Remembrances

Yarn along and possibly a stash busting update

2012-02-28T18:28:00.000-05:00

This week, I was really hoping to have finished my penguin project. I really really wanted to finish them in February, as I self-imposed a deadline on myself.

Penguins in various stages of completion...

I have 6 nearly done, although none have a beak on them yet...

...and I have the parts for two more (and to finish the nearly done ones). I am currently working on the last two penguin bellies. I had thought to make 24 of these for an advent calendar for my sister but these 8 took up my entire ball of black yarn. Who knew? So, as part of the stash busting challenge...

they sure worked, but I thought there would be more of them.

I'm putting them away for a little bit, because my sister was right...I do get bored of making the same thing over and over. I will take a break from them and come back.

Oh, the pattern is this one by Linda at Natural Suburbia.

The book is "New Treehouses of the World" by Pete Nelson. I picked it up at the library because it looked interesting and the boys and I have spent hours going over this book. It has amazing pictures of amazing treehouses, like this:

I thought it was a greenhouse, but it was built for communication with outer space. I'm not kidding.

This is one of my favourites, because the second floor (the second floor of the treehouse!!!) has 4 beds in it, with lamps and drawers and it just looks fantastic (unfortunately I couldn't seem to get a picture of the picture). If you ever see this book, check it out. I promise you will be amazed! Some have hydro, and running water, and wood burning stoves (in a treehouse!!!)

Anyways, hop on over to small things to join the Yarn Along fun, and check out Creating a Family Home just in case the stash busting update is Wednesday too.

Crafting on...

2012-02-27T18:55:00.000-05:00

Twice in a row now, I don't have anything for "Using what I have to make what I need". I seem to be spinning in circles lately, getting distracted by everything that "needs" to get done "right now".

Having said that, I will join Frontier Dreams for "Keep calm, craft on".

The Green Man mug I worked on this weekend.

S really likes it, even though it isn't done yet.

The only thing about using the studio at the college is the amount of time it takes to get something back. It will be 3 to 4 weeks at least before this one comes home finished. I am looking forward to it. I worked on another mug too, that looks like an eyelet fabric

It is based on this fabric...

Do you see it? I cut this piece of fabric from a ballet costume I had when I was a child...I have boys, I don't think I will be needing the costume any time soon. It was a skirt with a pair of bloomers underneath. I have another piece for my bathroom curtain. OOOH, does that count as using what I have to make what I need?

And for those of you who join me on Tuesday, there is still a little time to use the discount code for my etsy shop. 15% off purchases excluding shipping until the end of the month for my blog readers as a "grand opening sale". Use the code GRAND2012. For those of you who read this daily, I apologize for the broken record...I just wanted to catch those who come weekly.

What are you "crafting on" this week?

Weekends

2012-02-26T18:37:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, our local nursery and greenhouse hosted an alpaca show. N and I went to spend some quality time with these adorable creatures:

I love the colour of this one above.

The one with the face in the hay ate the whole time we were there...at least an hour and a half.

N is loving these little ones...they were born in August.

The one above was my favourite...just look at that face!

This little guy above was born in November...N loved him too.

...but he was really smitten with this one...the friendliest one there, I think.

What?

One of the women there showed N how to use a drum carder, which he thought was pretty neat. And she gave him the carded wool to take home and make something. He hasn't decided yet if he is going to make "another" ball for the cat, or try something new. To be continued...

While we were there, I picked up my seeds for the garden...still months away, but I like to have them on hand. Couldn't find any edamame this year, so I will have to keep looking. I bought a pack last year but I lost it before I planted it. Don't know how or where...who loses a seed packet between the house and the garden?

Saturday afternoon, I made some english muffins for the first time ever.

If you have ever done this before, is there a way to bake them rather than do them in a pan? It took me 45 minutes to do the dozen because my pan could only hold 4 at a time.

There was some crafting of course, and since I picked up some alpaca roving at the show, I finally dragged the spinning wheel out of the basement (where it went to be "safe" over a year ago and never came back up) and tried my hand at it. Wanna see what I made?...

A big mess...the beginning actually went pretty smooth, but then I just seemed to not be able to hold on after the pedal got detached and I fixed it back up again. This is only single ply. Can you imagine how thick my yarn is going to be. Oh well, practice practice practice. This was only my 3rd attempt.

How was your weekend?

Oh, and in case you missed it, there is a discount code for the Grand Opening of my etsy shop...use the code GRAND2012 to get 15% off any purchases, excluding shipping, until the end of this month. The link is on the right.

Sandwich Wrappers

2012-02-23T03:39:00.001-05:00

Before I forget, if any of you missed it yesterday...I am offering a 15% discount on any items (excluding shipping) in my shop for a Grand Opening Sale until the end of this month. Use discount code GRAND2012 if you are interested.

Now...Sandwich wrappers...for my Stash Bash.

I have been making these sandwich wrappers for years - originally just for my kids and myself. Then some of the teachers at school wanted some, so I gifted some. Then a few of the kids wanted some, so I made a few more. This past week, I decided ours needed refreshing and I still had some material on hand so I made a few more. I had thought about putting some of them in my etsy shop, but when I did a quick search, I realized that there are tonnes of them out there already...who knew?

They are easy peasy to make...

Cut squares of vinyl and squares of cotton fabric into the same size...I like 11" x 11" but we have some smaller, right down to 8" or so for snacks. With right sides together, serge around the edges leaving about 4" open in the middle of one side. Turn right side out. Pin your opening closed and sew around the edges at about 1/16" from the edge...on my machine that is right where the groove is to line up my fabric, so that is what I use as my guide.

Or...cut two squares (one of vinyl and one of cotton). Put wrong sides together and sew about 1/8" in from the edge. Then, pin some double folded seam binding around your outside edge and sew it into place. That's the first picture at the top...

Or...if you don't have any seam binding...cut your piece of vinyl to the size you want your finished wrapper to be. Cut your cotton so that it is 2" bigger each way (if your vinyl is 8" x 8" your cotton is 10" x 10"). Lay your cotton right side down. Center your vinyl right side up right smack in the middle of the cotton. Now fold over each edge of the cotton 1/2" and then 1/2" again. Pin in place. Start with the two parallel sides, and then do the two other sides to get nice corners.

Ta-La....all done. I am going to make a few with some nylon left over from the year I made raincoats for the boys (yep...the year that there was not a single boys raincoat to be found in the city to fit my boys) to see if they are more durable cuz no matter how many times you say "DO NOT PUT THESE IN THE DRYER" they end up in the dryer.

The snack bags I made are lined with the nylon so I imagine that it will work just fine.
So for today...the stash bash...

8 sandwich wrappers, done...oh and not to worry...these are for me to take my lunch to work...I will not be sending my boys to school with these in their lunches :) and a few for giving to the teachers at the end of the year.

Join the Stash Bash fun over at Crunchy Catholic Momma today.

Edited: I forgot to include how these close up...thank you to the reader who commented and pointed that out. The boys use a rubber band around theirs once it is all closed up like an envelope. You just need it to hold down that last flap really. I have seen them before with a velcro closure, but that doesn't work for us because the items inside are never the same size so we would need a million different sizes. When I want to be fancy, I close mine up with a piece of kitchen twine and wrap it up like a present. I have also, in the past, sewn a ribbon into the middle of the back (just tack it in place really) and you can use that to tie it up like a package when it is all wrapped up, but with the usage ours get, I don't think it would last very long that way....Plus, the boys don't like to take the time to tie it...a rubber band is the best solution for our family.

I'm also going to link up to Creative Friday on Natural Suburbia, won't you come join us?

Yarn along and a Discount Code

2012-02-22T05:07:00.000-05:00

Or I should say...a discount code and Yarn Along.

I would like to announce the "Grand Opening" of my Etsy shop AtTheCrossroads. I have posted a variety of things, and there will always be more to come, but I thought I would offer my blog readers a Grand Opening Discount of 15% off any and all items (excluding shipping) in my shop for the rest of the month of February...use the discount code: GRAND2012 to get 15% off your order. I have never tried this before, but it said it was "successfully created" so please let me know if it works if you try it out.
When the kiln opens up next Wednesday, there will be some more pottery to follow, and I have plans for a few new items...it is a work in progress.

Now, yarn along...

I have been working on a few "long-term" projects and needed to work on something a little more instant gratification, so I have cast on a pair of slippers.

The pattern I am using is pictured on the left, but by the time they are done, they look nothing like the picture...I just need the pattern to get the back of it started, and then I go from there. I have no idea how old this pattern is, but it came in a bundle from my mother-in-law when her mother passed away. It is my go-to pattern for slippers for the boys...and for Dave too. I know, they don't look like boy slippers, but I will post a picture when they are done...trust me...they are boy slippers.

The book is the last of the series (at least the last that the library has - and I had to skip book three) that I was reading last week...still set in Tudor England...a lawyer who keeps getting sucked in by the head honchos of the political world to help them "catch the bad guys". If you are squeemish, I am not sure these books are for you. They are about at the limit of what I can take. Especially as the gross parts invariably fall while I am eating lunch at work. But, they are pretty good...

Hop on over to see Ginny at small things to see what everyone else is reading and knitting or crocheting.

Versatile Blogger Award

2012-02-21T16:07:00.000-05:00

About 2 weeks back or so, Debby from cooking up a storm in a teapot awarded me the Versatile Blogger Award. Thank you Debby! Now it is my turn to pay it forward.

So, here is what I am supposed to do:
1. Thank the person who gave it to me and link to their blog. Done, see above.
2. Share 7 things about myself.
3. Pass this on to 15 new to me versatile blogs.

OK, step 2...7 things about myself.

1. I love good food. My favourite food groups are waffles, cookies, strawberries from the garden when they are still warm from the sun, a good cup of hot chocolate, tempura crab sushi, and I eat "dessert" with my bedtime snack (usually a cookie, or a piece of chocolate, or some dried fruit).

2. I love to dig in my garden. When I am in a lousy mood in the spring/summer/fall, I just need to get out there and dig around for about half an hour, and everything is just fine.

3. I am terrified of cancer. I am terrified of my kids getting it mostly, but really, anyone I know. It is just so horribly frightening and seems to be ever more common than it used to be.

4. I have too many hobbies, and I think I have a bit of a tendency to go crazy with them. I usually have multiple projects on the go all at the same time. I am working on it.

5. My dream is to have a farm some day, with bees, and ducks, and sheep or alpacas, and a huge monster of a garden. I want to try to grow wheat to last a year. I want to try to grow flaw to spin and weave into cloth big enough to make something even if it is just a coaster. I have big goals, but don't know how to make it a reality with the price of land the way it is around here. I want to build our own furniture with wood we chop down ourselves, and sleep under warm quilts. I want to be an old-time pioneer. For now, I do what I can in the city.

6. I am boring, but I know it. My idea of a great night is having a good dinner at home with the family, some crafting time, and falling asleep with my library book (because magically, the cleaning up and chores would do themselves, you know).

7. If I could go anywhere for a trip, I would visit the east coast of Canada, go on an Alaskan cruise, or possibly, if I ever want to get on a plane again (unlikely) visit the UK.

And now...to pass the award on to 15 new to me blogs that have a mix of recipes, crafts, gardening, family, etc...

a foothill home companion

The blissfully content life

I had a bigger list, but this last week, a bunch that I would have given it to already got it from someone else.

So, I am going to add a few that are not new to me, but may be new to you:

Frontier Dreams

Crunchy Catholic Momma

Creating a Family Home

There are others I would add, but they already got the award...but they are on the sidebar of blogs I read.

If you have some you would like to share...leave a comment below.

Making what I need - a recipe

2012-02-20T18:49:00.000-05:00

So Tuesdays is usually "Using what I have to make what I need" day here on my blog. Well, tonight, what I needed was dinner on the table...so I thought I would share a recipe.

Let me start off by saying that I love egg rolls. However, I do not love frying food. So, my solution...baked egg rolls.

Once again, my recipe is a guideline...after all, it's about using what you have, or what you like.

2 cups mushrooms, diced
3 celery sticks, finely diced
2 heads baby bok choy, finely sliced
2 green onions, sliced
3/4 lb bean sprouts
Chinese 5 spice
sesame oil
soy sauce
wanton wrappers, spring roll wrappers, phyllo dough...whatever kind of wrapper you have

Put about 2 tbsp oil in a pot/ large pan/ wok. Saute the mushrooms until they are almost cooked through. Add the celery and continue to saute until they are soft. Add the bok choy and green onion. Saute about 1 minute. Add the bean sprouts. Stir. Sprinkle on a little soy sauce. Stir. Sprinkle some Chinese five spice over the top. Stir. Sprinkle a little sesame oil over the top. Stir. Add whatever flavour you like in your egg rolls. Stir...you see where I am going with this.

