Handmade Pillow

holiday slide show continued...
a cardigan pillow for my friend...

Handmade Sweaters for Family

holiday slide show, continued...
updated cashmere for my mom...

a wool & cotton sweater for my brother...

Handmade Holiday Slide Show

Greetings, friends! Today is Christmas Eve and I'll be signing off for a much needed week of holiday rest, celebration and reprieve.
But in lieu of my absence, I'll be updating daily with snapshots of some of the handmade gifts I've given this year (like this tote/diaper bag I sewed for good friend), and a few I received that are guaranteed to keep me crafting all winter!


I wish you a wonderful holiday break, safe travels, good food, and company of friends and family!

--steph

Cram Session

Hi friends! I'm headed out to conduct a serious cram session for the holidays involving shopping, crafting, and wrapping, so this post will be brief!

Before I hit the town, though, I wanted to share about a nice little surprise I received this morning in my email...

...which is that my No-Knit pattern 2 pack has been featured in Going Home to Roost's Last Minute Holiday Gift Guide! I'm honored to be selected among other talented crafters, and think creator, Bonnie's, blog is fantastic.

So if you have a minute, head over there to check it out!

I'll see you all tomorrow!

Toasty, Trendy, Last-Minute Project! (and it's super simple!)

It is five days before Christmas and I have not...

...wrapped any of my presents
...shipped any packages to relatives living far away
...finished making gifts for friends and family
...eaten enough holiday cookies
In other words, if there was a Holiday Procrastinators Anonymous, I would be the chairperson. Fortunately there are a few projects I have up my sleeve (get it...sleeve! ha ha, I'm so clever) that require little time and virtually no skill.
Like these adorable no-knit armwarmers. They were formerly sleeves on a sweater I don't wear. With a few snips, and a quick stitch, they became my newest favorite thing to wear to ballet class.
And with tank tops.
And to recommend as a last-minute handmade gift for friends, sisters, and hipster moms.
Armwarmers are, indeed, popular this year, but you don't need to trek to the store (or don a pair of knitting needles) to get, or give, the look. You just need an old sweater, and a pattern from my store.

As for the other shopping, wrapping, crafting, and cookie-eating...well, you're on your own. I have enough to do.

Classic

I tried ribbon. I tried ruffles. I considered satin and silk. But everything just looked wrong coupled with this old ribbed sweater I've been carting around for years.

And then I tried wool. Herringbone wool, to be precise.
The wool was from a thrift-store pair of trousers I bought several months ago. I never intended to wear the trousers (believe me, they were Not the cutest...), but instead saw potential in the fabric. Little did I know that they would turn another one of my bland sweaters into one of my new favorite cardigans.With elbow patches, of course. There aren't nearly enough elbow patches in the world today, don't you think? I'm just doing my part...
The style is classic. Cotton and wool hand-stitched together--what could be more versatile and timeless than that? And easy. The panels at the top of the sweater are just laid directly over the original knit. And the pockets are imposters--really just strips of wool pretending to be functional.
This particular sweater is a grayish-blue and brown, but I also think that cream with tan would look fantastic. In fact, I might just have to hit the thrift store sometime soon in search of that combo.
And as with all of my sweater makeovers, this one was very nearly free.

In other related holiday news, can you believe that we only have a couple weeks left of this holiday season? I have a few more crafty ideas up my sleeve for Christmas and New Years...and then it's on to other crafty ideas for 2010! (you didn't think I'd stop making things just because the holidays are over, did you? Because that would be crazy. Crazy.)

As always, happy crafting!

Consider making this classic design for yourself or as a gift this season! Click here to learn more about this pattern.

Translating Greek

Permit me to bend your ear for a tick...
‘Tis the season to gossip about the economy, or at least so say the politicians and pundits. Dollars and cents are apparently fresh on people’s minds--partly because we are ankle-deep in the spending season, and also because of our recent recessionary hiccups. Thus, everyone is encouraged to do their patriotic duty and hit the malls, as if our Christmas shopping has the collective power to pull us all up by our global bootstraps and end our economic woes. But before you jump to conclusions about my admittedly predictable introduction, this isn’t a post about overspending during the holidays, or even about the shortcomings in our global economy. Rather, this is a post about getting back to the real roots of our economy--which is the home. Now, I’m not being overly sentimental in saying this. In fact, the word for economy is translated as such. This little etymological tidbit is something I recently learned from a speech given by Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury. In it he said, “'Economy’ is simply the Greek word for ‘housekeeping’. Remembering this is a useful way of getting things in proportion, so that we don’t lose sight of the fact that economics is primarily about the decisions we make so as to create a habitat that we can actually live in." In other words, “economy” isn’t all about retail spending and “putting up good numbers” for the quarter. It’s not about affording and giving lavish gifts--or even cheap gifts for that matter. Creating a “habitat worth living in” has far more to do with our satisfaction in our work, the strength of our relationships, and the care of our resources. So while we are busy with this season's festivities, it is nice to practice this idea of "putting things into proportion." What are we doing to create good habitats for ourselves and our families to live in? How are we building community? How are we taking good care of what we've been given?

Because it doesn't take a scholar or an economist to know that Home is worth investing in, and that keeping close to our roots is good for the world.

And speaking of home, come back tomorrow to see another outdated sweater I found hiding in mine, and how I brought it back to life!

Glossary of images, all handmade from Etsy Sellers!
Family of Six by Goose Grease Undone
Little Red Paper House Set PDF pattern by Maria Lunate
Good Morning Sunshine Barnwood Peep House by Lucinda And Jane
Pocket People and Carrier pattern by Whosie and Whatnots
Big house pillow "My Lovely Tacky Diningroom" by Lei Li La Loo

Pernicious

per.ni.cious [adjective]: having a harmful effect, esp. in a gradual or subtle way.

