crafting memories: Martha Stewart's Handmade Holiday Crafts winners

Thank you so much for all the thoughtful comments left on last Tuesday's giveaway post.  It has been fun to read about all of your crafting memories!

Some common themes:  crafting with sisters/mothers/grandmothers/friends is always special.  My sister reminded me of the time my mom sat down with us and taught us how to weave baskets (she makes the most amazing baskets).  My mom can make anything - I always loved making projects with her growing up (and she was the one to get me hooked on Martha Stewart).  We still end up crafting together during visits.

I usually find that I am far less productive while crafting with friends than alone, but it is always a good time.   Years ago in New York, my friends and I had an impromptu sock-animal sewing party:

I loved hearing all of your stories!  They reminded me of good times I've had crafting with loved ones, successful projects, and funny failures.  It was nearly impossible to pick favorites, but here are the five comments I chose as the giveaway winners:

Danielle said...

One of my favorite memories was when my grandmother was teaching my cousin Eric and I to embroider (we were both around 8 or 9 yrs old). I was working on a pillow case and he was making a pillow for his mom. I accidentally stitched my pillow case to her bed quilt! I ended up cutting the quilt to get my stitches out and tried to sew the quilt back. It looked terrible haha. Those stitches are still there today though, so I must have put them in pretty well!

Amy said:
When I was a kid we were making come craft for our moms for mothers day.  My friend Tanya (a tomboy) was doing an awful job at hers so she turned to me and said "Amy, make mine for me, or I'll beat you up!  And make it blue."  I would have done it for her anyway!

Tish said: 
My favorite craft moment was learning to sew not from my mom, but from my younger brother who was in high school. He learned in Home economics. He stayed up until the wee hours of the morning teaching me the basics. Since then it has opened more windows in my craft world. So thank you to my brother Nick!

Aunt Nancy said:
My favorite crafting memory goes way back to when I was about7 years old. I made earrings for my mother in my school class out of big, dark red buttons. I glued little crystal clear beads in the center of the button and glued a screw-on back and I was ready to give the most amazing christmas present ever to my mom. I wrapped the earrings all by myself and couldn't wait till she unwrapped them Christmas morning. Well, needless to say, because the package was so tiny and not in a box, it got lost for awhile in the ton of wrapping paper all over the living room floor. I was devastated! But thanks to my mom, we finally found the treasure and true to my imagined joy...she loved them!. My mother was my inspiration for growing up wanting to make my home more beautiful by creating things myself. When my mother passed away and I was going through her jewelry box, I found the beaded earrings that I had made for her with love. She had kept them for all those years....a very tender memory for me of a mother's love and inspiration!  

myemye_12 said:
I was still fairly new to sewing and my husband asked me to make him a ninja turtle costume. It was only a week before Halloween but I told him I could do it(I really wasn't sure I could!). He went to the fabric store with me to pick out a pattern and the perfect ninja turtle color fabric and we worked on it late together every night that week, even staying up until 3 the night before Halloween. Our daughter was just two months old, and boy were we exhausted but we had the best time together. He would trace the pattern and cut the fabric and I ran the sewing machine. Oh man when that costume was finally finished he was so excited. I have never given him anything (except our daughter) that he thought was that awesome. It was like he was six years old again. And he was so proud of it, he told everyone at the Halloween party that we made it. I'm pretty sure they could tell we made it with it's odd proportions(we blew up a toddler sized pattern) and crooked seams, but he was convinced it was THE BEST costume at the party. It is still hanging in our closet and I smile every time I look at it. 

Congratulations to the winners!  Please email me (homemadebyjill@gmail.com) with your shipping address so I can have the book mailed out to you.

Thanks again to everyone who shared a memory!  

Martha Stewart's Handmade Holiday Crafts - review and giveaway!

It's no secret that I love Martha - everything that comes from her company is pure perfection.  Today she is releasing a new book, Martha Stewart's Handmade Holiday Crafts: 225 Projects for Year-Round Celebrations.

 

From Easter eggs, to Father's Day gifts, to Christmas decorations, the book offers dozens of crafts for every holiday.  It feels like a collection of all the best "Good Things" projects and special holiday issues of the magazine, all bundled in one spot.

