Make Me

DIY Holiday - Calendars

Okay, okay. Calendars are fast going the way of the dinosaur, what with everyone (me included) carrying their calendar in their phone. But I still like a paper calendar. A pretty paper calendar. Or a funny one. Or one with quotes. Or ones that fold into books.

Last year I made little calendar cards. I think they came out nicely considering I couldn't source the little tear-off calendars I used to find all over the place - office supplies, stationers, those little promo pieces left on your door by realtors and funeral homes. I found a site where I could print the right sized calendars which I had to cut and assemble.  I still think they came out well, even though it was more fiddly work than I wanted to do.

Decor8 has a nice calendar round-up (parts 1-5) that I've been drooling over for some time. It's inpsired me to put together another Handmade Holiday post.

Earlier this year I ventured in to Paper Source and caught these cool little calendar cards that sit on an easel.

Then I got the brilliant idea to make these. Of course I searched for the easy way out first. Looked and looked and couldn't find a template. Ended up making mine on photoshop elements. They're in the raw state, pretty much, but I'll include the file. This way you can customize them for your own purposes. Since they're in the .psd format, I'm not sure if you will see them in the same font I've used, and so the formatting may be a bit off. Still, most of the fiddly work is done.  (I will attach the file at a later date. I printed my copy at home and it's not very nice looking. The text needs to be sharper.)

I'm going to make a few up for the upcoming craft shows. I've been wanting to offer more paper items and this fills the bill just right.

Here are links to calendar templates I found during my search.

• Calendars or items made from old calendars are here on Totally Tutorials. And excellent site for all things craft-related.
• This is a calendar that is stored in a CD case which also acts as an easel. The template link still works, but the link site has a different name. It goes to a pay site, so you have to pay to have your calendar made. But it's still a great idea for making quick use of your photos.
• Shutter Sisters has photoshop templates for use. Easy to download and use.
• Here is a Photoshop Elements blog that has great ideas and a link to a few calendar templates.
• A number of calendar templates here(but not the CD case card size.) that have great uses.

I've also found some lovely calendars on Etsy that would make a nice gift for that last minute rush or gift swap. 

'What Day is It? Year?' by Hilari

Beautiful calendars for 2011

SALE - 2011 Fine Art Ph... RetrospectPhot... $19.00	Polaroid 2011 Calendar ... jerseymaids $30.00	2011 Eco Calendar threesquare $24.00	Black and White 2011 4x... cisforcute $8.00
2011 Mini Calendar Flow... mandreacarreir... $5.00	Vintage Carnival themed... TheVintageEye $25.00	2011 Art Calendar Print... valeriatelier $19.00	Calendar 2011 Nature (p... LilyCards $5.00
18 month French Ink Pen... JosStudio $15.00	2011 Desk Calendar - Wh... sworleybird $18.00	pastel memories 2011 mi... lesleysico $30.00	2011 Calendar. Butterf... ColetteJohnson $14.00
SMALL 2011 CALENDAR jessgonacha $20.00	2011 Farm to Fork Wall ... TheHerbalGourm... $25.00	Nature - Year 2011 - Fi... mariakallin $24.90	2011 Calendar Magnet wi... antdesign $7.00

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Handmade Holiday - Gathered Scarves

Gathered and textured scarves are still quite popular. I've noticed that this year the gathering seems to me more sophisticated and structural than in the pas These are a few of the scarves I found on the Nordstrom website.

Then I got to wondering what the DIYers were doing. I think a lovely scarf would be a great holiday gift. The range of patterns and tutorials available online range from simple to ornate.

Ruffled Linen Scarf from Factory Direct Craft is simple and straightforward.

The Flannel Scarf with Gathered Panel is unique and sophisticated. From Sewing Craft Gossip.

Gathered Scarf from Rain to Hope is a really cool modification on this Gathered scarf from Monster Yarn. There is also another modified version using sock yarn from Little Purl of the Orient which is quite beautiful.

Gathering the fabric before dyeing gives you beautiful shibori scarves. This one by Silken Wind is an easy start. You can also do the shibori techniques with knitted scarves as Just Jussi shows here. Cynthia Reynolds shows an awesome shibori technique in her tutorial.

Happy Together has a great tutorial (and adorable photos) for making a gathered scarf from a store-bought base. Also check out her Ruffle Necklace tutorial for a change from scarves. 

There's a down and dirty Gathered Scarf with Elastic Thread posted on Craft Zine. It's also a good reference for sewing with elastic.

