truckerfinch

How is it only 2 days til Christmas?

2011-12-23T09:30:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! Gillian here, in Canada... (I'm really hoping my sister doesn't follow this blog - but if she does: Hi Anne! Don't look to carefully!) I've been meaning to post for... oh, you know, months! Yet somehow I find myself here, 2 days before Christmas. I finished the last of my gifts today, and almost everything is wrapped.

I'm pretty broke this year, so I made a lot of gifts by hand. I've been blogging my progress at http://crafting-a-rainbow.tumblr.com/ Luckily I have a pretty huge stash of materials from 5 years of living in Japan. (Seriously, the one thing I miss about Tokyo is 7-story-tall craft stores!)

Here are some of the things I've made:

Lots of wreaths for friends and family

A reverse-applique felt pillow for my Mom

Felt Heart Ornaments for friends. These are a family tradition, and I make more almost every year! *Bonus Cat Picture!*

some Zippered Bags from Elizabeth Hartman's "Perfect Zippered Bag" pattern - and my goodness, it's addictive. Normally I fear patterns, but this one is so easy and clear that it's like a little miracle every time! (Sorry, no pictures yet!)

Finally, a whole bunch of felted ornaments, using sweaters and wool roving felted around styrofoam balls. *Follow the links to tutorials* (These are so easy, and they look much harder than they are! If you need to make a few last minute gifts, you can crank these out in no time!)

For the nerds in my life...

I'm a little sad that the Christmas crafting season is over! I've loved having an excuse to crank out heaps of crafts - Now what do I do? Keep everything? Wait for birthdays? Not as fun as Christmas!

I've really, really enjoyed watching everyone's creations here on the blog - It's been lovely to connect with other crafty people. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season, and see you again next year!

Howling Wolf Tattoos

2011-12-23T08:32:00.000-08:00

Scarf Howling Wolf Starry Splatter Wolf Tattoo by *WildSpiritWolf on

Howling Emotion Wolf Tattoo by *WildSpiritWolf on deviantART

Tattoo gallery - wolves and wolf paw prints

Dangerous Wolf Tattoo Art for Teenage Boys 2011

The first one I got is one of a wolf howling at the moon.

Kanji Tattoo "Wolf" by ~Skrrytch on deviantART

Scarf Howling Wolf Starry Splatter Wolf Tattoo by *WildSpiritWolf on

Howling Wolf Tattoo

Wolf Tattoo Howling at the Moon

howling wolf with wings tattoo by Mirek vel Stotker

Second tattoo, very fresh It wasn't too much longer before I discovered the

Wolf Tattoo Design Poster by doonidesigns

Rosary Bead Tattoos

2011-12-23T08:20:00.000-08:00

Rosary beads and praying hands Tattoo

rosary beads. my first tattoo on my hip/stomach

Advanced Search rosary bead ankle tattoos

Rosary beads and praying hands Tattoo Tattoos Rosary on Foot " Cross Tattoo

rosary beads tattoo pictures. Tattoos By Eric

Sea Legs Art & Tattoo Studio

Cross and rosary beads tattoo. This entry was posted on Tuesday,

Diamond rosary bead tattoo search results from Google

Praying hands tattoo with rosary beads is yet another popular design.

Praying-hands-cross-and-rosary-beads-tattoo

Rosary beads and praying hands Tattoo Rosary Ankle Tattoos, designs,

Rosary Bead Tattoos Design

Advanced Search rosary bead ankle tattoos

wing tattoo,feather tattoo design,rosary tattoo,rosary bead tattoos,free

Whew! Almost finished

2011-12-23T06:25:00.000-08:00

Life got away from me the last month. Apparently trying to make Christmas gifts and starting a blog while working a full time + part time job was not a good idea. ;)

I want to share some of my finished (as of 10 minutes ago) gifts.
For my two nieces:

The skirts are the circle pattern from Favorite Things - easy and fun to sew.

The pleated purses are from http://mommybydaycrafterbynight.blogspot.com/2011/10/pleated-purse-tutorial.html . The pleating takes a bit of time but the instructions for these are great!

We also gave away over 30 jars of homemade jelly.

And my homemade vanilla and lemoncello is ready to decant and bottle up.

One of my New Year's resolutions is to get regular about blogging! I received a pressure cooker for my birthday so I anticipate more canning and my fabric stash is getting out of control so sewing will be happening.
I've really enjoyed seeing the pictures and reading about everyone's gifts. Thanks so much for sharing and inspiring me.
Happy Holidays!

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3

2011-12-23T05:48:00.000-08:00

The Best Top Desktop Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Wallpapers in all kind of resolutions and sizes. COD backgrounds for your PC with Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7 and Mac OS. High resolution photos, widescreen, 4:3, 16:9 and HD wallpapers of the game Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3.

Desktop hd wallpaper of the game Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3. Black white city and colored logo

Background for pc from shooter game Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 (COD)

Picture of the game Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 wallpaper with a soldier and explosions on the background

Background for pc from shooter game Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3

Orange red desktop hd wallpaper of the game Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3

Picture of the game Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3. Soldiers on the battlefield in a city

Green background for computer from shooter game Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3

Picture of the game Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3. Two men with helmets, glasses and more gear

HD wallpaper of the game Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3, people on snow scooters and helicopter in the snow

Picture of the game Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3. Two soldiers with guns

Black wallpaper with a picture of the game Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 (COD)

COD Modern Warfare 3: A big city on fire. High buildings, helicopters, boats and tanks

BLue black desktop hd wallpaper of the game Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3

Red black picture of the 3D shooter game Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3

COD Modern Warfare 3: Close Combat in a city. Men shooting at the enemy

Photo of the game Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 (COD). A man carrying a gun

Desktop hd wallpaper of the game Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3

Games desktop hd wallpaper Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 black with green

Blue black games wallpaper of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3, a city and water

Black green gaming desktop hd wallpaper of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3

Rihana Sweet and Cute Pictures

2011-12-23T05:42:00.000-08:00

Melanie Amaro: The X Factor winner of US version

2011-12-23T05:33:00.000-08:00

Melanie Amaro Pictures, She is the winner of X factor of US version (First)

New Year 2012 Wallpapers

2011-12-23T04:52:00.000-08:00

New Year Wallpapers and greetings of 2012

2011-12-23T04:42:00.000-08:00

1629

10000 People sing Beethoven Symphony No 9 together♪

2011-12-23T04:09:00.000-08:00

Today, Dec. 23rd is our Emperor's 78th birthday.
If you are interested in this, please check this Press Conference on the occasion of His Majesty's Birthday (2011)
Although Christmas isn't a national holiday, Emperor's birthday is a national holiday.
Luckily, Christmas is on weekend. Office workers can get 3-days off.

At the end of the year, we watch many special programs on TV.
Most programs this year are related to the Great East Japan Earthquake on 11th March.
I sometimes forget it happened this year.
But it is not the past yet for people living in that area.
At the same time, I really thank the fact I can see the old year out and the new year in with my family at safe home.

Today, I was watching a TV program, `10000 People sing Beethoven Symphony No 9 together.'
I can't find its YouTube yet.
When I find it, I like to introduce it here.

This below video is from last year, 2010.
The conductor is always Yutaka Sado. I like him.
The singer was Ayaka Hirahara. She sang this year too.
She is one of my favorite singers.

At the same setting, 10000 people sang Beethoven Symphony No 9 together.
It was amazing!!!
While I was watching it today, I remember LOTS OF THINGS both good and bad which happened this year.
Especially, the Great East Japan Earthquake on 11th March is the prime memory.
I guess people in that program felt the same feeling and they sang, sweat and shed tears.
We, Japanese can never forget this year, 2011.
This year's memory will be inscribed in our heart and thought forever.

The singer of the below video is Ayaka Hirahara.
I'll post it here not to forget the day...

Christmas Cards 2011:Download Christmas Cards

2011-12-23T02:17:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to all of you, may this festival bring peace and joy in your life. Santa clause may this Christmas fulfill all your dreams .To all my friends and followers ,you can download these Christmas Cards for yourself . "WISHING YOU MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR ".

Landscape in the Trésor des Histoires

2011-12-23T01:48:00.000-08:00

Landscape in the Trésor des Histoires, Bruges, c. 1475-80

Image from the British Library's Facebook Pages

The British Library's Royal Manuscripts exhibition includes books made from the ninth to the sixteenth centuries but begins with the extraordinary collection of Edward IV, including this copy of a French historical chronicle lying open at 'one of the earliest known European paintings in which landscape is the principal subject.' I've just found that this image also appears in a list of mill images at the Medieval and Renaissance Material Culture site - a good source for other glimpses of landscape in the Middle Ages. What I like about this sort of list is the way it ignores the subject of the picture in favour of an unobtrusive detail - yes, there's an interesting windmill in the illustration below, but you have to drag your eyes away from the gruesome murder to see it (the windmill here nicely balances the clump of trees in a V-shaped composition pointing to the heart of the Roman Emperor). In other images on the site, mills are quietly grinding corn in the background whilst Narcissus looks down at his reflection, King David kneels before God, Elisha raises a woman's son from the dead, Arthurian knights go head to head in a tournament, Priam inspects the reconstruction of Troy, the Romans colonise Latium and ships navigate the coastal waters of Britain.

