a gift

you're maybe thinking that you've seen this incredible box of magic before? i know i have, right here. i just had no idea that i was the lucky friend to receive it. the leaf pattern is made by - well, leaves, plant dyed. this is a repurposed, reused, thrifted, ecologically sane and skillfully decorated treasure box. i so adore it. thank you, mona!

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mona is a clever and innovative plant dyer and a maker of many things. you can see some of her work here, here and here.  

gift making

little ones on their way to their new owners.
the little doll with the hat is about 16 cm (6") tall, and the other one is about 33 cm (13").
i haven't made these kind of dolls in several years, and i could definitely use some practice.

more for the market

a couple of crowns, some magic wands, some more snowflake dolls, one more egg baby. i think i'm done now. the market is on sunday, i won't even get to see it because i'll be on the train for the big city by then. 10 days away from home, and i really do not want to go - my head is filled with ideas for x-mas! i have to make sure i write them down before i go. i love it when my head and body is bursting with creative energy - gotta savour it, some times there's drought.

that time of the year

when your kids are attending a waldorf school, there's one time of year that gets especially crafty - and busy! i'm talking about the x-mas fair, a long standing waldorf tradition. there's a lot of meetings, planning, and making going on. fifteen years ago, i didn't particularly like the waldorf seasonal dolls and all that goes with it; they were simply too cute. today i'm a born again waldorf toy fan, and i love making them. these days, i'm up to my neck in half finnished projects for the fair. some are getting close to finnished, though:

i've attached ribbons to some of the leaves, so that they can be hung around the neck. 

then there's the eggs we're making, i haven't been able to take any decent photos of mine so far, except the one on top her.  

the most fun part of this is finding new things to make. i'm currently working on some magic wands and seasonal dolls.

hope you're enjoying this time of year too, and don't get tied up in all the x-mas stress out there! i'm doing my best to avoid it :)

homemade herbarium

The C.M. Barker covered knitting box made me think of this herbarium I made for my daughter some years ago. This is really the easiest thing to make, but here's a little how-to. It makes a great gift for a little friend as summer is approaching.

You'll need:

• two heavy pieces of cardboard about A4 size 
• decorative paper/cut outs or the like
• glue stick
• Stanley (or other sharp) knife
• satin ribbon
• contact paper

First, cut your cardboard to two A4 sized pieces, or a different size of your choice. You will make two identical pieces; the front and the back.
Make 4 small cuts to each piece (see photo). This will be where the ribbon will go. The ribbon is used to tie the herbarium  together.
Decorate as desired. I chose to glue pretty paper to one side of the cardboard (using glue stick), just wrapping around the corners, and some heavy white paper to the other side, which hid the corner folds.
Cover both cardboards with transparent contact paper, making sure that every fold is neatly done. Cover both sides. This is to protect your herbarium from moist.
Find the four cuts you made with your fingers (easy, as the cutting will leave textured 'wounds' that you will feel through the paper), and cut through the contact paper and decorative paper as well. The reason why I do this in two steps is that it will look much better, with minimal 'cut wounds'.    

Use the tip of your knife to push the ribbon through the cuts. 'Weave' the ribbon in and out of the cuts as shown, thus connecting the two cardboard pieces. Look closely at picture no. two, and you'll see the ribbon that constitutes the back of the herbarium. It's not glued or fastened to the cardboard in any other way, as it's meant to expand with the content of the herbarium - so make sure you cut the ribbons  long enough!
Place 10 - 20 pieces of heavy paper inside (grainy paper texture is better than smooth), fold, tie the ribbon - you're done. The rest is up to the lucky recipient!

Here's a picture of the prototype I made (which of course ended up being my daughters' - 'the pretty ones' are always leaving our home as gifts, like the knitting box. She thinks it's bloody unfair. I agree.)

When you attach your pressed flowers, do not cover the whole page with contact paper (as I was taught at school when I was a child) - use only small pieces of transparent tape or contact paper and fasten here and there. Or else, the whole flower will soon turn brown. 

how to make a knitting/sewing suitcase

Remember the suitcase I made for my daughter for x-mas?
I thought I'd show how to, as I had the pleasure of making one more for my girls' best friends birthday.

I bought the ready made cardboard suitcase at a craft store and decorated it using decoupage - I used a big piece of Cicely Mary Barker gift paper. It was quite thin, so it might originally have been intended for decoupage. I hadn't done much decoupage before, and wasn't quite happy with it. All the tiny curves and corners, the glue that left white stains on the metal lock, but most of all, how the glue made the lid of the suitcase slightly bend. But all in all, the result was good.

In this box I've put two pieces of linen for embriodery (I had previously given the girl an embroidery hoop), a woollen pencil case filled with embroidery thread, and two balls of wool yarn. In the lid (an extra piece of cardboard glued on to the proper lid) I made room for scissors, measuring tape, a pair of knitting needles and a crochet needle. I also sewed up a tiny needle book.

You'll need (the pictures are pretty self explanatory, but just in case):
A cardboard suitcase
Decoupage paper or the like and glue for decoration (if you like, that is - the one I made for my daughter had very little decoration)
Gluegun (cheap, fast and super efficient)
Elastic band, about 1/2 cm wide (1/4 inch)
Stuff to go inside the box - knitting, sewing or other craft stuff
A piece of cardboard to make up the inner lid. It should be sturdy but thin - it must be able to hold the tools and the glue that fastens it to the suitcase lid (gluegun type), but you don't want it to take up too much space inside the lid.  

Start by decorating the box as you please, then move on to the real work; the inner lid. I decorated this one with a single cut out - a fairy sewing tansy buttons on to a shirt (pretty pleased with that one, I admit!)
Cut the cardboard to fit inside the suitcase lid. Easiest way to do this is to place the suitcase lid on top of the cardboard and draw around the edge, then cut off a bit to make it fit inside.
Place the tools you want attached to the lid in a manner so that they fit together, making a visual before you start cutting.
Mark with a pencil where you want the elastic bands to go. Keep in mind that you'd rather want the bands to be tight than loose, or else your scissor/measuring tape/what have you might fall out.

Cut slits for the elastic band with a Stanley knife. Cutting from the right side will make a prettier result.
Push the band through. This photo shows my 'scissor band'; where the scissor will be.
Photo below shows the back.

Do the same for the rest of the tools - here you see my 'knitting needle band'.

Photo above shows the back.

Turn the lid around, backside facing up, and glue one end to it using a glue gun. 

Place the tool in question underneath the band, tighten, and glue the other end to the back. Cut off excess band.

With the needles, I didn't glue the 'inbetween band' to the back. The band is sufficiently tight to hold the needles in place.
Remove the tools and glue the inner lid to the suitcase lid, again using the glue gun.

Put the tools back in place, fill the box with crafty goodies, take a step back and admire your work!

See the teeny tiny basket with the teeny tiny scissor and thread? :)

(Please let me know if I've invented some new words or am using the wrong ones, or anything that might make this tutorial better. Thanks!)