Recently in Crafts Category

If you, like dear @JacobiteRose on Twitter, are looking for a St. Patrick coloring page, here are a few links which might help:

One

Two

Three (PDF) - This is the one I like best.

Four (PDF)

I discovered The Pleated Poppy blog this weekend. It's oh-so-cute and full of crafty inspiration. The blog's subtitle is "Beautiful Imperfections of the Everyday". Lovely.

Let's have the woman behind the blog tell you about herself:

hi ! i'm lindsey cheney. i am married to an incredibly supportive husband and am mom to 3 littles, 6 and under. my days are full of sewing, home schooling, crafting, snuggling, avoiding the laundry, sneaking bites of chocolate, and wondering "is it naptime yet?".

Lindsey sews a lot (she has her own shop, too) and she throws many parties. She's also kind enough to give glimpses into her lovely home and often features guest bloggers.

I think you might enjoy:

The Family Rules Tutorial

The Pleated Poppy Shop

The Playroom Reveal

I thought it was too late in the season to revisit our Snowman in a Bottle craft, but the Snowpocalypse has changed my mind.

From December 14, 2006:

These bottle snowmen were quite easy to make. I got the idea while I was washing the bottles (which formerly contained coffee drinks - I try to reuse such things whenever I can) and thought the metal lids looked very much akin to snowmen hats. After washing the bottles and removing the labels, I used a black Sharpie to "paint"  the lids black. The kiddies and I filled the bottles with Poly-Fil for snow and used dots of Tacky glue and beads to make the faces. Bits and scraps of yarn, fabric, ribbon, and cord were used for the ties, scarves, and hats. Each snowman represents a family member.

I know it's a bit late in the season to think of snowmen, but I wanted to show you this adorable miniature that D made for me. He's only 1 3/4 inches tall!

I asked her to make him look like a traditional snowman and she did. However, this little guy is made of polymer clay and toothpicks and he's been baked in the oven so I can keep him forever. No melting in the sun for this snowman. 

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's. We managed to have a good holiday (as you can see from the children's glee shown above) despite illnesses and a death in the family.

If you follow my Twitter, you already know that my husband's last grandparent passed away right before Christmas. This is the same grandmother who gave me so many craft materials over the years, including the plastic canvas S used recently. After her death, all of her crochet yarn and metal hooks were brought to me, as she had requested. I also have many other items she had given to me over the years. I feel honored to have so many of her treasured things about me and I'm happy that she is once again at the side of her beloved husband who passed nine years ago.

Between her death and my brain surgery, I seem to have been slapped with the truth that we are all here for but a moment. It's not that I didn't take death seriously already, it's just that death is brushing too closely by me lately.

The night she passed away, H and I were sorrowful. We had not visited her as much as we should have. But while it's true that we should have made more time for her, I knew that we had always brought her a lot of joy and had worked hard to give her a close relationship with two of her eleven great-grandchildren.

Sometimes your best is not all it should be, just all it could be.

A post like this usually ends with a plea to spend more time with those you love, but I won't tell you that. Until Death comes riding down your street, such platitudes are empty. I will tell you, though, that regrets are many and days are few. Too many die with "I wish.." on their lips, but Carmen died with joy. I hope when my time comes that I do too. 

I have never tried plastic canvas, but a few years ago H's grandmother gave me a trunk of craft suplies. Among many goodies was a plastic canvas cross. S decided to try his hand at a new craft and he recently finished his project.

I thought he did well for a first try. I also think plastic canvas may be a great craft for those without the patience, eyesight, or fine motor skills needed for more delicate handwork, such as embroidery or cross stitch.

Since the materials S used were ones we already had, this craft was totally free. And now he has a cute little cross, which he hung on his bedroom wall. Best of all, he has asked to work on more plastic canvas projects. I think Charlotte Mason would approve.

Look what I got this weekend. H and S built me sewing cubbies and I am so glad to finally have a place for everything and everything in its place.

I was also productive. I whittled three large Rubbermaid containers, a laundry basket, and a baker's rack down to what you see in the cubies.

Even though my sewing desk is in the family room, I now feel as though I have a real space of my own in which to be creative.

On the top, you see candle holders from H last Christmas, a basket for my camera, the Royal Game of Ur we made, the children's woodwind instruments, my nature study box.

In the middle, you see cloth, a round tin of pants' patches, a square tin of trims, a picnic basket of ribbons, my white sewing basket, my brown crochet basket.

On the bottom, you see a picnic basket of quilting pieces, a crocheted bag of buttons, my craft books, a pink bag of crochet pieces, a hat box of cross stitch and embroidery thread and hoops. 

I'm really excited. Can you tell?

H also built cubbies for S's bedroom closet, which made it possible for S to finally clean his room. It turns out there's a floor in there. Who knew?! Sorry, no picture.

And for a finale, H and D built this late yesterday:

Nope, not a furniture crate. It's the frame of a window seat - with lots of storage space. Ever since H built our family room, I have wanted a window seat in this spot and soon I'll be able to sit and watch the birds visit our birdfeeder. The storage space will, of course, allow me to hide a multitude of crafting materials. ;)

I have no idea what made H so industrious this weekend. I suppose it must have been the turn in the weather. Whatever it was, I sure do appreciate it.

Long, long ago, little D confused the words Jack-o-lantern and Halloween and called carved pumpkins "jack-o-leens".

After much begging, D got her very own pumpkin to carve for the very first time.

Stabbing the victim.

The finished product.

Lit up.

With my sunflowers.

We were careful to save all the seeds. They're delicious baked. Just wash them and spread them on tin foil. Spray them with cooking spray and sprinkle them with salt. Then, bake on low for awhile. Yummy! And so much better than sunflowers seeds, as these can be eaten shell and all. I kept some seeds out to plant next year. We'll see how that goes.