Christmas Crafternoon: Stitcher's Necklace

Well stitchers, here we are. Friday already. I hope y'all have enjoyed the week, and I hope y'all are settled in because this is the Grand Finale of my Christmas Open House 2015 and it's gonna be looooong! 

Just like all of the other projects I've shared this week, this one isn't difficult, but it is a bit more involved and requires more stuff. And just like my other projects, this one can be adapted in so many ways... colors, themes, occasions, seasons, holidays.

I've had the idea in my head for at least a year, and finally got around to translating it into a real object. The concept behind the Stitcher's Necklace is an accessory that allows me to have my main tools attached to me so that I can move around, get up, etc. without having to find a place to put things where they won't go missing. Now for stitching at home in your favorite chair, this is probably not much of an issue. But when traveling--in a car, at a hotel, at a friend's house--or sitting at the hospital, or even at a stitcher's retreat, it's nice to be able to wear your scissors and stick your needle to yourself, safely! And if that accessory is cute, cute, CUTE... well, so much the better! Let's get started!

Stitcher's Necklace

What you'll need:

*beads
*spacers with relatively large holes (the silver things in the baggie in the pic below)
*beading nylon
*bead board (not absolutely necessary, but a big help)
*plastic floss bobbins
*felt
*measuring tape
*retractable badge reel (office supply store)

The first thing you need to do is unstring all your beads and design your necklace. Honestly, this is really the most time-consuming part of making this necklace. A bead board is very helpful for this step. Mine is just flocked plastic and was very inexpensive. 

The top part of the necklace is formed by a length of measuring tape with small holes punched in each end. I did this for a few reasons: 1) it's handy to have a measuring tape! 2) it makes the necklace lighter since it requires fewer beads, and 3) it also makes it a bit less expensive to make (again, fewer beads). If you keep a look out, you'll frequently be able to find beads on sale for half-price at any of the large craft store chains. I used a 12" length of measuring tape for my necklace, but you could certainly make yours longer if you like. I wouldn't go any shorter, though. It needs to slip comfortably over your head. Position a plastic floss bobbin just below the measuring tape on both sides. Make sure the spacer is at the bottom center of your necklace.

Once you have your necklace the way you want it, string the beads, making sure to leave plenty of nylon on both ends to work with. It's better to have too much than too little.

Cut a strip of felt about 3/4" wide, or to fit the bobbins you're using. Set aside.

Thread the nylon through the hole in the top of the bobbin. Making sure the nylon is centered on the bobbin, and making sure the bobbin is snug against the bead below it, secure the nylon on the back with a small piece of tape. This is just to hold the bobbin in place while you finish working with it.

Hot glue the strip of felt to the bobbin, wrap it around a couple of times, and hot glue the end of the felt to the back of the bobbin. 

With the excess nylon, make a little knot at the top of the bobbin. They should be nice and secure now. Add a couple of small beads above each bobbin. You'll need them when attaching the measuring tape.

To attach the measuring tape, thread the nylon up through the back of the measuring tape and out the front. Then thread the nylon down through the top bead, then down through the top bead again, and then down through the bottom bead. Tie off the nylon below the bottom bead, at the back of the bobbin.

The front should look something like this:

Attach the badge reel to the spacer at the bottom center of the necklace. You want to make sure when purchasing your spacers and your badge reel that the badge reel clasp will fit through the spacer. Also, you don't have to decorate the badge reel, but I just happened to find a snowflake charm that fit perfectly. Badge reels can be a bit pricey, so I designed the necklace so that if you make more than one necklace, you can transfer the badge reel from necklace to necklace. That would be a good reason not to decorate the badge reel, so that it will go with more than one necklace.

In this close-up, you can see how the clasp of the badge reel fits through the spacer, and can be easily removed from the necklace.

And here's the finished necklace!

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For the last recipe of my Christmas Open House 2015, I'm sharing my Grandmother's recipe for pound cake, because it just wouldn't be Christmas without pound cake!

Pound Cake

3 c. sugar
1 c. butter
1/2 c. Crisco
5 eggs, beaten
3 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. lemon extract

Cream butter, Crisco, and sugar until sugar dissolves. Add beaten eggs and mix well. Sift flour with baking powder. Add flour and milk alternately to creamed mixture. Add flavorings. Spray pan with Baker's Joy. Place in a cold oven and heat to 325. Bake about 1 1/2 hours or until done.

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Thanks for visiting my Open House! 

Tiger Lily, Mr. Wonderful and I all wish you a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas Crafternoon: Needle Packets and Needle Vials

Back in the spring, I shared a tutorial for homemade needle packets, which you can see here.
For one of our projects this week, I decided to create a couple more, this time with a Christmas-y, wintery feel. These are nice for stockings, favors, or to tuck in cards.

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Do you save orts? I've noticed that a lot of stitchers do, but I don't. I do, however, save old needles. I'm not sure why, but I do. Did you know there is a tradition in Japan called the Festival of Broken Needles, when old needles are "laid to rest" after their faithful service in needlework? You can read about it here. I'm not inclined to stick my old needles into tofu, but after all their hard work, they probably deserve a pretty resting place! So for our next project, we're making needle vials.

