DIY: Winter in a Jar

Thanksgiving is over, the official time to fill your home with wintery sights and scents is here. Most of my friends have their acts together and have the house fully decorated and full of holiday cheer. I have the issue every year that we don’t spend Christmas at home. We usually spend it with the grandparents. I love any decorating ideas that will not get dried out after a week of neglect. This year I saw Anthropologie decorated their stores with Christmas scenes in mason jars. Here is a little DIY if you want to try it yourself.

Materials Needed:

1. Fake Snow (I used baking sugar and clear glitter mixed)

2. Mason Jar

3. Glue Gun

4. Tiny Tree (I found a 20 pack of tiny christmas trees at JoAnn’s in the section with the tiny villages)

Here are pictures to show you what to do. Basically you glue the tree to the inside of the lid and put the fake snow inside the jar. Put the lid on and flip it over…really…so easy.

I made lots of little winter scenes in different sizes and stacked them on my mantle. I love the end result and I hope you will too.

 

 

My Favorite Yarn {Giveaway Winner}

I am posting this late…much later than I had hoped. I just successfully completed the 9 hour trip from my parents house to my own…with all three kids…BY MYSELF! Having two year old twins is wonderful and complicated. All that to say I am sorry for the delay.

Now, before I announce the winner I wanted to answer the questions myself.

My Name: (obvious) Elisa McLaughlin

Who taught me to knit? My mother, and youtube. Mom covered the basics and I learned the rest from video tutorials.

Favorite Yarn: I love Malabrigo Worsted Merino and MadelineTosh DK but my favorite is anything from Skein Yarns. I love her sock yarns, the worsted silk is amazing. Here is a picture of some of her sock yarns. I am truly addicted. Kristin is brilliant…her color combinations and fiber choices are wonderfully inspiring.

And now for the giveaway results…

I numbered the comments chronologically starting with the first comment made. Then I plugged the numbers into random.org and pulled comment number 14…made by…

Desiree M.

Congratulations Desiree please email me your address so I can ship out your yarn. ([email protected]) Also it helps if I know which email address you want me to email the pattern to. Thank you to everyone who participated.

DIY: Peacock Feather Ornament

{GIVEAWAY AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST!}

I always make ornaments each year. I have several ideas to start off the season. Any time you can pick up the empty glass ornaments from Michael’s or JoAnn’s I would recomend it. They are inexpensive and can be reused each year if you decide to change out what is inside them. I had a few alabaster peacock feathers lying about so I put one inside this ornament to try it out.

Trim your feather down so it will fit inside the ornament and then slide it in the opening at the top. With a pair of tweezers move it until it is where you want it inside the ornament. I love to hang my ornaments with twine, the rustic organic feel fits in perfectly with the rest of my life.

I purchased my peacock feathers online at Lamplight Feathers I highly recommend them. The prices are reasonable and the shipping is quick and inexpensive.

{GIVEAWAY}

please read everything carefully!

After the overwhelming response to the last giveaway I did I decided to do another one. This will be a similar format. One winner. The winner will be chosen on the evening of the 26th. No entries will be accepted after 8:00pm on Saturday November 26th. This will allow me time to put together the results. The winner will be posted on Sunday the 27th of November. Here is what you will win.

1 Skein of Berroco Peruvia 100% Peruvian Highland Wool

In the color-way pictured. Shipped to you, paid for by me (unless you live outside the USA, If you live outside of the US all the you are required to pay is shipping)!

Also…

1 Amazon Stripe Beanie Pattern

To win you simply have to leave a comment… with the following information.

1. First name Last initial

2. What is your favorite yarn to knit with?

3. Who taught you to knit.

If you do not answer the questions your entry will not be considered a part of the giveaway. There nothing else you need to do. If you would like to “SHARE” this post it would be very kind and I would appreciate it. However, I really just enjoy getting to know my readers and learning about other individual’s knitting experiences. Good luck!

Origami Goodness

What is it about the holidays that makes me want to fold paper into tiny animals? I can’t say really. One year I made fifty origami cranes and hung them around my tree from fishing line. It looked so amazing!

