crafty things…Bunny bags

Make it stop! Everything I see is a potential canvas for screening. It's so addicting. These bunny bags were so easy whip up, I made big stack using 18x18 wool felt from a previously abandoned project. These guys will be for D, his cousins (8 boys!), and a few friends.

While I'm in love with the original bunny, this hipster bunny (another Shutterstock acquisition) takes the carrot cake for me. Admittedly, this guy was a bit harder to print due to the fine line work and printing on felt was an added challenge. I think I'll have more success printing on a finer cotton or linen. Stay tuned. I'm not done with this bespectacled Bunny yet. 

Being a hipster, this bunny is more likely to be appreciated by D, now, according to him, that he's "not a little kid" anymore.

Since he's such a young gentleman, I added some almost breath mints, lip balm, a handmade handkerchief and chocolates to his bag. I'll fill a few of these up and stuff them in his Easter basket and save them for future Easter Sundays.

 

If you want to make some of your own bags - with or without screen printing - you'll need these tools and materials:

• 18"x18" wool felt [this will yield 3 bags]
• 24" ribbon per bag
• rotary cutter with pinking blade + straight edge
• sewing machine or sewing supplies [thread or embroidery floss & needle]

DIRECTIONS:

1. Fold fabric in half. Measure and mark at 6" and 12" from short side.
2. With rotary cutter and straight edge, cut at marks from folded edge to top of fabric. You will now have 3 bags. 
3. Trim outside edges of two bags with rotary cutter.
4. Cut ribbon to 24" and fold in half.
5. Line up edges of bags making sure the scalloped edges are aligned. Pin ribbon 2" from top of bag between layers of fabric on the right side. Place a pin 2" from the top on the left side.
6. Sew each side of bag from pins to bottom. Make sure you catch the ribbon!
7. Trim top of bags with rotary cutter.

Happy Crafting,

F&N

family…Easter 2014

Each year I share ideas with D and Doc about "Easter themes".

"Let's do bugs, birds, nests, lambs!"

And every year, it's met with the same skeptical look and response, "Whatever you want." 

What this reaction really means is, "You're a bit crazy." As I start to think through the ideas, I realize, begrudgingly, they're right. It's really hard to break away from the iconic symbols of bunnies and eggs, so this year I decided to strike a balance between the bunny and the egg.  

The egg already has  A LOT of love in our house…

Our egg collection has steadily grown over the years. They're beautiful objects with such a range of size and color. I find them fascinating. Our collection includes duck, goose, emu, ostrich, rhea, chicken and some unidentified bird eggs. 

Adding rabbits to the mix was a challenge, and I'm not convinced I've pulled it off. Doc and D are a tough pair with lots of opinions, but they also bring good ideas to the table. I'm sure we'll pull it all together over the next few years.

A bit of change is nice and it definitely added an injection of crafting mojo in other Easter projects which I'll post soon. 

Hoping you have a hopping Easter!  F&N

Jack rabbit plates from H&M 

Rabbit cake stands from SHOPBOP.

family…ikebana + nerf guns

My son never fails to surprise me with his wide range of interests from learning ikebana to modifying Nerf guns. 

crafty things…advent calendar

I hope your holidays are off to good start and that the stress that can come along during this time of year is not getting the best of you. For me, our Advent calendar has been a source of stress the past few Christmases. As D got older, I found it challenging to find small gifts that generated enthusiasm each morning leading up to December 25th. The forgotten toys and trinkets became accumulated junk, a reminder of an unsuccessful advent calendar.

Now that D is older, we've switched our Advent focus from "getting things" to "doing things" where the activities are inclusive and all of us can participate and enjoy. This year's calendar consists of little cards with envelopes, courtesy of my Silhouette machine, hung from a branch. Doc or I handwrite the day's activity in the dark morning hours while D is asleep. 

With a little planning,  24 activities aren't as challenging as you might think. Here are some activities in our line-up:

• "A Christmas Story" movie night with popcorn and eggnog 
• Writing Christmas cards to our soldiers
• Ice skating and burgers
• Make hot chocolate kits for cousins
• Gifts from the kitchen
• Decorate Christmas tree and house
• Dinner around the tree
• Donate new toys and books

So far it's been a success, and watching D's excitement each morning as he locates the day's envelope has been so fun.

Happy Holidays,

F&N

family…mother's day picnic

I've been itchin' to throw a picnic for sometime. The unpredictable San Francisco weather and my want-to-create-an-experience behavior work against each other. Determined to host a picnic for my mom this year, I moved our gathering approximately an hour south of SF where the weather is predictable and cooperative and went into full prep mode all week.

I'll give more details about the menu and recipes in a follow-up post, but the food was great. Doc made his version of fried chicken, and I prepared some tried-and-true dishes and experimented with a few new ones too.  

The best part about the picnic was making individual baskets for us. It gave me the opportunity to use some fabulous reversible fabric that has been in my stash forever to sew napkins, a basket liner and a basket wrap. I was so happy with the results, I had to share. 

