:: a happy nest ::

this is how it happens.

I finished this wreath last night, and now it's happily hanging on our front door. Whenever I post pictures of a craft project, I'm often asked how I do it all. Every time I'm asked this, I have to laugh, because it often takes a monumental effort to finish anything around here {just ask my mister}.  In the spirit of this post, I thought I'd share a little of how this wreath came to be.

There were:

• 5 days of working on this 15 minutes at a time - between snacks and coloring and playdates and cleaning up + 2 nights of work between her bedtime and when I collapsed into bed
• 1 very messy table scattered with felt scraps and drips from the glue gun {remember, for 5 days}
• 1 irritated husband {see above}
• 1 sink of dirty dishes {repeat, several times} 
• 26 curse words
• 2 times throwing the whole thing into the trash can
• 52 tears {mine}
• 3 pinterest searches
• 1 {very minor} burn from the glue gun 
• 489 tears {hers} resulting from said burn
• 1 princess bandaid
• 16 encouraging words {hers}

{this is the first version of the wreath, before I gave the lace a haircut}

. . . . . . . . .

In truth, the wreath isn't my favorite. I do love the way the flowers came out, but that's about it. And you know what, I'm going with it, imperfections and all. Because it's good enough. And we made it together. And that's the most important thing of all.

. . . . . . . . .

{and on a more serious note, I've been asked for a tutorial for these flowers. I have a few more flowers to make, and I'll post my process as soon as I can}

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?

 

stitching together.

One of my favorite things to do - especially at the end of the day - is to busy my hands with an embroidery project. There is something magical about the slow(er) pace of hand sewing: feeling the fabric and thread in my hands, the work of the needle, and seeing the project slowly come to life. 

Since I'm often with a project in hand - Thea has been asking me to teach her to sew. We have fiddled a bit with stitching before, but she seemed to become frustrated that her projects didn't look very much like mine. With mixed results, we tried free stitching, as well as me tracing a shape for her to work on. 

Yet she was determined that she wanted to sew something for her grandmothers' mothers' day presents. The projects turned out beautifully (our gift for her Omie is pictured above) - so I thought I'd share a bit about how we did it.

To start, you'll need some basic materials: fabric; a marker, pencil, or something to create your pattern; and a template to trace (if, like me, freehand drawing is not a strength).

You'll also need an embroidery hoop (I find plastic ones to be sturdier & easier for little hands to work with) and large child-safe needles (the ones pictured are plastic). And of course, thread (not pictured). We usually use regular cotton embroidery thread, all six strands. I find that using a length no more than 18 inches is easiest: it helps prevent thread tangling and wear - and is easier for small hands to pull stitches tight.

Burlap is one of my favorite fabrics for stitching with my wee girl - it's thick weave nicely accomodates the large needles we use, and I do like the look of it. I was lucky to score a huge amount of burlap at the thrift store for just a few dollars - and it has lasted me for several years.

Use your marker to create your pattern using dotted lines. The dots serve as stitch guides. Using dotted lines finally allowed my sweet girl (4 years) to create the pattern she wanted. 

I used a thick mark-b-gone pen, which made for large, visible dots that also bled through to the back of the fabric. 

This was helpful so that my girl could turn the hoop over and see where to make her next stitch.

The ink from this marker fades away when sprayed with water, leaving only your pretty stitches. I do love these pens, but I have had mixed results with burlap.

I have found that on burlap, the ink does not disappear, but instead migrates to the edges of the fabric. With that said, I will still use it for projects with my girl, but I will be sure to factor that into my cutting of the fabric

Be sure to start with a large enough piece of fabric, stitch, and then spray. Once the fabric has dried and the ink migration is complete, you can cut out any additional pattern (I traced a circle using a regular pencil).

To create the template for the word "love" in the middle of the heart, I printed out the words in a size and font that I like. I then positioned it where I wanted it on the back of the fabric, using tape to secure. Then I taped the fabric to a window and traced the letters.

The photo above is the finished gift for her Mema. Thea helped picked the fabric, thread colors, and buttons, and, after she had stitched the hearts (all by herself!) I stitched the remaining elements together.

She is so proud of her work! And I am so proud of her.

felt & tulle princess hat tutorial.

