wise craft

herbs, crafts, and yacht rock

Thanks so much for all the great suggestions for summer hands-on activities for Ian, really good ones. I love the woodburning idea Jennifer suggested, I did that at many a summer camp, and remember feeling very grown up, being allowed to use the hot wand. And the Buffy Porson book (thank you Anne) And macrame! Maybe some string art would be fun (I've been wanting to do some myself).

There was a piece in the New York Times today celebrating working with our hands, reminded me of Emma, knitting, and being excited about seeing each row finished. I will definitely find more projects like this for the kids this summer.

I just wanted to share these cute seed packets. Leave it to Peter going by Kinokyunia and finding something cool for the kids. I love that place! These matchstick gardens will be going into pots this weekend, we'll see what happens.

OK, yacht rock. Love it. I love that it is a genre. I think it should be. I have (quite unapologetically) created my own playlist after listening to it the other afternoon as I was getting my hair cut.

Peter is going to be cringe, but honestly he's been listening to just a wee bit too much Bob Marley downstairs anyway.

Here's my current yacht rock mix, let me know what you'd add. I will need more songs if I'm going to play it all day.

Fly Like An Eagle- The Steve Miller Band
Hey Nineteen- Steely Dan
Baby I Love Your Way- Peter Frampton
Love Will Find a Way- Pablo Cruise
Bungle in the Jungle- Jethro Tull
Wild World- Cat Stevens
Biggest part of Me- Ambrosia
Peace Train- Cat Stevens
The Things We do for Love- 10cc
Year of the Cat- Al Stewart

I had to draw the line at adding in the Yes and Doobie Brothers (the Kenny Loggins years) I was close to clicking on. It takes me right back to those retail floors I spent more of my high school youth standing on than I care to remember right now.

Sorry for the randomness of my thoughts today.

under the fence...catch the sheep...

Oh! My girl knitted yesterday! With me!

As obsessively as I craft, I've always worried that the kids would turn a blind eye and reject it all.

However... I see approximately 13 weeks of summer vacation ahead of us, which can be blissful, or excruciating, depending on my frame of mind (really, mine, not theirs). I decided that having a knitting project to pull out and work on here and there might be a good place for Emma to start, to answer the I'm bored's. (this event was a long time coming, she IS ten, after all.) I pulled Kids Knitting off the bookshelf and together we read through casting on, simple garter stitches, pretty much keeping to the basics. (It was Melanie Falick was teaching her, not me, you see.) Emma chose some variegated yarn, which had an added bonus of helping her see the individual stitches better.

Under the fence,
Catch the sheep,
Back we come,
Off we leap.

I've moved on, but I can hear her saying this over and over in the other room, sitting on the beanbag.

She's already aiming for bigger and more complicated projects (I've no idea where she gets that from). She's keeping it in one of the drawstring bags I made for her. After all, a project like this really does come down to good gear, right?

Now, I'm looking for 7 year old boy friendly how-to's. I'm evisioning wood and power tools in my summer's future. What do you guys have for me, any thoughts? He's a tough one, I'll warn you.

-Oh! I wanted to mention that the new issue of Stitch is out on newsstands now, filled with lovely projects by some equally lovely folks. Like our good friend Melissa, she's got a stencilled pillow project in there that I think I might make for our bedroom (or someplace in our house that might be done sooner than our bedroom, but more on that in another post).

-And mailorder #10 is already eating at me. I loved the first papercuts Amy did, and these new ones look even more amazing.

-I have just started Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. Its good, but my feet have been hurting since page 5. No kidding! The footbinding!

propped and news

I'm so glad you guys like the fabric-covered journals!

Last week I was hired to create props for an thrift store chain's upcoming photo shoot for Halloween (more details will come on all this later). All the crafts had to be recycled, using items from their store, inexpensive, easy, no-sew or low-sew, and family friendly (doable for kids, adults, and teens). All this felt like a surprisingly small order when I actually got down to task and started making up the projects. I really had a lot of fun putting this all together.

