Outside of my comfort zone

I’m about to expose my very first blatant rip-off of my crafty career (it’s not for profit, so I don’t feel so bad). A while back KnockKnocking was featured on Etsy and I fell in love with her wreaths. Shortly after reading her interview, I picked up some supplies at a thrift store to make my very own yarn wreath. I bought the only wreath that the thrift store had- a straw one- which coincidentally is the kind she uses- and two fake, kitschy birds.

And then the bag containing those things stayed exactly where I put them for months.

Until this weekend, that is, when I finally found some yarn that I liked. First, I rolled the two colours of yarn into balls to make the processes of wrapping the wreath much easier (less knots), and then started going around and around and around the straw, trying to avoid having any straw showing.

After a couple of hours of wrapping, my wreath looked like this:

I had to find/make some bits to have the whole thing look a bit more interesting, so that’s what I’ve been working on last night and today. I made some felt rosettes, seen below, and have added some cute buttons and will be exploring other options. I’m not sure if the birds will make it on there or not. I’ve already made and discarded two other kinds of flowers that I made from tutorials online, including this one. Keep tuned for the pictures of what it looks like when it’s all said and done.

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I can say, however, that I happily made this bird’s nest without ripping off anyone else’s idea. It’s for the window of the store where I work. All of the employees are crafty, so we’re trying to give the store a bit more personality, specifically the windows, in the hopes that it’ll draw a lot of attention. I love this bird’s nest and may want to take it home with me.

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays, my very few – and mostly spammer- blog readers.

I made these orange slice ornaments the other day, and they’re just gorgeous. They look like stained glass when in front of a light. I followed these directions, just in case you’re wondering. Mine only took an hour to dry, and they’re still a bit too toasty.

December has been an absolute flurry of activity, cowl sales have far exceeded my expectations, and I’m extremely thankful. You’ve made my family’s holidays much happier and comfortable. Also, as per the entry below, I bought myself an early 30th birthday present.

I should really be slowing down now with the fabric buying, but on my days off from my regular day job I go shopping. And I always find some gems. It took me THREE HOURS on Sunday morning to organize my fabrics, since I work on the floor at all times, and it tends to spread from one end of my house to the other, and here’s about HALF of what I have in stock:

And would you believe that I actually still sit on this chair and sew, perched on the edge? I hope to make all of these cut pieces of fabric into actual cowls over the holidays. Starting tomorrow at 2pm until January 2 at 10am I am on vacation! Horah! I have the best employer I could ask for (outside of myself, of course)!

Happy Holidays, all!

Anointment Photos

Lately I’ve been filling down time with product photos for my boss’s other company, Anointment. On some screens, this is far to whited out… on others, they’re perfect. I don’t know what the secret is. They’re pretty nice, if I do say so myself.