My Christmas Wall Tree

I'd loved this idea of a bits-and-bobs, collection tree ever since I saw it over at The Fable of the Table. And, with a rummage through my jewelry box, my buttons, pompoms, fridge magnets, ornaments that don't fit with our 'strictly red' tree this year, and a goodie bag sent over from Beijing, there were suddenly more than enough trinkets to fill up my tree.

My tree is backed with poster board with a linen surface, and the decorations are simply pinned on (and double-sided taped if pinning was impossible). It is outlined with a thin piece of twine. It can't get any easier than that!

I really enjoyed making it, and just love how personal it is. We have mementoes on there from such a range of times and places and people: incense from our honeymoon in Thailand, my badge from the summer I interned at IKEA Beijing, keys to Justin's old red Mitsubishi, a red clay heart from Auntie Jenni, a beaded wreath from Grandma Thies, coloured paper clips that I slipped off submissions to the Sonora Review, a pendant I remember buying in Nottingham when I was about eleven, a fishing lure that my parents attached to one of Justin's Christmas presents one year, and even the twine was a gift from my friend, Loreal! I'm sure this will be a yearly tradition, with new items added each winter.

For other beautiful wall trees, check out Jane's and The Sunday Collector's. And then make your own!

Adventures With a Can of Chalkboard Paint, Part V

This little piggy got painted.

Now, to find more animals for the chalkboard farmyard...

Adventures with a Can of Chalkboard Paint, Part IV

As you might imagine in the home of a Brit, there's always a cup of tea on the go. And with my Mum here this week, there's suddenly a need for two cups, and for a way to tell them apart.

Solution: plain wooden coasters + chalkboard paint

A little bit of chalk, and it's easy to tell which is your cup, which has added sugar...

...or to give a friendly warning!

And no need to limit them to use just with hot drinks. Instead of scribbling guests names on plastic cups at your next get-together, why not give them real drinking glasses, and a coaster with their name on it?

(Linking to Kirsty at Creative Space today!)

Ribbon Blanky

"Simple Sewing for Baby" has arrived! And so today I got started on my first project: the Tag Blanky.

The idea is that babies love to put the tags of toys in their mouths, and little ribbons sewn around the edges of a blanket feel just like that.

So, with a little red gingham fabric (I told you our baby would see a lot of that!) and some ribbons, I got pinning...

...and then simply machine stitched it together inside out, turned it, and stitched it once more. Finished!

Bella thought it might be a nice bottom warmer...

...or possibly a hat!

So, I'm feeling very good about having something completed from my book already! It was the perfect little project to refresh my sewing machine skills (or lack thereof!) as a warm up for some of the more challenging ideas.

Next on my list from Lotta's "Simple Sewing for Baby":

• Gingham baby bloomers
• Simple trousers (for which I've got my eye on Justin's old striped shirts)
• Roll-up changing blanket
• Rattle

And a couple from the lovely lovely "Handmade Home":

• Family heart
• Eco-friendly cleaner

How wonderful to have such inspiring books! I highly recommend both of these.

Nisse Houses

There's a lot of Danish blood in my family, so we've always celebrated Christmas with Nissemen, the cheeky little red elves who, legend has it, deliver the presents.

This year, inspired by the little Nissemen, I've been making these Nisse houses... just the right size for a passing Nisseman to take a nap in!

They are completely made from felt, with embroidered windows, and stuffed with soft batting that would make a lovely Nisse bed. I'm still finishing the little village, but they should be done in time for Christmas!

Photo from (here) and my camera

DIY Autumn

I've been craft crazy this week, all in the spirit of Autumn! Here is my new wreath, all oranges and yellows, hanging proudly on the door:

And a leafy felt draping, inspired by A Beautiful Mess, which adds a little colour to our hallway:

My big project, though, was more of a restoration than a creation.

Last weekend, a 3 foot wooden witch came to live with us. She used to be Justin's Grandma's, then his Mom's, and now she's ours!

She arrived in a trash bag, in several pieces, looking like this:

Her head had come loose, revealing about fifty years of lumps of dried hot glue! Her straw was a bit ratty, her hair was wild and had glue stuck in it, too. But Bella and I believed she could be beautiful again!

First, we gave her a hair cut, and scraped as much of the glue off her neck, chin and arms as we could.

(Bella is sad because I wouldn't let her eat the straw or the lumps of glue)

Then, we gave her a nice new layer of glue, fixing her head back on and sticking her broomstick together.

The glue was still pretty obvious in the space between her head and body, though, and her arms had goops of straw-glue that I couldn't budge. So... I gave her a dapper little batik bow tie, and a rather fetching brown felt cape, with a little pink button!

Now, she looks very sweet in front of the fireplace! I'm going to call her Mildred.

Yay for family antiques! Yay for hot glue! Yay for felt in all its forms!

xo

Hello, Weekend!

Hurray for the weekend! We've had a yummy morning of Shipley's chocolate-frosted doughnuts (for Justin) and Shipley's sausage-and-cheese-bun-things (for me).

Plus, I've been living it up on amazon.com. I was given a gift card for my birthday, and have finally decided what I'd like: CRAFT BOOKS! Yay!

We spent two or three hours in Barnes and Nobles last night, just browsing, and all of the knitting books seemed so not me. Either the projects were really hard (umm... I don't even know what Fair Isle knitting means) or really ugly (baggy waistcoats, no thanks) or really lame (why would anyone wear that), or full of baby designs (not yet, thanks!), or full of dumbed-down 'this is a knitting needle... DUH' mindless info.

I was sad.

But, online, I found a couple that seem just my cup of tea:

I love that this one breaks projects down into who they are for: mothers, sisters, friends, men, etc.

So... if you're related to me, and expecting a Christmas present, please DON'T look inside as it'll give away what you're getting! :)

Also looks useful... it promises 'easy sweater patterns' so I'm excited about that!

And yay for primitive embroidery! My Mum had a great book of primitive, folky designs when I was little, and I just loved the quirky birds, the sweet sentiments, and the hearts on everything!

So, come on, Mr. Postman, I'm waiting!