Good morning! It was, of course, essential that I make a Christmas dress for K, and for the occasion, I pulled out a fabric that I've been saving for a long time. It's a metallic aqua linen, and I knew it would be perfect as a festive frock. The metallic coating stiffens the fabric,which gives it a taffeta-like texture, and I found that I could finger-press pintucks quite effectively. This was helpful because ironing required a press cloth, and sometimes I would forget and my iron would ... Read more
Happy Friday + Randomness (+ Peppermint Cocoa Blocks)
Happy, happy Friday! How are you all faring in all the holiday madness? Perhaps you'd like to sit back and relax with some peppermint cocoa? We made a boatload of these to give out to classmates, teachers and friends. They are easy to whip up, but require some waiting time (12 hours for the cocoa blocks to set) so you do need to do some planning, but there's still time before Christmas! I used this ubiquitous recipe from King Arthur Flours, and these cocoa blocks are amazing. AMAZING. ... Read more
Abstention Updates
Okay. I've shipped out all out-of-town gifts, dropped off most of the local gifts and have just a few more odds and ends to finish up before I can consider Christmas 2013 a done deal. At the last minute, I adopted a "semi-homemade" approach this year in the vein of Sandra Lee, with mostly store-bought items embellished with handmade tags, ornaments, accessories, etc. It's reduced my stress-level by a thousand-fold. I have a dirty secret to share: I don't like making the same things over and ... Read more
Felting + Girly Hair Accessories
Still slaving away, trying to crank out handmade gifts, though I came to my senses yesterday and decided to purchase a few gifts rather than trying to make everything. My mantra is easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy-and-don't-keel-over-from-stress, and I'm choosing the path of least resistance. I need to add in at least one more cliche there... I don't want to reveal all my gifts in case any of the recipients are passing through here (unlikely, but you never know), but I'm pretty excited about this ... Read more
Holiday Prep
Just popping in to quickly say that Santa's sweatshop is in full force here, and I am in the throes of toy-making (and last-minute-gift-sewing) at the moment. This year I've finally come to the sobering conclusion that I'm afflicted with a condition called Crafter's Delusion. Symptoms include a total disregard for realistic time management, an overblown sense of crafting skills and a rather worrisome need to hoard supplies and materials just in case. This condition manifests itself when ... Read more