3D snowflakes

there's a tutorial for how to make these great 3D paper snowflakes here, on the blog of weaver girl guz. it's actually the same process as the felt ogee ornaments from betz white that i posted yesterday-just make 6 of them and glue them together!
i made these during my english chatting class tonight, i didn't have time to properly prepare english instructions, but i had a great time making them, and i want to make more!

felt ornaments

felt mistletoe cluster from ohdedoe,
and a few felt ornaments from the whip up roundup: stars from the purl bee,
and the felt ogee from betz white.

and i'm so flattered that my felt candy cane tutorial was also included! thanks, whip up.

creative wrapping

here's a handmade and reusable cloth wrapping project from arounna of bookhou on poppyalk (including a printing how-to).
and hello sandwich has a new zine all about wrapping!

max and moop bag giveaway on oh joy

i like birds flying, although i don't think at the moment i own a single thing with birds on it. not one. anyway, there's a giveaway for this bag, from max waxger and moop going over at oh joy.
maybe i like the birds because they seem so light and free.

farmland carpet

earlier this month i returned from an all too quick trip back to the states. to be honest, i have had a hard time catching up since i've been back, but i am working on it, and slowly making progress.

these custom carpets were featured on CRAFT a while back now, and are actually made in a variety of custom designs: netherlands, africa, usa, and this one, which is called europe. but to me, and this may just be the midwestern holstien cows, it looks more like the colors of the american midwest. i always find it mesmerizing to look out of the airplane window and see the squares of fields, cut into a grid by county roads perhaps, usually a little house and outbuildings, surrounded by trees, and then fields filling up the rest of the square.

beautiful sashiko collection from sri threads

this is just one image from the sashiko abundance shared on the sri threads blog.
if you love old japanese textiles, you can often find a beautiful visual feast there!

taking a breath

there's a lovely post over on decor8 filled with great ideas for refreshing your home for the new year.

while the new year is a lovely time to think about all sorts of new projects, i'm also feeling the need to just take some time to relax after a busy first week back at work and school, and before a few more busy weeks to come in january.

for me, spending some peaceful time at home is the best way for me to catch my breath, and i can really feel how even a few small changes in my apartment can make me more calm, productive, and happy.

there's also a beautiful post on design sponge all about poppies, which are one of my favorite flowers.

i hope you are having a lovely weekend!

tra la la la laa, la la la la

it's christmas eve! in fact, here in japan it's already after midnight, so if i want santa to swing by my balcony i should best hop into my futon right quick.

i love this carol garland from katie did, via craft.

five days of felt on twig and thistle

twig and thistle has been doing a 5 days of felt series, which has some great ideas, including these felt bows,and these projects from martha stewart.

salt dough ornaments

i'm so impressed with these salt dough ornaments, from katy elliot via whip up.

tiny knit turkey from spud and chloë

and here's a little knitting project for november! the pattern for this cute little turkey is available for free over on the spud and chloë blog.

i can't fight that feeling anymore

i can't stop thinking about christmas crafts! and the wonderful things popping up in the blogosphere don't help! these ornaments,
and these,
and these! are all at rare device here, which i found via poppy talk here and more ornaments here.
there's a new ebook with ornament projects on crafypod,

and an easy elegant ornament made from simple felt circles from zakka life via craft.
and then today i saw this large scale advent calendar from gingerbread snowflakes, also via craft.

i promise to blog about other non-christmas-related things, but there may be more christmas crafts in the next few weeks! you can't say i didn't warn you.

homemade fruit crisp

while i was at my mom's house last week, enjoying a late summer garden bounty, i made some apple-plum crisp. i started out loosely following this recipe for spiced apple crisp, from epicurious...
but i couldn't resist adding some of these plums.



i also added a cup of oat flakes, and some chopped pecans, and some cinnamon and a pinch of salt to the topping.
fruit cooking...

my adjustments made for a lot of topping, which i mixed in just a bit.

this adorable illustration is from julia rothman's guest post on design*sponge, where she shares this blackberry pie recipe from the cookbook she illustrated.

and for canning advice, check out make it do for how to can peaches. via craft.

fabric covered canvas tote by betz white

queen of green crafting, betz white has come up with this simple and brilliant project: covering a canvas tote bag with the fabric of your choice. so easy you're sure to say 'why didn't i think of that!?' her tutorial shows all the steps. i can't wait to try this with some cute japanese prints in a few weeks when i get back to japan.

felt furnishings project from how-tuesday

this is a detail from the project on the cover of this book:
felt furnishings by anne kyyro quinn.

i actually saw the work of anne kyyro quinn for the first time last year when i wondered by her showroom in london completely randomly. her work is beautiful, and her use of felt to create patterns and texture is quite stunning.

anyway, this week in etsy's the stork series how-tuesday, there are step by step directions for how to make this pillow yourself!

here's a book review from zakka life, and another review at peacock chic.

pack a lunch

have you noticed all the wonderful reusable lunch bag projects popping up on crafty blogs recently? this one (above) is the adorable embroidered lunch bag from the purl bee, with great step by step instructions as always.

today on whip-up, there's also a round up of other lunch bag tutorials.

i am curious to try this oilcloth version, from skip to my lou.

and along similar lines, this tyvek one from sternlab, via craft.

i'm feeling the urge to sew more, and looking forward to being back in japan in a few weeks, thinking about sewing projects i want to to try...

more brilliance from bookhou, and repeat studio

i saw these gorgeous new items from bookhou on bloesem, and was reminded about how i love everything they make and do. and that somehow i hadn't noticed their lovely blog.
AND then i discovered that arounna khounnoraj of bookhou is collaborating with roisin fagan of bespoke uprising to create hand printed textiles as repeat studio. just lovely.

here's another sweet item from bespoke uprising, available from her etsy shop.

i'm spending a few weeks at my mom's house in rural wisconsin, and while these farm themed prints are distinctively canadian, fields and canning jars are the same in the late summer countryside everywhere.

free kokeshi stuffie pattern

the nice ladies at melly & me are giving away this pattern as a free download! via whip up.

heather benning's dollhouse

it's a real house, with plexiglass installed for traditional dollhouse-style viewing.

mocoloco via the stork.

kanzashi

kanzashi is the traditional japanese craft of making intricate flowers or petal arrangements from fabric. the image above is one of the amazying pieces created by atelier kanawa who is one of the few tsumami kanzashi artisans today. it's a hairpin called 'rain drops world,' which is quite appropriate for these days in japan, as we are waiting for rainy season to finish up this week maybe.
kanzashi in bloom, by diane gilleland of craftypod, just came out, and can be seen around the internet on a blog book tour. whip up has an feature about kuniko kanawa of atelier kanawa, and also a giveaway for the book. betz white also has a copy to give away (you have until wednesday to enter, u.s. addresses only).