Achoo.

Two good things to come from having a head cold are not being able to smell the cantaloupe peels in the green bin and guiltlessly eating ice cream for dinner. And maybe lunch. I do enjoy the traditional chicken soup when I'm unwell, but for real comfort I turn to great bowls of ice cream. So there I am with a raging head cold, an ice cream moustache, and toting not a chic little tissue pouch in my bag, but a full-sized box of aloe-infused Kleenex. The other good thing about having a cold: people tend to give you a wide berth.

In any case, my cold is on the wane and I needed to do something about the state of my tissue-toting. I have not made one of these tissue pouches  in years. Once upon a time they were my go-to just because gift for friends, teachers and anyone with the sniffles. It felt really good to blow the dust off the Janome and get down to business. But like I said, it's been a while, and it took me three attempts to get it straight. Be not discouraged, new sewers! Everyone has a blooper reel of projects. May I present the evidence:

Exhibit A: Faulty pattern layout and poor fabric selection. Repeat after me: Large scale prints do not work on small scale projects. Also, bad crooked sewing. Also bad crooked cutting. 

Exhibit B: Same problem with the print selection. Lining choice good in theory, but not good in this design. 

Exhibit C: Seams do not line up, and I punched through the stitching when I was poking the corners out. Otherwise, this is looking better:

Finally, on the fourth try, perfection:

I have put together a tutorial, if you're interested in giving these a try. I promise they will make anyone with the sniffles feel loved. Click here for the tutorial. 

two Valentine ideas

I thought these two ideas were perfectly lovely, and eminently do-able in the course of an hour. I don't know about you, but I just don't have a full afternoon or, heavens, an entire weekend to give over to a craft project. If I did, I would surely make this heart-shaped wreath. But after learning that it involved some 12 hours (twelve!) of cutting and assembling felt circles I decided it was best to admire from afar.

This candle, however, could not be easier. Wrap a Mason jar with a pair of paper doilies, tie with twine - embroidery floss would work nicely too - and tuck a heart-shaped cut out from a book. So much more romantic if it highlights a passage from Wuthering Heights (I have never gotten over Heathcliff) but more likely I will tear a page from a textbook that should have been thrift-shopped long ago. We are hosting a Valentine's potluck and I think six or so of these will be perfect as a centrepiece. Thanks to Creature Comforts for the idea and video tutorial.

Do you love this or do you LOVE this? Another use for that moldering Econ 101 book, and a fine project for little hands to work on. See Rebecca Cooper for the details.

So cute in a kid's room.

From the Idea Room.

kitchen sink crafting

My crafting never, ever looks like it does in the magazines. It's a fairly chaotic affair with lots of running up and down the stairs for missing supplies. Despite having dedicated the largest, brightest room in the basement for play and craft we still end up at the dining table. My solution is a tray and a few small boxes. I load everything up that I think we might need, cart the supplies upstairs on a tray, plunk the tray down in the middle of the table and let them figure it out. Yesterday it was Valentine cards for the Grandmothers. I grabbed red card stock, some craft punches, ribbon remnants, floral scrapbooking embellishments, rub-on alphabet transfers, corrugated cardboard, glue and a stapler.

Stella and I worked on this design together. I love the grungy look. Here's what we did: Cut cardstock to card size (4.25" by 5.5". Score and fold the card. Cut a cardboard shape and peel off the outer layer to reveal some of the corrugated interior. We had a tag-shaped paper punch, and to that we applied the "love" with the alphabet transfers. I've had them forever (8 years!) so I was really glad to be able to use them for something. You could also use an alphabet stamp or very tidy handwriting. We used double-stick tape to attach everything to the cardboard and then stapled that to the cardstock.

Henry worked on this. The kid loves glitter and glue in equal measure. The bird is a Martha Stewart craft punch glued to a metal ring. The idea, which is explained in the interior, is to use it as a key ring charm. This card started out intended for a Grandma but in the end he decided it was better suited for his paramour across the street. He's offering this heartfelt greeting along with a week-old flower taken from a birthday bouquet headed to the green bin.

No-Sew Tutorial: Fabric Push Pins

A cute & quick project for the non-crafter. Even if everything you have made until now has turned out wonky, glue-y and hopelessly homemade I promise these fabric push pins are absolutely fail-proof and will turn out perfect every time. They are rather addictive to make, and once you get going you may find it hard to stop. A set of 12, nicely packaged, would be a very sweet and cheerful teacher gift. But they are so inexpensive you may find yourself making them for everyone you know.

Materials & Supplies:
Sharp scissors
Glue gun
Fabric scraps. Solids or very small prints work best, since you're covering a tiny area. Avoid stretchy or bulky fabrics like velvets, corduroy. A basic cotton or linen is easiest to work with.
Thumb tacks Everyday tacks are OK but since you'll be at the fabric store anyway, pick up a set of Quilter's Tacks or Upholstery Tacks. They are more substantial than ordinary thumb tacks and make a nicer finished product. I was able to buy these brass tacks from Fabricland for .20 a piece. A box of Quilter's Tacks (which I prefer) is $2.30 for 24.
Covered button kit. I used size 24. Make sure you buy metal buttons. Plastic won't work - you'll see why further down. The kit comes with four buttons and the little doo-dad to apply the fabric:

STEP ONE: Remove the button shank:

This is a fussy step, but don't get frustrated. I used a small pair of jewellery pliers to wiggle the shank until it came loose, but you could use any pliers or scissors. Just be careful: the edges of the metal disc can be sharp. Don't worry if the disc becomes dented in the process; you'll smooth it out in the next step.