This weekend, we attended a little friend's birthday party. It was a "sprinkles & sparkles" party - a very pink, very girly, very sparkly affair! Thea and I decided that a pricess hat would make a fun gift. The hat you see above is what I came up with.

{on a side note, I am the mother of a {suprisingly} very girly-girl, and I have very reluctantly entered the sparkly, pink, flowery world of princesses and twirly skirts and all other such fancy things. since this seems to be all that my wee girl thinks about these days, I'm just going with it, trying to also emphasize the importance of independence, smarts, strength, and  a good old-fashioned mess. while it's far from my everyday, fancy is quite fun! so I'm letting my sweet one guide me on this sparkly adventure.}

Here's how to make it:

 

materials

large piece of paper to make pattern

pencil

piece of string at least 18 inches long

1/3 yard wool-blend felt

medium or heavy-weight fusible interfacing

1/4 yard of tulle or other material (for the top of the hat)

sewing machine (or you could also hand-stitch)

handsewing needle & coordinating thread

felt scraps, buttons, trim, etc. for embellishment

{And just a note, I often buy my wool-blend felt locally at Quilting Adventures, but I also frequently buy online from Erica's, especially when I need yardage of felt. They have a wonderful selection of colors at different price points and very reasonable shipping.}

 

the process

First, make your pattern.

Use your pencil and string to make a quarter-circle. I was going for a hat to fit the 20-inch head of a three-year-old, and my radius for the quarter-circle was 14 inches. You may need to make your radius larger or smaller, depending on the size hat you need.

To do this, I tied the string to the pencil, then measured 14 inches and held the string at this spot while I traced the arc of the circle. I then used a ruler to make the lines for the straight edges.

Cut out your pattern.

Place your interfacing on top of your felt.

(I only had light to medium weight interfacing on hand, but a heavier weight interfacing is really better for this project, as it will give you a much sturdier hat).

Pin the pattern to the felt and interfacing & cut around your pattern.

Following the directions on the packaging of the interfacing, iron the interfacing to the felt.

Trim any uneven edges.

If you have any trim to sew on, do it now, so that the ends of the trim will be sewn inside seam of the hat.

Cut your strips of tulle. I cut the following widths: 1 1/2 inches, 2 inches, and 3 inches. Then I cut the three long strips into shorter pieces of various lengths.

Layer your tulle into a stack.

Put your felt interfacing side down and then lay your tulle on top of the felt, with the ends of the tulle close to the top of the hat.

With right sides together, pin together the straigt edges of the hat.

Make sure you catch the tulle as you pin.

Sew the straight edges together. You can trim off any extra tulle if you like.

Turn your hat right side out. You may need to use something to poke out the tip of your hat (I used a large knitting needle).

Now for the really fun part - embellishing your hat! I'll show you how I made the flowers you see on this hat, but of course, there are endless options.

To make the flowers you see above, I used this template from the craftside blog. You could of course freehand your flowers or google images for "felt flower pattern".

Use a chalk pencil to trace your pattern onto your felt. For each of my flowers, I used one small and one large(r) flower in different color felts.

Use a running stitch to sew a circle around the center of your flower.

Pull on the long end of your thread, which will cause your flower to bunch up a bit.

Tie a knot to secure.

Once your knot is tied and the gathering is secured, you can spread out the flower petals if you like.

Do this for as many flowers as you would like to embellish your hat.

Now you're ready to sew them on! I layered a large flower, a small flower, and a flower button. I didn't take photos of this step, but I did sew the flowers & button together before stitching it to the hat.

And that's that! I hope your little girl loves this as much as mine does.

knotted t-shirt scarf tutorial.

During the cold months, I'm pretty much always seen with a scarf around my neck. Over the past couple months, I've pinned a few of these upcycled tshirt scarves, and this week, I finally decided to make my own.

My vision for this scarf evolved as I began cutting the strips of fabric: two of the colors I wanted to use didn't curl up after cutting like I had hoped they would. I started experimenting with knotting and braiding and ended up with this. I must say, I'm pleased as punch. And my neck is nice and cozy warm.