Hope Studios' Scrunchy Gathered Scarf is more sculptural that most of the ones listed here. I love the way it looks all wrapped around the neck

The Summer Scarf from Made is a variation on themes already featured, but I think the dimensions give it a new look.

The Super Easy T-Shirt Scarf from Ruffles and Stuff is made from a pair of jersey pants!

Ruffles the easy way using Cha-Cha yarn from Trendsetters. I think I need to make one of these for myself!

Patty from Brooklyn Knit Chick posted about a potato chip scarf she made in '07 from leftover yarn. I have one and I still wear it regularly. I always get complements, too!

While this Five Fat Quarter scarf from Tea Rose Home isn't gathered, I really like the idea of using fat quarters to create a cool scarf that looks like it came straight of the racks of Anthropologie.

Perhaps you have your own tutorial, or know of one I missed. Do share, please!

It's That Time Again.....

I'm planning ahead for the holidays this year. Back on the Homemade Holiday bus. I'll be spending my time split between filling up the craft show and Lima Bean shelves as well as making my gifts for the holidays. If only I could manage to stop reading bloody vampire fiction, I may have the time. I just don't want to be scrambling around at the last minute like I usually am.

I've already been pattern searching. May make a pair of socks for my mom, but haven't fully decided yet. She's rather difficult to make stuff for. 

There will be edible gifts aplenty. Granola maybe. Candy most likely. I'm very intrigued by the Scottish Tablets mentioned on Not So Humble Pie. One year I made flavored vinegars. I think they turned out well, but I'm not sure the recipients liked them so much. Another year I made candies - toffee was the best of the bunch. Very, very tempting toffee. Yet another year I did the gifts in a jar brownies and snicker-doodles, only I got Christmas zipper bags from Current (those jars are expensive!) What edible gifts have you given?

So my goal this week is to comb Craftster, Ravelry, all the million sites I've bookmarked, and the gajillion magazines that are taking up a ton of my living space for good ideas for the holidays. I'm really missing Craft magazine now, though. Any ideas to get me started?

Big Shop Pimpin'

I was looking through my Etsy purchases earlier today and got the idea for this post.  I thought I'd highlight a few of my favorites.

My first Etsy purchase was from Ceramics by Sumiko. I bought the little ginkgo plates. I love, love, love them. She also has another shop called Patterns 4 U where she sells a lot of her unique buttons, sewing patterns and knit items.

Karen's Soap Company makes some awesome smellin' beautiful soaps. While I've never been a fan of glycerin based soaps, Karen's are very nice. Great, lasting scents, pretty to look at and they last. I love the tomato kitchen soap, the retro sweet grass and orange soap. She's a quality soapmaker. Now that I've revisited her site, I see there are some new scents I'm going to need to purchase....

Okay, soap purchase made. On to LT Creates Jewelry. She makes beautiful jewelry from silver cutlery. I bought my mom a ring a couple of years back and she wears it all the time. She's a pleasure to deal with and I think her prices are extremely reasonable.

Another gift I purchased was yarn from Sugarbee Studios. It's really super soft and the colors are so lively and vibrant.  I like the names of her Politically Incorrect line.

I've ordered from them a lot. I adore their soaps. My very favoritest of all the soaps I've tried, not just on Etsy, but ever. Arcadia Aromatics makes a fiercely, fierce soap, y'all. The Black Orchid & Lily smells so good and is so pretty! The Orange Roughy Sea Salt bar leaves your skin soft and moisturized. The 24 Carrot Buttermilk and Honey is my emollient favorite. There's another - a pink frosting or some such that I love as well, but don't see on the site at the moment.

JLee Beads has some great jewelry supplies. I've found items there that I've not seen elsewhere and the prices are good.

Got my mom a poster from ArtWallah. Very nice and she loved it.

Minds Eye Design is another fun site where I've gotten more than a few gifts and items for myself. We have very similar senses of humor.

My last purchase was from Nebulous Kingdom. I love her artwork. I got a mirror and postcard to frame for a friend of mine. She added two additional cards.  She has a romantic, whimsical style that I find really appealing.  Thinking about getting the calendar...

Finally, there is Mixed Species. I just spent a half hour laughing at their hilarious photos. They just make you want to buy something from them!

Enjoy the list and feel free to share some of your own Etsy goodness! I'll post them at a later date!

TREES

Got a hankering to do some hand-sewing. I had some scraps of fabric left from previous projects and thought I could try my hand at making some trees.

I cut triangle shapes at random with pinking sheers, used running stitch to sew them together, stuffed them with polyfill and added a contrasting fabric stump.  I think they're quite cute.

