Sassy Priscilla

Valentine's Day Project - Cellophane Heart

Here's a fun craft that looks pretty darn neat hanging in your windows. Aidan and I made cellophane hearts and they are easy!

Materials/Tools Needed

• Heavyweight, decorative paper
• Scissors
• Cellophane
• Glue stick
• Small, round paper punch
• Twine, ribbon or string for hanging (optional)
• Suction hook cups for hanging (optional)

Technique

1. Take two pieces of your decorative paper and place wrong sides together. Fold in half and cut your prettiest heart out. You are trying to cut two, identical hearts.
2. Move your scissors inside your heart about an inch and cut another heart out from the heart you just cut. This will give you that nice heart border.
3. Cut a piece of cellophane a little larger than your heart. Now I used cellophane from a roll. If you have sheets of cellophane, you may wish to adjust your heart size first before cutting so that the cellophane will fit.
4. Using your glue stick, glue the entire wrong side of one heart. Then, gently place the heart on your cellophane. Make sure the cellophane is nice and smooth. Turn the cellophane over. 
5. Glue the wrong side of your second heart. Carefully place the glue side down on the reverse side of the cellophane and match the edges of the first heart you glued down. If your edges don't line up exactly, do not fret. It will be difficult to notice when the sunlight is prettily shining through it.
6. Let the glue dry for a moment and then trim the cellophane around the outside edge of the heart. You may even trim your heart a little in the process as it will give you a cleaner edge.
7. Paper punch in the middle of your heart and hang directly on a suction cup hook or string some pretty ribbon through the hole to hang. My first picture shows both techniques. I made the top heart. Aidan - who is 6 - made the bottom one. It is hard to see but he put another heart on his in the middle. Off topic - I wish I could fix my neighbor's top window.

The second picture shows the paper in more detail. I used scrapbook paper. I don't think it matters as you really don't notice anything but the beautiful cellophane.

Straw Weaving with Fabric

All this weaving has me excited! When I was in third grade, my art teacher taught us how to make a simple loom with drinking straws and yarn. I haven't tried the technique since then and I certainly haven't mastered it but I did come up with this small piece.

I used 5 drinking straws and warped them with cotton cable cord (a cotton twine). I then started weaving in and out a 1" fabric strip. It is mostly a test piece so when I felt comfortable with the length, I pushed it off the straws and knotted the ends. I love it!

I am not sure what to do with it, though - should I make it a bracelet? If so, what would I attach it to? It is about belt-buckle size. I do not wear belts because as far as I know, it is not attractive to belt a donut.    

A New Take on Potholder Looms : Weaving Fabric with Craft Sanity Wooden Loom

Oh how I love my new loom from CraftSanity. Jennifer from CraftSanity decided to make her own wooden looms and they are lovely! 

I must confess I bought a coaster-sized loom from the CraftSanity shop so Aidan could make coasters for Christmas gifts. However, weaving with fabric is a little too complicated for him (and for me at first) and I am now hogging the loom. These wooden looms are much better than the metal and plastic ones your remember from your childhood.

This particular coaster is warped with muslin and woven with a garage sale fabric. I think using a woven fabric (no wrong side) might have a better effect but I really love this one all the same.

All sizes of looms will be available in her shop next week including a small ornament size, coaster, pot holder, placemat and rug-sized ones! I would love to buy one of the larger ones. Jennifer also includes instructions on how to weave with loopers or fabric and has a video how-to on her blog.

Bonez : Martha Stewart Sock Skeleton : Mahar Drygoods

Not every Martha Stewart craft goes up in flames. Perhaps that is because this was created by Robert Mahar of mahardrygoods.com as linked to by marthastewart.com. Yeah, I still watch the Martha show with Aidan even after being seriously dissed by her craft department because of smoking hand warmers.  

Whew - that paragraph was full of links.

Anyway, Aidan and I were watching Martha's show and saw them demonstrate making this sock skeleton. We loved him!  Despite his sour looking face, he was actually easy to make. The only oops I had was that I bought socks with a nice yellow stripe along the toe. I'm pretty sure I specifically looked for socks without any golden toes but I must have spaced out. So I cut off the toe and made a little rounder head.

Look how lovely our tree is in the background! I'll be raking that loveliness come next weekend. Then we can depend on a barren tree for months and months and months.