Printed on the back of the button kit is a circle template. You will need this to cut the right amount of fabric to cover the metal button. Cut out the template, then cut out your fabric.

Lay your fabric circle, pattern side facing down, over the opening of the button maker. Place the metal dome over the fabric and push the dome inside so the fabric is flush and flat on the bottom.

Tuck the fabric inside the button maker:

Place the flat metal disc (the one you removed the shank from earlier) on top of the fabric.

Use the blue tool from the kit to press down firmly and evenly. The idea here is to trap the tucked fabric between the two metal pieces. You'll want to make sure the disc is flat and snug with no loose fabric visible. You'll be left with a taut and perfect fabric-covered button.

Press on the bottom of the button maker to pop out your button:

Fire up your glue gun and add a daub of glue to the head of the tack. Press the tack evenly to the back of the button. Done!

Once you already own the button making kit, replacement buttons are $2 for six. I'm looking at ways to package these to make them appealingly gifty. Will post any ideas later in the week.

Nicole

Personalized Notecards Gift With Purchase

Happy and lovable Valentine cards are here and ready to spread cheer through your neighbourhood and classrooms. This year brings two new lower-priced designs:

Everyone loves FREE, so don't miss out. Spend $50 on anything in the shop and receive a set of eight personalized notecards with my thanks. Choose from the Mini Moustache or Doodle Hearts designs.

To get your hands on a set, add the notecards to your cart as usual, making sure to choose your colour and personalization info, and then enter the code "valentine" at checkout. A set of eight cards will be added to your order free of charge.

Sunday Sunday

Ask me last week and I'd have told you there was really nothing one could do to prepare for the long-reaching effects of a fenderbender. But after being involved in a minor collision with major inconvenience I have learned a few things. I will never, not ever again, drive my kids to school while wearing pyjama pants. I will carry a phone and a pen with me at all times. And I will not wait until the morning a house guest is due to arrive to vacuum the living room and set up the sofa bed. Because those three hours I thought I had to make banana bread and grab an armful of tulips? They were spent dealing with a squished station wagon, while my visiting sister was stranded at the airport.

But even the worst of times have their strange pleasures. While I probably won't wash down codeine with red wine in the name of hospitality again, it did make for a particularly enjoyable game of Scrabble. Pharmaceuticals, bed rest and making the late night acquaintance of Big Shrimpin' aside, I also had the time to come up with a new Valentine card design:

Oh the nerdy joy of changing an illustration's hair colour! Such fun. Even better was adding a hint of blush to the cheeks and a dash of white to the eyes to enliven the expression. Such fun, I tell you.

Now it might have been the codeine, but I found these message-and-candy pairings charming:

The images are too small to make out the text, so here's what they read:
1) "Be COOL Valentine" with a chocolate mint patty taped on.
2) "Have a BALL this Valentine's Day" with a packet of malt balls affixed.
3) "I'm CRAIS-y about you" with a pack of Craisins. (I guess you could also do this with a cute box of raisins, and change the spelling to cRAIS-y)
4) "You BLOW me away" with some Hubba Bubba.

Cute or codeine? I don't know, but my grade three is CRAIS-y for puns right now so I'm going with cute. If you would like your very own pun-tastic cards to amuse and impress your friends, they are now in the shop. Click for Boy cards or Girl cards.

the art of play

You know, there is more than one way to amuse a kid. When enthusiasm for their toys gives out, it's important to have other ideas at the ready. I've been thinking about this lately as I pack up and clear out un-used toys in advance of our mini relocation. We're moving out for a few weeks while some work is done on our house, and we won't be bringing more than a few treasured favourites along. Keeping babies entertained is also a frequent topic of conversation in the shop; I find moms with babies around seven or eight months looking for "something," but most baby development toys are a variation on a theme: they're plush and colourful, they're good for teething, they usually crinkle, squeak, wriggle or jingle. They serve a good purpose, but you don't need a dozen of them. Here are some un-toy things we've enjoyed:

Babies:
Catching bubbles
Sorting and stacking Tupperware containers
Plastic bin filled with soapy water, measuring scoops, plastic toys
Reading a book with a puppet
Catching bubbles
Singing and tickling games
Wood cook spoons for drumming and hammering (a plastic container is easier on the ears than a pot)
Bedsheet "parachute" as baby sits in the middle of the bed
Music for dancing in your arms
Box of interesting things to explore and sort: feathers, cups, hats, rubber balls, spoons, small baskets and boxes.


Kindergarteners:
Laundry hamper/basket - they make excellent jails, rocketships & basketball nets
Music & dancing - one of mine loves 1950s Sha-Boom-type stuff; the other likes the Rolling Stones. Both like it when it's loud.
Sidewalk chalk; try using it on black paper too
A scavenger hunt around the yard: find a pinecone, a dandelion, something red
Sofa cushion fort
Finding sock pairs in the giant basket of mis-matched socks (they get "points" for each pair matched)
Face painting
Hide & Seek
Basic craft supplies: glue, tape, paper, feathers, pom-poms
Baking - mine love banana bread

If you have any ideas to add, please send them over and I'll add them to the post.