HAPPY HOLIDAYS

The happiest of greetings to you today! I hope you are enjoying your holidays and cherishing these special moments with your dear ones.  My heartfelt thanks to you for visiting this crafty blog over the last year, for supporting my new little shop, and for leaving your kind thoughts. It warms the cockles of my heart to know that what I do here is appreciated.

I will be giving this little blog a break and spending some holiday time with my sweeties over the next few weeks. The craftiness will resume in 2012. Stay safe and warm hugs to you!

♥M

Amy's Kusudama

My sweet (and ultra-energetic) friend Amy, from During Quiet Time, motivated this vibrant little kusudama. After she made this beauty here, she felt my life would be incomplete without an origami project of my own, so she challenged me to make one as well, out of junkmail no less! Thanks for that Amy.

Several hours and many many many pieces of candy coloured junkmail later, I had this:

So, to be exact, that's seventy-two squares of paper, cut, folded over and over, glued once, twice, and thrice to make twelve six-petalled flowers, which in turn, are cobbled together into the resulting kusudama. 

Phewf!!!... Can't believe I finished the thing. If you're looking for an exercise to strengthen your will and build up your fortitude, this will do it Grasshopper. 

Thanks for the challenge Amy (and yes, it was definitely a challenge)! This post is your Christmas gift. Merry Christmas from me to you!

♥M

Every Mother's Dream

That their children eat their greens.

Make these chips once. Serve. Watch as the chips vanish. Then, wait...

One day, out of the blue, your child might just surprise you with the following question: "Could I have spinach for a snack?"

It happened to me. It could happen to you too.

Get the recipe HERE. Thank you Food Faffer. I can't think of a better Christmas gift for a parent!

You have a lovely day now. I'll be back soon. ♥M

Junkmail Snowflakes - Possibility #3 (Finale)

Welcome to the final junkmail snowflake post of the 2011. Let us cheer. Rah rah rah!

Okay. Alright. You already know how to make the basic snowflakes, right? I went over that back HERE. So what are these little guys, you may well wonder? Well, they are gift toppers. Use them on a gift in lieu of a bow or ribbon. How did I make them? It is a veritable breeze.

Let us do it.

Tutorial ❈ Junkmail Snowflake Gift Toppers

For this project, you will need: colourful junkmail, a foam meat tray, pair of scissors, hole punch, glue.

Step 1: Start by making two small junkmail snowflakes of similar sizes. My snowflakes measure about 3 inches (7.5 cm) in diameter. Use junkmail in contrasting colours for each snowflake. Note: DO NOT cut away the snowflake apices (the centers of the snowflakes). Press one of the snowflakes with a dry iron. Leave the other snowflake unpressed.

Step 2: Go to your recycling bin and retrieve a foam tray. You know, the kind usually reserved for meat. From the foam, cut out a small doughnut shape. Mine measures about 1/2 inch (~12mm) in diameter. Use your hole punch to punch out the doughnut hole. Save the middle piece of confetti. Now, using your hole punch, widen the hole in the doughnut all the way around. The hole needs to be slightly bigger than the piece of confetti.

Step 3: Glue the doughnut shape to the very center of the pressed snowflake. Glue the confetti piece to the very center of the unpressed snowflake.

Step 4: Apply some glue to the center back of the unpressed snowflake. The glue should cover an area the same size as the doughnut on the other snowflake.

Step 5: Now, place the unpressed snowflake on top of the pressed snowflake so that the confetti is aligned with the doughnut hole. Very gently, press down on the confetti so that it sinks into the doughnut hole slightly. This will cause the snowflake edges to lift up lightheartedly.

Step 6: And there you have it: one completed gift topper. Stick it on a gift and you're golden!

I might have made one or two more...

They're really quite sculptural and interesting, eh?



Goodbye my snowflakes. See you again next year!

Okay, I'm off to clean... um... everything. You have a lovely weekend. ♥M


Previously in this series:
Junkmail Snowflakes: The How-To
Junkmail Snowflakes Possibility #1: Wall Blizzard
Junkmail Snowflakes Possibility #2: Lanterns

Walk This Way

I try to get out several times a week for a long walk. Walking is the best medicine, isn't it? A couple years ago I heard of a study that showed that women could significantly improve their longevity through walking. Now I could 'a told you that. I see the proof everyday. Women as old as the hills and rickety as rockers out there walking everywhere. One day, I aim to be one of them.



