For a Swap: RED Teesha Moore style patches

Got another swap finished over the weekend (and will get it out in the mail as soon as the post office opens).

It was a TM patch swap with all patches in RED.  (it's the first in a series of rainbow color patches--next up is orange!).

The swap only required three patches but I just had to make that itty bitty extra one.  I had this tiny bit of felt and it was just begging to become a patch.

The tiny one might be my favorite of the group (just because it's so wee and I also like tiny pom poms) but I'm also a huge fan of the Scottie dogs.  I embroidered around the edges of both dogs and put some fill stitch on their collars.  Then added the ribbon and ric rac for the leashes.  The best part of the patch is the backing fabric.  It's this stretchy low pile faux fur type fabric.  I just love using odd fabrics for these, so the fuzzy fabric was a must.  Though it didn't make for the neatest edges.  The fabric is very stretchy and the corners got really bulky.

The tiny patch is super simple.  Just five tiny pom poms stitched to some polka dot fabric and backed with pink and red striped fabric.

I didn't realize how much of my red fabric is floral print.  So the last two patches are florals.  The smaller one is just simple embroidery over some of the images (and some french knots) with polka dot backing fabric.  The largest patch (which is not quite 5 inches square--I didn't measure it but there's no way it's bigger than that) is similar.  Embroidery over some of the images and contrasting buttons (sewn with contrasting thread).  The backing fabric is sparkly gold speckles (not quite polka dots).

Once I got started on these they whipped up fast.  It was just slow figuring out what I wanted to do.  With these sets I always like to make at least one "wow" patch.  I'd say the dogs are the "wow".  "Wow" doesn't necessarily mean crazy flashy but just a bit fancier or more labor intensive than the others.  Though given how small these all are, none of them was that labor intensive.

I think for the next batch (the orange ones) I may have to make a round one.  One of them should actually look kind of like an orange.  Hmm, I think I have an idea.  A round patch featuring one of the fruit kids from this funky fabric I have (the fabric has children with giant fruit heads--I'm sure there is an orange kid).

But first, I need to finish up my Halloween art doll.  It's nothing at all like I planned but it's turning out quite well.  AND, I'm able to use the two items I wanted to use in it.  Then I need to get cracking on my Day of the Dead swap.  That one goes out to Mexico, so I want to get it mailed a bit early so it might get there in time to be added to my partner's shrine.

Happy crafting everyone!

Giveaway WINNER!

Congratulations to Laura Aust and her lucky number 7 comment (picked by random number generator).

An email has been sent.

CONGRATULATIONS!!

(and keep your eyes peeled, I'll be having another giveaway about this time next month. . .giveaways are FUN!)

For a Swap: Witch Dotee

It's that time of year.

Halloween.

So that means spooky swaps.

Just one dotee to share today, made for the Witch Dotee swap.

How cute is she?  Yeah, that cute.

The body is made from this low pile green furry fabric I've had sitting in my stash for a while.  Remnant bin for the win, y'all.  The hair is black wool blend felt.  I really need to bone up my wig skills (have to do some googling later).  The dress is the cuff from a sweater I bought to felt but hadn't felted yet.  It had angora hair in it and I didn't want to felt away the fuzziness.  I still might felt the sweater but for this small bit I didn't really need it felted.  I just did a drawstring/running stitch along the cuff to pull it tight around the neck and added a (very rough) blanket stitch along the bottom to deter any fraying/falling apart.

The hat is some scrap fabric I found in my bin.  I was thrilled that it was *just* big enough to complete the hat and that I didn't mess the hat up at all (no room for error!).  It's just a cone shape on a circle, super basic.  I stuffed the cone but not the brim.  I wanted a floppy cutesy look for the brim.

Check out the face, too.  I'm getting better and better with embroidering on stuffed items (and the nose and mouth are green floss, even though it looks white-ish in the pic).

What witch would be complete without a black cat?  NONE.  I've had this kitty button in my collection for a while and it was too cutesy for some other projects but just the right amount of cute for this one.  The dotee's tail has green beads with a little frog.  I really should hit up the craft stores again to check the clearance bins.  I'd love to get more charms like these (I got them on clearance for $1 each, yes, I bought them at Hobby Lobby, a store I don't particularly LIKE but I will pick their clearance bins from time to time because I'm a cheap hypocrite).