Let it cool for a few minutes.

Put a good whopping spoonful of the filling in the middle of your wanton wrapper. You want to have it laying out like a diamond. Fold it up like an envelope, sides in first, then top, then bottom. I like to rub a little water on the edge when I fold up the bottom to get a nice good seal.

Continue until you run out of filling. Lay them all out on a cookie sheet lined with a silpat liner.
You could use spring roll wrappers instead if that is what you happen to have, or even phyllo dough. I have made these little pockets with phyllo dough before and they have come out lovely.

Ok, once they are all lined up on your cookie sheet, brush on a little olive oil...a little goes a long way with these. Flip them over and brush the other side. My brush was MIA so I just rubbed it on with my fingers. I used a little less than 1 tbsp of oil for 12 egg rolls.

Bake at 450 for about 10 minutes... Flip...bake them another 10. It is the bottom that gets golden, so just keep them in there until you like the look of them.

They come out nice and crispy, just like a fried egg roll, without the frying. We had it with rice and lemon chicken, but any stir fried veg is nice with it too...that's what we do in the summer when we have all that nice fresh stuff.

Enjoy.

Building a well with some cookies

2012-02-16T20:13:00.002-05:00

The boys' school has decided it is going to run a series of small fundraisers to build a well for a community in, I believe, India. The have had a "hat day" where the students get to wear a hat in class if they pay $1.00. They have a few other things planned, all for $1.00.

Tomorrow, they are having a bake sale...with items ranging from 25 cents to $1.50...so, tonight, I am making cookies. Chocolate Malt Cookies. This is one of my all time favourite cookie recipes. It is from this book...

...from 1985. Don't you love vintage cook books. I will show you some images from my favourite page, and then I will share the recipe.

Yep, uh-huh...that is a doll making the gingerbread cookies. Seriously, I love vintage cook books.

OK, so the recipe:
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour (I use half all purpose, and half whole wheat)
1 cup instant sweetened chocolate flavored malted milk powder (I use Ovaltine)
1tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter (I use about 3/8 cup)
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed (I use 3/4 cup, lightly packed)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup undiluted evaporated milk
1 cup chopped walnuts (which I omitted as there is a nut allergy at the school)

Sift together the dry ingredients. Set aside.
Beat butter, sugar, egg, vanilla until fluffy. Beat in milk until smooth.
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Stir in nuts, if using.
Refrigerate at least 1 hour, covered.
Drop by rounded teaspoons, 2 " apart on lightly greased cookie sheet (or silpat liner).
Bake at 350F for 10 - 12 minutes until set but not browned.
Remove to wire rack to cool completely.
It says that it makes 4 1/2 dozen cookies, but I beg to differ. Tonight, I made small cookies and it made 72 for a double batch...so 3 dozen per batch.

I had forgotten that they had to go in the fridge for an hour, so while I was waiting, ~~I licked the beater~~ I made little flags for the cookies:

using these stickers for the printer...they are address labels:

Avery 8160 if you are interested. I just lined up the edges so that is was kind of looped in half, put a toothpick in the opening, and finished folding them together. I actually tried printing them in colour first but they look much better in black and white for some reason.

They will be packaged 2 in each paper cupcake wrapper (kids will be touching this stuff, so I thought it would be much more hygienic to have paper wrappers than have kids pawing all over the cookies - oh, you may not know that about me yet...I am a germ-a-phobe! A big time, gross me out, I can't believe you are going to touch/eat that, germaphobe).

Like this:

Ta-La! Now, if you will excuse me I am off to ~~eat some cookies~~ tuck the kids into bed. Good night all.

Sometimes you just feel fancy

2012-02-16T08:04:00.000-05:00

...or otherwise could be called "in which I spend way too much time on a bookmark"

In general, I am not a very fancy person. I don't where fancy clothes. I don't have fancy things in my house. My garden is almost strictly functional rather than for "landscaping". But once in the while, I find myself spending an insane amount of time on an every day item to make it just simply over the top. This week, I did just that.

This is my new book mark. It is gigantic. I made it to hold the page in the book I was using for learning cables (see yesterday's post if you wish). It is 15" long...and beaded...

This is the top. It has three rows of beads. Hold on, I think I have a more close-up view...

This is the bottom...

Ok, here is the top. There is a row of dangly bits in the center, and then a loopy kind of row on each side.

and here is my very sad attempt at showing you how to make it.

I had a tiny piece left from my kitchen curtains. Fabric that I love. Fabric that I thought would be too small to make anything useful with, but I kept it anyways. So I cut a rectangle, folded it in half, sewed around the edges. Then, I strung on the beads.

I started with the middle row. Just string the beads onto your needle in the order that you want them. Top off the row with a seed bead, then string back through the row the opposite direction...all except your seed bead, which will hold everything in place. Then stitch back through your fabric and do the next row.

For the loopy rows, I strung on the beads for each loop, and placed a stitch where I wanted the loop to end, and kept going along both sides. I took me well over an hour and a half to make this bookmark,

but isn't it fancy?!?

So, although you can see by the size of it, it didn't make much of a dent in my stash...but, it was stash busting just the same (the beads are left over from a bracelet I made for a friend a few years back).

Please come on over and join the stash bash fun at Crunchy Catholic Momma.

And speaking of fancy...it is time for Three Things on Thursdays.

I have 6 of these green goblets. We use them for grapefruit (as here) or fruit salad, or whatever, when we are in a fancy kind of mood. And for "feasts", warm water and a lemon wedge as finger bowls.

So, three things:
1. Whenever we use them, N calls whatever is in them the "appetizer" (except when they are finger bowls, although they have both been known to skip the finger bowl part and just drink the lemon water). He sets them on the table, and is just thrilled to be eating his "appetizer"...even if it was part of his supper anyways.
As I said, we are not fancy people, so a real and true appetizer does not make a frequent appearance around here. It is enough just to get the dinner on the table most days, yes?

2. I love them because for years, I imagined them as Tasha Tudor's finger bowls from "Becky's Christmas".
These finger bowls were a part of every holiday. They were of thick green glass, and after dinner everyone wet the tips of his fingers and ran them around the edges of the bowls, making thereby wonderful singing vibrations without which Becky would have considered a Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner incomplete.
Note: Mine do not make "wonderful singing vibrations". They are just pretty.

3. I once found another set identical to this, but in orangey-yellow at a vintage shop while I was looking for something else. For $1.00 a piece. It took every ounce of my will power to leave them behind (we are working on living with less "stuff", right?). I have never been back to that particular store because I don't think I would be able to leave them behind a second time on the off chance that they are still there.

Enjoy your day everyone...will it be fancy?

Halted in Progress Yarn Along.

2012-02-14T19:07:00.000-05:00

It is in fact Tuesday night, but I am going to pretend it is Wednesday morning... and get my post ready to join Ginny at small things for another round of Yarn Along.

Moving on to a new cable this week. This is as far as I got on it...the pattern was in a library book which I had to return today, so I am on hold. Not to worry, I have purchased the book, and it is in transit, and should be here in a few days so I will be able to move on.

The book in the picture is Brian's Return, which apparently is the last in the series. I had read Brian's Winter, and knew that I had missed Hatchet (the first in the series), but I was OK with that since Brian's Winter was kind of an alternate ending to Hatchet. I didn't know that there was another book in the series that I missed called The River. So now, I will be on the lookout for both Hatchet and The River. Briefly, it is about a boy who is returning to the woods after two years of being in the city. He had previously been in a plan crash and had to survive in the wilderness for months before finally making it back. He returns because he just can't live in the city anymore. I truly enjoyed this book...a big part of which is because we feel the need, every single day, to get our butts out of the city. We don't know where, we don't know when, and we don't know how we are going to do it...but we feel the need. And for some of us, it grows stronger every day.

Somehow.

And back to the yarn along...I think my cable looks OK for the first run at it. I like it much better in white. And I like it much better in the book. I am hoping by the time I make the second and third of the strips I will have it looking just dandy. The book, if you are wondering, is Country Weekend Knits and it is so nice that I have bought it. It is only the second knitting book I have ever purchased if that gives you a hint. Usually I get them from the library.

And...all of the yarn for this work in progress is from my stash of wool, so I am adding the link below for any that have missed it.

2012 Stash busting challenge at Creating A Family Home

Something I needed...

2012-02-13T18:46:00.000-05:00

I have had a piece of fabric that I have been keeping for a while because I just couldn't dare cut into it.

...well I finally did it. I found the perfect project for it.

I have finally made myself a knitting bag. It is full of all kinds of wonderful pockets:

...and it is tapered so that it is smaller at the top than at the bottom so my project isn't always trying to fall out.

...and I love it!

I love it so much, I made two more and put them in my new etsy shop. I have also added the button to my sidebar.

Hop on over to Frontier Dreams to check out what other people are doing for

Keep Calm and Craft On.

Shameless self promotion - times two

2012-02-12T19:33:00.000-05:00

I received some rather exciting news today. Exciting for me anyways...

Debby at Cooking up a Storm in a Teacup has given me a Versatile Blogger Award.

Da da da DAAAAH! Thank you Debby. I appreciate it muchly! And now, I get to give the award to 15 new to me, or newly discovered blogs. Yippee. It is going to take me a bit of time to get my list together, but you bet our bippees that I will be doing just that. Can you tell I am excited? I just said "you bet your bippees"!

Pop on over to see who else she gave the award to. I am in some seriously good company.

And for part two of tooting my own horn...I have finally done it...well, I have finally started it.
I have actually gone and opened an Etsy site. There is not too terribly much listed yet, but I have been working for several weeks to make things, and will be working this week to get them listed.

And...when I am done listing, I will be doing a GIVEAWAY. So stay tuned. It should be next week or the one after.

And totally unrelated...
something interesting I saw today:

We went sledding today, to make the most of our second snow this winter, and look what I found. Tiny little roly-poly snowballs stopped in their own tracks partway down the hill. Huh!

Just thought they were cute. I don't know how they got there since we were the first on that particular hill.

My husband is a genius and he calls it Pilgrim Pie

2012-02-09T10:26:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, my husband asked me if we could come up with a way to make something like Shepherds Pie but made with the ingredients for Thanksgiving dinner, or a big turkey feast. After tossing some ideas back and forth, this is what we came up with:

The following are some general instructions rather than a recipe per se, because if you want to make this (and let me tell you, it was delicious) you would probably want to tailor it to suit your regular "feast" flavours.

Middle layer: I cooked up a turkey breast the night before, so that it would be faster when I got home from work. Then I just sliced it thinly when it was cold.

Bottom layer: Stuffing - You could make whatever your traditional stuffing is - here is what I did:
Chop up 3 celery stalks and 1 onion into tiny little pieces and saute in a pat of butter (generous) until they are nice and soft. Add about a cup and a half of broth. Sprinkle the entire pan with ground sage. Toss in some "stuffing croutons" (I just chop up some bread into cubes a few days in advance and let them dry out - this time around it was italian semolina bread). Mix it all up until the bread has soaked up the broth. Add more broth if your bread is still to crunchy. Pour this mixture into the bottom of the dish you will be using for your Pilgrim Pie and bake for about 20 minutes at 425F.

Top Layer: While you are toasting up your stuffing, roast your vegetables at the same time. I know a lot of people have green bean casserole for their Thanksgiving dinner, but we stick with root vegetables, so this is what I did: Cut up 5 small white turnips, the 2 largest carrots I have ever seen in my life, and 5 or so parsnips into chunks. Basically, you would want enough root vegetables (or whatever) to fill a 9 x 9" pan. Drizzle with a little olive oil, and mix them around to coat. Roast for 30 minutes or so (I think I had the oven at 425 F).

While the root veg are roasting continuing their extra couple of minutes, layer the turkey on top of your toasted stuffing. Cover this with gravy (shhh...I used a packet mix...it was a work night). Then cover the whole thing with the roast veg and bake again for another 20 minutes or so until everything is nice and bubbly and warm and your root veg are soft enough to your liking.

This is the best shot I could get of the layers.

Enjoy, my friends. Enjoy.

I am so excited to Yarn Along

2012-02-07T22:05:00.001-05:00

It's Wednesday, so of course I am joining Ginny at small things for Yarn along, and am I ever excited. Wanna see why?

I have learned how to do cables...OK, one cable, but still, it's a start. I figured it was time to stop turning away from projects like these awesome socks at Creating a Family Home just because I was nervous to try something a little more complicated than my usual. So, I went to the library (of course) and picked up this book, which I will be buying shortly, and tried it until I figured it out.

