:: a happy nest ::

handmade father's day.

For father's day, Thea and I wanted to make something really special for her dad. After she spent a couple of afternoons creating pictures of things she likes to do with her dad, I had the idea to make a little book out of her drawings. The mister sure loves books, and he loves things made by his little miss, so we figured it would be the perfect gift.

I cut sheets of watercolor paper into rectangles and then folded them in half. Thea went crazy drawing her pictures: fishing with daddy, roasting marshmallows with daddy, making music with daddy, and on and on. Then, I helped her spell out the words she wanted to accompany each drawing. 

For the cover, we used a heavier gauge watercolor paper. We started out "painting" the cover with bleeding tissue paper and a spray bottle. Once the paper was dry, I cut out a rectangle slightly larger than the book's inside pages. 

To bind the book, I poked holes in each page and the cover (one at a time, since they are kind of thick). To make sure all the holes lined up, I started with one page and then used that as a guide to punch the other pages and the cover. I used a large backstitch to sew the book together.

Easy peasy! And I just love the way it turned out.

What are your favorite handmade gifts for the guys in your life?

 

teacher love.

Over the past month, I've twice put together gifts for Thea's teachers. Pictured above are our holiday gifts. I made ornaments from polymer clay, stamping words onto each one and adding texture with fabric and notions.

I'm still not sure how I feel about polymer clay, as I'm not convinced of it's safety, but I do love the result.

(Silly me, in my rush of holiday crafting, I didn't thoroughly research this product and any potential risks or side effects before hand. That's the last time I'll just assume that a craft supply that is "safe for kids" is non-toxic without doing my own research first!)

In the photo above, I stamped the clay with ink and used a corner of one of my mother's vintage doileys to create texture. I first saw this idea on pinterest, and I just love it so much!

For several of the ornaments, I used a vintage button to imprint a pretty design into the clay.

I also created texture with fabric (burlap looks fantastic!). On the ornament above, I pressed a scrap of lace fabric into the clay.

The ornaments hung outside to embellish the bags, which we filled with homemade vanilla cookies. I love that with the recipe we used, the dough did not need to be refrigerated before rolling.

For her two regular teachers, I also made a grouping of paper stars.

I used this tutorial, which I originally saw on Maya's blog.

In November, I made the teachers appreciation gifts for all of the hard work they do taking care of and teaching all of the littles. I made rolled felt flower pins, which hung on the outside of a bag filled with local chocolates.

The flowers are so easy and fun to make! To create the pins, I grouped three different sized flowers together.

What are your favorite teacher gifts?

starburst shirt.

A sweet, dear friend recently had a birthday, and I wanted to make something extra special to let her know how much she is loved. Lately, I've been experimenting with the reverse applique technique. When I put together this stencil and these knit fabrics, they reminded me so much of her, and I knew what my gift would be.

I used a store-bought shirt and another thrifted knit material for the contrast. The stencil is from a template in Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts.

I'm really in love with this technique. I'm using it for another very special project that I will be sharing with you soon. The hand stitching is so calming - it's good medicine for the soul.

I hope your week is off to a good start!

handmade holidays: hand-cut silhouettes.

A while back, my friend Beth created and posted a tutorial on how to make a frosted silhouette mirror. (if you're not familiar with her blog, you should be. she is a wonderfuly talented sewist, super-crafty, and so, so sweet. what could be better than that?)

I wanted to do something similar, though a little more traditional for my family. (I apologize for the so-so photos - I was trying to do this quickly before I had to wrap them up, and I didn't have much time).

I used parts of Beth's instructions and just kind of winged the rest. I did search a bit for tutorials, but most of them dealt with how to create a silhouette in photoshop. Since this wasn't what I was looking to do, I just followed Beth's tutorial and improvised the rest.

Since I was making silhouettes of three kids, I wanted to include each child's initials, as well as the year. I tried a bunch of different methods - and was becoming very frustrated with the results - (stamping, stenciling, transfers, stickers, etc.) before finally giving embossing a try. It was so easy - and I really love the look of embossing.

