Kimara's blog

So, I have a few Mother's Day gifts I've been thinking about. The first being a tea cozy. I decided I wanted to make something "fruity" and a watermelon slice was the first thing that came to mind. I have an old cozy that was given to me by a dear friend many years ago, and I took the measurements off that, then headed to the store to get the materials. I made some calculations, got the pattern drawn, and a pdf made. I made the cozy in a couple of hours. I loved it. All I needed to do was write up directions and it would be ready to share! I then took pictures of it next to my teapot. I wanted to take one last picture of it on my teapot... opps! How in the world did I do that? Unless my teapot goes on a diet... which is about as likely as me going on a diet... then this isn't going to work! I'm not sure where I went wrong... but it happens. This cozy will not fit on my teapot or anyone elses with a 7-8 cup teapot BUT it will fit on a smaller one. So, here's the plan. I am going to resize the pattern, and I will have a pattern for a small and a large watermelon tea cozy. I should have it up by the end of the day. I know this won't fit on my mom's teapot... who I was making it for, so I will need to make another one myself. I also plan to design one with flowers in the next couple of days which I'll share, too!

For a Christmas stocking stuffer I had bought Tim and the kids an old fashioned Wrigley's Gum tin stuffed with Juicy Fruit, Double Mint, and Spearmint gum. We finally opened a pack yesterday (okay, we don't chew a lot of gum around here!) and I was disappointed when I noticed there was no outer wrapper around the gum, just the foil inner wrapper. When I was a little girl I use to make gum wrapper chains all the time. Not only did I save wrappers, but had everyone else I knew save their wrappers for me. I can remember how excited I was when my chain was finally as tall as I was. Then, I can remember working on it and getting it so long it crossed a wall in my room. My plan was to circle my room. Never made it that far, but long before computers and dvds could distract us during inside play time, gum wrapper chains were a fun way to pass some time. We also fashioned necklaces, bracelets and rings out of the wrappers.

I have been told that you can still buy some gum that has wrappers, but most do not. I've also been told you can use Starburst wrappers to make the chains, but we never buy that either. All I know is that I want to make sure my grandchildren learn how to make gum wrapper chains! Well, as it so happens, today is my birthday, and yesterday at Sunday dinner, I was given a few wrapped gifts. Eureka! I'm always looking for ways to reuse things, and here I had this lovely pile of colorful paper that is destined for a landfill if I don't do something with it, so with a quick Google search, I discovered the size of the standard gum wrapper, cut in half lengthwise (which you needed to do to make a chain) was 1" x 2 3/4". Off I went to grab our paper cutter, and before you knew it, we had a pile of faux gum wrappers ready to be made into chains!

So, in honor of Earth Day this Wednesday, here is a chance to do a little nostalgic crafting along with some re-purposing and recycling! "How to" make a gum wrapper chain is included in our FREE Open Patterns, but be warned... it is addictive! Michelle and I have some ideas of some different kinds of things to do with the chain which we'll share when our chain gets some length! Enjoy!

Although I made this very easy garland for the gnome house, Fairy picked it up, wrapped in around her neck and said, "Oh, Gammy, this is a beautiful necklace." Hmmm, yes, that was my plan... garland for the gnomes, necklace or bracelet for Fairy! Okay, that wasn't my plan, but I love it when designs can be used for more than one thing! If you decide to make it into a necklace, I would suggest making it a choker since the back isn't finished. To make the choker simply size the garland, then add a clasp on the back.

The pattern and instructions are included in the FREE Open Patterns section. If you'd like to do this project with younger children, you can glue it together with a fast drying crafters' glue. We ran the garland along the bridge, but it could be scalloped around a gnome or dollhouse. Enlarge the pattern to decorate a valance or to make a stencil. Enjoy!

Britta is a fan of rugs. She loves how rugs make her little house feel warmer and homey. So throughout the year Britta is busy crafting rugs. She likes to change them seasonally. Her house is now filled with yellows and greens, pinks and purples... the color of a summer meadow. Now you can make rugs just like hers. These "braided" rugs aren't braided at all, but rather crocheted with felting yarn. Make one, or be like Britta, and make many. The directions are included in our FREE Open Patterns. Enjoy!

Please Note: I am not a seasoned crocheter. Although I love how the rugs turned out, I'm not sure my directions are written in "crocheter's lingo"! I do apologize in advance, and hope my feeble attempt at sharing this pattern makes sense. If anyone IS a true crocheter, and would be willing to look over my directions, I would gladly change terminology or directions to make them more clear. You can email me at weefolkart@yahoo.com or just post a comment in the directions. Otherwise, I'll keep my figures crossed and hope it all makes sense!

Spring may bring with it warming days and flowers, but the nights can still get mighty chilly in The Thicket. But just because the gnomes may still need sleeping bags, there's no reason they can't be light and springy! These 2 sleeping bags use bright, cheerful colors, and the heart and flowers speak spring! Follow the general directions in our FREE Crafting Club Patterns for The Gnome Sleeping Bags with this Spring Sleeping Bag Pattern. Your gnomes will sing your praises. Enjoy!