It’s just easier with the iPhone. Bing. New e-mail. Mid-day inspiration while my children are fighting over light sabers in the backyard. What’s not to love?

Since I cleared my reader, I found a few projects I love that you might as well, so I’m dumping them here. Seriously, it’s my blog, I can do post what I like, even if it’s just for my own convenience. <wink>

First up, for those who love embroidery or want to learn. I firmly believe anyone can pick up this skill and should. Lots of tutorials online, lots of free patterns, lots of uses for this skill. On to the find…

From my internet friends over at Sibling Craftery, a quirky wedding present, embroidered tea-towels of LOVE.

There are three images in the FREE set, but the macaroni and cheese is my favorite. Click over to see ‘frosting on my cupcake’ and ‘cookie to my milk’. Who doesn’t love embroidered food with faces?

For those who crochet, check out these adorable and not too kitschy Fruity Trivets and Pot Holders from The Purl Bee.

I love that it’s the same pattern for all 3 fruit, and they give you the exact colors used on each. The photos are beautiful and easy to follow, especially the demonstration of how to create the seeds.

Make sure if you plan on making these you read the instructions carefully. To be practical and actually protect you from heat, the yarn is doubled and the pattern uses a size K crochet hook.

Please don’t forget your crafty internet etiquette. If you download or use these patterns, leave the creators some comment love and if they have Flickr groups, upload images of your finished project to their group. They are sharing their hard work for free, so it’s a nice way to say “Thanks”.

Father’s Day handkerchiefs

Originally uploaded by wistfulwrists

Are you running out on time for a crafty Father’s Day gift? These are some handmade handkerchiefs I created last year for my father. Since these were made when I was just beginning to embroider, I had limited resources. These were both made from basic clip art you probably already have sitting on your computer.

You can use plain pre-made handkerchiefs, new or vintage. No, I’m not being disgusting, I’ve seen many brand new packages of plain handkerchiefs on thrift store shelves. With very basic sewing skills, you can make your own from 100% cotton fabric. Feeling especially green & thrifty? Upcycle one of dad’s old cotton dress shirts.

Embroidery floss is cheap, about 3 skeins for $1, less if you catch a sale. This whole project could be done for $5 or less. Depending on your sewing and embroidery skills, the project should take 1-3 hours per handkerchief.

Print the images you want onto plain paper. The fortune cookie was a single file. For the bowling one, I used 2 different clip art pieces together, only tracing the parts I wanted with my transfer pencil. You can use tracing pencil or tracing papers, whatever you have on hand.

I made an entire set of handkerchiefs using images that were significant to my memories of my father. My parents participated in a bowling league when I was a child, so I have great memories of evenings spent at the bowling alley with them. My father has perfected his own recipe for “Springfield style” cashew chicken. I can’t tell you how many weekends he spent cooking it for the whole family.

There were a few other images in the set, but you get the idea. Take your favorite memories, find an image that evokes that memory or inside joke, and stitch away!

This month’s packet included some lovely handmade papers, tags & paper ribbons, googly eyes, tan embroidery floss and brass buttons. My first thought was “CRAP! I’m not a paper crafter! What am I going to do with this?” Thankfully the fine print says you only have to use some of each material and although it must be one craft, creative packaging can count. Ah Hah! My loophole! I did some quick internet searching, found a project I liked, requested the book from the library and waited. Waited for the book to arrive, waited for Mr. T to depart so I could have some quality crafting time alone, and waited for divine inspiration on how to use the paper.

When I finally sat down to work on my project Sunday evening… Don’t judge me, I know I procrastinate! Well, let’s just say my initial project fell through. As did the next variation. Frustrated at how to use  both a whimsical googly eye and a stately brass button on the same project without coming off with something destined for Craft Fail, I turned to the internet. Did you know there is a hilarious blog all about googly eyes? After scouring the internet, I finally had an idea.

Armed with a base set of instructions from Wee Folk Art, I set off to make a cute little felt business card holder. After all, I did just buy my ticket to attend my first BlogHer conference, so it’s only logical I’d need something crafty to display my business cards. But as I was cutting felt, the project evolved one last time. Last December, while working the intense holiday production at church, a wonderful woman with fiery red hair and an awesome spirit to match, blessed me with a Starbucks gift card in this adorable little holder:

I love to give handmade gifts, but you know there are those recipients who aren’t truly *ahem* appreciative (or *cough, cough* worthy) of the time and care that goes into such a gift. This seemed like the perfect way to blend crafty with practical!

By the time I finished, I had decreased the original pattern by 70%, changed from two pockets to a single pocket for a gift card, and had enlarged the bird so that it would be closer to scale with the smallest googly eye from the package. I used the most minimal amount of paper possible to be the “card” that accompanied the gift card for the recipient. This was my end result:

Made of el cheapo acrylic felt (because it’s what I had), I’m thrilled with the results. Family and friends be warned: if you receive a gift card from me in the next year, you now know how it will be packaged! The photo doesn’t show the deep violet color of the main felt well, but in real life, it’s snazzy!

Once I had decided what I was doing, this was a quick and easy project. It took 2 days, because I was being careful. I stitched the design in a few hours one evening, then used hot glue to adhere the eye and left it to dry overnight. I did the rest of the assembly in a few (interrupted) hours the next day.