The assassination of Vitellius in De casibus, first quarter of the 15th century

BNF Fr. 226, fol. 201v, source: larsdatter

Salman Khan Wallpapers

2011-12-23T01:14:00.000-08:00

Wallpapers of Bollywood star Salman Khan

Ready Movie Poster

Dabang Movie

Salman in Movie Yuvraj

Dabang Smart look

Sunglass Bodyguard Movie

Fore more: Celebrities Wallpaper

Cricket Stars

2011-12-22T23:17:00.000-08:00

Shane Watson (Australia)

Kieron Pollard (West Indies)

Andrew Flintoff (England)

Tamim Iqbal (Bangladesh)

Angelo Mathews (Srilanka)

Want more Sports Wallpapers, Vist Sports Page

Pillows, Snoods & Table Decorations!

2011-12-22T19:12:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! It's been awhile since I posted here due to some unexpected travel, but here's what I've been up to in the crafty Christmas world:

Pillows
I made these pillows for my sister from fabric she bought on our trip to Hawaii last year (Kapaia Stitchery on the island of Kaua'i, great prices!). These were supposed to be for her birthday in February (oops), but better late than never! I bought pillows from the craft store and just sewed 2 fabric pieces together and flipped them right side out. I slipstitched them closed after inserting the pillow. I bought the blue fabric to make a dress, but borrowed some of it here since I thought it made for a more complete group!

Snood Fever Continues!
This is my version of the snood made world famous by Karen from Did You Make That? I made 3! This snood is made from Merino wool that I bought at the Brooklyn General Store in Brooklyn, New York and was my first knitting project in years. I started it in New York and finished it in Virginia! This one went to my friend who is heading back to France next month. Should keep her nice and toasty.

Table Runner/Napkins

And finally, I made a table runner and napkins for my mom, as she loves decorating for the holidays. I gave them to her a bit before Christmas so she could enjoy the festiveness! For the table runner, I used sew-in interfacing to weigh down the lighter weight reindeer cotton and found that slowly ironing out the bumps in the fabric helped keep the fabric flat. I also used my walking foot which helped keep the fabric layers from shifting.

The napkins were made using the rolled hem setting on my overlocker. It's the first time I've used this feature and I love how it turned out! It looks like the edges are bound with a narrow bias tape and it was so fast and easy to make.

Happy holidays, all!

~Amanda from Sewin' in the Rain

Peppermint Soap and a Knitted Scarf

2011-12-22T17:02:00.000-08:00

Hi all! It's Lindsay checking in again with a couple of finished gifts! Last year I made peppermint soap for my co-workers and a few of them have mentioned to me over the past year that they loved it and were sad when their bars ran out. So I knew I had to make the soap again!

I like to give a little something to all of my co-workers and since I have about 40 of them, making soap is an easy and cost-efficient option. The process went a little more smoothly and quickly than it did last year, even if it still is a little scary to be dealing with such a toxic ingredient (lye). Once again, Mr. Pinds and I suited up with our protective gear to make the soap, which I’m sure caused our neighbors to wonder what we were up to.

I used the Good Morning Soap recipe that I used last year from Raleigh Briggs' How to Make Soap Without Burning Your Face Off. This year I measured everything out before we started the process, which worked out really well. When the time came to add the next ingredient, all I had to do was reach for the bowl and dump it in. Of course I waited to measure and pour the lye until we were outside.

The fats in the soap are coconut oil, olive oil, sunflower oil, canola oil, shortening, and castor oil. I added sea salt and sand for exfoliation and flavored it with basil and peppermint essential oils. Our house has smelled like peppermint since I first made this on December 4^th! It’s great walking in after work to the delightful smell of peppermint—I’m sad to have it go away.

The first step to making this soap is to add the lye to water, or in this case, to peppermint tea. You then melt the fats. Once the lye mixture has cooled to the same temperature as the fats, you add it to the fats and then mix until you reach trace.

Trace means that if you run a spoon through the soap it will leave a trail behind. If you’re just stirring by hand, reaching trace can often take hours, but I read somewhere that if you use an immersion blender it happens within minutes. And I’m all about efficiency, so I picked up a cheap immersion blender to use for concoctions. If you’re going to do the same, I highly recommend that you label the non-food blender. I’m not sure if it makes a difference, but I would feel funny preparing food with the same blender that has had contact with lye. Once you reach trace, you add essential oils.

Then add the sea salt and sand and mix thoroughly. It’s really simple!

I use two shallow but long plastic containers as soap molds. You just have to grease them beforehand (I used Pam) and once the soap has molded it pops out really easily. You let the soap stay in the mold (or as my book says, "put them to bed") for a day or two and then they are ready to be cut.

Mr. Pinds came up with the great idea of marking guides into the top of the soap with a pizza cutter before we started cutting. Brilliant! I enlisted Mr. Pinds to cut the soap for me. He used a serrated bread knife to cut the blocks of soap into bars, which he said worked perfectly.

Once the bars were cut, I placed them on drying racks and they cured for a couple of weeks. I had to hide them in our laundry room where our rascal cat wouldn’t have access to lick them all day while we were at work.

To package them, I wrapped each bar in plastic wrap (I know, not the most environmentally friendly, but it was the easiest and fastest option) and then wrapped the bars in postal paper.

Each bar got tied off with some raffia and was topped with a mini candy cane and a printed feather (I found these on How About Orange and there are more here) as a gift tag. I think they look pretty festive! I waited until I got to work to put the feathers on because I was afraid they’d get creased during my commute.

I’m glad to tell you that the soaps were a hit once again. A few of my co-workers told me that they were secretly hoping that I’d refill their soap bins!

We also did a Secret Santa gift exchange and my Secret Santee requested a scarf. With a $20 limit, I knew I wouldn’t be able to get an amazing handmade scarf from Etsy, so I did the next best thing: I decided to knit one myself. Even though I am a very beginner knitter, I think it turned out beautifully. I made a simple 50 stitch wide scarf in a knit stitch. This yarn is so soft! I wasn’t able to make it to a specialty yarn shop (why do they all have such strange hours?) so I spent a good 20 minutes in Joann rubbing all of the yarns against my face to find the softest. I ended up with Caron Simply Soft in Autumn Maize. I wanted a gold yarn, but that was the closest I could get.

When I was about halfway through the scarf I realized that I made it a little wide, resulting in a wide but short scarf. Oops! It turned out OK in the end though and my co-worker loved it. And because I made the scarf instead of buying it, and thanks to a Joann coupon, I was able to pick her up a bottle of wine without going over our $20 limit! I do enjoy when things work out.

A Father Christmas Pillow

2011-12-22T14:18:00.000-08:00

Hello fellow crafters! It's Amy from Sew Well here again with another gift for my niece.

This little Father Christmas pillow perfectly sized for my niece was super easy to make. The pattern was printed right on the fabric, so all I had to do was cut, sew, and stuff. If only garments came preprinted like this! Spoonflower, perhaps?

Beautiful Lindsay Lohan

2011-12-22T12:00:00.000-08:00

According to Alan Duke, CNN reporter "Lindsay Lohan's nude photo spread for Playboy is helping the men's magazine break sales records, according to Playboy founder Hugh Hefner."

Read it: CNN

Picwall presenting you some of the best pictures of Beautiful Lindsay Lohan

Picwall Blog

More Pictures: Click Here

Lindsay Lohan Play Boy

2011-12-22T11:27:00.000-08:00

Lindsay Lohan's nude photo spread for Playboy is helping the men's magazine break sales records, according to Playboy founder Hugh Hefner. Lohan, 25, was reportedly paid close to $1 million to pose for the photos taken in a style reminiscent of the nude photograph of Marilyn Monroe that graced the debut issue of Playboy in 1953. Want to read more Click here

Lindsay Lohan Playboy Cover 1

Lindsay Lohan Playboy Cover 2

Find More: Lindsay Hot Pics

Introducing Molly Ellen

2011-12-22T11:17:00.000-08:00

Meet Molly Ellen! I made her for my daughter and I know she will love her. My husband made her adorable glasses, as we all wear them. Now she's really one of the family!

I used a Waldorf doll kit I bought almost 2 years ago from Weir Dolls (can I call this stashbusting - LOL!). She's 16 inches tall and made from super soft organic stretch knit. I borrowed Making Waldorf Dolls from the library, which clearly details how to make your Waldorf doll head - the hardest part - and the body. For her hair, I used the Crafty Sheep's tutorial.

