9 Projects: Valentine-ish Things to Make

Are there enough yummy and lovely things out there to make for Valentine's Day?  It was really hard to whittle this list down to just 9 projects.  But I do love every single one of these.  I will be making some of those grapefruit bath salts, and those baked (yes, baked!) chocolate doughnuts with the blood orange glaze because what says love more than a cake doughnut?  Wish I knew how to knit because I would so be knitting some of those heart-heeled socks too (stripes + hearts = true sock love).  And that beribboned necklace made from gum balls is so sweetly pretty. Oh, and the minute-to-win-it candy valentine?  So frickin' brilliant (seriously, go to the post and read about the specifics of the challenge--uber clever)!  

You can find each of the projects here (listed clockwise from top left):  Heart Tote from Hrrthrrr; Grapefruit Bath Salts from Celebrations at Home; Kimono Robe by Atelier Joy found on Craftsy; Pink Heart Milk Cubes (will turn the milk pink!) by A Subtle Revelry; LoveSocks by Devon Clement found on Ravelry; Chocolate Doughnuts with Blood Orange Glaze from Heather Christo Cooks; Minute-to-Win-It Valentine from StacyJulian; Gumball Necklaces from Formal Fringe; Kid's Pencil Arrow Valentine Card Printable from Sweet Muffin Suite

Now go slip on your favorite pink shirt,  put on some dreamy music and get your Valentine's Day craft on because all you need is love (and a few crafting supplies).

8 Projects: Pretty Things to Make for Spring

All of these projects are just so dang pretty.  That little Junebug Dress, that deliciously beautiful rabbit doll, that clever egg with a moustache and a party hat, and a jar of yummy coconut sugar scrub...I will take one each--or maybe, I will make one of each.

Project Links (clockwise from top left): Junebug Dress by Craftiness is Not Optional; Trick Up My Sleeve Coin Purse by Family Chic (photo from Upcycle Your Life); Coconut Sugar Scrub by A Pretty Life in the Suburbs; Little Egg Man from A Bit of Pilli Pilli; Hase Bunny Doll by Lieschen Mueller; Hippity Hop Easter Clutch by Sew Together; Naturally Dyed Easter Eggs by Two Men and a Little Farm; Easter Chick by Myrtle and Eunice

Zakka Style (and a Lucky Day Give-Away)

Here it is.  Zakka Style.  The last of the books I contributed designs to this past year.  It is a collection of zakka-inspired projects from crafters around the world, curated by Rashida Coleman-Hale, published by Stash Books as part of their Design Collective series.   

The funny thing is, I never really fancied my crafting style to be very zakka-ish.  Sure, I veer the direction of cute--but that homey sweet look particular to the Japanese zakka aesthetic--not so much.  So, I was a little flummoxed (but pleased too) when Rashida contacted me about a year ago and asked for a submission.  My first idea was to make the spelling version of my counting bean bags--which I did--but they did not make the cut for unknown reasons and that project wound up here.  My next idea was to make the hand warmers you see above.  I was in the midst of a a very snowy winter and having something sweet I could tuck in my pockets to warm up my hands seemed a good idea--and I guess Rashida thought so too since here they are in the book, all happy and cozy there.  I designed them to have removable rice bags to warm in the microwave, so the exterior embroidered pouches could be washed if needed.  Now check out some of the other loveliness in the book...

...patchwork pencil case by Shannon Dreval...

...stem messenger bag by Larissa Holland [Hey Larissa! That bag is awesome!]...

...patchwork ribbon by Melody Miller...

...Zakka Block Quilt case by Leslie Good...

...orchard path tweed pouch by Amanda Jennings...

...sweet sugar cookie sack with playtime cookies by Amy Sinibaldi...

...little pocket pillowcase--with bear--by Meg Spaeth [Hi Meg!  How's it going?  Still love this design...]...

Lovely, right?  And there are many other beautiful projects in this book--24, to be exact--bookmarks, totes, memo boards, sewing kits (one of my favorites--it is on the cover), pot holders, nesting boxes...and even more than that.