It's the air and sunlight that does it for them, I'm pretty sure. Me? I like to feel the fresh air. There's nothing like it. It's just so... fresh. Besides, walking is a physical-type exercise. Or it can be, if you push hard enough. In general, I go hard on my walks. I don't usually do the leisurely stroll. I'm on a mission: heavy breathing. When you're breathing heavily, your heart gets involved. I like that. I like to feel my heart and know, without question, that I have one.





Looking up at the stuff around me is another aspect of walking that I can't get enough of. I like looking up at things. Like telephone wires for instance. Or clouds. Or chain link fences. Or trees. I just need the change of scene sometimes. If I have a soul, then getting out of doors is probably good for it, wouldn't you say?

Sometimes my walk will present me with a gift of sorts. The other day for example, I came across a murder of crows. There must have been sixty or seventy of the large black birdies nestled in a grove of naked trees all sitting and squawking together. They made a beautiful silhouette against the sky. But at the same time, their calls gave me some serious willies. Were they squawking about me? I don't know. And I didn't stay to find out neither.





I do this thing during my walks that involves walking as tall and as straight as is humanly possible. I literally feel six feet tall when I do it. I'm only 5 feet 4 inches tall so that's an 8 inch improvement, right? True, the feeling subsides when I come home again but whatever. It's great to be that tall even for a little while.

Sometimes I'll spend my whole walk crying like a blubbering fool. Sometimes the tears are happy and sometimes they're not. Every now and again, a girl just needs to let go, you know? And my walk is the perfect place for me to let it all hang out.





During a walk I will often stare up into the blue. I'll fix my gaze on one spot for a while which feels strangely wondrous. I like to beam my most random and personal thoughts up into the heavens. Where they go, nobody knows. But that's the beauty of it; it's absolutely safe and comforting. Kind of like a prayer.


♥M

The above photos were taken during a walk through my neighbourhood on Tuesday, the 13th of December, 2011.

Junkmail Snowflakes - Possibility #2

Hiya.

It's Tuesday.

You knew that?

Oh.

Did you also know about my little junkmail-snowflake-making rampage? Well... I regret to inform you that it goes on. I know... Call me obsessed. I can take it.

Here's my junkmail snowflake experiment du jour. Jars. I stuck the snowflakes to jars. See?

Junkmail Snowflake Lanterns

All I did was cut out teeny snowflakes using THIS method. And then I took some watered-down Mod Podge (roughly 1:1 water to Mod Podge) and brushed the Podge onto the back of each snowflake (or half-snowflake). Then I stuck the snowy flakes onto jars, and bam: junkmail snowflake lanterns.

I suggest brushing the snowflakes with Mod Podge while holding them in hand. Otherwise they will become forever stuck to whatever surface you have them on. They'll stick to your hands too, but if you use the Podge judiciously and brush it on with a tiny paint brush, you'll avoid the flakes becoming permanently affixed to you.

Here's one with a candle glowing inside. Aaaah, the warmth... Makes me want to bellow to the heavens... Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your... What? No bellowing, you say? 

Oh. Okay. Perhaps I could serenade you on Thursday then? Wouldn't that be great? Don't let me forget, okay?

Well you have a lovely day now. Bye bye until Thursday. ♥M


Junkmail Snowflake Possibility #1 is back HERE, btw.

Junkmail Snowflakes - Possibility #1

I showed you how to make them HERE. So now what? Well, here we go...

Junkmail Snowflakes - Possibility #1: The Wall Blizzard

Pros of the junkmail wall blizzard:

• Free. 
• Nice activity that permits one to watch a lovely movie, sing sweet Christmas carols, or do leg exercises whilst accomplishing.
• Warm.
• Reminds one of old-time cozy flannel pajamas.
• Still safe to go outside. 
• There's nothing to shovel.
• Stunningly pretty.
• And of course...

 RAINBOW-y.

Cons of the junkmail wall blizzard:

• Time and perseverance are required to fold, cut, press, and tape up a whole beautiful blizzard. 
• Forced to pick one favourite snowflake by family. 
• Sudden urges to hug the walls.
• Once up, likely to stay up there for good.
• And, oddly, quite...

MESMERIZING.

 

Prepare to be distracted.


Have yourself a fantastic weekend. I'll be back on Tuesday.  ♥M

Haul Out The Holly: Petite Purse Ornament

Today I'm Haul-ing Out The Holly with Gwenny Penny! Have you heard of this special event? Well, let me tell you. From November 28th to December 16th, 2011, Gwen is busy "featuring fifteen original holiday-themed tutorials from fifteen talented craft bloggers". Wow. That ought to keep you hopping for the "holly"days, eh?

So if you've come over from Gwenny Penny, welcome to Michele Made Me!