Next up?  I need to make a little Halloween themed art doll (I have an idea for that but I'm not sure it it will work like I thought it would. . .may have to fiddle with that idea more because I love the idea and can't let it go).  Then I need to buckle down and get my Day of the Dead stuff done.  I need items for a swap and for my personal shrine (for my cats).

GIVEAWAY: Fabric scrap pack! (edited to correct dates) CLOSED

Guess what time it is?

It's GIVEAWAY time.

Yes, I'm sticking with my once a month FY14 Charity Sewing themed giveaways.

As they will always be, the prize is a scrap pack of fabric.  Some pieces will be large sized scraps and some will be smaller "scrappy scraps".  All will be fabrics featured in projects I've completed since the last giveaway.

This month's package also has a special bonus that comes to you courtesy of some bad cutting on the part of the employees at fabric.com.

Ok, check this out.  

Do you see what I see?  Notice how poorly it's cut at the bottom of the image?  Yes, I was not satisfied with that half assed cutting so I sent a message to customer service telling them as much.  I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a panel to be cut so that I get all of the images.  It's a PANEL, you're supposed to get all the images.

Customer service at fabric.com is very good.  They had no problem sending me a new one (and as with any replacement, they let me keep the original item).  I can't praise fabric.com enough for that.  I've never had any problems with them making an order correct.

BUT. . .

The second piece they sent was cut just as poorly.  *headesk*  Instead of making a big stink about it, I decided to just cut my losses.  After all, they had given me two items for the cost of one and clearly they weren't capable of properly cutting the fabric so I'll just chalk it up as a lesson learned and not buy any more panels from fabric.com.  The kicker?  Both pieces were cut poorly in the same spot.  So of the two pieces I received, neither had a full "leaping cat" image.

(and I did put a review on the item to let folks know that panel cutting isn't fabric.com's strong suit, just to give folks a heads up--I did praise customer service in the review, too, because honestly I'm not that upset just kind of "oh for crying out loud" about it).

SO. . .long story short, I have two sets of that panel fabric so one of them is included in the giveaway pack.

Want to see what all is in the pack?

My photos don't do the fabrics justice.  The colors are much brighter in person.  If you want a better idea of the colors, just browse through my blog and see the different items I've made since the last giveaway post.  the pack features fabrics from the pony dolls, mermaid dolls, pencil pouches, and crazy 9 patch blocks (civil war reproduction fabrics).

To give you an idea of the sizes, the blue fabrics on the left of the pic are each pretty large.  Not quite fat quarter sized but very generous.  The mermaid fabrics (chartreuse chevrons, yellow, gray floral print, aqua polka dots, and tea dyed) are medium size scraps.  Definitely large enough for some patch work or small projects.  The rest of the fabrics (yellow floral from pony dolls, car print from and punctuation fabrics from the pencil pouches) are "scrappy scraps".  They're smaller and/or odd cuts.  Great for paper piecing or small projects like applique (or if you make teesha moore style patches).

The only fabrics that are pre-washed are the tea dyed ones (tan shades).  The car print and "back to school" prints (used to make pencil pouches) are cotton/linen mixes.

And the extra panel.  Again, the "leaping cat" panel is not whole.  It is cut into a bit along the bottom.  There are 6 images total that run the width of the fabric and are about 1/4 yard in length (each image is about 10 inches square).  The colors are super rich and bright.  It's a really fun panel which I'm very happy to share with folks (and can't wait to find a use for mine).

I'll most likely add a bit more to the package, too.  I know I have more of those civil war reproduction fabrics which I can share.  

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.

1.  One entry (comment) per person.

2.  MUST have your email address in your comment (do it the "no spam" way   email (at) place (dot) com  )  

3.  International are welcome.

4.  If you mention colors/styles/prints you like, I'll see if I have your favs in my stash and add a little extra should you win.

Giveaway will close (and winner drawn) Friday SEPTEMBER 27.  Winner will be emailed and have until SEPTEMBER 30 to reply.  No reply from winner will result in another winner being drawn.

Thanks to everyone who looks at my blog and GOOD LUCK.

"Oh MY!" Another Star Trek Themed Patch

I've been chomping at the bit to get this done and then show it off.  

So. . .here it is.

Hee hee!  It's the George Takei "Oh MY!" patch.

You know you want a close up.

OH MY, indeed!

Yes, you're seeing that correctly.  I embroidered the abs, bulge, AND happy trail.  Yup, I embroidered pubes.  My inner Beavis is still all "huhnh huhnh" over it.  (OH, and the nipples.  They're perky little french knots. . .ooh, la, la!).