Of course, there is a fabulous Halloween section (Martha's favorite holiday), which is the perfect jump-start I needed to get started on Oscar's 3rd birthday party, a Halloween extravaganza (at least in his eyes).

I am excited to try the Jar-o'-lanterns, featured in the Halloween section.  (Photos by Eric Piasecki. Reprinted from the book Martha Stewart’s Handmade Holiday Crafts. Copyright © 2011 Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc.  Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, a division of Random House, Inc.)

Jar-o'-lanterns

Tools and Materials
Clean glass jars
Paintbrush

Oil-based enamel paint (black and orange or yellow)
Extra-wide masking tape

Jar-o-lantern template (marthastewart.com/holiday-crafts-book-extras)
Marker
Craft knife
Plastic-covered 20-gauge wire
Needle-nose pliers
Wire cutters

 1. Working in a well-ventilated area, coat the inside of a jar with orange or yellow paint. Apply a square of masking tape to the outside of each jar. Press out any air bubbles. Use a marker to draw face on tape. Cut out features with a craft knife to form a stencil. (Alternatively, download and print jar-o’-lantern templates, cut out features, and secure over the tape; cut around them to form stencil.)

2. Using black paint and a brush, fill in the features of the stencil. Let paint dry completely, then carefully peel off and discard tape.

3. For a handle, loop one end of the wire with pliers. Make a lasso shape to hug the neck of the jar. Bend remaining wire over for a handle. Cut wire; make another loop to hook onto ring. Slip ring over jar's mouth; tighten as necessary.

How cute are those?  All I need is some orange paint and I'm set to start.

Ok, onto the really fun part.  Would you like a copy of the book?  Today I'm giving away 5 copies of Martha Stewart's Handmade Holiday Crafts: 225 Projects for Year-Round Celebrations!

I'm going to run this giveaway a little differently, just for fun.  To enter:

• Leave a comment telling me your favorite crafting memory!  It can be anything - a success, a funny failure, just the sweet memory of crafting with someone special.  I'll choose my 5 favorites for the winners.  Make me smile.  :)
• One comment per person please.  If you accidentally leave duplicate comments, please delete the extras.
• Please leave me a way to contact you, either with an email address, or a public profile that leads to your blog.  Thanks!
• This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only.  So sorry, international friends!

This giveaway is open for 24 hours only!  Get your comment in by 9 a.m. PST, on September 28th.

One of my favorite crafting memories is when I got to meet Ms. Martha herself and talk to her about something I made.  It was October 2008, just 11 days after Oscar was born, and I had submitted a pair of baby booties to the MSLO employee art show.  She loved the shoes (I about passed out on the spot), but even more she loved Oscar, and took his picture.  The shoes and Oscar's little newborn face even flashed briefly on the show the next day.  My tiny celebrity!   It was a thrill.

Good luck!  I'm really looking forward to reading your crafting memories.

2010 Martha's Circle Holiday Gift Guide

Check out the Martha's Circle 2010 Holiday Gift Guide, which includes some Gifts for Crafters picked by yours truly.

There are great gift ideas in every category, but I especially like some of the Family Stocking Stuffer picks.

Pom Pom Tips (and other handmade party details)

 I had lots of questions on the tissue pom poms in the last post.  They are super easy - it's a Martha project! (and not one of those Martha projects where you wonder who in their right mind would ever try it.)

Having made dozens of them over the years, I feel like there are a few tips of the trade I can share with you:

• 8 pieces of tissue paper looks great in the small poms, but the larger ones actually need about 10 sheets to look nice and full

• Use smaller fan folds in the tissue paper - about an inch wide for the small size and no larger than 2 inches for the big ones (I try to fold mine at about an inch and a half)

• Make sure those folds are really creased!  After folding the length of my tissue, I always go back and press the creases again with my fingers, making sure it gets through all the layers.  The better the pom holds its crease when it is fluffed, the better it will look.

• Tie your length of string for hanging to your loop before fluffing the pom (so you don't have to dig for it later).