For Valentine's Day : Fabric Hanging Heart Flag Garland

This is a re-post from February 13, 2008. It is such a great technique that I thought I would share it again. In fact, I love this garland so much I leave it up all year.

I really have a thing about garlands and buntings. I find flags/garlands/buntings so hard to photograph so I apologize for the quality of my photos. However, I'm so excited! I used my new stiff fabric technique that I learned about to make fabric paper airplanes and made this fun garland out of fabric.

Last week I saw on Chicago Apartment Therapy and then on bb-blog the fabulous heart flag garlands designed by Cori Kindred. Her garlands are made of vintage paper and really are so wonderful. Looks like she sold out of them in her Etsy shop (see her image at right - you can click on it to enlarge).   You can now find them in Cori's web store.

I decided with my new stiff paper technique that I wanted to make some of my own and had fabric on hand that would kind of replicate her papers. So I set to work and am really tickled with how they turned out!

First of all, I want to say that I felt a little funny about blogging about an item that I basically copied the idea from. So I contacted Cori to ask permission to blog about mine and show hers and she was kind enough to give me the OK.

I used the fabric origami technique I mentioned in this post to stiffen the paper. When dry, I cut out the fabric in various square and rectangle sizes. I used a large heart paper punch to punch out the hearts. I then steam-ironed the end of the fabric over a pencil so that I would be able to string the fabric pieces. When complete, I strung the garland over hemp twine.

There are larger pictures here and below. Sorry about the craziness of my mantle. I have Aidan rocks (he gives me rocks and pebbles from every place he visits), Ephraim pottery, a dusty clock, dead daffodils, chalkboard Valentines from Aidan and paper Valentines

Lavender Scented Playdough

Every Friday is a "special day" for Aidan and me. We might see a movie, go to the zoo, play games, etc. Not that we don't have fun the other days but we try to restrict chores and errands on Fridays.

Today we are staying home and playing games including board games and LEGO STAR WARS video game. I almost regret ever getting Lego video games or letting Aidan watch Star Wars or have him play Lego Indiana Jones as our life has converted from being about Cars (Lightning McQueen) to being about whips, lightsabers and the like. However, it is just too dear. We haven't let Aidan watch Indiana Jones but he was so enthralled with the game that he made his on whip out of paper. He asked Santa for a whip and we told him that we wouldn't allow it but once your kid starts making his own whip and lightsabers (lifesabers, as Aidan sweetly calls them), you kind of break down and remember a few things you didn't get as a little girl (I'm talking Easy Bake Oven here).

Oh shoot - where was I? Oh yes, I'm quickly writing this post as Auntie Heather stopped by to visit Aidan. We made lavender playdough and it is wonderful! Those specks in it are lavender buds. There are tons of make-your-own playdough recipes out there so you could just use your own or the one below which I got from Aidan's school (sorry - I don't know who to credit).

Lavender Scented Playdough

Ingredients
2 cups flour
1 cup salt
4 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 tablespoons cooking oil
2 cups water
red and blue food coloring (or purple)
lavender essential oil
dried lavender buds (optional)

Instructions
Put flour through water ingredients in medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Stir constantly. After it is nicely mixed, add 8 drops blue and 10 drops red food coloring. When it starts thickening, add about 1/4 cup lavender buds if you like. Remove from pan when it becomes a soft doll.

Put ball on lightly floured countertop and surface. Let cool for a minute.  Make a well in the middle of the ball and place 15-20 drops essential oil in the middle. Fold ball over itself, dust top with flour and knead. Let ball cool and store in a plastic container or zip top bag.

There are so many things you can do with playdough. You can make smaller balls and color differently after you have removed playdough from the pan. You can use other natural scents such as vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, peppermint extract. Other dried flowers can be added or even confetti and glitter. Go to town.

An Idea for Your Seashells

I'm not always too clever about what to do with souvenir type things. I attribute that to the fact that we never vacation. Except last month. Anyway, my friend Jeri told me that many times they make cement stepping stones with their finds.

A couple nights ago, Jeff, Aidan and I made a stepping stone using a kit from Joann's and placed our seashells in it. It was pretty fun! It looks really neat as it is curing. The great thing is that the mold we bought can easily be reused in case we want to go on a vacation again in another 5 years.

