book review :: stitch camp!

FTC Compliant Disclosure:  I was sent a copy of this book by Storey Publishing Co. to facilitate a review, however, all opinions expressed below are entirely my son's and my own.

Last fall, this gorgeous book arrived in my mailbox, and since then, it's been living on the kitchen table in constant use.  The moment I pulled it from the envelope, my 7 year old son grabbed it and got to work.  First was the bean bag sewing project. Then crochet.  Then weaving.  And about a month ago he learned to knit.  Looking through Stitch Camp, his enthusiasm is hardly surprising.  The photos are bright & bold, and the projects are super kid-friendly.  I could go on and on about this fabulously fun book, but honestly, I'm not the one who's been using it.  Hence, my 7 year old (LB) will be writing the rest of this review.

LB:  I like this book because you can learn all this cool step-by-step embroidery, weaving, crochet and knitting... It can teach children of all ages and grown-ups.

LB: I chose this beanbag sewing project first because it would be fun to play with.  It was a little bit hard to do the blanket-stitch, but I figured it out.  I started off doing the whip-stitch, but then I got good at the blanket-stitch!

LB: And the weaving was very very very fun because you can go over and under and over and under, because it's just like swimming where you go underwater, then you come up to take a breath, and go under water again, and keep doing that again and again.

LB: This weaving necklace was very easy and fun to make!

LB: I made this beaded crochet chain bracelet for my mom. I added a pink button because it matched the pink yarn!!

LB: My mom said maybe knitting would be too hard for me and that I could learn when I was nine.  But I kept asking her to show me, and then she showed me and at first I was very frustrated and then I learned.  And I'm not nine.  I'm still seven!  I love knitting -- I want to knit all day and never stop.

Thank you Nicole Blum & Catherine Newman!  Thank you Storey Publishing for this fun book!  Thank you LB for helping me write this review!

booktrailer :: this is my dollhouse

If you've been visiting my blog over the past few years, you know how I feel about book trailers (didn't I just share a fantastic one with you last week? Why, yes I did!).  And this book trailer I'm sharing with you today is extra scrumptious because it's about doll houses (there are even instructions for making your own doll house inside the book jacket)!

If you're a new visitor to my blog, you may have missed a doll house tutorial I posted back in July 2015 (plus tutorials for furniture here and here).  And a mermaid dollhouse here!

This is my dollhouse. If you make one, too, I hope you will share it with me...

speaking of mermaids

Speaking of mermaids, you've seen our animated book trailer with the dancing pirates and diving mermaid, haven't you?  If not, you can do a little jig along with my merry swashbucklers by clicking below...

And, in case you're interested, I'm giving away a few mermaid peg dolls which I created for my first book. You can find details about the give-away HERE.

book review at happy whimsical hearts

photo credit :: happy whimsical hearts

Today, I am pleased to share with you that Kelly, of the blog Happy Whimsical Hearts is featuring my second book, Making Peg Dolls and More.  Most of you are already familiar with my books and so might not feel the need to read Kelly's review; however, you may want to click over just to pay Kelly a visit.

photo credit :: happy whimsical hearts

There is much to enjoy on Kelly's blog, but my favorite posts are ones where Kelly discusses parenting (this post, for example). Kelly's approach is full of gentleness and sensitivity, and I can feel how her clear intention would bring a sense of peace to a home filled with the energetic young children.

Additionally, if you are as fond of wombats as I am, Kelly's tutorial for stitching up a little wombat is perfect.

photo credit :: happy whimsical hearts

Thank you, dear Kelly, for sharing peg-doll-love and inviting your sweet Ruby to present my book on your blog!

(a note for Australian readers: if you click over to Kelly's post at Happy Whimsical Hearts, you will find information about a discount on copies of my books at Honeybee Toys!)

cookies

Last December, I stitched up a little runaway gingerman inspired by the pattern from this book. My version is a puppet which can walk (or run), and there is an explanation of how I created it HERE in my post from last year.

Truly, gingerbread cookies are favorites in my house.  We've already eaten our way through one batch and are set to make another batch tomorrow.  The dough is sturdy, making it easier for little hands to roll out and cut nice looking cookies.  Plus, I'm a sucker for just about anything cooked with molasses.

