dresses, books and archives
April 1, 2010 at 2:22 pm | Posted in books and mags, button it up, chatty, geek crafts, holidays, I love to make things..., projects to do | 2 CommentsI’m taking a quick break from sewing Pearl’s Easter dress to post about a few things I’m excited about… first, the dress! After some major delays in getting started, I am stitching away and I love it so far. I really hope she wants to wear it on Easter Sunday. Right now her beloved Dishy Duds monster shirt is on heavy, heavy rotation and anything else must be bargained for fiercely. I did get her interested in wearing a shirt with a dog on it today, so I hope little flowers hold the same appeal…
I’m at that strange stage of vintage-pattern sewing where you’re joining a lot of facings in not a lot of open space and hoping it all smoothly fits together (and fits her, period.) Fingers crossed!
I just wrote this up for Geek Crafts today, but boy I’m thrilled about Bonnie Burton’s new Star Wars Crafts Book, which is coming out later this year! Check out all the sneak peeks and cool details over here.
And thanks to Rachel’s latest post in the excellent Archive-Along series she’s posting with Diane, I made a google profile page today with links to my crafts, photos, writing, and upcoming classes all in one handy, streamlined place. Here’s a look at it:
Since I have been soooo slow about updating my various websites, this is such a nice (not to mention free and easy) way to collect a lot of things I’m excited about in one place. Rachel has lots of tips and suggestions for building yours right over here if you’re interested, too!
p.s. If you’re in Portland, there are two extremely cool art openings going on tomorrow night (Friday, April 2). I’ll be posting more about them tomorrow morning and hope to see you at both of them!
spring plans
March 24, 2010 at 2:41 pm | Posted in chatty, house crafty, I love to make things..., projects to do | 4 CommentsIt is so beautiful out today, and I’m so excited about spring! I have some fun projects planned.
First up is an Easter dress to sew. Last year Pearl wore one of mine from 1975, but this year I want to make her a new one (um, from a pattern from 1975, actually). I’m also dreaming up some crafty surprises to add to her Easter basket…
And thanks to lots of help from Patrick, we have a new raised bed, right next to the first one Andrew and I built last year! Super exciting.
I got all of our starts yesterday: leeks, collard greens, rainbow chard, and red Russian kale (my favorite). I’m consulting my new gardening book to plan when to put everything in.
So here are my before pictures… hopefully I’ll have some afters to share soon too!
valentines for grown-ups
February 12, 2010 at 12:11 pm | Posted in holidays, projects to do | Leave a commentWell, I have suddenly found myself in the toddler-passed-out-in-the-carseat trap so after a trip through the Burgerville drive-through, here I am in my car, in front of my house, with my laptop jammed awkwardly between myself and my steering wheel. Thank goodness for wi-fi! I had planned to post some new Valentines to make but my camera and cord are inside, and Pearl and I are out here, so I think I’ll just share some I made last year again instead… and next year you can see the new ones.
This beaded card was fun to do, and all you need are a needle and thread, a dozen seed beads and a couple pieces of cardstock. You could use any colors for your beads and paper, of course. I love red and turquoise together, but how about red and pink, or silver and red, or whatever you happen to have handy? You can find the complete tutorial over here.
And here’s one of my all-time favorite crafty projects, Valentine’s Day or not: heartfelt fortune cookies and rings. These are also super easy, and you can make six cookies and a bunch of rings from one 8.5 x 11-inch sheet of felt — not bad! The tutorial for these is over here.
Okay, I hope everyone has a really wonderful Valentine’s Day, Year of the Tiger, President’s Day, Mardi Gras, and weekend! I’m going to put the darn laptop away now and read the mystery I thankfully stashed in the diaper bag this morning.
a birthday present from CRAFT:
January 11, 2010 at 12:26 pm | Posted in chatty, house crafty, I love to make things..., projects to do | 2 CommentsThank you to CRAFT: for posting up one of my favorite little projects from awhile back this week: felt needlebooks with appliqued covers!
This was originally a Quick Craft project I contributed to their print issue 06, and they were nice enough to republish it on the site this month as a flashback. It’s good to see those little guys again! This is a super easy project, and a nice present for a beginning sewer (especially stocked with pins and needles and threaders).
And today (in a nice coincidence, my birthday!) Natalie posted a little interview about my craft room with photos and a few tips and tricks for keeping my collection of craft supplies organized.
Since I’m in full-tilt sewing mode on a big project right now, I can attest that my fabric does NOT look anything like that at the moment… so it’s encouraging to see those neat stacks and know I will eventually get there again. Someday.
Hope you are having a nice Monday… and thank you to CRAFT: for making mine even nicer! It’s pretty gray here today and this was a sweet and colorful pick-me-up.
tiny ribboned gift bags!
