making acorn ornaments with the kids

With the weather so dreadfully cold, and the kids getting squirrely from cabin fever already, I thought we'd do a little crafting to help keep their fingers busy.

I had some of these acorn caps left that I had painted with metal paint a few years ago and a bag of beads that I thought would make good acorn bodies so we put the two together to make ornaments.

I had hoped to sew through the beads and cap but the kids found it a little too difficult to manage so we compromised.  First, I drilled holes in the caps and put a hanging loop in.  Then I sewed the tiny bead on to the bottom of the large bead, a step I could have skipped but I liked that it made them look more finished, and the kids glued the bead into the cap.

The results are pretty cute, I think.  They each made enough to hand out to some of their friends, with a couple left over for the tree.

I think that glass marbles would work well too, in lieu of beads.  Wouldn't they be pretty hanging in front of the window like this?

Hope you're all enjoying your weekend.  Happy Sunday.

into the trees

It's deer hunting season here in Minnesota which means we haven't been out walking in the woods lately.  Since we're surrounded on three sides by hunting land, I get uneasy about letting the kids play outside, even with their blaze orange hats on.  All of this indoor time has made us all a little stir crazy.

I tried to quell some of that excess energy that was coursing through my kids yesterday by having them make some little tree ornaments for the upcoming holidays.  The older boys cut circles out of felted sweater and they all worked on stacking them for a while.  The activity held their attention in spurts but over the course of the day a small forest grew on our table.

The next job will be to sew them all together and add the trunks, something we'll work on together.

Since yesterday was the last day of rifle season we'll be able to venture back out in the woods today to be among real trees.  I can't express how much I'm looking forward to that.

***

Julie made some colorful little trees this weekend too.

Today I'm mailing off stones to their new homes.  A huge thank you to everyone who stopped by to look and to those of you that gave my pieces a home.  Thank you.

I hope your week is a good one.

very fancy

 

I've been putting together some little wool acorn ornaments for an event I'm doing later this month, and when I fit the wool bead into its cap, I nip off just a little of it to make it fit snugly.  My youngest  took those nipped off bits and strung them up to wear.

 

She's very fancy with her new necklace and her "Mary" dress. 

 (we're reading the Little House on the Prairie series and she thinks this is her calico, and since she has golden curls, she thinks she's Mary.  Though I know she's far more like Laura than Mary)

Enjoy your weekend, everyone!

snow folk in the shop

 

Since a few of you asked, I decided to make a few snow folk to put in my shop.

Just five, but they're in my shop for viewing and will go "live" at noon central time today.

 

Happy Monday, all.

sparkly kate snowflakes

 

Aren't these little snowflakes just adorable?  My friend Kate made these and I had to do a little bragging on her behalf because I just love them.  I've known Kate for 20+ years.  Oh the stories she could tell about me (but wouldn't dare, because I have stories too).

 

She's a busy working mom of three who wanted to find a way to donate her time.  I know full-well how hard that can be with little ones around.  She started making these little snowflakes and donating $2 from each sale to the Whole Kids Foundation, an organization that supports school gardens and healthier school lunch options.  That resonated with me and I immediately ordered 3.

 

They're so delicate and really beautiful.  I had planned to tie these on holiday gifts but I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to at least keep the pewter one.  (it's my favorite)

 

It's Cat's favorite too.

If you're interested in a little handmade goodness of your own, please stop by Kate's Etsy shop HERE.

You might want to hurry before she realizes she's charging too little for these and raises her prices. (which you should totally do, Kate)

Thanks everyone!

Happy Tuesday!

apple and pear ornament tutorial

I'm trying something new, friends.

I've begun writing some pdf tutorials, starting with my little apple and pear ornaments, and am offering them for sale in my Etsy shop.  This one is geared towards the beginner and intermediate sewist.  For those of you that may not have easy access to felted garment wool, or who want to be spared the trouble of felting and preparing this yummy wool, I'll soon be offering a materials kit as well.



(apple and pear ornaments - make us!)

While writing tutorials is not new to me, (I've written several for various books and offer some free here on my blog), writing them to sell is new to me.  I'm hoping that by sharing my techniques I'll help more people fall in love with making things by hand, appreciate the beauty of using repurposed materials, and compensate myself (even if modestly) in the process.

As I mentioned the tutorials and kits will be found in my etsy shop, however my other completed works will continue to be in my big cartel shop.

Speaking of which... I have a few new pieces nearing completion and I'll be having my next shop update sometime in the last week of November, after the whole Black Friday craziness is over, and blood pressures return to normal.  Normalish?  I hope you'll find something for the art-lover on your list.

Have a good start to the week, everyone. 

A Peek

Here's a peek at just a few of the things that I'll be including in my next shop update.  These pieces and more (that I haven't photographed yet) will be in my Etsy shop on Monday Nov. 29th at 4pm CST.  I'll share photos of some of the other goodies later this weekend.

