Archive for the ‘Gift Ideas and Holiday Crafts’ Category

I travelled a bit over Easter weekend and, in a fit of optimism brought on by finishing my classic raglan, packed FOUR new knitting projects.

Obviously, I did not come home, 48 hours later, in possession of two new sweaters and a pair of socks. But I did manage to finish the jar cosy.

I'm not really in the habit of knitting sweaters for jars (HEY, WAIT! Does this count as #4?!) but here's the deal: I couldn't resist. The Internet made me do it!

My friend Sherrie blogged about her new Cuppow lid – basically, a lid that turns a Mason jar into a travel mug – but noted hot tea in a glass jar is, well, HOT. Sherrie's friend Amanda shared her pattern for jar cosy.  I enthused about this my friend and coworker Daniela, who kindly bought me a lid from her local coffee shop.

See? It was only a matter of time before I became a one-woman jar cosy knitting factory.

I took the basics from Amanda's pattern and altered it a bit to fit my taste. Here's what I did:

• Using Tanis Fiber Arts Green Label (aran weight) yarn and 4.5 mm (US 7) DPN, cast on 48 sts and join to knit in the round.
• Row 1: *K2, p1, repeat from * to end of round.
• Rows 2 to 6: Continue in 2 x 1 ribbing.
• Round 7 and every following 7th row: *(K2, p1) 3 times, C5B, (p1, k2) 3 times, p1; repeat from * one more time.
• Repeat until desired length is reached, ending on Row 6.
• P 1 round.
• K 1 round.
• *K1, k2tog; repeat from * to end of round.
• Repeat decrease round until only 3 sts remain.
• Cut yarn, draw tail through, and fasten off.

• Stitch glossary:
• K = knit
• P = purl
• 2 x 1 ribbing = K2, p1
• k2tog = knit two together
• C5B = slip 3 sts from left needle to cable needle and hold in back of work. Knit 2 sts from cable needle. Slip 1 st from cable needle to left needle and purl; slip remaining 2 sts from cable needle to right needle and knit.

Pretty fancy!

(And I know, I know, we're headed into warmer weather and who wants hot coffee or tea when it's 38•C, but come on: how cute would these look on your beer – ahem – pop cans at your annual cottage knitter's retreat? Pretty cute, I think.)

Goodness me, how time flies. One minute, it's Valentine's Day; the next thing you know, it's practically Easter. (At least, that's how it feels 'round these parts!) I thought I'd do a good ol' fashioned Easter craft roundup to get in the spirit.

First things first, Jeromina Juan's awesome paper Easter eggs, which appeared in our April issue. They're cute, they're easy, they'd make a great craft to do with your class or your Brownie group. Hosting Easter dinner? Imagine one of these at each place setting, in lieu of place cards. Cute, no?

Plus a few hits from around the web:

• This felt Easter basket from The Purl Bee would be something you could use year after year – and I think it would look extra special filled with naturally dyed eggs (via Martha, of course).
• Don't feel like stewing up a big pot of vinegar and cabbage to colour your eggs? (I don't blame you!) These washi tape–decorated Easter eggs from Lovely Indeed are supercute, no dye pots required.
• I love these egg-shaped drinking straw toppers from the Omiyage blog. They make me want a milkshake with Cadbury mini eggs mixed in. (Is that a thing? Will someone make one for me, please? I'm here till 5 pm every day.)
• Speaking of special-delivery awesomeness, Easter in a Box from You Are My Fave. (Seriously, still one of my faves.) Who wouldn't love to get that package?
• ...especially if accompanied by this rad "origami" bunny card, a free printable from Eat, Drink, Chic.

Oh, and of course, my favourite Easter+Internet thing ever, the Peeps dioramas from the Washington Post. I will enjoy re-watching that slideshow later today, with my superawesome Mini Egg Milkshake in hand. Woot!

Hi folks – just popping in to announce the winners of the One of a Kind Show tickets. It's super hectic here as we put the final touches on our June issue – it's going to be a whopper! So much good stuff. But I digress...

As usual, the Random Integer Generator did the hard work:

And here are our lucky winners:

Congratulations to Diane, Nikki and Wanda! I'll be in touch shortly. And thank you to everyone who entered – I hope you have a chance to attend the show, it's always a good one.

