52 weeks of making - week two - felt cat toy

looking to entertain your cat for about five minutes? give her some catnip! or better yet, sew her a toy stuffed with catnip! it doesn't have to be cute. your cat won't care. just don't forget the catnip!:)

xoxoxo  

52 weeks of making - week one - winter wreath

inspired by the talented dani ives from be good natured blog, i've taken on a personal challenge to make something every week this year and share it with you here. i was going to call this "52 weeks of crafting" but i wanted to leave room for food and other things, you know, for those weeks i'm not feeling so crafty. 

our winter wreath was made with an old branch hoop that i had been temporarily decorating for years. one year it had little fabric ties... another time it was covered in fake gold poinsettias. this time i wanted something permanent and real on there, so i used the goldenrod flowers that were dried from the garden last summer and hot-glued on some tiny pine cones i had collected from outside. john recommended the fake berries (he remembered those from a previous wreath) and though i didn't want to add them at first, i like the way it all looks together now. what do you guys think?

xoxoxo 

 

kelli likes : diys

textured planter project : just cover a pot with clay, stamp in shapes with the bottom of a marker, and paint! i was just looking at my old terracotta pots, wondering how i could make them prettier...

pom-pom pumpkins : with a name like that, how could they not be cute?

rainbow cake slice : who wouldn't want a crocheted piece of cake for their bday?

cat toy jar : we are in need of a toy storage solution and this is perfect! methinks i'll try this in gold.

can you tell i miss pinterest? i had to close my account. boring story. thank you for letting me use this space for a pinboard. i'm challenging myself to make three out of four of these. we shall see.=)

homemade valentine idea

this is 'knot' my idea, but i just had to share this cute homemade valentine project.

the tag is available for download at dandee designs and could also be handmade to say 'my world would knot be the same without you'. the bracelets are from the purl bee, where there are very nice tutorials to show you how to make your own. (of course there are simpler ways to make a friendship bracelet, but who could resist those hearts?=)

ps. picmonkey is what i use to make collages. it's very user-friendly and free! 

pps. this is my 500th post! that is just crazy!

handmade journals and 2013 goals

with various sorts of paper and string, i've been crafting myself little journal planners.

inspired by the blogosphere, i've written a list of goals for myself at the start of winter journal 2013. here it goes:

year-round gardening :: indoor seed-starting and a hoophouse to grow greens next winter
more preserving :: especially bell pepper and eggplant
keep flower-pressing :: and come up with a better system to share
better blogging :: name change and new design - in utero
prettier pictures :: put a little more effort into it
make more cards/send more snail mail
daily stretching/meditation :: the first always seems to lead to the next. keep doing it.
raw fruits and vegetables at every meal
daily walks
crochet class :: find someone to help me decipher the 1970's cover-up pattern (es muy dificil)
trust in love/the divine/the source/the creator/the supreme soul/god/the universe/allah or whatever you like to call the mysterious energy behind all that is to keep us in its light.

there are also smaller goals written this week :: jan 1 - jan 6 garden plan/make sprouted grain bread/learn sunburst granny square. did i accomplish any? nope, but there's still tomorrow!=)

what are you working on, in the new year and beyond?

live each season as it passes

that's a quote from thoreau that i first came across last winter. as a reminder to embrace this time and to stop my incessant wishing for spring, i put the quote in my journal last year. i cannot help but to dream about the 2013 growing season. with my garden, i come alive in the spring.

but for now i will be grateful for the rest i am getting away from garden work. i will sip my hot tea and soak in the coziness of crocheting on a cold day. last week i finally started joining my granny squares to make a big ol' blanket. almost a year in the making, but i'm starting to see the light.

the blanket is uneven and i'm not crazy about all the colors together, but i still love it. it's my 2012 blanket. some of the squares were made while i was sitting with my grandmom. others were made with the kids i watch - they would dictate the colors and play with the finished squares. they'd even pretend to crochet with me. one day alaina and john laid all the squares out and chose their favorites. when kati first moved in, she loved to knead and sleep on the softness.