I snapped a couple of shots as I was unpacking all the items at the photography studio, where they will be living for now. The actual shoot will not take place for a week or so, and there will be more professional photos in the pipeline.

I will point you to all this when it is up online on the client's site, closer to Halloween of course. There will be how-to's for all the projects I did. These are all totally doable, and fun to make. Trust me, you'll want to have a Halloween party I do! and I don't really even like Halloween!

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I am officially accepting sponsor inquiries for the blog, there will be several spots available. I have resisted this for a long time, but after giving this much thought (so much thought), I decided to try it. There are wonderful, hard working artisans out there creating some wonderful handmade goods, and I feel good about offering affordable space here on this page. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, please send me an email at wisecraftblog@gmail.com with sponsorship in the subject line. I will email you all the information. Thanks!

fabric covered moleskines

I love a pretty notebook. Here's one of those projects that time spent is nothing compared to satisfaction gained. Less than 30 minutes, start to finish for a pack of 3 moleskine journal. Its great if you're like me and have the really pretty fabric and have absolutely nowhere to use it in a project at the moment (a large scrap would do one journal).

Do you need instructions? Probably not, but in case-

Materials needed:
a pack of 3 Moleskine journals- I recommend getting the kraft brown covered ones, the other colors might show through the fabric

3 scraps of fabric you love (important!) measuring at least 11" x 9"

1"-1 1/2" wide twill tape to add to the inside front or back cover to hold a pen (I was playing around with this as you can see in the first photo, but decided against it on my set)

double sided fusible webbing, approximately same amount of you have in fabric (I used wonder under because I had it, but there are many kinds.)

iron, ironing board

good music (this project barely requires thought)

How to make:
1. Cut a piece of the fusible webbing slightly larger than the size of your journal when opened and completely flat.
2. Iron the fusible webbing onto your scrap fabric's wrong side, following the package instructions.
3. When cooled, peel the paper backing off the webbing.
4. Center the journal on fabric's wrong side, making sure you have it centered within the area covered by the fusible webbing. Now close the journal, keeping the fabric folded around it.
5. With your iron, hold the journal in your hand, spine up, and carefully iron the spine area to gently adhere the fusible webbing there first.
6. Once you feel that's set, open the journal, cover facing up, and in small sections, begin adhere the fusible webbing to the journal cover. You will see it start to adhere. Be careful not to adhere the fabric to your ironing board! Allow to cool slightly.
7. Trim the fabric completely flush with the edges of the journal cover all around, then iron the corners and edges of your journal again to be sure all are fused together.
8. You're done! Unless you want to add a nameplate, that would be fun. (follow same directions with a small square of fabric, which you can write on, embroidery on, etc, then adhere to the fabric on the outside of the journal. You could also stitch around the outside edges of the cover for decoration.)

My very busy week is coming to an end. I am looking forward to a relaxing, long weekend with the kids. Emma and I have actually been needlefelting together, she's a natural. I'll show you soon.

The Boomerang blog has officially moved to its permanent home here. I hope you will continue to follow as that space evolves. I am so proud of the work we are doing there.

I did a simple how-to over at Nonchalant Mom on simple peg dolls to make with your kids. Another good way to use small scraps of pretty fabric.

Happy weekend to you!

our bread and butter

I need to start this post with a disclaimer. You see, I, like yourself, try very hard to extol the virtues of whole wheat living on my family (peppered with the occasional "do as I say, not as I do", because, well, I've been waiting my whole life to say that!). I do like it, and my kids come around to it in fits and spurts, which I can live with.

But...

I have those days (and my kids most definitely have them too) where nothings going to be better than white bread and butter. Nothing else will do, honestly...nothing. It will immediately take me back to being a kid, when biscuits were made with every meal. Biscuits aside (we've discussed those here before), we recently got a new bread machine after being without one for over 2 years. I will hold the final verdict on whether or not this machine is a winner. Bread loaf #1 was a too dense, undercooked, flattened pancake. Bleh... I knew I had to change up a few things for loaf #2. I needed to buy new yeast...and I needed to pull out our favorite bread recipe. No more of this let's follow the one in the instruction book business.