Obviously I will need to block them (something else I have actually never done...I know, I know!) to get them to lay flat, but I have a plan. I hope to learn several patterns, and then put them all together into one project.

I don't know why I waited so long to learn cables...as long as I pay attention to it, I am doing all right. Maybe that was the problem all along...I tend to knit while reading a book, or watching TV or waiting for the kids at a sports event. With these, I pretty much had to sit and just knit...nothing else. I find that is often the way with learning a new technique...I work it up to be so difficult and then find out it really isn't and I could have been doing it all along.

The book is Dark Fire, which is the second in the series following Dissolution I wrote about on Monday. I am only on page 12 so I can't tell you much about it, but I liked the first one. It is set in - wait, can you guess? Tudor England. Gasp. I know you are shocked, if you follow regularly.

I cannot wait to go see what people are making this week.

Oh, and for those of you who were a little concerned about my "compost soup",

the broth turned out great...and so did the soup (and flat biscuits...just what is the deal with me and flat biscuits?). Mmm biscuits. I think I am off to have another.

Enjoy your day.

Using what I have on Tuesdays

2012-02-07T08:08:00.000-05:00

As promised...a picture of the finished seat padding / cushion...

It is quite comfy...and it is made from two pairs of adult male sweatpants that were in too bad of condition to bring to the Goodwill. The only scraps were the elastics, and the bits at the bottom that were full of burn holes (I do believe from the welding machine at work, but who knows). One seat cushion...free!
Oh, if you missed the first post...you can check out how I made it here.

And part two is from my kitchen. Normally, I buy soup broth powder that I mix with water. I don't usually make my own broth because I couldn't justify using up perfectly good vegetables to put in the stock. For the past few weeks, I have been saving all the bits that I cut off the vegetables when making dinner and putting them into a freezer bag that I have kept for that purpose. Tonight, the bag was full, and I was planning on making soup for dinner tomorrow, so I figured I better get around to making that vegetable stock.

So...what I had...

was this bag of vegetable bits...

...which I threw into the pot with some water...oh, and when I took the veggies out of the freezer, guess what I found? A roast chicken carcass that I forgot I had put in there to make the stock. Ha!

I apologize if you are vegetarian...this may not be the most appetizing picture.

...and what I needed...

was a great big bowl of soup stock for tomorrow night's dinner. Now I just wonder if it was worth having the burner on all darn evening to simmer it down. I think it might be wise to make this over a campfire during the summer and then freeze it in mason jars to use throughout the winter. Probably won't happen, but I think I will try to remember.

Oh, and N did ask me at one point why I was making soup from compost. Oooh, I laughed.

So...what are you all making with what you have on hand today?

Books, books, books

2012-02-05T22:46:00.000-05:00

This week I picked up a selection of books at the town library and realized that I often tend to look for the same kind of thing.
Almost every time I visit the library, I come home with some sort of book set in Tudor England. Today, I think I discovered why. I discover little gems like this:

"It was all as one would expect to find: dried marigolds for fever, vinegar for deep cuts, powdered mice for earache".
The book I am currently reading "Dissolution" by C.J. Samson. Set in (surprise, surprise) Tudor England during the dissolution of the monasteries. The quote above is from the lawyer investigating the death of his colleague and he is perusing the jars in the infirmary of the monastery. Can you even imagine? Powdered mice. I have come across several little bits like that, because there are usually apothecaries in the books that I read, and I think I am going to start to write them all down. I find it very very amusing. Powdered mice!

Another book I am enjoying is "Country Weekend Knits" by Madeline Weston. It is not often that I come across a book that I want to make 90% of the projects inside it. This is one of them. The problem is that it is mostly sweaters. I would have to work for years to make everything I covet in this book. I am learning a new technique though, and I will share my progress on Wednesday's Yarn along.

And...dear readers, I have a question for you.
I have enjoyed several of the recipes in "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. Most are delicious, and easy. My personal favourites so far are the Pain D'epi and the olive oil dough. I have tried others but those two have worked the best for me...and they work every time. However, three times now, I have made bread and it has taken 8 hours to rise. 8 HOURS! I know it is not my yeast, because it is brand new, and the bread I made Friday and today came out perfectly well. The bread I made Saturday, the Italian Semolina Bread just did not want to do a thing. I have had the same problem with the Challah recipe in the book and I know it happened a third time but I forget which recipe I was trying. Does anyone else have this problem? My yeast is fine, the temp. is warm, but not hot, and I am leaving it undisturbed to rise. Any ideas?

Something I want to remember: Every single time, every single time, that the whistle goes on the tea kettle, the boys call out "tea kettle" in that kind of sing song voice (cuz, you know, just in case I can't hear the whistle) and it makes me think of kids playing road hockey and calling out "car" (you know, just in case you can't see that giant car coming down the street).

Something else I want to remember: N and I baked a cake today. I really wanted German Chocolate, he agreed to the Chocolate, but not to the coconut icing because "Jeff is coming over. Jeff doesn't like coconut. We can't have coconut icing!" I love that N, at nine years old, already tracks peoples likes and dislikes so that he can help make sure we will please our guests. Just too cute. BUT, it didn't get me my coconut icing ;)

Three things and more stash bash

2012-02-02T09:02:00.000-05:00

So I will start off with my three things on Thursday:

This week I have for you: three very similar winter scenes. We have had snow once this winter. It lasted about a day and a half. I took these while the kids were sledding, and am posting them here to show that yes, we did indeed, get some snow this winter.

The last one is my favourite. I might have to print it off and hang it in my house. We will see.

And now, to join Stash Bash at Crunchy Catholic Momma. I should probably save this post for "Using what I have to make what I need" but here we go anyways.

This is my chair at my sewing table. Ignore the big tangle of yarn on it...that is something N is working on which I will share when he is a little farther along. Also, ignore the mess...if I am not mistaken, Crunchy Catholic Momma has a "keeping it real" post as well...two for one today.

I am getting distracted...this is my chair...my hard, wooden chair. That is fine when I have just a quick thing to whip up, but on the weekend, I realized that anything beyond an hour of so I start wishing I had a nice plush chair. What I do have...in my stash...is a pile of clothes that are not good enough to donate, but that are good enough to keep for "something". That is what makes up a pretty significant portion of my "stash".

Anyways...I cut some long strips out of some sweat pants...just back and forth, back and forth, leaving a little bit on the end...

...and single crocheted back and forth (because that's all the crochet I know)...

...this is one leg of a pair of adult grey sweatpants and one leg of adult black sweatpants. Yes, the bits where you see the inside was done on purpose. I like grey...it is my favourite colour. I wanted both parts to show. I am going to add another grey section and then another black section using the two remaining legs, and then it should fit the seat of my chair exactly. Serendipity. Oh, and I will probably use some bits of yarn to attach it to the rungs on the chair so that it is not always falling off. Hopefully, I will be able to show you the finished item on Tuesday.

Note: as I was crocheting the strips, I rounded off the sharp corners as they came up. I guess one could do them all at the same time, but some get hidden in the pattern, so I actually didn't have to cut them all.

I can't wait to see what you are all creating with your stash.

Yarn Along - February 1

2012-02-01T07:58:00.000-05:00

Well, I wasn't actually going to yarn along this week, because I really didn't think I had anything to show....

but then...

I finished these socks...I just wanted to get them off the needles, but now...they are done, and I will wear them, and I will move on. Ha, I just realized there are 3 projects in the background of this picture. I will be sharing shortly. I think I have issues concentrating on one thing at a time.

Now, if I could only get these...

of the needles as well. This started out as a sweater made from odds and ends of yarn that a friend dropped off at my house. But the sweater was terribly mis-shaped...so much so that I cut off the sleeves and I don't even know what happened to the body. My plan is to put some ribbing on the end, and then turn them into a liner for my rain boots, kind of leg warmers I guess. The problem is, the yarn is acrylic. These have been stashed away in a bag for well over a year. Now that I am trying to finish them off, I realize I really don't like working with acrylic yarn at all any more. I have become a yarn snob, just like I was warned. So, I am knitting a row here and a row there in the hopes that by spring they will be done and then I can leave the acrylic yarn for the boys' craft projects just like I intended.

The book is one of many in a series by Kate Sedley about a peddlar in the late 1400's who was supposed to be a monk or a priest (I forget which, it has been a little while since I read the early ones) but who leaves to become a peddlar because he longs for a life of freedom. But then he believes that God who keeps interfering in his life to make him solve mysteries (usually deaths) and to use the talents / gifts he was given.
I like them...these books I mean. I almost always like books set in the 14-1500's. Well, actually, straight through to the 1800's.

Hope on over to see what everyone else is yarning along.

Stash Bash Update and Using What I Have

2012-01-31T10:11:00.000-05:00

I am joining the Stash Bash Challenge 2012 update over at Creating A Family Home.

My knitting projects from January: a pair of baby slippers, a baby block, three little ducks/geese, two squirrels, and a sack boy from "Little Big Planet".

My non-knitting stash busting: one heat bag filled with rice, 6 bean bags for a game, a pair of wrist-warmers from an old sweater, some felt pan-handle cozies, a candle and a rag rug.

I am also joining Keep Calm, Craft on over at Frontier Dreams with my "Using What I have":

Today's using what I have is brought to you by my recycle bin. I have a "thing" with tissue boxes.

Do you see a tissue box? Nope, not me...I see a pretty little bird.

I save the tissue boxes at home, I take them home from work when they are empty, and I have even been known to take them from the school if I happen to catch an empty one.

This time around I cut them up into circles. I use these as gift tags throughout the year.

Some of the larger ones will be used to send a note to the teachers.

...and these cute little ones will either be used as gift tags, or once in a while, I use them to send a little joke in the boys' lunchboxes.

I keep them in this little pottery bowl, and refill it when it starts to get empty.

Do you craft from your recycle bin?

Weekends - January 30

2012-01-30T10:35:00.000-05:00

Although we only had one thing planned for this weekend, it turned out to be quite full.

Both boys won in their age group for the free throw competition at their school, so Saturday morning was the competition for the council.

S in warm-ups.

N getting ready for his shots.

My camera has a time delay on it so it was very difficult to get an action shot. Out of about 40 pictures, I only had one or two of each that worked out...although some are pretty interesting...

...like this one during warm-ups. N just after he took his shot, and S in the background going back to the line.

We made these chocolate banana flapjacks

that I found at Cooking up a Storm in a Teacup (I always thought flapjacks were pancakes) but these are squares...kind of like a trail mix granola bar idea...and gluten free if you are looking.

We may have overdone the chocolate dipping...but they are tasty.

We finally got some snow, so we had to take advantage of it and go to our usual sledding hill...

S and N with their cousin K all loaded onto K's tube for the last run down.

And N asked me how come it is mostly him and I on the blog...how come S is hardly ever there. Well, that is because N is the one who is usually crafting or cooking with me.

This weekend, the boys and their dad took apart an old VCR that wasn't working because they needed a part that was in it for a project they have planned.

So here is S taking apart a broken controller, to restore some balance to my blog...I guess.

How did you all spend your weekend?

Entertainment for two...three if you count me as well

2012-01-26T19:59:00.000-05:00

Our cat does not play with cat toys. Instead, he steals balls from the boys' rooms, plays with them, and leaves them all over the house. So N thought maybe Hobbes (the cat) needed something of his own to play with.

Wool felt balls in various stages of completion.

A few years ago, a kind farmer friend I know let me have a whole huge sheep fleece. I spent an entire summer washing, and picking and cutting the pieces I could salvage so that I could try my hand at dying the wool with plants growing in our yard. Now, this fleece isn't good enough for spinning (something I have tried a tiny little bit, but plan on doing some more this year) but it is fantastic for stuffing things, and I thought we would try some felting with it.

Carding...this took two nights due to attention span issues :)

This picture was not, in fact, posed. The cat kept following us wherever we moved the fleece to. And laying down on it, beside it, eating it...you name it. That big cheese box in the back...that's what I keep my fleece in.

What? People don't keep their fleece in a cheese box? :)

We both did a bit of the needle felting to get the fleece into a rough ball shape, and not so loose. This is our first real attempt at felting so we were kind of testing things out as we went along.

We moved on to wet felting. The tutorials on the internet said to alternate hot water and cold water and use plenty of dish soap. So that's what we tried...note: this plus a nine year old makes a mess...a happy mass, but a mess none the less.

Make sure you get plenty of lather going...

...put your hands in this very essential formation...

..and blow very gently.

This is a very important step in the wet felting process. It must be, considering the amount of time that was spent on this step alone.

Which is why, only two balls are felted, and a few are partially felted, and at least one..not at all felted.

