tiny backpack.

i made a tiny backpack!

and it's probably the cutest thing ever. the super cute model helps too.

i used made by rae's amazing toddler backpack pattern. it was a super fun sew. definitely the most complicated thing i've ever sewn,  full of new adventures---first time sewing a zipper, first time using piping, first time using interfacing, first time lining a bag...

i'm super stoked with how it turned out. and i finally found the perfect use for the geometric woodland spoonflower fabric i designed! i was able to do the front and back panel from only a fat quarter. the red polka dot fabric, the lining fabric, and all of the extra bits came from jo ann's.

i can't stop gushing over it and all of its ridiculously tiny, real-people backpack details--like the adjustable straps and that tiny handle. total pattern brilliance.

it even has a quilted bottom! i had fun here with some contrasting thread and a snazzy decorative stitch.

i also lined it and added an inside pocket, because i'm basically a sucker. the pattern called for the lining to be made separately, but i opted for a sandwich type construction and then bias bound the seams (another first!). i didn't really know what i was doing here, but i winged it and it turned out ok.

margot loooooves it. like giggles endlessly when you put it on her and throws a tantrum when you have to take it off. such joy makes a maker mom beam.

since margot is still pretty tiny, i scaled it down by thirteen percent. seems like random number, i know but i wanted to still use a standard sized zipper. at eighty-seven percent i could use a twelve inch rather than a fourteen inch zipper. hooray math!

i will definitely be making another one of these. it's such a great pattern--easy to follow and interesting enough that you feel like some kind of sewing super hero when you complete it (well, at least i did). next time i'll definitely do a better job with the bias bound seams in the lining and i'll figure out how to use interfacing better so that it's less wrinkly (any advice there?). i'll also try to remember to include the side pockets that i made and then left on the table...live and learn.

ooh, and now you can follow my blog with bloglovin (a little late on the bandwagon, i know).

christmastime.

i always have grand plans of being a great blogger during the holidays--posting ideas for diy christmas gifts, sharing perfectly staged photos of delicious cookies, decking the halls and sharing it with the interweb masses--but then a time warp hits and the year skips from thanksgiving to new years.

so, since no coherent post can be made from the whirlwind that is christmastime, i present you with this random look.

to begin this journey of negligence, i present you a trio of garlands, never blogged about. (i may have a slight garland problem.)

these paint dipped pine cones were made three christmases ago, when paint dipping things was all the rage.

last christmas i made these over-sized, bulky yarn pom poms. they're super squashy, though a bit worse for the wear after a lot of margot playing.

and this year's i think is my favorite. the touch of neon yellow in this wooden bead garland makes me smile every time. i think this one will stay up well past christmas.

continuing on in the theme of decked halls, this little corner of the world makes me happy. those christmas trees were one of my very first blog posts five years ago!

coincidentally, this picture also features a houseplant and a set of gnome salt and pepper shakers. (i may also have a slight salt and pepper shaker problem.)

i maybe spent way too much time making yarn tassels and pom poms for present wrapping. and since they matched, i couldn't resist adding these ridiculous knitted caterpillars to the mix.

and lastly, this felt christmas tree was a big hit this year. a diy craft that takes less than thirty minutes, costs about two dollars and keeps a fifteen month old occupied is definitely a winner in my book.

so, there you have it, photographic evidence that christmas twenty-fourteen did happen. as always, i wish i got pictures of more things (i sense a new years resolution in the making).

so how was your holidays? any super awesome crafts, decor or recipes that didn't quite make their way to blog-land?

wooden ornaments.

my love of the fab lab grows every week. my current obsession is with the laser cutter. recently i used it to cut out these ornaments that i designed.

if the characters look familiar, then you've been around this blog a time or two. they're the same dapper woodland animals i drew and embroidered for margot's wall art.

i cut them out of quarter inch poplar (or rather the magical machine did). i then stained them to get rid of that weird green-ish poplar hue. they still seemed to be missing a little something, so i played around with colorizing them using watered down acrylics.

  

i'm  pretty happy with the end result. i still need to tweak the file to compensate for the kerf of the laser cutter, so there's not the weird overlap of the etched outlines and the cut out pieces. maybe one day that will happen. more importantly though i still need to make mr. badger and miss rabbit. 

oh, and our tree now has lights and ornments! hooray christmastime!