There will be new brooches made of wool and wood.  I love the combination of textural wool and smooth wood but I wanted a wood setting that felt natural and organic.  I like work that is a little "perfectly imperfect" so as I cut and shaped my wood pieces from an oak limb I salvaged, I drilled the holes off-center and left planes and angles in the wood.  They're sanded smooth, but the wood feels like something I might have picked off the forest floor, and I like that.  I finished them simply with beeswax.  There will be some pieces with scenes from nature and a few that are free-form and inspired by lichen and fungi.

There will be a limited number of tiny canoes, strung up with waxed cotton cord for hanging.

There will be just a few wool acorns, some for tying on gifts (or hanging in the tree) and some with rusty caps, all of which will have a special price.

There will be some birch bark birch leaf tags/ornaments as well with woodburned details.  They hang from a soft length of alpaca yarn.

 

This will be my last shop update for 2010.  I plan to keep the shop open for a few days afterwards then I'm shutting down the shop for all of December to work on gifts for family and friends. (and to recharge a little)    I'll still be here on blog though, so I hope you stop in and see me.

Happy Friday, everyone.  Have a great weekend.

Pinecones!

I spent the past week working around the house, taking a break, and fiddling with making pinecones out of wool.  I wanted to mimic the shape of the cones we find from our jack pines.  It took a bit of tweaking, but I finally got something that comes pretty close.  I added a spray of "needles" too, for color.  They're not exactly like pine needles of course, but I thought they brought to mind that piney look.

I used felted coat wool for these and the thickness was just right.  I have a few in the works in different colors and hope to have pics soon.

I hope everyone's week is off to a great start.  I feel a little bit rested (yay!) and look forward to sharing some new stuff with you this week.

Feeling Fruity

So it seems I've been on a fruit kick the past few days.  The dear Heather from artbyheather asked me like a year ago (seriously, a year ago), to make her an apple and orange ornament and I just now finished them.  I was so excited by the fruit fiesta that I decided to add a pear to the mix. 

I made a few of each and put the extras in the shop.  I just added the pears today, but the apples and oranges have already gone to their forever homes.  Isn't that great?

It must be a holiday thing, but I'm on an ornament kick so expect to see a few new offerings soonish. (I promise, it won't be a year)  I hope you'll stop back and check them out.

Begin again

felted wool heart ornaments - cupid - set of 12

I decided today to reopen my Etsy shop, but on a smaller scale, one that can accomodate my much busier schedule. It feels good, like a promise to myself that I'll be able to handle all the things I want to do, just on a different scale.

Something new

I'm a little short on time to do my Sunday window shopping post today (boo!) but I thought I'd show you what I made this weekend. I guess I was feeling Christmassy when I made up these holly ornaments.

The leaves are reclaimed leather from a thrifted coat. They're a wonderful aged green, and I did a little bit of machine embellishment on them. The berries are vintage buttons from my collection, in a mix of red and gold. I had a hard time letting a few of these go, but they looked so right on the ornament that I eventually convinced myself to give them up. I sewed these ornaments together, without glue, so as not to damage the buttons. The hanging loop is a narrow length of red satin ribbon.

They're a new venture for me, and one I'll likely try again. I hope you like.

holly by golly - ornaments of reclaimed materials - set of 3

Night owls

Last night was a rough one. The little ones are coming down with colds and were up most of the night, in tag-team fashion. That means I was sneaking bits of sleep on the couch in between calls of "mommmmy" and demands for water and cuddles. I did get a chuckle around 2am when my youngest, who was sleeping on my lap, yelled out "mailbox!". What on earth was he dreaming about?

It was a really clear night and the moon was still nearly full, illuminating the woods in a beautiful glow. The stars were out and the dipper was sitting right in front of my window. Without the interruption of city lights, the stars are really something to see in my neck of the woods.

I had hoped to see some activity, owls swooping for prey, coyotes checking out the compost pile, acrobatic flying squirrels, something, but all was quiet and still. Except of course, for my little night owls.

felted wool owl ornaments I recently finished, of recycled sweater wool with vintage button eyes

The challenge - completed

It's been a week since I challenged myself to make some quiet time for sewing. I'm pleased to announce that I consider my week a success. Not only did I make the 6 each day, but managed a few extra too. Granted, I didn't always get to sew in quiet but that's to be expected with three rowdy kids running around. It did feel really nice to accomplish a goal, however small. So here's a visual round-up of my efforts.

A challenge

I've decided to give myself a one-week crafting challenge. I will make 6 wool hearts every day for the next week and on next Sunday will post pictures of what I've completed. Why? Well, life has become a little hectic in my neck of the woods. What with kiddies and obligations and preparing for winter, there leaves little time to sit and relax. Since sewing is one of my favorite things to do to relax, I've vowed to myself to make more time for it. Whether or not I get my completed works listed in my Etsy shop is another matter. I'm hoping though to feel a little sense of accomplishment, get a chance to kick my feet up, and enjoy a little quiet creation time. Want to join me?