Little Black Dress

It's Christmas party season again and I'm always scrambling to find the right dress. This year I was inspired by a simple design I found online and challenged myself to create my own version. The final result was exactly what I wanted and it fit like a glove.

Be a Hero this Halloween

Now that my daughter is 7, she has strong opinions about what her costume should be. When she chose  Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, I agreed even if it wasn't a big costume challenge for me. Seeing the delight on her face when she put on the dress and ruby slippers made it all worthwhile.

My son, on the other hand, is only 5 and easily persuaded to wear obscure costumes. He's really been into wrestling and super heroes, so my husband had the genius idea of making him Nacho Libre this year. Tights + muscles + mask + cape was a winning combination. He fell for it.

Ding Dong the Witch is Dead

Porch fun.

Time to Recover

What is it about Fall that kicks me into full craft mode? This year in particular I am loving my domestic upgrades. I have been itching to recover our dining room chair seats for the past 2 years. I finally found a fabric with a print that I like and a pattern that will camouflage my kid's food spills. First weekend - 4 down, 2 to go! Costume season is right around the corner so I've got to switch gears after the final 2.

Calling all cocktails

I recently took a class at Modern Domestic to learn how to do paper-piece quilting. The process was very technical, but the results were astonishing. This tablerunner took a good week of evening craft-time. Now I can kick up my feet and rest my cocktail without leaving rings on my table.

I used this leaf pattern Charley Harper print for the backing which will mask stains from my sloppier guests and small children.

Road Trip Stitchin'

I saved my 2+ hrs. of hand-stitched binding to complete on our recent road trip to California. If the weather wasn't over 90 degrees, I wouldn't have minded having a quilt across my lap.

Garden Friends

Our backyard has an elevated level that has always been an eyesore. I consider myself quite crafty, but was not blessed with a green thumb. So this year we decided to have more fun with this dirt pit and make it fun for the kids too. My daughter loves fairies so the fairy garden was a great idea. I started with the tipped pot covered with succelents for her "home". Then the kids added their favorite stones and shells for her path. We found the fairy at our favorite toy store and plopped her inside.

In a few months the rest of the ground covering should be filled in.

Our gnome is so cute. He now protects our wildflower seeds which are growing nicely.

What's in your smile file?

Label I added to a recipe box with cross-stitch canvas. 

Mile High Craft Club

Passing time en route to NY on a recent business trip. Never made it past the first letter. Some crafts are not meant to complete but rather keep you occupied and happy!

Candy Button Hearts

Every Valentine's Day I like to engage my kids in making something special for their classmates. This year we decided to make our own version of candy buttons. I found a simple recipe online for the candy, then had the kids cut their own hearts out of paper. We dried the candy on the hearts overnight, then attached them to colored construction paper. They were a big hit!

Bowl-a-rama

Solution for extra yarn scraps. Make a bowl...

Arm knitting

Super Bowl Sunday + 2 skeins of fat yarn + YouTube + beverage & a snack = arm knitting!
This project was so simple, quick and fun. I tried out a few tutorials before I found the one that made the most sense. I may crank out a few for Xmas gifts this year.