Winter Holidays

Every day that passes without a new blog post seems to sink me further and further.  So, in an attempt to get back on my horse, I'm writing this post and filling it will lots of miscellany which is what my life is all about these days.  I have been finding tiny chunks of time to sew, much of it by hand in the evenings.  I've got some projects that are *almost* ready for blogging and am hoping that I can keep a more regular schedule soon.  Much of my time recently has been spent in the ongoing project of organizing my studio.  I am finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel, and will share the "big reveal" here when I'm finished.

Technology is a wonderful thing, except when it's not.  My old laptop died a few weeks ago and I had to replace it.  Which also meant reinstalling all of the various programs I use.  Photoshop needed to be installed before I could hope to post any pictures so I set about that task today.  Except that my new laptop doesn't have a CD drive, so I had to download all of the necessary files and then spend an hour on chat with Adobe before they finally told me I'd have to upgrade to the latest program to be compatible with my new operating system.  Sigh.

Christmas came and went.  Along with making multiple batches of my usual Salted Caramel Chex Mix and Rosemary Pecans with Cranberries I sewed my boys a couple of walking capes which can function as attire for Jedi, Hobbits, Medieval peasants or whatever takes their fancy. Here's a shot of the two capes, front and back.

The fabric was rayon/linen and very nice to work with. I flat felled all of the seams which makes for a nice, clean and sturdy finish.

I'm still working on a couple of "big white shirts" (think pirate) for them as well.  I've got to set the grommets still but they are nearly finished.

We had a big snow storm in January and the newest member of our family, aptly named Winter, really enjoyed it along with my kids. I, however, lost a week of my life. :-)

A few years ago I blogged about making King Cake for Mardi Gras.  This year I tried a recipe from Southern Living.  The Southern Living cakes (the recipe makes 2) are assembled jelly roll style rather than braiding like the recipe I've always used in the past.  I made a different flavor for each of the cakes.  The first was the traditional cinnamon-sugar filling complete with green, gold and purple sanding sugar.

The second had a cream cheese filling and cherry preserves (the recipe for the cream cheese filling is included in the Southern Living recipe).  I skipped the sanding sugar on this one.

This recipe was nearly as good as my original and much less work.  The best advice I have is to make sure you don't overbake the cakes which will dry them out. Also, the area where the two ends are joined together to make the ring is always a little skimpy so I used a bit of extra dough and wrapped the join to add a little substance to that area.  Make sure that all of the seams are well sealed so the filling doesn't leak out while baking.

I invited a group of my friends over to celebrate Mardi Gras and help me eat up these sweets.

Next up is Valentine's Day.  My kids are busy making cards for their friends and I'm gearing up to lead the craft at the class party (no surprise there).  We're going to make a cute card holder for the delivered valentines.  I found this idea on Pinterest.  Here's my version:

It's simply two paper plates, folded in half and then stapled together in a heart-shaped configuration.  Decorate as desired, punch some holes and hang with a ribbon.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's Day.

Have Yourself a Retro Little Christmas: Medicine Cup Kissing Ball

I can't decide which side of the divide this post will fall, retro cool or super square.  Regardless, I decided to recreate a favorite Christmas decoration from my childhood, the medicine cup kissing ball.  I'll be curious to see how many of my readers remember these.  The one my mother unwrapped from tissue paper every December and hung in our front hallway had Christmas-green glitter and plastic mistletoe.  I've changed a few things on mine to update an old classic just a bit.

One of the reasons I love reading craft blog DIY posts is that someone else has gone through all of the trial and error for me.  This project had quite a bit of both trial and error.  I hope you will take advantage of my experience if you decide to make one of these for yourself.  You aren't likely to find any help elsewhere.  A thorough internet search turned up essentially nothing on the subject of medicine cup kissing balls with the exception of one or two posts asking if anyone remembered them.  As I have noted before, when I run across a topic that seems to be missing from the interwebs I like to cover it, since I know I am not the only person out there looking for information.

You can find the instructions over in my Tutorial section or by clicking here.  I hope you enjoyed this walk down memory lane.  I would love to hear if any of you remember these icons or perhaps still own one.  I hope you are busy making your own memories this holiday season.

