Lucky Day Give-Away: Microcrafts

This is a book called Microcrafts, compiled by Margaret McGuire, Alicia Kachmar, Katie Hatz and friends.  The book is a collection of lovely, teeny-weeny crafts of all sorts--nearly every project in here is smaller than a spool of thread, and we all know tiny directly translates to sweet and clever in the crafting lexicon.   The projects are designed by a pell-mell assortment of crafters--one of which includes me (giggling coyly behind my hand, blushing, swelling preposterously with pride, but also wishing you would all stop looking at me now...no, really, do stop now...).

I have two designs in the book, actually--my Bitty Bow Wow (listed generically as Dogs in the table of contents) and all of his itty bitty doggie accoutrement...

...and my Matchbox Monsters (called Monster Babies here) with their little diapers and matchbox bed with a scrap of a blankie to snuggle under.

Oh--but there is more.  Lots more, people.  This book has 25 teeny projects!  The craft mediums range from plushie sewing to book binding to jewlery-making to button crafts to quilling to gardening, for god's sake! Check out a few of my faves...

...the taxidremy-inspired Deer Heads by Katie Hatz...

...the Candy Charms by Mei Pak...

...the Spool Dolls by Hope Watthanaphand...

...the Planets (Pluto included!) mobile by Alicia Kachmar and Melaine Kachmar...

..and what may be the sweetest little fairy-tale-inspired greeting cards ever by Larissa Holland (you know, from Mmmcrafts).  The book includes clear step by step instructions for each project with full-size templates, as well as an appedix with further info on supplies and basic techniques.  And the photography of the projects is really lovely (which may not matter to you, but good photography with nice styling is half of what sells a book to me--it inspires me in a way the project alone would not). I am just uber-pleased to be part of this book.

The book is slated to be released October 4th--you can pre-order a copy right here.  But, if you cannot wait, and are feeling a little lucky, I happen to have a a couple of copies right here that I am giving away.  Yep.  All you have to do is leave a comment here by end of day, Friday, September 30th, telling me why itty-bitty crafts appeal to you, or which project you cannot wait to make, or what was the best teeny craft project you have ever made.  I will announce two winners--maybe on Saturday, but you all probably know me better than to count on that.  Let's just say I will announce the winners some time (in the not so distant future, perhaps).

And by the by, Micrcocrafts is published by Quirk Books--a clever little publisher who puts out some not-so-everyday-sorta-books.  Which I tell you because they also published Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs earlier this year.  I have read it and will be reading it to Beeper real soon because I know he would love it at least as much as I did--and you should read it too.   I believe it is billed as a young adult novel but you should not ever let that scare you away from reading a book because a good book is a good book, no matter which age group it may be aimed at (do you need me to remind you how utterly fantastic The Hunger Games trilogy was and how those were all "YA books").  You can read about the book here, and should, at the very least, check out the intriguing video trailer about the book here.  (and if you are still hungry for more--see the author's fascinating video journal about his exploration of abandoned homes in Europe in order to get video to use in the book trailer--right here...)

Harry Potter Magnetic Play Set

I made Beeper another magnetic playset, at his request--a Harry Potter themed set.  I used my tutorial here to make it.  Making it was easy-peasy--finding all those Harry Potter images via Google image searches was the hard part.  But still--not that hard.  Although he does keep asking me to find other characters and creatures I neglected to include like Lucius Malfoy, the Basilisk, Professor Trelawny, and Buckbeak...oh, and also scenes from each of the Triwizard Tournament challenges...and maybe Honeydukes...and some spell books...and, and.... 

Read This: The Man Who Lost His Head

 This book, The Man Who Lost His Head, is everything I like in a children's book--eye-feasting illustrations, imaginative with a bit of absurdity, a well-written story, and a classic in that it has endured for almost 70 years.  It is written by Claire Hutchet Bishop, and illustrated by Robert McCloskey who you probably know better as the writer and illustrator of Blueberries for Sal and Make Way for Ducklings (which won a Caldecott medal, in case you care).

The story, as one might imagine from the title of the book, revolves around a man who awakes one fine day only to discover he has lost his head (and who has not had a morning like that, I ask you?).  From there, he goes about trying to replace his head with something temporary but suitable so he can feel comfortable in public while he tries to locate his head...

