Handmade Holidays: Stocking Ornament

Only a week to go! How are you coming on all of your Christmas projects? I admit that I'm woefully behind. I've been carefully plotting and planning since September but in my case all that planning rarely turns into action until the very last minute. I'm a procrastinator. And I'm ambitious. The two don't usually go hand in hand but I'm working on it. I have piles and piles of projects started in the craft room and there are a few that I intend to bring to fruition and a few that will likely still be sitting there next spring. I'm enjoying my late nights of sewing and wrapping, with my Christmas music playing, and my Yankee Candle Christmas Wish candle burning. These really are the best days of the whole year for me.

I wanted to share with you this little stocking that I managed to complete. So far he's a loner but the plan is to make a dozen or so for my tree. Granted, that is not likely this year. But maybe next. This little stocking was so fun to make. I was at the Franklin Mill Store this summer and I came across this delicious Michael Miller herringbone organic cotton and I knew it was going to be a on my tree in some way. My first attempt to sew with it went miserably. The cotton is very thin and wiggly under the machine so my first stocking looked like...well...let's just say not good and leave it at that. I was so disappointed with that first attempt but after putting it aside for a little while I decided to try using some lightweight fusible interfacing on the fabric before sewing the shape. Needless to say, I was pleased with the result. I loved the stocking so much I almost didn't embellish it. Almost. But I had this plan to make felt holly leaves and a felted berry so I went ahead and added it. I figure I'll make a few un-embellished and make a few with the felt leaves and berries.
Now to turn my attention to the GIFTS that I still need to make! One week to go!
Merry Christmas!

Simple Snowflake Ball Ornament

Time is flying and I'm in a rush to cram in as many holiday projects as possible. That means that I get very excited over simple projects that don't take much time, are good for mass production, and inexpensive but look elegant and when you're done. That's how my simple snowflake ball ornament was born. I needed a project that matched all of the above criteria and since I'm always drawn to snowflake crafts, I started experimenting with a package of rub-ons that I picked up at Michaels. Here is how to create these lovelies:

First, gather your supplies. I used Delta Ceramcoat in Pearl but you can use any acrylic paint you like, a clear ball (note: works best if you clean the inside with a dab of alcohol first, but who has the time? I skip this step and rarely regret it), and some rub-ons. I used these snowflake rub-ons but the world of possibility is wide open on this one. Go bananas with whatever rub-ons you like.

Pour your paint into the ball. You need a goodly amount and I realize that isn't very specific but I would estimate that it takes 1 - 2 Tbs to coat the ball. This depends very much on the viscosity of your paint. If you have thin paint it won't take much but thick paint will require more to coat the ball. You may need to add more as you work on the next step. (Note: you can add more than one color of paint for a cool swirl effect. The kids love mixing colors. I'll post some of their work soon.)

Next you want to roll the paint around inside the ball to coat it completely.

Now turn the ball upside down on a disposable cup and let the excess paint drip out. I recommend walking away and letting it drip for an hour or so. At this point you can assess whether or not you're happy with the paint coat. If you are, you can move on to the rub-ons. If not, go ahead and reuse the paint that dripped out to add another coat of paint to the inside of the ball. I found that older paint that had thickened left with me perfect coverage from one coat and thinner paint required 2 or more coats to get nice even coverage.

I don't have a visual for putting the rub-on on the ball because I just didn't have enough hands to manage the photo, even with my helper (the helper is my daughter, if you hadn't guessed). All you need to do is select the rub-on you want to place on the outside, place it where you want it, hold it tight, and rub the heck out of it with your popsicle stick...er...craft stick. Getting it perfect on a round surface is tricky but if you hold it nice and tight and rub hard so it grabs the surface of the ball, you'll get it.

The final step is letting the inside of the ball dry completely, so leave it overnight if you can, right side up with the cap off. Then when you come back, stick the cap back on the ball and voila, you have lovely little snowflake ornaments!

Handmade Holidays: Gingerbread Houses

It's December 1st! The Christmas season is upon us. As I do every year, this year I made lots of plans for all the gifts, crafts, and cards I wanted to make and as happens every year this is the time when I realize that I'm running out of time in a hurry. I am determined this year to make at least a few new ornaments for the tree, craft a gift or two, and generally enjoy the season. So I decided to start with our annual tradition of making gingerbread houses.