Tepperware Knit Newsboy Hat

I love hats. A lot.  I have been eyeing this gorgeous newsboy hat made by Eileen at Tepperware. Eileen is an actress who learned how to knit and crochet  backstage while performing in Fiddler on the Roof.

I finally broke down and bought the hat. Not that it is unreasonably priced. I just happen to have a lot of hats. But I truly loved it online and I have to say, I think it is positively adorable while wearing it.

The bonus is that Eileen is super nice, too. We found out through conversations on Etsy that while she is a New Yorker, she has performed in a play in Wisconsin (Fireside Theater). Small world, hey?

Look what else is in her store that I couldn't resist...

Fabric Hanging Heart Flag Garland

I really have a thing about garlands and buntings. I find flags/garlands/buntings so hard to photograph so I apologize for the quality of my photos. However, I'm so excited! I used my new stiff fabric technique that I learned about to make fabric paper airplanes and made this fun garland out of fabric.

Last week I saw on Chicago Apartment Therapy and then on bb-blog the fabulous heart flag garlands designed by Cori Kindred. Her garlands are made of vintage paper and really are so wonderful. Looks like she sold out of them in her Etsy shop (see her image at right - you can click on it to enlarge).

I decided with my new stiff paper technique that I wanted to make some of my own and had fabric on hand that would kind of replicate her papers. So I set to work and am really tickled with how they turned out!

First of all, I want to say that I felt a little funny about blogging about an item that I basically copied the idea from. So I contacted Cori to ask permission to blog about mine and show hers and she was kind enough to give me the OK.

I used the fabric origami technique I mentioned in this post to stiffen the paper. When dry, I cut out the fabric in various square and rectangle sizes. I used a large heart paper punch to punch out the hearts. I then steam-ironed the end of the fabric over a pencil so that I would be able to string the fabric pieces. When complete, I strung the garland over hemp twine.

There are larger pictures here and below. Sorry about the craziness of my mantle. I have Aidan rocks (he gives me rocks and pebbles from every place he visits), Ephraim pottery, a dusty clock, dead daffodils, chalkboard Valentines from Aidan and paper Valentines!

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Paper Airplane Drawstring Bag to Hold (wait for it...) Paper Airplanes!

Isn't this fabric fabulous? I mentioned that I started this bag when I got sidetracked by making a fabulous fabric paper airplane. I finished it and Aidan loves it!

This bag is now part of our clean-up routine so Aidan's airplanes aren't littered all over the house.

I love making drawstring bags. I made this bag using a pattern in Nancy Zieman's Sew Gifts with Love. I really like Sewing with Nancy. She's a local gal and very clever and a good teacher. I have to admit they usually use some ugly fabric (what is up with all the batik, too?) but the tips are fabulous. She had a great episode on making your own chenille that I really loved. Plus, they always do some kind of creative kindness segment. So sweet.

Anyway, the pattern is easy and fun and I would use it for all but small drawstring bags.

Valentine's Day Heart Yo-Yo Garland

I can't take any credit for this one. Though I supplied the fabric and the heart yo-yo maker, my mom went to town with the yo-yos and made me this garland. Isn't it lovely?

We are in the Valentine's Day spirit around here. Mom and I made wreaths using yo-yos though mine has been made fun of a bit and I won't mention in what way but you can view it for yourself.

Aidan and I made hanging paper hearts by cutting out three hearts, folding them in half and gluing each side to another heart.  He drew leaves on his - so cute!

Aidan's been making presents like crazy and wrapping them to boot. It is kind of exciting! He made me the sweetest valentine, too.

Even Mucha and Toulouse are getting in on the action.

Valentine pictures here and below.

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I've Jumped on the Paper Globe Bandwagon!

Way back in November, I saw paper globe ornaments at Macy's from the Martha Stewart line. Then I saw them blogged on Craft Tutorials. Jeff and I tried one out at Christmas and I forgot about it until late in January when my mom and I decided to make Valentine ones using a double-sided scrapbook paper. I just got around to photographing mine.

What is pretty about this one that I didn't photograph is that it is hanging by red and white baker's twine through a hole punch. In the hole, I put a heart-shaped rivet clasp.

I know these have been blogged a bit lately and there are tutorials on Martha's site (and no, these didn't catch fire), Heather Bailey's blog (uh, perfect much Heather?) and made hugely on Wisdom Has Two Parts (what are those two parts of wisdom anyway? I guess if I have to ask, I am not wise...). Anyway, I don't think I need to add a tutorial but I will give hints to what I did to make it easier!

