I just finished some super last minute gifts... Button rings (inspired by April's)

and a little owl purse for Josh's niece (inspired by Elsie's super cute owl bib)

with pink lining, of course!!

I hope you have things more in order than I do at this point!

xo
`

Do you need some last minute handmade gift ideas? Join the party at Handmade Sentiments! There you will find step-by-step instructions for the following five projects:

*LEATHER BOW KEYCHAIN
*FOUND PAPER & FABRIC MINI-NOTEBOOKS
*LACE PATTERNED COASTERS
*LEATHER BRACELETS
*DOILY WREATH

All projects use basic materials and are perfect for giving!

Here are some sneak peaks from the private blog...




To purchase, simply click on the button below--the one-time fee of $14USD gains you unlimited access to the private blog. Hope to see you there!

They're piling up with no end in sight!!

I picked up the November/December issue of Selvedge yesterday and thought I would share some of the pretty photos with you. There is so much inspiration in these pages!

I have not attempted a granny square yet, but my yarn remnant bin certainly has enought bits to give it a shot at this point...

These needle felted dogs are so sweet!


Perfect.


Singers and sequined puppies? Sold!



I love the scrapbook feel of the layout. Nothing is overly polished or perfect, yet everything works together in just the right way. So pretty!

In case you are looking for us, I have a feeling there will be a lot of this going on over the winter break... Someone I know LOVES The Polar Express!

A little preview of a few of the cowls that will be in the Katherine Handmade shop this afternoon... Henry is home sick today (boo, fever!) so I am hoping to enlist his assistance in a little photo shoot so I can get these puppies listed!

Liane was one of my first (and has been a great returning) customers and I was so happy to see this little video of her. If you have not already, check out her Etsy shop, Enhabiten. I just love her work and her style!

I just listed three of my cowls in the Katherine Handmade shop...


I had fun making the labels to sew inside.


And Henry had fun playing with the camera. Now I'm off to see what kind of a mess he has waiting for me downstairs...

There will be a visitor in my little studio tomorrow, so I have been trying to get things tidied up. Cleaning and rearranging furniture are synonymous in my house--for some reason I feel the need to shift things around when I am doing serious cleaning!

And, making a rare appearance in this place is someone who has apparently taken a liking to my newly finished cowl! I lobbying hard for him to wear it to work tomorrow, but so far he can't be convinced. Maybe I will have to learn to make socks...

I made a cowl! I plan on making a few more of them today and experimenting with appliqueing (how do you spell that word?!?) bits of lace (go figure). I will show you how they turn out!

I am home from my trip, and for some reason I am having a hard time getting back into my routine! I have had bloggers block about writing this post. Quite frankly, the thought of capturing the weekend in a blog post is completely overwhelming! I will say that I was beyond thrilled to meet Jamie, Janel, Nicole, Rachel and her beautiful family, Jen, Talisha, Kristin,Katie, Angela, Mandy and Kim (who have the cutest mother/daughter relationship!), Elsie and Jeremy, Erin and Will, and Haley.

One of the most exciting aspects for me is that Janel taught me how to crochet! I have avoided learning this skill like the plague (always seemed too fussy), but now I am slightly obsessed.

I actually have a good use for all of this yarn! I have already completed one project...

But this is not it. :) Inspired by this adorable owl clutch I bought from Elsie,

I made this pug purse. Go ahead and laugh--it's pretty horrible! I think I need some more practice...

On a totally unrelated note, I joined Twitter this morning. There is a little link on the sidebar if you want to follow me.

Hope all of your weeks are going well so far!

I'm going on a little trip this weekend...
See you next week!

Please watch this video, and take a few minutes to find some old episodes of Anything I Can Do. I hope you love Mag as much as do!

TUTORIAL: WOOL CHERRIES CHARM

This is a quick little needle felting project to spruce up any handbag or luggage of yours. If you have never needle felted before, please visit Kay Petal's website for an introduction to this amazing craft. The Felted Ewe sells all of the necessary supplies (including some really good starter kits) and also offers free instructions.
OK, let's get started!

You will need:
*An 8" piece of latigo lace (available in the shoe section of any drug or big box store) *Wool roving: natural colored and red
*felting block and needles
*key ring (for this project, I like the ones that swing open)
*green felt


To begin, fold your leather lace in half. Holding it in the middle of the keyring, pull the ends through the loop in order to secure it to the ring.

Tie a knot on each end of the leather.

Wrap a length of natural colored wool roving around your fingers in order to form a loose ball (about the size of a golf ball), making sure to leave an opening in the center.

Slip one of the strips of leather though the middle of the sphere


and use your needle to felt the wool into a ball shape. Please watch your fingers--those needles are sharp!

Repeat to create a second cherry.


Using your needle, adhere a layer of red wool to each cherry.

Cut two little leaves out of felt and use hot glue to attach them to the back of your cherry stems.

And you're done!

These are really quick to make and are great last minute gifts!