Turkey Craft Roundup--you're invited!

Thanksgiving is only 3 weeks away. So I've got turkeys on my mind. I love turkeys. Turkey dinner, turkey art, turkey themes.  My tastes are wide-ranging, from simple hand-turkeys to Monets Les Dindons.

This year I'm starting a little flickr group called "Turkey Craft Roundup." I'd love it if you'd join! All you have to do is let the turkey-crafting mood strike you, take a picture of what you've made, and upload it to the turkey craft roundup group on flickr. Blog about your turkey, and use the Mr. Linky on this post to share what you've done.

Here are a few of the things I've made for past Thanksgivings:

Turkey placemats for the girls and for Ada's baby.  The feathers on these are actually pockets that hold a fork, knife, spoon, napkin, and a Thanksgiving note.  The girls really love eating off of these.

Turkey pom-poms, a la Martha Stewart.  Mine are a little cockeyed, but I think that's part of their turkey charm.

Hand turkey shrinky dinks, which I made into charms for the grandparents. This was a big hit.

Next up:
A skirt inspired by turkeys. Here are the fabrics I'm using.  

This project is more abstractly turkey, but I'm really loving the colors and the idea of "feathers." One night of insomnia, and this baby should be done...

What turkeys are you making?

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Naked crayons

Esme insisted that these old, broken crayons wanted "to be naked awhile, Mama." So they are. And into the oven they'll go to make lovely, new, chunky crayons for the girls. Ada arranged them into cups, and they're so pretty like this, it's a shame to melt them.

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More uses for chalkboard paint: An art wall

I keep finding ways to use chalkboard paint. Fun and useful, it finds its way into many of my projects. Here is the most recent project: an art wall.

With school starting, we will need another place to put Ada's creations. Right now, we hang some on walls, and the rest go into an art portfolio we use to save favorites. But wouldn't it be nice to really display them, with comments and dates? My big idea is to rotate the artwork every few weeks, including some from Ada, and some from Esme, and let this be their wall of pride.



Some tips on how I did this:

• The "frames" are actually gallery canvases in various dimensions, which I painted with several coats of chalkboard paint.
  I used this style frame because the depth on the gallery canvas sets off so well against the wall.
  
• I hung them as I would other canvas paintings--putting very small screw-eyes into the interior, and wrapping a picture wire through the eyes.
  
• Because I don't want these frames sliding around the wall each time I change out the art, I anchored them to the wall with a little velcro dot on the underside of each frame. One side goes on the wall, and one side goes on the frame. If you do this, learn from my past mistakes: don't undo the sticky on the wall side until you've got the frame where you want it--and level. I used a little level to assist, and it made a difference. I put the dots in the corners like this:
  
  
• To hang the art, we're just using doublestick tape. I don't know if it will eventually peel the paint from the canvas, but that is easily fixed--unlike a whole wall.
  
• Leave room under each piece for notes with a chalkpaint marker (love these too!), et voila!
  
• When the exhibit changes, just swap out the art and erase the old entry.
  

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My first ATC

Owls seem to be the latest theme for me....
Made with paper, acrylic, stamps, sticks, etc, this card makes me smile.


Sending it out to Cassie tomorrow.

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More swap goodies

A knitting needle case for a swap with Jenny.


A closer look at the front. I made lots of pockets, and included a matching needlecase for sharps. And that's my first attempt at sculpy clay--some needles to match the fabric. Fun.


I used my latest favorite fabrics. Even the scissors has a lined little pocket.




The closed case, all wrapped up and ready to go.



And something beautiful I received as--lucky me--a thank-you gift from my swappy friend Kay! It's an ikebana flower arranger, made from stone. I just love it. And thanks to my dear husband, our garden is bursting with hydrangeas and astilbe that simply beg to be in a vase as graceful as this one.

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A Swap Meet

Personal mail is so underrated. I love getting it and sending it. While email is great, there is something nice about opening a thoughtful surprise that arrived in the afternoon mail. And since most things in the post are junk, receiving something personal is all the more appreciated.

Enter Swap-bot. If you haven't heard of it, here's how it works: you sign up for a swap based on your interests. I'm doing a few swaps there, and it is neat to see what we can trade with others.I like the fabric swaps (of course!) and paper crafty-type ones, and some themed ones are neat, too. (We just did a theme of things relating to monkeys, which was really fun to send and receive.)
Once you get matched with a partner, you look at their profile, blog, etc, and then choose things for the exchange that would make sense to them. I love looking around our house and studio and finding something to make or share--lots of times it's something I don't use but know someone else would like. I also love to make something new to fit the partner's tastes.