Paper Globe hints

• Make a practice one first with your second rate paper.
• Buy a paper punch for the circles. I used a 2" one.
• Have your husband make an isosceles triangle using a protractor out of a lightweight cardboard for folding the triangles. OK - I know you can do this yourself. So could I, I think. It just helped a lot to have my mathematical genius husband (seriously - PhD in psychology with a statistics major) do it for me.
• Fit the triangle perfectly on your cut circle. Fold one side over your triangle template. Remove template and set it upon that folded edge and fold your next edge. Repeat until the third side is folded. The goal is for the folded edges to all be the same size so that you don't see overlaps when you glue them together. Mine weren't as perfect as others but I was able to minimize the damage.
• I used a glue stick to attach the pieces to each other. I would attach two pieces and then move on to another pair. Then I would move back to the first pair as the glue would be dried well enough to work on attaching that pair to another circle.

I really loved this project. I look forward to making them again!

But Does it Fly? Fabric Paper Airplane

It does!

I bought Jeff a desk calendar that has daily paper airplane patterns on it. Jeff and Aidan have been making them every night and the house is littered with airplanes.

I decided to make a bag to hold the airplanes using some adorable paper airplane fabric. The bag was almost made last night until I thought, "Hmmm. I wonder if I can make a fabric airplane?" So off to the Internet I went and found this great site.

I was so hyped up because I already had what I needed to start - fabric stiffener. Sorry I don't have pictures of the process yet. I started this at about 11 PM.

Here are the basics:

• Find a template for what you are to make. This can be a paper airplane pattern or any paper origami pattern.
• Using a cotton woven fabric, cut it about 1 inch larger all the way around than your template.
• Spill some of this stiffy stuff onto the fabric on a washable surface. I used a flexible cutting board.
• Use something to spread the stiff stuff so that it penetrates the fabric as well as scrapes off the excess. I used a thinner cardboard but I think something like an old credit card would work great. Perhaps a bone folder. I thoroughly coated the fabric on both sides so use more stiff stuff as you work it through.
• You need to dry this on something that will allow air to circulate around it. The owner of the Fabric Origami site uses a window screen kit. She also recommends a sweater drying rack. I used a fruit and vegetable basket/strainer thingy that is flat on the bottom. If you see any glue lines, dampen a lint-free cloth and wipe.
• Let dry. I did this overnight so I don't know how long it should have taken.
• Iron fabric on a high setting with steam. Let cool. It will be limp initially and then stiffen right up.
• Jeff helped me with the rest. We placed the paper airplane pattern right on top of the fabric and cut around it. Then we started making the folds.
• After each fold, we ironed the airplane and let it cool before making the next fold. We kept doing it until complete.
• If you make a mistake, don't worry! Just steam iron and refold.
• The stiff stuff didn't seem to rub off on my iron or ironing board but I think I am going to clean my iron just in case. Fabric Origami gal recommended using rubbing alcohol.

We have the airplane to Aidan and it flew! Perhaps it was a little more leaden than a regular one but it is pretty nifty.

I plan to make a garland of these and will post the process.

Aidan's Doily Valentine Envelopes

Aidan needs to bring 12 non-addressed valentines to nursery school next month.

I recalled seeing these doily crafts in a Martha Stewart issue. You turn your heart upside down, fold the two sides in a little, fold up a little of the bottom and then bring down the point to create an envelope. Her site shows an example of how to do it, too.

I used gold wrapping paper with notes on it as the inside and glued it on. I printed out on the laser printer the "Valentine, You Make My Heart Sing" note for the insert and glued that on. I cut both with Fiskars special edged scissors.

Aidan wrote his name on Dresden trim bought from our local Art Store, Artist and Display (the gold paper came from there, too). We glued them on. After the glue dried, we folded the cards, added a heart sticker to keep them closed, and as only a 4-year-old boy could, put car, train, and airplane stickers on the back.

Valentine's Day Hanging Heart Garland

I saw a Valentine's Day Heart Garland tutorial on One Hour Craft and decided to make my own and I love it! I opted to make mine from fabric rather than paper.

I used 4" toile fabric squares and fused two together using fusible interfacing web. I then cut out the hearts and pinned them to freezer paper.  I sewed down the middle of the hearts and also added a ribbon on the top so they could be hung.

