Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! 

image via The Graphics Fairy

I hope those of you celebrating today are having a delightful time with friends and family.  Have fun!

Love, Emma

Christmas Silhouettes

My dad has a silhouette he made when he was a small boy that was hanging in my grandmother's house - its fun to look at - you can tell its him from the head shape and expression even after many years. 

I also came across a similar project here.  I morphed the two together and came up with a fun Christmas Crafts that I finally managed to get done this year - framed fabric silhouettes. 

I got started this summer (kind of) by snapping a profile shot of two of my cousins.  You can tell from their hair and some wayward drips that they had just hopped out of the pool . 

Little Nicky

Fast forward to last week, when I printed out the pictures on regular 8.5 x11 paper, and cut out carefully around their heads.  All the little wayward strands make for a fun final product! 

I affixed wonder under to the back of some gray flannel I had.  Tracing the head cut out onto the fabric was much easier that way, especially when working in tiny cuts. 

Jack

I cut some yellow fabric to fit the 8x10 frame I had and added some interfacing to the back for extra stability.  After cutting out the head, I attached it to the backing fabric, framed it and was done!  I pretty simple, but thoughtful handmade gift.  You could do something similar with black paper and a fun card stock or scrap booking paper behind it instead. 

Hope you enjoyed this!  I did, and I do hope my gift recipients do too!

Passport to Craftiness!

Here is a fun little gift I whipped up this weekend - a passport cover! 

I used this tutorial from Chubby Hobby.

Its a great way to use up scraps too!

It holds two passports for all of you international men and women of mystery out there with multiple identities - or, those who carry their significant other's/children's/bff's along with their own.  Plus, some extra pockets for miscellaneous papers and what not.

I only had heavy interfacing which made it tricky to turn out and a little bulkier.  I would use a lighter weight one next time.  Also, work with cottons if you can, the home decor brown exterior was a little heavy to work with too.  Otherwise, a fun and easy project for the traveler in your life! 

Christmas Tag Tip!

Hello!  I did some Christmas wrapping this weekend. 

 One thing I like to do is make gift tags out of old greeting cards.  Its free, festive, and fun!  Just pick a card, any card (or, one you can part with, and that has no writing on the back of the cover), and snip it up into squares, rectangles, whatever you like!  I use decorative scissors but regular work fine too.  Punch a hole in the corner of each little tag, tie it to your gift and you're ready to go! 

I also made this little bag from scrap fabric - just use a long rectangular piece, fold it in half wrong sides out and sew up the sides.  I snip the top with pinking shears to stop fraying too.  Turn it right side out and ta da!

Happy Wrapping!

Pee Wee on Broadway!

Raise your hand if you loved Pee Wee's Playhouse!  I totally did!  My sister and I loved that show - we had the talking doll, the colorform set, and lots of other fun trinkets that I wish I still had to play with RIGHT THIS MINUTE.  Oh how I wished I could hang out in that awesome playhouse in person! 

Well lucky me - last night I did!!!!  (Kind of.)   I snagged half price orchestra tickets via TKTS to

The Pee Wee Herman Show on Broadway. 

Oh man it was 90 minutes of 100% AWESOME!  So fun.  All of the characters were there - plus some new ones.  Pee Wee (aka Paul Reubens) looks EXACTLY the same, as if he just came out of a time capsule or something.  Weird, but cool. 

It was funny and fun and nostalgic and sweet and poignant and overall delightful, just like the show.  If you are in NYC in the next few days - its only running until January 2 - GO!  If not, don't fret - last night they were taping for an HBO special so you should be able to catch it there in the not too distant future - so FUN!

Happy December!

Hi Friends!  Happy December!  Here is a little holiday cheer I added to my front door. 

Digging through my bag of holiday decorations, I found this ivy branch and plastic berries - threw it together with some ribbon and tada!  5 minute wreath alternative to add a little festive decor to my day, and I used what I had - the (free) price tag was a total bonus too!  

Have you done any decorating?  Any fun tips for alternative decor, or budget ideas to use what you've got around?  Would love to hear! 

 

Sewing for Fun!

Sometimes I get a little overwhelmed with what to sew.  Don't get me wrong - I love it and it relaxes me and is a great creative outlet - but my to do list seems so long I don't know where to start! Especially around the holidays, when I have so many things I feel like I have to do, it seems like I never have a chance to sew what I want to do, at that moment. 

SO the other day I did!  I made some cute little potholders with some of my scraps - a simple little sewing project but it was great to put together something, and finish it quickly - a nice feeling of accomplishment!  Plus, look how adorable this watermelon themed one is, right? 

Reminds me of little Rakia's swimsuit this summer!

I based it on this tutorial I saw a while back, but kind of freestyled it.  Try it if you want some extra potholders around for your holiday baking - they make great little gifts too!  So I did make a little dent in my to do list, after all!

Rain Rain, Come on Down!

OK, it is pretty gloomy outside here in NYC.  Rainy, windy, and overall quite blah - but almost 60 degrees on December 1st so that's a plus!

Another - I spent last night sewing up some cute rain boot liners for a special order - perfect timing for me!

Happy December everyone!