the yarn that started me off was donated by my aunt patti and john's mom. some skeins my mom bought me. it's a warm blanket in so many ways.=)

 (why does this picture remind me of the shining?)

homemade holiday recap:

i'm happy to report my homemade holiday crusade kept me from being cranky this christmas. in 2008, i stopped celebrating holidays after learning some things. i've decided to still participate in family gatherings and gift-giving, but a battle ensues inside me. a moral dilemma. i feel better making the gifts (though every year i do buy some stuff, though each year less and less).

so a month of crafting my ass off and some cute dolls/purses/potpourri jars got me through. whatever works, right? my homemade holiday inspired my blog-friend aimee to get crafty, too. (and my brother l-o-v-e-d his crochet beard!=)

pop-pop don and grandmom also got crafty and made alaina the art desk she's been asking for. isn't it amazing? they really poured their hearts into it. remember the sandboat?

john's dad made his granddaughter mia a desk/shelving unit/window bench. it's awesome, just like other things he's made.

my dad has made us things too, like a beautiful bassinet and a porch swing. my grandpop made a living creating pretty iron railings. my mom, mom-mom, aunts, sister and friend missy were always making cute stuff. all these creative people around me - no wonder i'm this way!

after the blanket, i'm going to start working on baby things - john's sister jena is expecting her fourth this summer! i'm looking forward to crocheting something small and sweet - maybe a little granny square blanket or these delicious sandals.

wishing you lots of love and creativity in the new year! xoxoxo

homemade holiday progress

it seems i've gotten in over my head with this year's homemade gifts, as usual. it was fun to start, but now it's getting a bit tedious. my least favorite part of crafting is adding the finishing touches.

making to-do types of lists is fun, and so is blogging, so i thought i'd take a little coffee break and share my progress with you. this is one of my ways of finding joy in the labor.=)

crochet dolls: sew sonic together, figure out what to do with lambie's frills, add arms and face to hello kitty.

granny square purses: hand-sew liners into the bags. (the sewing machine doesn't work. boohoo.)

bearded hat: beard and 'stache are done. need to get a hat - no way am i crocheting one now.

potpourri jars: need to buy and dehydrate oranges. maybe add tags.

coupon gifts: good for free babysitting and housework. just need to write them out.

finished: notebooks for the purses

pending: raw chocolates, car caddy (wishful thinking), crochet headbands

i don't have anything to show you of my progress, but i do have a shot of a jolly old man behind me in line. he was buying a paper cutter! even santa's getting crafty this year!=)

homemade gift ideas: for the young ladies

crochet headband :: so cute. mine is worn over my ears to keep them toasty.

mason jar sewing kit :: a little sewing kit always comes in handy.

dangly earring display :: there are many different ways to make these with materials on hand.

when i sat and thought about what i would have wanted when i was a teen, i realized i'd pretty much like the same thing now! so the post was changed from 'for teens' to 'young ladies'. here are a few more ideas. please leave any other ideas you may have in the comments!

handmade journal :: every lady needs a space to journal or doodle. 

craft-making kit :: introduce her to a new hobby, or replenish the stock of her existing one.

embellished picture frame :: a girl could always use another picture frame.

homemade candle :: use her favorite scent, or lavender oil for calming aromatic therapy. 

homemade gift ideas: for the little ones

with the way things are today, conscious consumers like myself are a) buying local or handmade b) making their own gifts or c) opting out altogether.

john and i have been blessed with many little sweetie pies in our lives who are too young to understand why we'd rather not buy them plastic junk made with slave labor overseas. so we'll purchase them books, buy them handmade, or try to make them something we think they'll love. here are some cute gifts that are inspiring me this homemade holiday season.

