So last night I had a really successful crafting experience. Lately, I haven't been doing so well. There are a lot of broken needles, smeared glues and crunched crimps in my recent memory. This has been rough as I have a few more gifts to make and I don't want to mess them up.

For a while now I have wanted to make a gift for the wonderful woman who takes care of our daughters when Galen and I both have to be at work. It's been so nice to have her with the girls this year and I wanted to say thanks. She's a tough one to give a gift to. She's a talented world traveler who is paring down her possessions to get ready for next year's planned jaunt around North America. She doesn't want bric-a-brac. So I decided to make her a tote bag. I have some hoarded special bits of fabric in the studio closet I wanted to include and a shape I wanted to make it in.

Late last evening (around 11:00) I went into the studio and laid out the fabric. I plugged the iron in, set up the machine and got cutting. Oh, lining, hmm, found the perfect piece of fabric in an old pair of pants we found stuffing a pillow from Morocco. Strap? Hmm, here's that strip of upholstery I have been saving. Now for a catch, oooh, how about two really strong magnets from the fridge. Ahhh, it just flowed so nicely. The pieces were all the right size. The lining and the outside of the bag fit together. The pocket went in right side up. I even added a Merit Badge (reading)on the inside as a sort of, uh, inside joke. I finished the bag and had the room kinda cleaned up by 1:00.

I didn't get to give it to her today, but Galen reports that she loved it and Cleo told her all the stories about the different types of fabric I used on it. That makes me so happy. Seriously, when I finished this bag I could barely put it down. I love it and it felt so good to make something *just right* the first time.

If you are considering making a tote bag as a gift, I highly recommend it. It is like saying 'here, I want to help you get through your day.' Also, a tote bag is one thing you probably can wing, no pattern, just a trusty measuring tape. Rectangles are your friends!

This tremendous laptop bag was made by Lois as a gift for her sister. She used the patterned and embroidered felt sheets in lovely blues. You can make a tote bag, too. Here is a link to my tutorial about a similar (but less fancy) one I made.

Or make one out of old jeans.
Or make one out of an old t shirt.
Or make one out of fabric you have in your studio closet.




NOTE: as of 12/20/2008 we no longer sell these felt sheets. Sorry, they were swell but we had to import them in giant quantities from the Kingdom of Nepal and they just didn't sell very well. We no longer have any in stock. Try sheet felt from high-quality upholstery stores.

quick gifty idea...

Materials:

* 10 5mm jump rings
* 10 filigree teardrops
* 2 filigree 5 loop hoops
* 2 simple french wire ear findings (earloops)

You will need two pairs of chain nose pliers to complete this project.

Directions:

With your chain nose pliers open a 5mm jump ring and thread it through the loop at the top of one of the teardrops and through a loop on the bottom of one of the filigree rings. Close jump ring securely. Repeat to attach all the teardrops to both filigree rings. Note, make sure all "good" sides face foreward.

With your chain nose pliers. attach top loop of hoop finding to the ear hook on both earrings.

We have these findings and other similar filigree findings in a variety of finishes at both stores and on line...these are great last-minute friend gifts.



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Living Crafts

Oh, I love this new magazine. My crafty friend Nancy put it under my arm the other night as we were about to sit down for a rare Mom-friend dinner out (it was at the Whole Foods salad bar, but no one was going to eat my food but me, so it was still pretty nice.) I had heard of the magazine a while ago but frankly, had been underwhelmed by their website and had sort of ignored the very nice letter from their promo folks asking us to carry the magazine or advertise in it. Well, now that I have seen it I am definitely going to carry it. The projects were all great, with a real focus on crafting projects using safe, natural materials.

There is a felted play mat in there that made me drool. I am going to see if Santa can get his *&#@ together to bring one to my girls. It had a stream and a bridge and mountains and paths. Imagine some little goats made of felt so that my girls could act out the Three Goats story they love (our version has sister goats, so they aren't Billies, girl goats have horns, too.)There was no picture of the felted play mat on the website, so I couldn't steal it for you to see.

You can look for this magazine in the stores SOON. I have to get my own copy as Nancy is a good friend but not the type to give you her brand new magazine for more than a browse.

(Why were we having dinner out? I am taking a knitting class. Cripes, am I crazy? The answer to that is yes! Look for a blog post when I finally finish the socks we are making in the class. Yes, I hyperventilated while I was knitting. I literally had an out-of-body experience when the yarn started to obey. More later...)

gifts for the crafty...

These gifts are not handmade, but will be good for the folks on your list who like to make things by hand.


lovely stamps for adding numbers and that cool pointy hand symbol to their work...













the two-hole punch for making holes in anything metal. It also looks cool and industrial sticking out of a stocking!




















a rhodia pad for keeping track of all their fabulous ideas (I like the large graph-paper one!)






Another favorite gift for the crafty that I like is the colorful inspiration gift bag or box. Just go around your own studio and put together a collection of items you aren't using or craft materials you didn't end up falling in love with after all. Choose items in your buddy's favorite color to make the grouping look good. Put them all in a nice container like a tin suitcase or even a wooden cigar box and tie them with a lovely ribbon. Voila! Less clutter for you and your friend will have loads of fun with her new crafty goodies.