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Various: The Crafter's Companion: Tips, tales, and patterns from a community of creative minds
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This is one of my favorite old ornaments that I've had since I was little. I hope everyone has a wonderful day with your loved ones and I wish you peace and joy for the new year! I'll be taking a bit of a blogging break and will be back in about a week :)
Inspired by Stephanie's brilliant idea, I made some stuffed trees of my own and added some beans in the bottom for extra weight. I usually can't put anything on this high shelf because the cats like to hang out there so these trees are the perfect unbreakable decoration.
I saw this in one of my new Japanese craft books and thought it was a great idea, especially for a last minute gift. It's one of those travel tea/coffee mugs where you can customize the insert - like putting a picture in a frame. I've seen them at Starbucks but I'm sure they are available other places too. I love the idea of putting a stitched piece inside but any vintage textile would look really great. Click on the pictures for a larger view.
This is the book where I saw the idea. (ISBN#4-529-04180-8) I got several new books that I'll post after Christmas but this is one of my favorites - lots of good stuff :)
Just so no one's confused, this is a winter holiday decoration not a pincushion ;) The little snowman is made from some felted beads that I made awhile ago. I've stocked up on roving but haven't gotten to do any more felting yet, maybe in January... I have to admit I'm panicking a little bit - one weekend left before Christmas and I still have a lot I have to do and even more that I was hoping to do but realizing I probably won't get to it, again.
I have always been so envious of people who could draw. It's frustrating to have images in your head that you want to put down on paper but when you try they never match your vision. I've been embroidering these tree roots and the design seems to come so easily so I thought maybe I would try doing a drawing like I was embroidering - one little stitch (line) at a time. This picture is the result and I am pretty happy with it. I didn't spend a lot of time on it so I want to go back and touch up a few areas but in general I'm thinking it might be a technique that I could use as a stepping stone to improve my drawing. If you'd like to share, I would be really interested to know what are some of your crafty/artistic challenges?
illustration from The Gift of Nothing by Patrick McDonnell
Gee, last week just flew by and before I knew it I realized I hadn't posted all week! I've been busy sewing and shipping boxes, shoveling a little snow, Christmas shopping etc. I also got a new-to-me car that I am so happy with :) It has been really cold here too - single digits and low teens and dipping to well below zero at night and early morning.
I'm finally putting up our Christmas picturebook advent list too (column on the left). We read one story a night and save The Night Before Christmas for last. I keep these books packed away with our Christmas stuff so it's like seeing old friends when we pull them out for the holidays. I've added a few new ones this year: The Gift of Nothing and Robert Sabuda's Winter's Tales. I can't resist Sabuda's pop-ups - really amazing! The Gift of Nothing is a sweet story by Patrick McDonnell that I highly recommend. It has a Buddhist, live-in-the-moment theme; a good reminder that just being together with the ones you love is the greatest gift of all.
I've updated the shop with some new pincushions; there are several new designs, including the one above called Folkloric, and several old designs too so be sure to check it out.
This design is called Magnolia...
and this one is called Bubbles.
See them all at Bella Dia Designs!