Now, if you have hankering for your own copy of this book, I have a little quid pro quo for you, something I would like to get your thoughts on: if I were to put together a book of my designs, what sorts of designs would you like to see in the book--what would it need to have in it to make you want to buy it? Would you want it to have all toy and plushie designs, or would you want it to be a mash up of big people stuff, kiddo stuff, and whatever else...what about the crafting mediums--would you prefer it be all sewing, or again, a mix of sewing and other crafting techniques (sort of like the array of tutorials I offer today)?  Any other ideas or thoughts you have about what you would like to see in a book are appreciated and welcome.   So, leave your comment here by end of day Sunday, March 4, to be in the drawing for a hot off the press copy of Zakka Style.  Just be sure to come on back on Monday when I will announce the winner so you know if you won and can contact me with your mailing address, real name, that sort of stuff.  

And for those of you who are impatient (you know who you are) and just need your own dang copy right now--you can order Zakka Style right here.  Now, off you go...

Two Penguins and a Hop Skip Jump Book

This is Arnold--and his friend, Arnold.  I made them both for Christmas gifts--one for Beeper (this ended up usurping my plans to make him that Chewbacca), and the other for a certain little girl I know who has a particular fondness for penguins.   I know.  They are pretty adorable.  That ridiculously long beak, the stocking cap--perfect.   They were mostly made from recycled materials--the black and white wool fabrics were from old suit jackets I thrifted, washed and cut up into useable pieces years ago, the hats are from cuffs of old sweaters I keep in a basket in my workshop for just this sort of thing.

Arnold the Penguin is a design from Fiona Dalton's new book of plushie designs, Hop Skip Jump: 20 Eco-Friendly Toys to Sew published by Penguin.  It is only being sold in Australia today, but I ordered mine and just had it shipped all the way here.  For me, it was completely worth every shipping cent, every red mark against my carbon footprint because I cannot stop looking at this book and thinking about which plushie I want to make and all the reasons I can find to make them. There are so many ways this book  is inspiring me...

I love how all the plushies feel modern and vintage at the same time.  

I love the photos of the plushies and the fabrics Fiona chose for each--as well as the overall styling of the book (inspiring photo styling can sell a book to me--that eye-candy-effect that makes me want to keep looking at it again and again...)

I love the fact that the book focuses on making the toys from recycled or eco-friendly fabrics.  

I love the little accessories so many of the animals have a (the fox with a handkerchief, the cat in a tie, the hippo with a party hat...)--simple additions that make me smile. 

 I love the array of designs, varying in complexity and time commitment.  It also contains designs geared for boys (a robot, a rocket), as well as girls (2 doll designs)--and even babies. 

And I just love the sewing-friendly design of the book (lays flat when open, nice large pocket contains the templates for handy keeping, lots of good illustrated instructions).

You can get a good look at the book here (including the complete list of projects), and order it here or here.  You can also visit Fiona's blog, aptly named Hop Skip Jump, if you have never been and see what sorts of goodness she is up to over there.  Fiona also has a lovely array of individual patterns available for purchase in her little shop, here.  

As always, so much to make, so little time--but this is a good book with which to start your year of hand-making.   

Sharing: A Handful of Some Late Autumn Projects

When I was putting this list of projects I was of two minds--I was thinking about late autumn and that feeling of wanting to begin to hunker down in your home as the weather begins to get colder--but then, I admit, I was also thinking about the holidays.  I am sorry to bring it up in early November, but it is right there smack in the middle of my own mind lately because I have already begun making and stocking my own Etsy shop for the holidays and have been thinking about all the things I want to make for my own family and friends.  And if you hand-make things for gifts, I am sure you get this--because these things do not make themselves in a few days and it can take planning to realize all the grand crafting and gift-giving plans.  So, this is what you have here in this list of projects--a bunch of projects I would love to make for myself at this time of year (that dyed plaid scarf, the feedsack bag), but also a list of projects that could just as easily translate to gift giving (the drawn-on porcelain, the whiskey and salted caramel truffles, that itty bitty walnut pincushion from Ariana that makes me want to die).

Here are the makers and the links to their projects, clockwise from top-left: Dyed Plaid Scarf from Readymade; Whale Plushie from Valaan Villapaita; Personalized Crockery from The Happy Home; Printed Photos on Old Dictionary Pages from Take-Out Photo; Feedsack Messenger Bag from The Crafty CPA; Personalized Shrug from Imagine Childhood; Salted Caramel and Whiskey Truffles from Bakers Royale; and Walnut Shell Pincushion from Crow Roosters Crow. 

As always, happy crafting--and gift-planning.

