Archive for December, 2011
This contributor post was written by Beth of Parsimonia.
A Christmas poem for the DIYer.
Twas nine days before Christmas,
And all through the house,
Were flashes of red,
And the tree, it was doused,
With ornaments, ribbons
And lights hung with care,
But look at the walls;
They’re dreadfully bare!
No sleigh bells or snowmen,
No reindeer in flight,
No wreaths wrapped with berries,
It just isn’t right!
With so little time left
To make my walls festive,
I’m turning to garlands;
They’re oh-so impressive.
(above) Mini Present Garland by Oh Happy Day
Twisted Felt Garland by The Purl Bee + Easy-Peasy Paper Garland by The Happy Home
Festive Felted Garland by The Purl Bee
Holiday Garlands Three Ways by You Are My Fave
Beth is the writer behind Parsimonia: Secondhand With Style, where she blogs about her first love (thrifting) and her second love (cooking), as well as DIY projects, sustainable style and other bits of inspiration. She lives in St. Louis with one husband, one fuzzy dog and lots of dreams, and recently launched an online vintage store.
Enjoy browsing The Home Ground this weekend!
These small scale artworks speak volumes. Collage creations, mixed media paintings, and original illustrations all flowing from the hand of Michele Maule in her Portland, OR studio. Influenced by little pieces of her history or her heart, Michele employs such tidbits as vellum, thread, found papers, and pine panels to create her tiny masterpieces.
Every year around the winter holidays, as the stores begin to put up their decorations, and the Christmas tree lots spring up around town, I struggle with how to keep all of those pieces in line with my modern home decor. Of course, many people just go the traditional route and put up all the pieces that they have collected or been given over the years. I have never been a typical red and green Christmas type of girl, so I wanted to pull together a few looks that give off that holiday vibe without looking like the standard fare.
One of my favorite looks is to bring wintertime nature indoors. Twigs, pinecones and basic pine greenery are a great way to holiday-up your space without going overboard. Add in a little sparkle, either through lights, glass or metallic finishes, and you have a subtle winner. My personal favorite is a green, white, silver color scheme. This a great way to pull in modern and traditional pieces while keeping them visually organized. Or try the simplicity of a Scandinavian look, with wooden and geometric pieces and perhaps a shot of bright color. A mid-century vibe can be another great way to go, marrying a silver tree with shots of chartreuse or aqua decorations. When in doubt, opt for a simpler look, but don’t forget to include at least one of those special pieces, either something from your childhood, or something made by your children – one of those pieces that makes you smile each time you see it. And have a happy holiday!
(above) Bringing Nature Indoors
Simple Color Scheme + Scandinavian Wood
Pine and Flowers + Rustic Charm
Yellow and Silver Color Scheme
Amy wrote this post. She is the designer and owner of FormFire Glassworks, where she creates modern lampwork glass beads and jewelry, and by day designs custom homes for a small firm in Southern California. You can follow her twitter @formfireglass.
As the new year approaches, everyone is starting to make their lists of resolutions and getting ready for the big ball countdown. I’m a big fan of lists + countdowns, including this one from the wife and husband team behind East by West, a paper goods company based in Nashville, TN, about why there should be a revival of print. Check it:
- Face it. E-mails are so 2009.
- You know what they say, don’t you? Ink-stained hands = warm heart.
- You can’t seal an e-mail with a kiss. You could, I suppose, but your monitor would get all smudgy.
- Paper makes the world go round.
- Beauty is fleeting. Ink is forever. (Unless, of course, you leave it out in the sun. In that case, ink is fading.)
Sign me up with a pen and paper, please!
See more of the new collection at East by West to join in before the new year!
This guest post was written by Cathy of Catshy Crafts.
I’ve always loved felt. It’s easy to work with, relatively inexpensive and comes in a rainbow of colors. One of my favorite things to make out of felt are dimensional flowers. You can glue them to a hair clip or headband for a quick and easy hair accessory, use as a gift topper or just give them as is. I know my daughters can get pretty excited over a few hand-made blossoms. Today, I’ll show you how to make the three kinds of flowers (with 2 additional variations for a total of 5) that adorn my yarn-wrapped wreaths. Once you know the basics, you’ll be creating your own bouquets in no time.
Materials:
1. 9 x 12 sheets of felt in colors you love 2. Scissors 3. Embroidery thread and needle 4. Pinking shears (optional) 5. Faux pearl or vintage button (optional) 6. Pins (optional)
Here’s how to make it:
1. Fringed flowers
Step 1: Fold over over a sheet of felt lengthwise about 2.75 inches. With scissors, trim off excess so that you have a strip about 5.5 inches wide. (This will give you a flower about 3.5 inches in diameter. For smaller flowers, make narrower strips.) Note: Usually when I am making felt flowers, I do not whip out the ruler, but I wanted to give you measurements for this tutorial. Once you get the hang of it, you probably won’t need a ruler either.