A more detailed tutorial, plus more descriptive pictures is in the sidebar to the right and here.

It was a lot of fun, easy, and fast. Thanks One Hour Craft!

Martha Stewart Perhaps Doesn't Care About Flammable Handwarmers

Update to the Martha Stewart Hand Warmer Saga:

I sent an e-mail last Friday to Martha Stewart staff.

Me: Well, this is more than disappointing for a pattern published by MSLO.  Perhaps you could ask Martha?

Thanks!

Someone at MSLO:

I guess they are waiting for Martha to respond since it has been a few business days now.  Hey people at MSLO. Google this: martha stewart hand warmer

Well, no big deal, right? I'm out about $40 something dollars for the cashmere and pie weights. I'm working on projects with the cashmere. The pie weights aren't too useful to me. I can use some but not all. $40 is not a small amount for our family. And I've heard from others that I'm not the only one! Plus, the number one hit to my blog for the past few weeks has been a search for Martha Stewart hand warmers.

What irks me is the fact that I'm kind of a Martha Stewart junkie. I tape her shows and watch them all. I've been a magazine subscriber since 1999 and have subscribed to all her publications except some Body one. I have tons of books and products and have tried many of her crafts and recipes. I've stuck with her through prison, bad interviewing skills on the Martha show, my disappointing Martha show experience, a crummy puppet kit from Martha Stewart Crafts (come to think of it, customer service didn't care about that problem either), a really bad pecan pie recipe, and the fall of Martha Stewart Kids. Heck, I've even given Blueprint a second chance. I don't know how to gauge the reaction from her staffer. I feel like asking her if she wants some antibacterial soap to go with her hand washing.  I wasn't looking to sue, just a solution.

OK, thanks for letting me vent.  I promise to not mention it again unless I have news from them on the subject. At this point, I'm chalking it up as a loss and will focus on the gingerbread men that Aidan and I are making with the cashmere.

Miffed at Martha Stewart's Hand Warmers or Should I Say Hazardous Warmers?

Update in red.

As you know, there was a Martha Stewart hand warmer fiasco this past week in the Sassy household.

I sent an e-mail to Martha Stewart and to their credit, received a quick reply.

Me: I bought pie weights and cashmere to make Hand Warmers as found in your  Holiday issue last year (and on your website until recently). I made a test warmer and microwaved them per the instructions - the first time was great! The second time - not so great. The cashmere started burning.

Is there a way to avoid this? I've invested a bit of money into this project. Thank you.

Someone at MSLO: Thank you for writing to Martha Stewart Living.

Make sure the cashmere doesn't have a synthetic blend (ie stretch, polyester, rayon).

New e-mail from Me: Thank you for your reply! The cashmere does not have synthetic fibers - any other suggestions?

Someone from MSLO: You might want to try a lower heat setting or shorter amount of time.

Another e-mail from Me: OK. I will look into experimenting. I am giving them as gifts so I'm worried about different microwaves, different heats. I also thought about making sure my thread is 100% cotton.  Would adding water in a bowl in the microwave be a bad idea?

P.S. Why was this project removed from the Martha Stewart website?

Someone from MSLO: Its something you would have to test.

Me (not in an e-mail back): Gee, thanks. NOT.  Grrr. I didn't want to write back being irritated.  And why was this project removed from the website? I'm pretty sure it was even on a segment on the new craft show (I'll have to check my tapes).  So, I'm off to waste some cashmere and test using it with water in the microwave as I certainly can't give gifts to people that say - "Test in your microwave - if it catches fire, let me know."

I wrote them again explaining that I tried to follow their directions as written and that there were no warnings and I was disappointed in their response as I was asking their help for a pattern that they created--not one that I came up with on my own.   It was a 5 paragrapher, too long to update here.  Their concise response:

We apologize for being unable to direct you further.

Martha Stewart Flammable Hand Warmers for Gifts: It's a Bad Thing

I wish I had a link for this pattern to share with you but it has been removed from the Martha Stewart website. In last year's Martha Stewart Christmas Holiday issue and I believe on one of the recent Martha Stewart Craft segments, there was a pattern for making nifty hand warmers using pie weights.

