paper whites

This week we will begin our annual paper white planting. I've found that bulbs planted during the last days of November will begin flowering by mid December... right when we like to gift them to teachers and friends. By keeping them on window sills and close to our wood stove, they stay very happy soaking up the heat and light. We've been saving our tin cans for the last month or so, because our list is longer than usual. For instructions please see last year's post. If you choose to do this with your children, keep a ruler on hand. It's fun to chart each paper white's growth. We like to make guesses as to which one will be the tallest, etc.

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Have you noticed some subtle changes around here? I'm in the process of freshening up this space and had some wonderful help from a good friend. Thank you, K!! I'm especially excited about that brand new search bar in my new left column! Very handy, I tell you. I feel a bit silly admitting to how much I've enjoyed searching my own blog, but I spent far too much time typing in words Sunday morning.
Happy Monday!

shop update today!

I'll be adding to my shop at around 2pm EST today. I have a sampling of seasonal items, with more to come in December. My cardinal friend has been popping onto linen, organic cotton, and moleskines with much enthusiasm. I had really hoped to have more ready, but sometimes my plans are a bit ambitious for the reality of what's truly possible. So for all of you looking for more coffee sack buckets with typography, they are cut and ready for sewing as soon as I get the chance! WIP buckets have received quite a bit of Etsy fame in the last week. I'm grateful that they've been included in so many treasuries, front pages, and gift guides. They really are a wonderful present for all of your crafty friends and family. So these ARE in the shop update coming up shortly! Yay! Happy Friday!

Simple Gifts: Memory Game

I hope I got you sufficiently excited about security envelope patterns, that you've started saving them. This project utilizes as many patterns as you can get a hold of. Remember how excited my whole family has gotten about saving our envelopes? This enthusiasm led to sorting and matching. A four year old's favorite activity! We decided to make our patterns into a matching-memory game. Because the patterns are so complex and similar in color schemes, it's a game with some challenge. An advanced memory game, if you will. Yes, it's fun for all ages over 3 or 4.

I think it makes a great little gift to stuff in a stocking or bring for a child at a holiday party to keep them engaged.

Security Envelope Memory Game

Materials

• patterned envelopes
• card stock or cereal boxes for backing each tile
  
• scissors or shape puncher thingy
  
• paste
  

Make

1. Cut out two of each pattern in whichever shape you choose.
   
2. Cut out a corresponding piece in card stock or a cereal box for each pattern piece.
3. Add paste to card stock and adhere pattern. If you use a box, make sure the graphics side is the one that you apply the paste to. You want the back of each memory tile to be uniform.

I made a little gift basket/ game holder with a scrap from a felted red sweater. Cut a circle larger than your tiles. Take a long strip of felt (measure to see that it fits around the perimeter of your circle)and fold it in half. Sew up a little seam at the edge to make a "cuff". Attach this cuff to your felt circle and turn inside out. Done! Have fun with this one... we certainly did!

Big Blog Family Interview

Apartment Therapy has been very good to me over the last year and a half. All of the editors are always so warm and gracious. My designs have been featured in various places from re-nest to their main site... but Ohdeedoh, their children's segment, is where you'll find me the most. Today, I had the honor of being included in Ohdeedoh's Big Blog Family series. I'm in very good company, as you'll see. You can read my interview right here. Thanks so much, Ohdeedoh!

coffee sack stockings

And the stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

I'm working on a few seasonal pieces for a shop update on Friday. This trio of coffee sack stockings will be part of it. I'll be back with a new addition to Simple Gifts. Oohh, and it's perfect for stuffing in one of those stockings! Now, I'm off to bundle up so that I can join the sun outside... on this beautiful, brisk day.

rusted remains

Past fields and pastures, around a bend, and over a creek there is a secret place I like to go. On a quiet back road, icons of another time stand proudly in their hidden home among the November weeds.

Big rusty beasts grazing in the meadow.Steel bodies enveloped by fluffy goldenrod ghosts.
Their stately grandeur is only enhanced by the natural backdropI can't help but wonder about the people who drove them. Who sat behind this wheel?

And what did they deliver in their world that is so vastly different from ours today?
This sculptural art installation (or junk yard) never ceases to enthrall me. There are dozens and dozens of antique automobiles and trucks being reclaimed by this field. We had good friends visiting all weekend, and I'm so happy I got to share my tucked away treasure with them. Hope you had a little magic in your weekend as well!

corn jewels

Have you ever plucked dried corn kernels from the cob? My four year old has been very industrious since last night... plucking row after row of corn. It was the first thing she wanted to do when she woke up. It's one of my favorite November projects for young children. The extraction of each little piece is thoughtful and meditative. It also strengthens the muscles in little early writing fingers. Sort them, count them, collage them... you get the idea. We buy decorative corn from a farmer nearby. Being surrounded by cornfields has some advantages. You can also buy it at most supermarkets, pre-Thanksgiving.

My daughter thinks of them as jewels... and they most certainly are. As soon as she's done with the plucking, we'll soak the kernels in water over night. Then (with a little help from mom , a sturdy needle and thimble) she'll string them into harvest jewelry. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

security pattern napkin rings

I'm so pleased that my burlap ring was well received. It got such nice attention! I have some more napkin rings for you. The burlap one had a bit of funky looseness to it (in a good way!)... these are minimalistic and modern.

They are also free and entirely from your recycling bin. Introducing my new love: security envelopes. The variety of interior patterns your bills come in are vast and beautiful. Simply paste a strip to a TP tube and add a contrasting one on top. Maybe stamp a number or initial. Easy.

I've been playing around with these papers all fall. My entire family has gotten into the action. Sometimes we all traipse out to the mailbox to see what patterns have arrived. Bills have never been so exciting! This is a little black and gray set, but I have lots of blues and a prized green one, too.