Her clothes are made from bits and pieces from my stash. Her dress is the doll version included in this pattern and her blouse and pants are from here. This is the first time I've made a Waldorf doll and, even though the process can be tricky, I found it really rewarding. I can't wait to see my daughter's face when she opens this!

Animal wallpapers: Ubuntu

2011-12-22T06:36:00.000-08:00

Check back Picwall Blog http://www.picwall.blogspot.com for more Ubuntu Wallpapers.

Picwall Blog

Animal wallpapers for Ubuntu users....

New 2012 Wallpapers of Justin Bieber

2011-12-22T06:21:00.000-08:00

the winter solstice and new moon

2011-12-22T06:10:00.000-08:00

Today, Dec. 22nd is the winter solstice.
The length of daytime is the shortest and it's getting longer day by day from tomorrow.

The shortest daytime means the longest nighttime, which is the length of darkness is the longest.
Some of you might have to face your ugly and immature parts you hate.
And you are trapped in bad delusion and think the world around you negatively.

It is said that people who are spiritually awakening are affected by natural cycle like moon cycle and planet retrograde.

Therefore, if you feel negative, it might be due to the winter solstice.
Then now it's over and you can feel better.

In addition to that, the last new moon this year is on Dec. 25th.
Soon after the date is changed, it is the full moon at 3:06am,

The darkness is over at the winter solstice and the new beginning starts at the new moon.

Enjoy the new start!

Christmas Crafting Complete!

2011-12-22T05:45:00.000-08:00

My Christmas Crafting is complete! FINALLY!

I made a bunch of these slippers from http://www.ithinksew.com/ . I found that the pattern required a little tweaking, but after 1 test pair, they were really simple to sew and REALLY cute! I want to make a dozen for myself!

I found the best tweak, was to add a stretchy panel at the heel, reinforced with a bit of sturdy elastic. It allowed the slipper to stretch a little, while the elastic held it snug on your foot. I found that making them up "as is", they were either slightly too tight, or falling off my foot. But, with that one little change, the slippers are great and so comfy (I made a pair for myself a few weeks ago that I have been wearing non-stop!).

I added non-slip "hearts" appliquéd to the bottom of the soles to make them a little safer for wearing around the house. I'd imagine with out these, they could be dangerously slippery!

Now... to finish wrapping everything...

Free Blue wallpapers: Ubuntu

2011-12-22T05:20:00.000-08:00

See also: Ubuntu Wallpapers
New Ubuntu wallpaper for everyone

Katrina Kaif in black wallpapers

2011-12-22T04:46:00.000-08:00

See also: Some special wallpapers of Katrina Kaif

phew . . .

2011-12-22T01:11:00.000-08:00

I thought I wouldn't finish these throws in time.

Nearly finished my shopping and wrapping - now for some serious baking!

More festive fun over on my blog

Christmas Chaos!

2011-12-21T11:15:00.000-08:00

Hi all!

I'm Fiona and I have fairly recently started blogging over at Diary of a Chain Stitcher. I never got round to posting about my Christmas Crafting Plans (it's taking me a while to get into the swing of blogging all that regularly especially amongst all the Christmas chaos) but I have been determined to post about what I've been up to!

As I haven't long been crafting I knew attempting to hand make too many of my presents was just going to be pushing myself a little too far and would only result in a horribly stroppy me for the last few days before Christmas which no one would appreciate. So instead I've done a combination of handmade, produced with a lot of thought but not completely made by my hand and shop bought presents. As much as I'd like to give everyone handmade gifts I one don't have enough time and know that my handmade taste is not necessarily everyone's cup of tea.

My main made project was my Stepdad's iPad case (from this tutorial) with fun chemistry related lining! (He works in a lab) I love it because it looks very professional on the outside so he can take it to meetings but inside it's fun and colourful. I got the lining fabric from Spoonflower which I have only just discovered and highly recommend. There are hundreds of prints to choose from, and if you can't find what you want you can get your own design printed up.

I've also made my boyfriend some boxer shorts using a free pattern from BurdaStyle. They were really quick and fun to make so I think he'll be getting some more of those for his birthday! I don't have a picture unfortunately as I wrapped them as soon as I finished to avoid any accidental discoveries. The surprise is one of the best bits of a gift I think!

One of the gifts I'm most proud of is a cookbook I put together for my Mum and Nan filled with our favourite family recipes. It was a big and time consuming job but I really enjoyed it and it was very straightforward to do using the software on Blurb. They have lots of page templates to choose from which you just fill with the photographs and writing you want, press publish and they'll print up as many copies as you want, and speedily too.

I've made the majority of my Christmas Cards by cross stitching festive designs, which I also sell on Etsy. I can't stand how much printed mass produced cards cost in the shops and would much rather make my own which can be tailored to the recipient and the effort is always appreciated much more.

I've made a few Christmas decorations this year too including crackers, a table runner and these stockings:

Finally I've been doing A LOT of baking including some little Christmas boxes of shortbread for family friends who always send me a little something and who I never know what to give. A little discovery for everyone - shortbread holds up very well in the post! And this recipe for orange pastry is a winner!

Ooof writing this post has made me realise I'd actually done a lot more than I thought! Good luck with the last minute crafting everyone! Merry Christmas!

Make a little gift in under an hour :)

2011-12-21T09:39:00.000-08:00

With some pretty scraps and a zipper, you could whip up a pretty little zipper bag in under an hour - tuck a little box of chocolates or some bath bombs inside and you have a lovely little gift! Resize the pattern a bit and make a set of bags in varying sizes, tie them with ribbon and you have a lovely gift for a last-minute gifting occasion :D

Don't forget the value of downloadable patterns - it's quite convenient to shop in your jammies and to get a pattern almost instantly once you find it :) I found this one recently and whipped it up for a Christmas gift for our 3 year old nephew - I'll do the snowman next! (NAYY - just a happy customer)

We're in the home stretch now - I hope everybody is done or almost done!

Christmas PJ bottoms

2011-12-21T08:44:00.000-08:00

Here's my last bit of Christmas sewing - new PJ bottoms for my two boys. I made them from cotton flannel: digger fabric for my younger boy and tartan for my older one. They were very easy to make, all I did was use existing PJ bottoms as a pattern as outlined in this great tutorial.

I'd planned for them to be brand new on Christmas Eve, as this has always been our family tradition. Not so easy I'm afraid, my boys loved them so much when they were 'modelling' them, they won't take them off! Happy Christmas everybody. x

Quick Knitted Gifts

2011-12-21T08:00:00.000-08:00

Hello! Sarah O from Oh Sarah O! here. I'm still knitting away on my (ravelry link)Cambridge shawl and hoping to get it finished in time for Christmas. Knitting the same pattern over and over again can get a bit monotonous and boring, so over the weekend I decided to take a break from the shawl and whip up 2 quick knit Christmas presents for some other very special relatives this year.

First, I knit up a (ravelry link)Ribbed Watchman's Hat for a special soldier that I know who returned home from combat in one piece in 2010. I used about half of a skein of Lion Brand Wool-Ease Solids and Heathers in Navy and cranked this baby out in just over a day (with frequent breaks). I tried to take a picture of me modelling the hat, but I found it difficult to take a good photograph of me and the hat while it was on my head. I can testify that it is very warm and cosy.

Next, I knit the (ravelry link)Lyndhurst Cowl with 2 skeins of Lion Brand Amazing in Mesa for a "lady of the desert." This cowl only took me a day to make. The colors remind me of a desert sunset and the yarn is very soft and fluffy. I'm sure this lady will love it when the temperatures start to drop.

Wrapping Paper and Cushions

2011-12-21T04:14:00.000-08:00

Hi, Pam from Threading My Way...

I saw some fabulous ideas for wrapping presents over at Hopeful Threads. One of my favourites, was Kristy's idea of using a pillowcase instead of wrapping paper.

I used this tutorial from Flower Press to quickly make up a pillowcase. Using the tutorial meant I didn't have to spend time measuring an existing pillowcase. I wanted the pillowcase to be suitable for wrapping a Christmas present, without being too Christmassy, hence the colours I have chosen. For me, the hardest part of making the pillowcase, is making sure the fabric is cut accurately as rectangles. Once that is done, it takes no time at all to sew the pillowcase.

Pop the present inside, tie it up and you have a present within a present. There's nothing to throw away, as even the ribbon can be used again.

I've made a sewn card to go with this present. It's going to be put inside an envelope, before it goes under the Christmas tree. I just wanted to show you the pillowcase with matching card.

What's inside the pillowcase you ask?

Two patchwork cushions for my Mum. I used this tutorial, which I found on The Crafty Christmas Club, by Too Many Pastimes. This was my first time attempting patchwork, so I'm rather pleased with how they turned out, even though the corners don't match perfectly.