Naturally, he first tries out a pumpkin...

.. and when that does not quite work, overcorrects with a parsnip...

...but then works out that custom carving (a dangerous feat one might imagine with no head to begin with!) a little something may work best.   With that done, he can truly set about trying to find his head...

...which, of course, involves a trip to the county fair where he plays toss the ring games, rides a carousel, and almost gets his replacement head taken off by a tiger--amongst other things (none of which involve actually finding his head).

Ultimately, he meets a bright if cheeky boy who is determined to help him find his head once and for all through whatever means necessary.  I suppose the story is a parable, but I simply find it to be fun--unpredictable, filled with silly yet wonderful writing that never talks down to the reader, and black and white illustrations burbling with clever details.  I am, in fact, so captured by the illustrations every time I read this book--the dotty pajamas the main character wears, the rural 1940's era characters in overalls, the black cat playing in the background, the boy's cowlick and freckles--that I could almost forgo reading the story--except that Beeper really wants to hear the story too because it is too good not to read.  

And if it is interest to you, you may want to know that this is part of the New York Review Children's Collection--which is a collection of varied and lesser-known classic books, all beautifully designed and bound in such a way that it reinforces their status as books deserving to be kept, cherished,  and read again and again, over time. 

Sleepover Pals and Wee Wonderfuls Book

I finally did it--I managed to get something made.  These are the Sleepver Pals from Wee Wonderfuls: 24 Dolls to Sew and Love by Hillary Lang. 

  I made them for Miss Bean's 3rd birthday gift since it seems that putting a trio of little dolls to sleep in their conjoined sleeping bags would be something she might enjoy.  And look:

They roll up all nice andy tidy for easy transport and storage--unlike most kiddie sleepovers I have born witness to.  The second I saw this design in the book, I wanted to make it--it's that slumber party in a package that gets me.  I also have a fondness for simple little dolls like these--especially with their balls of hair and those pouffy little sleeves.  

I did make a couple of changes to Hillary's already awesome design--I replicated the felt hair on front and back so I could give them awake faces on one side and sleeping faces on the other side--just because I figured Miss Bean would like that.  I also did not line my pre-quilted fabric since the quilted fabric I chose already had such a pretty fabric on the flip side it seemed a pity to cover it up.  This did present some subsequent challenges which I managed to deal with by binding the edges of the individual sleeping bags with yellow binding tape.  

And there are still about a dozen other doll designs I want to make from this book, like...

...Koji, some sort of dino creature made from corduroy...

...this little elephant as handbag...

...this doll in a kimono with buns in her hair that look like panda faces...

...and Betsy, a cloth paperdoll on a pillow with a little pocket in the back to store her wardrobe of outfits.

I really, really love this book--one of my favorites, actually.  There really are no bum designs in here--they are all lovingly realized and I would enjoy making any of them.  The book itself is really nice too--hard cover with a lovely yellow binding, good illustrated instructions, full size templates in the back.  I read on Amy's blog a while back that one of her girls is so enamored with the book that she actually sleeps with it--which did not strike me as crazy at all because the book is so good it is the sort of thing that makes you want to curl up next to it and fall asleep with it--so it can be close by to inspire your own dreams of doll and plushie-making. 

Like, that maybe one day you could publish your own book, so beautifully-realized, filled with 2 dozen or so of your own designs....you know what I mean?

Sharing: A Handful of Projects for September

More stuff you can make, if you have the inclination, the time, the wherewithal, and god knows, the supplies.  My wherewithal has not been so abundant lately--remember all those mid-summer projects I posted weeks ago and how I said I wanted to make several?  Well, I have managed to make nary a friendship bracelet, not even a frickin sponge bomb, which is so simple to make I could have given all the supplies to Beeper and he would have turned out a bucketful in between episodes of Wild Crats on PBS .  This blog is teetering precariously on the edge of becoming a blog about what all the other people make, I tell you.  It is a sad state of affairs over here.

