forest fairy crafts blog tour!

Six years ago, C&T Publishing released the book Forest Fairy Crafts by Lenka Vodicka-Paredes and Asia Currie. The joy with which this book was written is contagious, and it overflows with magic.

So, you can imagine my delight when I heard that a follow-up book, titled Forest Fairy Crafts Through the Seasons, was in the works. C&T Publishing shipped out a copy to me (via fairy-mail, of course), and it was a happy day when the book landed on my doorstep.

Please keep reading to the end of this blog post for more information about the blog tour for Forest Fairy Crafts Through the Seasons plus information about a GIVE-AWAY to win an ebook version.

As with all craft books which arrive on my doorstep, they are immediately commandeered by my younger son.  This book is 143 pages long, however my son didn't make it past page 42, where he was enchanted by the idea of stitching a tiny fairy baby.

At nearly 9 years old, my son hardly needed my help with this project. I cut the felt body for him, threaded a needle and knotted the end of the thread -- he did the rest. NB there is a helpful section at the end of the book with ideas for ways to assist children of varying ages + skill levels with sewing projects. Given my son's comfort with sewing, I was free to sit with him and stitch up a fairy baby, too.

From start to finish, gathering supplies to gluing acorn caps, this project took us 45 minutes -- a perfect after-school activity.

Now for information on how you can win an ebook version of  Forest Fairy Crafts Through the Seasons:  

1) For 1 entry please leave a comment below this blog post.

 2) On FACEBOOK there are 4 opportunities to enter your name: follow my page (or let me know you are already following), like, comment and share my post about Forest Fairy Crafts Through the Seasons.

3) On INSTAGRAM there are also 4 opportunities to enter: follow me (or let me know if you are already following), like, comment and tag a friend.

This give-away is open to participants anywhere in the world. A winner will be chosen by random number on June 25th, and an ebook will be sent via email. Thank you to C&T Publishing for providing an ebook for this give-away!

Please visit all the blog tour participants for inspiration plus more opportunities to win an ebook of Forest Fairy Crafts Through the Seasons!

June 9 Welcome  https://www.forestfairycrafts.com/journal

June 11 C&T  https://www.ctpub.com/blog/

June 12 Annette Bay Pimentel http://www.annettebaypimentel.com

June 13 we bloom here http://webloomhere.blogspot.com

June 14 Clever Chameleon  https://www.cleverchameleon.com.au/blog

June 21 Thank You and Wrap Up  https://www.forestfairycrafts.com/journal

FTC Compliant Disclosure:  I was sent a copy of this book 
by C&T Publishing to facilitate a review, however, all 
opinions expressed above are entirely my own.

Thank you to everyone who entered this give-away 
via blog comments, Facebook and Instagram.  
Congratulations to Sharon Beacham.  
C&T Publishing will be sending you an ebook!

blog tour :: the horribly hungry gingerbread boy

FTC Compliant Disclosure:  I was sent a copy of this book by Heyday Books to facilitate this blog tour review., however, all opinions expressed below are entirely my own.

Today I am honored to be participating in a blog tour promoting the newest book by Elisa Kleven: The Horribly Hungry Gingerbread Boy (and please read to the end of this post for a *give away*).

If you're a regular a reader of my blog, you may have seen me mention Elisa Kleven's books once or twice (or thrice).  I love Elisa's work for the peacefulness and hope her work exudes. I love the luminous colors of her artwork, and I love every tiny bird, mouse, turtle, frog, butterfly, ladybug, and ant inhabiting her engagingly detailed illustrations.

I treasure each of Elisa's books for different reasons and what I love most about this newest book is that it is so very funny and feisty.  Elisa's take on the story is utterly original with a Gingerbread Boy who is deeply offended that the child who has created him then tries to eat him.  My favorite lines of the book are:

"Hey you," cried Shirley.  "Stop! Come back!"

"No way!" he said.  "I'm not your snack.

I thought you'd be my friend, but no,

You bit my thumb -- what next, my toe?"

