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Hand Made Christmas
{Giveaway at the bottom of the post} Every year I have high hopes that I will make every gift instead of spending lots of money on impersonal store bought items. Then, every year, due to my poor planning, I end up buying everything last minute. This year will be different. I am starting now, I am going to make a list of all the things I have to make, I will share some of it here. On top of Christmas I also have several baby gifts to make so those will also be in my list. This beautiful DK weight yarn by MadelineTosh will be used to make a couple…
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Hand Knit Brown Paper Tags
This year I am pushing myself a bit. I want to make as many things by hand as I can for the holidays. That of course means many of the gifts I will be giving are going to be knit. I always want some kind of unique piece in my wrapping and often a tag accentuates a gift perfectly…without being expensive or time consuming. I made these “hand knit” tags and thought I would share them. You will be surprised at how easy it is. Simply click on the image below to download the printable PDF file. Then simply follow the instructions on my Brown Paper Tag tutorial and you…
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Knitting Pattern Giveaway!
I was asked recently to participate in a giveaway for the blog Graces Garden Walk. I am always honored when asked to participate in Knit Alongs or giveaways. She is also featuring the beautiful patterns of several other artists so check it out. Last I checked there was only one entry. Good luck! CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE GIVEAWAY Also if you knit I will be doing a giveaway at the end of the week so watch for that also.
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Squaw Valley Herb Garden (part 1)
Over the weekend I had the honor and pleasure of taking a tour of the Squaw Valley Herb Garden. I took my camera, knowing it would be a photo worthy experience, and I was not disappointed. I will be splitting this into two posts because of the number of beautiful things there were to photograph. I had passed these signs many times on my drive home. What I didn’t realize was the herb garden has tours all spring and summer. I hadn’t even made it in the gate and I found several wonderful things to take photos of. Rosemary and Tim have a wonderful collection of old signs cars and…
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DIY: Gift Wrapping (part 1)
Using this free download you can inexpensively (and easily) wrap gifts for the holidays. Check out this tutorial for how you can make these tags out of brown paper grocery bags. Also see below for a tutorial on how to tie up your gifts a little differently. I love twine! Wrapping like this is easy I used old paper from Anthropologie that was used to wrap up some bowls I purchased. Here is a little photo tutorial on how to tie your gifts like this. Wrap some twine around the front of your gift and then flip it over. Twist the twine together until it you have around two inches…
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Handmade Tags (bicycle)
I have already started prepping for all the gifts I will need to wrap in the next couple months. Most likely many of them will be knitted items but I thought I would start out with sharing these tags I designed. Click on the image below for a free PDF download. I have a small obsession currently with antique bicycles. I thought it would be fun to do a series of tags for all the handmade gifts I will be working on in this season. I will post them for download along with other gift wrap ideas as the weather gets chillier and we move towards the holidays.…
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Childish Creativity
Some days the only time I can find to create is while I am at the park with my kids. The wonderful thing about the park (ours has sand) is how it lets children create. Everything they can imagine is possible. They have structures that can become forts or castles. Sand that can become, food, buildings, roads and construction sites. The sky is the limit. I have been trying to encourage creativity in my children. It takes some risk because it usually results, like everything else, in a big mess. However, I know this is so important to their development because of how big of a piece of my…
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DIY’s a Look Back
Feathers have been all the rage this last summer and they do not seem to be disapearing as fall enters the picture. As you enter this cooler season, that is full of costumes, gifts, and parties, here are a few DIY’s to get you all feathered up. DIY: Feather Extensions This tutorial makes putting feather extensions in easy and affordable. Check out this trend without having to drop a wad of cash at your local salon. DIY: Peacock Feather Earrings These alabaster peacock feather earrings are simple and inexpensive to make and so elegant looking. You can buy lots of feathers and make these as Christmas gifts as well…
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An Endless Variation
I recently decided to knit myself a Winter Endless Braid Ear Warmer I didn’t have time to complete the repeat 4 times so I did 3 instead as recommended at the end of the pattern and made the braid very loose instead of tight. I LOVE the result. It was a quick brainless knit. Plus, I figured if I was knitting bow ties for my kids I might as well knit something for myself.
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Brown Paper Labels
I have been wanting to find ways to re-use my brown paper grocery bags. I am always looking for good print paper and I had the idea today to make labels out of a brown paper bag. Here is how you do it. Tape a piece of 8.5 by 11 inch paper onto the outside of your paper bag. Carefully cut the paper bag into the shape of the printer paper. Make sure that your hand cut brown paper has the same width as your print paper. If it is wider it will jam your printer. Place in your printer and choose your file to print. You can download this…
