A poem to ponder for a moment, thoughts in dance form: Floppy stubborn child Collapsing onto the dirty floor, For our audience of cashiers and consumers Pausing I ponder my options, Then I strike and lift her up Out of the metallic canyon So she too can witness the vast parade of daily humanity. I am prepared My mind calm and ready for the expected struggle. Instead, There is calmness. Her warm silky cheek against mine. We are together In... Read more

At least it did in my house, with the leftovers from the Christmas kids explosion of bags and bows and those annoying little twist ties that is the bane of pre-coffee parenthood. Still life moves on, and many of us are spending the day surrounded by the debris. Don’t let all that good stuff just go to waste though! You earned all those little twist ties! Don’t throw away the best twist ties money can buy, because you can’t buy... Read more

It’s a treasure box. You just raid your personal stash of lovelies to stock up a wonderful craft adventure for a lucky kid. Add a bottle of glue and some cardstock (which holds up to the adornments) and tie it all with a pretty ribbon for a girl or some twine for a boy, and Voila! Almost instant present. The one above is for a girl, so there’s more shiny pretty things. When I make them for boys I tend... Read more

Tonight is the eclipse of the moon on the winter solstice. A darkness within a darkness. The last time this happened was hundreds of years ago. My friend is planning to call me and wake me up if there’s anything to see. If the clouds move on. If the sky is clear. Lots of if’s. Makes me ponder this energy of the deepest of darknesses, with only the distant twinkling stars for light. It makes me want to turn on... Read more

I know one of the rules of blogging is not to say sorry about not posting, but really, I don’t care about the rules and I am sad that it’s been so long. Still there’s been good reasons: I’ve been so completely busy working that there’s been no time for anything Everything I’ve been working on has been for christmas presents either for me or custom orders. Still there’s been things I wanted to share and haven’t had time to... Read more

So I’m totally planning on doing this great tutorial on how to make a kid’s apron out of a fat quarter and a package of bias tape. But then I was feeling bad yesterday and today I’m taking my girls out to their Ooma’s house to decorate her tree and eat Christmas cookies. I’ll get there. I’m trying to balance a no pressure attitude toward the blog along with continuing to produce useful stuff. Today, no pressure wins. So here’s... Read more

Just wanted to share some happy little bears on this first week of December. Read more

Like I promised in my last felted sweater post, I’m going to show you how to make slippers out of the leftover sleeves from your felted sweater bag. First find the seam of the sleeve and turn it to the center top. Then you cut the sleeves off by measuring them roughly against the foot. Add about an inch or two beyond your foot for the heel and seam. I’ve found that in general, men’s sweater are good for men’s... Read more

1. I enjoy wearing galoshes and vintage aprons at the same time. 2. Lady Grey tea goes wonderfully with anise walnut biscotti bites. 3. Beans taste infinitely better when cooked in a pressure cooker. I have no idea why this is true. My recipe for gluten-free anise walnut biscotti bites: 3 eggs 1 1/3 c. sugar 2 Tbs. Palm oil shortening (or butter) melted 2 tsp baking powder 1 1-ounce bottle of anise extract (2 Tbs.) 1 1/2 c. rice... Read more

And I cut myself. Sigh. Still I’m happy with my design, I think it will make a lovely card. I was thinking as a thank you gifty to all you who read my blog, just send me an email with your address and I’ll send you a fox postcard when I’m done with it. I figure I better ask now, since it’s the last day of Art Every Day Month! I can’t quite believe it’s all over, and I didn’t... Read more