I had the idea this year to make ornaments out of paper. I though it would be a good way to re-use the Anthropologie catalogues (that I have read enough times and was finally willing to give up).

Using an industrial paper cutter I cut the catalogues into origami size squares. I did 6 and 3 inch squares. So far I have only used the 3 inch squares but the result has been wonderful. The thin-ness of the paper and the colors and shapes of the images make for very interesting paper creatures. I focused on cranes today. My children carried them around the house delicately all day. I am planning on hanging them on my tree or around my house.

I look forward to trying my hand at a few more origami creatures. I would also like to find a good star pattern. Here is a great resource if you would like to learn how to fold an origami crane. Check out Planet Pals for a cartoon tutorial on folding a crane.

When cutting up a catalogue it is helpful to try to line up the cuts with larger pictures. In a catalogue like Anthropologie it is easy because almost all the photos are large and beautiful.

DIY: Wintery Terrarium

I have been slowly winterizing my home. Not in the actual mountain way but by slowly adding Christmas decorations when I have time. What with the first snow (already! eep!) and temperatures dropping rapidly…I have needed something to keep my attention. Today I worked on this Wintery Terrarium.


 It was fairly simple to do. I found the moss in my yard and had the dishes already. This vintage footed bowl (thrifting find) fit perfectly with the pattern on the plate I just purchased from Anthropologie. The cloche was one I purchased a few years ago from Pottery Barn.

The silver trees are pinecones I collected and then sprayed with silver spray paint. They could probably do with a few more coats. Be prepared if you are spray painting pine cones they soak up a lot of paint! The tiny ceramic mushrooms I purchased from Jade Flower on Etsy, her work is phenomenal and I have SO enjoyed working with her in the past.

Here is a quick how-to on the pine cone trees.

Using a wooden skewer (or even a tooth pick) break the skewer into two inch pieces. You can vary the length depending on the depth of the bowl you are building your terrarium in.

Using a hot glue gun dab some hot glue at the base of the pine cone and attach the two inch long piece of wood. This will allow you to stab the pine cone into the moss of your terrarium.

Once you have finished it will look like a tiny winter scape. I am planning on purchasing some fake snow when I am at the craft store next to sprinkle over the top of my terrarium. I will try to get pictures up when I get a chance.

 

I also made several more winter scapes in Mason Jars. I will get a tutorial up once I have perfected the process. As I did not have fake snow on hand I used pure sugar cane instead. I thought it turned out looking pretty good actually.

 

Courage to Draw

Sometimes I underestimate, or perhaps just forget the amount of courage it takes to pick up a pen and draw. Like most things in life the older I get the more self assurance it takes. As a child I loved to draw. I have sketch book after sketch book filled with my imaginings.

Somewhere along the road to adult hood I lost my courage. I gave into the, misguided, mis-conception that to be a great artist you must have a natural ability from birth to capture the world around you. Over the years I have found that this is not truth. Just as in any art you must first copy others to learn technique…slowly over time you will discover your own style and begin to create your own images. I wish, so much, that someone had told me this as a child. Then perhaps it would take less courage now to pick that pen back up.


 I have instituted an organized drawing time for me and my children. I encourage them to draw what is in their heads and be confident of their art. I drew this feather during one of our organized drawing sessions. I saw a similar image and decided to try to recreate it.

Another thing I have discovered is that keeping a journal makes it easier to sketch, draw, doodle. Something about the mixture of internal images depicted as well as expressed in the written word. Or perhaps it is just the fact that the pen is more often in my hand.

As you can see, sometimes I simply copy tea labels. Hopefully the practice will begin to pay off. On a knitting note, I have been working on a ear-warmer with a smocking pattern to it.


Also I have been experimenting with my Silver Leaves. Thanks to my friend Allyson, I got the idea to make them into ornaments. They are only partially  completed I stamped numbers on them and because of the paint I have to go over the number with a sharpie. When they are finished I would love to have numbers 1-12 for the 12 days of Christmas.