Basically, you take two 3x5" cashmere squares, sew around and leave an opening to add 1/2 cup ceramic pie weights.  Blanket stitch around.  Don't try this at home: Put in microwave for 5 minutes, no less, no longer.

I made a test one and couldn't fit the entire 1/2 cup of pie weights in it.  It also caught on fire.  Well, more of a smolder but it busted the seam and the fire hot pie weights fell out.

I tried to be smart, outside of buying a 3 jars of pie weights. I only bought a small amount of cashmere.  I made a test warmer last night and microwaved it. It was perfect - it was warm for about 20 minutes. So I bought a bunch more cashmere last night!  Today, I put it in the microwave again and after about 4 minutes, a foul odor emerged.  The fabric had burned.

So, unless I find a microwave work-around, I'm out a bit of dough for gifts I was making this holiday season.  Interestingly, in the last week or so, this pattern was removed from the Martha Stewart website. I put a message on the Martha Stewart craft board but haven't received a response. I also wrote Martha Stewart in the Ask Martha link.

Does anyone else have suggestions? It seems like putting a cup of water in the microwave might help but damp hand warmers don't sound so cozy. And if you are on my gift list, please ignore this post and remember that I will try to not give you a dangerous present.

Picture is from the defunct Hand Warmer pattern on the Martha Stewart website. No link available.

Clip This - Altered Art Clipboard

A while back, Junie Moon showed off a clipboard that she purchased on Etsy by Jane's Apron. Low on cash to buy one of those great clipboards, I decided to make one myself that I could use to record my sewing projects.

I'm not too experienced with paper art, except for origami. Decoupage is pretty new to me, too.  But this was fun, pretty easy and it turned out well enough to satisfy me! I think the whole thing cost less than $10 to make.

First of all, if I had it to do over again, I would have bought better clipboards. I bought mine from Office Depot. They were cheap enough but they had the store logo on the metal clip. I covered that using a magnet but it isn't perfect.

Also, I might have painted the clipboard as Jane's Apron did instead of using the paper - this might have eliminated the problem of the paper being too short and me not thinking to match the stripes at the top.

Supplies used:
Clipboard
Scrapbooking paper
Color copies of a vintage pattern
Ribbon
Adhesive backed magnet
Modge Podge - Glossy
Decorative scissors (I have ones that make the edges look ripped)
Scrap of ribbon

Process:
This is so easy, I didn't even bother to take pictures of the process.

I used my computer and printer to create the printed text.  The paper I used was a little more fibrous and stiffer than normal printer paper.  I picked out a vintage pattern and color copied it. I cut out the pattern with straight scissors and used the ripped scissors to cut out the text.

I outlines the clipboard onto the scrapbooking paper. I glued it on using the modge podge. I laid out my design on top before gluing and then glued it on.  When dry, I gave another coat of the modge podge over the top.

As the paper wasn't large enough to cover the board, I cut out smaller pieces at the top and used a coordinating satin ribbon in between them so the difference between the pattern wasn't too much.

I used an adhesive backed thin magnet (the kind used for business cards) and cut it to size to cover the logo on the clip. I put a piece of scrapbooking paper on it and trimmed them together so they fit.

Add your own pad of paper and cover your lovely design.

Family Christmas Ornaments

I gave Martha Stewart a bad rap in my last post so I thought I would mention a couple great products I used from Martha Stewart Crafts.

I picked up some gold glass ornaments from Michael's and Jeff, Aidan, and I wrote the names of our family (including Toulouse and Mucha) using Martha's Fine Tip Glue Pen. We then coated the glued areas with her lovely Turquoise Fine Glitter, blew off the excess so it could be tracked all over the house, and later brushed it off with a cheap 1" paint brush.

The effects are difficult to see as the picture isn't true to color and you might be able to spot a certain photographer.

 

 

What makes me happy is that my dad made similar ornaments for me and my siblings when we were kids. What also makes me happy is Aidan was upset that Jeff's and my names were on the ornaments rather than "Mommy" and Daddy" so he took it upon himself to write them out for us (see upper left and lower left corners).

Yay, Martha! I'm sure she is sleeping better now.

 

 

Soft Tree Season

Last night I hosted our first craft night. Various friends and family expressed interest in having one.  Everyone brought their own project (paper crafts, needlepoint, knitting, etc.). I decided to make more of Little Bird Handmade's Soft Trees this year (last year's are pictured at left).

