thimbly things

1. Tilda the Goose, 2. Soft trees, 3. xmas-crafts-in-felt-gingerbread, 4. Gold/Whit Christmas stars!, 5. christmas dress & apron, 6. Vintage ornaments in a favorite compote, 7. Untitled, 8. Ginger Snaps, 9. christmas cupcakes., 10. deerinhere, 11. McCalls Christmas Make It Ideas Vol XIII 4, 12. The Sweetest Christmas ^_^, 13. Ice-Skating Afternoon Ornament Pattern, 14. christmas fabric, 15. McCallsMakeitChristmas3, 16. n’s heart, 17. Jollypops, 18. Funny Christmas ^_^, 19. Tomte gang, 20. Stocking advent calendar

Almost everything about it. (I could do without the incessant Toys ‘R’ Us ads on TV though. Seriously. My child doesn’t need a “So Chic Boutique” to make her look like a little scary pageant queen. So stop putting those ideas in her head, thankyouverymuch. While we’re on the subject, could someone please explain to me why it would ever be appropriate to air an ad for Top Model between Dora and Diego? Garrrr!)

Since I’ve already begun to make Christmas presents, I think it’s okay to share some pretty Christmas inspiration with you. But I do have family members who read my blog, so I can’t show you what I’m makin’. Well… maybe just a peak! :)

Are you making gifts this year? If so, whatchamakin?

I’m thankful for sweet, wonderful family. We’re heading out tomorrow morning to trek halfway across the country from Oklahoma to Tennessee to Virginia to be with family. And eat. Love it!

Last year, I found a yummy cranberry dish (that’s more than a sauce) in a Jell-O ad in Martha Stewart Living, I believe. It’s much like a fruity dessert. Based off of this recipe, I made a few changes. Here’s the adapted recipe:

• 1 can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple, undrained
• 1 pkg. (8 servings) cherry flavored Jell-O
• 2 cups freshly prepared cranberry sauce (I used the directions on the bag)
• 1 Granny Smith apple, chopped
• 1 orange, peeled and sliced

Drain pineapple, reserving liquid in 1-qt. liquid measuring cup. Remove 1 Tbsp. of pineapple; set aside for garnish. Add enough cold water to the reserved liquid to measure 3 cups; pour into large saucepan. Bring to boil; remove from heat. Add gelatin; stir at least 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Add cranberry sauce; stir until well blended.

Pour into large bowl. Refrigerate 1-1/2 hours or until slightly thickened (consistency of unbeaten egg whites.) Stir in remaining pineapple, apple and orange; stir gently until well blended. Pour into medium serving bowl or Jell-O ring. Refrigerate 4 hrs or until firm. Garnish with reserved crushed pineapple just before serving. Store leftover gelatin in refrigerator.

Makes 14 servings, 1/2 cup each.

So what’s your favorite Thanksgiving dish?

As promised, here’s the tutorial for making magnets that are oh so pretty. I think so, anyway. ;)

First, gather your materials:

• magnets (I used what I already had: half-inch round typewriter key magnets. They’re pretty strong.)
• buttons
• various floral bits: preferably old and used (I had some crocheted flowers hanging around from a garland I made last year and some woven flowers from a yardsale find. Use whatever you have!)
• needle, thread, scissors
• hot glue & glue gun (I use a low temperature glue gun so I don’t have to say ugly words during my happy crafting time.)

1. Arrange your buttons and flowers in a pleasing fashion. If you like what you see, then thread your needle!

2. Sew or glue buttons to flowers. Most of my crocheted flowers had large holes in their centers. For these, I put glue on the front of the flower around the edge of the hole and then quickly attached the button. I added thread to some buttons even if they weren’t being sewn to anything. For appearances. (Please excuse my sad cuticles. That’s what too much crochet and not enough hand lotion will get you, Dear Readers.)

3. Knot the thread together at the back. Doesn’t have to be fancy.

4. Now put lots of glue on the magnet and quickly quickly quickly press flower to magnet. Quickly.

5. Let cool. Stick on fridge. Admire.

Congratulations! You fancified your fridge! Wasn’t that like the easiest thing you’ve ever done? ;)

Also try gluing your favorite buttons to magnets or adding some sparkle and shine with beads! :)

EDIT: Cheryl’s Fancified Magnet Tutorial is also up.  Take a look!

She covered all her random magnets in the same fabric to pull them together.  Great idea, huh?

Also, she used the same pretty fabric for this stretched canvas, which is quite beautiful too. :)

The new and improved, pimped-out Fridgidaire.  Since Evan won’t let me wallpaper it.  Well, I assume that he won’t.  [Evan, if you’re reading this, may I wallpaper the fridge?] ;)

My friend Cheryl and I decided to gussy up our magnets last Saturday.  Do you feel a tutorial coming on?  Well, Dear Readers, Cheryl and I will each have tutorials available soon.  So stay tuned!  And go say hi to Cheryl.  She’s new to the blog world. :)

Apparently, Japanese crafty-types like to make their own scrubbies for the kitchen sink.  And the bathroom.  And their faces.  And everything else!