Here's how I made it:

materials

~ an assortment of t-shirts (I used a variety of sizes, some women's, some men's) - my finished scarf was made with 27 strips of fabric - and, I used about 4 strips for each braided piece (3 to braid, one to make the braid into a loop), and 3 for each knotted piece (2 for knots, one to make the knotted piece into a loop) - the more strips you cut, the fuller your scarf will be {obviously!} ;)

~ scissors

~ a cutting mat, rotary cutter, and ruler (optional, but this is the route I took)

~safety pin

 

the process

lay your shirt out flat

cut off the bottom hem

use your scissors or rotary cutter to cut 1-inch strips of your t-shirt. you should end up with a number of "rings" or large circles of fabric.

I stuck with 1-inch strips for my scarf, but it would be fun to experiment with different width strips.

for the braiding, gather three strips, cut out the t-shirt side seam on ONE side so that you are left with three long strips.

tie a knot in one end of your bunch.

attach the knot to something to give yourself some tension for braiding. here i am using a hook in my studio that normally holds my shears, but I also used a safety pin and pinned the braid to my pants.

tie a knot at the end of the braid to secure it.

for the knotted strips, I just cut the seams out of ONE side of my strip again (see photo above) so that I was left with another long strip. for a couple of the strips, I randomly tied a knot along the length of the strip. for a few more, I tied knots one right after the other. when i got to the end of the length, I just tied another strip on and continued knotting.

after you've finished all of your braiding and knotting, it's time to make those strips into loops.

for the braided strips, I untied the knot at one end and tied the three strands to one a piece of a leftover fabric strip. I then hung that around my neck to determine the length I wanted that strand to be, untied the knot at the other end of the braid, and reknotted it with the single strand. I did this to reduce the bulk of the knots on those braided strips.

I followed the same process with the knotted strips.

My goal here was to have the loops of the scarf end up in a bunch of different lengths. This was accomplished through using different sized t-shirts and measuring/adusting the length of the knotted and braided loops.

after you have all of your loops, gather and arrange them. I gathered them so that one of the side seams was in my hand (the other hanging down). I fiddled with them some so that the braided strands, knotted strands, and straight strands were all mingled together, and so that the varying lengths seemed to hang together nicely.

take another length of fabric (with the side seam cut out, leaving one long length) and wrap it around the group of loops. center this piece so that you have two equal lenghts on each side of the grouping. tie a knot here to secure the loops.

once that is secure, wrap that length around the grouping until you're just left with a little - enough to make a knot. make sure to wrap the two strands in different directions so that they meet to make your end knot.

once you have wrapped the lengths, tie a knot to secure.

and you're finished! you can wear your lovely scarf long or looped around close to your neck. the stretch of the jersey knit makes it easy to loop it around.

enjoy your cozy warm neck!

her favorite pillow.

I made this pillow as a sitting cushion for Thea's play tent, but it's turned into a "carry everywhere I go pillow." Either way, I love that she loves it so much.

(our sweet girl recovering from her latest winter illness)

I used this tutorial from cluck cluck sew, only making one modification: instead of sewing a button in the middle of the pillow, at the last minute, I decided to just sew on a felt circle instead. I thought that would be more comfortable for sitting, and I'm glad that I ended up going this route. The pattern was super-easy, and overall, it was a pretty quick project.

I wanted to make this pillow playful and full of color, so I used a variety of polka-dot prints from my stash. Of course, I included plenty of orange.

This came together so nicely that I'm sure a few more will be in my future. Can you have too many pillows?

thea's play tent.

For Christmas, I made Thea her very own play tent. The tent was inspired by this one over at cakies, though I really ended up following Drea's take on this for my own making: two additional dowels and a back beam for extra support and hand-sewn ties instead of elastic. And, while Rubyellen's plans called for 48-inch dowels, I opted for 36-inch ones instead, keeping the frame a bit more compact for our small home.

With the spade drill bit, I drilled holes at the bottom of each of the main tent boards, as well as a hole at each end of the back support beam. On each side, the extra dowels go through the bottom hole of the front beam, then through the bottom support beam and the back beam of the tent frame.

I drilled the holes about 4" down from the tops of the beams for the main tent frame, and about 2" from the edge at the bottom (for the extra dowels). The holes on each end of the bottom support beam are around 2" from the edge.

