Pumpkin-Gnome

New felt gnome punkin' guy!!!

And yes, I love him...and yes, my mom already stole him!!

Back on Etsy

So I have been holding onto all my little watercolor pieces.

And I'm finally getting around to listing them on etsy!

I will be posting one a day (as they recommend for best etsy promoting) and today is my little gnome painting!

I know there have been some folks interested...well, here's your change to pick it up!!

(Update: The little guy SOLD!)

Applique Felt Pillow

So I've made a couple of these little pillows and I had so much fun, I thought I'd take a dew moments to share a mini tutorial.

Supplies needed:

• 2 sheets of contrasting color felt
• 3 shades of contrasting color embroidery floss (I used a matching shade to the leaf color, then brown for veins and burgundy for the blanket stitch on the border)
• embroidery needle
• stuffing
• scissors
• ruler
• marking pencil
  
• (optional) embroidery hoop
• (optional) stencil for piece to be appliqued
  

Cut out piece to be appliquéd and place on felt, fold backing felt in half lengthwise to get crease, opening and laying mostly flat again. Place applique close to the center of one half before putting on hoop (if you want to use a hoop).

Use simple running stitch around the outside to anchor the appliqué to the backing felt.

Back stitch the veins of the leaves with 3-6 strands with contrasting color thread...

And more veins....

Remove from hoop and flatten out creases from the hoop.

Fold in half lengthwise and try to measure out equal distance from applique to edge on either end to get a centered pillow.

Mark and remove excess to square (or rectangle) off.

Cut along the fold to make two pieces of the pillow.

Cut out and running stitch on three sides of contrasting felt onto the "right" side of the back piece of pillow. This will create the back pocket.

Blanket stitch around the edges of the two pieces of felt, wrong sides together. And stuff before it is completely closed. And voila!!!

And a picture of the back with the pocket where you can store little treasures or cotton balls scented with yummy oils!

I hope you like this tutorial and found it helpful! And feel free to ask if you have any questions!

I couldn't resist....

Dah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-na Bat-Gnome!

Thanks to Kimara over at Wee Folk Art for this pattern!

I've wanted to make one of these little dudes for a while now and I finally did!

He's a little Halloween Bat-Gnome for Heather. See seems to like him and he was SO MUCH FUN to make! I'm going to try and make a second tonight!

Craft-therapy

It's been a rough month, I'm not going to lie. So when my mom said she wanted to get together to have a craft day, I was eager to hang out and make stuff.

Several times a year, we get together and make little melt & pour soaps. It is an easy and fun craft that doesn't take a lot of labor, and we love giving them to our friends. But this fall, we decided to try several things!

First of all, I was laid up in bed for a while, which made crafting rather difficult. So, I decided to grab some felt and do a little embroidery. I cut out an oak leaf and just started stitching it on. I had no idea what I would turn it into when I was done, but I brought it with me and mom helped me come up with a great idea!

A scented "primitive" style pillow. I just did a little bit of decorative stitching and stuffed it with a little fluff. I put in a few cotton balls scented with cinnamon oil and voila!

We also experimented with cinnamon/applesauce clay. (recipe below) It was so much fun, making pumpkins that we tried several other alternatives, stars, "sugar cookies" etc.

It was a great day with mom and we really got a LOT accomplished!

Here is a picture of the day's bounty:

(Dozens of applesauce clay pumpkins, cookies, melt & pour soaps...and pumpkin bread...for our snack)

Cinnamon/Applesauce Clay:
Recipe:
1 part Applesauce (not chunky)
1 part Cinnamon powder

Other helpful supplies:
Gloves
Wax paper
Knife & fork (or sculpting tools)
Cloves (for pumpkin stems)
Cookie Cutters

1) Mix cinnamon and applesauce into a thick clay. Be sure to mix thoroughly as you don't want dry patches of powder.

2) Mold the clay into desired shapes. Most of all, have fun! If the clay consistency is too runny, add a bit more powder until it is mold-able, but holds firm. Reverse directions if it is too hard.

3) Leave the clay items out in an open space to dry hard. This may take two to three days to fully dry.

4) Enjoy the delicious cinnamon scented sculptures and share with loved ones!