Not so long ago, I shortened a tablecloth for Mum. The patterned squares in the cushions are made from the offcuts of that tablecloth. I hope Mum likes them.

Present Roundup

2011-12-21T03:28:00.000-08:00

Good morning ladies, it's Wendy here again from The Crafter's Apprentice. I thought it was about time I showed you some of my presents as I'm nearly done now, in case you're in need of a little last-minute inspiration. You could always bookmark the ideas for next year of course.

Now, I have to admit that I used some of the items below for birthday presents throughout the year, but that doesn't stop them being good Christmas presents!

Patchwork pouches. These are from I Heart Patchwork, but tutorials for zippered pouches abound on the internet and once you've made one, you can whip them up in no time.

Lavendar sachets are also quick and easy to make and you can use whatever technique you like -this one is made with applique and a little free-motion embroidery.

These little knitted wire bracelets are pretty easy. Thread about 100 beads onto some jewellery making wire. Cast on 7 stitches with a pair of thin needles and knit. Bring up a bead every 3 stitches or so. Knit to the length of the wrist, cast off and add the findings.

I'm sure you've all seen this before. Free tutorial for the Buttercup Bag.

Show off your embroidery skills with a simple bookmark. My patterns were from the Floss Box but you can use any designs you like.

These glasses cases are brilliant and so simple with Crafty Ady's tutorial.

You could make some tea towels to match these oven gloves, tutorial on Sew4Home

These counting bean bags are from my own tutorial and go down a storm with little kids.

Another idea for little kids is a travel car playmat. I made this one up as I went along, but again you can find tutorials all over.

Coasters are a really quick gift and can be made with scraps. These are from Last Minute Patchwork Gifts.

Crayon rolls are a great gift for children, mine were from a book, but there are about a million tutorials out there.

If you've got a few evenings to spare, you could cross stitch a bookmark, I used this free pattern (I'm very sorry, the formatting on this post has gone all weird and I seem powerless to fight it!) A great gift for babies from this free pattern. Who doesn't love babies with ear-hats? Tissue holders stuffed with Cath Kidston and Emma Bridgewater tissues from this tutorial take minutes to make

Teacup candles, so quick, so easy, so cheap.

Wax tarts for a burner are also very easy. I bought a silicone mini muffin tray from the poundshop and just added wax, colour and scent. Lovely!

How about a tutorial for a wine bottle cosy for the wine buff in your life?

And my last offering, one for the men, a boxy wash bag. Or you could do it in feminie colours for the ladies in your life. These were super-quick to make. I can't click on the tutorial link but google "Patchyapple boxy bag" and it'll pop up!

I hope I've provided you with some inspiration? This will probably be my last post this year, but I'm hoping Tilly will open the blog again next summer so we can get an early start on Christmas makes for 2012.

Tigger Pencil Test

2011-12-21T01:33:00.000-08:00

I am absolutely thrilled to be nominated for an Annie Award for my work on Tigger in the feature film "Winnie the Pooh".

It was intimidating and challenging at the same time to do this character, who was originally created by "you know who".

Last weekend I had the pleasure to spend time with Milt Kahl's daughter Sybil, and I had to tell her: Can you believe I got a nomination with your dad's character?!

Here is one of two pencil tests I did to apply for Tigger. The scene is a little too busy with excitementI, but he is talking about firecrackers. I hope the directors Don Hall and Steve Anderson know how happy I was to have gotten this assignment. Both guys were just great to work with.

Challenge #16 sponsered by Whiff of Joy

2011-12-21T00:00:00.001-08:00

Goodmorning ladies (and maybe gentlemen?), only 4 days before Christmas and we hope you will have a great time with your friends and family.
We will have a bloghop next Saturday December 24th. It starts here on this blog at 10 AM (Dutch Time) and will last untill December 29th. We will announce the winners on this blog ;o) and ofcourse on the personal blogs of the DT-members. You can win some great prizes when you leave a comment on their blogs and on this one here. Hope you all can join in this hop ;o) This weeks Challenge is without a twist, we do that again next time. This weeks sketch is made by Carol and our sponsor is Whiff of Joy. Thank you Katharina for sponsoring us these two weeks.

Whiff of Joy offers a vide variety of high-quality, deeply-etched, red rubber stamps, exclusive metal dies and various other craft related products. We are continuously expanding our product range to bring you the best and newest ideas on the market. Share our passion to create homemade gifts and cards for your loved ones. With the products of Whiff of Joy you will always be able to highlight a magical moment in somebody’s life. Visit the Whiff of Joy webshop here.

And now for some little inspiration, here are the cards the Design Team made for you as samples ;o) You can click on the names and you go straight to their personal blogs to see the details about their cards ;o) They love to recieve your comments ...This week's sketch is made by Carol and you can find that sketch at the end of this post. Please do not post it on your blog but link to our blogpost. Thank you again ;o)

Made by Carol

Made by Claire

Made by Janneke

Sorry no card from her this time ;o)

Made by Karin (GDT)

Made by Linda

Made by Marion
Marion is still busy training with her dog Sjors :o) And found time this morning to make this card for you all!

Made by Monique

Made by Nicole

Made by Renata

Made by Sandra (GDT)

Made by Wilma

Made by Betina

Here is the sketch that Carol made for you this time ;o) You can rotate the sketch and resize the elements, as long as you follow the original sketch and use a stamped image or digistamp, that way your entry qualifies for the prize draw. To join the challenges and to be eligible for the prize made available by the sponsor of this challenge, we have a few rules. You can find them here.

We hope you join us again, this last regular Christmas Challenges {with sketches}. And of course we hope to see you this Saterday at our bloghop :o)
Enjoy cardmaking!!

Challenge #16 sponsered by Whiff of Joy

2011-12-21T00:00:00.000-08:00

Made by Carol

Made by Claire

Made by Janneke

Sorry no card from her this time ;o)

Made by Karin (GDT)

Made by Linda

Made by Marion
Marion is still busy training with her dog Sjors :o) And found time this morning to make this card for you all!

Made by Monique

Made by Nicole

Made by Renata

Made by Sandra (GDT)

Made by Wilma

Made by Betina

We hope you join us again, this last regular Christmas Challenges {with sketches}. And of course we hope to see you this Saterday at our bloghop :o)
Enjoy cardmaking!!

Kräuterblätter

2011-12-20T23:00:00.002-08:00

Writing in The Sunday Telegraph last month, Andrew Graham-Dixon gave a four star review to the British Museum's Landscape, heroes and folktales: German Romantic prints and drawings, an exhibition 'drawn entirely from the holdings of an extremely discerning English private collector, Charles Booth-Clibborn.On this showing, if his collection could be kept together and perhaps, one day, found a permanent home here, it would transform the representation of German art in Great Britain.' A week later Richard Dormer left the exhibition 'fuming', disappointed not to find 'passion, excess, sweeping emotion' and regretting that the display left 'what must be enormous gaps': his review for The Telegraph gave it just two stars. I found it fascinating, even though I only had a brief amount of time to look round, and like Andrew Graham-Dixon I was particularly intrigued by the work of Carl Wilhelm Kolbe (1759-1835).

Carl Wilhelm Kolbe, Woodland pool with a man fishing and bystander, detail, 1793

Kolbe was born in Berlin (his father was a gold thread embroiderer) and pursued a career in philology alongside his artistic activities, composing a long book on the French and German languages. It wasn't until 1789 that he decided to train in art at the Berlin Academy and had to put up with being 'a bearded man in his thirties among a flock of boys, ten to twelve years in age'. He then obtained a post as court engraver in Dessau, publishing prints in Leipzig and Berlin and acquiring the nickname Eichenkolbe (Oak Kolbe) because he was so fond of depicting oak trees (he said 'trees have turned me into an artist'). The exhibition includes several examples of pastoral and woodland scenes with some impressive oak trees My photograph above shows a detail from an early etching with some doodles in the margins (the face in profile is possibly a self-caricature).

I've always thought it would be fascinating to compile a dictionary of the many sub-genres of landscape art - sous-bois for example, the French term for woodland scenes of the kind shown above. Such a book might include micro-genres particular to specific artists and one of the strangest of these would be Kolbe's Kräuterblätter (cabbage-sheets) - scenes featuring over-sized plant life, like his 1801 version of Et in Arcadia Ego. As Andrew Graham-Dixon writes, these etchings 'plunge the eye into vertiginous screens of foliage, spectacularly sculptural blasted trees and writhing, threateningly enlarged clumps of wild vegetation. It is hard to say if these are dreams of oneness with nature or fantasies of being consumed by it.' Kolbe himself came to rather regret these later in life, admitting in his autobiography that he had invented these plants 'completely out of my head, and I acknowledge that I was wrong - very wrong - to do so. Their perhaps not entirely unattractive forms may seduce the eye of the unlearned; the critical gaze of the naturalist cannot bear them.'