Good thing we have time on our hands.

I just turned around and the cat has made off with all but the largest unfelted ball. Hmmm. He has been playing with the two finished ones for a few weeks. They are a big hit.

Join along with Linda at Natural Suburbia for Creative Friday, and

Andrea of Wisdom Begins in Wonder for Fiber Arts Friday.

Today I am thankful for: our lovely town library...I got quite the haul this week, and projects lined up.

Yarn along and a Recipe

2012-01-25T08:13:00.001-05:00

It's Wednesday, so of course I am joining Ginny at small things for Yarn Along.

For last week's yarn along, I asked for your help. I needed help deciding which advent calendar to make...a forest animals using a variety of animals, or just penguins.

Can you guess which one won the vote?

Today I cast on for this penguin from Natural Suburbia's Etsy shop. I am going to make as many of these as my partial ball of black cotton allows throughout the year.

Oh, but not so fast...it was a close call...so

...I am working on the forest animals as well. Then I will see which I like best.

I was not well on the weekend, and my family was gone, so I had some time to make these. The pattern is also from Natural Suburbia. I also knit a baby squirrel in dark grey, but I had a darn old time stuffing these, so the baby will wait until I have more patience.

No book in the picture...I didn't get to the library and this weekend I also caught up on the books S wanted me to read so he could talk to me about them. I hope to get to the library on Thursday.

And now...on Monday I posted a picture of these cookies:

...and somebody actually asked for the recipe! Wow! And, since it is not from a cookbook, I can share.

Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups brown sugar, not packed

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour (I use whole wheat, but you can use whatever)

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 cups rolled oats

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup coconut

you can add pecans or other nuts if you wish...and I have also added wheat germ before and you can't tell it is in there...oh, and I have added up to a cup of dried cranberries without a problem.

Cream together the butter and brown sugar. Add eggs and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, coconut, and rolled oats. If you are adding wheat germ, add it here.

Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and mix until well combined.

Add whatever "stuff" you are adding in...dried fruit, chocolate chips, nuts...make them yours, right?

Mix until well combined.

Drop by the spoonful onto a cookie sheet lined with a silpat liner. Bake at 350 for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are firm enough for your taste. (Please note: I always check them at 10 minutes, and I always put them back in for a few more minutes, as my oven is "wonky" at 350...I usually regret the last minute or two.) Cool on sheet before removing to a rack.

Also note: I made 40 cookies from the recipe above, with another roll of dough in the freezer that will probably make 24 or so. This makes a good size batch of cookies...so feel free to make a half batch :)

Have you met me? I don't do the half batch! Cookies will be my downfall.

Enjoy!

Today I am thankful for: my cold starting to disappear. I can see! I can breathe! woo-woo! A few more days and I should be right back to "normal".

Using What I Have...January

2012-01-24T10:08:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, my husband and boys drove over to help my in-laws move. Not a huge distance, but as the highway was closed due to a 30 car /truck pile-up, he had to take an alternate route...and they were calling for snow. So he packed snacks, and made sure the blankets were in the car, and then he asked me if we had any emergency candles. (Last year, there were people stranded on the highway for 24 hours due to a heavy snow)

That is something that had been on my to-do list for weeks...but we don't have any snow, so I kept forgetting.
I plunked some candles into jars with lids, and sent him with those. And while they were gone...

I made this jelly candle in a salsa jar. I was going to sand all the paint off the lid to make it look pretty, but then I realized with the moist air, it could very well end up all rusty, so I just left it. I might cover it with fabric. I might not.

I found a bit of leftover candle wick in a drawer from ages ago (when S was in kindergarten, he made candles for the teachers for Christmas...he is in grade 7 now). I had a jar in the recycle bin. And I had some leftover jelly stuff for making candles that I received as part of a gift several years ago. There was exactly enough left to fill the jar.

I have been saving the candle ends from all of our candles for a while and I do believe I have enough saved up to make another emergency candle for the other car.

Also...as from my stash...

I made this baby toy from 3 small balls of cotton that were in my stash. They were really too small to make much of anything on their own. One side was actually a test swatch to check my gauge and then I realized I should probably do something with it. There are two sides of each colour, and since it is for a baby, I added the black around all the outsides for contrast.

I will be linking up with Crunchy Catholic Momma on Thursday. Come along to see what everyone else is making from their stash.

2012 Stash busting Challenge

Weekends - January 23

2012-01-23T10:45:00.001-05:00

So, I was on my own this weekend...
My husband and the boys went to help my in-laws move...I was sick so I couldn't go. Nothing major, just a really bad cold, but that meant I was not to go. It was the quietest weekend I remember in...hmmm...well, it was the quietest weekend I remember! As much as I crave the occasional hour alone, 44 hours or so was really pushing it.

I did a bit of knitting (which I will share later), a bit of reading (actually caught up with S...for the 39 clues...the poor boy had no one to discuss them with), a bit of cleaning, a bit of crafting (which I will share later), I watched a movie, and then I was bored. So, I made cookies...

Oatmeal chocolate chip with coconut. Oh, my...so good.

Sunday, they came home in the afternoon, so we made ourselves some pizza for dinner.

Four people home for dinner = four pizzas...so mama doesn't have to make lunch tomorrow. They worked very hard all weekend, and the boys actually ate half their pizza in one sitting. Well, I guess I did too, but mine was smaller :)

Oh, and a Play dough cake building challenge that three of us participated in, but I forgot to take pictures because it was time for showers.

I really was going to shovel the driveway Sunday morning but the shed lock wouldn't open...hmmm...well, it rained last night and the little bit of snow we did get has melted. This has been the strangest winter!

Today I am thankful for: My guys making it home all safe and sound!

Creative Friday - the last Christmas gift.

2012-01-20T10:12:00.000-05:00

I am once again joining Linda at Natural Suburbia for Creative Friday.

This is the last Christmas gift that needs to be delivered. I thought it was too fragile to mail, and I knew that we would be seeing the recipients in January, so...it has been waiting here.

My boys made this piece of artwork for my in-laws...their grandparents. They painted a regular canvas that is on a wooden frame with colours they thought would match their grandparents furniture. They cut out raindrops, branches and leaves from security envelopes. (I cut out the silhouettes just to be sure they were exact). They found some quotations that they liked on the internet and hand printed them on tissue paper. All of those items were attached onto the painting with modge podge. The stick is one that they peeled in the summer with a carving knife and then they asked me to sew it onto the artwork with a ribbon. The flowers on the branch were hot glued on.

Close-ups:

I think they enjoyed this project. I know they liked that it was just bits at a time over a period of a few weeks, so they could just pull it out when they felt like it. I bought a few extra canvases, and I think I will try my hand at one as well.

It is being delivered today, so I was anxious about posting early, but my parents-in-law are moving today so I really don't think they will see this post before they receive the actual gift.

I can't wait to see what everybody else is making.

Three things on Thursday - January 19

2012-01-19T11:26:00.000-05:00

Today's three things on Thursday are brought to you by N:

Three things N loves...

N loves our cat Hobbes

N loves skating

N loves candy.

For those of you who know N, please note...He loves Hobbes and skating more than candy...Gasp!

Yarn Along and a Request

2012-01-18T05:30:00.000-05:00

Once again, I am joining Ginny at small things for this week's Yarn Along.

On the needles in the first picture is the fourth of these little guys. The pattern is for this goose from Linda at Natural Suburbia's Etsy shop Mamma4Earth. I wanted it to be teeny tiny so instead of using the needles and yarn on the pattern, I used crochet cotton and 2.5mm needles for the geese. Then I thought I would like a duck, so I used some self-patterned sock yarn (I wish I could remember what it is but I bought it about 7 years ago and the store is closed) from my stash. The beaks and feet are made of thick embroidery floss.

My original plan was to make enough tiny critters to do another version of our advent calendar with all knit creatures (not to replace the other set --- in addition to it, because I want to play too)...all made of crochet cotton and sock yarn.

But somebody (I won't say who, but his name just might begin with N) has already absconded with one of the little geese because he loves it soooo much. In fact, it just may have gone to school one day this week.
My new plan is ~~was?, is?~~ to finish the little duck on the needles, and then make a full size mama goose with regular yarn, and possibly a mama duck...

because apparently these little guys need a mama (did you meet the sack-boy yesterday?)

...and then I will move onto this squirrel...a baby and a mama (the next three pictures and patterns are all from Natural Suburbia's etsy shop)...

and this hedgehog...a baby or two and a mama...

...and I have to go back to get this fox...

At least that WAS my plan. But then when I went back to look at the other animals...I came across this penguin (also Natural Suburbia)...

and now I am thinking that 24 or 25 of these, possibly with a number underneath them, or on their wing, or even on their belly, would make a great advent calendar, along with a nice icy/snowy slope and possibly an igloo or two.

So now I can't decide...shall we vote on it? If you are willing, please leave a comment below to help me decide if I go with forest animals or penguins...

Today, I am thankful for...all of you! Thank you for your comments, and thank you for sharing your "makings". I always enjoy a good yarn along!

Using What I Have...

2012-01-17T09:28:00.001-05:00

...to make what I need.

We have several of these heat bags at home, but I often wish I had one at work (both to warm my hands and for when one of us could use it for sore muscles). A little while back, I shared these bean bags...

...which were made from the leg of a failed pair of shorts.

This heat bag was made from the other leg. It took all of about 5 minutes to make. Please note, though...if you are going to make one of these, I am pretty sure that the fabric has to be cotton if you are going to heat it up in the microwave. I know it cannot be synthetic.

And, using what I have...to make what the boys want.

I don't like video games in general. I did not grow up playing them. I do not find them very enjoyable to play, and quite frankly, I can find better things to do with my time. My husband, on the other hand, does like video game, did grow up playing them, and does find them enjoyable to play. So...the boys do play them, and enjoy them, within reason. One video game they enjoy is called Little Big Planet and they asked me if I could make the little guy in it. So, I asked my husband if he could show me the game. It is a little knit toy who goes around his little world that looks to be made of fabric and recycled materials. That is a video game I can accept.

So, I used this picture...

from the scholastic book order form to make him from bits I had in my stash.

He's kind of cute, really... (and yes, his stitching is supposed to show. I didn't add all of the stitching that was on the picture because they wanted him right away. I might add it later)

...so we gave him a little tour of our house.

...and he met the family...

...and then he got tired, so we put him down for a little nap...

...and then he waited patiently in my purse all night so he could come with me to work today to meet my brother. How patient.

Join along with Crunchy Catholic Momma on Thursday for Stash Bash and the ongoing

Stashbusting Challenge at Creating A Family Home.

Today I am thankful for: Laughter. We have tears in our house, and anger, and yelling, but every day we have laughter. Thank goodness for that.

Weekends - January 16

2012-01-16T10:49:00.000-05:00

Friday night, the boys were thrilled that we could all go to a local hockey game. NHL Alumni versus our local police "all-stars". N won tickets at the school on Friday, so it was surely a last minute surprise and a treat.

Saturday was a surprise grocery store trip because we were to be having a roast beef dinner and I was going to use the leftovers for Sunday night, but with the surprise hockey game I forgot to marinate the roast and we had no other options in the house.

There was plenty of crafting going on this weekend...I will share in a few days.

And of course, our weekly Sunday afternoon skating at the local arena. S joined in this week.

But the highlight for me...I posted about "Scales of Retribution" in last week's yarn along. A novel set in 16th century Ireland. It is the fourth book I have read in this series and they keep talking about "oatcakes". I have been wondering what they are. Sunday night, when looking for a quick biscuit recipe we could whip up that could cook at the same time as our roast, I found a recipe in a Jean Pare cookbook for "raisin oatcakes". Now I am know this is not the 16th century version --- but we tried them out of curiosity, without the raisins (since we were having roast beef). They are super tasty...kind of a cross between a biscuit and an oatmeal cookie. I will be tweaking it in the next few batches to make them our own, but definitely a great starting point.

I'm not sure if you can tell from the pictures, but some are shiny. We glazed a few with honey to see how they would taste. They are good with or without the honey. 3 out of 4 of us liked them a lot. N did not care for them too much. We will have to work out a few variations because he usually likes biscuits.

Today I am thankful for: Hot running water.
A few years back we did a bathroom renovation and we were without running water in the upstairs bathroom for a few weeks. We have a "water closet" for a downstairs bathroom, and we were lucky to have somewhere we could go to have a shower so it was just an inconvenience, but still most days, when I turn on the tap and have hot running water, I appreciate that it is a luxury that not everybody has.

Stashbusting and Three Things on Thursday

2012-01-12T08:55:00.000-05:00

I am joining several people with today's post...I will link at the bottom.

