wise craft

clean sheet day

On Sundays at the wise craft house (if people play their cards right), by bedtime we all have clean sheets. Once in a while, like today, I'll even go so far as to wash our bed quilts and do a complete strip, wash, and re-fluff (mattress covers, blankets, everything). (Disclaimer- I will also admit to many Sundays when I merely smooth the covers, throw on a fresh pillowcase, and call it good, promising I'll get to it tomorrow- which doesn't always happen.) But today, everything was washed. Another reason I love quilts. A handmade quilt can be washed with no worries. It doesn't have to be dry cleaned. It comes out clean, fresh smelling, wonderfully rumply, as close to perfect as I can imagine.

I do love settling into bed on clean sheet day. We will hit the ground running and start a busy week when the alarm clock goes off tomorrow...Girl Scout meetings, taekwondo, soccer, 2 parties over the weekend. But tonight, I'm so very grateful that my kids are tucked into their clean sheets just down the hall. Like me.

Some days those little things are totally what get me through.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

-My current blog loves are total opposites- from this to this. The yen and yang if ever there was one. I somehow stumbled upon this one as well and its just lovely.

-I am planning a redo of our dining room. Mind you, I've planned this in my head for a while now (like all projects I take on around here), but its finally started to get to the next stage. There's some potential in there that is not yet realized. We can't buy new furniture, and I probably won't even paint the furniture we have (I wish there wasn't so much black, but they are nice pieces and I'm going to work with them for now). My thoughts and inspiration on this project deserve their own post. Let's just say I'm adding some bright and snappy in there.

-I'm obsessed with crossword puzzles right now. I do at least one every night and feel a little panicky if I don't have a book of them in my purse for emergency downtime. I downloaded the New York Times crossword puzzle app on my phone (only a so-so app, and I think its pricey), but really prefer the pencil-to-paper method anyway.  Anybody else out there have a favorite crossword puzzle resource? (Emma has started doing them too!)

- Oh! More draft blockers, I'm convinced I need these in the windows by our bed(s). Exciting, right?

Hope your week is off to a great start?

What about you?

miss sunshine

I have been in this mood to finish the unfinished around here. Which is a lucky thing for this quilt top. Say hello to the miss sunshine quilt. Do any of you remember how long ago I actually started this? Nothing like dragging my feet! I decided to pull it out and, look at it, I realized I actually have everything here with me to finish this (of course I do!). It will be donated to our school's upcoming auction, I'd love to see it go to a good home.

It will be backed in Kona Cotton, a light gray shade (sorry, I'm blanking on the name), but I think it will give it the modern feel I'm looking for.

I also finally dorked out and made myself a draft blocker for the window I sit in front of in the studio. Another one of those projects I've wanted to do for-ever. And you know what? It works! I kid you not. I must make more, its too easy not to.

See? I finally got up and started getting some stuff done. One can only hibernate for so long, right?

<><><><><><>

One more thing! Please welcome our newest sponsor, Pink Chalk Fabrics!

house music

(printable paper houses available here)

Oh, very good, I'm so glad I'm not alone in my semi-hibernation...

Andrea recently made a great list of songs that she would listen to over and over. Which got me thinking. Music is *big* around here in our house. We work all day to music, Emma turns on hers as soon as she's home from school. TV's only on in the evening for us grownups, but music plays pretty much nonstop.

Interesting to stop and consider which songs are the over and over ones. My list could probably go much longer than this, but here's a start.

Gut Feeling- Devo (when its time to get down to work)

Wild World- Cat Stevens (when I realize how fast my kids are growing up)

Fly Me Away- Goldfrapp (when I'm trying to get inspired)

Seaside- The Kooks (when I'm quiet)

California Stars- Wilco & Billy Bragg (when I need to whistle while I work)

Quelqu'un m'a dit- Carla Bruni (when I'm feeling girly)

Lucky Man- The Verve (when my day feels yucky)

Yucatan Gold- Throw Me The Statue (when I remember how I love nerdy cool)

Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk- Rufus Wainwright (when-ever, actually)

People Got A Lotta Nerve- Neko Case (when the music is up really loud)

Hearts on Fire- Cut Copy (when my kids and I need to dance)

Speak Like A Child- The Style Council (when I remember how much I love Paul Weller)

Music- Cornelius (when I want to be surrounded by interesting sounds)

In Between Days- The Cure (when I want to fill up Emma's Ipod with happy songs of my youth)

Single Ladies- Beyonce (when Peter needs to lighten up)

What would your list be?

<><><>

And just a little administrative business... I've added those fancy little "reblog", "tweet this", "favorite" buttons and whosie-whatsits at the bottom of each post. Try 'em out so I can see if they work.

in semi-hibernation

Apparently I am. There's really no better way to describe it. It was a really busy fall/early winter season for us, and apparently I'm on the other end of it. Whenever I can, I'm cocooning myself in quilts, with a cat on my lap and a crossword puzzle or a stack of design books to keep my busy. I feel a bit lazy but I think I needed it. I'm thinking a lot about what I want to make next. (Because, around here, quilt making and big projects like that tend to get thought about in the middle of winter, and made in the middle of summer for some crazy reason.)