We like the recipe from this book;  the dough is not very sweet, so it's perfect if you are planning to ice the cookies.  We don't generally put icing on ours, so to compensate, I add an extra 1/4 to a 1/2 cup of brown sugar to the batch.  Besides the cookie recipe, the story is a pretty wonderful follow-up to Jan Brett's story of The Gingerbread Baby.

Note :: I was rummaging around online and found Jan Brett's gingerbread baby recipe on her website HERE. 

Making Peg Dolls: part deux

Although I haven't made any formal announcements, it hasn't been much of a secret that I am working on a second book.  Yes, the second book will have peg dolls, but it will be quite different from the first book... and ummm... I'm afraid I cannot say much more than that right now (sorry.)  The book is due to be released Autumn 2014 by Hawthorn Press, and as the publication date approaches more will be revealed, I promise!

Meanwhile, you may notice that things are more quiet than usual around here. Don't worry -- I'm still here (just hard at work), but please feel free to drop me an email anytime you want to say 'hello.'  And, in the interim, I offer you some possible titles for the new book...

How about Valley of the (Peg) Dolls?  Night of the Living Peg Dolls? Peg Dolls vs. Godzilla?  Or the ever popular Return of the Peg Dolls!

Which title is your favorite?  Do you have any other suggestions?

Making Peg Dolls at Castle in the Air

photo courtesy of Castle in the Air

Have you ever been to Castle in the Air in Berkeley?  If not, I hope you have a chance to visit someday.  It's a treat...

photo courtesy of Castle in the Air

They carry books, crepe paper and Dresden trim, ribbons, materials for creating toy paper theaters, and other supplies, too many to name... every inch of the store is sparkling with magic.

photo courtesy of Castle in the Air

Castle in the Air also offers classes and I've been lucky to have taken a few (you can see photos here and here.)

photo by Margaret Bloom

The full schedule of spring & summer classes for Castle in the Air is posted here... and look who's teaching a class on June 30th!

Happy Hanukkah: a re-post

Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah and so I thought I would share with you part of a post I did last year about how a few books brought magic to our Hanukkah celebrations...

...Bombarded by over-commercialized glitz, omnipresent through the month of December, my older son used to really want to celebrate Christmas (and yes!  the bombardment of over-commercialized glitz can be a problem even for families celebrating Christmas!)  It did not matter how many candles we lit or how many lovely gifts he received, our little Mr. still wanted Christmas (or a commercialized idea of Christmas) until we got some really great Hanukkah books.  It was the magic of these books which brought magic to our own family celebrations.

 

Our first and foremost favorite Hanukkah book is Herschel and the Hanukkah Goblins by Eric Kimmel.  What's not to love?  A spooky, abandoned house, a passel of creepy goblins and a very clever fellow who outwits the goblins and lights the glowing candles of Hanukkah...

Our next favorite is ZigaZak, also by Eric Kimmel (more naughty goblins!)

And then there's this delightful story -- the Chanukkah Guest (thanks again, Eric Kimmel!)

For a bit of good natured humor there's The Best Hanukkah Ever by Barbara Diamond Goldin...

And also this clever book -- Malke's Secret Recipe by David A. Adler.

The newest addition to our Hanukkah book collection, The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming by Lemony Snicket, is seriously irreverent...

And finally, a story which is not necessarily for Hanukkah, but so beautiful that I had to share it -- The Treasure By Uri Shulevitz.

Wishing you and your family a joyous holiday (whichever one you celebrate...)  May it be filled with light, love, laughter and... good stories!

The Man in the Moon

Over the Thanksgiving holiday we took little Mr. to see the film Rise of the Guardians.  Although some of the sequences were a little frenetic (to say the least), on the whole, we liked the movie very much.  I was happy to discover that the movie was based on a new series of books by William Joyce and immediately requested them from our local library.  When we opened The Man in the Moon (the first book of the series), little Mr. and I found ourselves transported by the beautiful illustrations and old-fashioned story which has the feel of a classic tale.

This book is a new favorite in our house -- we love it so much that I had to share it with you!