The "basket wrap", as I called it, is really a Japanese Azuma bag. They are so versatile and easy to sew. If you want to make your own, Coco Stitch has a great tutorial. I use a serger because I'm lazy, but it does add a bit of detail.

Ambatalia has some great Azuma style bags for sale if you don't sew. 

I hope you had an enjoyable Mother's Day. May all your summers picnics be filled with good times and good food!

Best,

F&N

crafty things…easter crackers

I came across this cracker template by Mini Eco via Pinterest. Although traditionally used for Christmas, I thought it would be fun to use for an Easter hunt this year. A simple selection of spring inspired papers really makes these feel like oversized wrapped candies. 

Each cracker will be filled with D's favorite sweets [and mine!] from our favorite treat shop, Miette, and hidden throughout the house. I cannot wait for Easter Sunday to arrive.

Enjoy,

F&N

crafty things…a Mexico wedding + my silhouette cameo part I

My bestest of best friends was recently married in Los Cabos, Mexico. It was a beautiful, intimate ceremony on the beach. Isn't that sky amazing?  

I knew my girlfriend and her fiance wanted a simple ceremony. They didn't feel the need to have decorations or elaborate flower arrangements. Instead, they focused on a great location, food and drink much to the pleasure of their family and friends. Despite their plan for simplicity, I couldn't help inserting myself and my Silhouette Cameo into the mix.

After sharing some images of wedding papel picado with my girlfriend, she was game for incorporating it into their wedding. So off to work I went designing a custom papel picado [I used a vector file I purchased from istock as a starting point] and using my Cameo to cut away. I was skeptical the machine would be able to handle such fine detail, but I was wrong! The results were fantastic.

The real test for my Cameo was cutting itty-bitty papel picado notes to attach to the maracas that were placed at each seat before the ceremony. I have to say, the reduced size was amazing and more impressive than the larger papel picado. 

Needless to say, the wedding and the entire weekend were a blast. I can't wait to go back to Los Cabos with Doc and D and enjoy some sun and sea together…and margaritas. 

Thanks to Alec & T., the wedding photographers and planners, for allowing me to use their beautiful photos on F&N. You can see more pictures from the wedding on their blog here.

Adios,

F&N 

family + crafty things…creepy, crawly birthday

One of our highlights of 2011 was D's birthday party. He's not a birthday party kind of guy. I find this extremely ironic since I love to put on a good party. Anyhow, he initiated the idea of an all boys party which included his classmates and other friends outside of school. 

Since our place is small for a group that size, I had to find a alternate location or park. Unable to reserve a park spot and nervous about the possibility of rain, we ended up booking the party room at Paxton Gate Kids in the Mission. In the end we combined Paxton Gate's beetle pinning activity with a reptile show presented by Owen, owner of the East Bay Vivarium. 

Having a party offsite had it's benefits, but it meant I had to keep things simple and transportable. Decorations were minimal, huge black balloons with silhouettes of insects and reptiles. 

Dirt parfaits were the dessert treat served with a bottle of bug juice to wash it down. I used Smitten Kitchen's vanilla pudding recipe [easy and tasty!] layered with Oreo cookies that have been refrigerated and zapped in a food processor. Goody bags were sewn and stenciled by yours truly. Each bag had a composition notebook with custom cover and back I printed and spray mounted, a bug jar with custom label and fact sheet, a pencil and sharpener, and gummy worms. Bug Crunch was the snack and I used this recipe as my guide, substituting chocolate covered raisins and cranberries for all the candy.

It was so much fun, I want to do the same for my birthday. Of course I'll have to substitue the bug juice for booze.

Enjoy 

F&N

OTHER THOUGHTS

Paxton Gate Kids did a terrific job hosting our party and engaging the boys. They were extremely helpful before the party assiting me with balloons and setting out all the food and goodie bags. A big thumbs-up for the crew and the store.

Owen is AMAZING! He is so informative, witty, and entertaining. The love and respect he has for his animals is inspiring. If you live in the Bay Area, and are looking for a different type of entertainment, give him a call. Better yet, head over to Berkley to check out his store.

For those of you worried about the beetles, they were already expired. The "pinning" consisted of rehydrating the insects in hot water so that the legs and antennae become pliable. The boys used tweezers to pull and arrange the legs then used pins to keep them in place. The pins actually don't go through the insect, they criscross each other over the legs and antennae to keep them in place while they dry. It's a really fun activity. If you're interested you can get some home kits from here.

crafty things…a fishy valentine's

This year's inspiration for Valentine's Cards is the one-and-only Miracle Fish! I remember having one as child and thinking it was magic. Years ago, I re-discovered these at Arch and let out a squeal of delight. As they were only 30 cents apiece, I snatched up a handful to put in Christmas stockings and include in greeting cards throughout the year. 

I stocked up again in preparation for last Christmas, but I forgot about them! So, D and I agreed to use them for his Valentine's cards. We've got a big list this year, so I enlisted my Silhouette machine to take on the majority of the work. 