(click the image for a tutorial or etsy listing.)

also, some felt ideas from homemade holiday 2010:

i'm working on gift ideas for the big kids, which is a little more challenging for me. i'd love to know what you're making this homemade holiday!

homemade holiday preview

now that it's time to really get to work on the christmas gifts, i'm feeling overwhelmed. while my original plan to make 10 granny square purses with personalized journals was exciting, it's now daunting. i need to learn how to use a sewing machine to make liners for the bags, i'm not sure what to do for the straps, and embroidering the journals is taking much longer than i anticipated.

john keeps reminding me to enjoy it. i'm really trying. i also need to stop being so critical and so afraid that my projects won't turn out as cute as they can. why am i my own worst enemy?! you may notice the lavender blooms are incomplete in the first photo. i nearly cried and gave up on it all when the paper started to tear. but now i'll stop my whining and see if i can finish what i started.

homemade holiday tip #1: if a project gets too frustrating, take a break! go back with a refreshed attitude, and chalk your mistakes up to learning experiences.

homemade holiday tip #2: try not to wait until the last minute. if you can, find a crafting area where you can leave your work or easily push it aside, and get started! doing a little each day lessens the workload, and creating at a leisurely pace can be a great way to relieve stress during the holidays.

stay tuned for the finished purses and journals, unless of course i decide to throw them out the window, and in that case, expect a very nice rant post on this whole holiday in the first place!=)

pressed flower framed heart

i made this flower heart frame for a wedding in early september. attached was a card - "this gift was made with flowers that bloomed the summer of your wedding." i wanted to say something more poetical but that's all i could come up with. my intention was to give the couple a handmade floral keepsake to commemorate the months leading up to their big day.

yours truly attended the wedding as the nanny!=) there were five children ages 2 through 6 in the wedding and along with another girl, i helped care for the kids. it was a challenge, but i had a good time. it took place at the beautiful smithville inn, and we got to ride the carousel in our dresses!=)

most of the flowers in the frame were pressed in july/early august. at first i was pressing them inside books between sheets of tissue paper, but this left creases. so now i use sheets of computer paper or nothing at all. the books are stacked high, and the freshest flowers are on the bottom. the photos i took to show you this process were accidentally deleted. it's pretty simple. just make sure the flowers are really dry in the center before you press!

pressed flower jar labels

for the june food swap, i wanted to make nice labels to go on my jars. i love the organic feel of pressed flowers, so i glued them to some old recycled stock paper that was first cut into circles.
 

the flower above was from a weed in my garden. they seem to only bloom at night! i think they're really pretty pressed. some of the other flowers were weeds (like clover), pansies and cilantro.

oh, i must mention the lavender sugar! it tastes so nice in mint tea! to make lavender sugar i followed an easy recipe online - 2 cups cane sugar blended with 2 tablespoons dried lavender.

lavender has calming effects, as does chamomile tea. next time i'm feeling stressed or anxious, methinks i'll throw a little lavender sugar in my chamomile tea!=)

pressed lavender

pressed flower bookmark

since reading kaylah's post last month, i've been pressing every flower i can get my hands on. it's so much easier than i imagined it would be. there are fancy flower presses out there, but i'm finding books work just fine. to keep the flowers from scattering all over, i fold them in tissue paper first. after about two weeks my flowers were dried.

for the bookmark i followed forever flowers, a nice book on flower pressing that i found at the library. i just glued the flowers on and when they were dry, i covered the whole surface with mod-podge. i'm going to give this bookmark to my grandmom. she loved to read and always bought me books. i'd buy her cute bookmarks at school book fairs as tokens of my appreciation. i can't wait to do more with pressed flowers!

kati and her perch

for months i asked john to put up a shelf above my desk. when i mentioned kati would like to use it as a perch, it went up the next day. perhaps i should tell him she'd also like to see a new raised bed in the garden.=)

the pennant banner was inspired by all those i've seen online in the past few years. they're so cute and inexpensive to make! just cut out letters, squares and triangles, glue them altogether, then string them with yarn or twine.

at the craft store, i always check to see if their scrapbook paper is on sale - sometimes they're only 25 cents! scrapbook paper can be used in all types of crafts and also makes nice backgrounds for blog pictures. the floral designs are always my favorite.

kati-cakems has been cracking us up. it's amazing the amount of energy she has! last night she jumped into the hamper to relax after a long feather stake-out session.

she also likes to rest in plastic bags and of course the cat cave. she's adorable and exhausting. do they make these things in human sizes?=)