As you can see in the illustration above, all is eventually resolved between Shirley and her Gingerbread Boy, but along the way we are treated to a madcap tour of San Francisco with notes at the end of the book telling us about the Landmarks visited by our two protagonists.  And what's more, at the end of the book there is also a recipe for baking your own gingerbread people (who hopefully won't try to run away).

If you're not up for baking, here is another way to make gingerbread people which Elisa shared with me a few weeks ago.  This sweet craft is one which Elisa sometimes offers at bookstores and schools when she visits to talk about her work.

SUPPLIES
-- A large sheet of blank paper
-- A sheet of brown paper (or a brown paper bag)
-- A cookie cutter for tracing a template (optional)
-- Colorful bits of paper and/or fabric
-- Buttons or other interesting collage materials
-- A pencil plus markers or crayons

-- White glue for attaching buttons & fabric
-- A glue stick
-- A pair of scissors

STEP ONE :: Using a pencil, sketch the outline of a gingerbread person onto a sheet of brown paper or a brown paper bag and then use a pair of scissors (or have your child use scissors) to cut it out.  Alternatively, if you are uncertain about freehand sketching a gingerbread person, you could trace around a person-shaped cookie cutter.

For extra fun, you could cut out more than one gingerbread person and create a scene with them interacting on the page.

STEP TWO :: Use the glue stick to affix your paper gingerbread folk to a larger piece of plain paper.

STEP 3 :: Cut out clothing from collage materials (paper or fabric) and affix with glue (glue stick for paper or white glue for fabric).

STEP 4 :: Use more collage materials plus pens & crayons to create a sky, clouds, grass & flowers, buttons, faces for your gingerfolk, etc...

And now that we are done with our craft project, please let me tell you about the *give away*.  To participate, leave a comment below, and if you wish, please share your favorite kind of cookie or a favorite cookie-baking memory in your comment.  I will close the give away on Monday December 12 and choose a winner via random number generator.  Thank you to Heyday Books, publisher of The Horribly Hungry Gingerbread Boy, for kindly offering a copy of the book. (Note: due to high postage rates, this give away is limited to participants in the US only.)

If you enjoyed this blog post and are interested in reading more about Elisa & the The Horribly Hungry Gingerbread Boy, you can visit her website HERE. I also invite you to visit the other blogs participating in this blog tour (there is a book *give away* on each blog!)

12/6/16 :: Writing for Kids (While Raising Them)/Tara Lazar
12/7/16 :: We Bloom Here/Margaret Bloom
12/8/16 :: Wee Folk Studio/Salley Mavor
12/9/16 :: KidLit411/Sylvia Liu

The give-away has ended and comments are now closed.  Thank you for your interest!

blog tour :: pipsqueaks

FTC Compliant Disclosure:  I was given a free digital copy of this book by C&T Publishing to facilitate participation in the blog tour.

Today I am participating in a blog tour for Sally Dixon's book Pipsqueaks: itsy-bitsy felt creations to stitch & love.  The full blog-tour schedule is posted at the end of this post, and there is also a *give-away* (details of which also appear at the end of this post). In fact, there is a *give-away* at every stop of the blog tour, so if you are interested in winning a free copy of this darling book, I urge you to follow along and visit each blog on the tour over the next 5 days!

When I was a child, my favorite toys were all tiny: I stitched tiny dresses for tiny dolls and had a small collection of ceramic figures made by Hagen-Renaker. I would have enjoyed creating items from Pipsqueaks: itsy-bitsy felt creations to stitch & love as a child, and clearly some things never change. As you can see, just last week I had a great time creating tiny elephants from this book.

And if you are an enthusiast of the book If you Give a Mouse a Cookie, it will make perfect sense to you that, "If you sew a tiny elephant, he's going to ask for a tiny clown. And when you make him a tiny clown, he will probably ask for a silly hat.  And when the hat is finished, he will certainly ask for a tiny tassel to go on the very top of the silly hat."