I used a sweet vintage sheet for the tent cover (it took about half of the twin sheet's width), and added some additional length to cover the bottom dowels by sewing on a bit of a favorite stripey sheet. I used a happy blue vintage polka-dot fabric for the ties. If anyone is interested in how I made the ties, let me know, and I will take some additional photos. I really just made this up as I went along!

Here's an instagram shot of it on Christmas eve, just after John and I set it up.

Someone likes it very much.

Over the past week, it's been a nice cozy spot for resting, as we've been fighting off some winter germs. Thea even ate Christmas morning breakfast in the tent with her Papa Price!

I hope your new year is off to a good start!

merry making.

We've been busy little elves preparing our home for the holidays. I always forget how much I love crafting decorations for the season. It really seems to get me in the holiday spirit.

My most favorite creation so far is our winter snowflake wreath, which hangs on the front door. Ours was inspired by Annalea's - once I saw hers, I had to make one of my own.

I love the combination of colorful yarn, vintage lace, happy jingle bells, and my mother's doileys. I didn't have one quite large enough to span the entire center of the wreath, so, to fill the space, I ended up knotting it together with another piece of vintage lace.

I also made one to hang on my studio wall.

Thea and John collected some greenery from the yard to decorate our window boxes. I made these bows from red and white ribbon, and I love the cheer they bring to the front of the house.

And the snowglobes! I've seen these mason jar snow globes lots of places around the web, and, since Thea has been begging for a snowglobe of her own, I knew we had to make a few. They're so simple! And lovely too.

We also made several of these felt snowmen (made from felt beads and felt scraps), and we thought a few would be fun in the snowglobes.

This mama and baby deer is Thea's favorite one.

We have all of the snowglobes clustered on our mantle.

And speaking of the mantle, I strung a colorful garland of felt balls to brighten things up. I'm really loving decorating with lots of bright colors this year.

And tonight, I finished new stockings for me and my mister. Photos of those to come soon!

And now I'm off for a bit of rest so that I can {try to} keep up with my girl tomorrow.

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?

chevron felt wreath tutorial.

We started decorating for the holidays today, and after seeing Rebekah's sweet wreath, I was inspired to make a little something of my own. I've been very into chevron lately, and I thought it would be fun to try this on a wreath.

Here's how I made it:

supplies:

straw or styrofoam wreath (mine is covered in burlap, left over from an unfinished project)

felt (I used wool-blend scraps left over from another project a total of about 78" x 9" for this 12 inch wreath)

scissors

ruler

pencil

cardstock for making template

fabric or ribbon for hanging your wreath

 

First measure around your wreath so you know the width of your felt strips. My wreath measured 8 inches around, so I made my strips 9 inches wide to allow for some overlap.

Next, make your template.

 I cut a piece of cardstock to 9 inches in width.

Use your ruler to make 2 parallel lines. Mine were 3/4 inch apart.

Make marks to create the diagonal lines for the chevron pattern. Mine are 3/4 inch apart from each other (so the dots on each line are 1 1/2 inches apart - does that make sense?)

Use your ruler to connect the dots to make the zig zag/chevron pattern.

Use your template to create your pattern on your felt.

Measure all the way around your wreath to make sure that you have enough strips of felt to cover the whole wreath.

I laid out all of my strips to confirm I had cut enough strips and to make sure that I liked the color pattern. I lined up the points in the diagonal to creat the chevron pattern.

And then I started glueing:

You could also glue down the points in the chevron, though I got lazy and didn't do this all the way around.

Glue all the way around your wreath, making sure the diagonal points in the chevron pattern line up.

My strips were out of alignment on the back side, but I just kept going.

It may look a bit messy and out of alignment when you get back around to the top of the wreath, but don't worry, as this will be covered up by your hanging ribbon.

I took a 3 inch piece of fabric, torn selvedge to selvedge and wrapped it around my wreath to cover the place where I started and stopped gluing the strips, tied a knot and hung it on the wall.

I'm now wishing the strips were a bit closer together, but oh well. I think it just needs a little embellishment - maybe some jingle bells - and then it will be holly jolly.

Happy creating!