I put the ingredients in the machine, made a few adjustments to the settings, pushed go, and left to pick up the kids. "If we're lucky, when we walk in the house its going to smell like fresh bread. If we're lucky."

We were lucky all right. The house smelled heavenly (actual sighs from us when we walked in). The loaf came out beautifully. Light, fluffy, perfect color and texture. I'm now fully convinced that I can't go wrong with this recipe, ever. I've made it for years and the only complaint I had using it in my old machine is that the loaf size was too big. Its a old James Beard recipe, given to me by my friend Sarah, who has no idea how much we love this bread.

Our recipe is for a bread machine, loaf size is a little over 2 lb.

Buttermilk White Bread

recipe from James Beard

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. melted butter

1-1 1/4 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup warm water

3 1/2 cups unbleached white flour

1 Tbsp granulated sugar

1 Tbsp salt

2 packages dry yeast

(add all to the bread machine in the order it is written, set for Basic mode).

Standby with butter or homemade jam, ready to grab it when its ready.

bench mondays

I grew up thinking "how silly to wear sandals with things like corduroy pants". And then I moved to Seattle. Seems perfectly okay with me now.

 The whole family is on a Cut Copy bender at the moment, I'm listening to it while I make dinner.

Happy Bench Monday!

how do you spell halloween in may?

Are you guys as busy as we are? School activities really ramp up for us as the school year nears its end, and I never see this coming until its looking me square in the face, surprises me every year. This was a little respite we had after school yesterday. Playing our own casual version of Scrabble/Bananagrams/How Many Words Can you Spell?? is an easy easy game for us, no real winners or losers makes it okay for everyone. (The etsy seller I bought these from seems to not have any for sale at the moment, sadly. These letter tiles have a zillion uses!)

I have resisted thrifting for several months now, we just don't need more stuff. But Peter and I are actually doing a project involving thrifting and I needed to go (imagine!). Sometimes, I strike gold, like this pure woolen blanket, which I will clean up and store till next winter. (Maybe for my one day tiny cabin by the sea??) All the other things I found are being cleaned and introduced to my little friend, black spray paint, for-

Halloween!

No kidding! Its the Halloween show around here for the next week or so as we get ready for this client project. At least I can do it outside. Its funny how I feel more inspired by Halloween right now than I usually do in October. I don't know, I feel a Halloween party in 2009.

In the meantime, I am going to eek out some time to make some drawstring bags for the shop, and some other things. I've got some ideas inspired by the Treehouse Appreciation Society. When I pop in, I promise not to tell scary stories and yell trick or treat.

visits

I was a happy girl the other day because Shanna came to visit me. Our last visit together was way too short, but this one was an overnighter, just perfect. We had a great time staying up way too late, sipping tea, eating Green and Blacks, and catching up. You see, even though we write words in these spaces all the time, there's still plenty to catch up on that rare occasion you find yourself in the same room. (Very important things, like the fact that Shanna has the cutest scarf collection I've ever seen.) Here at the house we used to have a guest room, that I would have made up especially for her, with special guest sheets, little soaps, special slippers...although, how could it live up to the Jane Austin room?? But anyway, since work at home came to town, all that is long gone and guest space is nonexistent. Instead, I try to con friends like Shanna into thinking that we only let our "special" friends stay in Emma's bed (and pretend to be 10). I did make a new pillowcase for the occasion, I saw that ditsy floral at the fabric store and immediately thought pillowcase.

Its important to me that I step away from waxing on about picking pretty fabrics and sewing seams to say thank you. To you (that means you). I was reminded that I wanted to while Shanna was visiting. Sometimes, blogs can feel a little like work. In the sense that the machine must be fed, especially when there are a million zillion other ones out there that can make you feel as if you don't put enough out there, or post often enough, or craft enough, and so on. I have been blogging since Fall of 2005 and, amazingly, I still feel I have something to say. You have peeked in on my life, my parenting, my crafting, my day to day. You all still manage to make me laugh, to make me think, and inspire me. I feel I could travel to just about anywhere and feel that I have a friend there, thanks to this little space. That blows me away. Thank you for that.