There are several variations. Some are tightly packed with stuffing, others are a little loosey-goosey. Some have stumps, others don't. Some of the stumps are stuffed, others aren't. All the trees are different sizes, the largest being about 3.5 inches tall.

I think they need a couple of button decorations, so I'll glue those on later. It was fun using these tweensy bits of fabric. I encourage you to make your own. I think they'd look cute all tossed in a basket for a casual bit of deco. And if you used a looser woven fabric or felt, you could make them with kids.

I'm getting ready for the annual craft fair we have at work and I'm coming up with a couple of new products for my Etsy shop. This year I'm totally serious about getting it all together over there (not like the previous years when I was just talking about it.)

Bloody Christmas Cheer is Here!

Need a last minute Christmas gift?  Something you can make with things you already have around the house?  I just found this site and knew I had to share.

Stick a Fork in Me, I'm Done!

Craft Fair 2006 is DONE!  Yay!

Normally I would still have one yet to go, but didn't get in this year, so I guess I can concentrate on the holiday now.

I did pretty well.  Am thinking about adding 2 more during the year.  Still don't know what is the best venue.  Think I'd better start saving for a new computer - this one's got a definite death rattle going on.

Where was I?  Oh yeah...

Thanks, Debbie for taking the photo!  I really ought to consider my fashion choices more carefully, no?

The craft fair.  It was fun.  I sold plenty of stuff, although I went in without any sleep and got a bit goofy after lunch. 

I'd decided I didn't have enough purses to make a statement so I sewed until 4am and then I figured, why sleep now? And I packed everything and went to the store to get change.  I like my booth.  It's very lo-mai.  Can pack it up in 15 minutes or less if I don't fold anything. :)

   

Here is one of the purses I made:

   

This one was my favorite!  It's lined with the red butterfly fabric that is on the pocket.  There's a pen pocket on the back.  I was kind of sad that it didn't sell because I like it so much, but my friend Anna bought it last night so that makes me happy.

I apologize for the sophomoric writing, but I am sleepy and knitting a sock (NOT a hat!) and that is taking most of my brain power.  I'll fill out the report tomorrow with the rest of the photos!

Boy Gift

I just finished the Men's Cashmere Scarf from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts and have to say it's lovely, even if it is a somewhat boring knit. I did it in Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted.  It came out so very softy!  Do I have to give it away? 

I have to say I've fallen even more in love with Lorna's Laces yarn.  The subtle shade differences in the hand-dyed black give the scarf more depth and texture.  I'm sure any man you give this to will comment just the same (yeah, right - only if he's a knitter!)

 

Anyhoo, more knitting to be done.  I've just signed myself up for a craft show in (gasp!) two days! Why do I do such things?

Sometimes You Feel Like a Nut

A couple of years ago I used to make Christmas presents for everyone in my office.  What started as a way to get rid of crap I had lying around the house turned in to a slightly more benevolent thing as I saw how everyone appreciated my efforts.

And really, even though there were some 30 or so people in my office, it wasn't that much trouble.   I just made whatever and stuck it, unwrapped, under my little ghetto Christmas tree and sent out an email to 'come and get it!'  Everyday I brought in more stuff.  Post-it note holders, little stamped calendars, decorated pens and what have you. It was fun.

One year I did a lot of edible gifts - Gifts in a Jar (actually, Gifts in a Christmas patterned Ziploc) like brownie and Snickerdoodle mix.  I also did some English Toffee that was incredible and spiced nuts.  Those were addictive!  Here are some of my favorite recipes that I used. 

Dilly Almonds

Candied Pecans

Garlic Almonds

I got the nuts from Costco in bulk and one bag was enough for a lot of gifts, including plenty for the chef!  If you're slightly more flush than I, you can present these in nice glass jars from Cost Plus or Pier 1.  Otherwise, get out those fancy Ziplocs!

It's That Time Again!!

It's craft fair time for me again and I just found out I got the last table! Hurrah!  I'll be selling purses and some other things.

It's also time to start thinking about Christmas presents.  I'm so very poor this holiday so it will take extra ingenuity on my part to come up with good gifts.  I'm always stumped on what to get for the menfolk.  I'll be looking into that and sharing those things here, if you don't mind.

Now that I finally have an internet connection I can update you with photos.  As soon as I locate my camera....

Big props to Mary-Kay for finding a home in Colorado.  We'll miss her, but me and Vinnie da Lip will make sure she visits often.  Vinnie can be very - uh - persuasive.  And can you believe she's leaving just days before my birthday?!!  A girl only turns 25 once you know.  Or twice. Or 17 times. 

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 0 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

I guess I really am unique.