Itty Bitty Bunny Necklace

Recognize that bunny? I made it from Anna Hrachovec's pattern on Mochimochi Land. Once I saw the pattern, I knew I had to make a few. I decided it would look cute on a necklace. What I didn't know is how difficult it would be for me to knit the thing.

I'm not sure if it was from lack of sleep or not knitting in a while but making this little bunny was a big challenge. I got out my double pointed needles and proceeded to cast on but something wasn't quite right. I kept looking at the needles and for the life of me could not figure out what was going wrong. I knew how to knit with double pointed needles, I had done it before. I finally had to consult a video I posted a while back on "how to knit on double pointed needles" to figure out what was going on. Ready to hear what it was? I only had THREE needles. Somehow it slipped my mind that I needed a fourth. Perhaps it's time to invest in some Ginkgo Biloba.

I love the idea of threading a whole bunch of these bunnies together to make it look like a pearl necklace only with bunnies.

Sewn by Hand Interview & Giveaway

Sewn by Hand: Two Dozen Projects Stitched with Needle & Thread

Today I'm participating in the Sewn by Hand Lark book tour. The book Sewn by Hand by Susan Wasinger shares two dozen projects that can all be created without the use of a sewing machine. The book features a vast variety of projects ranging from curtains to baby bibs, there's something for everyone. Many of the projects are also eco-friendly in that the supplies are intended to come from used items for example, old men's shirts.

For those not familiar with Susan Wasinger, she's an accomplished author. She's also published Fabricate, Eco Craft, and The Feisty Stitcher. I got a chance to do an interview with her over email and find out a little more about her background and what inspires her. I really enjoyed learning more about Susan and appreciated her honest answers. I hope you'll enjoy learning more about her too.

Zakka Life: Tell us a little about yourself. how did you get started sewing?

Susan Wasinger: My Swiss grandmother taught me to sew when I was four years-old. My first project was a pair of elastic-waist pants. I was so thrilled that I could make something I could actually wear! I think if my first project had been something like a pincushion or a sachet, I might not have been so excited about sewing and maybe it wouldn't have turned into such an abiding passion. The pants were bright red, these pants were, kind of a Hawaiian print. What four-year-old wouldn't think that was the coolest thing? Oh, and by the way, my grandmother was trained as a couture seamstress, so she knew the "right way" to do things but she always encouraged me to experiment and learn by trial and error. And yes, there were lots and lots of errors.

ZL: How would you describe your sewing style?
SW: I'm definitely an "I'll-try-anything-once" kind of sewist. I love to sew things that sound impossible. I have sewn sleeping bags, guitar cases, backpacks, chairs, owl costumes, and even a few other things that I wouldn't recommend attempting.

I also really like to make regular stuff but in unusual materials, like making an apron out of an old button-down shirt or a bag for my mountain bike out of retro floral oilcloth. I also like the process to show a little, I don't mind if you can see the stitching. In fact, I encourage it! Especially in "Sewn by Hand", lots of the projects were built around the decorative charm of hand stitching. If it doesn't look handmade, then why hand make it? If its not going to look one-of-a-kind, then you might as well go down to a store and just buy it. Is "charmingly imperfect" a style?

ZL: You've published a book on machine sewing (The Feisty Stitcher) as well. Which do you prefer more, hand sewing or machine sewing? Why?
SW: When I am sewing something with a needle and thread, THAT is my favorite kind of sewing. Then when I sit down at my sewing machine, I realize how much I love to have the power at my fingertips to sew anything I want very fast. Variety is the spice of life... and of craft. I must say though that the wonderful and amazing thing about hand sewing is that you can do it anywhere. I have literally sewn an ottoman (an ottoman!!!) while watching my son's little league double-header. I can sit with my family around the kitchen table and sew things while they are doing homework or I can sit out on the sundeck and sew while looking out over the mountains of the Continental Divide. I do absolutely adore that about hand sewing.

ZL: Where do you find inspiration for your projects?
SW: Ideas often come to me out of need as in "I need storage bins, can I sew them?" Or I'm inspired by something I find, like a piece of fabric (I love printed linens from Japan) or some vintage piece of trim (I often buy "lots" that are the contents of someones old sewing box on ebay). Or I find inspiration in something I want to repurpose, like shrunken sweaters or an old vintage shirt. I like unusual juxtapositions and its usually not one individual thing that inspires me, but the odd synergy that happens when two or more things meet. Roses made from old metal zippers meet felted menswear wool meet brightly colored silk linings? Sounds weird, but with the right twists it turns into the most delectable and elegant little evening clutch. That is the kind of quirky stuff that is most inspiring to me.