Top 3 and Winner Challenge #15

2011-12-20T23:00:00.001-08:00

Thank you for joining us at challenge #15. There were so many beautiful cards to choose from, to bad some of you didn't use twine and a charm on the card ;o) So maybe you can read the post a little bit more careful to see if there is a twist on the challenge, but you did an amazing job, so great to see all those Christmas and Winter cards. Betina has chosen a top three and we have a random winner.

Here is the top three ...

3 Kiki

9 Lotte

23 Miranda

And the winner is:

And #30 is Femke from Kaartenknutsels van Femke You won the last challenge and therefore the great price sponsored by StempelstudioPlease email us before Saturday December 24th to claim your price. And here is the card she made

Congratulations Femke o:) Girls you can find your bagdes on the top of the blog ;o)
See you in a hour!

Top 3 and Winner Challenge #15

2011-12-20T23:00:00.000-08:00

Here is the top three ...

3 Kiki

9 Lotte

23 Miranda

And the winner is:

Congratulations Femke o:) Girls you can find your bagdes on the top of the blog ;o)
See you in a hour!

Pictures of Heaven: Pure Art

2011-12-20T21:08:00.000-08:00

More pictures of Art category:

Home Garden Art Pictures

World around us: Art wallpaper

Art wallpapers 2012

Pictures of Heaven: Pure Art

Home Garden Art Pictures

2011-12-20T21:02:00.000-08:00

More pictures of Art category:

Home Garden Art Pictures

World around us: Art wallpaper

Art wallpapers 2012

Pictures of Heaven: Pure Art

World around us: Art wallpaper

2011-12-20T20:57:00.000-08:00

More pictures of Art category:

Home Garden Art Pictures

World around us: Art wallpaper

Art wallpapers 2012

Pictures of Heaven: Pure Art

Art wallpapers 2012

2011-12-20T20:48:00.000-08:00

More pictures of Art category:

Home Garden Art Pictures

World around us: Art wallpaper

Art wallpapers 2012

Pictures of Heaven: Pure Art

Best of the best wallpapers

2011-12-20T14:45:00.000-08:00

Some wallpapers which are cool and beautiful. Check this out. Hope you will like it.

Seven free high quality Cool Wallpaper / Backgrounds

2011-12-20T14:22:00.000-08:00

Seven free high quality Cool Wallpaper / Backgrounds for Windows, Mac, Linux, Ubuntu etc.Save and enjoy as your Wallpapers/Backgrounds. Visit Picwall Blog for more beautiful wallpapers and pictures.

Embroidered gift tags!

2011-12-20T13:08:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

My handmade Christmas present thing is not going so well, I made one for my sister-in-law then my brother decided they didn't want to do presents this year (I had also already bought his present) *eye roll* and I cannot sit still for long enough to finish my other sister-in-law's present.

But one thing I always like to do well at is wrapping, and this year my finishing touches will be embroidered gift tags. I post this tutorial on my blog this morning but it has taken me all day to realise it would have been better off here!

http://leopardanchor.typepad.com/blog/2011/12/the-finishing-touch-embroidered-gift-tag.html

xo Kirsty

Some special wallpapers of Katrina Kaif

2011-12-20T12:22:00.000-08:00

Katrina Kaif is a British Indian Bollywood actress. She is one of the biggest stars in Bollywood. Here are some of special wallpapers of Katrina Kaif.

A Very Jackie O Muslin

2011-12-20T11:56:00.000-08:00

Hello fellow crafters! It's Amy of Sew Well yet again with another last minute handmade gift.

My mom asked for a cape for Christmas, and I was happy to oblige. In fact, I thought I could draft a cape pattern that would fit her perfectly using the simple directions in Patternmaking for Fashion Design. All I needed from her were her measurements... about a hundred of them according to the book. I recently came to my senses and decided that I should figure out pattern drafting for myself before I move on to others, and I placed an Etsy order for a vintage cape pattern.

Since the cape pattern didn't arrive in time for holiday crafting, but Daughter Fish's Simplicity 6402 did, I quickly sewed up a very Jackie O muslin as a place holder for my mom. Lucky for me, my mom is understanding. I think the thoughtfulness of not only a handmade cape but also a gorgeous handmade dress and jacket combo sometime in the coming month will make up for the fact that she only has a muslin to unwrap on Christmas day.

X-mas Present #3 Done: Placemats + TUTORIAL

2011-12-20T10:30:00.000-08:00

Hello, Crafty Christmasers! It's Stephanie here from The Naked Seamstress. I have another x-mas present made: placemats for my mum.

I documented the whole process so I could put together a little tutorial for you here. Christmas is coming up very, very soon, but these placemats are easy to whip up as a last minute present. I made two different sets for my mum: a spring set (flowers!) and a Christmas set (red and white stars!). I'd already made her a set earlier this year for her birthday and she hasn't stopped telling me since how much she would really, really fancy more of these placemat sets. So what better Christmas present could she get?!

So, here for the tutorial: You need 8 pieces of fabric in a placemat-friendly size, 4 for the front and 4 for the back. I made mine 30x40cm, but different measurements will do too. You could use placemats you have at home as templates. You also need 4 pieces of batting in the same size.

Next, you need to draw a grid onto 4 of the fabric pieces with chalk. This will help you quilt your placemats evenly.

Then you sandwich a layer of batting between two pieces of fabric, one with chalk marks and one wihtout, and pin it in place with 3-4 pins.

Next, - and this is a very important part - iron this fabric-batting sandwich with as much pressure as you can muster. This will help avoid fabric bunching and keep your batting nice and flat while sewing. I negelcted this step with the first set (the Christmas set) I made with this batting and it ended up being quite bunchy (scroll down for pics).

Once ironed take your placemat straight to the sewing machine and sew along the chalk lines. I sewed all lines in one direction first and then in the other. You can use a straight stitch, a zigzag stitch or any decorative stitch your sewing machine has. I used a fun decorative stitch on my spring set.

Repeat all steps for every placemat you are making.

When you are finished cut your placemats to the desired size. It's best to cut your placemats when you have already quilted them, because the quilting might make your layers shift resulting in uneven edges (see above).

When you cut them into shape after quilting all your placemats will have the exact same shape. I used an oval shape for my placemats, but any other shape would be fine too.

Once they are cut the only thing that remains is to apply bias binding around the edge. Unfortunately I have no pictures of this part of the process, but luckily Lauren from Wearing History has recently put together some excellent bias binding tutorials. This one is super useful for making these placemats.

And that's it. Enjoy your lovely placemats.

Wishing you all a MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Wallpapers of Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (Lady Gaga)

2011-12-20T09:32:00.000-08:00

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta who is known as Lady Gaga, is an American singer and song writer. Lady Gaga has consecutively appeared on Billboard magazine's Artists of the Year several time, is regularly placed on lists composed by Forbes magazine, and was named one of the most influential people in the world by Time magazine. Click here Lady Gaga's wallpapers.

Iceberg in Mist

2011-12-20T07:36:00.000-08:00

Between 1968 and 1970 Gerhard Richter painted a remarkable range of 'damaged landscapes', as they are termed by Mark Godfrey, the curator of Tate Modern's Gerhard Richter: Panorama. These include aerial views of cities in thick grey paint, the colour of ash and rubble, that Richter later likened to images of the destruction of Dresden but which might equally be seen as warnings of some future apocalypse. One of these, Townscape Paris (1968), is a painting I referred to rather tentatively in one of my very first blog posts here. At the same time Richter was also painting a very different kind of townscape, reproducing details of architectural models, and these too seem dystopian - windowless blocks showing no sign of life, casting shadows over empty white roads that resemble the patterns on a circuit board.

Another monochrome aerial view from 1968, Clouds, provides glimpses of an abtsracted version of the German countryside - imagery that Godfrey compares to the opening sequence (above) of Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will (1935). Two years later Richter began a very different series of cloud paintings, this time treating them as isolated objects, white against featureless blue-green skies. They resemble Alfred Stieglitz's famous cloud photographs, Equivalents (1927), which in turn (as Rosalind Krauss points out in that weighty tome Art Since 1900) could be viewed as Duchampian readymades - uncomposed and detached from their environment. Alps II (1968) might be a close-up of a storm cloud and is barely recognisable as a landscape painting, certainly a long way from the heroic image of German mountains celebrated in those early Reifenstahl films.