Make This: Halloween Shadow Puppets

Inspired by Kate's shadow puppet tutorial over at Minieco, I designed a dozen shadow puppets of my own to give to the kiddies along with some mini flashlights at our upcoming Halloween party.  I essentially used Kate's tutorial to make these, except I painted my wooden dowels up in black stripes (using the same method I used to make my stripey pick-up sticks) because I love all things stripey, and made my shadow puppet designs just a little bigger with a few different designs.  You can download my shadow puppet templates here, if you care to make some for yourself:

DOWNLOAD SHADOW PUPPET TEMPLATES

You can also find Kate's tutorial with her own downloadable templates here.

Sharing: Some Halloween-Inspired Projects

I had a really, really hard time selecting the final 8 projects for this post.  There are a lot of fantastically creative Halloween projects out there--more than almost any other holiday, I think.   But I love all of these and do believe I have sufficiently regained my crafting mojo that I will likely get around to making some of these this time around--in particular, that doily turned spiderweb by Betz White, those fossil cookies from Martha, and I have been meaning to do that glow stick in a jar trick with Beeper all summer.  I also have a soft spot for those "boo" and "eeek" embroideries from Sweet Paul--they just seem so simple to make so why not just do it?  Okay, also I love that ghosty garland by Ginger and George that is endlessly customizable by you and the kiddies and it probably needs to happen one afternoon after school.

Here are the links to the projects and their clever makers, clockwise, from top left:

Bird Masks by Martha; Ghost Garlands by Ginger and George; Pumpkin Pincushion by The Long Thread via Whip Up; Fossil Cookies by Martha; Spider Web Doily by Betz White; Stars in Jars (source, sadly, unknown) via this Tumbler; Softie Owls by Moonstiches via The Craft Army; Boo and Eeek Embroidered Pictures by Sweet Paul.

Happy Halloween Crafting, my pretties.

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: Mid-Summer's Projects to Check Out

These are all the mid-summer projects I want to make--most of which I probably won't--but I think I can manage a few like those sponge bombs, and I MUST make some friendship bracelets because I have been obsessing about them for some time now.  But maybe you can manage to be more industrious than I can in the summer when all I want to do involves a cold drink and a lake and a book...

Clockwise, from top left the projects are: friendship bracelets by Honestly WTF, painted mason jars by Joy's Hope, sponge bombs by A Little Tipsy, rustic pencil holder by Strawberry Chic, A-frame tent by Cakies, corn starch sidewalk chalk by Pink and Green Mama, hanging day bed by Ana White, and the stripey socialite skirt by Elle Apparel.

If I get my butt in gear, maybe I can even get around to the little A-frame pup tent--and one of those stripey skirts for me because I love all things stripey.   But I still want to make our picnic quilt, and am in the midst of popsicle making (new recipes to come soon!), and there is our garden to tend, and grass to be laid upon, and sun tea to be drunk while sitting in the shade of a tree and reading Keith Richard's autobiography...

Quilted Inspiration

Ungt Blod

EmiShimosato

Colorwheel Quilt (love!) from Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts, made by Silkaphyllis

Spinda Quilt by Maria Shell

Simply Robin

Fresh Lemons

These are all part of my recent quilt inspiration--something I am needing because I am hellbent on making my very first big-person-sized quilt--especially since Rae threw down the gauntlet over this when I left a comment on her blog mentioning that I had never made a quilt and was freaked by the whole prospect.  She claims she will take on some new challenge of my choice if I make my first quilt (not sure she was serious--not sure what I would even challenge her with...but I am coming for you, Rae, so watch for my email...).  But back to the subject at hand...  

If you will recall, I bought that stack of Good Folks fat quarters some time ago with the intent of making them into a quilt for my bed--but they have been sitting dormant on my workshop shelves for over a year and I am rethinking my whole plan now.  First, I love the quilt above made from the very same Good Folks fabrics I have and I am thinking I may attempt this and will call it a picnic quilt since I have decreed to my family and friends that there must be a picnic at least once per month through September (part of my overall summer plans--more about that later).  But, more imminently, R., the wonderful woman who leads my department at work and who has been a mentor of super-heroic proportions to me (truly, I owe my career to her), is retiring this month and I want to make a picnic quilt for her as a farewell gift as she embarks upon her new post-retirement life on Madeleine Island in Lake Superior...so that quilt will absolutely come first and I have purchased some lovely fabrics that I think are to her taste. (is it wise to make your very first quilt and plan for it to be a gift?  I think not...but I am compelled to do these stupid things at times and in some strange way, they are what ultimately moves me forward on a task I am waffling over...) 