ZL: What's your favorite project from your book, Sewn By Hand? Why?
SW:Uh oh, this is gonna be impossible. I have to have a big crush on anything I do or else I lose interest and I never finish it. So, I can honestly say that I adore every single project in that book. But if I have to name one... well ... I will name three: The yummy soft sherbet-colored Pilot Hat, the chic and unusual Zipper-Rose Evening Clutches, and either the Piped-edge Slippers or the Personalized Bibs...but I like the Appliqued Wool Blankets too, and the Cafe Napkins with built-in napkin rings made out of shirt plackets. See, I told you it would be impossible for me to choose just one! I'm so shameless.

ZL: What sewing project will you be working on next?
SW: I am currently obsessing over everything linen. I would love to do a book that would be nothing but 100% Linen. I 'd also like to work on a sewing book that is completely pattern-less where all the projects just require a few measurements to make them work. No printing out or untangling complicated patterns, and no fiddly cutting out. In my book Feisty Stitcher, I did some simple jackets that were made out of nothing but simple rectangles.

If you would like to learn more about Susan and her book Sewn By Hand, below is list of other sites participating in the blog tour. You'll find a variety of interviews, reviews and giveaways in the sites listed below.

Sewn By Hand Book Tour
4/4 Blog tour kickoff at LarkCrafts.com
4/6 Sew Daily blog
4/8 Click here for a free travel thread caddy project from the book!
4/11 Pink of Perfection
4/13 Artsy-Crafty Babe
4/15 MayaMade
4/19 WhipUp
4/20 CRESCENDOh Blog
4/22 MummySam
4/25 Feeling Stitchy
4/27 Zakka Life < You're Here
4/29 BurdaStyle blog

On to the giveaway. . .One lucky winner will receive Sewn by Hand along with a few other items to help you get started sewing (pictured above). To enter, please share what your favorite thing is to sew in the comments of this post. One entry per household. Please leave an email address so I can contact you if you win. The last day to enter the contest is Tuesday, May 3 2011. I'll announce the winner Wednesday, May 4 2011. If I do not hear back from the winner after two weeks, I will choose a new winner. Open to everyone.

Contest Closed

Congratulations to Wendy who is the winner of the giveaway!

Thank you to everyone who participated!

Craft: Beaded Lace Bracelet

I stumbled across some stunning beaded bracelets when I was browsing the "for the collector" section of Anthropologie. Unlike most of the pieces, this was something that I could actually recreate which inspired me to make my own version of the bracelets.

This bracelet was easy to make but did require some time (a few hours). If you're looking for a quicker project, try making a set of earrings using this technique instead.

Supplies:
Lace - I purchased mine at the thrift store
Beads - any kind you like
Thread that matches lace
Hand sewing needle
Clasp
Jump Ring

Here's the lace I started off with. Cut it to a length that would fit around your wrist plus an extra half inch for the hem.

On both sides make a hand sewn roll hem. Sew securely with thread so edges do not fray.

Hand sew beads on the lace in any pattern you wish. I recommend doubling the thread so it doesn't break. Using a basic running stitch, insert needle in the backside of bracelet and bring to top, add a bead, insert needle into the top of the bracelet and bring to backside, repeat.

On one end sew on a clasp. On the opposite end sew on a jump ring. Done.

Easter Printable Roundup

Image by Creative Mamma

Creative Mamma has another cute free printable available, this time for Easter. You can download the Kawaii Easter Kit at Creative Mamma. I'm planning on using some of the tags to label the kids Easter baskets. I like to hide their baskets so I always label them to ensure no one ends up with the wrong basket.

More free Easter printables:

Easter-iffic tags by Babalisme

Jelly bean egg rings by Wild Olive

Floral Design Rabbit Greeting Card by Canon

Easter Lego Bookmark by Living Locurto

Design Memory Craft Mix & Match Giveaway

Today I've got a crafty giveaway for you, Design Memory Craft Mix & Match sets by Faber Castell. Two lucky readers will win both sets pictured above (colors may vary). Each Mixed Media Sampler set comes in either red, yellow, green or blue. Each set was specifically created for all the mediums in it to work together. The Gelato Mix & Match set is made for stamping, blending with water and embellishing. All products are acid free.

Faber Castell sent me two packs of the their new Design Memory Craft media samplers to test out.

Click on image to get a better view of texture.

Above I tested out how the products show on white paper. As mentioned on the package, the gelatos blend well together. They were also my favorite medium out of both packs. They're described as pigment sticks and remind me of oil pastels but are a little different in texture. What's interesting about the gelatos is that you can use them in replace of ink pads for stamps. I tested this out with a clear stamp which is pictured above. You'll notice the stamped image shows up lighter opposed to an ink stamped image.

