making butterfly brooches

I had been wanting to make some small gifts, and after thinking about it for a few days, I started cutting circles and butterflies from felt... If you would like to make some butterfly brooches, too, please follow along!

SUPPLIES
Small scraps of felt in at least three colors

Embroidery floss and a needle

Fabric scissors

Safety pins

To start, I cut the larger circles approx. 33 mm (1 1/4 inches) wide and the smaller circles approx. 27 mm (1 1/8 inches) wide.  The butterfly wings are 40 mm (1 1/2 inches) across.  Depending on your preference, you could cut your pieces slightly larger.

The butterflies are attached to the smaller felt circles by the stitches which form their bodies.  To embroider the bodies, I made one long stitch down the center of each butterfly, and then, on either side of the long stitches, I made stitches which were half the length (see photo above).

The heads are large French knots, and the antennae are stitched using a single strand separated from a piece of 6-strand embroidery floss.

After the heads & bodies were embroidered, I used an applique stitch to sew the smaller circles to the larger circles.

The final step is to carefully sew a safety pin to the back of the brooch; or if you are thinking ahead, you could sew the pin to the larger felt circle before you sew together the larger and smaller circles.

And that's it... you're done. 

Happy Spring!

a week in the woods

Anyone who was in touch with me last week knows that my big boy was away with his classmates for a week in the woods.  Our big boy had never been away from the two of us for more than one night, and so his father and I were a bit of an anxious mess.  I'm happy to report that we all survived!

My son and his classmates spent the week exploring beautiful coastal forests...

 

 And visiting groves of tall redwood trees.

They learned about wildlife (and met several creatures in person).

One of the favorite creatures around here is Ariolimax Columbianus, affectionately known as the banana slug.

He had a wonderful time and took many beautiful photos, but we're glad to have him home again!

join me for another swap?

A year ago, for my third blog-iversary, I hosted a peg doll swap.  It was very popular, and during the past year several people have asked whether I would be hosting another swap.  The answer has been "no," and my reason was as follows: I was told by several participants outside the US that, with postal rates ever climbing, it had cost them outrageous sums to post their parcels (and these were domestic rates, not international!)  I felt terrible and vowed never again to host another swap.

However, after gentle persistence and some brain-storming, my friend Anna came up with the idea of swapping FLAT items! Most countries have a much lower rate for flat items.  Generally the envelope must be less than 1/4 inch (1/2 cm) thick to qualify, but best to check with your local post office for exact specifications in your country.

All this to say... won't you join me for a FLAT item swap?  At first glance, this might seem boring.  Let's see... we could swap Popsicle sticks. Moth wings. Oak leaves and feathers. But then I opened myself to the challenge of imagining interesting things I could make which were also... flat.

embroidery & photo :: knitty gritty homestead

A piece of embroidery which could be framed or turned into something useful like a pincushion?

mitts & image :: purlbee

 Mitts knit at a very fine gauge...

mitts & image :: purlbee

 Or sewn from fine wool...

headbands & image :: totally stitchin'

headscarf bandana and image :: purlbee

needle book & image :: tiny happy

brooches & image :: purlbee

coffee cup cozies & image :: purlbee

finger puppets & image :: purlbee

banner & image :: martha stewart

ornaments and image :: martha stewart

a garland of stars and image :: path less traveled

lariat necklace and image :: martha stewart

A delicate necklace, bracelet or earrings...

brooches & image :: tiny happy

paper cut :: homemade happy

Right then.  I think you've got the idea! The choice is up to the creativity of the sender -- the main criteria are as follows: the item should be hand made by you, it should be the sort of thing you might like to receive yourself (or which you think the recipient would like), and it should be flat enough to meet postal rate specifications for shipping a flat item.

ALL THE REST OF THE DETAILS

 -- Sign-ups are open starting today (Monday March 3rd.)  To sign up, please email me margaret (at) flyingteapot (dot) com with your name, mailing address, email address, blog URL (if you have one), plus a few sentences about yourself; you can mention your family, information about where you live, what kind of crafting you like to do, materials you like to use, etc... 

-- This swap is open to anyone anywhere in the world and to participants of all crafting levels.

-- Each participant will be matched in a group of three (i.e. you will create a flat item for each of your two swap mates and will receive a flat item from each of them in return.)

-- Sign-ups will close Sunday March 9th and information about your swap-matches will be emailed to you by Monday March 10th.

-- By signing up for this swap you agree to create, with you own hands, a flat item (the sort of thing you might like to receive yourself) for each of your swap-mates and send them off in a timely fashion.

-- Preferably, parcels should be posted to recipients by Monday March 24th.  If you are delayed in sending your parcels, it will be important to communicate this directly to your swap-mates.

-- Any questions?  Please feel free to send me an email!

un-birthdays

"I mean, what is an un-birthday present?"

"A present given when it isn't your birthday, of course."

Alice considered a little.  "I like birthday presents best," she said at last.

You don't know what you're talking about!" cried Humpty Dumpty.  "How many days are there in a year?"

"Three hundred and sixty-five," said Alice.

"And how many birthdays have you?"

"One."

-- Lewis Carroll

Yesterday was my un-birthday.  Tomorrow again will be my un-birthday.  Today, however, is another matter.  I like celebrations and cake and such, so I think Humpty Dumpty is on to something...

for your amusement

I found this amusing and thought you might like it, too!

tiny house swap

On January 30th I stumbled across the final call to join a "tiny house swap" at Smooth Pebble Studio.

The mandate was to "Create a set of tiny houses, minimum of 3. Either 3 separate houses, or a piece that contains at least 3 houses. They can be anywhere between 1 inch & 3 feet in size." And participants could use any medium of their choice: paper, wood, clay, fabric, metal, etc...

