Clothing

I do not normally post on the weekend, but this morning I came across this pattern for a beautiful pair of mittens (which can be found HERE):

and was dying to find out if my local yarn shop carried this yarn/color. (It is Crystal Palace - Mini Mochi, #101 - Intense Rainbow.)

I was the first one at their shop this morning, and YAY... they had the yarn! I plan to knit up a pair for myself (Is that wrong? Always feels wrong somehow to knit for myself!) When done, I will create a scarf to match. (They have a hat to match, which can be found HERE, but for the most part, women in our family don't look smashing in hats, so we tend to save wearing them for the most inhospitable weather when we are willing to ignore appearance for warmth!) Anyway... it will require tons of will power not to get my needles out... but I have a busy day ...and miles to go before I knit, ...and miles to go before I knit :)

BTW... Tim gave me an early Christmas gift last night... a macro lens... "It's yet another in a long series of diversions in an attempt to avoid responsibility." He's such an enabler!

In a blink of an eye, your little fairies can be wearing flowers in their hair. Although these elastic headbands hold just 1 flower, using the same pattern you could easily fill the crown with a bouquet of blooms! Using a purchased elastic headband, scraps of felt, and a few glass seed beads, your wee ones will be ready to dance with the flower fairies :)

Materials:
purchase elastic headbands
felt scraps
glass seed beads
floss to match the felt
copy of the pattern found HERE 

Directions:
Make a copy of the pattern.

Cut out 2 large flower petal rings, one small flower petal ring, and 1 leaf. When cutting along the dotted lines make sure you do not cut all the way through.

Using 2 strands of floss, sew the ring shut just at the bottom. Tie off the thread and clip.

Using a running stitch and 2 strands of floss, sew around the inner circle. When you've gone all the way around, gentle pull on the threads closing the opening in the center. Tie off the thread and clip.


Make the other two flower petal rings. Leave the thread attached to the small ring after you have securely tied off the thread. The thread should be attached to the back of the ring.

Poke the needle through the center fronts of the remain 2 large flower rings. Position the petals in a pleasing manner, then tie off securely.


Add several glass seed beads to the center of the flower. Tie off and clip the thread.

From the back of the leaf, sew a running stitch around the leaf.
Place the front of the leaf against the center back of the flower. Sew in place being careful not to go all the way through. 
Sew the back of the flower to the elastic headband where the headband is joing together.
Now, place on your little fairies' heads, and send them out to frolic in flowers. Who knows what adventures wait for them :)

Remember, instead of 1 single flower, you can add as many as you like :)

EDIT: This giveaway is now closed. The winner can be found HERE.

Several weeks ago, when I was wandering the aisles of Etsy, I stumbled upon a new shop that I feel in love with. It was Jupiter's Child. On Facebook, I shared a beautiful Waldorf Inspired Wooden tree. I thought it would look incredible on a nature table.

Anyway, one thing led to another, as it often does on the Internet, and before I knew it, Beth agreed to sponsor a giveaway on Wee Folk Art. THANK YOU, Beth! We decided to giveaway something totally different than anything we've done before on WFA. The giveaway is for this totally awesome, totally funky, organic youth t-shirt. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, this design... and, of course, who doesn't love an incredibly soft, organic, tee? Here is the description from the site:

This is an organic tee-shirt, hand dyed and hand-screenprinted with a peace chicken design.

I started drawing the chicken design for this t-shirt, and somehow a peace sign appeared where the wing should be. And then I though, well, chickens are peaceful creatures, aren't they? The strut around minding their own business and making quiet little noises.

This t-shirt is hand-dyed a lovely grey-blue color using water-based procion dyes and our special scrunch technique which gives a nice marbled effect to the fabric.

Then we hand-screen-printed the chicken design on the front in black using water-based ink.

Rabbit Skins organic cotton tee.
Youth sizes small (ages 7-8), medium (ages 9-10), and extra-large (ages 13-14). Sorry, we are temporarily sold out of size large. Sizes are approximate; when in doubt, order a size larger than the child's age. 

She also carries baby onesies, for the smallest person in your life. You can choose from a lavender, green or blue print, in sizes 12 or 18 months. Here is the description from her site:

This is an organic cotton baby onesie with our original "Peace Chicken" design, hand screenprinted by us.

(Peace) Chicken (design) on a natural-colored onesie.

We start with a super soft Rabbit Skins onesie, 100% certified organic. Then we screenprint our designs using eco-friendly, water-based inks.

Your little one will love it! 

 

So, obviously, we ALL want one of these, t-shirts, right? Michelle asked if she could enter this giveaway. Sorry, Michelle, we are just going to have to buy ours for the wee ones. But YOU have an opportunity to win one, and pick the size you would like. To enter, simply visit Jupiter's Child. Look around. Take in the sights. Then come back here and tell Beth how great her shop is, and let us know who you would give the t-shirt to if you won. Also, include the size (and the color if you pick a onesie) you would like.

The giveaway runs from today, through Monday, July 5, at 9:00 pm EST, when a winner's name will be drawn. The winner will have 1 week to contact us with their snail mail address or a new winner will be selected. So, readers, meet Beth at Jupiter's Child... Beth, meet our readers. Hopefully, you'll all become good friends.