Santa Pins

The inspiration for this pin originally came from Evy Hawkins at A Bit of Stitch.  She had used one of her Holiday Button Covers to create a very artsy and fun pin.  I decided to take that idea and add my own interpretation to make a pin all my own.

I used items found at the craft store, and you can find a full tutorial for making a pin of your own over in my Tutorial section.  Please use these instructions as a jumping off point; the idea is to take something to use as a background  (I think a plastic glittered snowflake like this one would make a great canvas) and then layer on feathers, floral picks, pearls and other items to fill in the gaps.  Top with a focal point like an embroidered button or a seasonal decorative element.

I made a big batch of these for a craft show one year and they were a big hit.  I hope you enjoy making and wearing your very own pin for the holidays.

I'll be sharing over at Today's Creative Blog on Tuesday.

Self-Indulgence

What a "me" day I had today.  I managed to pack a lot into today, mostly things that I love doing.  First off, I wrapped and mailed a beautiful package.

Some of you might remember that last year I wrote about how much I love using kraft paper and twine to wrap packages especially when topped with a little woodland-inspired clip which you can make yourself.  When I found myself needing to wrap a round can I wished for some kraft tissue paper.  My wish came true at Paper Source and I picked up several packages this week at my local store.  The tissue paper is simply gathered around the can, tied with twine and topped off with the clip which can be used as a Christmas tree ornament.  I finished off the package with a mist of gold glitter spray which gives it a nice sheen.  Never underestimate the impact of a beautifully wrapped gift.  (Humming "brown paper packages, tied up with string, these are a few of my favorite things.")

I also spent time today working in my sewing room and finishing all of the Christmas presents for the teachers on my list.  I'll be posting those in a couple of days.

When I stopped and asked myself what I wanted to do with a day where I had nothing particular on the calendar, the answer was to work on stitching my Alabama Chanin dress.  I have not been making much time for that, so today I spent an hour this morning and an hour this evening stitching, both times at a local coffee shop while my children were otherwise occupied.  I have nearly finished the first of six panels; I'll post some pics when I do.

Today was all about indulging myself, filling the hours with things I love to do but don't have as much time for as I'd like to have.  The feeling was good (tinged with just a little bit of guilt, but not too much).  What have you been doing recently that feels indulgent?  Leave a comment.

Some Crafty Bargains

A confession:  I love to bargain hunt in the days after Christmas but I am not looking for the typical “good buy” that most are.  I shop with an eye toward finding items that can be used in unexpected ways, specifically craft supplies.  I always check the local craft chains but some of my best finds are in stores one doesn’t usually consider such as department and home goods stores.  Today my travels netted a great supply of items that I hope to use in the future.  Here’s a look at some of them:

Clockwise from lower left corner:  The box of blank cards and envelopes cost a mere $3.99 for fifty cards.  The colors range from aqua to light blue to gray.  I always like to have cards on hand to embroider on or otherwise embellish (a set of four, tied with a ribbon, makes a great little gift).  The two holiday themed boxes are designed for recipe cards but will be nice bases to decoupage for another use.  I will use the silver rose hips in my floral crafts.  When I looked at the gold and silver chargers I saw the perfect canvas (and built on frame) for a mixed media collage (I also saw some round chargers with ruffled border which would make really cute holiday decorations).  You may see the three placemats recreated as bags here on my blog in the future.  I loved the hemstitched linen coasters and think they would make lovely sachets with a little ribbon embroidery (or machine embroidery) on them.  The beaded napkin rings are composed of three separate rings wired together.  I am imagining separating them but for what purpose is still unclear.  The plaid square coasters would make great little canvases for collage and the white porcelain baking dishes (at $0.49 each) will hold baked good for the kids’ teachers next year.  Lastly, I couldn’t resist the box of red and white striped paper straws though, truthfully, I don’t know what I will do with them.  I’m sure there is a craft out there that they would be perfect for.

Everything you see here was a mere fraction of the original cost (most were 75% off).  I love having items on hand to stimulate my creative thinking.  Have you found any great bargains this year?

I had planned to show the last of my Christmas projects today but, since my family always gets together at New Years, I did not want to spoil the surprise for my sister who is one of my loyal readers (hi, Jane!)  I will share that with you next week.