Popcorn with a kick!

I had to tell you all (all two of you that will read this) about this awesome spice topping from Mexico that transforms popcorn into the BEST treat! It's called Tajin and it's a mixture of red pepper, salt, and dehydrated lime juice. Anyway, you can sprinkle it on fruit or veggies and/or popcorn... and it is so tasty. It's my new favorite snack. I ordered it online from mexgrocer and wanted to recommend it. :D

Cuteness!

Thrift store finds I just couldn't pass up! This jar with a red ceramic lid makes the coolest moss terrarium. And then this green, round lunchbox was too adorable to not take home. Cilantro looks so cute in there, too!

The circle game (Joni Mitchell) journal

I've always loved that song by Joni Mitchell called The Circle Game. So when I saw this fabric completely dedicated to circles, I thought of the song and had to make a journal from it. I'm not sure if the song or the fabric inspired me. My life is so full of cycles... some good, some not so good, but nonetheless I am happy to have a visual homage to patterns. So, it's a few hours later...the peacock patch was an afterthought...I just wanted to add something to make it less boring. I don't know if I will change the name of the journal or not. The original idea still holds true, I will always start singing that song when I see it. The last photo in the set was taken before I added the patch(which is 100% hand stitched by me). I really loved making this...my two favorite things (books and patches) together again!!

Pear and Teal Journal

Another hard back journal, but it's also soft because it's fabric covered. :) The first page of every signature is teal blue card stock. The other pages are an off white, blank drawing paper. End pages are dark blue with white polka dots cotton fabric. Journal size is 4 1/2 x 6 inches. I added some creamy yellow eyelets. In spite of potty training my three yr. old, I still made time to finish this...it was a labor of love. :p

Winter flowers mini notebook

Hand stitched flower patch. Made of felt. The end pages are a gray/white cotton fabric. Made as a gift. This is my favorite patch to make. It always ends up so pretty.

Bird lovers notebook

Hand stitched of felt, plus I embroidered a couple of plants in back. Patch is attached to a stiffened felt cover and notebook paper is 3x5 cards cut in half, so it's refillable. Is it just me or does this remind you of the bird watching Scout merit badge? hahaha

Happy Journal

I upcycled a used book cover and recovered it with this cool polka dot/egg shapes brown fabric. The end pages are pink with polka dot trees fabric. There are six signatures of paper with the first pages of each being a brown flowery card stock. I used an off white linen waxed thread to sew it together. My camera really sucks- sorry. Anyway, fun to make and fun to handle.

French inspired journal

I upcycled a battered old 1960 Life World Library book about France. Five of the nine signatures of paper are hand torn pages from the book. The cover is off white flowery flannel and the end pages are brown flowery cotton fabric. Notice the Eiffel Tower on the front page. Very fun/soft to handle and lots of vintage pictures and history about France to see. :)

Holy cow!

I organized my craft corner! Believe me, this is a million times better than it was. And it only took eight hours! Not really, more like four...but still. After two years of chaos there is finally some order. Thank heavens.

Mushroom sculpture

Fabric and felt, together at last. I sewed some mini mushrooms into a little desk-top sculpture. All lovingly hand stitched, thus the wonkiness. :)

Midnight journal

I managed to make this book in December after all. It took a lot longer than normal because I was so distracted by all the goodies in the house (I can't stop eating!). I used seven signatures of heavy paper and linen waxed thread. Black end pages make it seem more masculine. A gift for a male perhaps...

Time out for Mom

Some of you know that I went to Ireland and Scotland for a week this month. Thus, no new crafting. I feel like such a slacker...but I did get Christmas pulled together, so, I haven't been all that lazy. Here's a picture of me with the Malahide Castle, in Ireland, behind me. Merry Christmas everybody!! :)

Green turtle sketch book

So, it's finals week. Over the weekend, instead of studying, I learned how to do long stitch binding! (I'm such a slacker :P) Since it was a trial run, I just used stiffened felt for the cover. Most people use leather for this kind of binding, but being vegetarian, it seems wrong. I really liked this method for binding and want to do more of it, but I'll have to find a better solution than felt. I think canvas would work with some sort of backing. Anyway, I love how aesthetically pleasing the binding looks on the outside. Anyway, like I said, this was my first try...so it actually looks a lot cooler than this when professionals do it. :)

Wonky ornaments part II

We are adding to last years wonky ornament collection. Made of felt, both sides are the same. I made the first two blue ones and Josie made the red one. She did it all herself and did an amazing job. You're so awesome Josie!!

Embroidery flowers

A mini notebook. Paper size is 3x5 cards cut in half, so it's refillable. I really love embroidery. It's so fun with felt. Click the picture to see details.

Geo shapes drawing book

I thought this fabric was pretty cool, it reminds me of turtles. I sewed in six signatures of heavy drawing paper. I was somewhat distracted as I was sewing this, so there are a few mistakes...after almost a year of learning the Coptic stitch I still feel like an amateur. The learning curve is so steep it seems. Anyway, maybe ten years from now, I'll feel like I know what I'm doing. :)

Journal w/Scandinavia photos

I finally got this journal sewed together. I used some cool flowery Amy Butler fabric (Love her) for the cover. I upcycled an old school water damaged encyclopedia about Scandinavia by recovering the cover and using a lot of the pages for this book. I also added three signatures of blank heavy drawing paper for writing. I used black linen waxed thread to sew it. A groovy polka dot print was added as end pages.

Bunny love

Amy Butler fabric stretched onto canvas then painted with a bunny silhouette. It's a bit camouflaged unfortunately.

Howard the monster

Pretty spooky!! Hand made of fleece, also felt ears and wings. About 10 inches tall. Happy Halloween!

Autumn journal - duplicate

I made another one. Sewed together with linen waxed thread while listening to Conference. Six signatures of heavy drawing paper. I love this Anna Maria Horner fabric.

Cilantro notebook

A mini notebook with a hand sewn patch attached. Cilantro again, the character from my story. She lives on a tortilla chip shaped island. Her parents are salsa enthusiast's and named her after their favorite ingredient. :)

Mini notebook -flowers

Hand made of felt and embroidery. Paper is refillable, 3x5 cards cut in half. So fun to make!