Thank you, 2016!

Another year has come to an end and I can't stop to think about all the wonderful moments that I got to live and experience in 2016. I want to thank every each one of you for your eternal support  and pouring love on everything I do!
A new fresh look for my blog has been created and all my PDF's have been dolled up with a fun fresh look as well! Got tons of new patterns coming up and I couldn't be more excited!

Now let's welcome the new year with lots of positive thoughts because it's definitely going to be the best year for all of us! Let's think what we want and not about what we don't want!
Wishing you all lots of wonderful surprises, wonderful news, wonderful memories and a wonderful year with lots and lots of LOVE and PEACE!

Happy New Year my dear friends!

Warmly,

Free Pattern Of The Month - Mamegoma Sugar Cookie Ornament

Its December already?!! Gosh.. Is it me or time is just running way too fast? No wonder I can't finish any task during the day! 

So our lovely December has finally arrived.. that wonderful month of delicious ginger bread aroma lingering in all bakeries. Can we have a moment here and start to realize that Christmas is just less than 20 days from now?! How are you celebrating your Christmas this year?

As a little Christmas gift, I would like to give you all this lovely free pattern of one of my favorite Sanrio characters... the cute Mamegoma! Ahh those chubby little cheeks and bold big eyes! I changed it a bit by adding that little red bow to give it a little of that Christmassy spirit! But feel free to change it to any color you like!

Are you ready?

Materials:

🎄 Main felts for Mamegoma ornament

🎄 Cottom embroidery floss to match chosen felts

🎄 Polyfil

🎄 Needles and scissors

🎄 2.5cm long of 3mm satin ribbon

🎄 Water-soluble pen

🎄 Universal Glue

🎄 15cm of bakers twine

Step 1.

Lay the 'Mamegoma' onto one 'Mamegoma background' cutout and applique stitch it in the center.

Step 2.

Applique stitch the 'snout' then lay the 'nose' on top and applique stitch as well.

Step 3. 

Draw Mamegoma's mouth with a water-soluble pen...

Step 4.

...then back stitch on the drawn lines.

Step 5. 

With a pink colored floss, use the satin stitch to the entire mouth.

Step 6.

Lay the 'eyes' and 'cheeks' and applique stitch them in place.

Step 7. 

Position the 'ribbon back' and applique on.

Step 8. 

Applique stitch the 'ribbon front' then lay the 'ribbon center' in place and applique as well. I doubled the 'ribbon center' cutouts to make it look 'puffy' and opaque. Its also a great way to conceal any background cutouts being visible.

Step 9.

Fold the ribbon in half and glue it in the middle of the other 'mamegoma background'.

Step 10. 

Combine both 'mamegoma backgrounds' and blanket stitch them together but leaving a small entry for the filling.

Step 11.

Lightly fill.

Step 12.

Insert the bakers twine through the little ribbon hoop. Combine both ends of the twine and make a knot.

And you're finish! i'm sure yous turned out adorable!

The pattern below is a png image so resize it to any size you want. My Mamegoma is approx 9cm x 9.5cm. 

Hope you all enjoy this mini tutorial and hope you'll have fun making it too!
Till then my friends!

Happy Jolly Christmas Pattern!

Before I dig in more about my new pattern set, I just wanted to update you all that me and my little family are now settled into our new apartment <3 It's been such a tiring week with lots of packing - moving - unpacking! I'm still in the middle of unpacking the rest of the house and rearranging it but when I have a bit of spare time from my girl's nap, I curl up in a corner and I happily draw and trace patterns in the computer.

So I got a little time to write a blog post and to finally put up another fun pattern for you all! Christmas season is coming y'all! Can't wait to introduce Santa to my little girl, exciting gatherings for family dinners and Christmas gift hunting! Is it your favorite holiday of the year too?
Then lastly, I would love to thank all of your wonderful support over the past few months on my works... Your words, comments and purchases make this little heart of mine sing with joy! And when I see that you happily make your own soft toys using my patterns, you can't imagine how much happiness it brings to me! So thank you my dear friends!

Check out these yummy cookies in my Etsy shop! Hope you all enjoy making them!
Stay well and safe, friends!

New Product in Etsy! - Monogram Sugar Cookie Charm

Hi sweet friends!

