Category Archives: craftastic
crafty wonderland
for many of you who have only known as a photographer, i have a little secret…i come from a long lineage of crafters. before becoming a full fledged photographer i traveled across the nation selling my goods, met lovely friends and have been published several times; this one is a gem.
my crafting roots have been calling, so this holiday season has become a crafting wonderland of sorts…this has lead to a crafting + cocktail party at the end of this week. i wanted share a simple and family friendly craft with you, it would make a wonderful host gift or an easy way to add warmth and holiday cheer to your own home.
instructions:
-felt your wool sweater (washing in hot water and throwing in the dryer will do)
-cut as many circles as possible out of your sweater
-thread on a wire hanger
-when finished, attach hanger back together and shape in a circle
-add any details you’d like: a bow, some sparkle, tree trimmings…
*note. i used a pretty thick fisherman’s sweater, if you’re using an average weight sweater you may need several. an array of color would be a nice touch too.
we also have a tradition in our home where we make an advent calender every year for miss beans, its always easy yet something we can live with for 24 days. this year’s advent is filled with: a bird call, white rabbit candies, a kaleidoscope, love notes and other trinkets. its something we look forward to creating every year and makes waking up for school days a little bit easier.
handmade homemade
every holiday we vow to make our friends’ gifts by hand. this year the choice was terrariums. simple and easy to customize. my friend randy and i got together one morning and made a bunch that are eagerly awaiting their new homes. these make great last minute gifts and can be fairly inexpensive. if you live in a highly mossy and green area like we do, foraging for plants is half the fun (please collect responsibly) and can be right in your front yard (or in our case, our neighbor’s roof).
we have been also enjoying more than our fair share of homemade dulce de leche this days, especially with some sliced tart apples. its the easiest recipe and would make a great host gift for your next holiday party.
1 can sweet condensed milk, place whole can in a pot of water making sure the whole can is submerged with at least an inch of water. bring to a boil. cover then simmer for 3-4hours, checking frequently to top off water. let cool and then transfer to that bonne maman you have laying around waiting for some love.
easy peasy. i highly recommend making several at a time and one to keep for yourself, this stuff is gold!
the countdown
every year one of my favorite holiday traditions is to make lucy her very own advent calender. its different every year. simple. and so much fun to watch her wake up every morning and run to open her calender. this year i used brown craft boxes and my fancy japanese masking tape, it turned out perfect and i can’t wait for lucy to wake up in the morning to see her calender!
*for the curious* her calender holds a few handmade garlands to hang up in her room, fancy candy, a charm bracelet (she’s been eying it for months) and other lovely trinkets to make a toddler girl feel special. ♥
craft happens.
its been pretty stormy here is seattle so when its too gloomy to go out, we craft! yesterday it was snow globes and being ‘hipsters’ (what lucy calls hippies). today it was 10! fabric pumpkins from thompson family- life, who is also a super sweet photographer (via design sponge). lucy sewed her polka dot pumpkin and stuffed the rest while i did the remainder of sewing and detail work. we were quite the team and my bean has got craftster in her blood and as you can see we like our pumpkins looking a bit more organic, perfection is in the flaws.