One of the mentioned features is that the metallic pens and gelatos work well on dark paper. I decided to test this out. Here's where I think you can really see the possibilities of the sets. For the masquerade mask above I used the following mediums: color gelatos, metallic gelatos, metallic PITT, pastel pencil, and a watercolor pencil. The only other supplies used was black card stock and an embossing tool to achieve the feather and scale texture.

Click on image to get a better view of texture and colors.

I feel like I've only scratched the surface with the capabilities of these mixed media sets. I'm looking forward to testing out new techniques with them in the future.

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment telling me what you would use these mixed media sets for. One entry per household. Please leave an email address so I can contact you if you win. The last day to enter the contest is Tuesday, April 26 2011. I'll announce the two winners Wednesday, April 27 2011. If I do not hear back from the winner after two weeks, I will choose a new winner. Open to everyone.

Contest Closed

Thank you to everyone who took the time to enter. I read every single comment!

The two randomly drawn winners are Clara and IctoRude. Congratulations!

Easter Basket Breakfast

During spring break I try to make it fun and do some special things for the kids. It's always simple things, nothing over the top. One thing I like to do is spend a little more time on breakfast. Since I'm not rushing them off to school, I have a little more time to prepare a morning meal. In this case, I made them this Easter basket breakfast. Even though it's very colorful it's actually relatively healthy. Do you recognize the colorful ingredient? That's right, I used boba to garnish the top to look like candy. Normally you find them in milk tea drinks.

uncooked boba

Ingredients:
Greek yogurt - individual container
One Sliced Kiwi
Rainbow boba - also know as tapioca balls or pearls. Colorful cereal or dried fruit could be used in replace of the boba.

Here's what the boba look like once they're boiled. The package should say how to prepare them. Usually you just have to boil them for about 5 - 10 minutes depending on size.

1. If you can, cut off the label on the yogurt or cover with a pretty paper. Tie bow around the top edge. Use a little double stick tape to hold in place. Peel off lid.

2. Place sliced kiwi along the edges to look like grass. Lay kiwi flat on top of the rest of the yogurt.

3. Place boba or cereal on top. Done.

Craft: Potholder Eyeglass Case

I was surfing the web a couple weeks back when I discovered this cute Girl's Emergency Clutch tutorial on Tidy Mom by eighteen25. The emergency clutch was made out of a potholder which put my creative gears in motion. I started envisioning other things that could be made with potholders.

After a little brainstorming, I thought up the idea of an eyeglass case. Oh, I thought I was so clever, it was a great idea. . . then I did a Google search. Turns out my idea has been done a thousand times and then some. Don't you just hate when that happens?

Well, I decided to do a tutorial anyways because it just so happened I was in need of a sunglass case. Maybe you need a new case too or just want to make something. Here goes.

Supplies:
One basic pot holder
Embroidery thread
Hand sewing needle
Embellishments - contrasting fabric, no sew adhesive, paint, buttons, etc (all optional)

Start with a basic potholder like the one above. You don't need one with a pocket.

Embellish. I made some fabric appliques to add to the potholder. I just used a no sew adhesive to add the fabric houses. You could also do freezer paper stencils or embroider a monogram on the top. This is where you can really tailor the project to your own style.

Fold potholder in half and match up edges. Sew both sides together with a running stitch (refer to yellow lines). I used embroidery floss to sew up the case because the fabric is so thick. Knot ends, trim, and you're done.

Make Your Food Sparkle

I was out shopping at Daiso the other day and discovered these cute jewel food picks. I decided to use them to serve up some snacks for a playdate. Anytime we have someone over for the first time, I like to serve something that's extra special. In this case, the special part was mainly the food picks.

The tiny bread in the picture above is actually a bagel sliced up. It makes the perfect size bread for appetizers and tiny sandwiches. Plus, you can get about 15 -20 slices out of one bagel depending on how thin you slice it. Since bagels come in so many flavors, you can can really get creative with your snacks.

Food picks like these are great for appetizers, bentos, or mini fruit kabobs.

Scrapbooking Snail Mail

One of the great things about blogging is all the different friends you make along the way. I've even been fortunate enough to receive some beautiful mail from these friends. When I first started blogging I didn't keep the cards. I just saved them for a while then eventually recycled them (*bad blogger*, go ahead give me a slap on the wrist). It finally occurred to me that I should keep these cards so I started saving everything. I even saved the stamps. The question was what to do with everything? The obvious answer as a crafter, make a scrapbook.

Here are a few tips to help you get started, if you want to scrapbook snail mail.

1. Keep it small and simple - it's so much easier and quicker to make a 5" x 7" scrapbook page opposed to a 12" x 12" page. It will keep you from trying to figure out how to fill the space.