I served Too Much Chocolate Cake and the party was pretty fun!  It was brief, being a weeknight but I managed to get a number trees cut out.  Next party: January.

Aidan saw the cardiologist today. The appointment was difficult (his fear of the hospital and blood work is still high) but it was a good appointment. We were there over 3 hours so it made for an emotionally draining day.  Dr. Frommelt is worried that he might have a bit of asthma so we might check on that again in 6 months. Here's really hoping that it isn't the case.

Hey - doesn't anyone want a free book? Only 4 comments. Drat. I knew my readership was low but, geez - 4 people and one of them is my mom (thanks mom!)...

Halloween Treat Bags

I made these treat bags using an idea from Martha Stewart. I made Jack O Lantern faces on the front and stamped them on the back. I filled them with a small Playdough, Goldfish snacks, and spooky rings for Aidan's nursery school friends.

A Luscious Pear for Your Living Room

There is something about pears that has always been alluring to me. It could be because I grew up with a yard with two generous pear trees, or I think of Janie from Their Eyes Were Watching God and her coming of age under the pear tree, or I think about its symbolic link with fertility. Maybe it is just because they taste so good!

Stacy, the super-organized, talented sewer of Stacy Sews, makes these great pears and guess what? She had the pattern published in the Sew News Holiday issue.  I got this lovely pear from Stacy's Etsy Shop.

I was hoping to wait to post about this until I had made a pear but seeing as it is her birthday and all and I had the pictures ready, I am going with it.  Happy Birthday, Stacy!  Check out Stacy's site if you haven't already--you'll astounded at how much she can get done in a week.

See more photos here: 

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Please Vote!

Well, I think I've had maybe 9 votes for my "what should I do next" survey. Unfortunately, there is a tie. If any of you readers out there haven't voted, could you do so to break the tie?

If I have only 9 blog readers (and this is sad, especially after my recent mention on Chicago Apartment Therapy), can one of you vote twice?

Thanks for your vote!

Hey - Great Bag Tags! Where Can I Get Those?

Are you digging the number 4 tag on that bag?  I bought those from every jot and tittle on Etsy.  Kellie makes the most awesome tags and is happy to do custom orders as she did here.  Her prices are so reasonable that I can't imagine why everyone doesn't rush out and buy a bundle!

I made this bag and the ones here for Aidan's birthday back in May. The bags held treats for the guests.  I used a pattern from a book from Sewing with Nancy.  I absolutely love the pattern and it couldn't be easier. Plus, I really loved the cotton/yarn thread I used. It went great with the fabric.

The fabric, Peas and Carrots by Moda, was also used in the bunting I made for Aidan's birthday.  It is such an old-fashioned and sweet fabric.  I used an alphabet fabric to put the initials on the other bags and the bunting.

Amy Butler Has New Paper Products

I'm not into scrapbooking too much but I love paper crafts - flowers, origami, the like.  Amy Butler has taken her beautiful designs and put them on paper. Yay for us!

She has downloads on her site for some free paper craft projects (such as these flowers). Go for it.

Help Me Figure Out What to Do This Week

Hopefully this survey will work.  Please vote for something you would like me to create and blog about in the next week and I'll take the appropriate photos and upload. Clicking on the link will open the survey in this window.  Sorry - I couldn't easily find a free polling piece that would allow me to embed to poll into my blog (and work, that is).

Comments are welcome, too. Thanks!

Cast Your Vote
Free Vote Casters by Bravenet.com

Dang You Martha Stewart!

I popped into Michael's today with my mom. I was just tagging along with determined hands in my pockets to avoid buying anything. And then I saw them. The Martha Stewart Halloween Silhouettes!

For only $9.99, I was able to nab the kitty at left.  But then they had the witch... and the skeleton... I talked myself into the witch.  And then I talked myself into the Halloween Baker's twine and the spooky stickers.  There are some cute cupcake liners but I had already purchased a couple or three of Wilton's ghost and pumpkin mini cake pans.

I love, love, love decorating for Halloween.  Of course, every approaching holiday is my new favorite one.  I can't wait to decorate and bake this year.

More pictures of my goods after the jump. 

Martha Stewart Hand Towel Caddy : Hair Brush Caddy

Our bathroom is short on storage and I apparently have a ton of hairbrushes with no place to put them. I remembered that Martha Stewart had an idea for an organizer made with a hand towel so I set to.