Also (stay with me if you can bear it), I still want to make a quilt for our bed--but I really think it needs to be made from cotton voile--ever since I touched that cotton voile quilt at Liberty of London I have been dreaming of sleeping under one for myself...but I think it will not be Liberty of London fabrics since I really do not think Mr Beeper would like it if I hawked his car for fabric--even if it is for a luxurious quilt certain to induce peaceful sleep and good dreams.  I think some more Anna Maria Horner in cotton voile will work just fine though with far less severe financial sacrifices required.

Beyond that?  Who knows...maybe a quilt for my mum because she should have one, and this lego quilt for Beeper because that would be certain to induce the best sort of little boy dreams for him. 

How about you?  What is your procrastination craft you have been dreaming about for far too long?  Do you need someone to throw down the gauntlet to you--because I am happy to be that person, be your own personal Rae...it could be a "procraftstination" challenge.   Let me work up the details on this and I will get back to you...

Celebrating the Boy: Make a Magnetic Play Set

Oh, hey.  Hi.  Did you know that I am officially Celebrating the Boy over here today?  I am--it is all part of Made by Rae's and Made's annual tribute to crafting for boys--a full month of it, actually.  I know, it is cool.  The line-up of guest bloggers and projects Rae and Dana have going on over at their places is pretty amazing--I already have 3 projects I want to make from Rae's guests alone.  But wait--where are my manners?!?  Welcome to those of you who have taken the time to stop over here from Rae's place.   I am so happy to have you here.

So, let's get to the good stuff, shall we?  In honor of Celebrate the Boy month I have a little tutorial for you on how to make your very own magnetic play set.  This one is pretty simple to make--no special crafting skills like quilting, quilling or anything else starting with a "qu" required--really all you need to know how to do is search the internet for images, put those into a document, print them, cut them apart and stick them to some adhesive magnet sheets.  Yeah, I meant simple when I said it.

What I also love about this project is how endlessly customizable it is to whatever your boy's interests may be--dinosaurs, cars, monsters, robots, animals--or super heroes as the case may be at our house (specifically, DC Comic super heroes--because Beeper actually segregates his super heroes by comic book strain--DC or Marvel--and the twain shall never meet).

I got to thinking about putting together a project like this because I am always trying to come up with new things to keep Beeper distracted when the situation requires it--like when we are at a restaurant and Mr Beeper and I just want to drink some wine and have at least 10 minutes of uninterrupted adult conversation (did I hear someone say, That is what date night is for?  Yes, good point--but that would require having a babysitter that is nearer than 60 minutes away for us to pick up which is where our closest babysitter is located at the moment), or when in the car for longer trips (like when we need to pick up our babysitter)--you know the situations I am talking about.

Well, I am mildly obsessed with having a bag that is stocked with interesting distractions for him that I feel good about (i.e. no video games)--so this project was meant to contribute to that stash of stuff I keep in a small backpack in our coat closet.  And if you are interested, you can download the tutorial right here so you can make your own:

DOWNLOAD MAGNETIC PLAY SET TUTORIAL

 I also thought this might be a good time for us to swap some info about what sorts of things you find particularly handy to distract your kids when the place or situation requires it.  Here are some of my favorites we have in our bag of distractions at the moment:

(from top Pop Zolo [mini creative building set], Monster Doodles [erasable creative drawing cards--pure genius], Knights Toob, a selection of Little Dover books [most of these are $1.50 per book and they are fantastic for distraction because they can literally fit in your pocket and the options are mind-boggling], Wild Toob, blank sketch book and a set of soy crayons)

Oh, and if you are in the market for a new bag in which to stash your own kiddie distractions, why not make the scavenger bag from Sew Grown or the messenger bag from Punkin Patterns--both are  Boy month projects over at Rae's place.  

Thanks again to those of you who took the time to stop by--it was nice having you and I hope to see you around here again. Oh, and if you have any favorite kiddie distractions, please do leave a comment and share--would love to hear about your favorite tricks.

Sharing: Projects You Should Check Out

Are you as perpetually amazed as I am at the quantity and quality of projects available to you FOR FREE out and about on the web and in blogland these days?  The amount overwhelms me--just because I want to make them--ALL of them.