Seascape (Sea-Sea) (1970) is described in the exhibition as a 'collage of two photographs of the sea, one inverted to appear as the sky. The painting creates a momentary illusion of a coherent seascape, until it becomes clear that the ‘clouds’ in the upper half of the painting ar waves. It creates a sense of discontinuity and suggests Richter’s acknowledgement of the gulf separating him from the moment of Romanticism.' It made me think of Rothko's grey paintings, with the patterns of waves replacing Rothko's brushtrokes. Mark Godfrey views them as a cross between Capar David Friedrich and Blinky Palermo: an attempt at the kind of radical abstract statement Palermo was making in his Cloth Paintings using the traditional medium of a seascape. Another point of comparison is Vija Celmins and, like her, Richter also produced images of black and white fields of stars.

In 1971 an exhibition of Richter's recent work, painted in flat colour rather than black and white, prompted various critics to compare him with Friedrich. Landscape near Hubbelrath (1969), for example, shows an empty view with a road sign where we expect to see, in Friedrich, a church spire. Richter said that his art lacked the spiritual underpinnings of Romanticism: 'for us, everything is empty'. However, Mark Godfrey argues that Richter and Friedrich both aimed to create a sense of unfulfilled desire (readers of this blog may recall an earlier post on the way Friedrich composed 'obstructed views'). This approach may have seemed particularly appropriate to a post-war German artist working at a time when the purpose of painting itself was being called into question.

There is one more interesting example of Richter's engagement with Friedrich later in the exhibition, a painting called Iceberg in Mist (1982). I have mentioned various artists here before who went north to paint the Arctic seas - Peder Balke, Lawren Harris, Per Kirkeby - and Richter made his own trip in 1972, looking for a motif as powerful as Friedrich's The Sea of Ice. Mark Godfrey mentions that on his return Richter made 'an extraordinary and little-known book of black and white photographs of icebergs', printed, like the two halves of Seascape (Sea-Sea), both upside down and right side up. In this way Richter rejected the single sublime image and arranged the photographs in such a way that 'their overt subject became more or less irrelevant.' Richter's urge to thwart our desire for spectacular landscapes is also evident in the later painting, where we cannot even glimpse the tip of the iceberg as the whole view is shrouded in mist.

Caspar David Friedrich, The Sea of Ice, 1823-4

Heirloom Gifts

2011-12-20T05:15:00.000-08:00

My husbands grandmother passed away just a few months ago, and I received 3 GIGANTIC bags filled with linens with crocheted lace trim, beautifully embroidered place mats and handmade doilies, and handkerchiefs. My mother-in-law knows I am always sewing, and hoped I could put it to good use.

I decided that as my gift to my Mother & Father in Law, as well as my sister-in-law, I would make heirloom cushion covers out of the linens. I used a large pillow case with crocheted lace trim for each 16x16 cushion (embellished with a white handkerchief).

For the rectangular cushions, I used a beautiful piece of vintage percale sheeting embellished with an embroidered place mat that had lost the rest of its set and doily.

I sewed each envelope style, with a 1" knife edge. I sewed a row of bridal button loop tape down the back for an antique-look. Envelope style cushions are really easy to make - you can "google" a pattern or just wing it like I did.

I really love how they turned out, and really feel like I was able to "collaborate" on a project with Grandma Winonna. I can't wait for them to open their gifts on Christmas Day!

Embroidered Jam Pot Covers...

2011-12-20T05:11:00.000-08:00

Back in the Autumn I made a couple of varieties of chutney as Christmas gifts. Spiced Marrow Chutney and a Tangy Beetroot Chutney using a combination of recipe ideas from this brilliant site. They've been "maturing" since October so should be perfect for the Christmas table by now. The only thing left to do was make them look all Christmassy and add a little personal touch to them; so I opted for some hand embroidered jam pot covers tied with grosgrain ribbon....(I actually had about 12 jars in total but some had already been gifted before I had a chance to take these photos!)

I got all OCD on getting the right size circle for my covers. Just didn't like the idea of cutting a square and trimming it to size once in place. I just KNEW I would screw it up that way. So if anyone else is as mildly obsessive about these things as me here's my method...

I had several sizes of jar so just repeated the process for each different size. Firstly draw round the the lid of the jar on a sheet of paper...

Then find the centre point of the circle by folding it in half lengthwise then across the width. It's actually the circle itself that needs to be folded in half so I held the paper up to the light as I was folding so as to see through it and line the edges of the circle up as I was folding...

Measure the diameter of the circle, let's say this one was 3". Then mark a point the exact same distance, 3", from the centre point, extending out beyond your original circle, on each of the four fold lines...

Then find a plate/bowl/object (or use a compass if you want to be super precise!) and use it to draw a circle that encompasses these four points equally(ish)...

Et voila...Cut out your template(s)....

Because I planned to emroider my covers I cut out heavy weight iron on interfacing the exact same size as my jar lids....

And some squares of fabric (thrifted and upcycled of course!) slightly larger than my templates.....

Place fabric square RS down on the ironing board. Centre the interfacing sticky side down on top of the fabric and press to adhere. Then pin the template on top of this making sure the centre circle of the template lines up with the circle of interfacing....

Cut around the template with pinking shears...

It should look like this...

I then embroidered snowflakes on each cover with embroidery floss. These are a combination of French Knots, Lazy Daisy Stitch, and Back Stitch and took about 15 mins each to do so great as a last minute personal touch...

Secure the covers to the jar tops with elastic bands then tie with ribbon......

There are so many ideas out there for "Gifts in a Jar" and these would add a nice finishing touch to anything in a jar. Not just chutneys :)
Px

Oven gloves and stockings

2011-12-20T03:42:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! Joanne here from StitchandWitter. I've been thoroughly enjoying all your crafty Christmas makes so have snaffled the guest login from Tilly to add my own small post. This weekend, I've been whipping up a bunch of oven gloves for my mum and sisters, using this tutorial. It's been so easy and a great way to do a bit of stash-busting. I used insulated wadding which is extra protective for handling hot stuff so hopefully they're practical as well as unique.

On my sister's request I also put together a few Christmas stockings for her.... dogs! Yep - these are for Nancy, Clint and Nacho. Hope they appreciate them :)

I've been so inspired by all your crafty makes - I've already got loads of ideas for next year. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all xxx

The last one!

2011-12-20T01:39:00.000-08:00

I finished my last Christmas present! These are for my two little sisters. They asked for some ear warmers like they had seen in a shop, but in their favourite colours :) They're very simple, an inch of rib, two inches of stockinette, and another inch of rib. Oh and two huge pom poms :)

I hope they like them!

Ashley x

Lady Gaga Free High Quality Wallpapers & Pictures

2011-12-19T23:50:00.000-08:00

Lady Gaga is one of the present time famous singer from USA. Lady Gaga has fan over all around the world. Today Picwall presents you with some of the beautiful and cool wallpapers and pictures of Lady Gaga. All of them are free and of course high quality.

A Fishy Case... for a Fly Rod and Reel

2011-12-19T17:14:00.000-08:00

Hello fellow crafters! It's Amy from Sew Well getting in some last minute crafting just in time for Christmas. Today I have a gift for my dad.

A few weeks ago when I was talking to my dad on the phone, he mentioned that he needed a fabric case for his fly rod and reel but that he didn't like the ones in the store. Since it seemed like the perfect Christmas gift, I offered to make it for him if he'd send me a diagram and measurements of what he wanted.The picture he sent me was of a 30" long set of pockets with a cover flap next to a 24" long pocket.

My dad's fly fishing rods break down into four pieces for easy storage. When he's ready to store his rod and reel, he'll place the end of the rod with the reel in the open 24" pocket and the other three pieces of the rod in the 30" pockets. He'll then cover the end of the three 30" pockets with the fabric flap and tie the straps located on the end of the cover around the whole thing to keep everything in place.

Because the rod pieces aren't all the same thickness, the pockets aren't all the same widths. The 24" pocket is 3" wide, the neighboring 30" pocket is 2" wide, and the final two 30" pockets are 1" wide each.

I added a bit of the nice waterproof, outdoor-quality fabric I had left over from the bag I made him to carry his boots and waders to the bottom. Hopefully it'll add a bit of heartiness to the bag. There's no seam at the bottom either. Instead the fabric is simply folded over, so the rods won't be able to work themselves out.I hope he likes it! If so, I'll be making three more so that each of his rods will have one.

2011-12-19T16:34:00.000-08:00

1628

Another Christmas Outfit...

2011-12-19T16:25:00.000-08:00

Hi, Pam here from Threading My Way...

I finished my second Christmas outfit this week. The first one was for a little girl. Here's the second.

Once again I've used the 30 Minute Shorts pattern from Create HOPE Designs. This time I've sewn red topstitching along all seams, (except the inside leg) and above the cuff. I quite like the effect.

I added an appliqué of a star to the store bought t-shirt. Around the outside of the star, I've added two lines of running stitch in red and blue, to make the star stand out a little more.