Step 2: With the strip still folded in half lengthwise, cut your felt on the non-folded side in even intervals about 1/2 away to 3/4 down. (You may want to pin the folded strip before cutting, but I just use my hand to keep the felt folded, sliding it down as I cut.) Be careful not to cut all the way through your felt. The farther you cut will determine how “open” your flower will be. For example, if you cut 3/4 down, you’ll get a more open, floppier flower. If you cut 1/2 way down, your flower will stay tighter in the bud, so to speak. Another tip: You can also change up how wide or narrow you cut your felt strips for a different look.
Step 3: Starting at one end, snugly roll your fringed strip until you get to the other end. From there you can peel back the layers of fringe to poof up your flower. Feel free to give your flower a haircut, trimming fringe that are uneven or too long for your taste.
Step 4: Now it’s time to sew. Thread your embroidery needle with embroidery thread. Starting at the point where you finished rolling your strip in Step 3, push your needle through all the layers of felt. Turn your flower 90 degrees and repeat, again pushing your needle through all the layers. (In other words, the second stitch should be perpendicular to your first stitch.) This should be enough to secure the flower. If not, make a few more stitches. When you’re ready, tie a knot, snip the excess thread.
Step 5 (optional): Add faux pearl or vintage button to the center for a little glam.
2. Loopy flowers
To get the loopy flowers, the same steps apply as above. The only difference is that you will cut on the folded side in Step 2. (see photo for side-by-side comparison).
3. Rosette
These little guys are one of my favorites to make because they are so easy!
Step 1: Cut out a free-form circle of felt about 4 inches in diameter. No need to be a perfect circle, but if you need a little help you can always use a template (i.e. trace around a jar lid onto paper and cut out). As before, the measurements do not matter all that much, there are just here to give you a starting point.
Step 2: Starting at any point on the circle, begin cutting a spiral. I find that it is easier to rotate your felt as you cut (instead of moving your scissors around the felt). Cut all the way around until you reach the middle of the circle and are left with a little center tab.
Step 3: Pick up the end of the spiral on the outside of the circle and roll snugly until you reach the end of the spiral on the inside of the circle. The tab I mentioned in step two will rest nicely on the bottom, serving as a little base for your rosette. Your rosette will end up being about 1 1/2 inches in diameter (compared to the 4 inch circle you started out with).
Step 4: Time to sew! Turn over your flower. Find that little tab again. That’s where you will begin sewing, pushing your needle through the tab and picking up a few layers of felt. Repeat, again using the tab as your starting point. Keep sewing, until all your layers are secure. It usually takes 3 or 4 stitches depending on how big your flower is. If it’s a really big flower, I like to make sure it’s secure by gently pulling on the layers. If any give way, I just tuck them back in and add another stitch or two.
Now that you know the basics, here are a couple variations.
4. Wavy rosette
For this version, you get a fuller flower, with curved, wavy leaves.
Step 1: To start, cut a wavy circular shape instead of circle.
Step 2: Starting at any point, begin cutting a spiral, following the outline of the wavy circle. Again, I find that it is easier to rotate your felt as you cut (instead of moving your scissors around the felt). Cut all the way around until you reach the middle of the circle and are left with that little center tab.
Steps 3 and 4 are the same as the standard rosette.
5. Pinked edge rosette
For this rosette, simply use pinking shears instead of a standard pair of scissors to cut your circle and spiral. When you’re done with that, try a wavy circle with your pinking shears. Or a loopy flower. You get the picture.
So I hope this will get you started on making your own pretty felt flowers!
So which one is your favorite? Fringe, loopy, or rosette?
Share your opinion in the comments below.
Cathy, designer and owner of Catshy Crafts, is a crafter at heart, memory keeper for life, and lover of handmade and DIY. Through her hand-crafted goods, photography and paper and digital scrapbooking, she loves to celebrate the everyday and the special days of her life. She lives in a 1959 red rambler in the rainy Pacific Northwest with her indie game developer husband, two darling daughters, and calico cat. You can visit Cathy at her blog Catshy.
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I recently was asked to put together a gift guide for Curbly as part of their Design Blogger Wish List for the holidays and I wanted to pop in and share it with you too. Of course, since we just moved, all my picks are home related. Find out where you can pick up any of the things on my wish list right here on Curbly.
And I also put a gift guide together for Storenvy a while back that focuses on wearables (clothing and accessories). Above are three of my picks from that gift guide, but there’s plenty more to look at.
Hope you’ll check ‘em out and let me know what you love (or don’t love) from my selections.