This patch is a combination of three different fabrics, embroidery, and cheap ass felt (I always use the cheap ass felt for the batting).

Phallic rocket pop fabric for the back.  Ready for tasty take off!

So, what's next for my Star Trek themed patches?

Well, I think Uhura will be next.  I have some cute fabric with aliens driving VW buses which I think will pair nicely with Uhura's mug shot.  The alien fabric has "We come in Peace" printed on it, so it'll be like the silly aliens are making first contact.

Then I think I need a "Damnit, Jim" patch featuring Dr. McCoy.  But I have to figure out what back fabric to use for that one.

THEN. . .I'm thinking of a "Peace, Love, Spock" patch and last but not least, a Kirk Tribble patch.

But first, Uhura.

(all these Star Trek patches make me wish they made Futurama fabric.  I want a Kif patch)

Made for Swaps: Dotee and Quilt Blocks

Time to show off some stuff I made for swaps.

First up, a dotee.

The title was Dotee with a Butterfly.  You just had to make sure a butterfly was prominent on the body of the dotee.  I received this fabric as an extra in another swap and it was just SO perfect.  The only problem was figuring out how to make the body.  I decided on a free form body that kind of ended up looking like a Shmoo.  I embroidered eyes on the face but it was just so flat.  Then I remembered I had a set of charms that are different glasses, so I added some sunglasses and that was it.  Perfect.

The flower on the front is a crocheted applique I also got as an extra (a while ago).  It just looked so cute next to the butterfly I had to add it.  That and the doll needed a bit of bling.  The tail features butterfly beads.  Overall it's not one of my most fancy dotees but I thin it's darn cute and a very "classic" style dotee.

Next up, Wacky 9 patch quilt blocks.

Hee hee, this is upside down (but you can still get the picture--double pun!).  I made two sets of three, but I'm only showing off the two I'm keeping.  No need to see all of them since one of each set shows clearly what fabrics I used.  Both sets are made from fabrics from the 12 pound fabric remnant box (purchased for the FY14 Charity Sewing Challenge).

For the record, I'm not a huge fan of civil war reproduction fabrics.  They're just so dull and matronly to me.  They do look nice together but I can't see myself ever seeking them out to make stuff.

The center fabric on the top block is very cute.  It's made to look like a cross stitch sampler.  I'm not a big fan of the other fabrics it's paired with.  Like I said, they go well together but on their own they are old lady boring.  As a whole, I like the bottom block the best out of the pair.  Each of the fabrics in the bottom block are nice on their own and they work well together, too.  And, the middle fabric is actually little tiny stars.  I think all three of these are technically christmas/winter fabrics but they didn't scream "christmas" to me so I went with them.  The flower print is the most "christmas" of them but the flowers aren't totally poinsettia so I think it will be ok.   (the only "rule" about these blocks is no blatantly seasonal and no religious).

Next up, Polaroid Blocks.

I only needed to make one for each of my two partners but I just couldn't bare to separate the cute kitties so I'm sending them both to my own partner (who really likes cats).  Also, the gray kitty one is kind of wonky.  I'm not sure if it really is constructed wrong (like the fabric was cut a tiny bit too short and then I used a tiny bit too big of a seam allowance or what) but overall the block is smaller than the others.  I think when the are all trimmed they can be made more even.  Good thing these are supposed to be sent untrimmed.

This was my first time making this type of block and it was super easy.  (maybe that's what's wrong with the gray kitty--it may have been my very first stab at this block).  The best part was, I have a butt load of 2.5 inch charms for my postage stamp quilt, so I didn't have to cut any of those.  Just cut the 1 inch strips (for the top and sides) adn 1.5 inch strips for the bottom and good to go.  The only "rules" for this swap were to use white as the edge fabrics and to not trim after you're done.

I'll be mailing all these out by the end of the week.  I just need to pack up the wacky 9 blocks and then cut some fat quarters for another swap so I can take a bunch of swaps to the post office at the same time.

Linked up at Cat Patches.

FY14 Charity Sewing Challenge: Some finished items!!

Oh yeah, oh yeah.  I got some serious stitching done this weekend.  And, and, and, it's a TRIPLE DIP, y'all.

Everything I sewed this weekend is for my FY14 Charity Sewing Challenge and the Fluff Project.  AND, it also works for Hopeful Threads September Monthly Project (Create H.O.P.E. Sew Along).

OH freaking YEAH!!

