A Swag of Flags This colorful swag of fabric flags makes a great decoration for parties… or for no reason at all. By the way, what is the right name for this thing? A garland? No, that is supposed to be flowers or leaves or something. Banner? No, that is supposed to be one long strip. […]

Acrylic Frames Become Memo Holders Looking for quick and easy volunteer appreciation gifts? Or maybe a craft activity for a group of kids (scout troop or school classroom) for Mother’s Day or Father’s Day? Or maybe an inexpensive teacher gift? Here is an idea for you! It is very easy to make these cute little memo stations that […]

Rabbit Wreath from Recycled Sweaters As you may know, I recently made a wool felt bunny. I couldn’t decide what to do with him, so I decided to make him a home — a springtime wreath. These wreaths are so much fun to make and decorate that I cannot stop churning them out. I guess […]

Hand -Stitched Sweet Bunny I have a deep affection for bunnies. While I have never really owned a live rabbit, I feel as though I do, since our large backyard often has a rabbit or two wandering through it. I love watching them from the kitchen window, as they hop and nibble and twitch their […]

Spiral-bound bounty I just cannot stop making these notebooks/journals. I guess I need to start selling them… although they take so long to make that I’m not sure I could price them within reason. The covers of the ones above, came from a vinyl 33rpm LP record album cover. Again, the interior pages are an odd […]

Upcycle a Shoe Box & Old Board Games I love board games! Electronic games can be fun, too, but there is something special and intimate about playing board games, whether with family members or close friends. Even the pieces scream “FUN!” … colorful glossy game boards, clattering dice, and tokens make of plastic, wood, or metal. […]

Human Plushie I had a request to make a human female plushie and (at long last)… here she is! The request was for a specific style of stuffed doll, similar to the Japanese “UFO Catcher” plush anime characters. She was originally supposed to be about five or six inches tall, but she ended up closer to seven or […]

Rope Pot Rest There is something so fascinating about complicated knots. I have a ring that is a Celtic knot, and I love the way the lines double back on themselves and intertwine with the other lines in such mysterious but symmetrical ways. Like M.C. Escher art… Or mathematics brought to life. I ran across a tutorial […]

Facebook Twitter and You Tube Throw Pillows These are great gifts for a young person who is a fan of Facebook, Twitter, and/or YouTube. My pillows are made out of flannel (except for the lettering on the You Tube pillow, which is felt.) However, they could also easily be made from fleece or felt. I put a flap on […]

Turn your cookie cutters upside down! As the holiday season approaches, my thoughts always turn to cookies. I have very fond memories of baking and decorating dozens of cookies with my sister, Cindy. (If Cindy reads this, I expect she will astutely point out that she did most of the baking… I mainly did the fun decorating […]

Dishy! Just a quick post to show you the casserole carrier I made. First saw this on the Chica and Jo web site. (Love that web site!) Then dutifully trotted over to 2 Little Hooligans for the tutorial. The only modification I made, was making a round velcro emblem to replace the spoon holder. Yummy!

Shared at Our Family Table I think it must be true of all families, that some of the warmest memories involve cooking (and eating!) Special dinners, birthday cakes, holiday cookies… And perhaps most of all, heartfelt conversations around the kitchen table.  At a bookstore several years ago, I remember seeing the book Kitchen Table Wisdom, and […]

Imprinting messages on homemade treats Instead of enclosing a greeting card with your baked goods, how about embossing your message right on the sweets themselves? I love this technique! It produces very professional-looking results, even for those of us whose handwriting is sketchy when using a frosting piping bag. You need to use fondant and […]

Smiles you can count on! I made these Sesame Street cupcakes several years ago for a birthday party. They were such a hit, that I thought I’d post them here. I don’t have a tutorial, but here are some tips: Many of the mouths are Oreo cookies, cut in half. The large eyes are marshmallows, […]

Cute as a button! Just a quick post to show you some  button cookies I made recently, using directions and templates I found over at E.A.T. (Emily and Amy’s Treats). Their version is way cuter — the buttons are bright and colorful. I did make a few changes in my version. For one thing, I covered […]

Cuppa pins! I participated in a “Fabric Lover’s” swap recently, where the participants were challenged to create a variety of items related to fabric crafts. There were seven themes; one of them was TINY, meaning items were supposed to be two inches or smaller. My swap partner had expressed a great fondness for tea, so I came up with […]

Carpe diem! Words are powerful things. They can inspire us, or touch our hearts. For most of my adult life, I have collected quotations and posted them where I will see them daily, in an effort to absorb their messages. Typically, I jot them on wipe-off boards, or print them via my computer’s inkjet printer and then tape them […]

Sharp looking pins These bejeweled sewing pins are pretty, but also practical — they sparle, making them easier to find in the folds of fabric, or if dropped on the floor. They make a great gift for anyone who enjoys sewing. To me, they look like fancy, antique hatpins. You can create a set by […]