But let me just say that I still have crafting dreams--some of which involve some of these very projects you see above.  Like those chemistry crayon labels, which I should be able to manage since they consist of a set of stickers you can order from Que Intersante's Etsy shop and need only slap them on a set of crayons.  But really, my heart aches to make one of the Lowly Worms like those made by Stitch/Craft for her son's Busy Town birthday party, and that sweatshirt refashioned into a little jacket is so like something I would wear that I cannot believe it is not already in my wardrobe--but apparently, I need to knuckle down and actually sew it together.  And those linen stacking pillows from Purl Bee?--I already have a spot next to the fireplace staked to place them once finished--that is, if I actually, well you know where this is going...

Anyway, for those of you interested, clockwise, from top left, here are the projects and their makers: Sweatershirt ReStyle from Dee-Construction; Three Bears Sleeping Bags from Flossie Teacakes; Tripod Camping Stool from Design Sponge; Whole Wheat Goldfish Crackers from Smitten Kitchen; Chemistry Crayon Labels from Que Intersante; Busy Town Birthday Party and Lowly Worms by Stitch/Craft; Linen Stacking Pillows from Purl Bee;  and a Cape for all Seasons by Imagine Childhood.

Lovely.  Someday, maybe inspiration will find me again but I until then I have everything everyone else is making to at least give me a little pleasure.  Right?

Musical Lego Minifigures

Beatles circa Abbey Road

Nirvana

Led Zeppelin

White Stripes

U2

It is no secret around here that, for Beeper, LEGO are next to godliness.  Okay, I admit, I was never ever really interested in LEGO myself as a child--but it is lovely the sort of discoveries one is led to as an adult a result of your own child's interests.  As I have worked with Beeper on numerous LEGO projects and models over the past year, I have gained a sincere appreciation for the LEGO aesthetic--the thoughtful construction, the artfulness in their designs, how these simple little plastic pieces are used in a myriad of ways to build something as complex as Hogwarts School or a Star Wars spaceship, not to mention the open-ended creativity they invite.  

Ultimately, this led me to some exploration of LEGO photography on Flickr and the things other big people are creating with LEGO--and this was one of the sets I came across that did nothing else if not bring a smile to my face:   It is a series of LEGO Minifigures constructed to resemble musicians and various rock groups, made by Andrew Becraft (aka Dunechaser on Flickr).  You can see his musical minifgure set here or explore more of his brilliant LEGO minifig creations here.

To me, it is amazing how entirely recognizable specific musicians are when made from LEGO--like Jack White, like the Edge, like all the members of Nirvana.  How can you not love that?  And then in some reciprocal inspiration bouncing between Beeper and me, this morning he saw me working on this blog post, inquired about the minifigure photos then disappeared for a bit and when he showed back up, this is what he presented me with:

This is Beeper's own LEGO minifig interpretation of our family, including Socrates with his green eyes, next to Beeper.  That pretty much made my day.

Eat This: Tripleberry Jam

First off, you should know that I meant to post this like 6 full weeks ago or something--back when it was still berry picking season around here.  But, of course, I procrastinated on making the jam since our kitchen is not air conditioned (welcome to living in a home from the 1920's) and it felt like you were living inside someone's mouth about 6 weeks ago while that terrible heat wave was breathing all hot and heavy on the U.S.  So, I froze the berries and waited--then I went away for a weekend to a dear friend's house and she not only had central air, but also a beautiful kitchen--so she kindly let me go to work and do my canning while I was there.  But since then, sheer laziness has taken hold as the summer wanes and the jam sits in quiet little rows in the basement.

Oh, but here I am!  I have the recipe all typed up and ready for download now.  So, if you are still up for making some jam, try some of this--Tripleberry.  It is a lovely little blend of blueberries, raspberries and strawberries.  I used what I had when I made this--which was a lot strawberries from when we picked them earlier in the summer, a lot of raspberries from our own urban patch, and some blueberries from the store when they were on sale.  You could, however, add in blackberries and make quadrupleberry if you prefer, or adjust the measurements of berries if you would like it to be a bit more blueberry-y, for instance--as long as you have 8 total cups of berries all will be good.  A little late, but have at it...

DOWNLOAD TRIPLEBERRY JAM RECIPE