I have it on very good authority that Shanna has a shop update coming on Wednesday (or soon after), and you don't want to miss what she's been working on!

One more thing, there is a Boomerang giveaway over at Maya's lovely blog today.

a stuff bag

Pulling up at school each morning, Ian and I get out of the car within a normal, realistic amount of time, and proceed to begin to wait for Emma to emerge. After several minutes of standing by the car and waiting for her, the door opens and she spills out. She has stuff. Lots of stuff. Bedroom stuff...backpack stuff...portable stuff... I do not know if this is typical of all 10 year old girls, but it is for Emma. There really is no other way to describe these bits and trinkets she finds important enough to carry with her.

This stuff-carrying strategy also seems to apply to the treehouse and what is needed to play in it. I've talked about the repurposed plastic bin that's already out there, safe from weather, meant for holding various supplies and games. There's plenty of fun in said bin, but there is still entirely too much in and out foot traffic on backyard days. I decided making a stuff bag might be the trick to keep it under control.

This bag is a backpack style, meant to be grab-able. It a simple bucket style, made from a heavy canvas I found around the house. My thought was, the kids can throw in what they need, put it over their shoulders, leaving their hands free to climb up to the top of the house, then it can be emptied. We'll see if it helps with the back door slamming, and dirty footprints...even a little bit.

For completely selfish reasons, this bag satisfied my intense need to put grommets in something, and I got to pull out my clipper ship screen again and do some printing (and because of that screenprinting, I made more than one of these, because when you get out all those supplies, it makes no sense to just do one.)

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there.  I hope your day was enjoyable and special. Mine was great, I was showered with homemade gifts and lots of attention. Spent part of the day cleaning (my idea), eating pancakes, and playing charades with the kids. I am still wondering how Ian incorporates crawling across the floor into every clue. Here's a sample of what goes down-

Ian: (crawling across the floor several times...continuously) "Give up!?"

Me: I guess. What is it?

Ian: A saw! Get it?

Me...confused, and thinking "Am I drunk and just don't know it?"

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You can now follow me on Twitter. I have been on there a while, but wanted to see if I really used it before letting you know. As with all computer-related things- I'm totally in, what can I say?

is it fall already?

Apparently it is, because there is absolutely no evidence of springtime weather here. 50 degrees and lots of rain does not equal the spring I was hoping to have. We are totally back into the curling up with something warm in your hands to drink weather.

Perfect for doing some more felting. Aren't these colors gorgeous? I would love to find more grays (I have something in mind), but those lovely blues and greens and the gray appropriately named "smoke" will just have to do for now.

on my mind right now-

Sarah's bread bag. We have been thinking of replacing our bread machine for a while (it broke nearly two years ago) and the one thing that holds me back is the short freshness window. Now I'm thinking a simple, cute bread bag (could even hang it up) would be a great answer.

Repainting our bedroom. Its been, well, very beige for 6 years now, which is just way too long in painting years. I would love to pick a new color and do the fine linen paint technique that is in the current Martha Stewart Living magazine. Please don't hold me to that though. There is a LOT of wall in that room, I may succumb to the lure of the straight-on solid color to just get it done. But it will be painted. Nice thing about owning Story Trading is that we get all of the Ben Moore color swatches here to look at and dream about whenever we want. 

This amazing display of planters I saw at a flea market on Whidbey Island last weekend-

And countless other random things like quilt making, printing my own fabric to make new curtains for the dining room...the fact that the other day Emma told me her room was boring - yeah, I know...aaaaand there's freshly sewn curtains in there I haven't even shown you yet...weeding the rest of the garden... sewing Betz's reusable sandwich wraps...my lonely etsy store that hasn't been swept and dusted for a while...

you get the idea. Its a bit nutty inside this head of mine.