Monday’s weekly round up! A great way to get the creative juices flowing and beat the Monday blues! I am definitely in a bread mood lately! Maybe it’s because I’ve been limiting my calorie consumption starting last Monday. Nothing nuts, just getting my eating back under control. That first day […]
nosew - patterns & tutorials
Tutorial: Polymer Clay Kawaii Toast
I love toast! I was freaking *de-light-ed* in Chicago and went into a japanese toy store and saw Kawaii Toast! So cute! Love them! But I didn’t really want a keychain. Or a coin purse. I just wanted a little toast to bring me joy and hang out on my […]
howto - little woods homestead - patterns & tutorials
How to Dig a Weed Free Garden Bed
This year I decided move a few things around in my yard. The coop is in the corner and the chickens get their own space (so Bob doesn’t terrorize them) and instead of having the garden in a square, I’m moving it along the fence. The hope is that this […]
round up
Round-up: Charging my week with inspiration
Mondays are always full of so many possibilities that my creative juices come to a complete freeze. Kind of like staring at a blank canvas – too many options! I’ve decided to start out each week with a blogging warm up: Round up Mondays each week! And now I’m ready […]
journal - little woods homestead - thrift kitchen
Weeknight Crunch: Top Five 20-Minute Meals
The thing that keeps me from eating out more than anything else is an easy, delicious, fast meal. Jason and I will hit that 7:00PM wall where dinner really needs to be on the table like a half hour ago, we’re both hungry, we are both tired from working all […]
journal
Sick as a dog.
Okay, so I’m sure you’ve maybe seen my random crabbing about being sick on twitter. But the truth is, I’ve been realllllllly sick. Chicago kicked my butt and took my name down so it could kick it again. I’ve been pretty much unable to do anything more than lay on […]
mal quicky
MAL Quicky 2.3: Finished Circle Skirt!
One of the things i love most about the MAL quicky is that it doesn’t give me enough time to procrastinate, though there was some putting off until tomorrow happening because of the zine coming out last week, and then I finished it about 2am on Monday/Tuesday, took pictures Tuesday […]
journal
Meet me at Chicago Zine Fest!
After Renegade I was floored with how exhilarating it was getting to meet so many of you! Blog/Zine making is such a solo act. I still don’t really understand what “40,000 unique visitors a month means” because if I did, I think I would have a panic attack. But going to a […]
clm - vol 4
Craft Leftovers Zine – Volume 4: Issue 1!
The first issue of Volume 4 is hot off the presses! This month’s issue is all about collaborating, collaborating with my friend Jill actually! I talk about using the internet, mail, crafting, and sketchbooks. There’s a recipe for chocolate cheese cake, a wordfind, and 3 patterns! I’m super excited to […]
mal quicky
MAL Quicky 2.1: Ready Set Go!
After taking into account comments, twitter, and facebook The Fickle Sense Circle Skirt has it! When this was picked I was a little worried I wouldn’t have a good fabric on hand to make what I had in my head. But, I did! Ha. More on that in a second. […]
little woods homestead
Happy Valentine’s Day! Scrap Nesting Hearts
My local friend Tina (aka Kaotic Krafter) brought these great nesting hearts to this month’s Ames C.art meet up. When she first pulled them out and was like “look what I made”, I was all “ohh, that’s nice”. I had no clue what it was and was trying to be […]
mal quicky - round up
MAL Quicky 2.0: Sewing Skirts Next Week!
After the last (and first) Make-a-long Quicky challenge, many readers said they would have loved to participate if only they had known it was happening. So this time around I’m giving you a full week’s notice and a full week to vote on which pattern to make. And this MAL […]
fabric - patterns & tutorials
Quilted Pot Holder
Way back in 2006 I wrote one of my very first sewing patterns, a little quilted pot holder. The idea was good, but even back then it didn’t turn out quite right. So, as I’ve been poking around in the archive, I came across it and decided to remake it […]
little woods homestead - thrift kitchen
Make Baked Kale Chips
I’ll be honest. I had never even heard of kale chips until I was down in Texas visiting Rachel and Diane and Rachel clued me in. We actually made plans to try and make some while I was there, but we all got swept away by the crafty goodness that […]
organize - redress
Getting organized…. again.
Every 6 months or so I get to the point in my studio where my works in progress, stash, gifts, random house stuff, and hid-away-so-guest-won’t-see-it” completely takes over my studio. After this last clean out was done I got rid of: 9 boxes and 2 garbage bags of craft stuff […]
book review - journal
My first book: Mend it Better!
I’m so excited to officially announce the release of my first book Mend it Better! It’s in stores now and on the shelves officially – I’m a nerd, I went and checked! Go here to order it online from a number of great book sellers, or head over to your […]
journal - little woods homestead
New Addition to the Little Woods Homestead: Bob Barker
I’ve been lurking on petfinder.com since Jak passed. I’ve wanted a dog for so long and I was feeling a bit like fate sucker punched with me Jak – here’s this awesome super sweet dog…. who just happens to only have 9 months to live. I missed having a dog […]
little woods homestead - thrift kitchen
January is Garden Planning Time!
Ah, now is the best time to be thinking about planning your garden. I just got three seed catalogs in the last 2 weeks. Start making a plan for the garden. I took notes last year, but I also launched myself into a nice brainstorming session. One of the things […]
wips - zines
Assisted Painting: many little paintings!
I’ve had so much fun making many many paintings this past weekend using the Assisted Painting method I showed you all in the last issue of the zine. In a few hours time I whipped up a batch of 5 paintings. They are all pretty small (4×4″ each) and I’m […]
book review
Book Review: I Love Patchwork
Ever since I Love Patchwork: 21 Irresistible Zakka Projects to Sew by Rashida Coleman-Hale came out, oh, 3 years ago, I’ve been drooling over it. It’s one of those books that every time I would go to the book shop, I would flip through it, contemplate buying, then put it […]