My felt still had the price sticker on it, I purchased it at 5 for $1. So with 3 colors used, that’s about $.60. Add 3 colors of embroidery floss and that’s another $1. Googly eyes and buttons you may have on hand, but if needed to be purchased for $1-2 per package. A cheap craft for sure, could be as little as free if you have these items left over from other projects, but not more than $5 even if you had to purchase everything! I suspect these sell for close to $5 at Starbucks each.

I truly loved working this craft challenge. I thought it would be much more difficult than it was, but the unique supplies provided just the right amount of difficulty to inspire and drive me to work a bit harder. It was a nice change of pace after having several big projects that took a lot of time and didn’t allow for as much creativity. Definitely helped me to bring my crafty mojo back.

Now I get to sit back and watch the voting for the next few days to see which project prevails. I hope the other entrants blog about their process as well, I would love to learn more about what appears to be a bracelet, listed as #1 for the vote. Click here to see all the entrants and cast your vote (no registration required)!

If you are inspired and want to join the crafty challenge, you can purchase a single month like I did to give it a whirl, or get a discount by subscribing for multiple months.

This year, I chose my own valentine. I chose this beautiful print from artist Jennifer Katherine. I stumbled across her blog more than a year ago and began following her. I loved her style, I loved her use of digital, graphic tools and yet, she made things with buttons. Then, after following her a few months, I saw her delve into sewing. This was a girl after my own heart. Although I’ve put my digital art days behind me (for now), I have a great appreciation for the blend of technical with traditional arts and crafts.

I recall when Jennifer put the early sketches of this piece on her blog, and then a while later when she showed a glimpse of it with color. I was in love. It was one of those moments where art spoke directly to my heart. I went months without catching up on my blog reader, and wouldn’t you know, the evening I finally caught up, Jennifer had posted just days before that she opened an Etsy shop. And guess what was for sale?! The surprising thing was that she had a note on her shop about a portion of proceeds going to one of my favorite charities. I just HAD to have it. I sent Mr. T the e-mail with the link to purchase. Then I became impatient and just asked him one night if I could buy it, since I have an Etsy account and he doesn’t. A few clicks for me, a journey through a snowstorm for Jennifer and a few days later, it was in my hands!

One of the best parts of the piece for me is what’s happened behind the scenes. I shared through the Etsy convo feature why I was so excited to purchase it, she shared some of her heart and personal story of why she made the piece. It’s truly amazing how the whole thing is stitched together. I almost didn’t share with you on here on my blog, because it’s so unconventional to have a broken heart as a valentine’s gift. But, it’s the truth, my heart is being mended, our marriage is being mended, life right now is a season of healing and restoration. Nothing could better represent this season of life. Even down to the part where it arrived in the midst of my medical testing for those chest pains! Literally and metaphorically, this speaks to me in so many ways. I love passing by it multiple times a day, and am surprised by the variety of emotions and thoughts is produces. This piece of paper speaks to my soul. That is truly the best kind of art!

If you love it too, Jennifer has placed another print for sale in her Etsy shop. Be sure to stop by and leave her some love on her blog: Elegant Journey as well.

If you have a piece of art that speaks to your soul as well, I’d love to read about it. Share the story in the comments or a link if you’ve already blogged about it.

Now, back to the post at hand:

Let me just say it. I LOVE Conan O’Brien. Sure, I’m married to a witty red-head, mother to two twin red-heads well on their way to careers in comedy, so I’m clearly biased. I have fond memories of watching Conan off and on in my college years. I really began watching him regularly during late night nursing sessions with my first son, nearly 7 years old now. That’s when my love of O’Brien truly began. I was thrilled years ago when the date was announced when he would take over The Tonight Show. I patiently waited until the debut last June. I can’t tell you how many nights I stay up much later than I should to watch every minute of his show. So the recent stir has me in a tizzy. I truly don’t understand why there is such a disconnect between executives in corporate America and basic rules of decency and conduct. A contract is a contract, your word is your word. If you prove yourself unworthy of trust, what else is left? Anyway…

DIY Team Conan Tee
Originally uploaded by craftrocklove

What is better than internet frenzy + crafting? NOTHING, I tell you. I was thrilled to see this come across my Twitter feed, from one of my favorite crafters & red-heads herself, Vickie Howell. Her DIY “Team Conan” T-Shirt has so many possibilities! T-shirts aren’t a staple of my crafting arsenal and don’t own any of those fabric paint markers, but I’ve been plotting the various items you could embroider with the “Team Conan” logo. Think of it as if it was our generation’s version of collectible election memorabilia. A button, a set of cloth napkins, even baby Onesies! Heck, if you love Mod Podge, the possibilities are endless!

I think this will be my craft of choice for the weekend, I just haven’t quite decided what medium I will work in yet. Mr. T has even requested a t-shirt, which would require a trip to a craft store. That’s almost like him ASKING me to spend money on crafts!

< insert evil laughter here >

One of the things I’ve come to accept is often the handmade gifts are given a bit after the holiday. Especially those “Hallmark holidays” as in, give a gift to all of the 20 x, y and z’s you know. *UGH* Seriously? So here is a peek at my mother-in-law’s red silk scarf with hand embroidery I’ve been working on between loads of potty training laundry.

This is a lovely little Linea kit from DMC I picked up at Hobby Lobby too long ago to recall exactly. I think it’s an older design, I could only find it here online if you are interested in this exact project. I love the red silk, and that the design is imprinted on the fabric. The drawback of this kit is the scarf was the only thing included, no hoop, needle or thread/floss. It looks like this has been rectified in the newer line of kits, according to this DMC Linea site. I love this idea so much, I’m going to look for the newer kits next time I’m at the craft store.