I have a towering stack of magazines that I cannot ever seem to widdle down. Whole volumes of Somerset, Cloth Scissors Paper, Artful Blogger...not to mention all the House Beautifuls, Real Simples, & other assorted mags. So in the spirit of organization, I'm making myself recycle! (But not before pawing once more through each one & pulling out those gems of inspiration!) Here's the cover of the scrapbook inspiration. This slim volume holds my favorite pages from 25+ magaines! Yay!!

thankful grateful blessed joyful glad

I had a tin of old plain milk caps that my mother-in-law gave me a while back, and thought I'd challenge myself to use up as many of them as I could...Thanksgiving garland! I covered the caps with 5 different patterned papers, punched them, and joined them with jump rings. Then added thankful grateful blessed joyful glad along the length of it, accompanied by some gems and butterflies. I think this is going to become a holiday-by-holiday project! I've already started the Christmas and New Years garlands...

supplies: cardstock> Neenah. patterned paper> Cosmo Cricket, BasicGrey, My Mind's Eye, DCWV, Scarlet Lime. punches> Marvy. font> Typerwriter Serial Xlight. adhesive>Xyron. other stuff> ~65 vintage milk bottle caps. jump rings>Making Memories, Blue Moon. gems> My Mind's Eye. butterflies> Jenni Bowlin.

Paper beads

Here is my take on the fabulous bead cuff from Copy + Paste. Mine has some quirks: the bicones might be slightly too small for the ends of each bead. My wirework is something to be desired on the straight end. However, I loved making this project. The vintage book pages have a magical lustre when glazed, and it's a very cool-looking accessory. Thanks Kirsty & Julie!

so many possibilities!

From the class series over at Copy + Paste, my first of *many* covered journals. I had a little stockpile of blank journals, but not for long. They are getting dressed up & customized for some friends. Easy, and very charming. I'm off to make the project that appeared in this morning's classroom; so inspired!

Jump Start

The wonderful girls at Copy + Paste are having a 12 Days of Handmade Christmas Class, and I've signed on for a little inspiration & clearing of the decks. We get to "shop our own houses" and to play along, here's my questionaire answers. How many days till Christmas?? 1. It would be amazing if my house was a shop like ...Anthropologie meets Goodwill treasures. 2. But at the moment, it's more like...a bookshop meets Lego Store. 3. The best stocked area of my house has to be...the boys Lego dept., the bookshelves, and my craft area. 4. But I'm not sure I would take stock of my...Christmas ornaments. 5. I could actually open my doors and sell off most of my...fabrics & sewing notions {and paper in general, but I never EVER would sell!}...and I'd still have plenty left over. 6. If I could go shopping in someone else's house I'd choose...my mother-in-law! 7. With the money I'd save by shopping at home for my supplies, I could buy...more paper :) 8. During this class I hope to "buy"/revisit/finally use my stock of...paper milk bottle caps. 9. The best thing about shopping at home will be...making space for new stuff! 10. Shopping at home will mean I can get away with wearing ...comfy-est yoga pants with the little bleach spot & bare feet...which I'd never dare go 'real shopping' in!

Apple Jacket and *the Quilt* part 1

First, the Apple Jacket: is this not the most whimsical use for a half-ball of left-over cashmere?! You can find the pattern here, or go through Ravelry.com. It only took me (me, the s-l-o-w-e-s-t of knitters!) a couple hours. And that's because I completely free-handed the leaf. It's kind of early in the year for apples, but perfect for protecting them in backpacks and handbags. Next, I'm starting a quilt. It's my new family job at the 4 yr old's nursery school, and I'm so happy to have a creative job after 3 years of more email-oriented ones. I'm making sketches, and have a game plan. I've chosen a color scheme, but alas, must go fabric shopping. The quilt will be raffled off at our Spring Auction in March 2011. I think I'll be very sad to see it go, but it's all part of the process. I've got about 7 months to sew and quilt something that represents our community, therefore I'm using a house-theme, surrounded by natural elements. It'll be bright and quirky. Come back soon for more!

embroidery floss?

Do you stitch? My first craft was embroidery, taught by my grandmother. She gave me a little printed sampler in a small plastic hoop, and showed me a few stitches. I've always used the DMC floss, but sometimes I see samplers with really luscious, thick floss, and I'm wondering if people have recommendations. I saw a snippet from Teresa McFayden's blog, and am *so* imspired by her mixed media sampler. Time to dig out that hoop!