• Always fluff the poms from the center and resist touching the edges, and pull the layers apart one sheet at a time, one crease at a time.  To get a good grip, I hold the pom on the crease directly behind the one I'm fluffing (hope that makes sense!)

• Fluff one side of the pom completely before moving on to the opposite side.  This also means they will lay flat if you need to transport them.  For my party, I fluffed one side of the poms at home, and then completed them on location.  If you try to transport them fully fluffed, they are sure to get smashed.

• Hang immediately!  :)

They look especially nice if you have a fan or air conditioner running in the room, making the poms spin slowly.  It is mesmerizing!

A great place to buy tissue paper in bulk is Paper Mart.  They have a nice variety of colors, and the price can't be beat.

We also made these gray table runners with sprinkled confetti to decorate the tables.  I already had our color scheme picked out when I saw this post on The Crafts Dept. blog.  Talk about perfect timing!  I promptly ordered a roll of 12" bogus paper.

Instead of fringing the edges, we punched it (or rather, my friend Nancy punched it) with a scalloped edge paper punch.  I'll be honest - it took her a long time.  But it looked great!

I also made a trivia quiz game to put at each place setting, and the ladies filled it out during dinner.  I got the idea from this baby shower featured at Hostess with the Mostess.

I have so many projects in progress right now, my head is spinning - another maternity refashion, a home decor project, and something for Oscar are all in the works.  Not to mention the fact that his play kitchen has been on our deck, half finished, for almost two months.  Oh, and there is that whole Easter holiday I should probably prepare for.  :)

homemade holidays: black apple dolls

 

You know what I love about November?  It still feels like there is plenty of time to make homemade gifts.  Black Apple Dolls are one of my favorite little girl gifts to make.  They are a fast project, easy to customize, and oh so very cute (the free pattern doesn't hurt either).

My favorite in this bunch is the dark-haired twin with the blue flower brooch.  They could all use shoes and winter accessories, but I have to be somewhat realistic about my time.  :)

variations on the gift jar

Here's a variation on the gift jar from my last post.  For a different look (and more instant results), you can use Elmer's Painters to draw a design directly onto the jar.  For the jar above, I printed these templates from Martha Stewart's DIY wedding section.  Tape the template to the inside of the jar and trace the design on the outside using an Elmer's Painter pen.

 

Have you visited the Daily Drop Cap yet?  Several times a week, typographer Jessica Hische posts a beautifully hand-crafted initial cap.  I printed mine out and used it as a template for this second jar, using the same method described above.  I was excited to see the little spirals on my initial, since they happen to be my signature doodle.  I drew freehand spirals to cover the rest of the jar.

Fill with a goodie, add a pretty gift tag, and you're all set to go.

Holiday Gift Jars and Tags

Thursday night I'll be demonstrating a little craft as part of a ladies' meeting at my church.  They asked me to come up with a holiday gift for a neighbor or friend - something simple that doesn't take much time or skill, is inexpensive to make ($2-$4), and wouldn't be embarrassing to give as a gift.  :)  Tall order.

I tend to give neighbors baked goods or treats for the holidays, so I thought a pretty container could be a good solution.  A mason jar is easy to dress up with a little bit of paint.  On this first jar, I stenciled the word Joy using frosted glass spray paint and contact paper to cut the stencil.   I'm working on another version of the gift jar using the Elmer's Painter pens, which I should have ready to show tomorrow.

Fill the jar with cookies, candies or other treats, and you have a pretty sweet gift.  Jars can also be filled with delicious baking or soup mixes, or spools of thread and other supplies for your favorite crafty people.

We'll also be making these festive holly gift tags.   They are my version of the Paper Treats tags, which I found instructions for on Martha Stewart.  The instructions call for lots of paper punches.  I don't know about you, but I don't have a holly leaf punch laying around ... but I do have scalloped scissors.  By simply using the scallop scissors upside down, it is easy to cut these little holly leafs.   They don't turn out as perfectly perfect as the Paper Treats tags, but that is fine by me.  Let the holidays begin!

Halloween 2009

This year for Halloween, Oscar is going to be an Eastern Bluebird.  I thought it was appropriate for him, since he will probably be my only east coast babe.  And of course, because he looks so darn handsome in blue.