Another quick and easy project. I still have lots of Christmas sewing to do. Let's hope I don't have to do a last minute dash to the shops because I don't finish all I've planned.

last minute.com: fierce chutney and icy candles

2011-12-19T08:30:00.000-08:00

Hi crafters!

Once more tis Becca from Knit Happens. If you're anything like me (little miss last minute) you might be panicking about those last few gifts or decoration bits. Worry not! There is still time! I made fierce festive chutney in no time with this recipe from the lovely Betty Magazine. I swapped the chilli for smoked paprika, black pepper and a pinch of chilli powder. A bit of ribbon and a ditsy print fabric to top - Bob's your uncle (he may well be).

I grabbed some wintry greenery from the garden for this ice candle holder. The tutorial is here on Eden Bath.

Phew!

"Gosh, Pluto..."

2011-12-18T20:54:00.000-08:00

I got this beautiful Fred Moore drawing at a recent auction, and I love it.

It's from the short "Society Dog Show" 1939. Mickey and Pluto are pretty cartoony

characters, but in this sketch their sad attitudes feel so honest and real.

Can anybody come up with a more uplifting caption for it than:

"Gosh Pluto, whatever happened to pencil animation?"

Let me know.

Dress-Up Tutu's

2011-12-18T16:17:00.000-08:00

Hi! I'm Sarah from Ohhh Lulu! I am almost done all of my Christmas Crafting...

This is what I made for my 5 & 7 year nieces - Dress up Tutu's! I love these so much I wish I could have one!

They were very simple to make. I used about 10 yards of tulle & netting per tutu. I cut a piece of wide elastic long enough to fit around a little girls waist, and sewed a length of ribbon to each end. I cut long strips of tulle about 5" wide and tied strip after strip along the elastic, stretching the elastic and crunching as much tulle on as possible to make is extra fluffy. I secured the first and last strip with a zig zag stitch on my sewing machine. You can kind of see how the strips are arranged I was able to make 2 in 1 night, which watching some Christmas movies. There are tons of tutorials on line that give detailed instructions. This is a really easy quick project and I think the girls will have a lot of fun with them!

2011-12-18T14:46:00.000-08:00

1627

A Wee Sparkly Christmas Top

2011-12-18T12:09:00.000-08:00

Hello fellow crafters! It's Amy from Sew Well again, here for another update on my holiday crafting.

I wanted my six-month-old niece's first Christmas to be special, so I made her a little red holiday top from a bit of sparkly fabric from Fine Fabrics and McCall's M5416. The fabric was three inches shy of being able to make the full length tunic, but as my niece is still a tiny baby and the pattern I cut was likely meant for a small toddler, I figure it'll be just fine with tights or over pants.

I cut the lining from a nice white cotton remnant I got from Britex the last time I was there. The pattern just calls for a facing, but I wanted a full-length lining to class up this baby holiday number. Though I hand pick stitched around the edge of the lining to keep the facing in place, it still peeks out a bit. Maybe it's a design feature to match the buttons? Next time I might use the identical fabric for the facing.

I used my narrow-hem foot for the hem on the fashion fabric but just pressed twice and stitched the lining hem. All in all it was a quick and easy project, even with the hand sewing. I hope she likes it!

Ready Or Not!

2011-12-18T12:03:00.000-08:00

As I was saying, Christmas is on the same day every year and frankly I thought I would never make it on time this year.

But little by little, I am almost finished. I only have 7 of those toiletries bags (tutorial here) to make still (2 more than I previously thought as I heard my husband and my son say out loud: "Wow! these are really cool!"), I managed to to send the big box of gifts to Canada on time and I have started work on my Christmas dress! If anything doesn't get made, it might be it, but no panic, I have plenty.

I made a few more of these tags and long time readers of my blog will not be surprised to see I have managed to scrape a few scraps of Alexander Henry's Thunder Flower into submission (I couldn't throw any of it away, I love it so much), I made 2 more girl toiletry bags with them.

A small one and a bigger one.

If you have time to surf, I do have a small contest/giveaway going on, the first to spot the mistake on the Zelda costume will get some vintage trim from my Etsy shop.

Merry Yuletide!

2011-12-18T12:00:00.000-08:00

1626

Pictures Julia Roberts Wallpapers

2011-12-18T11:55:00.000-08:00

The Best Top Desktop Julia Roberts Wallpapers in all kind of resolutions and sizes. For your PC with Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7 and Mac OS. High resolution actress Julia Roberts photos, widescreen, 4:3, 16:9 and HD wallpapers.

Desktop hd wallpaper with a photo of Julia Roberts posing on her bed

Background for pc with Julia Roberts with red brown hair

Beautiful picture of Julia Roberts, laughing on her bed

White desktop hd wallpaper with Julia Roberts wearing a big necklace

Blac kwhite background for computer with Julia Roberts

Desktop hd wallpaper with dark haired film actress Julia Roberts

Black background with a photo of Julia Roberts

Desktop hd wallpaper with Julia Roberts with almost blonde hair

Background for pc with Julia Roberts wearing a black top

Great picture of Julia Roberts on a sofa in a golden dress

Desktop hd wallpaper with Julia Roberts wearing blue jeans, a shirt, flip flops and many jewelry

Background for pc with Julia Roberts on the backseat of a luxuary car

Amazing photo of Julia Roberts wearing a light blue shirt

Desktop hd wallpaper with a verry young Julia Roberts in the movie Pretty Woman

Black desktop wallpaper with a younger Julia Roberts

White background for pc with Julia Roberts wearing an orange jacket

Desktop hd wallpaper with Julia Roberts and lots of pillows

White desktop wallpaper with a blonde Julia Roberts

Background for pc with Julia Roberts in a city overloaded with water

Black white desktop hd wallpaper with Julia Roberts

Brunette Julia Roberts wearing high heels and a purple dress on the couch

Light gray background for computer with acress Julia Roberts wearing a red top

Desktop hd wallpaper with Julia Roberts with pink lipstick

Black white picture of Julia Roberts in her underwear

Black wallpaper with a photo of Julia Roberts dressed in white

Black white hd wallpaper with Julia Roberts

Background for pc with Julia Roberts with a big hat on a horse

Colorful happy picture with Julia Roberts in a field with yellow green sunflowers

Black desktop hd wallpaper with Julia Roberts with red long hair

Black white desktop background with a nice photo of Julia Roberts

Desktop hd wallpaper with a smiling Julia Roberts with curls in her hair

Hobby-Reindeer

2011-12-18T11:52:00.000-08:00

Hello, I'm Tors from Girl meets Wolf (previously Welsh Pixie) and I'm not sure about anyone else but I'm having a bit of a panic.

Wouldn't you know it, I've left it all til the last minute - a downside of my profession, no time left for anything else! And wouldn't you know it, the first thing I complete isn't even a present for my family, but for my friend's little boy! I'm sure the Law of Sod has something to do with this.

This hobby-reindeer came from Tone Finnanger's book, Sew Pretty Christmas Homestyle. Tone's creations are fabulous and really very easy to make. If you're a fan of Mollie Makes you'll have seen some of her work in this month's issue.

The stick is some cheap dowling from B&Q that I've left unpainted because I prefer it and also can't be arsed with all the painting so soon after painting a new-to-me dresser that took two weeks to finish. It'll be a while before I pick up a paintbrush again I think.

The nose and eyes are drawn on rather wonkily with some fabric pens, the ribbon came from eBay (and don't I just love it!) and the head itself is stuffed with hypo-allergenic toy stuffing from Hobbycraft. All in all this was a rather cheap and not particularly time consuming (although a little fiddly) project to complete.

Spa Kits - complete!

2011-12-18T11:36:00.000-08:00

Hello, Wendy here from The Crafter's Apprentice. I have finally finished the spa kits! Well, OK, I've got one washcloth to crochet as apparently I can't count, but they're pretty much done.

I never showed you the eye masks, so here they are:

After I'd finished sewing them, I put one on and Mr CA said "the nose cut out needs to be bigger". I gave him an "annoyed look" and ignored him. Maybe I've just got a big nose...

They have elastic at the back to account for a range of small - large heads. Not that I'm saying my family and friends have large heads, but you never know.

So, want to see the completed Spa kits?

Here they are, all full of goodies. Want to see what's in each one?

The slippers and eye mask are from this tutorial, the bag itself is from a pattern in Making magazine. The crochet washcloths are are different from various patterns in one of my books. There's also a couple of homemade soaps and bath bombs. The kit above also includes a bought pig-shaped shower gel. This kit is for my piggy-loving mum.

Would you be excited to find this under your Christmas tree?

Each kit is the same but different. Some have plastic bath toys in them - for the mother's of small children.

The slippers and eye masks are all made from the DS quilt line that was sold in the US in Joann's. Each has a different colour combination. I wish I'd had enough to make the bags the same, but it was not to be.