Anybody else out there hibernating? Any thoughts on when should we plan to re-emerge?

But, we smell nice as we hibernate, oh yes we do!

I made sachets for all of our closets (and then some) last week. Impressive, I know. Quick, easy, really satisfying little project, one that I just never take the time to do. I used dried lavender and mixed it with some aroma beads scented with this amazing spruce oil. I put the aroma beads, about a cup, in a lidded jar, poured in a small bottle of the essential oil, closed the lid and shook it all up. About 2 days later, the oil was completely absorbed by the beads and my whole studio smelled like heaven when I opened the lid. I got all the supplies locally at Zenith Supplies, but you can order aroma beads online from many sources. Now, whenever I open our closets I get this amazing, yet subtle smell. Almost makes me forget the lack of organization in there.

I'm really thinking I should make some draft stoppers  for our windows next. I feel a slight draft over here, where I'm sitting and crossword puzzling... And I want to make some of Melissa's bread, because I need something to nibble on...

Ok, I'm climbing back under my quilt. xo

tiny felt friends

 

For Emma's 11th birthday this past November, I gave her a stack of felt in every color I could find, an assortment of beads, sequins, embroidery thread, and this book.

I think it was a hit!

mouse mama and baby

Don't you just love it when the perfect project comes along at the perfect time? Our business partner's wife just gave birth to their first baby last week, and I was pondering something to make when Betz introduced her new patterns for Squeak and Spike. Totally perfect!

 

These came together so quickly (and gave me another use for all those felted sweaters I have accumulated). If I'd thought more about it I would have put a bell in each one, so they would jingle. That would have been cute.

 

The only problem with making something like this is that the kids immediately want a set of their own, yet it seems mom has moved on...

OK, some good links for you today:

Shoebox Living (via Fine Little Day)- makes me want to grab all our shoeboxes and start building!

Miss Andrea's list of songs she listens to over and over is inspiring me to make my own list. I love remembering stuff like that.

One of the wise craft sponsors, Creative Kismet, just had her 100th etsy sale, congratulations Regina!

Beautiful Jane Austen-style Valentine's at Hello Handmade, available here.

I'm in love with this wall art and this clock.

I have put the Craft Hope for Haiti link up on my sidebar, they have raised close to (and maybe even over by now?) $10,000 for Doctors Without Borders as I'm writing this, its really incredible. Read about this effort over at the blog.

food things

I have such a hard time remembering what dinners work in our family. (I just read that Erin has dinner prep on the brain as well, and I think she just convinced me to make some potholders while I'm sprucing up the kitchen) Peter says the reason I probably don't like cooking dinner (which, admittedly, I really don't) is because I try and reinvent the wheel too much and that I should just stick to what works. Once again, he's right. Dammit.

I started tearing out recipes from Everyday Food a couple of years ago only when they "won" over the family, and am now finally getting around to organizing them. One of those projects I wish I'd done a lot sooner. They've been living, stuffed and overcrowded, in a 3 ring binder that I quite frankly was a little afraid to open. Now they have room to breathe in a wider binder, with a pretty cover made from Denyse Schmidt's County Fair "Tulip Medallion" fabric (and it just so happened that Kathy was having- and still is having- an incredibly good sale on home dec fabric(if you click over looking for Denyse Schmidt County Fair, I should apologize in advance, cause I bought quite a bit of it...you'll be seeing this fabric quite a bit around my house).

Making a pretty cover for a collection of recipes that work for us is a fairly straightforward project that I have literally wanted to do for years, YEARS! Why did I wait so long? It took me about an hour, and what a great mental lift I get going through this when I begin dinner.

The little notes I quickly scribble on the recipes are probably THE most important part. These kids of mine, self-diagnosed supertasters and there are important, special considerations to be made in order to accommodate. Any "green stuff" left in that couscous could create an extra 30 minutes at the table for an 8 year old who just won't touch unidentifiable green of any kind.

(Some simple directions on how to make a binder cover at the end of the post.)

In other food news, we are thrilled to have Komforte Chockolates in the January issue of Cooking Light as one of the Editor's Dozen.

When we have news (and we will, there are new flavors in the pipeline!) you can follow us on twitter and on facebook and be the first to know.

To make a fabric cover for a 3-ring binder:

1/2 yd. of a home dec weight fabric

disappearing ink fabric marker

scissors

coordinating thread

iron

ruler

pins

1. Lay your fabric wrong side up on your work surface.

2. Lay your binder on top of the fabric, opened and flat. Using your disappearing fabric marker (or a light pen mark), trace completely around your binder while its laying flat. Put the binder aside.

3. Using your ruler, add 2" beyond the lines you traced on the top and the bottom of the binder. Add 4 1/2" on each of the sides. This will allow for turnback and hems.

4. Cut out fabric on the lines you drew in step 3.

5. Hem the sides. Fold in 1/2" toward the wrong side and press flat. Now fold in 4" towards the wrong side and press. Sew this hem (but don't sew to the cover or you won't be able to insert your binder). Repeat on other side.