First up: Stash-busting.

This piece of wool from an (accidentally) felted sweater was in my stash, and has been for a few years. I have used most of the rest of the sweater but I have a few pieces left. I fished out the smallest ball of wool yarn I could find, and voila!...

...a handle cover for my cast iron skillet. And since this was quick, and I have more than one cast iron pan...

...I made a few more. I know that since these pans have been around for years and years (I'm sure all our grandmothers and great-grandmothers had them) that I am not the first person to ever come up with this, but it felt pretty darn good to make something so useful and quick with what I had sitting around. I just rolled up the sweater piece so that there would be two layers top and bottom, and blanket stitched around it. Easy, peasy, and kind of cute, no?

Second: more stashbusting!

I need a pair of fingerless mitts for at work. A pair I can type with. As I am not the fastest knitter in the world, I cut a (beyond repair) sweater from my pile of "clothes to be turned into something" and made these. I ran the edge in my serger, stretching it a bit as I went because I wanted a kind of ruffly edge, but I didn't really like how it turned out, so...

Ta-la! I like them. I tested them out at work yesterday and they helped, but I think I will try a few more things. (And, I happened to be wearing my one sweater that is not gray, beige or black...it was purple. Whew...good thing I only work with about 5 people). For the quick how-to...I cut the two panels on the front of the sweater next to the zipper so that I had two rectangles, decided where I wanted my thumb hole and stitched that on the sewing machine...once with a straight stitch and once with a zigzag just to be sure, and then sewed up the sides on the serger, along the edge except where the thumb hole is. And then serged along the top. In hind site, it would be easier to serge along the top and then sew the sides together. Next time.

Third up...Three things on Thursday:

Last week I shared three cookbooks I enjoy, so I thought this week I would share three gardening books I enjoy (disclaimer: I am not a good photographer, it is something I will be working on).

"The Garden Book" (the cover just says "Phaidon" so I am not sure if that is an author, photographer, or publisher) is a fantastic book for inspiration. Each page in this huge, heavy book has a picture of a garden from around the world, along with a short description. It has amazing photography. Some are sketches of gardens/garden plans that no longer exist, some are modern, some are traditional, there is even a shot of Beatrix Potter's garden, Versailles, a "floating garden" in France. And then some are english style cottage gardens. Here are a few samples:

I just realized I snapped only the fancy gardens, but there are definitely pictures in there that people could do in their own back yards.

Book two is:

I actually quite like the DK books for a bit of this and a bit of that. This one has a section on composters, green houses, fruit, veg, pruning, insects, a little bit of a whole lot of things, and I quite like that in this case.

The third book is "The Herbalist's Garden" by Shatoiya and Richard de la Tour.

I like this book because it has some pretty grand gardens as well as some tiny little ones. It has a sketch of the layout of each garden as well as some pretty fantastic photographs. And for each garden, there is the "top pick" which is fun.

This book has been on my bookshelf for a few years now and I pick it up repeatedly either to look something up, or just to look at the pictures. I really really like this book.

Today I am thankful for: Hot chocolate. I don't know who originally came up with powdered hot chocolate, but a big thank you to that person. I do like to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate at work a few days a week.

And...the links. I am joining Crunchy Catholic Momma and Creating a Family Home for Stashbusting.

I will also be joining Natural Suburbia tomorrow for Creative Friday as well as Wisdom Begins in Wonder for Fiber Arts Friday. And then of course, I will be checking out what you are all up to.

Yarn along and mixed reviews.

2012-01-11T00:14:00.000-05:00

Last week for Yarn Along at small things I shared some socks I had started. I was really impressed with the self striping yarn that made this sock:

And I was pretty excited because I thought I would have a finished pair to show you this week...but then I hit a speed bump. The second ball of self-striping yarn started with a green stripe instead of blue, so I unraveled it to get to the blue, and started knitting...in my bedroom, not where my first sock was. And it looked odd, but I kept going anyways.

The second ball is not dyed the same as the first even though it came from the same lot. The stripes are longer, AND there is green dye in the blue stripe and in the white stripe. There is also some white in the blue stripe. Since these socks are just for me...and my kids never have matching socks on...I decided I would try to make it look on purpose. I won't be putting the white stripe right after the heel, and instead I will put some white stripes in the blue part of the foot...but even having decided that...I haven't continued them in a few days. Hmmm.

Here is a close-up. This didn't happen in the first sock.

It is Bernat cotton yarn in Mod Stripes, in case you missed the last post.

So, the verdict...I will probably use this yarn again, but not for socks that I was going to make matchy-matchy. I might use it in a hat or something like that. Oops, I almost forgot my books...

I am reading "Scales of Retribution" which is about a woman Brehon (kind of an investigator/judge) in Ireland in the 1500's. I read the first three in the series and picked this up at the library thinking it was the forth, but it turns out there were two in between this one and the last one I read. It's all good though, because the characters are all the same. I like this series. It is always interesting to read about female roles through the ages, don't you think? I am also reading "The Homesteading Handbook", also from the library, and seriously considering adding it to my bookshelf. Gotta love the library.

Looking forward to seeing what you are all up to on yarn along this week.

Today I am thankful for: pottery class starts tonight. I love pottery class. I have missed it so! I am thankful that our community college continues to offer it.

Mountain boarding and other weekend activities

2012-01-09T11:02:00.002-05:00

We still do not have any snow which is unusual for this time of year around here. This weekend, my brother invited us out to try some "mountain boarding" since we cannot go sledding.

S had a great time and did it over and over again.

That piece that they are holding in the pictures is the trigger for the brakes.

N enjoyed it, but was riding the brakes the whole time (which incidentally, doesn't actually stop you).

Although the ground looks flat in these pictures, this is actually the sledding hill we go to.

I even gave it a shot, and my brother took a video with his phone which I would share if I could figure out how to get it on here. He calls it "Old lady mountain boarding". The funniest part is hearing him at the end saying "I can't believe she did it!"

The boys played an awful lot of bean bag toss with the shoebox targets they made. Gotta love free activities, right, especially when they play for hours.

We went skating, went to the farmer's market, and N and I made some applesauce. And S did a whole lot of football watching with his father, which left N without his playmate...made even worse by the fact that his friend a few houses down was gone for the week as well. I need to find that child a hobby he can do by himself. The problem is right now, he doesn't like to be by himself.

Oh, and N had his allergy test. Dust mites...just dust mites. He was quite relieved that he is not allergic to the cat.

How did you spend your weekend? Share in the comments section below if you wish.

Today I am thankful for: the fact that we were able to enjoy this outdoor activity. Thank goodness for adventurous brothers.

That's just how it goes...

2012-01-06T07:47:00.000-05:00

So I was all set to finish work on this project I wanted to share for Creative Friday with Natural Suburbia and Fiber Arts Friday at Wisdom Begins in Wonder. The thread on my sewing machine kept breaking. The cat came in and ran off with a piece I needed. I couldn't find the beads I needed, and while I was looking, with the stash spread out all over the room, a little minion kept coming in to ask for this and that. So I gave up on the project, thinking I would get N set up working on his project, and then he would get bored and I would get back to what I was doing.

Isn't it interesting how things work out, because in the end, I ended up doing exactly what I wanted to be doing all along, without realizing it until it happened.

N didn't get bored...

S came in to join in on the project...

They made some bracelets for some friends...N made 8 before I sent him of for PJs and teeth brushing, S made 2 because he kept changing his mind and starting over...hmm...don't know where he gets that from.

And we spent an enjoyable evening spontaneously crafting...and that's how it goes sometimes. Lovely, right?

And for those of you who read my post for last week's Creative Friday and Fiber Arts Friday...

I finished my rag rug.

And here it is beside its mate...

Now I think I need to start one for N's bedroom...but that may wait a bit. I am pondering my options.

And I just realized this all came from my stash, so it will go into my stash-busting file:

Publish Post

Stashbusting at Creating a Family Home

What are you all getting creative with today?

Three things on Thursday-January 5

2012-01-05T07:46:00.000-05:00

Today I thought I would share with you three cookbooks on my bookshelf that I really enjoy. (We will ignore the fact that Jamie Oliver is not in this pile...he is in a class of his own, don't you think?)

I purchased "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" last year after reading great reviews of it all over the place. I have not been disappointed. It is really a great book. My favourite so far is the Pain d'Epi. So pretty.

"The Joy of Cooking" has been on my bookshelf since our first or second year of university. Although I generally like cookbooks with lots of pictures in them, I do find myself going to this book again and again for reference. I particularly like the roasting meat section and the pie section. They have served me well.

"Mostly Muffins" by Jean Pare is a well used pick as well. I have several of her books, some I use more than others. All of the baking ones I have found to be wonderful...especially as I have a particular child who absolutely loves to bake. This particular book has great scone and muffin recipes in it that get complimented every time I share.

I am making myself hungry.

What cookbooks do you love? Please leave a comment below if you have one you would like to share.

Yarn Along - January 4

2012-01-04T07:41:00.000-05:00

It is Wednesday again, so of course I am joining Ginny at small things for this week's Yarn Along.

I am so excited to be sharing this project. Those of you who know me well were probably expecting to see more gray or beige again this week. Surprise! We have colour. This is the yarn the boys picked out for me for my birthday. I love colour, but when I go to the store to pick up yarn, even if I specifically set out to buy colour, I come home with gray. I just can't help it. So the boys picked out something bright and cheerful, and I love it. I am making myself a pair of socks. The yarn is Bernat Handicrafter Cotton in "Swimming Pool" (that is the aqua at the top of the sock) and in "Mod Stripes", a lovely self-striping yarn that means I have stripes without having to weave in the ends. What great picks they made, right?

On the book front...my seed catalogues came in a few weeks ago, but I always save them until after Christmas. I make a huge list of everything I could possibly want, and then I start to eliminate until I am pretty sure I can fit it all in my yard. So...before choosing, I thought I would check out some canning books from the library to see if there is anything interesting I hadn't thought of before. I am pretty sure that I want to add "You Can Can" by Better Homes and Gardens to my bookshelf.

The verdict??? What will be my experiment this year? Ground Cherries. Has anyone tried them yet? If you have, please please leave a comment below with your tips. I always need tips with a new experiment.

Oh, and here is a picture of my finished baby slippers that I shared last week. Hurray for finished projects...I even know who I can give them too. Yippee.

I look forward to seeing what you are all working on.

Days Off

2012-01-02T19:57:00.000-05:00

I have been enjoying my last couple of days off before returning to my day job tomorrow.

I accidentally made a huge loaf of bread...I meant to make a regular size loaf but it really expanded in the oven.

For reference, that is a regular sized pear, not a miniature. Oops. However, it was very delicious.

We started a puzzle (first time in a long time):

We had a movie night for New Year's Eve. We all enjoyed "Mr. Popper's Penguins" quite a bit.

We visited my parents yesterday since we didn't see them at Christmas. The boys enjoyed a bean bag toss from when we were kids and decided they need a game of it here as well...so,

this morning N and I made bean bags (although that is S holding them in the picture). This is the first part of my stash-busting challenge for 2012. They are made from a failed attempt at a pair of pyjama shorts. They will be making the targets tomorrow from shoe boxes (something to keep them occupied while I am at work).

And then tonight we had our turkey feast, which N helped prepare:

He made the cranberry sauce (which of course his father declared was the best cranberry sauce he had ever tasted). And he helped cut the turnip:

He usually uses a rounded end knife, but today he picked up the one I had been using...the jumbo, really really sharp, not serrated, give me a heart attack knife...yep, that one...so I stopped taking pictures. Ahem...

And...I got a start on my new socks I am making for myself...Yep, you heard me...socks for me! That makes two projects in a row for me. I am using the yarn the boys picked out for my birthday, so I figured I better make something for myself with it. I will share pictures on Wednesday for yarn along.

I hope you all had a very enjoyable weekend.

Creative Friday - a work in progress

2011-12-30T09:21:00.001-05:00

Now is the time of year when I usually focus on finishing up some unfinished projects that I have around the house.

Right now, I am working on finishing up a rag rug to put in front of the dryer. I made one last year for in front of the washing machine, and still have not finished this second one. I have reached a slow part because in order to finish this rug up, I need to unravel a braided rug that just wasn't working (to get the strips). I am using a giant crochet hook and simply doing a single crochet back and forth in rows (so far, it is the only thing I know how to crochet, but that is something to work on in the future).

I think I am about 3/4 of the way through, with the work I did on it yesterday. Soon, I will do a finished items post.

Come join the fun at Natural Suburbia's Creative Friday and at Wisdom Begins in Wonder for Fiber Arts Friday
I look forward to seeing what you are all working on.