My mother and grandmother always made gingerbread houses every year and I thought they were magical so I am determined to preserve the tradition with my own kids. They love it and I do too. It's a big mess, no doubt about it, but well worth it. My houses are far from perfect but in the end I get over the imperfections and enjoy the end result.

My tips for dough - most gingerbread doughs will work but make sure you use plenty of flour. If the dough is too sticky it will bake up soft and a soft house will not hold up. And make your royal icing nice and stiff so it will grab the pieces and set up quickly. It truly is like cement once it sets.

So bake a batch of gingerbread and make yourself a merry little house. You won't regret the effort.

Let the Christmas Begin!

October, one of the best months in my opinion, and Halloween, with all it's delights, have faded away and it's a cold November 1. The Christmas spirit is upon us! Okay, maybe not entirely, but for sure this is the pre-Christmas season (as my dad calls it). This is the time when we still have a full month (almost) to enjoy the remnants of fall before the hectic and joyous holiday season sets in. This is the time when all the promise of a magical holiday season is coming and we can enjoy the sweet anticipation. This is the time to prepare for the First Feast of Christmas (aka Thanksgiving). Soak it up. Breathe it in. Enjoy every minute.

Felted White Pumpkin

White pumpkins are all the rage, aren't they? I am the proud owner of both of the pumpkins pictured here. One was grown by family and one came to life through my own blood, sweat, and almost tears. Well, I exaggerate, it really wasn't hard at all. I grant that my felted pumpkin is a far cry from perfection but I adore it. I like it even better than it's orange mate (not pictured).

To make this little guy, I used core fiber, white and green roving, a felting mat and single felting needle. You can find all the supplies here: http://www.weirdollsandcrafts.com/needle-felting-roving/felting-fiber.html I highly recommend you save yourself the headache and just order what you need. A.C. Moore and Michaels do not offer felting supplies that are worth the drive to the store (though I confess it's been a while since I checked Michaels and I don't want to give them an undeserved poor mention - they do have clear glass ornaments and you'll need those for an upcoming project) and JoAnn has some roving and some decent felting supplies but no core fiber. I was exceedingly frustrated last year when felting was really taking off in the craft world and I couldn't find any supplies anywhere. It was my neighbor that found this site and ordered a set of supplies for me, so a special thanks goes to Jane.

It was very easy and somewhat thereapeutic to make. The materials are soft to handle and this is a low-mess project so you can even do it in front of the TV. But, if you noticed I mentioned blood above, don't get too absorbed in something else and stab yourself. Those needles are very sharp! I am speaking from experience.

There are loads of good tutorials out there on how to do this. Martha Stewart has a great one and I like this one too: http://www.flickr.com/photos/17292505@N05/sets/72157607186893130/

I hope you give it a try! I'm dreaming up Christmas projects to use with this technique and if you're really hooked, look up Betz White's blog: http://www.betzwhite.bigcartel.com/product/felt-stitch-holiday-iii-online-workshop-10-18-11-12

Have a wonderful evening! I hope you get tomorrow off too.

The Joys of Fall

The joys of fall: The pleasure of picking apples and selecting pumpkins, the feeling of the warm sun mixing with the cool air, the sights and smells of the leaves beginning to change, a pumpkin spice latte on a cool afternoon, and of course, the multitude of pumpkin crafts and Halloween decorations waiting for me in the craft room all combine to make fall a truly delightful season.

These pictures are from my trip last weekend with the kids to my parents' house in Maine with our friend Maria. (Tim stayed home to build us a pretty incredible new entertainment center for our newly re-arranged and painted livingroom.) How are you celebrating the season?

Blog Redux

It is time. Time for a blog redux. It was a long, hot summer and not a whole lot of craftiness was happening around here for one reason or another. Add to that my ongoing internal debate about what I really want for this blog to be about, and you have a bad case of blogger block. I suspect that Martha Stewart would say something like "create the blog you want to read" and then "make it beautiful". Pretty clear instructions, yes? Time to get off my lazy rump and be the blog. (As I write this I'm sitting with my feet literally up, sipping coffee, listening to the children arguing down the hall, and thinking about those 3 large pumpkin cookies I just ate. So maybe not "off my lazy rump" so much as just being productive whilst on my rump.) So here goes nothing. Let's start with an early fall recap, shall we?