6. Now hem the top and bottom. Using your iron, , fold 1/2" toward the wrong side, press. Turn back another 1/2" and press. Do this on the opposite side. Sew these hems close to the edge, going through all layers (including the tops and bottoms of the flaps in step 5). Press smooth.

That's it really, put in your binder and you're done. I embroidered a scrap piece of burlap for the front (I kind of free handed the letters, I'm sure you can tell.)

how to help

There's nothing like the devastation in Haiti to put the life we have into perspective. I have been been a deer in the headlights this week. Frozen. Not much blog reading or no writing, not on the computer at all when I didn't have to be. I spent the week quieter than usual, reflecting in my head that, however tough and challenging our life can be, we have each other. I did the usual things...I baked cookies, I made healthy lunches, I chased after 8 year olds, waving the vitamins they didn't take at breakfast, I changed our sheets, I cleaned our house, but with a little more reflection. I spent time doing crossword puzzles to clear my head. I cut pieces for a new quilt I will make. I realized how much we have.

Take a moment to help the victims in Haiti:

Craft Hope for Haiti etsy shop (100% of sales go to Doctors Without Borders)

help for Haiti's orphans

Text "HAITI" to 90999 to donate $10 to the American Red Cross.

come in for a visit

Just a quick post to let you know that I am honored to have a brand new tour of our home over at Cafe Mom today. A thank you to Sheri for the invitation.

Go take a look, while its all tidy.

a door reminder, cause we need help

Our whole family has had vacation brain since we started back to school and work last week. Honestly, feels like we can't remember a thing! Ian forgot to wear his glasses to school the other day, someone forgot their coat (hello!? didn't it feel a little chilly?- There was an extra one in the car thankfully.) School is too far away to drive back a forgotten lunch (which, turns out, was in the backpack the whole time, put there that morning, even more disturbing that we didn't remember that).

I was thinking about all this last night and wanted to come up with a way to trigger the kids and I to make sure we have everything when we leave the house. I came up with something to hang on the door, that I think may work and thought I'd share it in case anyone else is having these issues. I used a set of letter punches I picked up at Hobby Lobby over a year ago (nice to finally be using them). You could also type up and print out thick letters onto cardstock and cut them out with a craft knife. Another thing to consider, these reminders work well for kids who are reading, but you could also use pictures instead of words for pre-readers.

 

Door Reminder

(so sorry about the photos, it is incredibly dark and rainy here in Seattle today, but hopefully you'll get the idea)

Supplies:

a piece of wool felt approximately 11 1/2" x 8" for background

a piece of wool felt at least 8" wide x 3" long for bottom pocket (same color, or different color, your choice)

strips/scraps of fabric or wool in bright colors (the more contrast to the background, the more they'll show up)- iron these flat

1 sheet of white cardstock

spray adhesive (use in a well-ventilated area)

scissors

pins

Set of alphabet craft punches OR type the words in Microsoft Word or a similar application on your computer in the size you want, reverse the image, then print out onto card stock (reversing the image will ensure that the black of the letters doesn't show on the front of the image.

craft or xacto knife

scissors

pinking sheers (for option C, see step 2 below)

chopstick or straight stick to hang from

mounting squares to secure it to the wall

1. Sew the bottom pocket to the background fabric. The wool piece to be used for the pocket will go across the bottom of the background (the background will hangs "portrait"), lining up the side and bottom edges. Use embroidery floss and a hand sewing needle and sew a simple running stitch around the sides and bottom to create a pocket (see photo).

2. Create the reminder words on the white cardstock. There are several ways you could do this:

a) Use alphabet hole punch letters to spell out words.

b) Type the words and cut out with a craft knife as explained in supplies.

c) Simply write the words on to the card stock with a black sharpie (or in a way that you can see them easily).

3. Prepare to glue the cardstock onto the strips of fabric. (I took this part outside to the porch, with spray adhesive, and it really was quick and easy.) Line up your fabric strips, all right side up on a sheet of scrap paper. Line up your cardstock words the same way, but right side down, on another sheet of scrap paper (see above). Spray the backs of the words with the spray adhesive, then one by one, glue each word to the fabric you've chosen for that word, wrong side of word to right side of fabric (it you are doing option C, and have simply written your letters, make sure your fabric strips have about 1/2" or more of fabric beyond the card stock on all 4 sides). Allow to dry.

4. Trim your fabric flush with the cardstock in option a or b, but use pinking sheers to cut the fabric for option C, leaving some of the fabric on all 4 sides for nice contrast.

5. Create hanger. Fold 1/2" toward the back at the top of the background fabric, handstitch with a running stitch. Thread chopstick or twig through and hang (I cut slits in mine so that the chopstick showed a little more).

The fabric backing will "stick" temporarily to the felt background think of those felt boards at preschool, or a flannel quilt wall. Same idea. Keep all the reminder words in the pocket, and take out what you need each evening before the morning chaos begins.

This, and a little ginko in our smoothies, should help us out (I hope!).