Maybe because St. Patrick's Day wasn't a big deal in my family growing up (we're Groundhog Day people), I'm always surprised at the number of St. Patrick's Day crafts out there. So many ways to impersonate and/or catch a leprechaun!

One craft that gets a lot of attention at this time of year are Jeromina's Leprechaun Hat Favours.

Quick, easy, cute and filled with chocolate – what's not to love? Here's how to make the hats.

Do you have a favourite St. Patrick's Day craft? We'd love to see a link in the comments!

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, but I, of course, haven't done anything other than eat my fair share of Hershey's kisses and red jelly beans – thanks, Lisa!

Here are a few ideas for you, just in case you're a Last-Minute Lucy like me.

• Valentine's Day surprise crackers (as in prize-filled poppers, not Saltines) from Not Martha.
• Sweet little memo holders from Omiyage.
• Rainbow heart banner from Say Yes to Hoboken.

And next week's issue of "Get Crafty," my e-newsletter, will be chock-full of Valentine's Day ideas. It comes out on Monday, so you still have time to sign up.

(PS Don't forget, you can enter to win a copy of The Crafter's Guide to Taking Great Photos until Sunday night!)

I'm not one to do up my house for every holiday and event (though I admire the people who have the creativity to come up with decorations for Groundhog Day), but a little colour in the middle of a grey February is always welcome. So here's a quick craft to warm up your kitchen: a hearty tea towel.

This project involves simple freezer paper stencilling made even simpler: Instead of drawing and cutting out my own design, I used two different sizes of heart-shaped paper punches to make a stencil. Just iron on, paint, let dry, iron again, and you're done! I reused the stencil in an attempt to make a matching pair, but the wax didn't stick as well the second time and the paint bled. (Lesson learned.) I did this project with a group of friends, who were all way more adventurous and made their own designs.

Mary's lovely monogram

Jenna's crazy hearts

With just a bit of freezer paper, some paint and super cheap Ikea tea towels, you could easily make a whole year's worth of simple holiday decor. Guess I'd better start looking for four-leaf clover paper punches!

This weekend, inspired by my friend Sherrie, I tried something new – making candles. It's something I've wanted to try for a long time, and I'm so happy I finally did.

Materials: recycled jam jars, bamboo skewers, candle wicking and the metal tabs you use to anchor the wick, and a giant block of beeswax. I got mine at the farmer's market, but you can actually get it at the health food or art supply store, too. I got the wicking and the tabs at the art supply store, for about $5.

I melted the wax in a stainless steel bowl (thank you, Value Village!) over simmering water. It took some time.

Meanwhile, I set up the jars. It's pretty straightforward. I used melted wax from another candle to anchor the wicks in the bottom of the jars, and wrapped the wicks around the bamboo skewers to keep them straight.

Checking in on the beeswax...

Ready to pour! I covered my work surface with parchment paper just to keep things clean. I used a 1/2 cup ladle that I had lying around (where do these things come from?) to pour the wax because I thought it might keep things a bit tidier.

Here goes...

The wax started to cool almost immediately. It took another six hours or so for them to harden completely.

Ta-da! That giant block of beeswax yielded three candles – and made my house smell amazing for the rest of the day. I can't wait to try them out.

I think these would make a great gift, and provided you're doing all the work with the hot wax, it would be a fun project to do with your kids, too. They could help cut and tie the wicks, supervise the pouring, and create special labels for the candles. Maybe as a Valentine's Day present for someone special?

(If this has piqued your interest, here's lots more info on making candles.)

This week we're giving away a copy of Beyond Knit and Purl, a new book by Kate Atherley. Today, we're featuring one of the projects from her book as a little treat for all our readers.

Kate points out that this is a great way to practice your cable skills before starting a more complicated project – and that one of these would make a sweet little Valentine's Day gift.

Cables Mini Project: Coffee Cup Cozy
Choose a color that matches how you take your coffee so spills don’t show.

Finished Measurements:
3.25 inches/8 cm wide, 9 inches/23 cm around unstretched; will stretch easily to fit the largest take-out coffee cup.