Ok, time for pictures.

Look what I finally finished!  These are the mermaids I started at the beginning of LAST month but things got busy and I had to put them aside.  I was disappointed that I didn't have a Fluff box to send out last month but then I remembered that I did send out a box for the Hopeful Threads August Monthly Project (the pencil pouches with supplies) so it's not like I dropped the ball completely.  I did do some charity sewing.  But it wasn't from the 12 pound fabric box that I bought specifically for this challenge (or, rather, I came up with the challenge after I bought the box because I needed motivation to actually use all that fabric!).

Good news!  Everything I made this weekend used fabrics from The Box.

But now that I'm looking at the mermaids again, the tail fabric on this doll *might* have come from my stash.  I was going through The Box (to pull scraps from all the projects I've completed this month--for this month's giveaway--coming soon!) and I couldn't find any more of that aqua fabric.  So it might have been from my stash.  Eh, no biggie.

This lovely lady is ALL fabric from The Box.  This pic doesn't do her justice.  She's loaded with bright colors (but her yellow hair got washed out in the pic).

This gal's hair did come from my stash.  I could have just doubled up on either the yellow or gray fabric but I wanted each mermaid to be different.  I'm doing a series of swaps for blender fabrics and got this navy camo fabric from that.  I was wondering what on earth I'd use camo fabric for and I happy to see it looks damn good as hair (if I do say so myself).  It balances the bright tail colors and really pops against the skin tone.

Speaking of the skin fabric, it's some of the fabric I tea dyed.  I had quite a few pieces of very pale green (think celery color but not as bright) in The Box so I used it to try my hand at tea dyeing.  It turned out really nice.  My crappy photo doesn't do it justice.  It's a very light tan color, so all my mermaids look sun kissed.

I'm getting a lot better with this pattern, too.  I only wish there were more hair options for it.  I tried my hand at making my own hair shape but it's not there yet (it's good enough for my practice mermaid I kept in my Misfit Toy collection, but not good enough for donation).

I'm definitely improving with my embroidery.  I'm very happy with how all these faces turned out.  Man, I remember the first time I tried to embroider eyes on a sock monkey.  It worked, but it looks as homemade as homemade can be.  These look very neat and "professional" (if you will).

Next up, a whole herd of ponies!

The herd is where the triple dip comes in.  This pattern is a H.O.P.E. Designs pattern.  The purchase price of the pattern (only $5) goes to charity and now the finished products will go to charity, too.  I liked the pattern a lot.  It really was a quick and easy pattern.  I was able to whip this herd of eight ponies up in one afternoon, start to finish.

All the fabric featured in the ponies is from The Box.  I had equal amounts of all four patterns, so I used it until there wan't enough left to make another pony.  I probably could have done a patchwork pony (different print on each side) but I prefer the bodies to be all one print so the mane/tails better contrast.

It leftovers fabric from the ponies has been added to the giveaway pile.  I'll be posting the official giveaway announcement some time the week of 9/16.  It will be another scrap pack (with some larger pieces and some "scrappy scraps") and will (as always) feature fabrics I used in projects I finished this "month" ("month" being the length of time since the last giveaway, not a calendar month).  The giveaway pack will also include fabrics featured in the pencil pouches and some fabrics I haven't shown off yet (for projects I'm finishing now).  Most of the fabrics will be from The Box.  And there will probably be some bonus fabric in there, too (lord knows I have enough from that 12 pound remnant box!).

Ok, time to go show this pile of stuffie goodness off at the Hopeful Threads flickr group.

Fuquerie-fied Swap: What the fuquerie?

Ok, so I did a swap on the Regretsy forums.  It was a Fuquerie-fied Art Swap.  The basic premise is you find some art at the thrift store and add a bit of whimsical fuquerie to it and then send it off to your partner.  BUT, to make it more interesting (and help get more folks to participate) it's not limited just to wall art like paintings.  You can pretty much fuquerie-fy anything you can find at the thrift store.  (of course, I double checked that what I wanted to work with met the requirements before I signed up--I can't trust that I can fuquerie-fy a painting but I knew I could fuquerie-fy some stuffed toys).

SO. . .let's get some before and after shots of this majestic lot of junk.

First up is my take on the Helephant.  He's kind of a Regretsy mascot, so folks in the forums will recognize him (and his missing ear).

Before, he was an advertising mascot for some topical cream (I almost forgot to take a before pic, so you get him with his label partially removed by the menacing seam ripper).