The template and instructions for this costume can all be found at marthastewart.com.

felt playhouse

I'm so excited to finally post this project!  Welcome to apartment 9 ...

 

So far, these flowers in the window box are Oscar's absolute favorite.  They last about 2 seconds in the box before he has plucked them all, and then drags them around all day.  The stems have a pipe cleaner in them to give them support, and as a bonus, makes them satisfyingly bendy.

A close second favorite for Oscar is passing items through the mailbox.  In, out, in, out ... he could do it all day long.

 

Woof, woof.  We are not really dogs-in-the-house kind of people, but we love seeing them when we go on walks.  I think this faux-Sharkey makes the perfect pet. 

 

I enlarged and modified this french bulldog template on marthastewart.com to make the little guy.

 

 

The animals on this side of the house were also made with borrowed templates.  The squirrel is from matsutake, and the owl is my interpretation of the Petit Collage template on marthastewart.com.

I added this mesh (formerly a laundry bag) to the windows over the weekend after Oscar made repeated attempts to jump through the window panes.  So for those of you interested in making one of these yourself, consider either making the windows small or adding some kind of mesh/vinyl/etc.  I almost did clear vinyl, but I wanted to keep the air flowing inside.  A felt house can get stuffy!

 

Apple picking time!  I tried to make this tree look pretty similar to the one found in Oscar's quiet book.  He has been enjoying picking apples and can even put them back on the tree.  I think I'm going to make lemons for the tree for a little variety. 

 

On the back of the house, you'll find a big garden, ripe for harvest.  The soil has many pockets to fill with veggies (with room to grow as I make more).

 

I think the corn on the cob is my favorite part.  It was my brilliant basket-weaving mom's idea to weave the  white and yellow felt together for the corn cob.  Too cute!  It slides easily in and out of the husk.

Hungry for a BLT?  We have lettuce ripe for picking.

I could probably write up a month of posts on this playhouse, but I'll try to stick with just a few more. 

UPDATE:  I have posted some playhouse templates here and here.  See the felt playhouse Q&A post for frequently asked questions on the playhouse.  Thanks!

paper punch art

I've been wanting to do a butterfly "specimen case" ever since I first saw it on Ali Edward's blog back in Feb. '08. Then I walked into Michael's this weekend and everything was on major sale, including the whole Martha Stewart Crafts line. I think I had a stroke, because when I came to, I was walking out with several bags of goodies. I can't be held responsible for my actions.

You can find other versions of this project at Samster Mommy, LollyChops, and Peacock Chic.

I had a really good night...

UPDATE: Ok, so many if you are demanding details. :) Did you notice the baby booties hanging on the wall behind us? I submitted them to an art show and Martha was there for the opening night! Oscar was my golden ticket to a photo op - she thought he was super cute.

Shirt-Pocket Quilt

I finally got around to making the Shirt-Pocket Quilt, which has been on my to-do list for almost 2 years now. It is made entirely out of Jared's old button-down shirts and I'm planning to hang it somewhere in the nursery (I think over the dresser/changing station). I think it will be perfect for holding small supplies, stuffed animals, etc.

(please excuse my crazy-lady hair!)

The backside is more patchwork made out of his white shirts, that I just pieced together pretty randomly until it was big enough. Even the binding is made out of Jared's shirts. Yay for recycling. There is a layer of batting inside, so I machine quilted around the edges of each pocket to hold it in place.

This is a Martha project (it was actually the Craft of the Day about a week and a half ago) ... you can find the instructions on her website here. At the center of my quilt I used a nine-patch block that included fabric from each of the pockets, which makes it slightly different than the Martha quilt. That was my friend Megan's brilliant idea.

Martha Blogging show, part 2

The long line of bloggers at the Martha Show. It was so funny to see everyone with their laptops out, blogging away. Some of the guests on the show have millions of visitors every day. Millions! I can't imagine. Meanwhile, I am approaching 150,000 (cough) total visitors, which I should hit by about mid-week. Any suggestions on what I should do to mark the occasion?