As you may or may not know, I have two older girls...well... women would be a more accurate descriptor probably... they are 19 and 24 years of age after all... Each year by request, we give them the gift of moollah. And each year we do the same old thing: we put the money in cards and place the cards in the tree blah blah blah. This year I wanted to do something a little more memorable, a little more special, you know? Hence, the petite purse ornament. Each monogrammed purse is just big enough to stuff with a bundle of crisp bills. I am actually excited to hang these pretties in our tree for the girls. I also plan on using them every year from here on out too. So I made them to last. Won't that be a sweet new tradition?

Shall I show you how I made them? Walk this way...

Tutorial ❆ Petite Purse Ornament

Since this project is so small, you may have everything on hand to get started straightaway. You never know... Let's see. One petite purse requires:

Fabric scraps [one solid (I used old pants), and two prints]

Embroidery floss

Pretty cord or ribbon for hanger and loop closure

Button

Pair of scissors

Transfer paper

Needle and thread

Sewing machine

Straight pins

Paper

Pencil

Circle template (I used a small drinking glass)

Step 1. Start by tracing out two paper templates. The larger template measures 3 inches (8 cm) x 5-1/2 inches (14 cm) and the smaller measures 3 inches (8 cm) x 4-1/2 inches (11.5 cm). Use a small drinking glass to round out the corners of both templates. Cut the templates out.

Step 2. Cut out your fabric. For my solid fabric, I used a pair of old cotton pants. Cut 2 of the large template from the solid fabric. Cut 1 of the small template from a colourful printed scrap; it will serve as the pocket. Finally cut a ~ 30 inch (75 cm) x 1-1/2 inch (4 cm) length of another pretty print for the binding.

Step 3. Take the small colourful piece you cut out and fold it in half, wrong sides together. Press it. Pin it in place onto the good side of one of the larger solid pieces. Match the bottom edges as below.

Machine-sew that piece in place along the perimeter only using a 1/8 inch (3 mm) seam allowance.

Step 4. Next, if your fabric has some pretty detailing (mine had a bird on it) you might want to draw something similar for your embroidery detail. That's what I did. I drew a close likeness of the bird on a piece of paper and then transferred it near the bottom of the other solid piece using transfer paper. Make sure it is centered and not too close to the edges. Then I embroidered the bird using a simple backstitch. After turning the piece around, I then transferred the initial "N" (in American Typewriter Font) onto the opposite end of the same piece. I backstitched the "N" as well. 

Notice the "N" is upside-down in the following photo. That is as it should be.

Here's a closeup of that bird on my colourful print fabric.

Step 5. Now pin the two solid pieces wrong-sides together. Mark a line 1 inch (2.5 cm) up from the pocket. Stitch along that line. Sew a second line of stitching 1/8 inch (3 mm) up from the first line.


Step 6. Next it's time to attach the loop closure. I used a 4 inch (10 cm) length of gold cord to serve as my loop, but you could also use a piece of ribbon or make a matching fabric loop. I folded the gold cord in half to create my loop. Pin the loop along the top edge of your main piece, just above the monogram. The loop should be facing in, as shown, and lying about 1 inch (2.5 cm) into your fabric. Machine-stitch the loop onto the piece with a 1/8 inch (3 mm) seam allowance.

Step 7. Now for the binding. Fold your binding in half lengthwise and press. Starting in the middle of a long edge of the main piece, and leaving a few inches of slack, pin the binding in place. Be sure the binding hugs the edges as closely as possible. You'll notice the binding will bunch a bit in the corners. That's okay, as long as the binding is flat near the edges.

Don't forget the hanger. Pin it in place under the binding and perpendicular to the bottom edge near the two lines of stitching as shown below.


Step 8. Slowly, machine-stitch a 1/4 inch (6 mm) seam most of the way around except for the two inches (5 cm) in the center where the ends of the binding will meet. Machine-stitch the binding ends together, ensuring that there will be no slack in the binding once this is done. Trim the excess binding.

Once again, don't forget the hanger. Pin it in place under the binding and perpendicular to the top center edge near those two lines of stitching. Finish sewing the seam.


Step 9. Trim the edges of the piece all the way around. I removed about 1/8 inch (3 mm) of fabric from the edges.


Step 10. Turn the ornament over. Flip the binding to this side as well. With needle and thread, baste a running stitch all the way around the very edge of the binding. Pull the ends of the thread to tighten the binding snuggly around the edges.

Step 11. Carefully handstitch the binding in place.