Three things on Thursday - December 29

2011-12-29T10:58:00.000-05:00

Part of our adventure during the holidays was a visit to the "Ripley's Believe it or Not" Museum in Niagara Falls, Ontario. They said we were welcome to take pictures, so I thought I would share these three very interesting items with you all.

1. This picture of Queen Elizabeth I....

is made entirely of seeds and beans! Would you like a close up?

The whole picture is about 3 feet wide by maybe 5 or so feet tall. Can you imagine how long this took? I am pretty sure the yellow is mustard seed if that gives you an idea of the size.

2. This beaded snake, made by a prisoner of war in World War I...

I am not sure how long this snake is, maybe 8 feet or so at least...and this is the close up of it's head.

Impressive, isn't it?

3. This dress made entirely of Starburst candy wrappers.

Please excuse the photography...the dress was in a revolving case in the dark, so there is a glare from the flash. Once again, can you believe the time this would take? At last year's art show (made of recycled materials) at the boys' school, a little girl made some bracelets just like this. I can't wait to show her this picture.

Have yourself a lovely day.

Yarn Along - December 28

2011-12-28T08:21:00.000-05:00

I am joining Ginny at small things for this week's yarn along.

The book, "Song of the Silent Harp" is a novel I picked up at the library because we went away for our Christmas Holidays and I thought I would get in a little reading time after the little ones went to bed. It is about the potato famine in Ireland in the 1800's so it is quite a sad story, but it is a good book, so far.

On the needles...believe it or not, these are baby slippers I started two and a half years ago on our last family vacation, and I have not touched them since. I figured it is time to finish them up, and then I can join Kelly at Creating a Family Home with the stashbusting challenge 2012.

I am looking forward to seeing all of your works-in-progress.

Butterfly Conservatory

2011-12-27T11:50:00.000-05:00

Warning: This is a picture heavy post.

We went away for our Christmas Holidays this year. One of the places we visited was the Butterfly Conservatory in Niagara Falls. It is a fantastic place to visit...very warm and humid and tropical on a cold winter day.

Some butterflies were camoflauge.

Some butterflies were technicolour

Some butterflies were huge!

Some butterflies were friendly!

They were everywhere, and there were lots and lots of them. Quite something to see.

And if plants are more to your liking...well, there were plenty of those too. Tropical plants that don't grow here (well, outdoors anyways)...

It is definitely worth a visit if you are ever in the area.

Three things on Thursday - December 22

2011-12-22T04:23:00.000-05:00

I have three wishes for you for the holiday season:

1. I wish you family and friends and time spent with those you enjoy spending time with.

2. I wish you warmth and comfort and the time to just sit and enjoy it.

3. I wish you peace and happiness for the holiday season as well as the new year.

Enjoy your holiday, whatever you celebrate...and I will visit with you all again soon.

Yarn Along - December 21

2011-12-21T08:55:00.000-05:00

Joining Ginny at small things again today for this week's yarn along.

Look everyone, I finished my hat! Don't I look so serious in this picture? I took it in the mirror...tricky tricky. I have to say I just love the hat. It is warm, and cozy, and stripey and gray, and a little different. It is a bit top heavy, but I will get used to it.

That is the last project I had on the needles (well...except for "the sweater" that I will have to revisit). I have to pull out the sleeves and start over...a good project for the winter I am guessing.

You will notice there is no book in the picture. I am on my way to the library right after I post this to pick something out for the holidays.

There has also been an absence of "using what you have" posts lately as well...so here we are:

I used to have a punch bowl...I no longer have a punch bowl...and the other day, I needed a punch bowl. What I do have are mixing bowls. So, the punch is in a mixing bowl, with a soup ladle for the scoop. The whole thing is on a glass plate that I covered with bits of greenery snipped from the yard. It worked out quite well.

And for the cups...I have been meaning to make those fancy beaded things you attach to the handles of cups or wine glasses to show which one is yours...but I still haven't done it. So...the kids each picked a colour from the yarn stash, and there we go.

I can't wait to see what you are all making.

Handmade Holidays - Teacher's gifts

2011-12-19T09:59:00.000-05:00

I have to say, I love having handmade holidays. While my friends are out shopping for gifts and gift wrap and fighting the crowds, we are staying at home baking and crafting and spending time doing things we enjoy with family and friends.

So for this week's handmade holidays post...more cookies...

Every year we make home baked goodies for the teachers. Most years, we make cookies, but sometimes we make breads, scones, muffins, and other breakfast goodies. This year, we went back to cookies.

Because we give such simple gifts, we like to "fuss them up a bit". A few weeks ago, I made these gift bags:

In October, I sliced a fallen branch into slices to use as gift tags. You may have seen them on earlier handmade holidays posts (see here and here). For the teacher gifts, I made them a little more fancy by painting them instead of using a marker.

I used "Spun Gold" for the letter and "Bronze" for the highlighted portion, and outlined them with a black pen.

I also made some fabric feather tags to add. I would love to give credit where credit is due here, but these are all over the internet so I don't know who to credit. I believe I saw them for the first time on the "Green Wedding Shoes" website, but I can't be sure.

I added some real feathers to mine, and tied them together with gold thread and hot glue.

I put the cookies into a small plastic bag first, and then into the gift bag to keep them fresh longer. Some teachers are getting a variety of cookies, so I put each flavour in separate plastic bags and then into the larger gift bags.

I quite like how they turned out, since I usually put them in boxes. I think I might do bags again next year.

Hop on over to Plain and Joyful Living to see what other people are sharing for their handmade holidays.

Cookies cookies cookies

2011-12-18T21:21:00.001-05:00

Tonight, we had a lovely little lady over to decorate gingerbread cookies with us.

Some people loaded the cookies with as much icing and candy as possible (please excuse the photos...it was after dinner and quite dark):

N's first batch - above

S's first batch - above
...and some people took their time and were quite meticulous!

J's first batch - above

...and some of my cookies for the teachers - below

And now...my favourites:

These are my two favourites by N: the one on the right was his first of the night, and we all copied him. The one on the left, because it is so completely and utterly his style!

These two are my favourites by S: only S would turn his snowflake into a sheriff's badge for our guest, and on the left...what appears to be a very angry gingerbread man. He had very unique cookies!

We sent J home with hers before I could take a picture of my favourites...but she had some gorgeous ones to be sure.

And, my husband, who does not eat very many sweets, requested these from the batch, so I guess they must be his favourites:

I hope you are all enjoying some sweet moments of your own.

Yarn along - December 14

2011-12-14T02:25:00.000-05:00

I am joining Ginny at small things for this week's Yarn along.

On the needles: I am still working on my hat from last week. It is getting harder and harder to find time to work on it this close to the holidays. Also, I am kindof thinging that I like the "wrong side" better than the "right side" which is making me rethink the design of the hat.

I just finished reading "Brian's Winter" which my son ordered through the school. It is an alternate ending to the "Hatchet" series, which I will have to go back to read. It reminded me a lot of "My Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George.

The "wrong side" is on the left.

In other news...am I the only one who has started a "Things To Make For Holidays 2012" list? Every year in December I come across all kinds of great ideas of things to make but that realistically there just isn't time for...please tell me I am not the only one who does this. When I pulled out my notebook to write down a few things on "The List", I kind of had a moment of questioning if this is "normal" behaviour.

Handmade Holidays - brothers making for brothers

2011-12-12T09:07:00.000-05:00

I am joining Tonya at Plain And Joyful Living for Handmade Holidays again this week.

The boys have been working hard making gifts for each other.

N has been making book covers for S, an avid reader.

He made three book covers in different sizes, one to fit each of the three current favourite series that S is reading. The hardest part was sneaking the books from S's room so we could be sure they would fit.

He cut rectangles out of fabric (he is 9 and chose striped fabric from the stash so that he could cut with scissors rather than a rotary cutter).

He serged all of the edges, even the ones that were going to be folded over.

He sewed pockets on each end for the book cover, and even sewed down the side in between so it would be neat and tidy (if you have met N, insert GASP here!). He did need help with starting the very first one, and he asked me to put the pins in...but with instructions. "Tuck the pins back under after, Maman. I don't want them poking up."

Interesting what your kids teach you...after years of sewing, and more than a few pin pricks, it never occured to me to tuck the pin ends back under. And I also learned to just let him do it...he is perfectly capable.
Yikes.

He folded the covers in thirds and added a handprinted label telling him which book would fit which cover.

And packaged them up...

in this gift bag...note the gift bag...you will see something interesting later in the post...

And made a tag, cut from the side of a "facial tissue" box.

S has been making bath items for N. N loves to have a bath, but usually only has one when he is ill (he gets the croup a lot! and spends a long time in the bath each time he gets it).

S made N a jar full of bath fizzies:

and a jar full of bath teas,

For the bath fizzies:

He sifted together citric acid, cornstarch, and baking soda (you can find all kinds of recipes for this on the internet...but for each batch, we used 1/4 cup citric acid, 1/2 cup cornstarch, and 1/2 cup minus one tablespoon of baking soda if I remember correctly...we had to modify for smaller batches). In hindsight, you can make one large batch, and then divide it up to add the colours.

He added food colouring to a spray bottle of water,

and sprayed slowly while stirring until the mixture could hold a shape when squeezed.
He added a few drops of essential oil,

and pressed the mixture into a mini muffin tin. Let it dry at least two hours at this point.

Then he flipped them out and put them in a jar, which he labelled with the name of the oils he used.

For the bath teas, he cut squares of cheese cloth, using two layers per bag.

He placed three tablespoons of herbs in the center (he used lemon balm, lavender, and mint),

tied each one up with a colour-coded piece of yarn, cut off the extra fabric,

and packaged them up in a jar.

He put both jars in a gift bag...

and made a tag from an old Christmas card.

Here is the funny part...I have maybe 30 gift bags in different colours, shapes, and sizes that we consider our Christmas or Solstice gift bags. Most of them were made with "holiday print" fabric, although some are just solid colours. There are exactly 2 bags made of the above fabric in the box where we store gift bags. They both chose the exact same bag. We also have a variety of ribbons and ties that we re-use from year to year...they both chose white ribbon. When they are together, they will often both choose the same thing but I always thought it was "to be fair". I find it interesting that even when they are doing things secretly, they still happen to choose the exact same thing.

What have you been making for handmade holidays?

Weekends - December

2011-12-11T20:04:00.000-05:00

Weekends are for:

Sushi night

Lego Robotics Competition

Slow food...with leftovers for freezing.

The following pictures were kindly taken by my husband, Dave, on his fantastic camera:

And Cookie Baking...decorating to follow.

How was your weekend?

Three Things on Thursday - December 8

2011-12-08T21:21:00.000-05:00

Today I thought I would share three areas of my home that are decorated for the holidays:

I made this arrangement of greens to go in my front entrance (I am not decorating the stair banister this year, so I thought I needed something as we walked into the house). Unfortunately, I made it way too huge. It blocked the door to get into the kitchen, so it now lives in my bathroom. I like it there.

Note to self: 1- next time, make the arrangement where it will be going instead of on the kitchen island.
2- consider planting more evergreens in the yard so I can make enough for the whole house in a few years.

In my dining room, on top of my china cabinet, I hung all of my clear glass ornaments from some dogwood brances that desperately needed to be trimmed. I think this is my favourite decoration so far. Would you like to see N's view of this?

It looks like it is snowing on him. It even earned an "ooooh".

Also in my dining room, I have this shelf:

Kindly ignore all the extra bits and pieces like that barbecue flipper and the parsley. Thank you.

Right now, the shelf is holding my glass serving platters that look like snowflakes. Most of these have come from a thrift store for either $1.99 or $2.99 over the last couple of years. Score! Of course, the rest of the year, I do not call them snowflakes. (I do not have separate dishes for the holidays).

This one is my favourite, and actually, it came from my Gramma's house, not a thrift store.

Soon, I will be hanging stockings from those pegs under the shelves.

How do you decorate for the holidays?

Handmade ornaments - part 2

2011-12-07T20:27:00.003-05:00

For the last installment of Handmade holidays, I posted some ornaments from past years. Here are a few more that I can share:

Inspired by a little owl I saw in this Tasha Tudor book years ago, I made this little guy about 8 years ago. He is super easy to make:

First you need to make yourself a pom pom template, as he is oval, not round. I cut mine from cereal boxes.

Cut two of the same oval (the pen is for size reference). I found this tutorial which shows how to make a simple pom pom if you need instructions. Just substitute the oval template for the circles they use.

Once you have your pom pom, add feathers for the wings and ears with hot glue. I added buttons for eyes and his nose is a small rock. You can use whatever you have that gives you the look you are going for.