Most of the washcloths are made from cotton or acrylic yarn, I made them months and months ago, at the start of the year I think.

The soap and bath bombs are all from a couple of kits, but there are recipes galore on the internet if you want to try it. The soap is just melt-and-pour and was easy, the bath bombs were NOT easy!

Phew, it feels like a weight of my mind now that is done. I'm just having a break after finishing my last batch of candles and candle tarts and before making my gift tags. Not long to go now but most items are crossed off my list - either because they're done or because I've decided not to make them! Ah well, at least I'll have some ideas for next year!

Visitor number reached to 11,000 today

2011-12-18T11:23:00.000-08:00

Picwall Blog's visitor number reached to 11,000 today, here is a screen shot of that moment. Thank You all for visiting my blog. And if you have any suggestion regarding my blog please send me: mail

5K8ZRMNNQ4WU

Felt Monster

2011-12-18T10:30:00.000-08:00

Hi! Magpie Mimi again with a felt monster this time. I got this pattern from Mollie Makes magazine again, but you can download the pattern from their website. It's a Feltmistress exclusive and is one of four versions that you can make, I shall be making another one/two, depending on time, before Christmas as presents.

He's a very smart Monster with a bow tie

He's made completely from felt and stuffed with toy stuffing so he's safe for children to play with

Here's me holding him so you get an idea of scale

And led down, it's a hard life being a monster you know!

I've stuffed him quite generously as wanted the arms and legs to have good definition, but they are a little stiff right now. I'm sure with a few hours play he'll be a bit more pliable! He was fun to make, but the more details you add, obviously the more time consuming he is to make. With any luck I'll have a few more monsters before the end of the week!

Anyone panicking yet???

Sewn Christmas Cards...

2011-12-18T04:20:00.000-08:00

Hi, Pam here from Threading My Way...

I saw some fabulous sewn Christmas cards by Sew and the City and thought I'd make my own. Here's my first one...

Actually, it's my second attempt and my first finished card. Sew and the City suggested putting little dabs of glue on the back of the fabric to adhere the fabric to the cardboard so it didn't move when sewing. I omitted this step in my first attempt and of course, the fabric moved and puckered. I won't show you that attempt.

I decided to use double sided fusible webbing instead of glue and it worked like a charm. This card was so easy to make. Here's how I did it.

Fuse the Christmas tree to cardboard:

Fuse the Christmas tree to the cardboard using double sided fusible webbing and following the manufacturer's instructions.
Use an old cloth so glue doesn't get on the iron or the ironing board and to stop the cardboard from burning.
Use a low setting on the iron so the cardboard doesn't burn.

Sew the Christmas tree:

Sew a zig zag stitch around the Christmas tree.
Sew the green card to the actual Christmas card using a zig zag.

That's all there is to it.

Limoncello

2011-12-18T01:41:00.000-08:00

The limoncello is ready! Before pictures are in my previous post. I left the lemon rind steeping in vodka for four weeks, before adding the sugar syrup following this recipe, and letting it sit for another two weeks before decanting it into bottles. The first recipient was my mum, who was super impressed! Well, she would be, wouldn't she? She's my mum...

I hope you're all enjoying any remaining Christmas crafting you've got left to do over the next few days!

Love from Tilly

Grab Me, Bitch!

2011-12-17T12:58:00.000-08:00

New Year 2012 Free High Quality Wallpapers For All

2011-12-17T12:53:00.000-08:00

Cheese-It Toffee Bark

2011-12-17T11:29:00.000-08:00

Squeezing in another holiday recipe from my blog, What's Up, Cupcake? This toffee is so easy and delicious; and would be great to bag up as gifts or even to bring in to the office or to a holiday party. It's definitely a conversation piece... cheese-it toffee? Yes, it works and it tastes amazing! Thanks to Vanilla Sugar Blog who introduced me to this awesome recipe!

The recipe is super easy, super fast to put together, and only has 5 ingredients, the majority of which you probably have. I just had to go out to get the jumbo cheese-its, though the regular size would work if you can't find them. I also had to get milk chocolate chips, as I usually work with semi-sweet and darker. If you don't have cheese-its in your area, I imagine a club cracker or one such as Ritz would work as well. Semi-sweet chocolate would also be an option if you don't have milk chocolate on hand. When possible, stick with the original ingredients - you won't regret it.

Cheese-It Toffee Bark

Recipe from Vanilla Sugar Blog

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
1 cup, packed light brown sugar
2 bags of 11.05 ounces of milk chocolate chips
Approx ½ box of the Big-size Cheez-It’s, depending on your pan size (use the big ones, as they cover more room)
1 cup of crushed toasted pecans (or walnuts or whatever you crave)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
2. Line jelly roll pan or cookie sheet with foil and spray with non-stick spray. Or just use a non-stick jelly roll pan. I recommend the latter, as it makes it very easy to remove the toffee.
3. Lay a flat layer of Cheez-It crackers out on the foil. Cover any gaps with additional cheese-its. It's ok if it's not completely flat.

Just out of the oven.

4. In a saucepan, melt the sugar and butter until a boil is reached. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 3-4 minutes or until mixture is thickened and sugar is completely dissolved. Pour this mixture over the crackers and spread to coat evenly. Do not mix! Just pour, and fill in any gaps with a spatula.
5. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 5-8 minutes, or until the toffee becomes bubbly. Turn off oven, then take out of oven and let it sit for a couple of minutes. Then sprinkle on the chocolate chips. But tray back in oven to help the chips melt a bit. When chips are melted a bit (about a minute in the oven), spread them into an even layer like you would frosting a cake. After done spreading the chocolate, sprinkle on the chopped nuts or whatever else you want to add.

Spread the soft chocolate until all of the cheese-its and caramel are covered

Sprinkle the nuts, then let cool.

6. Let cool and/or refrigerate until hardened. Once cooled and firm, then break into pieces. Bag or transfer to an air-tight container.

I refrigerated mine overnight which made it the perfect consistency to break into pieces. The squares of the cheese-its make this really easy too as they generally want to break at seam points.

Five high quality free windows 8 wallpaper

2011-12-17T11:18:00.000-08:00

Five high quality free windows 8 wallpaper which I like most, You also like : Windows 8 Wallpaper

Picwall Blog

Seven Cool Windows 7 Wallpaper / Backgrounds

2011-12-17T11:05:00.000-08:00

Here is Seven cool Windows 7 wallpaper or backgrounds for you. Check out category WINDOWS
for more Windows wallpaper / backgrounds pictures.

Let's have a different Facebook cover photo

2011-12-17T10:03:00.000-08:00

Here is another collection of Facebook Cover photos after the one I posted some hours ago 7 Beautiful and Amazing Facebook Cover Photos. Check those and Enjoy.

Picwall Blog

Sylvester Stallone:Rocky Balboa,John Rambo

2011-12-17T08:42:00.000-08:00

Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone born on July 6, 1946 in New York's gritty Hells kitchen to Frank Stallone Sr. and Jacqueline Labofish is one of the highest paid Hollywood actor . Sylvester the actor/director/script writer/ producer is known for its role in Rocky and Rambo movies series. In spite of doing roles in comedy and drama types of movies, he is still remembered for his action roles .During his childhood days Stallone was not happy, he was lonely and his friends used to make mockery of him. An accident during his forceps delivery resulted in parts of his chin, lip and tongue paralyzed. The trademark of slurred speech,drooping lower lip and crooked left eye are the results of the accident which happened to him. Thus his friends in childhood days used to taunt him for his facial features and that made Stallone lonely and homely. His parents troubled marriage which later ended in divorce also made Sylvester unhappy and angry.

While waiting for his acting career to start ,he has worked all sort of work to make his ends meet. Sylvester career gained momentum with the Rocky movie which he wrote and acted as a star in 1976. The movie gained lot of appraise and was commercial hit. Stallone wrote,directed and acted in Rocky II (1979), then the third movie of the series was released in year 1982 (Rocky III). In the same year he introduced a character John Rambo in First blood. Thus the series of Rocky which continued up to Rocky V made his fans excited and thrilled by his performance while the Rambo series ended up in Rambo (2008) which was the fourth movie of this series. The Expendables 2 is another movie of Sylvester series which is written by himself and is set to be released in the year 2012 its a sequel of The Expendables(2010). Thus the saga of this great actor will continue and remain forever . We wish him all the best for his upcoming movie and great health.

If you have not watched the ROCKY movie series and the RAMBO collection ,you guys have missed a lot .

Download Sylvester Stallone movies from the link provided below, these are the one of the greatest movies of the Sylvester era.

(1) The complete "Rambo" movie collection:
Download Link 1
(2) The complete "Rocky" movie series collection:
Download Link 2
(3) "The Expendables" movie :
Download Link 3