little birds handmade

addictions and obsessions

Another button wreath. They're addictive. A couple people have asked where I get all my buttons. Mine all came from estate and yard sales or thrift stores. I've been collecting them off and on for ten years.

A work in progress:

A dollhouse for Mia. I really wanted to build one from one of those fancy kits, and I hope we will one day (or design our own), but this was an inexpensive and quick solution. It's from Joann's crafts, and I bought it with one of those 50% off coupons, so it was really reasonably priced (and already assembled).

The open interior is great for play, too. I hope to paint the exterior and maybe decorate one of the rooms in time for her birthday in a few weeks. The rest of the house we can work on together. I was rather obsessed with miniatures as a child, so this whole project is pretty thrilling for me. Any great miniature/dollhouse crafty links I should know about?

Thanks for looking, listening, and commenting this month. I'm going to take a little breather, but I'll be back next week sometime. Happy December!

button wreath

A little button wreath inspired by pixiegenne. To make mine I hot-glued buttons (I have so many red ones!) to a cardboard donut shape backed with some decorative paper. Speaking of donuts, this is the prize for my mini compound word project winner.

If I post tomorrow, I will have met my goal of posting everyday since November 5th. Despite the fact that it's been a super busy month for our family, I've enjoyed taking a moment (okay, several moments) everyday to post. It really never felt like a drag; it felt very natural :). That said, I'll probably be taking a bit of a blogging break the next week or so.

I really love Alicia's post today. I could say a lot about this subject, but not nearly as eloquently as Alicia, so I'll just say, "Amen".

keeping out the draft

I had big crafting plans for today, but a few draft snakes* had to take precedence at the sewing machine. When I rearranged our living room earlier this fall, I failed to take into account just how chilly it would be to sit on the sofa under the trio of (charming, but not weather-proofed) casement windows. I'm going to make some for Jack's office too (another historic drafty building) and those need to be four feet, eight inches long. Quite a snake.

It was snowy this morning, and this afternoon, it's clear and cold - my favorite weather. While having coffee with the kind and funny Melissa this morning, I kept looking out the window and seeing these fat snowflakes floating about, and it made me really happy. It's a relatively unusual sight around here. Melissa sent me home with one of her fabric boxes; it's really lovely and simple and just my style (and a good place to store M&M's paper-chain-in-progress). Thanks Melissa! 

* I made my draft snakes by sewing a tube that is as long as the window is wide (I used some wool, but any fabric would work). I turned it right side out and filled it with rice (I think people usually use sand, but I didn't have any) and sewed the opening closed.

compound it

Shari has a new Compound Word Project starting today. I'll have a photo in there sometime this week. Here's my own compound word created with some images from my archives. First person to guess it in my comments gets a prize. Liane gets the prize! It's doughnut (or donut).

I was helping at Mia's school this morning and when I walked outside it was snowing!...for about 30 seconds. It was nice while it lasted. I spent most of last week feeling really under the weather, but I've rested up and I'm feeling almost back to normal. I'm anxious to get back to work. I have a long list of holiday/birthday crafting (yes, Mia has a birthday in the midst of the holidays) that I'm really excited about. Our tree (undecorated as it is) is definitely getting me in the mood...Happy Monday!

o christmas tree

you have to make hay...

...while the sun shines. blue skies in portland today!

thanks so very much for all the kind comments yesterday!

leftovers

I was a little under the weather for Thanksgiving, and while I did help my mom cook, I didn't really get to enjoy the meal. Thank goodness for leftovers (I'm not really going to eat all these sweet potato biscuits...okay, I might).

I also didn't get a chance to express my gratitude, so here's my thankful leftovers:

:: my family - near, further, and getting closer :: the creative spirit and unconditional love of my husband and kids :: the extended family, friends, parents, and teachers that embrace and nurture my kids and give them a sense of community :: those who work tirelessly for social justice around the world :: those who work to protect our environment and find creative solutions for the damage done :: artists and musicians who enrich my life and inspire me on a daily basis ::

:: and, finally, I am thankful for all of you who read little birds and provide such encouragement. I don't talk about this very often, but I am someone who has spent most of my life really isolated and limited by debilitating shyness and insecurity. Even now, every post and comment I make, every email I send, feels a little bit scary. Blogging does not come easy for me; I am not a blogging natural, but I'm thankful for the opportunity (and the incredibly warm reception that I've received). I'm thankful for the confidence, even pride, it has given me in my work. I'm thankful for the sense of a community it provides and the friendships it has nurtured. I'm thankful that it has brought me even closer to my sister (who is a total blogging natural). So, thank you. Thank you very much. ::

happy thanksgiving!

soft tree pattern is here!

Here it is: Download soft_tree_pattern.pdf

Forgive my amateur rendering...I hope my instructions make sense! The pattern as printed will produce a small tree (the mid-size in one of my tree-o's), but you can reduce and enlarge it to your heart's content. If you make a tree and would like to share it, I've set up a soft trees group on flickr, please join. Have fun!

seeing the forest for the trees

Things have been a bit crazy for me, and I've been doing a lot of hit-and-run posting around here. I think the less I say, the more open to interpretation it is which can, at times, be unfortunate. When I posted my mugs the other day and mentioned the ones at Anthropologie, I meant nothing other than to share my love of them, show that they could now be bought new, and let people know they could also be found for a bargain price. If, however, you count the hours and hours of picking through kitchen cabinets at estate sales and sticky shelves at the thrift, $10 may start to sound like the bargain.

I linked to the photo of the trees at Anthropologie because I knew people were getting excited about making soft trees and I thought theirs looked really great grouped together. I was just excited about soft trees! I did not mean to imply that Anthropologie was copying me. I mean, they are just fabric cones. It's not rocket science. I regret that people thought that that was my implication. I'm sorry that I was not able to clarify until now, but I've been a little caught up in barf and bands of pirates and assembling Playmobil castles.

Anyway, I think that Alex, who had a very talented hand in creating the stunning displays of soft trees at Anthropologie, felt a bit hurt by the Anthropologie-bashing in the comments. You can read her response here. She gives some good insight into how Anthropologie lines and store displays are generated, and gives some food for thought in regards to the sharing of ideas.

As for my version of soft trees, I really do think I've worked out my technical difficulties and will have a pattern to share tomorrow. Do with it what you wish!