diy: lickity split advent

I know, I know you're probably thinking Jessica, you are totally pushing it, December is...afterall...tomorrow but I meant to get this finished sooner and well...I am an ace procrastinator if I do say so myself so this was just finished, as in an hour ago and the light was slip-slipping away and the rain has been coming down for a few days and I was cursing at the yarn that kept falling and the tack that refused to anchor the whole shebang and then I couldn't find the bag of wrapped sweets to add to a few of the pockets so those pockets are empty (shhh, don't tell anyone that part) and there are still massive piles of stuffity spilling and all topsy-turvy around the tiny casa but I did it. I finished it and the photos are servicable and now I am typing this all while enjoying a happy jar of eggnog that I can actually taste (yay sniffer!) and so I do hope you enjoy it...the calendar that is, eggng is not so easy to share over the internet.

coffee filter advent calendar

*25 cone coffee filters

*white paper

*colored scrap paper

*glue stick

*scallop punch

*markers

*yarn

*wooden spoon

*tiny trinkets and sweets

Type in advent calendar into any search engne and you will certainly see dozens and dozens of brillianttly pretty ideas. From envelopes to matchboxes to tiny wrappd packages there is no shortage of ways to display a happy bit of advent for the holiday season. This calendar came about when  I wanted to create one using items I had on hand. The coffee filters are perfectly shaped for a unique spin and the natural unbleached color is pleasing to the eye. The yarn, a small ball of varigated yarn that I had picked up at the Goodwill outlet for a dime was already out on the table and well, I seem to have more wooden spoons that any households need.  

Gather up your supplies and punch out 25 scallops using a decorative punch. You can use stickers or write up the numbers using a marker or two. 

 Glue your numbered circles to strips of colored paper for a pop of color and glue those happy bits to your coffee filter. Punch holes through the top of each filter and fill with tiny treasures and trinkets.

Cut out thirteen lengths of yarn in a variety of lengths and knot all but one, twice; once at the end and again about six inches or so above it (if your yarn is skinny, you might need to double or triple knot each knotty knot).  Knot the remaining bit of yarn once at the end and thread filter number 25 onto it. Double up the other 24 filters until all the yarn is cozy cozy with the filters. 

Wrap your wooden spoon with yarn or give it a hapy coat of paint. I used the tried and true friendship knot on my spoon. It seems there is very little I will not wrap with yarn. Give your wooden spoon a hanger of yarn by looping a bit over each end and hanging it on your door or wall.

 Tie all the happy trinket filled filters to your spoon so that you have a happy party going on and get to counting down! 

Tis the season! 

a little filler

 ...while I scramble to get my act together and get some crafting accomplished! Here are some goodies I picked up on our summer road trip. The awesome quilt and pom-pom trimmed bedspread were gifts from Tara, the brown gingham mugs are from my sister and the rest was thrifted in either Arizona or Oklahoma...wheeeeee! 

never was the sky so blue

Seriously...so blue. I don't think there is a single crayon in the box that could match the sky that stretched over us as we moseyed our way past moss, concrete and a wandering bear or two...

time for tiny trees {a slight misadventure}

I am a big fan of making stone towers. Anytime we're out in the great wide world and I find myself around a rock-opolis I tend to tower them up. A few weekes ago I thought how cool would it be to make a tiny stone tower tree? 

And so I did...

With much failure...

Turns out there are a bunch of things one should do to make smooth stones ready for sticky-glue, otherwise it simply pops right off!  So before you do this, make sure to wash your stones in warm soapy water. Next, place stones in a warm oven while you wait for your hot melt glue to heat up unless the air in your home is super warm already, the cool surface of the stones kept my glue from sticking until I heated them up. A good sanding to rough up the surface will help as well. Mister thinks a silicone glue might be better but all we had was hot melt so that is what I used.

I wonder how the stones would look if given a dye bath? Perhaps an ombre effect? I might try that! Have fun! 

deconstruct a doily

I picked up a pack of gold paper doilies to use as props for sweet november. Of course, in the middle of setting up a photo I ended up deconstructing one of the doilies into a pile of pretty. I then took the pretty to the sewing machine and whipped up this happy garland. 

All you need is one large paper doily, a pair of scissors and a sewing machine. YOu can also weave a length of embroidery floss or yarn through the doily pieces instead. 

 Tis the season! 

make a last minute trivet

Okay, this project was much prettier in the noggin but I am certain that if I had had more time the prettiness would have matched what was inside my tired brain. 

This easy trivet diy can be whipped up with a sewing machine in less than thrity minutes. Ten if yer quick and fearless. All you need is two scraps of denim and one or two equal-sized scraps of wool. My wool came from two thrifted sweaters.

Create a pattern by tracing around a small plate on a piece of scrap paper. Cut out your pattern and pin to four layers of fabric scraps. Bring to your sewing machine and stitch al lthe way around with a straight-stitch.

Trim your new circle with scissors and pop it all back into the mahcine and quilt it up however you like. Travel-around the entire edge of the trivet with your machine, using a zi-zag stitch. Snip threads and put it to us! 

You can also use your trivet as a potholder! Make a handful, some round and some square for a more cohesive look. If you have more time, you can totally patchwork up your denim to make it snazzier! Have fun!