Once I figured out my method, this was actually quite a simple project.

If there's any interest in a tutorial, let me know - I'll be happy to put one together. After all, I still have to create one of these for our home.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the result. And hopefully, we'll have a few very happy grandmothers.

wrapped.

Before we move too far away from this Christmas season, I wanted to make a few notes about how I packaged and wrapped our gifts - mostly so that I remember for next year.

For most of our gifts, I used recycled paper bags that my mother and step-father saved for me. One of our local grocery stores had festive holiday bags covered with bright red ornaments. I used packing tape (I learned last year that regular tape doesn't stick very well.) For some of the gifts, I used plain brown paper bags and brown craft paper that I also use to wrap up books I sell online.

I wrapped each package several times with red and white baker's twine (pictured above). I purchased a large spool of it a couple years ago, and I use it for all kinds of projects. For tags, I punched circles of holiday cardstock left over from another project.

I made quite a bit of vegan caramel corn, and packaged it up in mason jars with festive ribbons and tags.

I also made a big batch of peppermint bark, and wrapped it up in handmade paper boxes.

The boxes were so easy to make! I used this tutorial.

I enjoy the simplicity of using this type of wrapping, and I'll probably stick with it. Though I am considering doing something like this next year.

I'd love to know - what are your favorite ways to festively and creatively wrap gifts?

traveling art pack.

Baker's traveling art pack

On Valentine's Day, my nephew Baker turned two. It has been such a joy for Thea and our nephew to be so close in age. I only wish we lived closer so that they could spend more time doing the everyday parts of growing up together.

From our visits, I know that Baker has a nice little art set-up at home. So I thought he might enjoy being able to take a few art supplies with him when he ventures out into the big world. And I hope it will help keep him occupied when my brother and sister-in-law go out for a family dinner.

I really just made this up as I went along. I knew what I wanted to include, so I figured out the size pockets I would need and got to sewing.

There is a large pocket that holds a chalkboard. I also included a cute little set of colored pencils and some flannel squares to use as an eraser for the chalkboard.

 

The middle pocket is a bit smaller. I sized it for a writing pad and stickers.

On the right, I created a pocket for crayons and a pouch to hold chalk.

I went back and forth with how to close it. I was torn between ties and velcro or a button, which I thought would be easier for small hands to manage. In the end, I decided that I wanted it to be adjustable, so I went with the ties.

Happy belated birthday, sweet boy. And a happy weekend to all!

stitch by stitch.

For Christmas last year, my mother gifted me with a new sewing machine. I've wanted to learn to sew for ages and I decided that this year was the year.

I admit, the machine sat untouched for many months. Then an amazing crafty mama friend told me that the owner of a local indie fabric shop (which sadly has now closed) offered private sewing lessons. So, I signed up.

Even after my first two lessons, my machine sat gathering dust. I'm not quite sure what I was so afraid of. Then, this summer, I decided to make Thea her own little market bag that she could carry during our weekly visit to the farmer's market. In late summer, I got the crazy idea that I would sew a simple quilt for my brother and sister-in-law, who were expecting their second child (a girl!) in mid-November. Then, I started on Thea's Halloween costume. Pretty soon, I couldn't stop sewing.

This fall, I made belated birthday gifts for my dear friend Joriel and her sweet boy, Sagan.

 

a pieced flannel and corduroy scarf for Joriel

(the scarf is my own design)

a soft corduroy elephant to celebrate Sagan's first birthday

(the elephant pattern is from the sweet little book One Yard Wonders)

So, for the holidays, I decided that I wanted to make as many of our gifts as I possibly could. Addmitedly, I am still stitching away, trying to finish them up (hooray for patient friends and family!). This year, I'll start sewing holiday gifts in the summer months.

Here's a little peek at the gifts given to friends and family:

quilted scarves from Denyse Schmidt's fantastic book

cedar and clove sachets made from vintage fabrics (and handmade ribbon)

(the sachet pattern is from the same Denyse Schmidt book)

I'll have more to share as I continue to finish my holiday projects. 

Have a gorgeous Tuesday!