I'd like to move into Martha's craft room and live there forever. Actually, the set craft room is nice, but I'd prefer the craft department at the office. It is like Santa's workshop in there.

After the show, Martha and Kevin Sharkey taped a segment for this week's Hot Dog show. I didn't realize Martha was such a fan of hot dogs! They tasted 27 varieties, some of which looked really amazing. My 9-month hot dog hiatus is coming to a close, and all I want is Gray's Papaya recession special with a pina colada fruit drink. Do you think they'll let Jared bring it to me in the hospital? :)

Martha Show! part 1

So I'm here in the audience waiting for the show to start ....


This is my baby's second time in the Martha Show Audience in just a few months ... does that make him a mega-fan like his momma?


To my right are Nichelle and Rachel from cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com. They were guests on the MARTHA show back in March for Cupcake Week!

To my left is Regan from the Dinner Tonight blog. If you haven't checked it out yet, it is awesome. I have a weekly dinner with my friend Jaime, and we often check Dinner Tonight or an issue of Everyday Food for inspiration.

Also ... in line on the way in, I met Antonio and Blanca from FriendsEAT, a food community which I am excited to check out and the AMAZING Laura Normandin, who works in the Craft Department at Martha Stewart. She blogs over at Wren Handmade.

chick onesie

I love ...

baby onesies
appliqué
book club craft day

the chick design comes from these decoupage templates on Martha Stewart

things I want to make

Since I am such a slow-poke these days, I put this list together of things I would like to make (or attempt to make). Because, one, I think some of you crafty people out there might like to try these projects, and two, because I don't want to forget that I want to make them. :)

The list is, umm, quite long. Maybe I'll be done by 2010?

Bags

one-hour bag – by vintage ric rac

fabric bag/basket = bagsket – by foofanagle

fabric shopping bag – by oh, fransson!

fabric buckets – by vintage ric rac

Quilts
crazy 9-patch squares quilt – by oh, fransson!

easy lap quilt – by wise craft

multi-stripe baby quilt – by the village shop blog

bird embroidered quilt – by Martha Stewart

shirt pocket quilt – by Martha Stewart

For the Home
decoupage stool – by lorena, via design*sponge

decoupage storage cart – by lady harvatine

three-pocket wall organizer – by craftlog

patterned key rack – by design*sponge

paper punch collage – by ali edwards

bedside book cozy – by one more moore

family tree fan chart – by Martha Stewart

button-up window shade – by Martha Stewart

closet on wheels – by Martha Stewart

quilted coaster set – by Martha Stewart

Just for Fun

happy birthday banner – by see mommy sew

homemade slippers – via home companion magazine

fabric colored button hairbands – by your heart out

felt-covered barrettes – by angry chicken

coconut sugar scrub – by angry chicken

paper globes – by heather bailey

reuseable sandwich wrap – by the small object

Baby

baby dress pattern – by made by rae

crib rail guard – by new england quilter

covered nursery lampshade – by fat orange cat

nursing cover – by made by the mama monster

travel wipes case – by jan andrea

diaper bag – by a mingled yarn
baby leggings – by baby hopes

crocheted baby blanket – by rosy little things

baby tag blankets – by breanna

Bitty Booties – by heather bailey

baby shower bookplates – via nested

baby stroller blanket – by joybucket

hooded baby towel – by skip to my lou

soft baby cube – by london mummy

washcloth duckie – by Martha Stewart

nursing and bedtime playlist – by Martha Stewart

bath apron – by Martha Stewart

towel bib – by Martha Stewart

baby kimonos – by Martha Stewart

Kids/Toys

Crayon roll – by skip to my lou

plush robot – by revoluzzza

plush diggers – by elsie marley

fabric balls – by grand revival design

play "mail center" – by nothing fancy

Martha Show!

I was able to attend a taping of the Martha Show this week - so fun! She has the most beautiful tv studio. I'm on the second row, so tune in on May 13 if you want to catch a glimpse of me in the audience, eating up every minute of it. I think I'm in one of the shots towards the beginning.

This is Martha during audience question time. I was too star-struck to come up with a clever question. She's great!