Materials:

• 1 ball Sirdar Eco Wool DK (100% undyed virgin wool, 100m/50gm ball; color 201—grey)
  • Designer’s Tip: If you can’t find this yarn, any worsted weight wool like Cascade 220, or Paton’s Classic Merino will work nicely!
• 4mm (US #6) straight needles—wood, bamboo or plastic needles are easiest
• Cable needle
• Yarn needle

Gauge:
22 stitches and 28 rows across 4 inches/10cm in stockinette stitch on 4mm needles.

Method:
Cast on 20 sts.
Row 1 [RS]: K4, p2, k8, p2, k4.
Rows 2, 4, 6, 8 [WS]: K6, p8, k6.
Row 3 [RS]: K4, p2, k8, p2, k4.
Row 5 [RS]: K4, p2, C8R*, p2, k4.
Row 7 [RS]: K4, p2, k8, p2, k4.

*C8R: Slip next 4 sts to cable needle and hold in back; k4, then k4 from cable needle.

Repeat the last 8 rows until piece measures 9 inches long, ending after a Row 1.

Bind off, leaving a 12 inch tail to use for seaming.

Finishing:
Wash the piece.
With RS facing, seam using the invisible horizontal seaming method as given below, using the tail left over from the cast-off.

How To Work the Invisible Horizontal Seam
If you look closely at your knitting, you’ll see that at the bottom of each knit stitch – each V – you’ll see a point. You’ll use these for seaming.

Fold the coffee cozy in half along the short side, with right sides facing you, and line up the cast-on and bind off edges. The cast-off tail should be on your right if you’re right-handed; on your left if you’re left-handed. Thread your darning needle with your cast-off tail.

Starting with the cast-on edge (that is, the edge that doesn’t have the tail attached to it), run the darning needle under the point of the V of the first stitch, right at the edge.

Next, run under the corresponding V on the other side, right up by the cast-off edge. And then back across the other side, going in where you came out, and under the next V....

And so forth. When seaming purl stitches, the v is still there, it’s just hiding a little bit. Stretch the fabric out to see the V's.

Pull snug as you work. When you get to the end, weave in your ends.

Don't forget that you've got a chance to win a copy of Kate's book, Beyond Knit and Purl. Just leave a comment on the giveaway post for your chance to win.

Hi friends,

We're just wrapping things up before the Christmas holiday, and wanted to pop in to share a few last picks for quick gifts to make. And then we'll be heading straight to the couch to do a bit of this:

Austen: I love whipping up teeny-tiny knitted toys as a last-minute gift. This year's choice: minions and gargoyles. They're a great way to use up bits of leftover yarn – and wouldn't tiny Santa hats just pile on the cute?

Lisa: My favourite quick large-batch gift is homemade granola. Everyone can use a tasty treat, and it's easily packaged up in a pretty tin or mason jar with a bit of ribbon. Include the recipe, and your gift recipient can pass it on!

Tina: I love these adorable Candy Cane Mice from – who else? – the queen of Christmas crafting, Martha Stewart. Just some felt scraps, fabric glue and candy canes, and you have an adorable stocking stuffer. Make a bunch and you can put one at each place at the dinner table!

Thank you so much for stopping by to read, to comment, and to be a part of The Craft Blog in 2011. We are so happy that you're here! All the best to you and yours – may this season be full of light and love. family and friends, food and drink...and a whole lot of crafting. We'll see you back here in 2012!

Ask anyone who knows my love of office supplies, and they'll tell you about the best gift my husband ever gave me: the red Swingline stapler that Milton pines for in the movie Office Space. Talk about love.

So you can probably figure out that I love nothing more than getting Post-Its, pens and doodads from Staples in my Christmas stocking. Some highlights from the last couple of years:

Stripey paper clips

Funky erasers

Padded metallic binder clips

One thing I would love to get in my stocking this year? Some gorgeous DIY Pretty Pencils made from the tutorial at Omiyage.ca. They're just simple dollar-store pencils dressed up with Japanese washi paper and Mod Podge. Nothing could be simpler!

Photo, courtesy of Omiyage.ca

What crafty goodness are you hoping to find on Christmas morning?