I am not usually into travel souvenirs in the traditional sense - no trinkets or postcards because they just end up collecting dust somewhere. I like to think of photos as the best way to memorialize a trip. But we were on the beach and kept picking up cool shells and pieces of coral that washed up at low tide. At first I just picked them up to look and tossed them back, but then I thought keeping a few couldn’t hurt and soon I had a whole pocketful. I think they’ll look nice in a jar on my desk, and they also make good objects to fiddle with because of all the textures.

I’ve uploaded the new craft soundtrack for March - there’s some cool new stuff this month and all legal mp3 downloads for your listening enjoyment!

We also saw many exciting/cute/unusual plants and animals in Costa Rica. A better telephoto lens is required next time we go on a trip like this though - we saw many cool birds too but they’re hard to photograph without a better lens!

Still adjusting to non-vacation, snowy life. Re-entry has been tough, and it seems almost like the whole thing was a dream…..

We are off on vacation shortly, by this time tomorrow I hope to be sitting on a beach in Costa Rica. I’ll be back in a week with photos of all kind of flora and fauna, I’m sure! In the meantime while I’m away, here’s some fun new reading suggestions for you…

Built By Wendy Dresses	Mason-Dixon Knitting: The Curious Knitter’s Guide	Alabama Studio Style	Sewing Clothes Kids Love
Make!: Over 40 Fantastic Projects with 16 Exclusive Designs	Collage Lab: Experiments, Investigations, and Exploratory Projects	How to Sew a Button: And Other Nifty Things Your Grandmother Knew	Sew Liberated: 20 Stylish Projects for the Modern Sewist
Knitwear Design Workshop: The Comprehensive Guide to Handknits	Knitting Brioche: The Essential Guide to the Brioche Stitch	Fearless Knitting Workbook: The Step-by-Step Guide to Knitting Confidence	Respect the Spindle: Spin Infinite Yarns with One Amazing Tool
Lily Chin’s Knitting Tips & Tricks: Shortcuts and Techniques Every Knitter Should Know	Rule-breaking Quilts	Liberated Quiltmaking II	Cozy Modern Quilts: 23 Easy Pieced Projects to Bust Your Stash

I used to have this lovely little travel jewelry case that my sister made for me when we were teenagers. She used to make a lot of them and sell them at craft fairs, and they were a great design that kept all your necklaces tangle free in your luggage. I lost that original one somewhere along the way, so I thought I’d try to make a replacement for an upcoming trip.

And it turned out so well that I thought I’d share with you how to make your own!

What you’ll need is:
One twelve inch square and one nine inch square each of two different fabrics
One of each same sized muslin or pattern paper
Two pieces of 18 inch ribbon

To start, measure your pattern circles. You could do this directly onto your main fabrics, but I felt better having a template to work from. Fold the square into a triangle, and then fold over on itself two more times. Using a measuring tape, mark out a 6 inch arc from the tip of your triangle. This will give you a 12 inch circle.

travel jewelry organizer tutorial continued »

I’m so excited to have a copy of Built by Wendy Dresses in my hot little hands. I was a big fan of the original Sew U, and a book all about dresses is a great addition to the series.

Particularly because I recently made a vow to wear more dresses. For some reason I’m just not a dress person - even though I love looking at them and seeing other people wear them, I just don’t wear them often myself. But last summer I bought a dress that I absolutely loved and wore fairly often, so I think I’m on the right track. I’m hoping with the help of this book to come up with some comfortable, custom style dresses that I love to increase my dress wardrobe selection for the spring.

The book comes with three basic patterns for a sheath, shift and drindl dress and about eight specific project instructions for each. But then, like all the Built by Wendy books there’s a whole set of instructions on how to customize the basic patterns by adjusting the collar, sleeves and embellishments

And of course there’s tons of great information about creating the right fit for your body and her overall inspirational attitude that makes you feel like sewing your own clothes is the easiest and funnest thing you could ever do. I’m still a bit skeptical, but I like the motivational pep talk anyways!

1. [presépio 03, 2. A Masqueradeing Tiny Squirrel Plush, 3. Fawn, 4. Theegwart Pugwash, a pirate Jacabobbaloo

5. Block printing + embroidery / Estampado + bordado, 6. Feltidermy hair clips, 7. Winter Fairy Ring, 8. Red Snouts

9. wounded bear/forest queen, 10. handmade zakka for baby, 11. The Cherrybomb Family, 12. 2 more on the way

13. 090411a, 14. IMG_9736, 15. Shy guy, 16. Suitcases

A very nice friend of mine brought me this pot of daffodils - just what’s needed to bring a bit of spring time into the house, even if it is a bit premature. I had read elsewhere that forced bulbs won’t bloom again because they’re so confused, but my friend said if you plant them in the garden they might come up again in the fall. Thoughts?

Also, Ian’s made us a new craft soundtrack which I’ve just put up (all legal mp3 downloads). There’s some good stuff there  to keep you rockin out through the February blahs.

We’ve been doing some cross-country skiing on the weekends. It’s been pretty fun (aching muscles and bruised behinds apres ski notwithstanding). The first time we went up it was beautiful and sunny, but a bit too warm on the trails.

This weekend was grayer, but with lovely fresh snow. Makes the whole winter thing somewhat more tolerable to be outdoors doing something fun.

Although I am glad to say goodbye to January and it’s bone-chillingly cold weather, I have been enjoying this page of my calendar. My very lovely and generous aunt got it for me for Christmas - the art is by Amy Rice, who’ve I’ve mentioned before. Although I think this print is pretty sweet, I’ll look forward to flipping the page to the next one because I haven’t even peeked at what it is yet!