No sooner did I blink, then I realized that I had the start of a tiny circus parade marching across the kitchen table.  As you can see, Sally's pipsqueaks and my peg dolls get along very well together, indeed.

Besides, tiny elephants, there are clear and detailed instructions for creating winsome mice, a budgerigar puppet, tiny dogs, bunnies & kittens, plus designs for two different koalas and a platypus in a peekaboo bed.  Yes, Sally Dixon (the author of Pipsqueaks) is Australian, and several of the designs in this book reflect her country of origin.  I especially love the embroidery and applique instructions for creating eucalyptus blossoms (there are two perfectly detailed eucalyptus designs; one on page 30 and the other on page 56).  To me, the inclusion of koalas, a platypus and eucalyptus adds an exotic variation from the usual flora and fauna (exotic for an American reader, anyhow).

In addition to clear patterns and instructions, I found some excellent crafting advice in this book.  For example, Sally suggests using small, sharp embroidery scissors for cutting out tiny, detailed pattern pieces; when I read this, I smacked my hand to my forehead and thought to myself, "Why didn't I think of this years ago?"  Sally also advises enlarging the patterns on a copier machine for readers who find tiny patterns too fussy; this advice is likewise given for children who are first being introduced to needle-skills.

Now for the *give-away*: please leave a comment on this post (and make sure I can contact you via email) for an opportunity to win a copy of Pipsqueaks: itsy-bitsy felt creations to stitch & love by Sally Dixon.  A winner will be randomly chosen from the list of comments below on Monday, May 23rd, 9:00 p.m. PST.  If the winner is in the USA, they will receive a hard copy of the book, and if the winner is outside the USA, they will receive a digital copy.   You can find the full blog tour schedule below, and don't forget: there will be a give-away at every stop on the blog tour. Thank you to C&T Publishing for generously sponsoring the give-aways!

Comments for this give-away are now closed.  Thank you to everyone for participating, and congratulations to #34 -- Lisa Marie.  I hope you enjoy making lovely, tiny things from Pipsqueaks!

11^th May 2016

C&T Publishing

11^th May 2016

Margaret Bloom

We Bloom Here

12^th May 2016

Karen Wasson

My Handmade Adventure

13^th May 2016

Joanna Riley

60 Degrees of Inspiration

14^th May 2016

Anna Day

Buttonsy

15^th May 2016

Louise

Madeit

16^th May 2016

Sally Dixon

Sally Dixon Creations

felt wee folk :: blog tour

Today I am excited and honored to be participating in the blog tour for Salley Mavor's new book Felt Wee Folk: New Adventures... And please read to the end of this post because there is a *give-away.*

So, let's talk about Salley's new book. I was expecting an update of the first edition of Felt Wee Folk, but the variety of doll designs in Felt Wee Folk: New Adventures goes far beyond the first book; in the new edition there are doll house families, wedding cake toppers, a nativity scene, nursery rhyme & storybook characters, plus a wide assortment of elfin folk and fairies. The array is enchanting.

And now I have an embarrassing confession to make.  I've owned a copy of the first edition of Wee Felt Folk for nearly four years. I regularly pulled it from the shelf to admire Salley's use of color, the intricacy of her embroidery, and the fanciful scenarios in which her dolls were posed.  I loved the book to bits, but had never made anything from it!  When Salley invited me to participate in her blog tour for the new edition, I knew it was time to get down to brass tacks and actually make a doll (or two) in the style of Salley Mavor!

After my embarrassing confession, I will say right up front that Felt Wee Folk: New Adventures is not just a book to look at -- it is a craft book to be used and loved. These little figures would, indeed, be perfect for a dollhouse family, a pocket friend for a child, or for anyone who would like to add a bit of charm and magic to their surroundings.  