I am so excited to announce that a new product is finally listed in my Etsy Shop! It's not a pattern but an actual item that you can actually order and wear it on your bag! 

I've been working on this product for months trying to "mold" it into something where ladies of all ages will enjoy wearing them... and give to others as thoughtful gifts! What a perfect way to add sweetness to your everyday without gaining those extra calories... or caries!

It's an made-to-order item with a few options to make it personally yours <3 Customize it with soft yummy pastel colors as the letter frosting and how you want to hang it on your bag!

Letter A in Pistachio color with Ball Chain finishing

Letter C in Baby Pink color and Lobster Clasp Key ring. Letter B in Ice Blue color and Phone Strap finishing.

The sugar cookies are about 0.7 mm thick. Yummy!

These sweet little treats are available to order here.

So till then my friends!

Autumn / Thanksgiving Themed Sugar Cookie Pattern

The weather is definitely changing in Macao into one of my favorite seasons of the year - Autumn! Don't you just love the warm colors and the smell of roasted chestnuts in the air? I do! The chilling breeze is kicking in but, as usual in Macao, we will only get to experience the real Autumn weather around mid/end of December! 

It's during this time of the year that I get to feel pretty nostalgic. Warm memories of when I used to live in Portugal during my younger days starts to fill my mind leaving me thinking about those cold and rainy days. I could see myself walking home from school with a warm honey bread on my hand and a Walkman on the other. When I arrived home, Mom would be almost done preparing dinner while watching her Brazilian drama series.. My siblings would be in their rooms drawing and doing homework and Dad would be almost arriving home from work. I lived in a quiet neighborhood where pine and oak tress were abundant. Never ending piles of red and yellow leaves would take over most of the sidewalks and building entrances while the smell of soft rain lingered in the air. It was a very exciting time for us youngsters...because Christmas school holidays was just around the corner ;)

A new pattern set is now up in my Etsy! Here are little sugar cookies inspired by our love of Autumn days! Thanksgiving is also coming up so you'll see our little turkey fella in the package as well!

You can find the pattern here.

Wishing my friends a warm and cosy week in this lovely October... Stay well!

My Countryside Retreat...

Hello sweet friends! How I missed to be at this little corner of mine! With this fresh new start, I can't wait to get my hands back to work and to finally start to make those pending projects to finally move!

Since hubby will be starting his new job assignment very soon, we decided to take a little time off travelling before the busy days takes over. This time we ventured off to Philippines to spend some time with my mother and since she lived in the rural areas, we thought it would be a perfect way to spend those 3 weeks around nature to relax our minds and to make up for those 3 years spent apart from mom!

After arriving at the Manila airport in the evening we took the car and hit the road for the next 5.5 hours. The journey was pretty tiring...We crossed heavy showers and pitched dark roads but thank God and his Angels for their protection because, as soon as we knew, we arrived home safe and sound.. and happy to be snuggled in bed at 3 am!

After a tiring night, I woke up to this beautiful scenario... It never bores me to be surrounded with so much greenery! My mother's house is located, literally, in the middle of rice fields and it has such great countryside around it which never fails to make us feel so relaxed, calm and peaceful.

I can't explain why but I never felt tired waking up at 5:30am with the sounds of roosters and insects! everyday seemed to be different even thought I wake to the same landscape everyday..There's something about the countryside that always keep me looking forward to tomorrow and to be asking God for another beautiful day.

For the next 2 weeks we found ourselves driving through neighboring villages, crossing unknown shortcuts, pigging out in local fast food restaurants and savoring my favorite Filipino desserts! We also got the chance to visit Bolinao province, home of the breath taking Patar White Sand Beach. It was my girl's request to go to the beach since it was her birthday that day!

When you're awaken up by cheeky chirping birds on your roof you find yourself surrounded by this beautiful sunrise....

Road trips to narrow roads crossing rice fields with amazing view of mountains and distant farms are also my favorite things to do when you're in the Philippines...and it never fails to find myself in awe with so much beauty around me..

After 2 weeks of sunshine and fun and road trips, the rain decided to take over until the last days of our trip. During endless days of down pouring rains we cozied up at home enjoying mom's home cooking, drinking freshly brewed coffee and staring into the gloomy weather and over the freshly harvested rice fields...