Thanks, Beth, and good luck to one and all :)

Back when Michelle was in high school, her and a group of her friends decided to have a "formal" girls night out. Most of the girls had boyfriends, but they decided it would be fun to get all dressed up, go to a lovely restaurant, and party WITHOUT boys. And, just 'cause, they decided to MAKE each other corsages or wrist corsages. The creations ranged from gaudy and outrageous, to tasteful and lovely. But it didn't matter, they all had a wonderful time, enjoyed wearing their corsages, and had an evening of memories they would never forget.

As I was making this Felt Flower Bracelet, I couldn't help remembering that night, and thinking how lovely one of these bracelets would have looked on the girls. Wouldn't it be different, lovely, and a permanent keepsake, to make a Felt Flower Bracelet for a special event? Of course, they would look just lovely too with a sundress or a tee and flip flops!

Using The Basic Felt Bracelet, these can be made for adults or children. The one in this tutorial was made to fit my wrist. When Pixie came over, she immediately made it her own, having us tie it on her upper arm, and calling it her Fairy Armband. Yep... it worked out great! Below are the directions on how I made this Felt Flower Bracelet BUT this is just a suggestion, and hopefully a starting point for your own personal creations.

Materials:
wool felt
embroidery floss
Basic Felt Bracelet pattern
Flower Applique Block pattern - reduced 50%

Directions:
Follow the directions for The Basic Felt Bracelet. When the two pieces and holes have been stitched together, you are ready to apply flowers.

IMPORTANT: Remember to reduce the Flower Applique Block 50%.

Cut out 3 petals, 3 flower centers and 6 leaves.

Position the flower petals on the bracelet, slightly overlapping the petals, leaving room for a leaf on either end. Place a flower center on top of each petal, and pin in place. Blanket stitch to flower centers to the petals AND the bracelet using 3 strands of floss. Note: You do not need to go all the way through the bracelet with each stitch, but you need to 3 or 4 times to insure the flower is securely fastened to the bracelet.


Using 6 strands of floss, stitch a French knot in the center of each flower.

For the 4 center leaves, tuck them in behind the leaf petals and stitch to the bracelet along the base of the leaf.

For the 2 end leaves, tuck the base under a petal, then using a running stitch, sew to the bracelet using 2 strands of floss.

Following the instructions on The Basic Felt Bracelet, add the ties.

Have fun wearing your new Felt Flower Bracelet!

We all have a collection of "basic" things. The "basic" black dress, the "basic" muffin recipe, and the "basic" sock pattern. These "basics" have proven to be dependable, familiar, and most importantly, adaptable. "Basics" can be altered slightly, tweaked and accessorized to create a different look or taste. "Basics" are the "tried and trues" that we return to again and again.

Today we are sharing directions on how to make a "basic" felt bracelet. Once you know how to make one, the possibilities for embellishing are endless. Given in 2 widths, with instructions for getting the perfect fit, we hope it becomes a "basic" that you return to over and over, a starting point, so to speak, for the creation of many lovely and fun bracelets! And with the sizing variations, it works for everyone in the family.

Materials:
pattern
wool felt
embroidery floss

Directions:
Make a copy of the pattern.

Decide which width you prefer and cut out the template.

Wrap the template around your wrist to get an idea of size. You want the two ends to be about 1/2" to 3/4" apart on your wrist. To size, fold along one of the lines, fold it back on itself to shorten the length of the bracelet. Use a paper clip to hold it in place. Try the bracelet template on again. Continue refolding until you get it sized properly. When you are satisfied with the fit. 




NOTE: Another way to get a proper fit is to measure your wrist, subtract 1/2" - 3/4" and measuring the template, cutting or folding it to the proper size. (My tape measure was upstairs when I was doing this so I used the first method :)

Using the "How to Cut Felt" tutorial found HERE, use the template to cut out 2 pieces of felt.

On the template, cut out the 2 holes, then position the template over the felt pieces, mark the holes, and cut out the holes using sharp, small scissors.



Pin or staple the felt pieces together and sew the 2 pieces of the bracelet together. You can either blanket stitch the edge using 3 strands of floss or sew a running stitch around the edge using 2 strands of floss.

Using a blanket stitch and 3 strands of floss, finish the edges of the 2 circles.

NOTE: If you are embroidering a design or sewing on appliques that do not extend beyond the stitching line of the bracelet, you can do that before you sew the 2 pieces together, hiding all threads.

To make the ties, cut 3 pieces of floss for each side. The length of the floss depends on whether you simply want to tie the bracelet on using a square knot or if you'd prefer to tie it on with a bow. You will need to cut the floss 12" to 24". If in doubt, choose the longer length then cut it to the desired length later.

To attach the floss to the holes, insert a crochet hook through the hole from the back. Fold 3 pieces of floss in half creating a loop and hook the floss at the loop.

Pull the loop through the hole, then slide the ends of the floss through the loop. Pull gently on the floss until the loop is snug against the bracelet.
Divide the floss into thirds (I did mine by color but you do not have to) and braid. Tie it off at the end. Try the bracelet on and determine the desired length of the ties. You may need to retie the braid and cut off extra braiding.

Your bracelet is now ready to embellish. Next time I will share directions for a flowered bracelet.