Barton said...

well, now, aren't those two just the cutest ever! They are having too much fun.

Lorrie said...

You're creating a wonderful menagerie! They all look like they are having a blast. You, too.

Cheryl @ TFD said...

You are so very talented, Diane! These are just the cutest little critters!
Have a fun-filled weekend!

GranthamLynn said...

Tossing some peanuts your way.
Come by and see my Alphabet Thursday post. You might like it. We are on Letter "E". I've enjoyed visiting. I look for a follow option.

Lynn said...

Love your elephant! Was the problem that the material was too fluffy? I made some little lambs at Christmastime (made of clay that you cover with fluffy white material) and the stuff just shredded to pieces as I cut it. I'm wondering if your nice fluffy red stuff did the same thing . . . Anyway, the results are adorable :) Well done.