1. DSCN4111, 2. Japanese tawashi book, 3. Bear Tawashi 2, 4. Tawashi scrubbies in cabin, 5. 978-4-7747-5118-4, 6. 978-4-05-605157-5, 7. 978-4-277-17210-3, 8. tawashi flower, 9. Tawashi - scrubbies, 10. 978-4-8347-6460-4, 11. tawashi, 12. 4939459804029

I was alerted to this trend in the latest issue of Craft.  And so… I now present…

My Very First Tawashi!!!  (Extra exclamation points make this feel more authentic, don’t you think?  And I’m not sure how to pluralize “tawashi,” but I actually made two…)

I made a plain blue one and an orange one that was begging to have a leaf added to it.  They now reside prettily on the windowsill above the sink.  And are just aching to get egg and cheese ground into their fresh, acrylic fibers.

These were quick to make and quite satisfying.   Thanks again, Narumi!

Fabric-covered binder clips.  Everyone needs ‘em.  And a pile of fabrics, a pile of Christmas-y crafty things from the 1980s, a pile of library books, and Mod Podge.  But don’t use Mod Podge to cover binder clips.  I did that and ended up with rusty stains all over the fabric.  I then peeled off said fabric and tried again using double-sided tape.  Worked like a charm.  (I first saw this idea on How About Orange, though I definitely didn’t put as much work into it.)

Something I’m realizing about my blog is that unless I can arise at 6 in the AM, you’re typically not going to hear from me until sometime in the late afternoon.  I so want to be prepared enough to reach my Dear Readers first thing in the morning, but…

I have to put a lot of my creative stuff on hold until naptime (2-ish).  I try to snap some pictures early in the day if I can (and if the light is good).  I want to find a balance.  I always thought that I could incorporate my little ones into whatever creative project I was working on (like this lady or this lady).  But lately it’s been too hard.  Honestly, I just think they’re too young right now.  I yearn for the day when Emily can knit right alongside me.  Hope she wants to!

So…

While we’re on the subject of creativity + mommyhood, there’s this documentary that I’m dying to see called Who Does She Think She Is?  Have you heard about it?  Evan got a screener, so maybe tonight…  And maybe I’ll glean some wisdom from it.  If you have any, do tell.

Clearly this is staged because my mug is never empty. ;)

I just wanted to show you a potholder I made last week.  Things have been kind of quiet here with sick-ish babies and a sad documentary on our minds and hearts (Please be aware that this documentary is the most tragic thing I’ve ever seen.  If you watch it, be forewarned that you will weep.  And weep.  And weep some more.  And then get angry.  And then do something.).

So it feels a little strange to blog about a potholder after that.  But sometimes you just need to get your mind off the serious.  Right?

The pattern is from Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts: Lacy Crochet (From the awesome library here that ordered it upon my request).  I had to modify the pattern when I realized my potholder was going to be Huge if I did any more rounds.  I then lined it with white muslin to give it more structure.

The tablecloth was thrifted with the tray I showed you recently.  It was less than $3, and very much awesome.  It has branches with birds and flowers on a very large repeat.

And the mug was thrifted in the summer.  For 48 cents.

Another piece of happiness: I got my 12 Square fabric from Turkey Cookies on Saturday.

The theme is simply “Autumn.”  Hmmmm.

I’ve been crocheting a lot lately, and I’m quite very in love with doilies.  Truly, I used to think a doily was a pretty & useless object.  But never again.

Check out some of these fabulous ideas from lovely Flickr folks:

1. 20070716_0881 Doily cake, 2. doily pillow, 3. Doily Movement!, 4. Doily Movement!, 5. Doily Movement!, 6. Jan. 08: Doilies framed, 7. doily print, 8. doily play, 9. Tea Cosy featuring vintage hand embroidered doily, 10. collection of doilies, 11. wall work 1, 12. Doily -> Seat Cover, 13. Doily, 14. doily detail, 15. denim and doilies, 16. drying the doilies

So much pretty that I can hardly stand it! :)  I’d like to make some doily earrings and embellish a tea towel with some hand-dyed doilies.  The possibilities are endless.

…which is on my bed. :)  How about some yummy crafting in bed?

I found this tray at the Quality Thrift Store for $2.98, and it’s solid walnut.  How awesome is that?  So it has become my Portable Crafting Room.  Perfect for corralling all those little bits and pieces, and perfect for moving from dining table to couch to bed… while you watch things like election results, ya know. :)

From the tray, can you guess what’s on my mind?

With Halloween, the time change, and Election Day behind us, are we ready to talk about Christmas yet?

But, boy, Halloween is Ti.R.Ing.

Jacob was a peapod.  But only long enough for a few pictures.  The costume was tight in the neck area, which concerned me.  So off it went.

But he was pretty stinkin’ adorable, wouldn’t you say?

At the last minute, I made some scary cookies for the Halloween party.   They’re called Bones of the Dead, and I found the recipe here.

Though they were a little tough, they seemed to go over well with our friends.  And they looked cool too. :)

Emily went trick-or-treating.  Once around the block was more than enough.

Definitely.  And here’s the proof:

How was your Halloween?