a piece of trash?

Maybe some of us would say that a tiny 3 x 4 scrap of cereal box cardboard is a piece of trash, or elevated it a bit to be recycled into another paper product. I however saw a super cute & tiny, Adorable Puzzle, just the perfect thing to keep all those little sets of hands that are always visiting my studio, busy. Turns out to be equally enjoyable for larger hands as well. :)
Happy Thursday everyone!

~introducing~

The most joyful return of Tofu the giraffe! One of my very first felted sweater animals has finally made a comeback in a much smaller size and with a bit more personality. I'm sorta obsessed with mustardy yellow -I say  this  amazing wool felt is entirely to blame- and have been playing around with some different color combinations in the studio lately (::sneak peak:: inside that creative space later in the week) I've been busy on a very hush, hush top secret gift of which this little guy will definitely be a part of, and am just bursting with all the excitement and anticipation of  the actual giving  of this gift. Waiting is So hard sometimes :)

So, in my imagination where everything goes well, and according to plan one adorable little giraffe will be up for grabs in the shop tonight, or tomorrow morning ? Okay, let's see what happens!
::update::
so, you guessed it it's tomorrow morning! Well, I did finish last night..does that count? ;)
Here he is on over at my shop

thirft score

I just had to share, my latest treasure..

the most awesome vintage wool felt rolls and yarn

I love them so much I had to make something..now!

so,I created this adorable little nap sack for pistachio,

complete with vintage buttons from my stash.

love your veggies!

super ultra fabulous mini totes are here!

So, this collection of veggies is a bit of a mix,

some old favorites(mini versions) a corduroy carrot, an heirloom tomato,
and a few new friends to love, and now honestly ...
who doesn't love a potato?

:

:: pssst..cmon' take a quick peek @ the making of ::

scored these linoleum tiles at a yard sale last year

and finally put one of them to good use for some ~block style~ fabric printing

The material I used for these mini totes is actually

reclaimed canvas from some larger totes that never made it to the sale floor.

so in keeping with the eco/recycle/re-use theme,

I set out to see just what I could come up with for the designhold on while I...just fashion a makeshift roller (a.k.a. a mini paint roller),

fake the "ink" with some lightly watered down acrylics and voila!

You can fabric stamp to your hearts content..using what is already available,

and don't you just love that?

just in case anyone out there with kids is curious as to how I make ...um,well anything ..?

I just ~find.. a.. way~see that table in the photo above?

this is what it quickly tranforms into when you have four children at home

who love to create just as much as mama.

See that space in the lower left, yes I sat there ^ and lovingly hand painted

the detail on these mini totes amongst much joy and laughter

(we do get a bit silly when we're painting) :) with the proper motivation

anything is possible

red dress

L O V E how this red shirt

turned out to be the most beautiful dress on our little Nia.

She lives in it now, as soon as it's washed.. right back on her it goes..

..to the beach!

wood ipod

Who knew simple stickers could be so much fun?

I think these were originally designed to put on your ipod,

but they do make fabulous fake ipods for the little ones

that aren't yet of age for "real one" but still like to pretend.

Lucky for us, we have a handy dandy woodworkin' daddy inhouse

who was quick to find just the perfect width of wood,

and cut and sanded these little cuties right up.

Just add a little cotton twine, and two pompoms and you're all set!

don't toss it..re use it!

Getting a bit of a head start on some spring cleaning around here.

As I was organizing the bathroom cabinet, I realized that old stash

of drug store make-up that only sees the light of day at halloween,

could probably be replaced with an organic, animal friendly version.

Yet, when all those little compacts and containers were just sitting there

in the waist bin I thought, now what is the point of this..if I am just putting them into the landfill?
Then I had a great idea....felt make-up!

TA-DA!

These were super easy to make and only took minutes.

Simply

-clean out the trays really well

- trim the felt just a touch bigger than to fit inside

- put a dab of glue down inside the tray

-press the felt in place

..and there you go!
Of course, the girls were thrilled to have their very own make-up,

I couldn't resist the urge to make an "old timey" make-up puff

..cause I had all the fabric just laying about anyway. :)

..Lilly had to climb the table she was so excited..

oh, wait, she does that all the time ..

There you have it! Three of my favorite things, organizing, recycling,

and yet another use for these fantastic felted wool sweaters!

Wait.. make that four things..can't forget happy kids!

for the dogs

I just wanted to share some photos of this fun little puppy gift bag

I recently created for a wonderful upcoming event Barkitecture 2010 ! Making good use of reclaimed sweatshirts, sustainable

bamboo batting & hemp fabric, stash fabrics, and of course felted sweaters.

Gentle on our planet & a benefit to those furry creatures we all love so much :)

projects update

Ah, the joy of finishing long overdue projects. This fantastic find came to yours truly via roadside giveaway, my favorite! It looked much different then with all the charming cracked black paint in all. I had a vision of restoration for this beauty though and it only took 3 years to attain! I know, I know... I'm totally bragging, but hey, in my book that is pretty quick.
So still riding that wave of creative courage I decided to put the finishing touches on..

..this cute little hemp sleeper I've had cut out, and lounging about the craft room for, oh 6 months or so.

Did I mention this is all thanks to a wonderful little family that are content with mama popping in and out of the craft room for various intervals throughout the day. A little lunch here, story there, some math, a bit of spelling, don't call your sister names, be nice to the kittys' tail, yes, I can spin you around like a princess, okay, one more glass of water, and everyone goes to sleep happy.