the week in review: february 1-7

simply a really good week. rain, sun, crafting, cooking, baking, visiting and even a trip out which we a-go-gos don't do that often we're such homebodies. here's to this week! i do love my birthday month and not just because it's my birthday month...february in california is quite nifty, with its sun and rain and warm and cool days. there are blue skies mixed with grey and valentine's day and of course my birthday (actually, it is a BIG birthday month for me, almost every other day is someone's birthday). happy february!

ten garlands in ten days: four {the netflix edition}

i do not hide the fact that i come from a zillion generations of packrats. this being so, it should not be a surprise that i do not always throw away things that probably should be thrown away...or at the very least, recycled. which brings me to today's garland...

that's right folks. i used my netflix papers. it's great how you send back the very envie that is sent to you but you still have a small sheet of red paper to contend with. and since i had a nice neat stack of the darn things i decided i should DO something with them. so here is what you need plus a couple of drinking straws.

prep your hanger buy joining two straws together. you just pinch the end of one and slide it into the other.then, use a small pair of scissors to nick the top part of your straws at semi-equal intervals.

cut a length of string or baker's twine and loop one end through the little slits you just made. no knotting or glue is necessary for this part.

punch out your shapes with your decorative punches or go ahead and rock your freestyle heart cuttin' skills. arrange your backs along your hanging strings and slather with glue stick.

add the top layer so that the string/twine is now sandwiched between two shapes. continue until you run out of room or shapes.

hang and admire...or maybe go brew some tea and watch that flick you just got!

yesterday: feb 6

*there was rain.

*a lot of it.

*we walked to the library and picked up holds, a couple of flicks and tested the wifi on the laptop.

*i made another garland while mister worked on blog posts.
*there was falafel for lunch, charlie chaplin to watch and a witch-baby on someone's lap at a moment's notice. it was cold.

*taxes were started. cookies were baked. soup was made.
*fun mail arrived.

*there were bits and fits of making and creating. there were discussions (and arguments) and hot tea. lots of hot tea. and cocoa. voices from far away were heard and plans were made for indian brunch that i almost completely forgot about. good stuff. the kind of day that can make your heart feel peaceful (even the part where you cry during the really good movie).

ten garlands in ten days: three

here are your suspects.



all you need to do for this one is use your hole punch to punch out the letters you want to spell.

tape off the end of your yarn so that it is easier to thread through your holes. this is a great lacing project for kidlets as well!


starting at one end of your "letter", lace your yarn through the holes doubling back once you reach the end so that you have a "stitched" appearance.

tie of your ends in the back.
punch two holes at the top and weave a length of contrasting ribbon through the whole shebang.

hang and admire. that's it! a nifty garland in about ten minutes!

**for kidlets, have them punch holes all over the index cards and let them weave what they will. you can hand them a length of yarn about 18" to start and tape the end of it to the back of the card so they know when there is no more yarn to lace. let them begin by freeform lacing. once they get the hang of it, ask if they can make pictures, patterns or letters. using regular sized index cards keeps the project small and simple. you can even toss a mini lacing kit into your bag so they have something to do when you are out and about. instant craftiness!

ten garlands in ten days: two {plus giveaway}

for this garland i used a little of this and a little of that. it's pretty easy when you keep the supplies to a minimum. here's what i used:

*two types of vitnage lace
*1 color fun ribbon
*a wad of pattern tissue paper
*glue stick
*white glue
*scissors
*baking twine

first thing i did was snip, snip, snip away at a length of lace. i used the pattern tissue underneath just for kicks.

next up, add another layer of lace.

then some ribbon snips.

dab it all together with a little glue and anchor your pieces to the pattern tissue.

once dry, cut out your flags and admire.


flip them over right side down and lay your length of twine atop. draw on top of the twine with a glue stick, fold over edge of tissue and repeat till all yer happy little flappy-flags are anchored. leave a tail at the ends or loop your ends so they will have a way of hanging in a happy place. no measuring needed, just make it up as you go and have fun!

**this happy little banner is up for grabs. if you would like it for your own, leave a comment here and one lucky duck can expect a visitor from the garland fairy. happy friday!

new craft post: valentine {tea}

this is a wee project i used to do for friends and nervousness folk back in the day. such a treat to bring it out again in time for Valentine's Day! catch the details here at craftzine.com.