2. It doesn't have to be perfect! Lets be honest, most of us barely have time to scrapbook our family pictures let alone of people we've never met before. If you mess up on a page, let it be. You'll see I'm leading by example for this one. In the top picture I crossed an "L" making it a "T". I could have gone back and rewrote everything but I decided to let it go.

3. If the person who sent you the mail has a blog, write the address down. Blogs come and go and this is a nice way to document that the blog existed and you knew the author.

4. Incorporate the stamps from your mail. In my opinion, stamps are some of the prettiest little pieces of artwork. They also document where your mail came from.

5. Have fun. This scrapbook is for you alone.

Masquerade: A Favorite Childhood Book

Thinking about Easter and rabbits made me recall one of my favorite childhood books, Masquerade by Kit Williams. It doesn't actually have anything to do with Easter but the main character is a hare. Jack Hare is entrusted with a jewel from the moon to deliver to the the sun. Along the way, the jewel is lost and this is where the book truly gets interesting . . .

Kit Williams actually created this 18-carat gold jewel (pictured above) and buried it somewhere in Britain. The location of the jewel can be found in clues visual and verbal in the book. As you can imagine, the jewel has been found by now. You can read all about it here if you want.

Even though the jewel has been found, I still think this could be a fun activity for kids. Over spring break I plan on reading the book to my children and having them figure out the location of the jewel, just for fun. Maybe we'll do some kind of craft project too, perhaps make our own jewel hares out of cardboard, paint, and rhinestones.

Illustration from Masquerade by Kit Williams

Anyone else remember Masquerade? Did you try to figure out the location of the jewel?

How To Fold a Furoshiki Easter Basket

Here's a nice alternative to the traditional Easter basket, a furoshiki folded into a basket. Wondering what a furoshiki is? A furoshiki is a traditional Japanese cloth used for wrapping and transporting items. But don't worry, you don't need one for this project. You just need a square piece of fabric.

Supplies:
Furoshiki or any piece of square fabric. Silk scarves work great for this project. You could also use bandannas, fabric napkins, or embroidered handkerchiefs.

One shallow bowl - any size/kind you want. The larger the bowl, the larger the piece of fabric you will need.

Click on directions for a larger view.

Recipe: Chai Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Lately I've been on a chai tea kick. It all started with an impulse buy at Costco. I purchased three cartons of chai condensed tea and have been drinking it everyday. I'm pretty sure I've gained some weight in the process as well. Impulse buys are rarely a good thing. However, one good thing came out of it; I was inspired to create a chai oatmeal raisin cookie recipe.

Chai Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Recipe

Ingredients:
3 Cup Oats
2 Cup Flour
1 1/2 tsp Cardamom
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Ginger - for less spicy cookies use 1/2 tsp
1 tsp Cloves - for less spicy cookies use 1/2 tsp
1 tsp Baking Soda
10 Grinds of pepper ( about 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon)
4 Tea bags of black tea
1 Cup of butter (2 sticks of butter)
1 Cup packed brown sugar
1 Cup sugar
2 Eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup raisins

1. Heat oven to 350 F
2. Beat together butter an sugars.
3. Add eggs and vanilla.
4. In a separate bowl mix all other ingredients except oats and raisins.
5. Add dry ingredients to butter/sugar mixture.
6. Mix in oats and raisins.
7. Drop rounded tablespoonfuls of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
7. Bake 10 - 12 minutes until golden brown.

Makes about 4 dozen.

Easter Owl Gift Bag Printable

My Owl Barn and Jinjerup have teamed up to create an adorable owl gift set printable. The free printable includes a gift bag and owl bookmarks. I personally love that they made this set with owls instead of the traditional chicks or bunnies. It's something different but still says Easter. Visit Jinjerup to download the free owl gift set.

Upcycle Craft: Paper Gift Bags

Over the weekend I visited Kinokuyiya, one of my favorite bookstores. I was in search of some crafty inspiration and found it in the most unusual place. It wasn't a craft book that inspired me but instead a paper bag that the store places your purchase in. I've always found these kind of bags charming. Perhaps it's the simplicity of the bag or the feel of the paper that appeals to me. I'm not sure. I just know I like them and decided to make a few for myself.

Supplies:
Paper - Could be from catalogs, magazines, newspapers, maps, etc.
Pinking paper scissors
Glue stick

Decide where you want the front of your bag to be. Fold flaps back to center the image. Make sure flaps overlap in the back. There's no specific measurements for the folding since all paper and positioning of pictures will be different.

Glue the back flaps together. Gut the bag at the bottom to the length you want plus one extra inch. Fold up one inch, unfold. (refer to picture on right).

*Click on images for a larger view.

Fold corners into the fold you just made in the last step. Fold back up and glue in place (right picture).

Trim the top of the bag with pinking paper scissors. Done.