The card consists of a library pocket with removable card, a vellum fish, a Miracle Fish and [I couldn't resist] a few red Swedish fish. I downloaded the library pocket template from the on-line Silhouette store, and designed the simple graphics. Easy!  

The hard part will be discouraging D from eating too many fish while he fills the little bags. 

Enjoy.

F&N

crafty things…sarah oliver bags

If this doesn't put a smile on your face, I don't know what will. It makes me want to grab my needles and knit with them!

Enjoy-

F&N

family…easter wrap-up

We made it through the much anticipated Easter Sunday. The rain did disappoint us as our egg hunt had to be moved indoors, and our picnic brunch was cancelled. Nevertheless, we had a good time.

The boys wore their ties [made with purl patterns] with great pride which made me so very happy to see. 

 I'm extremely happy with the fabric "basket". It was filled with all things Japanese. 

 

I hope your Easter was fun…and dry!

F&N

family…easter prep

Geez! As much as I like to plan, I never seem to get ahead. Late nights and early mornings will be the new routine this week as I finish our Easter projects.

This year will be headed to the 'burbs to have an egg hunt and picnic with my mom. Somehow, having our celebration off-site creates more work. Control freak? Yes!

Last Easter, we had the big eggs and oysters. This year, I'm doing a Japanese inspired theme as the three of us love Japanese culture both traditional and pop. I'm told Easter is uneventful in Japan. But they do celebrate the hare,  and that's enough for me. 

I hope your Easter plans are underway!

F&N

object love…all things alice

Four days and counting until Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland opens! As much as I would love to attend on opening day, I won't. In fact, I probably won't see the movie until it's available on iTunes. Doc and I aren't movie-goers. We never have been.

But I'll attend in spirit. Do you think people will go in costume? Will there be pathetic, middle-aged woman like myself wishing they were thirteen again and wearing pinafores, stockings and ribbons in their hair? Perhaps we'll have a little Alice themed evening. The chances are slim of that happening. I will, for sure, wear my Alice apron all day! I'll embarrass my child and my husband, but WTF, you only live once!

Maybe I'll even carry this lovely book around while I wear the apron. I love this cover; it makes me want to dive right into the book.

We're all mad here.

F&N

crafty things…a book bag

It was time for a new book bag for D. His previous was so dirty and tattered, and I had a need to "make" something.  

I FINALLY used the wax paper stenciling technique, and I love it! I'm extremely pleased with the results. The handles were made from an old belt of D's cut in half which provided the perfect length handles and a ring to clip his water bottle or various Star Wars key chains. 

While I did consider buying a back pack for him, I still think he is too small. The packs that do fit his body really don't hold his library books and other school papers, and he still doesn't have patience to actually unzip the pack. He likes to just dump everything in the bag and run. 

Frankly, this might be the last book bag for him. Sniff, sniff. He's taking control of his wardrobe, and I'm sure the desire for the Spider Man backpack will be to strong to deny. 

Happy Crafting,

F&N

small stuff…an art space

D is growing in all ways, and his art space needs to grow too. He outgrew his old table and chair, and his supplies and scraps were overtaking our craft room. So we dropped some cash, made a few upgrades and additions, and now we're all happy.

His old set-up in his old room.

His new set-up in our new craft room.

Close-up of desk and taborets.

We reused the IKEA legs from his old table [NOTE: I cut these with a hacksaw to standard height for a child's table] and replaced the yellow egg table with stainless steel one, again from IKEA. [NOTE AGAIN: I did not pay the web price in-store. I got lucky and only payed $60…I think.] I'm sure you all recognize the shell chair from Modernica and the Bisley taborets. 

I'm a big fan of the shell chairs. First, they are practically indestructible. Second, they are both kid and adult comfy. Even with the low base, it's quite comfortable for an adult to sit and lounge in. In fact, we swapped out the rocker base on an arm shell chair in our living room with the low rod base so D had some lounge furniture of his own.

The magnetic blackboard is an old steel top from a worktable painted with chalkboard paint.

The pen cubbies are Ikea kitchen storage items. TIP: if you use these, adding an adhesive felt "dot" to the back at the bottom will protect your walls!

While it might seem like a steep price to pay for an upgrade, we believe, like most of you I'm sure, that children deserve good design too. The advantage of each of these pieces is that they will grow with D and be useful for Doc and I when D is out on his own. The table top will eventually need new legs again, and we'll have to switch out the base on the chair for proper desk chair, but I think we're good for the next few years.

Best of all, the three of us can fit into one room comfortably and craft away.

Thanks for stopping by!

F&N

family…our portrait

Is posting a stylized portrait of our family the same as a posting a photo? I'm not sure. So, I debated whether or not to share our portrait by Kitty Genius. You see, we've made it a rule not to post any pictures of our selves, specifically our faces, on this blog.  

Well, I'm going for it! 

Ok, it's more like a peek, but you get the idea. Thanks to Mon Ami for the lead, and to Ashley for the wonderful work. Check out her portraits gallery on Flickr.

F&N