December 17, 2009 at 12:57 pm | Posted in bead simple, books and mags, button it up, chatty, free crafty, holidays, projects to do | 6 CommentsI made Pearl’s teachers some carnelian and black agate earrings for gifts this year,
and stitched up a set of Tiny Ribboned Gift Bags to put them in. Both halves of the project are very quick and easy (perfect for a day like December 17th, ahem) and I thought I’d share the how-to over here if anyone else is looking for a nice way to wrap up some small things like jewelry or trinkets, too! These bags are great for jewelry storage or travel, or just for re-using for the next gift, and you can make dozens of them from a quarter-yard of fabric, or use up your scraps making a whole rainbow of them. It’s been far too long since I’ve had the chance to post a tutorial over here and I hope you like it…
Tiny Ribboned Gift Bags
For each bag, you’ll need a remnant of fabric, an iron, scissors, a piece of ribbon, sewing machine (or needle and thread), and pinking shears. These instructions are for an earring-sized bag with some size variations at the end of the steps!
1. Cut your fabric into long rectangular pieces, about 7 inches by 2.5 inches. Press them in half with right sides facing (as shown).
2. Stitch up both sides with a 1/4-inch seam allowance, back-stitching at the beginning and end of the seam to hold it. Turn the bag right side out and give it a quick press to shape it. Trim the top with pinking shears to give it a pretty edge (scallop-edged scissors would be nice too!)
3. Cut a length of ribbon (stitching it to hold it at the back if you like — I left mine loose) and place your gift inside the bag. Tie the ribbon in a bow above the gift and trim the ends.
For a wider, larger bag that would work for a pendant or bracelet (like the center one above, which holds the Circle Deluxe Pendant from the jewelry photo), cut your piece of fabric 7 or 8 inches long and 3.5 – 4 inches wide. For larger gifts, just place the present on a folded piece of fabric and cut generously on each side and above (since some of the width will go to a seam allowance, and the top will be tied with ribbon too). For a larger bag, fold your fabric, stitch, press, pink the top and tie with a (wider) ribbon the same way described for the little version.
If you’re interested, I also have two more holiday craft tutorials up today — please go check them out if you’d like to!
The Carnelian and Black Agate Earrings I put inside these little gift bags are over at Bead Simple,
and I designed a new Tiny-Eyed Owl Ornament project for Button It Up!
I’ll be around this week with a few more holiday things (we decorated the tree and the house last weekend, which was so much fun) and I’ll be part of Kayte’s blog tour for Applique Your Way, too! See you then.
Christmas cheer + Hanukkah happiness
December 10, 2009 at 1:00 pm | Posted in books and mags, button it up, chatty, holidays, projects to do | 1 CommentJust wanted to pass on a few holiday things I like lately! Two posts in an hour, woo hoo.
Loving Diane’s beautiful and ultra-simple menorah project on CRAFT:.
And Pam’s yarn stars are lovely too! What a mother and daughter team those two are!
Speaking of holiday crafts to try, I keep forgetting to mention over here that my Red and Gold Button Wreath project tutorial has been featured in the Houston Chronicle! So cool. If you happen to make one, please add it to the Button It Up flickr pool — I would love to see it. I’ll be hanging mine up on the porch this weekend (once it is hopefully above freezing, that is… ugh).
Last, our beloved little Crafty Tree Trimmings ornament e-book is now $3.00 off with the code FORLINUS at checkout, so it’s now $9.00. We are hoping to give the best possible donation to Project Linus and thought we’d make it a bit easier to snap up! A huge thank-you again to those who have supported our book and our fundraiser.
I am not on Twitter myself, so please forgive this probably very rusty and awkward announcement where I’ll probably get the Twitter verbs wrong, but SisterDiane is currently running a Crafty Tree Trimmings sweepstakes you’re entered in if you RT her announcement from 12:00 noon Pacific time:
30th person to RT gets a free copy! New $3.00 off coupon for Crafty Tree Trimmings (FORLINUS) http://ow.ly/KEWe
Thanks for helping us spread the word! On that note, I’m off to do some sewing and button-hairclip-demo prep. See you on Sunday!
crafty tree trimmings!
November 9, 2009 at 12:11 pm | Posted in chatty, holidays, I love to make things..., projects to do | 2 CommentsI’m very excited to be part of the new Crafty Tree Trimmings ornament-making ebook! I was asked to design something with beads and buttons, so I made a set of Sparkle Ornaments — a super fun way to use some of my favorite glittery bits and pieces.
I made two ornaments, a pink and gold version and an all-blue one. It was fun to bring our little silver tinsel tree out for the photos and listen to some Sufjan Stevens while I made the ornaments — it’s still early, but I’m looking forward to the holidays this year!
