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?

Busy June So Far

It's been awhile, I know. Sorry about that. Things have been busy around here. On Friday I turned 32 and my daughter made me this beautiful cake. She also orchestrated getting me a gift card to the Cheesecake Factory (thank you, Jane!) and we went out that night to stuff ourselves foolish. It was a good day.

Yesterday I took the kids to Candlelite Quilts to pick out more fabric for more projects. We are never lacking for projects. Gunnar wanted to make a bear and Annika wanted to make a pillow. These are the results.

Ugliest bear ever? Or terribly sweet because it was carefully planned by a 3-year-old boy? You decide. I think you know where I stand on it. And Annika's pillow? I love it. She has her own style. She was so particular about the fabrics she used that we had to have fat quarters cut from bolts because she wasn't happy with the zillions of pre-cut fabrics. That girl!

Fun with Patchwork: Sachet & Pincushion

Remember the patchwork pillows I made a few weeks ago? Those are right up there on my list of best projects ever. (For clarification "best" for me means creative, clever, quick and easy.) So why NOT take a fabulous pillow and miniaturize it? Fill it with crushed walnut shells and it's a happy little pincushion. I've been meaning to make a pincushion for a while but I only got this idea yesterday. Lindsey was coming over to make more pillows and poof, the marriage of my need for a pincushion and my desire to make a pillow netted this little gem. I love it. It's hard not to feel happy and creative when I look at it. I used a bright mix of Heather Bailey's Nicey Jane and Sandi Henderson's Meadowsweet fabrics to make it bright and summery. I'm planning to make a bunch so that I can switch them out for different seasons.


After I made mine, I thought they would make great gifts. So I made one for a fellow crafty sewer, my friend and neighbor. I wanted hers to look soft and romantic and that gave me the idea to make it into a sachet by filling it with lavendar. I am so happy with the results! Of course, the kids got hold of it and it is currently doubling as a hacky sack. At least it smells nice while they kick it around.

I hope you too are enjoying a gorgeous day. Happy Crafting!

Strawberry Granita

I forgot - I did make something! The kids and I made this refreshing and tasty strawberry granita that we saw on Elizabeth's blog, The Waspy Redhead. It was delicious and the kids were enthralled with the idea of making our own "slush". Elizabeth's recipe uses less sugar than most recipes call for, so I felt like I was earning extra mom points both for making something with the kids and for making something that was entirely made of fruit. Okay, "entirely" is an exaggeration, but I'm counting it as a win either way.

Have you read The Waspy Redhead? You should. She's cool. She's BFF with my sister-in-law so I feel vicariously cool when I read her posts. And go make some granita! It's good stuff!