Rainy Saturday Crafternoon

Well. I was supposed to spend all day today stitching on Snowfire Christmas. But I have this problem. My problem is that when I see something (or think of something) cute I want to make, the idea skitters around in my brain like a squirrel and I can't rest until I make the silly thing and get it out of my system. 

A couple of weeks ago, in my wanderings around the web, I came across simple pincushions made out of picture frames. I have cute pins that need displaying. I don't have a pincushion. I became obsessed.

These are ridiculously simple, and--in my opinion--ridiculously adorable. This project took me less than 10 minutes.

Choose your fabric and frame. I got this tiny 2 1/2" x 3" frame at Hobby Lobby for $3 (their picture frames are always 50% off).

Make a sandwich. Using the glass as a template, cut your fabric at least an inch larger than the glass on all sides. Lay the fabric in the frame aperture, add a fat ball of fiber fill or whatever you're using to make it puffy, add the glass. In the picture below, you can see the layers of your sammich.

Mash the back of the frame closed and fiddle with the stuffing to make it even, pulling gently on the excess fabric to make the front smooth and even. Secure the back and trim away the excess fabric. If you want to make it extra tidy, you can glue cute trim around the aperture on the back to hide the trimmed fabric. I didn't bother, but I would if I were giving one as a gift. Here's your adorable pincushion that took you less than 10 minutes:

So cute, right?! The thought has already crossed my mind that I might need a Christmas one. A Halloween one. Of course, a fox one. One for every season...

I also made bookmarks today. A while back, I showed off my tea box bookmarks. I read a lot, sometimes several books at once, and I need a lot of bookmarks. These are all free printables. Just click on the label to take you to the freebie.

Flowery foxes:

Woodland friends:

I used Xyron laminating sheets to make them super sturdy. Just as good as store bought, I would say, and Tiger Lily agrees.

These are very easy to make, and would be sweet, inexpensive little gifts to tuck into cards or use as package decorations.

So that's what I've been doing today instead of stitching on Snowfire Christmas. Update on that coming soon... I hope!

Happy Saturday, Happy Stitching, Happy Whatever-You're-Doing-Instead-Of-What-You're-Supposed-To-Be-Doing!