There is a pernicious foe that threatens to allure me every holiday season. Sneaking around disguised as pretty advertisements promising me free merchandise and bonus deals is the dreaded "spaver."

That's right--I said "spaver."

The spaver, my friends, looks like a sale. Offering discounts and prizes, it appears to save you money.

But it doesn't. Oh no, it doesn't.

Because what you're really doing with the spaver is not saving but Spending! Like this ad above, beckoning me to spoil myself with this wonderful deal. I only have to spend $89 for a $224 value.

Only $89! What--does money grow on trees these days? I have two words for you: Cover Girl.

Ahem...as an aside, notice how this promotion mentions gift-giving in parenthesis and tiny print while "SPOIL YOURSELF!" is in large, bold letters? THIS is why I end up spending more on myself than anyone else during the holiday season. But I digress...
Moving on, how about this familiar little trick? This time I only need to purchase a sweater at regular price and I can get the second one free! Nevermind that the regular priced sweater I'm paying full price for is probably over $100! And naturally I don't get the free shipping unless I spend $125.

Are you catching a trend here? Notice how much I've already spent so far on these "savings?" (hint: it's already over $200 and that doesn't even include J.Crew and Pottery Barn!)
And even the coupon codes, like the one above, say "SAVE NOW," but you have to spend $75 to get the savings. $75 at Walgreens? What are they selling over there these days, I wonder? Cashmere? Diamonds? Rolex watches?

Pernicious, I tell you. Pernicious.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have some shopping to do...

Generic Upgrade

I am a classic holiday-wrapping procrastinator, meaning that it is not uncommon to find me buried under a pile of tape and ribbon on the night before Christmas while listening to carols and quietly cursing at myself for waiting so long...

But in spite of my egregious character flaw, I will say that I'm making strides toward perfecting my holiday-wrapping technique. It involves generic (aka cheap) basics and a few flourishes. For instance...
As you can see from the pic above, last year I was in a bit of a folksy mood. I found this brown paper for $2.00 at Wal-Mart (yes--believe it or not, they usually do have a few non-kitschy holiday paper options...) amidst stacks of snowmen and Santas. I loved it because it was festive...and yet I could use it for other winter gift-giving occasions as well.

And this year I'm applying the same principle.
First I start with recycled gift boxes since paying for new, empty boxes just seems ridiculous. Used cereal cartons are my favorite. I start collecting them in the Fall, and by Christmas I usually have plenty for gift giving.

And just in case you're curious where I store them...I stash them behind the books on my bookshelf until I'm ready to wrap. I knew you were wondering...
The next step is to wrap the boxes in plain-jane craft paper. I always stick to white and brown, and keep a roll of each in my house all year.
And I also keep a stash of plain brown gift bags on hand as well. Due to my teensy procrastination problem, I sometimes only have time to dump a gift into the bag with some tissue paper and head out the door!
Of course I don't just leave things with white and brown. That would be boring, and I don't want people judging me by my lack of wrapping pizazz.

Because they would, you know. They'd judge me harshly.
So the final step is the embellishing. This year I'm all about the shimmer. I searched about 5 different craft stores until I found this particular shade of ribbon. Kind of over-the-top, I know, but once I get something in my head, I obsess. And pink champagne is on my mind, people. I'm officially obsessed.

Decidedly less challenging was finding this gold paper with berries and butterflies and snowflakes. Nevermind that butterflies and snowflakes do not go together in nature... Pretty overrides ecological accuracy here.

And yes...again I found the paper at Wal-Mart. And again it was hiding amidst rows of red-and-green candy canes and gingerbread houses.
And here's the final product. Just the ribbon alone gives these generic boxes a major upgrade.
And adding a sleeve of gold paper just elevates it up a notch.
Even my boring brown bags look presentable with some cut-out snowflakes, ribbon and a simple holiday stamp.

Now, if only I had some gifts to put into these lovely bags and boxes....

The procrastination never ends.

Rustic Decor

I am married to a man’s man. Rugged. Brawny. Strong. He’s the kind of man that scoffs at things like lotion, and thinks corduroys are “fancy.” He drinks beer. He eats sausage. And he doesn’t look too keenly on our home looking too “girly.” So when the holidays roll around, I have to make sure that there aren’t too many sparkles and shimmery things lying around, or else he might start feeling uncomfortable.

Which is why this year I enlisted him to help me create these. Hewn from some pine and aspen logs we had lying around (yes, we have logs “lying around.” We live in Colorado--it’s sort of expected around here.), these “woodsy lanterns” are possibly my favorite holiday project yet.

Favorite because they cost $6.00 to make (not including the cost of the tools, of course, which my manly husband already owned--naturally). And because they took about eight minutes. And because they bring the wintry outdoors into my living room. Even better, these candle holders are versatile! See how many ways there are to change their look? There’s the traditional look, with winter berries. Simple. Classic. Beautiful. You can’t go wrong with berries. And then there’s the rugged look, with them all bundled together with a belt. This was my favorite...until my husband started looking around the house for his belt. Incidentally he wasn’t persuaded by my attempts to convince him that the design of our coffee table display was more important than keeping his pants up. I lost that battle. Fortunately, there is also the ribbon look, which as a self-proclaimed girly-girl, is now my new favorite. I like to think of it as a picture of my marriage. Rugged...but with a twist of sparkle. I’m the sparkle. Naturally. To learn more about my DIY pattern for making these woodsy lanterns yourself, click here!