Truly, the most difficult thing about this book was deciding which character(s) to create!  I was drawn to the fairies and elfin folk, but even then, there were so many choices.  I finally settled on creating a pair of elfin brothers, modeled after my own two boys, and narrowed my color choices down to tones of green with some brown embroidery.  Once these decisions were made, all I had to do was follow the clear, step-by-step directions from the book. (And an important note to anyone who might feel intimidated by delicate embroidery; these dolls could be made without any embroidered decorations to their clothing at all, and they would be just as sweet!!)

According to the directions, I used embroidery floss to wrap the wire bodies, and I am pleased to tell you that wrapping the little arms & legs was a much easier process than I had anticipated.  The bodies are quite tiny, so not only did wrapping the limbs require only a small amount of embroidery floss, the process of wrapping took almost no time at all.

Then I moved on to my favorite parts -- painting the faces and embroidering the clothing.

And here is the result -- two tiny elfin brothers!

Posing their wire bodies was a lot of fun, and their mischievous faces makes it appear that they will be up to some naughty pranks at any moment...

Now for details about the *give-away*: please leave a comment below for an opportunity to win a copy of Felt Wee Folk: New Adventures. And just for fun, in your comment, you can state which doll/ character you would choose to make first from this delightful book.  If the winner is a USA resident, they will receive a hard-copy, and if outside the USA, the winner will be sent an e-book version.  The winner will be chosen by random number generator after one week.  Good luck to all!

COMMENTS FOR THE GIVE-AWAY ARE NOW CLOSED.  Congratulations to Ginny who wrote, "Love how your little elfin guys came out.  I would make flower fairies to start. Have a request for fairies from the grands!"  Ginny, please email me your address so C&T can send you a book!

If you are too eager to wait for the results of the give-aways, you can purchase a signed copy of Salley's book here through her etsy shop (and with book purchases through her etsy shop, Salley will also include a poster, notecard and faux-flowers for fairy-making).  Additionally, books and all supplies for making dolls can be purchased at A Child's Dream (this craft basket includes a copy of the book and has everything you would need to make dozens of dolls). And, of course, Salley's book may also be purchased from Amazon.

Below is a list of blogs participating in the tour.  There will be a book give-away at each blog plus new insights and perspectives on Felt Wee Folk: New Adventures during the journey, so you might want to follow along. C&T publishing is generously supplying books for every stop during the blog tour -- hard copies for winners in USA and e-books for international winners!

March 3 :: Mary Corbet - Needle n’ Thread

March 6 :: Mimi Kirchner - Doll 

March 10 :: Margaret Bloom – we bloom here 

March 12 :: C&T Publishing Blog 

March 13 :: Kimara – Wee Folk Art 

March 15 :: Phoebe Wahl

remedial eating & making peg dolls

photo by molly hays :: remedial eating

Today I am grateful to have Molly Hays of the blog Remedial Eating posting about my new book Making Peg Dolls & More. (She was originally going to post during the blog tour, but delayed due to a bout with the flu. So glad you are well now dear Molly!)  To visit Molly's blog post you can click here.

photo by molly hays :: remedial eating

The first thing you are likely to notice about Molly's blog is the photography.  I could not replicate it here within the templates of my blog, but Molly has a way of pairing photos so that her images play off each other in color, texture and content.  Go look -- you'll see what I mean!!

photo by molly hays :: remedial eating

The next thing you will notice is Molly's writing; she has knack for elegant turn of phase, wandering off on tangents down the scenic by-ways of conversation, and then steering things back again, so that by the end of the blog post, you feel like you've had a good chat over a cup of coffee. Then it's time to wave good-bye with happy words of "See you next time!" and a scrap of paper clutched in hand scribbled with titles of a few new books to read and a list of ingredients to pick up on the way home for a recipe she mentioned.

photo by molly hays :: remedial eating

And the recipes she mentions?  They're great.  I was completely obsessed with this salad over the summer and am obsessed by this Basque Pie pretty much all the time.  Through Molly's influence I now candy orange peel on a regular basis for making granola and other baking purposes (panforte, anyone?).  Molly tends to go heavy on recipes for baked goods, and this is a bonus (no complaints from this quadrant).

photo by molly hays :: remedial eating

Thank you, Molly, for posting today about my book!

