SIMPLE CRAFT | Thank You Card

We've had plenty of friends popping in and out of our house helping with moving heavy furniture, painting, doing yardwork, and even dropping off some fresh fruit! Moving house was the hard part- making thank you cards for everyone who has blessed us? That's the fun part! Here's a simple card I whipped up today to send out to Phil's grandparents.

S U P P L I E S :

• Kraft cardstock
• Neon cardstock
• Greeting card envelope
• Pencil
• Black gel pen
• Sharp blade
• Sewing machine (or sewing needle)
• Black thread

S T E P   O N E :  Using the size of your envelope as a guide, cut out a piece of kraft cardstock to be slightly smaller than the envelope (when cardstock is folded).

S T E P   T W O :  With a pencil, draw the shape you want to hold the card's main message. Shapes like circles, hearts, triangles, and flowers work well. Then, use a sharp blade to cut around the pencil lines to remove the shape.

S T E P   T H R E E :  Cut your neon cardstock tp be slightly smaller than the kraft portion of the card. Fold it in the inside of the kraft cardstock, then stitch along the fold to keep the two pieces together.

S T E P   F O U R :  With a pencil, mark the beginning and end of where you want your message to go. Short sentiments like "thank you," "get well," "thinking of you," and "congratulations," easily fit into the shape, without getting crowded. Flip up the cover of the card, and write you message, beginning outside of your shape, and ending outside of the shape.

S T E P   F I V E :  Stitch the front piece of kraft cardstock to the front piece of neon carstock. I kept mine simple with just one line of stitching. Pull the threads through to the inside, knot them, and trim. At this point, your binding threads should also be knotted and trimmed.

Now all you have to do is write your message on the inside of the card, and send with love! Off to the mailbox I go.

Touch of Evil | A Video Gallerydirected by Alex Prager

You could call it art for the ADD afflicted, and that might explain why I found it so interesting. I couldn't stop rewatching these intriguingly sinister bits of cinematography directed by Alex Prager as featured on the NY Times. Touch of Evil features the top film performers of the year in short clips inspired by infamous characters some of us will recognize immediately.

You'll definitely want to watch and rewatch these dreamy videos, and take a moment to figure out the inspiration behind each one. If you don't know the backstory, don't worry! Each one is provocative enough in its own right to inspire a day's worth of dreams.

screen shots taken from Alex Prager's Touch of Evil short films

Easy Wrapping Ideas from StephanieLife, Love, Babies

Phil and I are sitting here on the sofa, listening to the new She & Him Christmas record (I know, I'm a cliché blogger girl.), sipping spiced tea from our holiday mugs, and staring at the unwrapped presents under the naked Christmas tree. Oh man. Motivation, where are you?! Procrastinating a bit longer, I popped over to my friend Stephanie's blog to see what her cute family was up to. Good thing I did, because her simple, but savvy wrapping ideas were just the inspiration I needed to stop what I was doing, pull out the patterned paper and Scotch tape. But first, I had to share a bit with you. ;)

Now. It's time to delve into my button collection! I'll be back later with an outfit post.

Crochet: A Love Story

I've long admired the handiwork of crafty ladies on the internet with their knitting needles and crochet hooks. With just the memory of a 10-year-old impatient version of myself tediously making half-finished pot holders for my loving mother, I never thought I would have the gumption to create the gorgeous projects I admired online. Until last year, when I thought, eh, why not? Why not give it another go?

I have had an embarassingly short attention span when it comes to projects. Who knows whether this attitude was fostered by blog headlines that began with "Quick and Easy DIY!", or the self-imposed pressure to crank out project after project to file away under the blog label "do it yourself." I'm quite certain that the day and age of hours wasted on the internet and instant gratification was steering me away from my desire to craft beautiful, useful things for my home that would take longer than an episode of Law and Order (SVU!) to complete.

I do believe that quick projects have their place, but my own heart belongs with the detail-oriented work of a craftsmen. I've enjoyed engaging in time-intensive projects alongside Dear Ol' Daddio, like restoring my 1950s bicycle, or turning piles of old barn siding into sturdy and beautiful tables for my home. But what did I have to do when the cold-weather induced reclusive feelings come to visit me this time of year?

So, I decided to give my camera trigger finger a rest and put these lazy forearms to work with an aluminum hook and a ball of yarn. Sure, these projects take a long time. But the quality and feeling of accomplishment that results is worth their weight in... yarn.

Last Winter I started and finished a ginormous chevron coverlet for our bedroom (yet to be debuted on this blog), and have already decided to make a mini version this year. (See top picture for my progress.) Want to join in on the needle arts fun with me? Check out these swoon-worthy projects below. With just a little bit of patience and dedication, you'd be surprised at what you can accomplish!

P R O J E C T   O N E :   s e a   p e n n i e s
This would make a really cute baby blanket, or perhaps even a table runner. Their shape reminds me of quilted yo-yos, which have been a favorite of mine for quite sometime. Fine out how to make these at Julia Crossland's blog.

P R O J E C T   T W O :   g r a n n y   s t r i p e   b l a n k e t
I'm a big fan of the granny stitch, not only for it's lace-like aesthetic appeal, but for the quick fashion in which they are created. I told you, I'm impatient. :) Isn't the scallopped edge a darling detail? Find out more at Attic 24.

P R O J E C T   T H R E E :   g r a n n y   c h e v r o n   b l a n k e t
I first tried by hand at this project last year by following along with this series of You Tube videos. I was amazed at how beautifully the coverlet turned out, so much so that I decided to try a smaller version this year. For this version, I combined this simpler style with the one I made last year (I liked the way the edges were finished better in that one), and so far I love what I've done! Also check out The Lazy Hobbyhopper who shows picture instructions on her blog.