I took off the advertising sash, his sewn in tag (the manufacturer tag), his bow and. . .

His ear.  Hey, he's a helephant.  That ear had to go.  And, of course, I looked up some reference pics so I could hopefully take off the correct ear (though I'm not sure anyone would scold me if I took off the wrong one, but I wanted to at least give my best on the small details).

As you can see, I left a nice big thread sprouting out from his head, too.  Bonus, since he's a clip on stuffed toy, he can hold his own ear.  Helpful Helephant is helpful.

Then I embroidered a CF4L on his feet.  Yeah, Regretsians will appreciate that (I think).  And hows this for a DERP?  I was stitching the 'L' and it kept looking weird and I couldn't figure out why.  Well, it was because it was backwards.  Yeah, I had to stitch the 4 and the L twice due to that derptatude.  Sometimes I wonder about myself.

Next up. . .

Mild mannered advertising mascot (for eye drops) magically morphs into. . .

This is Not Steampunk Octopus.

Yeah, that thing is so fug you'll want to pry the bobbles off it and use them to claw out your eyes.

This one was a nod to both the "This is Not Steampunk" tag that showed up way too often on Regretsy and to all those "handmade" items that are really just one thing glued to another.  Oh, and tacky jewelry bobbles.  Holy shiz, there is so much of that junk at the craft store.  Some of it is cute, but most of it is just junk.  We have some "classic steampunk" items proudly featured (like gears and a clock face and old looking keys) and some Etsy classics like owls, fairies, and starlings (that kind of look like the bird from The Hunger Games).

Yeah, this octopus is a holy mess, like a lot of stuff you can find on Etsy (and was featured on Regretsy).  I also stitched the legs together a bit so you could string it on a cord and wear it like a big pendant.  Or not.  I'd recommend not.

Now for this next one, you may want to brace yourself and/or cover your kids' eyes (but if your kids know what this is about, you really need to be monitoring their internet access, really, no one should know what is about to be referenced).

Just ignore the cupcake.  I thought I was going to use it for part of my fuquerie collection but I changed my mind once I got the other items done (and I'm glad I did).  Rather, direct your attention to the happy little donut plush on the right.

Oh, I'm sure Entenmann's never wanted THIS to happen to their happy little advertising plush.

Yeah, it's what you think it is.  And if you don't get the reference, all I have to say is, "aww, you're so cute and innocent."  And "google goatse".  But do that at your own risk, it's not for the faint of heart (or weak of stomach, or any decent person, really).

So, yeah. . .a goatse donut happened and I'm not ashamed.  When I first got it done I snapped a pic immediately and texted it to my sister.  She LOVED it.  She said Goatse Donut would be a good mate for Duncan, the preachy donut on this religious show "The Donut Man".  I'm not going to link to that, either, mostly because I don't want to encourage folks who make bizarre religious shows for kids.  I told her Goatse Donut was a POWER bottom and she replied "Duncan better look out!".  Indeed, he should.

It was fabulous how easy it was to warp this innocent toy.  I only had to remove the hands, add some finger lines, and add some felt arms (lightly stuffed).  I did have to practice putting my hands on my own bum to make sure I had the hands positioned correctly (thumbs down).  Ok, I had to do it more than once because I was afraid I'd put the hands on wrong (and I kind of like touching my own butt--hey, I was clothed so it was ok).

Last but not least (stay calm, it's nothing related to butts or preachy donuts).

A majestic eagle, proud symbol of the United States of America and mascot for our very own postal service (so says the shirt they slapped on him--who am I to argue with a tiny t-shirt).

Oh no, how could I fuquerie-fy something so strong and noble?

Well, it was for a very good reason.

Tragicrafting.

For those who don't know, Tragicrafting is the (usually tasteless) act of memorializing moments or persons (usually celebrities) via craft.  And since it's Etsy we're talking about, the crafts are usually shoddily done and hastily assembled so the creator can cash in as quickly as possible on the tragedy.  Timing really is everything when you're trying to make a buck off someone else's pain.

But what pain could possibly be grand enough for this regal animal to bare for eternity?

The loss of Regretsy.  It was recently shut down and we shall NEVER FORGET.

I feel your pain, sweet eagle.  You cry giant glitter tears for us ALL.