Here is what I did:

I bought and pre-washed a hand towel that matched my other ones.

I bought a 1/2" dowel rod and made a channel on the end for it to slide through.  We left about 1 1/2" on each side and used a saw to cut off the dowel and sand the ends.

I took a look at my hair-grooming collection and wondered why I have so many brushes when I basically wear my hair in a ponytail every day.

I found a home for each hairbrush along the towel and placed pins to mark the dividers. As the pockets would need a little room to get around the brushes, I made allowances (perhaps 2") extra.

I sewed on a little flat pocket for a comb holder.  I just measured the comb, added extra allowance so I could turn the ends under for seaming.

To make the pockets, I folded up the end of the towel in a double fold and slipped the hairbrushes in to make sure the pockets were deep enough.

Channels were sewn where I marked them.

Hairbrushes were slipped into place. Dowel rod found its home.  Grosgrain ribbon made an appearance on the ends and Jeff put a hook on the bathroom door.

Yay!

Craft Magazine - Am I the only one that doesn't like it?

So everyone has marveled over Craft Magazine and I don't understand why. In fact, I think it, um, "rhymes with lucks."  I had great hope because a gazillion blogs rave over it. I even tried two issues (thankfully my sister, Missy, bought the second one so I didn't have to shell out the dough for it). 

I thought the Japan Style would catch my fancy but the cats on the cover are ugly.  They pale in comparison to the fabulous Animal Mascot book I just received from an eBay seller.  I'll have to take photos and post soon as they are the cutest darn animals ever!

Back to Craft. The projects are bizarre and I wouldn't want to own any of the items made in it much less waste my time making them.

Happy Easter Eggs

White Rabbit dye made the most beautiful eggs.  I received my eggs in fine condition from eBay.  Each egg had only one tiny pinhole--too small to hang but look lovely in a bowl.  Very fun to do with Aidan who took the job seriously.  Check out that beautiful yellow one!

I made two batches of cupcakes tonight using recipes from a recent Southern Living issue.  I'll post pictures tomorrow.  So cute with Easter liners and cupcake picks!

Blow eggs? I don't think so!

This is a photo from Craftydaisies. She has a great tutorial on how to blow Easter eggs.

I have been thinking about blowing eggs for weeks now and just gave up and bought already blown ones on eBay here. Lazy? Perhaps. However, I get the heebs when I think about blowing eggs so I bought 15 eggs for $10 shipped.  It was worth it for me to not blow eggs.

The seller was super nice and you can buy more than chicken eggs on eBay - quail, rooster, duck, ostrich... OK - not rooster. Just seeing if anyone reads this.

Softie Award Voting Has Begun

Just voted for the Softie Awards. Voting ends March 30. Just when I think I'm getting pretty cool at sewing or crafting, I can take a look at the awesome creations from the very talented people who submitted their items. Wow!

Fabric Covered Bulletin Board and Marble Thumbtacks

Click on any of the images to enlarge.

Thanks to Megan at Not Martha, I decided to make Marble thumbtacks, inspired by her Marble Magnets. This has been months in the making. Well, it hasn't taken me months to do, just months to prepare and get around to doing as I usually have 45 projects in the works.

Here are the supplies. Glass marbles and round paper punch from JoAnns. Metal glue and magnets from Michael's (I made marble magnets, too). Flat headed thumbtacks from Ace hardware, and an In Style magazine for the pictures.

Megan has great instructions on her site so I'm not going to reproduce them here.  Though I will say that I used a round paper punch for the magazine pictures but that wouldn't work on the fabric. Trusty fabric scissors did the trick there.  I glued pictures and fabric to a nice, thin cardstock before adhering to the magnets or thumbtacks.  I don't have pictures of my magnets up as Megan's are much nicer.  My glass beads are smaller than the magnets so they don't look as cool.

 

I really like the fabric covered thumbtacks as they give a neat look with matching the bulletin board itself.

As for the bulletin board, I won't go into details on how I made it unless pressed.  Plus, I can't really use it as I wanted as my craft room is my dining room.  Jeff doesn't like cluttered bulletin boards hanging out in public and, knowing me, my bulletin board will be cluttered.  So it is hanging in our small hallway above my laundry chute.  I fully expect to find thumbtacks in the laundry.