​Two years ago I started a tradition of taking a New Year's Eve hike.  It's a fun way for us to get out, move around, shed some holiday calories, get an interesting family photo, and tell the past year it can take a hike.  Even with all the good things that have happened, I like to at least pretend that I have a fresh start, wipe the slate clean, and leave memories as just that.  This year's New Year's Eve was rained out, so we didn't get to it until New Year's Day.  And, since we were visiting family in Southern California, I chose a hike in the area we were staying: Temescal Canyon.  My husband stayed behind because of foot pain, but Goen and I had a mostly fun time exploring the trail and seeing all the new growth after the rain.  Goen spent lots of time collecting sticks, jumping off things, and throwing rocks.  Of course, because of that, it took us about two hours to go 3/4 of a mile and back, so not the most prolific hike ever, but more successful than last year's slip-and-fall-in-the-mud fiasco.  Even so, I can't wait until next year's hike!

You can take a look at our 2015 hike here and 2014 hike here.

The 75th Marin County Fair took place last weekend.  I entered five different projects into four different categories, and every single entry won some sort of award.  Both my ram and ewe (pattern by Abby Glassenberg, surface embroidery based on a process I created) were submitted in the Handmade Animals category.  The ram won first place and Best in Show!  The ewe won second place, which means I took the top two spots in the category.  My Little Red Riding Hood doll was submitted in the Soft Sculpture and Cloth Dolls category.  She won first place and a special award from the Marin Needle Arts Guild.  My Goen's First Year book was submitted in the Embroidered Clothing and Textiles category.  It took second place and also won the Marin Golden Threads Award.  My final entry was my Upcycled Food Pouch, which was submitted in the Trash to Treasure category.  This entry received an honorable mention.

This was the first time I ever submitted anything to a fair, and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out.  Have you ever entered, or thought about entering, some handmade items to a fair?  I'm already looking forward to next time.

I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!  It was definitely one of my favorites so far this year.  Warm weather and cold river water are the perfect combination.

Party day was yesterday!  I feel terrible, though, because I didn't take very many pictures, and almost none of the decorations I worked so hard to make.  I hung the yarn-embroidered party signs, the stitched mini paper banner, and some crocheted garland (just like what I have for sale in my Etsy shop).  In fact, the only pictures I took that are worth posting are of Gown wearing his crown...
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...Goen trying to blow out his candle...
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...Goen trying a second time to blow out his candle (before his papa gave him some help)...
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...Goen playing with the trucks his best buddy gave him...

...and the adults playing with one of Goen's other gifts after all the kids finished the art activity.
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So, that's it.  No pictures of the embroidered signs, no pictures of the paper banner, no pictures of the crocheted garland, and not many pictures of the guests.  I'll chalk it up to being a good hostess and having fun at my kid's party.  Maybe next year I'll glue the camera to my hand and be sure to get more pictures.  Sigh.

Goen's third birthday is officially today, though we won't have a party until next Sunday.  Even so, I figured it would be fun to have his crown ready in case we decide to have some cake and blow out candles today, too.  For his first birthday I made a felt crown using a pattern I designed (which you can purchase through my Etsy shop).  In the center of the crown is a tree on which I plan to stitch a leaf for every one of his birthdays.  You can see pictures from his first year here and his second year here.  Each leaf is added with a simple backstitch to outline and stabilize the felt and to add texture.  I'm currently drawing up these designs and more to include with the pattern I have for sale, including a fully-photographed tutorial.  That means I'll be making another crown, which might make it into my shop.  I'll let you know when that happens.  Sign up for my newsletter near the top right if you'd like first access to the updated pattern, as well as a coupon code.

I've still got lots to do before party day next week.  I'll have at least one more party-themed tutorial to share, so stay tuned for that.  And I'll definitely have pictures of his party and all the decorations in action.  I can't wait!

My little guy's birthday is creeping ever closer, and there is still so much left to do.  I gotta figure out what cake to bake, some favors to give to the guests, and a gift to sew for him.  For that last one I was thinking about "big boy" underwear using some really soft knit fabric I've got in my closet.  Any pattern suggestions?  Tips?  I don't sew with knit very often, so I'm a bit worried about how it will go.  I'll just have to decide on a backup in case it goes badly.

My tutorial is all about creating signage to direct guests to the celebration.  We're just doing the party at our local park, but some guests have never been there before and I want to make sure they find the right spot.  The supplies are pretty simple and the options for design are limitless and open to your imagination.  I went with a simple, two-word phrase and three arrows that can point any direction I want.  Here's what you'll need.


Materials:

 - Cardboard (I used cereal and cracker boxes)
 - Craft paint (acrylic, washable kid paint, etc)
 - Large paint brush
 - Pencil
 - Awl (or other strong pointed tool for poking holes)
 - Tapestry needle
 - Yarn
 - Scissors
 - Tape (optional)


Directions:

Gather all your supplies first.  Cut pieces of cardboard to the size you want.  It's best to cut out the creased sections and only use smooth, flat pieces.