So I created a "night-time village" pincushion.

I hope the intended recipient of the pincushion likes it as much my little "photo-shoot interloper" does (and he likes it very much!)  The woman I've sent it to is a quilter named Ellen.  As a quilter, I expect a sturdy pincushion should come in handy...

And me, being... me... I couldn't come up with just one idea.  I had to come up with at least two ideas. And me, being me, once I come up with an idea, I cannot sit still until I follow through on the creative impulse.  So I also sent Ellen a tiny house mobile.

Thank you, Jacqueline, for organizing such a fun swap!

valentine cookies

These are, hands-down, favorites in my house (and now Deb Perelman has me thinking I should try filling them with Nutella...)

 Whisk together:

3 ¼ cups all-purpose unbleached, white flour

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

In a separate bowl, beat together until fluffy & well blended:

20 TBLSP. (2 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

Add to butter and beat until well combined:

1 large egg

2 ½ tsp. vanilla

¼ tsp. finely grated lemon zest (optional)

Gradually stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture until well blended and smooth. Divide the dough in half, place each half between 2 large sheets of wax paper and press into ½ inch thick discs.  Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough ¼ inch thick and refrigerate for at least 25 minutes.

Cut out cookies leaving half of them plain. In the other half, cut out "windows" in the centers and transfer the cut-out cookies onto prepared cookie sheets.

There are those of us who prefer sprinkles on our cookies. If this is the same at your house, you can add sprinkles, too... Then bake the cookies at 375 degrees for 9 minutes and cool on racks.

Next, gently heat, until smooth, half a jar of red current jelly (seedless raspberry jam also works well, as does lemon curd, quince jam or... Nutella.)  Spoon a scant tsp. onto the bottoms of the "plain" cookies...

And make pretty sandwiches...

RECIPE

Whisk together:

3 ¼ cups all-purpose unbleached, white flour

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

In a separate bowl, beat together until fluffy & well blended:

20 TBLSP. (2 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

Add and beat until well combined:

1 large egg

2 ½ tsp. vanilla

¼ tsp. finely grated lemon zest (optional)

Gradually stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture until well blended and smooth. Divide dough in half. Place each half between 2 large sheets of wax paper. Press each half into ½ inch thick discs. With rolling pin, roll out dough ¼ inch thick. Refrigerate until cold and slightly firm, approx. 20-30 minutes.

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets or cover with parchment paper. Working with 1 portion at a time (leave the other portion in the refrigerator) peel away and replace top sheet of the wax paper (this will make it easier to lift cookies from the paper after they’ve been cut out.) Carefully flip over the rolled out dough and peel off (& discard) the second sheet of wax paper. Cut out cookies with 2-or 3-inch cutters. For jam sandwich cookies, leave half your cookies plain and, in half of them, cut out "windows" in the centers. Transfer cut-out cookies onto prepared cookie sheet, spacing 1 inch apart. Roll dough scraps, refrigerate and continue cutting out cookies until all dough is used.

Bake approx. 9 minutes, one pan at a time, until edges are lightly browned. Allow to cool completely on racks.

In a double boiler, gently heat until all lumps are dissolved, half a jar of seedless raspberry or red current jelly, lemon curd, quince jam or Nutella. Spoon a scant tsp. onto the underside of a "plain" cookie and then place a cookie with a "window" on top of the jam.

lille huset

doll houses and photo by lille huset

Are your peg dolls looking for a new house?  There is a perfect solution for your peg doll family at Lille Huset.

doll houses and photo by lille huset

The houses come with instructions and are easy to put together...

doll houses and photo by lille huset

Here is information from the Lille Huset website about the company and the toys they produce:

Lille Huset is little house in Norwegian. My little company is named after the house my grandmother lived in right here in the same neighborhood I live in today.
 
Alyson Beaton is the creator of lille huset and has always found inspiration in the world around her. It wasn’t until architecture school that she found her true love in the field of design. She found herself carefully crafting tiny buildings and imagining a world that could exist. It wasn’t until after college, when she had an opportunity to travel abroad, that she fell in love with cities. She traveled around Europe watching, sketching and experiencing how magical you can feel when your backdrop is centuries old. One day on a quest to see one of the most famous buildings designed by one of the most famous architects, tucked away in what seemed the most beautiful French countryside on earth, it dawned on her that this quest was in vain. She realized at that moment that the most beautiful architecture, in her mind, are the places where real people love to live, call home, each with his and her own story.

doll houses and photo by lille huset

I'm pretty much ready to move into one of these little houses... join me for a tiny cup of tea in my teeny, tiny kitchen?

soup

This winter squash soup with curry and coconut was prepared from a recipe I found over here at Orangette.   I've made it three times over the course of three weeks because, yes, it's that good.  To round out the meal, we've been eating it with garlic naan and samosa's from Trader Joe's.  It's also wonderful served over rice (I throw a generous handful of cashews & raisins plus half a teaspoon of salt into the rice-pot while cooking.)

Note: I adapted the recipe by omitting the Sriracha and Vietnamese fish sauce -- the Sriracha does not suit the smaller taste buds in my house, and, even though I know it adds amazing flavor, I cannot get over the smell of the fish sauce.  Also, rather than squeezing lime into each individual bowl (as instructed by the recipe) I squeeze half a lime into the pot prior to serving.

peg doll winter wonderland!

dolls, cardboard animals and photo by mr. printables

Aren't these wonderful?! Templates for creating the animals can be found here at Mr. Printables.

dolls and photo by mr. printables

Note: The dolls above were made using this type of clothes pin (different from the type of wooden base I use for my peg dolls.)  You can find instructions for making these dolls here at Mr. Printables, too!