The book is a collection of six ornaments to make in all different crafty mediums from some of my favorite designers. The book includes:
* Crocheted Flower Ornament, by Linda Permann
* Felted Gingerbread House Ornament, by Betz White
* Bead and Button Sparkle Ornament, by me
* Vintage Treasure Ornament, by Kayte Terry
* Gossamer Thread Three Ornament, by Diane Gilleland
* Paper Globe Ornament, by Patricia Zapata, who is also the book’s designer
The cover spotlights all the ornaments so nicely, and each how-to has a clearly photographed set of photos and any full-sized templates you need, right in the book’s pages.
Fifteen percent of the book’s sales go directly to Project Linus, an organization we were all eager to support. Here’s a bit more about them:
It is our mission to provide love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need through the gifts of new, handmade blankets and afghans, lovingly created by volunteer “blanketeers.”
And Diane and Patricia structured their book in a very innovative way: each contributor receives a portion of the sales as well, so we are shareholders in a sense as well as creative contributors — very cool!
You can find the book here and check out a flickr pool of ornament photos here. I would love to see what you make from the collection!
green day
March 17, 2009 at 2:21 pm | Posted in button it up, chatty, I love to make things..., new writing!, projects to do, recycled crafty | 2 CommentsI’ve been making lots of button hairclips as samples to show at my Powell’s event Friday night, and thought I’d wear these green ones out and about today in honor of St Patrick’s Day…
In other colorful news, a mini-tutorial I wrote for CRAFT’s Mending Month is up! It shows a very simple way to mend a torn [green, what a coincidence] sheet — actually a pillow cover, but this hand-sewing technique will work for any woven fabric piece. Diane did a fantastic (as always) tutorial for mending ripped upholstery that I thought I’d spotlight too. I love the Mending Month posts — so practical and simple. It is very refreshing to me to fix what I have instead of constantly buying new.
And Jenny Ryan has a lovely how-to up today: make a terrarium in a mason jar! I love this one. I adore terrariums — my grandparents had a huge one that I loved when I was a kid — and hers is awesome.
Speaking of Jenny, the review I wrote of her wonderful new book, Sew Darn Cute, is up at CraftStylish. You can win a copy this week — just comment on this post by next Tuesday and you’re in the mix!
bracelets and podcasts
March 16, 2009 at 1:55 pm | Posted in chatty, new writing!, projects to do | 5 CommentsI wanted to share this covered button project I did for this week’s CraftStylish post — I used a favorite Denyse Schmidt print from the Katie Jump Rope collection, which always reminds me of making my quilt. Anyway, it was a fun one to do and I hope you like it!
Speaking of CraftStylish, I am happy to announce that my lovely friend Michaela Murphy has a new story, “Eye Spy,” posted on The Moth — it’s available as a free download here. Michaela is such a gifted storyteller and I am saving it for first thing tomorrow morning to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day!
a weekend of buttons and necklaces
March 9, 2009 at 10:23 am | Posted in button it up, chatty, I love to make things..., oregon, projects to do | 3 CommentsI absolutely love wearing necklaces, though they’ve been forced off my heavy rotation lately (since Pearl loves it when I wear necklaces, too, but for a totally different and very predatory reason). But I got to wear one on Friday when Michaela took me, Diane, Jennifer and Lee out to dinner to celebrate Button It Up… and it was so nice to feel like an accessorized grown-up for a couple of hours! Of course when we got home, Pearl’s eyes lit right up and the octopus had to have an early bedtime, but it was a good run.
Then the five of us had a little craft night — well, they all knitted and crocheted pretty things, and I just sorted buttons, which is something I love to do. Two book events coming up that I can only use sew-through buttons for gave me the chance to empty a couple of gallon bags of stash, Etsy and eBay buttons onto trays and endlessly sort the shank style bits and pieces out to a different tray while we talked and listened to music. So relaxing.
The rest of the weekend was nice too. Aside from taxes, losing an hour, and getting a brisk shower of hail on Sunday, that is!
On the plus side: seeing friends, sorting buttons, a lovely dinner, a waffle the next morning, a trip to Knittn Kitten, two basketball games to watch, an ACC championship to celebrate, lots of time to play with Pearl, a quick visit to Crafty Wonderland, homemade soup and cornbread, and a long walk (on the non-hailing day, thankfully).
And I got to do one of my favorite tutorials for CraftStylish so far: button link necklaces three ways. I love craft projects you can truly make your own with your favorite colors or materials or whatever you like, and this is one of those. It’s ultra-simple to make and the real pop is in what buttons you mix in… I did three versions, including one using my black-and-white shrink art buttons from last week, just to show how easy it is to switch it up. My favorite at the moment is the reds, I just love those pretty little ones in a row.
Anyway, it’s up over here if you want to check it out, and I would love to see yours if you make one! Or three.
p.s. CraftStylish has just put together an ongoing archive of all the March button projects, and there are some really awesome tutorials up so far… I especially love this one, this one, this one, this one, this one, and this one. And it’s only the 9th!
Blog at WordPress.com. | Theme: Pool by Borja Fernandez.
Entries and comments feeds.