I have several of these dragonflies in my tree. They were inspired by an article in the December 2008 Martha Stewart Living magazine. The ones pictured above are actually the dragonflies I included on this year's Christmas cards, but I have a handful of them in my tree in a variety of sizes.

Super easy to make: Cut a piece of wire about 3 inches longer than you want your dragonfly to be. Fold it in half. String beads on it to make a tail, body, and head. Separate the two sides of the wire and add a bugle bead to each piece and use round-tipped pliers to roll up the wire to keep it in place just in front of the bugle bead "antannae".
Cut a second piece of jewellery wire (for these tiny ones, I used a piece about the length of my arm). String on about 24 beads, leaving a tail about 6 inches long. Give the wire a good snug twist to shape the first wing. String on 24 more beads and give it another twist. This gives you the two larger wings. String on about 18 beads and wrap the wire to get the shape and position you want. Continue with the last wing. Pull both sides of the wire under the wings and twist once. Separate the two sides of the wire and put one side on each side of the dragonfly, between the head and the body. Pull them tight and twist a few times without letting go to get the wings attached nice and firmly to the body.

Remember this picture from Monday's ornament post?

The cat took off with the larger white bird in the picture. We have been looking for it for two days.

Update: We found the white bird...he is still in good shape, even. This morning however, the cat managed to get the whit owl out of the tree, from about 4 1/2 feet up in the tree. Don't know how he did it, because nothing else has moved. Hmmm...good thing they are all soft and fluffy. He hasn't gone near the glass ornaments.

Have you made something you would like to share? You can join in with Natural Suburbia's Creative Friday to share something you have made or to enjoy what others have made.

Yarn along - December 7

2011-12-07T09:24:00.000-05:00

I am joining Ginny at small things for Yarn along today.

Last night I was looking through my new Jamie Oliver cookbook to look for a new recipe to try. Incidentally, I chose this one for Sunday night:

On the needles: In blue...an ear warmer for our friend down the street who does not wear a winter hat very often. In gray...a new hat for me! I am kind of making this up on the fly, so I will post an update if it turns out nice. That green bag on the right? It is a bandanna I sewed shut to hold the yarn for this project...I am using 6 balls at once and it is quite messy.

Did anyone else notice that my two current projects match the book cover? Things like that entertain me.

I look forward to seeing all your projects too.

Handmade Holidays - ornaments

2011-12-05T21:31:00.001-05:00

Once again, I am joining Tonya at Plain and Joyful Living for Handmade Holidays.

I was away this past weekend so there was not much handmaking going on, however, as we were putting up the tree tonight, I snapped a few pictures of ornaments from past years that I can share. Most are pretty straightforward just by looking at them, but if you need more directions for any of the ornaments, leave a comment and I will write out more detailed instructions.

On the right is a ceramic butterfly I painted a few years back. I glued it to a small wooden clothes peg so that I could clip it onto a tree branch. After it was in the tree, I decided to make the monarch caterpillars as well. It is very simple to make. Take a piece of pipe cleaner and fold it in half and then in half again for the body. Wrap the entire thing in white embroidery floss, gluing with either white craft glue or hot glue gun as you need to. Wrap small sections with yellow embroidery floss and add black stripes with embroidery floss. I found it helpful to use a needle for this part so I could just slip under the white to get to the next stripe instead of starting and stopping repeatedly. I also used a photograph of a caterpillar for reference. The caterpillar was also glued to a clothes peg and clipped into the tree. I made them about 5 years ago and they go in the tree every single year because I love them.

These two images are pictures of birds's nests the boys made me quite a few years back. We had tiny grapevine wreaths that were left over from another project and they just tucked reindeer moss inside and then painted a few wooden eggs and tucked them in. We have three sizes, and they are all different and unique. I believe the boys were about 4 and 7 years old when they did this project and I absolutely cherish them.

I tried to take a picture of these in the tree, but i just couldn't get it to focus right.
These pinecones were made from some leftover brown felt...I cut long, skinny "V" shapes with pinking shears and rolled the stips to shape the pinecone. I used fabric glue to hold the end together, but two have come apart (I made them 4 or 5 years ago, so not too bad...especially since the cat got most of them out of the tree last year). I am going to try hot glue to fix the ones that are unrolled...or I might stitch it closed instead. The top is just a little snip from a faux evergreen branch that came on a package one year, with a wooden bead hot glued on top, and embroidery floss as a hanger.

Every year, the boys make a button ornament for my in-laws...the early ones were candy canes and wreaths and snowmen, but last year they made one button person to represent each grandchild. I love the button ornaments, and covet them actually. Last year, they made me these two lovely children after I helped them with Gramma and Grampa's ornaments (again, I couldn't seem to focus on them in the tree).

Start with two pieces of this beading wire, or crafting wire. Fold each piece in half - you are starting with the legs. String on the wooden bead and then add on enough buttons to make the leg the length you want (you are going to string one end of the wire through one button hole and the other end of the wire through the opposit button hole, roughly at the same time). Make two legs.

I guess I should specify that this works best if all of your buttons that have two holes. To add the body, you are going to string both wires from the left leg through one button hole of the body buttons, and both wires of the right leg through the opposite button hole. If you are adding a skirt, this one is added after 2 buttons (it is the leaf from an artificial flower that was used for another project). Continue adding buttons until the body is almost the size you want it.

For the arms, you need to string through only one hole of the arm buttons, then add the wooden bead, then curve back around and string through the second hole of each arm button. Do this for both sides. Then continue on for the body as you did after the legs for about 2 or 3 buttons.

The head in the image here is a wooden apple, but you could use anything that you like for a head. After the head is added, twist all the wires around. Adding a button for a hat helps everything stay in place. The hat buttons in the picture do not have two holes that go all the way through. I don't know what you call that kind, but the wire just goes in the back and then you can't see it from the top. Give it a good twist. You can leave the wire long for hair, or cut it off with wire cutters and wrap it between buttons so that you don't see the ends.

Any questions?

When the boys were young, I was afraid that my glass ornaments would get broken and hurt them if we hung them up, so I made up a batch of kid-friendly ornaments. The grey ones were from an old sweater, and the white ones are actually quilt batting.
The short version...trace out the outline of the bird you want (colouring books are good if you can't decide on a shape on your own). Blanket stitch around the outside with embroidery floss and stuff them when you have a small opening left. I actually added the beading on the bodies after they were stuffed, but you could do each piece individually first if you wanted to. For the beaded wing on the grey one, you need to bead outside of the wing, then stitch the inside of the wing to the bird body, THEN stitch the two wing pieces together. Do this for each wing. For the others, I just hot glued some feathers on and then hot glued on some sequins to hide the ends because somebody gave me a tube of sequins.

Are we seeing a trend here??? Most of my ornaments are made from things I happen to have lying around. In fact, I don't think I have ever bought supplies specifically to make ornaments.

The boys asked for birds in a variety of colours. We had a red one, a blue one, a multi-coloured parrot looking thing...These are the only ones that have stood the test of time on MY tree...but the options are endless.

I just realized I have a few more to share...maybe part two will follow this week.

What are you making?

Three things on Thursday - December

2011-12-01T09:58:00.000-05:00

I realize that my posts have been quite craft oriented. Although I do craft a lot, I also enjoy many other things. So today...a food post. This week's theme: three food's I love:

I love waffles. I mean I seriously LOVE waffles. I think waffles are my favourite food group.
I love whipped cream, but it is a rare and special treat in our house.
I love that we are still eating fruit from our garden, pulled from the freezer, but from our garden none the less.

This morning: Birthday waffles with whipped cream and fruit from our garden.

What are three foods you love?

Yarn Along - A snowman and finished projects

2011-11-30T10:01:00.000-05:00

Today, I am joining Ginny at small things for Yarn Along.

I am reading the December 2011/January 2012 issue of Mother Earth News magazine. My first attempt at planting celery was a dismal failure this year, so I am going to try again with the tips in this article.

On the needles is a second snowman using this pattern from Suzanne at Down in the Meadow.

This is the first one I made. Isn't he cute? The one on the needles now will have a green scarf and maybe charcoal grey eyes and mouth.

I finished the hat that was cast on for last week's yarn along post...

...and just barely managed to catch a shot of it as N raced out the door. We did get about an inch of snow last night after all. Our first snow of the year and he was quite excited, especially as he was cooped up all day yesterday with the croup (AGAIN) and it was pouring rain all day.

See? Our first snow of the year.

I look forward to seeing what you are all working on.

Using what I have to make what I need - part 3

2011-11-29T04:26:00.000-05:00

This weekly series is all about using up things I have on hand to make things I need. Feel free to join in if you have something you want to share.

If you joined me last week, I made this draft stopper for the back door. I needed another for the front door.

For this one, I used a piece from our old kitchen curtains (they were replaced when we did our kitchen renovation). It is double re-use, as the curtains were made from a thrifted blanket in the first place. As with the last one, I just made a tube, squared off the ends, and stuffed it with wool fleece and four little bean bags. This time, after I finished sewing it up, I ran four seams along the long edges to kind of square it off a little more. You can kind of see it on the part that is right up against the door in the picture.

When I was done, I realized it fit the back door better, and I moved the first one to the front door.

It looks better here, right?

I also needed a tote bag...one that I won't be using at the farmer's market and getting full of onion peels and corn silks. One that I will only be using for shopping elsewhere, like the thrift store, or the book store.

It is made entirely of things I had in my stash...some left over from other projects, some from my Grandmother's house, and some from a clearance bin. I really liked how it turned out and then I realized I made a skirt from the exact same fabrics (well, the same grey, and the same print that is the wide band in the picture).

I will have to make sure I don't use my bag when I wear my skirt. That narrow piece of trim...I have a large roll of it. I got it at a slipper factory a few years ago for 50 cents...SCORE...I have used it on many, many projects, and there is still a lot left.

I liked this bag so much I made another:

One for me, and one for a very special friend I will be seeing this weekend.

What have you been using up lately?

Handmade Holiday - notebooks

2011-11-28T10:06:00.001-05:00

Today, I am joining Tonya at Plain and Joyful Living for her weekly Handmade Holidays series.

This week's project: notebooks.

S saw a notebook in a store that he thought he just HAD to have. It had a hard resin cover and was bound with leather lacing. It was WAY way way too much money for a notebook, so I thought I would see if I could come up with my own version.

First I bought a sketch pad and 4 little "artist's" canvases from the local Dollar Store. I usually try to avoid the dollar store because we try to avoid bringing "stuff" into the house as much as possible, but I do sometimes end up there for craft supplies...especially if it is something I am going to be taking apart in the first place. So, a sketch pad...I used this nifty paper cutter in the picture to cut the pages in half, and then I trimmed them down to be about 1/2" smaller than the little canvases.

I painted the front and back of each canvas with craft paint (first coat was "Country Maple", second coat was "Spun Gold")...no picture of watching the paint dry :)
Then I used craft paint to add their initials to the front. I sprayed the front with a coat of gloss finish because I was a little worried they would wear the initials off.

Painting and drawing of any kind is not my forte, so I copied the letters from this sticker book we had on hand from a class project S did last year. Sneaky...

I punched holes in the side of the paper for the leather lacing...66 pages times 7 holes equals a lot of holes.

I used one page to line up my holes on the canvas and used the drill to get through it.

Next came lacing up the books. I had some leather lacing left over from one of the kids projects, but it was pretty thin so I used two strands together. I found using a needle to push into the holes helped line things up so that I could get the laces through. Once they were in the holes, I used the pin to push them through. I found the blanket stitch worked best...this way (below) did not work at all.

It looked nice, but once the book was opened, the cover wouldn't line up any more. I had intended to lace it both ways (like figure skates?) but the holes were too small to let the laces back through. Learning curve I guess...it was my first attempt at a book.

Tips if you want to do this yourself:
- I had originally intended to use really thin wood for the covers but couldn't find what I was looking for...so I used the canvases instead. I think, next time, I would really try to find some wood. The holes would be a lot tidier for sure, and I think it would thread easier.
- I also think I would look for a nice sturdy piece of leather cord. I am a little worried that these laces will wear out in time.
- I also think that if I did this again, I would sew the pages up into little mini books of maybe 5 sheets folded in half and then bind them together at the end. I think it would look neater from the spine.

What are you making this week?

Weekends

2011-11-27T18:44:00.000-05:00

First on the ice...and I happened to catch them both in one shot. It is HARD to take pictures while skating and keeping up with these two on the ice.

Dragging a mattress into S's room so the boys could bunk together all weekend "because they are lonely at night". (This was the state of the room ALL weekend- in fact it still looks like that because they are sharing for "one more night").