I packed up the Fuquerie Set and included these gummy grillz I found a Burlington Coat Factory (yes, a classy store if there ever was one).  Yes, you read right.  I bought something edible at Burlington.  And get this.  Burlington always tries to make it seem like you're getting some super great deal, so the tags always have the regular retail price (if you bought it at a classy store) and then the fabulous Burlington price.  The tag on the gummy grillz tried to lead me to believe the regular retail price would be $3.  THREE freaking dollars for ONE set of gummy grills?  Oh, Burlington, you so crazy.  You're also lucky I was willing to part with "your" price of only $1.79.  Ok, that was a bargain.  I would have paid up to $2 for the grillz, I won't lie.  I also wouldn't actually EAT them, not just because they were purchased at Burlington but because they looked way too nasty for human consumption.

So I shipped the whole lot off to AUSTRALIA!  Hell to the yes, international fuquerie for the WIN!  And, I'll be honest, that's why the cupcake didn't make the cut.  That sucker was weighty and I was trying to keep my shipping costs manageable.  So the smaller toys won the day.

I can't wait for it to arrive and to see the reveal thread on the forums.  I loved being in this swap.

Showing Off: Stuff I've Made for Swaps

Time to show off some of the stuff I've made lately for swaps.  I was going to break this up into two posts but that seems silly so it's all going into one handy dandy post.

First up, I had to angel the swap I hosted.  One of my participants flaked on another (just didn't send anything, no contact, nothing--and now they're partially suspended, so they suck) so I had to stitch up a dotee doll for that poor soul.

Another kitty, siamese of course.  He turned out pretty darn cute.  I was even able to re-use a bow I pulled off a stuffed toy I made over for a Regretsy swap (oh, I do have to show that off, too--guess I will be doing two posts today).

Next up, for the Stuffie/Plush swap.  I just had to make a stuffed toy that was about 6 inches tall.

Funky monkey!

I was going to make him some wings so he'd be a cute version of the flying monkeys from the Wizard of Oz (my partner likes Wizard of Oz) but when I got the monkey done (and was making the coat and hat) I realized he was a bit smaller than I had expected and there really wasn't room for wings.  That and he turned out so cute I didn't want to ruin him by trying to tack some wings on after the fact.  The pattern is from one of the Japanese craft books I have (but the clothing is my own handiwork--I really like the fez if I do say so myself).

Last but not least, some Teesha Moore style patches for a Colorful Teesha Moore swap.  The idea was to make three patches (any size) in the colors your partner noted they liked.  Thankfully, my partner gave two color choices and said they weren't super picky so any colors were cool too.

Her choices were teal and raspberry.  I don't know about you, but "teal" is one of those vague colors to me.  I might think something looks teal but someone else won't.  Raspberry was a bit easier (a light pinky red, the shade of the fruit).  Sadly I didn't have much in the way of either color in my stash but I did find some fabric that had a bit of raspberry in it.  My partner also noted she liked "shiney" and "animals", so that gave me a bit more to work with.

That's the whole set.

Now for closeups.

I got this fabric as an extra in a recent swap and when I saw my patch partner liked "gardening" I felt it kind of worked.  I really liked how the fabric looked like a little painting, so I didn't want to add too much to it.  I just added some embroidery here and there.  I put french knots on one of the apple trees and added green lines to the leaves of the other one.  I back stitched all the roads, filled in the windows on the top house, filled in the roof on the middle house, added some brown highlights to the brown grass area, and added mixed green fill stitch to the tree on the lower left.  Just a bit of stitching to make you pause and look at the patch a bit more, trying to find all the added elements.  The backing is just some generic gingham type fabric.  I didn't want the frame fabric to stand out and draw too much attention from the "painting".

This is the shiny patch.  I wanted to use some of the cool shiny fabrics in my stash and this one went well with some elephant fabric I had in the FY14 Charity Sewing Challenge remnant box.  (yes, I'm adding this patch to the list of items made from the box fabric).  I used three different colors to fill in some of the details on the elephant.  The back fabric is a black with a great big gold flower (embossed? I'm not sure the term for fabric with shiny stuff added--I know there's a term for it but I'm too lazy to look it up).  I used the same colors for the frame stitching.

Last but not least the wee little patch.  This one actually has some raspberry colored fabric as the background and some shiny in the ric rac leash and some flecks in the frame/back fabric.  The dog is fused to the back fabric and I added a french knot for the eye.  Super simple patch but I think it's pretty cute.

All of the patches are stuffed with acrylic felt.  I love that I have a whole drawer of it and it's excellent for patches.

Everything went out in the mail a few hours ago, so I hope it's all well received.