Easiest Candy houses to make with kids!

Nothing like telling a four year old you're going to make candy houses to insure that it happens. I carved some between playgroup car repair and work deadline to squeeze a sugar rush into our afternoon. Elliot had his good friend Gabe over who was very willing to participate in the eating and building.  Yesterday I'd purchased a good selection of candy and cookies at good ole fashioned Reny's department store in Bath. The only other preparation was sifting through the recycling bin to turn up cardboard bases and an assortment of food boxes and cartons for the building structures. You can easily cut boxes in half to get the right size. It's a good idea to cover the cardboard base with wax paper so that the frosting and candies don't permeate the base. I'd like to say we make royal frosting but we don't, simply crack open tubs of white frosting and pass out the knives. These are not masterpieces but they're incredibly simple and provide instant gratification. Celia can spread the frosting on the side of a carton and stick the cookie wall in place by herself. I read her Jan Brett's 'Gingerbread Boy' before bed and she noticed that our houses were not of the same caliber as the elaborate illustrations. One day I'll roll out the gingerbread and make a real house again but for now this project is a winner.

Girls Night Out Winter Craft Workshops

Please join me for an evening of jewelry making (Jan 19th) and/or needle felting (Feb 9th) at the beautiful Art Mind and Soul studio in Fort Andross. Enjoy a relaxing couple of hours of creativity, all supplies dessert and coffee are included!

Santas in the workshop.

During the kids snowday Wednesday Elliot took Celia outside to play, giving me some time to escape into the garage. I'd been itching to spruce up the wooden Santas Jon and I have been working on. Like our popular Lobsters they're made from old fence pickets. Jon cuts out the wood pieces and I get the easy job of playing graffiti artist. I apply multiple layers of old house, spray and dimesional craft paint onto the cut boards. Santas' eyes are washers and upholstery tacks, and his glasses are formed with rebar wire. Something was missing and I had an ah hah moment when I delved into the scrap bin and found small wood pieces for eyebrows. They perfectly frame the top of his face. A few hits of silver spray paint helped give his beard and moustache some more dimension.

When I came back in the house I tripped over a mound of abandoned wet coats, mittens and boots. The clothes didn't dampen my good mood though, I was happy to have had an undisturbed half hour to give our Santas finishing touches before the holidays.

Penelope or Henrietta the Hedgehog?

I unveiled this new softie design at North Yarmouth Fair over the weekend. I was thrilled by how well she was received. I was completely surprised that each woman who purchased one had already named her. The names were absolutely hysterical, and perfectly fit each hedgies' personality.

The body is simply three pieces of felted wool sweaters. The spines are sewn in place as a complete strip and then later cut apart. I had pitched the design to Stitch magazine for their upcoming Spring issue. On Sunday morning I awoke to an e-mail from them asking me to make the hedgehog along with five other projects. I'll make her with easy to find fleece for their baby story.
 
I'm hoping to whip up a few more for this Friday and Saturday fairs. My sweater supply is drying up. Sewing with felted sweaters has definitely become popular this year. I found a yard of white wool suiting for the face and underside at JoAnn's. Fortunately I still have a supply of the wonderful Feltworks tm flowers sent to me from Dimensions. She wouldn't be the same without them. This time I'll make some child friendly versions without the wooden bead eyes. It'll be tricky to keep the same expression with sewn wool scraps but I'm up for the challenge.

Every little girl loves a Mermaid!

I had no idea the romance that mermaids held over little girls. Celia truly believes they exist, and is always disappointed when we leave the beach without a sighting. I've convinced her that they've swam to warmer waters south of Maine for the winter. When she heard that the last of the Navy families were leaving to Florida she was sure that they would be fortunate to see the mermaids, and just why couldn't her dad work for the Navy too?

I created the first felted mermaid for the Harpswell summer fair, they were a huge hit! This third generation of mermaids are larger and more sturdy, like everything we get better with practice. They're made of pure wool roving that I purchase at the Portland fiber Company, http://www.portlandfibergallery.com/. These wooly mermaids are equiped to can handle Maines frigid winters, and are sure to warm little girls hearts.

Wish me luck sneaking them out of the house Saturday morning!

Congratulations Julie Brown!

Celia drew a name out of the hat and Julie is the lucky winner of Craftcycle! Just in time for the holidays there's still time to make some quick gifts from the book. Thank you to the friends who stopped by and posted comments I love hearing from you.

I've been crafting up a storm this weekend, check back in a day or so to see images of hedgehogs cat and dog softies along with some brand new miniature paintings.

Free Craftcycle Book giveaway!

Please leave a comment here or become one of my first followers.

I'll pick a random lucky winner on Friday November 27th, 2009.

Happy Thanksgiving and good luck!

Inside Craftcycle, you will find a mix of over 100 ideas for crafts, recipes, sustainable living ideas and construction projects - all organized by season to offer year-round green living. Within each chapter, there are larger projects to build, quick crafts to complete using basic materials or recycled items, seasonally appropriate tips, and recipes using seasonal ingredients. Detailed diagrams accompany the larger-scale projects, while the basic crafts feature step by step photographs and illustrations, making them accessible for the entire family.

Mycraftivity is offering a great deal on my latest book.
http://clickserve.cc-dt.com/link/click?lid=41000000029424843

Podcast of last nights blog radio interview and discussion about Craftcycle with Tiffany Windsor.

Inspired at Home Podcast Archives

http://www.inspiredathome.com/radio/podcasts.htm