Year: 2020

reindeer.

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Real talk – Santa scares me, but the reindeer are cool. Here’s a reindeer piñata idea for your Christmas celebrations. How cute would it be to create one for each of Santa’s reindeer? You will need: Cardboard Crepe streamers in reindeer colors (brown, creme, black, white) Paper in browns, black, and white Glue stick Scissors Pencil Paper scissors Masking tape or similar I used my burro template and reindeer-ified it with antlers and spots. Cut out two reindeer shapes plus strips of cardboard 2 inches in width for the perimeter. Make sure you can bend the cardboard into curvy shapes (corrugation should run across the 2 inch width). Decide where you want to place the piñata opening and start wrapping one of the shapes with the cardboard strips above the flap. Use tape to attach strips to shapes. Continue to work around the piñata until you reach the flap opening. Attach the second shape to the opposite side. Since we’re not popping this piñata open, I used packing tape to make it extra secure. Add …

christmas hello.

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Something I haven’t done in a few years because I pack my November/December with craft events and I wait until it’s too late to make it happen: creating and sending Christmas cards! I used to do it every year. These cards are four years in the making. I will now be sending Christmas cards every leap year…maybe. This year’s Christmas card timeline: Year 1: Buy the paper Year 2: Cut the paper Year 3: Assemble the paper Year 4: Write messages on the paper, address envelopes, and mail! Here’s what I used to make my cards: 12″ x 12″ double sided card stock 12″ x 12″ white card stock Twine Embellishments (I cut out reindeer images) Envelopes Paper cutter Scissors (for fabric and for paper) Bone folder Double sided foam adhesive Someone once described my cards as little booklets. I like to use 12″ x 12″ double sided cardstock (get the good heavyweight stuff!) for all of my handmade cards. They divide up into three 4″ x 6″ cards (cut two 8″ x 6″ pieces …

christmas gift packs.

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You know me – I love creating gift packs! Here’s a gift pack idea for Christmas. Gather: baskets, shredded paper filling, and locally sourced treats. What’s great about giving gifts in baskets is that the recipient can either use the basket in their home or reuse the basket to give a gift to someone else. I had a few red baskets that I was previously using for craft events but was ready to give away. Here are some tasty items I found locally! Siren protein snacks made in San Francisco. These are plant based, gluten-free, and non-GMO. Covered almonds by Feve Chocolates, also made in San Francisco. They give 5% of their profit in micro-loans to cocoa farmers. Hubby and I picked up an extra pack of the chai spiced almonds for ourselves – yum! Jamnation jams are so delightful and punny. They were my booth neighbors at the SF Etsy Indie Holiday Emporium last year and they let me try all the flavors. Wineforest Wild Foods rubs from Napa. Don’t the flavors sound exciting! …

lavender.

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Here’s a cute, easy, and smelly in a good way DIY for the holiYAYs: lavender sachets with a Christmas twist. For this craft you will need: Lavender buds – I ordered lavender from San Francisco Herb Co (a local favorite!). Upon opening the bag I felt instant relaxation vibes. Cotton sachets – Find them at your local craft store. Spoon or funnel Letter stamps – I used Mine Stamp to label my sachets. This is a great labeler for all fabric items. There is room to include up to three lines of text and also a built-in ink pad! Alternatively, you can use individual letter stamps. Fabric ink Stamp a bunch of sachets, fill with lavender, and tie. To make it festive for Christmas I labeled sachets with “You’re Nice / Not Coal.” Don’t they look like little gift sacks? I originally wanted to create lavender sachets as a natural silverfish repellent (gross!), but then I found more uses for them! In general, they smell nice so having a sachet handy for smelly occasions (like …

holiday macarons.

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Raising Bebe is no walk in the park, but he slept long enough for me to enjoy a little macaron decorating session with my Yelp Elite Squad and Macarons by Natalie. Remember when I decorated boba and dumpling macarons? This time we enjoyed decorating a few holiday designs in Hello Kitty, Baymax, and corgi shapes. Like last time, we picked up our kits from Macarons by Natalie headquarters. Each kit came with macaron shells for a dozen cookies, three types of filling (red velvet, peppermint mocha, and snickerdoodle), assorted icing (red, yellow, green, and white), sprinkles, and a food marker. For the event, we donned our best ugly holiday sweaters and holiday hats, and Natalie demoed a few macaron decor ideas for each character. I tried to create Hello Kitty Santa… Tahdah! All the macarons! Almost too cute to eat! This was such a fun event, and technically my first holiday party of the season! In my world it barely feels like December, so this was a nice reminder that Christmas is coming! 🙂 Are …

we have a runner.

