Month: November 2020

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 …

first year pennants.

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Getting ready for Baby’s First Year! Over the years I’ve created baby pennants for friends. And once we found out a little of our own was on the way, I knew I wanted to make a set for myself! I usually make the pennants smaller (like this or this) and place them on dowels. This time I went a little bit bigger. I used thick felt in size 12″ x 18″ and cut out 6″ x 18″ pennants. I cut strips of white felt 1″ wide to create the side ribbons and the strip on the left side. I used Eastwood font from Da Font as inspiration. I went with black and white because babies can see the contrast, but also because we wanted to use our panda as a measure next to Bebe. Matchy, matchy! Excited to use these each month, and, while not in use, they should make cute bebe nook decor. Do you have littles? How did you commemorate their monthly milestones? Share below!

door tasselry.

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I saw this on Pinterest and had to try it, especially since I had all the materials already. Door knob tassels! Materials and tools: 4mm cotton string – alternatively, you can use something thicker Embroidery floss in all the colors Scissors Tapestry needle Comb Ruler or tape measure Painters tape (optional) How to: Cut 8 strands of the 4mm string into 2-foot pieces. If you are using a thicker string/rope you may not need as many strands. Line up the strands and fold in half. If it helps, use painters tape to hold the strands together and mark off where you will stop wrapping with embroidery floss. I marked off 6 inches from the string midpoint. Take your first embroidery floss color and tie a double knot on the strings opposite the painters tape marker. Begin wrapping, keeping the wraps directly next to each other. Leave the loose tail to the side – we’ll use that later to finish our tassel. Tension should be just enough to keep the string strands snug. When you are …

macrame landscape.

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I worked on a fun thing! I recently subscribed to The Crafter’s Box and the macrame landscape kit was my first project. This project was taught by Rachel Breuklander of the Lark’s Head. The kit came with everything we needed for the landscape project, including a pattern, a video tutorial, and even a really nice pair of scissors. I didn’t have to pull anything else out other than my macrame stand so I could work on my project while it hung. The color palette was so dreamy. They had a few additional color palettes to choose from if you wanted to create more than one project. After cutting all my rope to size, the pattern called for lark’s head knots and square knots. This was a fairly easy to follow project; it’s also a really good project to practice your square knot tension. I’ve done many a lark’s head and square knot, but I had never worked with the technique of changing the rope color to create a design. It’s so cool! Now that I …

bebe nook.

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Small space living means lil Bebe gets a nook in the walk-in closet instead of a full room (seriously though if we had an extra room, it would be a craft room and Bebe would still get a nook). The nook is basically a fancy closet for diaper changing and baby item storage. To cute-ify Bebe’s nook, we ordered tree decals from Kenna Sato Designs. They were so easy to attach and I love how it turned out! The hardest part was deciding where to place each decal, but you really can’t go wrong with these! So satisfying. We didn’t do much else to the nook other than decorate with a tennis ball mobile and my pom pom wall art. We added drawers to one of our Ikea bookshelves for clothes, diaper goods, other baby accoutrement, and postpartum necessities. We also were gifted a diaper pail so that lives in the nook, too. The rest of the nook is baby thing storage for items we were gifted but don’t need for a few more months. …

places.

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I’ve only recently started to be brave enough to go places. It helps, too, that I am on maternity leave and can do more weekday adventuring. (Weekend adventuring is too crowded.) Here are some outdoor spots in the East Bay that make great social distancing adventures for when you need to get out of the house. Alameda Beach, Alameda / Grab a spot on the sand and feel like you’re on your own private beach. Visitors are really good at keeping a good distance away from each other. Castro Park, El Cerrito / They’ve let the grass dry out so it’s not super lush, but there is a lot of space to spread out and have a socially distanced picnic under your tree of choice. Shimada Friendship Park, Richmond / A lovely spot for watching sunset. There are lots of people exercising along the water and it’s bit more crowded here in the late afternoon; beware of non-mask wearers. Lucretia W. Edwards Shoreline Park, Richmond / This one is a small park, but really lovely. …

garden wreaths.

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I designed a special wreath project for the Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek and it launches on Saturday! I taught my felt succulent garden class as a pre-recorded, self-paced workshop with the Garden back in May and the Program Coordinator Alice loved the idea of hosting a wreath workshop with both succulents and florals inspired by the flowers that bloom in the garden. Since in-person events are still on hiatus, we planned for this second class to be a pre-record, self-paced workshop, too. The wreaths feature a variety of generic succulents plus two flowers inspired by Eriocephalus africanus (white with black center) and Baileya multiradiata (yellow). I prepared kits with a 10-inch grapevine wreath, felt in a succulent palette and floral colors, templates, and step by step instructions. Plus, a video tutorial! If we were to hold the class in person we would have set up in the event center patio. But crafting in the comfort of your home in pajamas is also fun! I loved creating this special project for the Garden! PS …

bebe mobile.

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It’s fun when my Hubby’s love of tennis and my love of crafts can unite. Remember the tennis banner? Sharing a minimalist baby mobile project inspired by tennis balls! I found tennis ball colored felt pom poms and white macrame hoops on Etsy. Apparently, old school tennis balls were white so I added some white felt pom poms too, in another size for some variation. You can create something similar in any color palette! Materials: 2” wooden ring Nylon cord Felt pompoms, any size x 42 (I used 30 1” pom poms and 12 2” pom poms) 8” metal hoop (can use an embroidery hoop) Sewing needle Scissors Ribbon or rope for hanging Ruler or tape measure Cut three pieces of nylon cord 4 feet in length. Align cords and fold in half. String on wooden ring and place at the cord midpoint. Tie an overhand knot with all three cords. Pull each cord end separately to tighten the knot. Sew two pom poms on each cord. The pom poms should stay in place, but …

chunky macrame.

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With Fall in full swing, I thought it would be appropriate to bring out the cozy and fluffy macrame! This would make great wall decor for a small space. All you need: 32 feet of fluffy roving, cut into two 16-foot pieces 3.5 inch dowel 2 feet of twine or similar cord A ruler or tape measure Scissors First, prepare the dowel with a hanging cord. You want the hanging cord to be secure first because the fluffy roving might ‘push’ the cord out of place. Tie a double knot, wind the cord a few times around the dowel, tie another double knot. Create an arch for hanging and repeat the same knot, wrap, knot technique on the other side. Next, we will anchor the two 16-foot pieces of roving onto the dowel with Lark’s head knots. Fold one piece of roving so that the outer tail is ~11 feet and the inner tail is ~5 feet in length. Place the ‘fold’ under the dowel. Place the two loose tails under the hanging cord, over …