{New Pattern} Lovely Chevron Slouchy Beanie

Introducing my newest pattern! The Lovely Chevron Slouchy Beanie…hot of the press and ready to order. If you are subscribed to my email list the “Pattern Release” email should be arriving shortly with a coupon. This hat is my new favorite…I love Dream in Color Classy yarn in the Cloud Jungle color way. Happy Knitting!!


Ravelry Store

Etsy Shop

THE PATTERN: Chevrons! I design with what I love and at the moment I am in love with chevron patterns. That is how this slouchy beanie was inspired. It is knit up with a delicate chevron pattern (see chart on page 3). Get ready for winter by knitting it out of a warm merino wool or a cooler cotton, either way it is the perfect accessory for your wardrobe. The chevron pattern gives the knit fabric a fun feeling of whimsy.

{Also check back soon for another giveaway! }

 

 

Hello Kitty Makeup

I am not the most experienced at Halloween costumes, believe it or not. My daughter wanted to be Hello Kitty for Halloween. Because I like to be able to reuse items from the costume, and also because my daughter already dresses like Hello Kitty. I thought I would use what we had on hand mixed with a few things I found at the store. If you need a last minute idea this face paint is easy.

She loved the look so much I had to dress her up several times. The makeup has also been repeated several times as well. Hello Kitty is as simple as three whiskers on either side and an oval yellow nose with a black outline.

I used these adorable leg warmers I found at Target and this knit skirt to make up her outfit. It was perfect! Top it off with Hello Kitty Ear warmers (also purchased at Target) and you have the perfect combo.

 

Here is another one of her outfits. The possibilities are endless! As long as you keep them happy…right?

 

DIY: Silvering Leaves

Because of how far away I live from civilization (approximately 2 hrs) I like to think about holiday decor and wrapping early. I had the idea this year to use mostly organic things to wrap gifts and decorate my house. It helps that I have a love affair with twine, pinecones, and everything else organic. I was really excited when I found these dried leaves at JoAnn’s Fabrics this year. I had the idea to make them silver to add a bit more holiday feel. I think I will use them both as natural and silver because they look so great either way.

 

 

All you need is some dried leaves, collected by yourself, or you can find them in the dried flower section at JoAnn’s, and some silver spray paint.

 

 

If you place the leaves on some nicer paper while you spray them the result is beautiful and perfect for wrapping paper.

 

 

Once you have given the leaves a bit of time to dry flip them over and spray the other side. It helps if you spray straight down on the leaves as they are light and will move about.

 

 

Once you have sprayed the other side, and let them dry, you can use them in your decor. Or to add a little something extra to your gift wrap. I have even used them as gift tags. Just use a fine point sharpie.

 


I have a compulsion to purchase beautiful journals. I always find the best journals at Home Goods. Real leather, made in Italy, and usually only . This is one of my favorites I have found. They make the best gifts.

 

 

Also this coupon is still good for the day. 20% off everything in my knitting pattern shop. Just use the Coupon Code: GIVWY1 when you check out. This coupon is good through the weekend. It expires Sunday night. Enjoy!


Drumroll please…

I cannot begin to express how overwhelmed I was by the response to this giveaway. Especially considering the last time I had a giveaway there were 6 comments. This time I had over 200 responses. Thank you, everyone, for participating. This has been a wonderful experience for me. I wish I could respond to everyone’s kind words but there were so many! So, to all of you, as a thank you I want to give this little extra gift.

 

This coupon code: GIVWY1 is good for everything in my Etsy Shop. Just use the coupon code when you check out. This coupon can also be applied to the multiple pattern listing. This coupon expires at midnight on the 28th of October.

Because of how wonderful an experience this was I am definitely going to do this again…and now back to the giveaway…

 

{The Prize}

1 Skein of Berrocco Vintage Chunky (in color shown)

And…The Yummy Beret Pattern

{And the Winner is}

Regina

 

Congratulations Regina! I will be emailing you so you can send me your address so I can get your skein of yarn and pattern out to you.

Thanks again to everyone who participated. I will be doing more giveaways so check back!