Here are a few goodies I sent in the past month or so:



This was for a reusable grocery tote. I love, love loved the fabric, and I thought it would make a great bag--I think I was right! Now I'm making one for me, too.


Here's one of the needle cases I made recently: owls are a favorite of mine, and these winkers are so cute. I especially like the covered button.


I used wool felt for the pages, and included a set of needles with this one.



I made this really fun pencil wrap for another swap about monkeys. See the monkeys jumping? The ties are made from a coordinating print of bandaids.


And here's what we received for the monkey swap. Ada loves her Bento box, and she's eager to use it!



Lots more swaps to come...let me know if you're interested in doing one with me.

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Work in progress

Yet another on a seemingly endless list of "works in progress." This stack of corduroy, silk, cotton, and felt will soon become a pair of turkey placemats, just in time for Thanksgiving, I hope!

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Ta Da!

The Tooth Fairy has been waiting to pay us a visit for Ada's second tooth. Ada insisted we wait until her long-requested pillow was done. So, for over six weeks now, I've been sneaking in pillow-sewing time during naps and late nights. At long last, here is the Tooth Fairy Pillow.  If you click on this photo, you can see the detail a bit better.

The idea for the pillow is that the TF won't actually have to go under Ada's pillow to get her tooth. And who really wants someone poking around under their pillow in the wee hours of the night, anyway? Now we can hang it on a door (downstairs, please, says Ada), and keep Ada's sleep undisturbed. Makes sense to me.

Ada was pleased with it and so was I. Now to see what that fairy thinks. Do you think she'll bring Ada a little extra in appreciation of the fine handiwork?



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Sabine Kim's quilt is finished

I got word this week that Sabine's quilt is finished. I got this photo from Meghan, at Z and S Fabrics. It was she who organized the quilting. Look at the detail! You can see more photos of the quilters at work here.Thanks to Shanna and Patricia for organizing such a worthwhile project! It was a pleasure to be involved in making a block. Ada and I picked the fabric together, and then we learned about applique and embroidery together. Here's the block I made. I'm eager to make another bird study like this, perhaps in a different color.

On a more serious note, I must say that projects like this make the blogging community a real thing. Working on the block for this pretty little quilt--well, it gave me a chance to feel connected and to express, in some small way, my deep sympathy for the Kim family's loss.

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Apron swap--what we sent. And how much fun to make!

We love making things, and this swap was a great opportunity for Ada and I to work together on another project. Here is the apron we made for Patricia's Marley at Willow Lane:

I went with a classic retro style and print--teacups and flowers that Ada helped me choose. As I was working with these old-style fabrics, I couldn't help but thinking about both of my grandmothers--both very crafty in her own way. One was a Swedish farm wife who quilted and knew how to stretch out her materials. The other grandmother was a city lady, refined, interested in collecting, and a very accomplished knittter and needleworker. I just know they both would have loved this sort of swap, and they both would have loved the prints we chose.


For the lining of the pockets, we used a wonderful dotty print. It was so cute, we used a bit more to make a chopstick holder (or an ipod holder--great idea!). And we got extra for a few more things I've been dreaming up...




And then finally the recipes. We had such fun putting this together, I think I'm going to start a whole new recipe project. More on that later...

We just loved this swap. And I can't wait to do another.

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Apron swap! Lucky us--look what we received!

Look at the lovely apron we received in our apron swap! Thank you so much to Sarah at Jinjur, who spent a lot of time making the cutest little apron for Ada, and a matching bib for Esme. Ada has worn it several times already. SO, so cute! The funny thing is that Ada used to think she was a bunny, and she would correct people when they would say, "oh, aren't you adorable!" She would say, "I'm not really a 'dorable,' I'm a bunny!" Bunny or no, she is certainly cute in this adorable apron..

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Fabric swap

My first swap packages were sent out! What a great idea to exchange scraps. It made me look at my fabrics in a whole new way. Now, to find some time to get going on all these fun projects...

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Serendipity

This week I was browsing some of my favorite blogs, and I saw that Hillary at wee wonderfuls was eyeing a yellow baby sweater from a vintage catalog. It’s almost exactly the same sweater that my mom recently gave to our youngest daughter, Esme.




The weird thing about Esme’s sweater is that it was kind of a hidden treasure. My grandme must have started it sometime in the seventies. Many years after my grandme died, my mom found a stash of sweaters. The first set, she found just before our Ada arrived—and they were the perfect size. And then, five years later, she found this yellow sweater just a few weeks before Esme was born. The yellow sweater was unfinished, and my mom had to stitch it up and add the ribbon.
Just looking at it makes me feel more connected to my mom and grandme.

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