Winter Center Piece

Here is the centerpiece that I made for Christmas and New Years. I debated long about posting it here because it is not my "normal" handmade decoration; but it was so pretty and will be reused every year. You will need clear tape, one silver balloon weight, one sliver spray (like the kind they sell in party, floral, craft and stores) and one white snowflake. First hold the silver spray up to the balloon weight and measure how high you want the spray to stand; then cut the extra off with a pare of wire cutters. Tape the spray to the balloon weight. Use the remaining wire to tie on the snowflake and adjust it so it is standing upright. Use scissors to curl the remaining sliver spray and it is done.

Bottlecap Pies

These cute little pies are great to have on hand for last minute gifts. They are wonderful to glue to picture frames, on top of ingredient jars, place on nature tables, and wonderful in doll houses. The ideas are endless.I will show you how to make a "cherry pie" but the basic instructions can be used for any type of pie, cake, pot pie, shepherds pie and so forth that you can think of.
To start you will need bottle-caps, clay tools (my favorite tool is a silver nut pick), polymer clay, and an imagination.
Roll small pieces of red polymer clay in your fingers till you've made several round balls. Fill the bottle cap with them till the bottom of the cap is covered and there is a slight dome above the cap. Then press down slightly on the balls so that they all stick together. This will help keep them together once the finished pie is fired. Then take a piece of "pie crust" colored clay and roll it like you are making a snake.Cut the clay snake into several pieces and flatten them slightly. The next part is a bit tricky. Carefully weave the pieces together. You can start to see how this will look like a pie.
Cut off the overhanging clay and take a small length of the clay snake, wrap it around the outer edge of the bottle cap. Make small indentations around the around the rim. I used my nut pick but you can use anything, a side of a metal file, a safety pin, the edge of a butter knife, a toothpick (you get the idea). When it is complete fire it in your oven at 275 for 20 minutes. When you remove the pie from the oven it will be brittle while it is still hot. If it still feels a little spongy after it cools you can put it back into the oven for a little longer. Use your imagination and see what you can come up with and Have fun!

Saint Nicholas day

Happy Saint Nicholas day one and all. Saint Nicholas day has been a family tradition going as far back as I can remember and longer. In several European countries this is the time to leave your shoes (or stockings ) out in anticipation that they will be filled that night in the spirit of Saint Nicholas (or Black Pete depending on who you talk to). When we asked our Mum who was leaving the gifts she would just smile and say, "Some one who loves you very much". She never lied. when we were older we discovered that it was indeed 'someone who loved us very much'. The stockings in our family began with my Great Grandmother. The pattern is from a 1920's McCall catalog and labeled as "Vintage Stocking". I don't know how old the original pattern is. The stockings are made with several colors of good thick felt, vintage beads and sequins, sewn and beaded by hand. My Grandmother kept the tradition going and when she died I became the stocking maker in our family. This is the first Saint Nicholas day that Bear and I are celebrating as a married couple. Yesterday I presented him with his stocking made in the same tradition as the rest of our family's stockings. I had been working on it in secret for the past few months; some of the patches I have saved for years for my future husband from an unfinished stocking that my grandmother had started. This was a labor of love and all he could do was sit there and smile; his eyes however, were full and said so much more than words ever could.

Happy Saint Nicholas day every one, from my family to yours. What are some of your family traditions this holiday season?

Pinecone Christmas Tree

Make a pine cone Christmas tree for your nature table. It's fast, easy, and fun.

First: cut two circles of felt and then glue or sew them together. This will be the base of your tree. It will keep the pine cone from falling over and act as a tree skirt.Embroider, bead, or glue the embellishments you plan to use for the skirt on now. I used some gold cording.
Glue the pine cone onto the felt using a generous amount of glue. I used a high temp glue gun for this part.Start glueing on the ornaments. Use seeds, beads, flowers, charms, sequins.. Basically what ever you can find, and don't forget the star.

Complete your Pine cone tree by adding the garland. This can be anything you can dream up. A broken chain of a necklace, tinsel, beads, ribbon, etc. I used embroidery floss. Then there you have it. A little Christmas tree for your nature table; just in time for the holiday season. Have fun!

Hats and Mittens

Here is a fun project that makes a perfect gift. It adds an extra imprint of thoughtfulness because it is made by you and is still easy on the wallet. Go through your closets in search of sweaters that you no longer wear or stop at a thrift store and pick some out to fit the personalities of the people that you will be making them for. I will be making hats and mittens for a family of four this Christmas for only $15.
Turn the sweater inside out and use an old hat for a pattern. Line it up in the bottom edge of the sweater. Make sure that the back and front of the sweater are even before you cut or one side might end up being shorter than the other.
Leave at least half an inch extra when you cut around the pattern, this will be your seam allowance. Then pin the two halves together.
Use a tight zig-zag stitch to sew the two halves together. I used black thread so it would be visible in the photo. You might want to color coordinate the thread with your fabric. The knitted sweater was so loose that it kept sucking down into the machine no matter what setting it was on. To cheat I backed the fabric with tissue paper while sewing. It came right off and left no evidence once I was done. Tissue paper is a great cheat to have on hand when you have misbehaving fabric. Once sewn trim the excess fabric, turn inside right and you are done with the hat. You are half way there! Now we can move on the the mittens. Trace around your hand on a piece of paper leaving about a half of an inch extra for seam allowance. Cut the pattern out and then lay it on the inside out sleeves of the sweater. Note how I placed the pattern up a little away from the wrist of the sleeve. This will make a great cuff for your mitten and keep your wrists warm; just make sure that it is the same height on the second mitten. Cut, Sew (with zig-zag stitch like the hat), trim, turn inside right, and you are done. Fast, easy, and inexpensive gifts that are sure to be cherished because YOU made them. Have fun!

Nature Table/Sented Pinecones

Ta Dah!! This is the new gnome house for my nature table. It's made with a wood base about the size of a square tissue box. I painted the roof green and then covered it with moss. Then I painted the walls of the house black and covered them with river stones. I used hot glue to attach the stones and moss. It might be a bit big for my nature table dolls, but for now it's supper cute. The pinecones are Cinnamon scented. You can buy them at $5. a bag OR you can make them yourself by brushing pinecones with cinnamon oil and tying them in a plastic bag with cinnamon sticks (you can also add dried orange peel and cloves). Shake the bag once in a while and in about a month or two they will be ready. Sure it takes a little while to cure, but it's worth it! You can sent your whole house this way.

First Snow Fall

I woke up this morning and the world was covered in a thin blanket of snow. The first snow fall of the season. It's a bit early for snow but we are long over due for a Halloween Blizzard (like the one back in the 80's). It was the perfect time for this little fellow to be born. From his delightful nose to his wee little rump he is slightly less than 2 inches long and from the the tippy top of his head to his tiny toes he's only 1 inch tall. There is a brass wire armature in his core and he's wool felted just like the raccoon; however, I soaped his body to felt the extra fibers in a bit tighter. His eyes are made out of onyx seed beads. Today Bear and I will hibernate indoors much like our little felted bear emerging only to get refills of hot coco and cider. Happy first snow fall everyone!