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This Christmas is going to be Hubby and my first Christmas in our home. Usually, we travel to visit family this time of year, but since we’re all still practicing social distancing and with a tiny babe on our hands we thought it would be best to celebrate at home. It makes for some excitement though because that means we can actually put up a tree to enjoy and start some new family traditions. One thing I really wanted to add to my Christmas decor this year was a macramé table runner to keep our dining room festive throughout the season. I picked a project from the Modern Macramé book. Side note: I’m really good at purchasing craft books because they are so beautiful and then forgetting about them, ultimately never using them. Whoops. Good thing I remembered there was a table runner project in this book! I purchased this dreamy 4mm cotton string in army green for the project. This project is no joke; it requires a time commitment but I was excited to …

charmed.

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As promised, here is another wrapped craft: charm bracelets! File this craft under handmade gift ideas for your besties (hint hint: Christmas is coming!)! It’s super simple and super cute. All you need: Bangles (I used bangles from Target) Embroidery floss Jump rings Charms (I found a great selection from Paper Dog Supply Co) Scissors 2 pairs of pliers Cut 6 feet of embroidery floss. Tie onto the inside of a bangle with a double knot, leaving a short tail. Leave the tail exposed. Wrap the floss along the bangle, making sure the wraps lie next to each other. Do not leave any gaps. Once you loop around the bangle, tie the two loose ends together in a double knot on the inside of the bangle. Trim loose ends. You can add some jewelry glue on the knot if you wish. Use pliers to attach jump rings directly onto the bangle, and to attach charms onto the jump rings. Mix and match your charms of choice. Add blank jump rings, too. Make a few bracelets …

macrame tree.

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I did it! I made a macrame tree. I was inspired by the macrame landscape piece I recently created. I planned a pattern based on the landscape project. I had a rough idea of how I would create the tree gradient, but I totally winged it because I wasn’t sure how much cord to use for each column. I eventually figured out that each square knot would need about 7-8″ of cord (when using 4mm cord). Even if you run out though, you can use multiple pieces of the same color cord to complete the column. Materials: 1 12″ dowel 18 strands of 22″ natural cord (for the base) 9 strands of natural cord in varying lengths for the “background” (see below recipe for lengths) 9 strands of green cord in varying lengths for the tree (see below recipe for lengths) 3 strands of 24” brown/copper cord for tree trunk 1 strand 18″ natural cord (for the hanging string) Yellow felt (for star) Sewing needles Sewing thread Battery operated string of lights (optional) Fabric scissors …

mini rainbows.

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I made some rainbows! And you can, too! Gather: 4mm cotton string for the base 2mm cotton string, twine, or similar for the rainbow wraps Scissors Ruler or measuring tape Nylon cord or similar Sewing needle Comb Lobster clasp Jump ring 2 pairs of pliers Cut the 4mm cotton string into three: 7-inch strands 8-inch strands 9-inch strands Cut corresponding wrapping string: 3 feet of 2mm wrap (for the 7-inch strands) 5 feet of twine (for the 8-inch strands) 4 feet of 2mm wrap (for the 9-inch strands) With the wrapping string, tie a double knot two inches from the end of the base string and wrap twine/string onto the base. Once you have a 2-inch tail left on the other side, secure with another double knot. Keep the tails. Curve and stack your rainbow arches. Tie double knots with the loose tails to connect adjacent rainbow arches. Trim excess ties. The side where you tie the double knots is the backside. Cut a 3-foot strand of nylon cord. Double knot one end then sew …

slice of pie.

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Happy Thanksgiving! Ever since making mini felt pie slices for a custom order, I’ve been contemplating a pie slice garland! I channeled my Pietisserie experience for pie inspo. For this project you will need: Felt in pie colors (think browns, deep berry colors, whipped cream colors) Twine or other cord Fabric scissors Hot glue Make your favorite pies! Pumpkin pie with dollop of whipped cream: Cut a triangle for the pie base. Cut rough ovals for the crust. Cut a spiral, roll, and glue for the whipped cream. To assemble, glue the crust pieces in a overlapped fashion. Glue the whipped cream in the center of the slice. Cherry pie with lattice work: Cut a triangle for the pie base. Cut a long rough oval for the crust. Cut thin strips and create a woven lattice. Glue the lattice first and trim excess lattice. Then glue on the crust. Pecan pie: Cut a triangle for the pie base. Cut rough ovals for the pecans. Cut a curved line for the crust. To assemble, glue on …