But here are a few of my recent favorites (from top left, clockwise): tile coasters from The Cottage Home; make your own presidents at The Storque (from Heidi's wonderful book--check it out); penguin and lion ice box cookies from Diamonds for Dessert; Vintage Children's Book Banner from Rummey Bears; Table Sized Oilcloth Place Mat from Wren Handmade; Tin Can Organizer from Laissez-Faire; Minimalist Tote Bag from Design Sponge; Swatch Portraits from The Purl Bee

Those little-people-style presidents kill me.  And I am so in love withe simplicity of the framed Liberty of London fabrics.  And anything that uses recycled tin cans always gets me--must be my inner-billy-goat.  But go see them all for yourself.  Because you should--they are good.

Etsy Handmade Toy Guide

Since it's black Friday and all, I just thought I would drop in with my own personal list of handmade favorites, all found in crazy labyrinth of shops Etsy has become.  Tell me, does it not warm your heart though, just a little bit, to know that there is so much good handmade stuff for kids out there?  It makes me all giddy just to look at this collage.  Options for kids on Etsy have definitely improved over the last few years and what can be found goes far beyond plushies and custom outfits for Blythe dolls.   Some of these shops were new to me, but many are also tried and true favorites of mine--like The Small Object (and yes, I will be buying the I Like to Draw pencils and drawing set for Beeper's stocking). 

Some of my very favorites are the activity book from Belle and Boo (bought it some time ago and it is worth every one of its 9 dollars--so lovely and full of the sweetest variety of activities and crafts), the mohair bunny with all its adorable outfits and teeny weeny pastries from Man o' Mine, those simple wands with the colorful knitted handle from Green Mountain Wee Woolies, that funny little wool plushie from Sara Carr, and while this is not handmade--well, I had to slip in a vintage Fisher Price set in there (we already own this pop-up trailer and truck set--so brilliant the way it pops up, the little motorcycle that sits on the trailer, and the little boat on the top of the SUV).  Oh, and that new cat design from Cotton Monster is killing me I love it so much and really just want it for myself.

So, go ahead, do a little browsing, click away and get a closer look at some of the items and support all the great artists and crafters out there making so much fantastic stuff. (the list runs from left to right, starting at the top--just in case you happen to follow the photos from right to left from the bottom or some other wonky way)

1.    Multi-colored Natural Wooden Blocks from Imagination Kids $16 

2.    French Alphabet Cards $58 From Bibitty 

3.    Hand Turned Wooden Top from Urban Turn $4  

4.    Hellobaby Munchkin from Viola Studio $19 

5.    Little Tooth Teething Toy from Little Sapling Toys $12 

6.    Pogo Handstitched Woodland Friend  from Pogo $44 

7.    Aada Bunny from Man O Mine $200 

8.    Bubbles Before Bed Book from Belle and Boo $10.75 

9.    The Little Lion Hat from SweetPeaToadTots $55 

10. Tree Branch wands $5 rom Green Mountain Wee Woolies 

11. Set of semi Trailers from Nin Design $38 

12. Rainbow Alien Invasion Finger Puppet Set from Babus Toys $45 

13. Letterpress Fortune Teller from Sycamore Street Press $8  

14. Vintage Fisher Price Pop Up Camper $44 from Toys of the Past 

15. Ultimate Mustache Crayon Set $10.95 from Gaddy Nipper Crayons 

16. Lina Von Katz Kitten from Cotton Monster $58 

17. Paper Doll Set from Sarah Jane Studios $9 

18. Indoor Teepee Tent from Moozle $195 

19. Linen Doll Tallulah from Leilalou $26 

20. Ninjas with Intelligence from Goose Grease $30 

21. Green Digger from Elsie Marley $55 

22. Bear, Bunny, Bird Pocket Notebook Three Pack $12 from The Black Apple  

23. I am Here - Your neighborhood custom map play mat from Board Stiff $28.50  

24. Wooden Car Stacker from Just Hatched $18 

25. I Like to Draw Pencil Pack from The Small Object

26. Unique Linen Pencil Clutch $23.09 from Pilli Pilli 

27. Edie Plush from Sara Carr $39 

28. Silver Bubble Wand from Nina Gibson Designs $38 

29. Coco Doll from Beeb $43.50 

30. Mushroom Bowling $28 from Muddy Feet 

31. Yellow and Blue Wooden Toy Boats from Friendly Fairies $58 

32. Design Your Own Starter Home $18 from The Merc Shop 

33. Shooting Marbles Set from Marble Maam  $9 

34. Tim from Raplapla $56 

35. Walking Blocks from Asher Jasper $40 

36. Pull Raven from Sleeping Forest $28