Even in grey days I found it to be surprisingly beautiful and so relaxing. Going to bed and waking up to the sound of raindrops against the rooftop felt like it only happened in the movies... oh, I felt lovingly blessed that instant. 

I left all the craft sessions on hold but I did lots of drawings for future patterns. My mind was overflowing with so much ideas and felt the itch so badly to start sewing again! This was the perfect place to finally sew in peace and I have to admit that I regret big time for not bringing my felts along with me!

But why days goes by so fast when your having fun? Sadly our last day of our country retreat has finally come and now it's time to pack and face another 5.5 hour road trip to the airport and into the chaotic city.

A new life is awaiting us back in Macau and we are more than excited for what life will bring us. It's been such a bumpy and emotional journey for me and my family during the past 6 months being jobless but I'm so thankful and relieved that all our prayers have been answered, that all this fear, doubts and concerns will come to an end to finally get our lives back on track. I thank our families who have supported us with kind words and uplifting advises about being positive and cheerful during difficult times like these.. But above all, I want to thank God and his beautiful angels for opening new opportunities and for guiding us into this new chapter of our lives.

This trip to the Philippines was all about recharging our hopes, minds and to remind us that life is a true blessing even if you have to walk through unknown and fearful roads. We needed a time off with nature to clearly plan out our lives after this very moment.. but most importantly, to give our hearty gratitude to God for listening to all our worries and concerns through our prayers...

So we are so done with this chapter...On to the next next one!

So that's all about my exciting and personal journey in the Philippines. Now let's get my hands back to work!

" The moment

you're ready to

quit is usually the

moment right before the

miracle

happens

Don't Give up"

Stay well my friends!

Free Pattern of the Month - Halloween Pumpkin Brooch

Hello my dear friends! I'll be going for a family holiday on this coming Sunday and I would like to leave you all this lovely gift before I go - A tutorial of how to make this cute little fella...Gotta keep that Halloween spirit flowing, guys!

I'll be away for more than 20 days and, sadly, I won't be bringing my laptop to keep you all posted... But I promise to show you all some photos when I'm back! 

Materials:

🍁 Main felts for the pumpkin brooch

🍁 Felt scraps for the 'cheeks' and 'stem' 

🍁 Small felt scraps for the felt behind the eyes

🍁 3cm brooch

🍁 1pc pearl bead

🍁 1 flower sequin

🍁 1 small piece of felt to secure the brooch

🍁 Cotton threads to match felts

🍁 Polyfil

🍁 Needles and scissors

🍁 Universal Glue

Step 1.

Cut all patterns and lay it onto the chosen felts.To position the eyes of the pumpkin, take a thicker needle and poke through all corners of the triangle eyes. I do this to avoid folding the pumpkin pattern. 

Step 2.

Take 1 pumpkin cutout and flip. Lay the pumpkin pattern onto the felt pumpkin cutout and, with a water soluble pen, mark the dots through the holes made on the previous step. 

Step 3.

Lay the eye pattern and join the corners to the dots. Draw the eyes using a water soluble pen. Cut out.

Step 4.

Take the felt scraps and place it over the eyes. You can secure it with tiny drops of glue on the edges to prevent it from shifting around.

Step 5.

Flip pumpkin and applique stitch the eye background and the pumpkin's eyes together.

Step 6.

Lay the 'cheeks' and backstitch.

Step 7.

Backstitch the smile.

Step 8.

Lay the 'pumpkin' onto 1 'pumpkin background' and applique stitch all around.

Step 9.

Position the 'stem' and applique on.

Step 10.

Stitch on the flower sequin and the pearl bead.

Step 11.

At the back of the other 'pumpkin background' cutout, lay the brooch at the top center and secure it in position by stitching it through the little holes of the brooch.

Step 12.

Place the little felt scrap over the base of the brooch and applique stitch. This will give a nice neat finish :)

Step 13.

Combine both 'pumpkin background' cutouts and blanket stitch all around but leaving a small entry for the filling.

Step 14.

Lightly fill with polyfil then close shut with blanket stitch.

And you're done!

Hope you enjoy this tutorial and I hope this little fella will awaken your Halloween mood! My little pumpkin brooch is approx. 5.5cm x 7cm but feel free to resize it and turn it into something different <3

So that's it my friends! Wishing you all a wonderful and crafty week! see you all again mid October <3