February 2nd :: The Crafty Crow

February 3rd :: Clean

February 4th :: Castle in the Air

February 5th :: Salley Mavor (Wee Folk Studio)

February 7th :: A Child's Dream

February 9th :: Forest Fairy Crafts

February 10th :: Bella Luna Toys

February 11th :: Ben & Birdy

February 12th :: Twig & Toadstool

February 13th :: Wee Wonderfuls

February 17th :: Remedial Eating

photo by molly hays :: remedial eating

wee wonderfuls :: making peg dolls & more tour

dolls & photo :: hilllary lang

Today is the final day of the blog tour for my new book Making Peg Dolls & More, and the host for the final stop is Hillary Lang of the book & eponymous blog Wee Wonderfuls.  To visit Hillary's blog tour post you can click here.

doll & photo :: hilllary lang

I've been a long time fan of Hillary's book Wee Wonderfuls, so when one of my blog-readers pointed out that Hillary had created some peg folk inspired by my first book, I took the opportunity to say hello & introduce myself (above you can see Hillary's fairy godmother peg doll... oh my.).

dolls & photo :: hilllary lang

Not only has Hillary created endearingly quirky doll patterns for her book, she sells additional (& equally endearing) patterns through her shop (plus patterns for embroidery designs!).  And if you are not inclined to stitch up dolls yourself, you can find ready-made dolls based on Hillary's designs for sale at Land of Nod.

Thank you, Hillary, for hosting the final stop of the blog tour today!

dolls & photo :: hilllary lang

Below is a schedule for the entire blog tour.  Please follow along and visit each of the participating blogs. Not only will you meet some of my favorite people here on the internet -- you may also find opportunities to win copies of the new book!

February 2nd :: The Crafty Crow

February 3rd :: Clean

February 4th :: Castle in the Air

February 5th :: Salley Mavor (Wee Folk Studio)

February 7th :: A Child's Dream

February 9th :: Forest Fairy Crafts

February 10th :: Bella Luna Toys

February 11th :: Ben & Birdy

February 12th :: Twig & Toadstool

February 13th :: Wee Wonderfuls

February 17th :: Remedial Eating

twig & toadstool :: making peg dolls & more tour

toadstool house and photo :: twig and toadstool

Today Maureen MacMillan of the blog Twig and Toadstool is hosting the next stop of the blog tour for my new book Making Peg Dolls & More.  To visit Maureen's blog tour post you can click here.

fairy tea-set and photo :: twig and toadstool

Maureen blogs at Twig and Toadstool with her friend Shanti.  Together they take turns innovating  crafts for their blog, and their capacity for coming up with new ideas seems endless.

acorn charms and photo :: twig and toadstool

The crafts on Twig and Toadstool are organized by season, and if your are looking for ideas, it's worth your time to browse through.  Meanwhile, here are links to a few of my favorites:  I adore these acorn cap necklaces, these mandala wreaths, and I can't begin to tell you how much I love these tiny bird nest ornaments.

rainbow fairies and photos :: twig and toadstool

If you like fairies, there are these ones, these ones, these ones and so many more...

spring blossom popsicles and photo :: twig and toadstool

Thank you, Maureen, for hosting today and for featuring my new book Making Peg Dolls and More on your blog!

acorn charms and photo :: twig and toadstool

Below is a schedule for the entire blog tour.  Please follow along and visit each of the participating blogs. Not only will you meet some of my favorite people here on the internet -- you may also find opportunities to win copies of the new book!

February 2nd :: The Crafty Crow

February 3rd :: Clean

February 4th :: Castle in the Air

February 5th :: Salley Mavor (Wee Folk Studio)

February 7th :: A Child's Dream

February 9th :: Forest Fairy Crafts

February 10th :: Bella Luna Toys

February 11th :: Ben & Birdy

February 12th :: Twig & Toadstool

February 13th :: Wee Wonderfuls
February 17th :: Remedial Eating