Step 12. Attach a lovely button to the bottom center of the colourful pocket, hiding your knots within the pocket.

Step 13. On Christmas Eve, secretly place some money in the pocket and button it up. On tip toe, hang it up in the Christmas tree and let your child discover their windfall in the morning! Ho ho ho...

Your work here is done!

Now, as a bonus, if you recall Monday's post, I'd shown you some grooming kits I'd made as gifts? Eh? Well, if you omit the hangers from these little purses and scale up the templates a little, you can create Monday's grooming kits from this same pattern. Handy, oui?

Okay. That is that, I think. Let me just thank Gwen for inviting me to share in her joyous event. Big hugs to you Gwen! And let me remind you to visit Gwenny Penny to have a gander at all the Haul Out The Holly goodness from this season and last.

You have a lovely day now. I'll be back here on Saturday.  ♥M

Handmade Gift - Embroidered Grooming Kit

This year, when it comes to gifts made by me, small is the operative word. Because, to be honest, small = whips up in a flash, if you catch my drift. 

The handy grooming kit above (like for nail clippers, cuticle scissors and such) is a small, useful and sweet item that can be made quickly and customized for pretty much anyone. The simple pattern has been in my head for a while and finally popped out the other day just in time for Christmas. I made these for some special people (who don't read this blog as far as I can make out...) and they came together swiftly and painlessly.

Aside from speediness, a secondary bonus of making these is that I had everything on hand right here. The solid grey fabric is from an old pair of cotton pants, the lovely prints are from my bottomless scrap bin, and the buttons I rediscovered in my button stash.  I haven't quite stuffed them with all the groomy goodies yet, but once I do, I think they'll make handsome gifts. 

I'll be sharing the tutorial for a slight variation of these on Wednesday when I do my part in Gwenny Penny's "Haul Out The Holly" so you'll be able to make them too if you ever get a hankering!

Have a great day. I'll be back on Wednesday then. ♥M

A Page Has Turned

Sometimes, I feel like doing very little.

I don't want to play. Or clean. Or learn. Or exercise. Or make anything. Sometimes I just want to veg. This can be tricky when you're blessed with a busy boy. He's a motivator our Boy. He's got plans. The Boy's got dreams I tell you. And he needs us to dream along with him.

If truth be told, The Boy isn't exactly the most independent child there ever was. In general, he doesn't do stuff by himself. When he plans to do something, it usually involves E-VER-Y-BODY:

"And now it's time for ... X!" he proclaims.  Or  "Come on everybody, let's do Y!"

Why indeed. 

When he plays, someone has to play with him. Right now, soccer is the flavour of the month. So after dinner for several weeks now, amongst the din of me doing the dinner dishes and the CBC Radio nightly news, Lo works up a heart-shaped sweat playing living-room soccer with him.  

[Yes, Lo's sweat is heart-shaped. Just accept it. I wouldn't nor couldn't make stuff like that up. And yes again, we allow soccer in the living room. That is also true.]

At any rate, The Boy just loves this sort of one-on-one playtime. He could play for hours and probably days if we let him.  But heavens to Murgatroid, sometimes a parent needs a break. We've had some luck making this happen by setting him up with a quiet activity, like a nice craft or a book of mazes. But that usually lasts... oh... 7 minutes? No, if we get any real downtime it's because The Boy is sleeping. 

But, over the last few days, a page has turned. Without prompting, The Boy is picking up books, sitting by himself, and reading on his own. It's stunning. When it happens, Lo and I stand behind walls spying on him miming to each other excitedly, doing silent happy dances, snapping photos, and beaming proudly. Perhaps we should be using our time more wisely and getting some naps in or something, but we're not there yet. We're still in shock. At one point, he actually sat there for 45 blissful minutes of uninterrupted reading. 

Every night since his birth pretty much, reading has been part of his bedtime routine. He does not go to bed without a story. This was deliberate. We wanted to fill his mind with possibility. To show him the world, and give him the gift of reading. But he's 7 and a half and I was beginning to give up hope that he'd ever pick up a book all on his own. That worry is gone.

Last Sunday, we sat together reading our respective tomes on the couch. Lo caught the moment on camera. It was like heaven must be, I'm almost certain. And a couple of nights later when I was putting him to bed, he even suggested that we read quietly side by side, he with his book, I with mine. I had to make sure I heard him right.

I've dreamed of these quiet moments for years. Now they're here and I can hardly believe it. It feels like we're at the start of a whole new chapter in The Boy's story. And while I'm excited to read what happens next, I almost wish we could pause on this page for awhile and just savour it, you know?

♥M