I kept the above napkins rings simple, so that you could really see the paper, but what if you added some shapes... or a sprig of berries!


I've come up with several projects I'll share in the future, but for now please enjoy this list of security envelope craft links from some very creative folks:

little idea notecards
business card holders
center piece and flowers
bunting
pendants
tiny house
modern beads
mini journal
inside out security envelopes

one of my favorites:
the security blanket

Aren't they fun!?

simple gifts: monogrammed napkin ring in burlap

With the holidays getting closer, there will be lots of gathering and shared meals. We use cloth napkins daily, but this can make for an incredible increase in laundry when you have guests. With the question of "was this your napkin?" and the response of "oh, just grab another"... the wash piles up, and the eco-value of cloth decreases. By creating a personal napkin ring for each family member/guest, you can give a gently used napkin another go at a following meal. Monogrammed rings also dress up a table setting and make wonderful gifts to go along with a set of handmade napkins. (Here's a link to diy cloth napkins and 5 napkin tutes.)
I combined some of my favorite ingredients for this burlap ring, all of which came from my scrap basket and recycling bin. Very festive for such humble materials!

Materials:

• toilet paper tube
• scraps of loose weave fabric (burlap is perfect) cut into short strips and one larger piece for the roll
• selvedge from a compatible fabric (linen)cut into smaller strips
• linen covered button(button kits available at sewing shops or online)
  
• alphabet stamps and stamp pad
• Mod Podge
• needle and thread

Make:

1. Burlap blossom- first loop: fold strip of burlap and secure ends with a stitch.
2. Repeat first step until you've added all of your loops of burlap. Stitch each consecutive one to the next.
   
3. Continue with smaller loops of selvedge.
   
4. Cover a shank button with a piece of linen (kits available at most sewing shops).
5. Stamp with initial.
   
6. Stitch button securely to the center of the blossom.
7. Cut a tp roll into thirds.
8. Paint a section of roll with Mod Podge.
9. Attach a piece of burlap to the roll.
   

When almost dry, stitch the burlap blossom to the covered ring.
If you're really opposed to needle and thread, I'm sure you could get away with glue gunning each stitch step. Don't you think a little burlap blossom would make a fabulous present topper, too?! There are so many ways to customize these... the basic ingredients are a tube and some form of ID: an initial, number, symbol. Make these in your favorite style, and your holiday table will feel complete and personal. I've got another very different version coming up!

pumpkin chipotle flan

This weekend was all about delicious food and beautiful weather. On Saturday, we had a wonderful dinner with friends. Because each of us had a personal connection to Mexico, our thoughtful hosts prepared a feast with many recipes from this special cookbook- Frida's Fiesta: Recipes and Reminiscences of Life with Frida Kahlo. Frida's stepdaughter, Guadelupe Rivera, compiled over 1oo recipes that she remembers Frida serving to her friends and family throughout her lifetime. Mixed in are anecdotes, photographs and paintings. I just purchased it for someone special, and it's shot up to the top of my own wish list (ahem, to those that are keeping an ear out for that kind of info). So, it was our job to bring dessert to the dinner party. As soon as I discovered the meal's theme, I knew what I had to prepare. A couple of Thanksgivings ago, my sister-in-law made pumpkin chipotle flan. It was so insanely good, that it tends to haunt me come November. The flavors are sublime, with a complexity of smoky heat underlying the sweet and rich custard. The texture is smooth and creamy. And I'd love a slice right now as I'm typing! Here's the secret I'm not supposed to share... it's super easy to make. Just don't say that as you serve it in all of it's syrupy goodness. Let them think it took you days of preparation. Oh, and you know who gets credit for the recipe: Martha, of course!
Southwestern Pumpkin Flan
I eliminated the cayenne, but it was still a bit spicy for the younger set. They got brownies!

Next up, we'll begin out handmade series. Let's start with several versions of something below...

sew,mama,sew! handmade holiday

Have you visited Sew, Mama, Sew! recently? They are celebrating November with the 3rd annual Handmade Holidays. Every day they have a round-up of incredible tutorials all centered around a theme. Also included is daily gift guide, recipe, give-away, and more. It's quite an extravaganza... and I've been bookmarking like crazy. Today, I was so happy to have my Elf Slippers featured under their category of Deck the Halls. Those slippers will go down in history as one of my favorite designs. It' sbeen so fun to share the instructions with all of you. Go over get some inspiration for your holiday gift making!

vintage birds and my new cardinal

During my thrifty costume hunting for the Steampunk Wedding, I found myself surrounded by vintage birds. Wherever I went, there they were. Several followed me home. Three beautiful prints by Louis Agassiz Fuertes will be framed soon. An over-sized bird guide from the forties offers sumptuously thick pages filled with rich and detailed illustrations by Rex Brasher.
My favorite is a little hand-bound book entitled Wild Birds of New York. It's the sweetest little book ever and it was printed in 1912!


At some point, I believe the cover must have fallen off. The original owner created a new one and bound it with a little strip of red ribbon. Holding it in my hands literally makes my heart ache. Did I need a little inspiration for more bird carving? No, but these images certainly motivated me to put everything aside and return to my flock. I had been wanting to carve a cardinal ever since I drew this silhouette last year. I loved the idea of my newest bird being incorported into my holiday creations... who better than our scarlet feathered friend. Not a single cardinal image in the Wild Bird book of New York! The one in the 40's guide looked a little sinister... or just starving.

I searched through our own bird books, and then with enough inspiration began. I carved way into the night.
After carving is completed, I always do several prints to clean up any rough spots.

I'm loving him! He'll be adorning packages, journals, and so much more... just wait and see!