Sunday, November 25, 2012

Grace Under Pressure

Thanksgiving Day with my two favorite girls, Meagan and Alyssa
 Now back from Buffalo, one of many Thanksgiving Day 
highlights was seeing our daughter prepare her first 
Thanksgiving meal, and so successfully! 
We dined like royalty. Thank you Alyssa for that 
succulent brined turkey, Meagan's family recipe for 
sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, baked brie,
green bean casserole, Grandma's stuffing, homemade gravy,
two pumpkin pies...and all from your tiny apartment kitchen!
Now that's grace under pressure.
 Congratulations for making your first 
Thanksgiving meal look effortless and taste amazing.
You truly shine in the kitchen.
 In the Studio: 
Building inventory for the shop just in time 
for easy holiday shopping. 
Plenty of fun, handmade goodies coming soon!
More happenings in the Studio:
Renewed activity on Storm Clouds for Project Linus.

What's your Thanksgiving Day highlight?
I'd love to hear from you!

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Festive Favors

 
 Hosting an intimate dinner tomorrow night, 
and looking ahead to Thanksgiving dinner
I felt inspired to make little tipis as favors or place settings. 
Here's the lo-down on how I made them in case 
you and your tribe of smalls need a simple, rustic adornment 
for your holiday table:  
 Materials Round Up:
Scraps of paper
Plastic lid (anything to make a large circle)
Coin (anything to make a small circle)
Medium to fine String
Scissors
Hole Punch, or Needle & Thread
Sturdy but narrow Sticks, 3 per Tipi
 On the back of your paper, trace around the plastic lid.
Center the coin and trace around it.
Draw a line from the inner to the outer circle.
 Cut the outer circle, 
then cut the straight line, 
then cut the inner circle.
 With the right side of the paper now facing you, 
spiral one of the straight edges of the paper toward the inside 
and gently keep pulling it around. It will eventually look like this.
 Using the hole punch or a sewing needle 
punch two holes, catch two layers of paper each time 
and place the holes about where shown above.
By hand or with needle & thread, bring a 3" length of string
up through both holes from the inside, 
and tie a square knot on the outside, as shown above. 
Trim string ends to desired length. 
I used dried lily stalks but any sticks about this size will do.
I used three sticks per tipi, and cut the sticks 
a little longer than the final length.
 Tie another 3" length of string around your three sticks 
about an inch from the top, wrapping the string 
one or two times around the sticks before tying a square knot.
Trim string ends so they're not visible at the top of the tipi.
Trim the bottom of the three sticks so the tipi 
sits nicely on the table.
Once you make the first tipi it won't be long before 
an entire village spreads across your table!
While I'm not using these as place cards,
printing each guest's name beneath the tipi's tie closure
would be fun. However you use your village, have a great time
making the tipis. I'd love to see pictures of your village.

Happy Thanksgiving!! 
I remain grateful for my many blessings, 
and am looking forward to my daughter 
cooking her first Thanksgiving dinner! 
How will you spend your Thanksgiving,
 and have you ever slept in a tipi?


Sunday, November 11, 2012

Many Hands

Amyla on Flick'r
 For ages, human hands have been drawn to felt.
I Pinned the above picture on my Handmade Board because 
my hands, too, are drawn to felt. 
Ginny's festive felted brooch made earlier today
So, when my dear friend Tracy reached out to our 
local knit group to make felted brooches to 
benefit a local charity, I couldn't resist! 
Earlier today, a few of us met at Tracy's and set to work. 
See Ginny's gorgeous example above.
Tracy's Dining Room table was piled high with beads, 
buttons, felt, glitz & other assorted shiny bits, and we had FUN!  
The brooches will be sold at Thanksgiving time 
at our local yarn store, SpunRightRound.  
100% of the proceeds will benefit our local Library.
Melissa's stack of jewel-tone felt circles destined 
to brighten lapels every where!
As our afternoon progressed, so did our brooches. 
We all agreed that once we made a few 
our confidence grew.
                            
Worker bees, from left to right: 
Ginny, Tracy, Melissa and Kimberly. 
(Colleen and I prefer to be off stage.)
                            
Many hands make light work....Melissa's hands in this case!
One of Tracy's masterpieces!
More of Tracy's creativity: festive Poinsettias.
As brooches began to pile up, we realized 
we definitely worked up an appetite. 
Thankfully Colleen's hands had been busy earlier, 
making these delicious lattice-top cherry pies!

Once the felted brooches are put on display for sale, 
I will follow up with pictures of the whole lot!
Each one is unique, handmade and beautifully detailed. 
They will look perfect on lapels, headbands, tote bags, 
scarves, topping gifts and anything else in need of 
a little something special this winter!

I'd love to hear what other individuals or groups do 
for charitable giving. Hey, the more ideas the merrier!