Paint a base layer on your cardboard.  Mine warped from the wet paint, but it dried pretty flat so don't worry too much if it happens to yours too.  After the first layer dries, add any additional layers until you get the effect you want.

Use a pencil to sketch your chosen design on the painted side of cardboard.  Avoid touching the pencil lines because they can smudge onto your hands and across the painted surface.  Do this for all your pieces.

Use you awl to poke evenly-spaced holes along the pencil lines.  The distance between holes depends on the size of your letters or shapes.  Mine are 1/4" to 1/2" apart.  You may want to space holes closer along curved sections to get a smoother line.  Make the holes big enough to fit the eye of the needle through without hurting your fingers (trust me on this).  Also, try to poke holes along parallel lines at about the same level to achieve a more symmetrical look.

Once all the holes are poked you're ready to embroider

Thread a length of yarn onto your tapestry needle.

Push the needle up from the back to the front of the cardboard and pull the yarn through, leaving a 3" tail.  You can either knot the tail or tape it down to keep it in place.

To create fill lines, cross the yarn to the other side of the shape or letter and put the needle down through the appropriate hole.

Bring the needle back up through the next hole where you want a stitch to begin on the front.  Continue until all your fill stitches are complete.

As you can see, you may not use all the holes you made for your fill stitches.  Don't worry about that, though, because they can be covered up with a border stitch.  For the border stitch, you can use every hole or skip several.  Either way, try to keep the distance of each stitch under about 2" to help the yarn lay flush with the surface.

Continue the border stitch all around the shape alternating straight stitches and back stitches. 

For large letters with only an outline, the easiest thing to do is to go around once with a running stitch and then around a second time with a running stitch to fill in the gaps.  To end a length of yarn and begin another, take the yarn to the back side and tape or knot it.  Begin a new length in the same way as before.

Once all your embroidering is done, your signs are ready to lead your guests to the right place.  You can display them on steps, pin them to a wall, or use another length of yarn to hang them on a fence post.  No matter which way you show them off, your guests will be able to find the way.  Unless, of course, a wily toddler decides to flip the arrows around...

Here's the first post in my birthday prep series.  Only 27 more days until Goen turns three (I bought myself a few days by waiting for the weekend to have the party) and still so much left to do.  Today I'm sharing a tutorial for a stitched mini paper banner.  It's a great project that you can make as simple or as fancy as you want.  For mine, I had Goen help me paint the paper before I punched my shapes, and he even pressed the foot pedal on my sewing machine while I ran the paper through.  If your kid likes to help make things, this is a fun way to do it.


Materials:
 - Paper (cardstock or similar weight)
 - Paper punch (I used a Fiskars tag punch)
 - Paper scissors
 - Sewing machine
 - Sewing thread
 - Well-used sewing machine needle


Instructions:

The first thing you will need for this project is a piece of paper.  You can use plain paper or stamp and paint it first (a great kid project!).  Use your paper punch to create shapes for your banner by punching along one side of your sheet of paper. 

*Alternatively, you could cut shapes with scissors using printed templates or freehand.

Once you've punched the first row, use your scissors to cut off the scrappy bits so you have another straight edge to work with.  Continue punching and cutting until you have the number of pieces you want.

If you are making more than one banner at a time, sort and stack the paper pieces into piles.

If you have a well-used sewing machine needle lying around, now is the time to use it.  Paper will dull your needle, so don't waste a good one on it.  Thread your machine with a coordinating or contrasting thread.  Set your stitch length to three or thereabouts.  Pull several inches of your top and bobbin thread to create a tail.

Begin sewing the first paper piece across the top edge.  Add a second piece, leaving a quarter to half an inch space between them.  Continue sewing until you have used all your shapes.

Before cutting the thread, pull another tail for the end.

Use the tails to tape or tie your banner for display.

There are lots of ways to personalize this project.  In addition to the banners above, I created a special birthday banner for my little guy.  I used paper with a colorful painted background, then used sharpies to write "Happy Birthday" on it.  You could get really fancy and use scrapbooking supplies to decorate the banner.  Letter stickers, flat wood shapes, or sequins are great ways to give it your own spin.

I often go through spurts where I take lots and lots of pictures of my little guy.  More so when his birthday is approaching.  There is something about an impending birthday that makes me want to hold on to a little piece of his past, the way he looks and acts in these moments, and to preserve the memories for later, both for myself and for him.  I wouldn't call myself a sentimental person exactly, but I seem to make an exception for pictures.  Anyway, in addition to planning for a future of sorting and cataloguing pictures of my boy, I am planning for a month of projects in preparation for his birthday.  Since his birthday is on the 28th, I have almost an entire month left to get ready.  Here is a short list of the things I've got planned:

 - Embroidered paper flags
 - Stitched mini paper banners
​ - Some party favors, which I have yet to decide on
 - A cake that he helps make and, perhaps, frost
 - And more

See a pattern?  Well, some of it involves sewing in one way or another, and some of it involves the birthday boy himself.  I'll share some pictures and brief tutorials with you as we make them, so definitely look forward to that (with some of my own projects in between).  When I'm not trying to sew and prep for the party, I'll probably be, um, taking more pictures.