Rearranging furniture so that we have ONE arts and crafts area instead of three.

Some crafting...to be shared at a later date...

Cleaning out lots and lots of stuff we don't need anymore and bringing it all to the Goodwill store. (And of course, finding some more when we got home...another trip will be in order this week).

And...A cat that has claimed one of the new cleaned out shelves as his own. I sprinkled a little catnip in his bed and put it in the little cubby he kept investigating. He has never, ever used this bed in the 10 months that we have had it. Today, with the catnip in it...he rolled himself around until the bed fell out of the cubby and fell asleep there. Ha ha ha.

What did you do this weekend?

Three Things on Thursday

2011-11-24T12:45:00.000-05:00

I believe I will try a little series called Three Things on Thursdays. It might be three views of my house, three foods, three things that I love...three of anything, really. If anyone wants to join me, we can get to know each other.

Today, I was inspired by Leigh at 5 Acres & A Dream who is sharing her kitchen renovation. We finished our kitchen renovation last year (we started in May and finished just in time for Christmas...we did the work ourselves in the evenings and on weekends so it took us a while to finish) and I thought I would share three of my favourite things in the kitchen.

We did not move the sink as we did not want to have to move the plumbing. The dishwasher sits right next to the sink...so that left us with 9" of space. Not enough for a functional set of drawers, and too narrow for a cupboard - so we built these shelves that hold some of the things we use frequently. I love this set of shelves as it is the view you see when you walk in from the dining room...I find it much prettier than if we saw just the plain end of a cupboard. That black smudge on the floor is actually burnt in to the floor - and happens so be the exact size and shape of those old irons that you had to heat on the stove top. We had to scrape many many layers of flooring up to get to the original floor, but we love the results. (One day, I think I might try to find one of those old irons and put it up on the shelf too).

This cupboard unit sits between the stove and the fridge. There used to be a stand up freezer here, I had no surface next to the stove top. I love having this bit of counter, and I love the cubby for my cutting boards, BUT...the picture is actually of the super deep drawer at the bottom of the unit. We built it deep enough to hold my stand mixer. Before the renovation, the mixer, food processor, and blender lived in our unfinished basement and I had to carry them up the stairs every time I wanted to use it. I love this drawer.

Now they all have a nice home in the kitchen, along with my oven mitts that didn't have a home before either.

And number three, is our basement door, which received a couple of coats of chalkboard paint. The message??? something we needed a reminder of. ha-hemm.

What are your three favourite things in your kitchen?

My first Yarn Along

2011-11-23T08:56:00.000-05:00

I am joining Small Things for Yarn along today.

I am reading Tasha Tudor's Heirloom Crafts by Tovah Martin. I checked it out from the library. Again! I am going to have to buy this book. I think I have probably checked it out about 5 or 6 times now, and I love it every time. I have a Christmas one on my bookshelf that I also love love love.

On the needles, I have cast on for another hat for N. I made him a wool hat for the fall that he loves so much I have caught him sleeping with it on. Three times. It is looking worn already because he wears it so much and it has snagged on a few things. He had also requested an ear flap hat that would be big enough to wear over another hat once sledding season starts. (Where could he possibly have learned that trick?). I made him said ear flap hat, but it is HUGE. Way too big to wear on it's own, although it will probably be perfect for sledding. So...another hat is in order. A cotton one with stipes to match his ear flap hat, but that he can wear every day. I hope to finish it soon, but it is being snuck in among all the other crafting, so we will see how it goes.

Using what I have to make what I need - part 2.

2011-11-22T10:16:00.000-05:00

In the hope of keeping myself motivated, I am thinking of doing a weekly post on using up things I have on hand to make things that we need at home. Does anyone want to join along? Simple little projects that don't require a tutorial is my goal.

In the midst of Holiday Making, every day life still goes on. Winter is coming (it is 0 degrees here today) so a few things were in order.

A draft stopper for the back door. I used a piece of leftover fabric, sewed it into a tube, squared off the ends, and stuffed it with wool fleece given to me by a friend. Before sewing it shut on the bottom, I put four little bean bags in the bottom to help hold it in place. I think I need one for the front door as well.

An ear warmer...do you like my model? I am still uncomfortable posting faces (eventually, but not yet).
A simple, simple knit: use two strands of yarn (this is merino), size 5mm needles, cast on 80 stitches, knit 2, purl 2 back and forth until it is as wide as you want it, and cast off. Done! I wear this under my tuque (yep, double layers...I don't like having my ears cold). I might make a batch of these for the kids I know that don't like to wear hats. I get cold just looking at them.

Pretty pretty gift bags for this year's teachers' cookies for the holidays. I wanted to switch it up a bit from the boxes I usually use. I will post pictures of the complete packaging at a later date.

What are you making this week? Leave a comment if you want to share.

Handmade Holidays - Advent Calendars

2011-11-20T21:14:00.000-05:00

I am joining Plain and Joyful Living for Handmade Holidays again this week.

We have two advent calendars at our house, neither of which involve candy, treats, or daily gifts, so I thought I would share for those of you who are interested.

The first is an assembly of little forest friends:

This is what it will look like this year a few days into December. Here's how it works:

A few years ago, my boys received this advent calendar as a gift:

It comes with little forest animals, their food, and a Santa Clause and you are supposed to put each thing in its own little cardboard box and open a box each day and put the toy on the cardboard background, which we did the first year. The second year, we set up a little forest of branches from our garden and had the little animals come one per day to the forest (we eliminated the santa after the first year...in fact, I'm not even sure we used him the first year either).

Last year, we chose a little girl toy that we already had, and built her this little "house". We collected fallen branches from our yard, cut them down and nailed them together to build the stairs, the columns are branches that are cut down to the same size, and for the two floors, the boys drew out rough shapes on some scrap wood, which I cut using a jigsaw and then we sanded the edges. At the time, the boys were 8 and 11 and it was one of the first projects they designed and built themselves (other than the chopsaw of course).

For the first few days of December, the boys would set up the little animal food that came in the original Playmobil set, and then the animals would come join the little girl at her house. They liked this a lot better as they could move things around daily and set up little "scenes"...and of course, tell stories about what was going on in that little world.

This year, we added a little wooden table and stools, the wooden mushrooms, and the little planters filled with snippets from the yard. We started a little bed as well, but we made it entirely to big to fit in the house. (The top platform is maybe 4" and the whole thing is about a foot tall).

My goal is to eventually replace the little plastic animals with clay ones, but in 2 years, I have only made a mama hedgehog with a baby, an owl, and an egg, and only 2 have any paint an them at all. Maybe by the time my kids are grown, I will have enough for the 24 days???

Our second advent calendar used to look like this:

Several years ago I glued 25 magnets to the back of little wooden shapes that I had in my stash. I painted them to represent candies:

and ornaments:

and winter or holiday images:

Each day, they move one magnet down from the top to decorate the tree, and reveal the date under the magnet.

The tree was just a quick hand drawn image on paper that was attached to our stove with more magnets. I had run out of time to make the one I wanted, and ...well...it just never got done. This year, I am finally making the tree. It is wool (the trunk and branches) and cotton (the needles) on linen (hand woven by my grandmother). This is how far I have gotten so far:

I still need to finish the needles and add the dates along the bottom, and make some sort of pockets on the back to insert magnets. I have a week and a half left, right? I really hope to finish in time.

If you are working on something you would like to share, leave a link in the comments. Happy Making!

Tiny gifts and magic walnuts

2011-11-16T22:07:00.000-05:00

Sometimes, a handmade gift is so small you have to come up with some original packaging so that the gift itself doesn't disappear.

When I was a child, we called these friendship bracelets. Remember these? This summer, they seemed to be a big hit locally. I decided to make one for each of the boys BUT, I have to make sure that they can find such a tiny thing in their stocking.

The solution? Magic walnuts!

These are a bit time consuming, but the result is fantastic. Here's how:

Insert a butter knife into the small opening in the top of a walnut and give it a gentle twist. If you do it slowly, it should pop right in half along the side cracks. You may have to go through a few to get the hang of it, but it works.

Hollow out the inside and use those nuts for your favourite tasty recipe.

Place your gift inside the walnut being careful that no part of it overlaps the top "edge" of the split walnut.

I added the team name in mine, but this could be a note, a joke, a name, anything you want.

Glue the two halves back together.
The first year I made these, I put a small wrapped chocolate and a joke inside each walnut. I made a bowl full of them and just left them out for the kids at our holiday party to discover. It was pure magic!

Tip: If you are placing a gift in the walnut and want it to open easily, just put a few tiny drops of glue on one half and press them together, holding for about a minute or so. Like this:

If you are going to put them out, expecting people to use a nutcracker to open them, use a line of glue all around the outside of the lip and hold the two halves together, just until they set. Let them dry (overnight is good if you will be cracking them open with a nutcracker). I have used white glue in the past, as well as carpenters glue. Both work well.

You can stop here if you want them to look like a regular walnut. I decided to wrap a piece of crochet cotton around mine, and added a tag.

Other tips:
Adding the crochet cotton is much easier with two people, one to hold the walnut and one to tie the knot. It is possible to do it by yourself, but the thread keeps slipping off and it is kind of frustrating. Just a thought.
If you are going to make more than one of these at a time and they are for different people, consider placing the walnut on a piece of paper with a note to help you keep track. I had to split one back open to remember which one was for which child.
Also, those tags are SMALL. Have a few extra on hand in case your cat wants to "help". By the way, cats really like magic walnuts. :) You may have to spend some time chasing your walnuts around.

Happy making!

silhouettes and a revelation

2011-11-15T08:53:00.000-05:00

I am constantly being told how similar my boys look. They are often asked if they are twins. Here is the thing...they are three years apart, and their personalities are night and day, so I just don't see it. Do you get that too, where you see someone based on their personality, rather than their actual appearance? I never even thought about it until a few people started pointing out that I see people differently than most. Hmm.
Anyways, what I couldn't see in person shows up on paper...

We needed to make some silhouettes for a secret project the boys are working on. Now, I see it!
Not twins, mind you, but I see the similarities. N is on the left and S is on the right.

Have a nice day.

From my stash - part 1

2011-11-14T10:13:00.000-05:00

This weekend, while helping my oldest child (S) collect supplies to work on a school project, I realized that we have art and craft supplies stored in many different areas of the house. Piles of supplies. I have set myself a challenge. We need to use up some of these supplies (my stash) before any new materials are allowed into the house.

My youngest (N) and I got to work on the first project...stringing clear beads for a garland for the Christmas tree. We used up a jar of beads that was given to me by a friend along with some white crochet cotton, also from the same friend, and started stringing them on.

We ended up with 4 lengths of garland, totally maybe 15 yards. For those of you who know N, he made about 2 metres of garland before moving on to something else, entertaining me with his commentary the entire time he worked. I didn't think to take pictures while he was working away...I am new to this after all.

Things I am thankful for:
-Catching a glimpse of a spontaneous brotherly hug while getting ready for school.
-S being so so excited about a school project - he is making the scenery for a group project of "frame forward". Details to follow if the group allows.
-Being joined by the whole family for a trip to the library, and everybody finding something to take home...yes, even my husband.
-My children volunteering to rake the leaves before I mention that it needs to be done.

Small gifts

2011-11-11T12:47:00.000-05:00

This is my very first post ever, so I hope you will have patience with me as I learn how to do this.

I am joining Plain and Joyful Living's Handmade Holiday - 2011. I am happy to be able to join in the fun.

I wanted to come up with a little game that I could include in each of my boys' stockings this year. Something that they could use on their own, or play together. I finally decided on the game "Shut the Box".

I cut a scrap piece of oak from our kitchen renovation into little "tiles" using a chop saw. Then I sanded down the edges one by one. I used a wood burning tool (one I had not picked up since childhood) to burn the markings into the tiles. This took a lot longer than I thought...I think maybe my tool is too old. I was quite pleased with how this turned out for my older child (12) but I didn't like it for the younger (9) so I sanded down some more tiles and used a marker to add the numbers to his.

I think he will like this one much better. If I were to do this again, I think I would paint the numbers on instead. The nice thing is I still have time to do another set if I decide to.

Each set has enough tiles to play a regular game with nine tiles, a game with twelve tiles, and another set of nine for "Double Shut the Box." I made a small pouch using some leftover brown faux suede.

This is how it will be packaged up. The tag is a slice from a fallen branch with the initials drawn on. I will probably actually redo the tag with a nice fancy letter painted on. I am hoping to do tags like this for all of the gifts this year. I still have to print up a set of instructions, but as they are readily available on the internet, that shouldn't be too complicated. Then I can add variations more suited to each child.