Needle Vials

What you'll need:

*small glass vials with cork stoppers
*embellishments of your choice (just make sure they're not too big; you don't want the vial to be top-heavy)
(all supplies from Hobby Lobby)

Pretty up your vials however you like. There's no need for a tutorial because these are so easy! Here are a couple of ideas:

Quick, easy, inexpensive... and pretty! Combine a set of homemade goodies with a common theme for a really cute little gift set: needle packet, needle vial, needle magnet.

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If you love chocolate and coffee, this recipe will knock your little wool socks off! These are my favorite, favorite, FAVORITE cookies. Favorite. If you don't like coffee, you could leave out the espresso and still have a pretty delicious chocolate cookie. 

Chocolate Espresso Cookies

3 (1 oz.) squares semi-sweet baking chocolate
2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
1/2 c. butter
3 eggs
1 c. sugar
1 Tbsp. espresso powder (instant espresso)
1 c. flour
3/8 tsp. baking powder (I know, weird... trust me)

Preheat oven to 350. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a microwave safe bowl, melt together the baking chocolate, 1 c. chocolate chips, and the butter. Heat at 50% power, in 1 minute increments, stirring between each heating until completely melted and smooth. Set aside to cool.

Beat eggs and sugar until thick and light, about 3 minutes. Stir in the espresso. Add the chocolate mixture and stir well. Sift together the flour and baking powder and fold into the egg/chocolate mixture. Stir in remaining 1 c. chocolate chips. Cover and chill dough at least 30 minutes.

Drop by tablespoonfuls 2" apart on prepared cookie sheet and bake 10-12 minutes. WATCH the cookies carefully and remove them when they begin to have a crackled appearance. Cool the cookies on the cookie sheets. (I use a small cookie scoop and bake 12 minutes exactly, yield is 3 dozen plus a few.)

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One more day to go... come back tomorrow for the Grand Finale of the Christmas Open House 2015!

Christmas Crafternoon: Floss Bobbin Ornaments for a Stitcher's Tree

We love Christmas trees. This year, we've got three in the living room, one in the kitchen, one in the bedroom, and one in my sewing room. Even if you're not a multiple tree household, you probably need a little stitcher's tree all to yourself. There are all kinds of things you can put on a stitcher's tree... scissors, needle packets, skeins of floss, spools of thread... anything sewing or stitching-related. You can put together a really cute tree without having to make a single thing! But if you want to make something, here's an idea for some quick and easy floss bobbin ornaments.

Floss Bobbin Ornaments

What you'll need:

*plastic floss bobbins
*floss
*glitter paint, glitter, sparkly stuff (the sparklier, the better)
*small Christmas/sewing embellishments, charms (the tiny scissors are from Hobby Lobby)

First, glitter up your bobbins (just the ends that will show) and anything else you want to sparkle. I used a glitter paint, and then because that just wasn't sparkly enough for me, I added glitter to the wet paint. Allow to dry. Super sparkly!

To attach charms or jingle bells or whatever, thread a snippet of floss through the charm and hot glue it to the bobbin. Trim the excess floss. Wind the rest of the floss onto the bobbin as you normally would. 

For variety, glue embellishments to other bobbins. My sewing room, which you can see here, is pink and green, so I wanted my ornaments to match.

And here's my tree!

Tree topper! One of these days I may get something fancier made, but this will do for now.

Photographs never do justice to a Christmas tree, but hopefully you can get an idea of the possibilities for your own stitcher's tree!

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Today's recipe is a quick and easy mix that's nice to have on hand for yourself or to give as a gift. I make the low sugar version (you can't tell!), but you could easily substitute the real deal.

Vanilla Cappuccino Mix

1 1/3 c. Splenda
1 1/3 c. sugar-free French Vanilla powdered coffee creamer (8 oz. jar)
2/3 c. powdered instant dry milk
2/3 c. instant coffee

Mix well and store in an airtight container. For cappuccino, use about 1/8 c. of mix per mug of boiling water, or to taste.

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Have a great day, everybody!

Christmas Crafternoon: Snow Scene Pin Cushion & Snowman Counting Pins

Welcome back, Crafternooners! Ready to roll?

Look what we're making today... a snowy pin cushion and some super cute snowman counting pins!

Snow Scene Pin Cushion

What you'll need:

*small picture frame (any shape, but round or oval is harder to make look smooth)
*fabric
*fiber fill
*trim
*tiny trees or other decoration, if desired

Snowman Counting Pins

What you'll need:

*corsage pins
*pearl beads (I used 6mm glass ones)
*black felt
*tiny pom poms (I used 5 mm)
*wire cutters
*glue
*embroidery floss

You may also need a helper to helpfully sit on all of your supplies. It's helpful. 

To make the picture frame pin cushion, use the glass as a template to cut your fabric. Leave a substantial border around the glass, about 1 1/2" -2". You'll use the excess fabric to shape the front (you need enough to pull on). Make a sandwich in the aperture of the frame: fabric first, then a big fat wad of fiber fill, then the glass. 

Close the back of the frame and then shape the front of the pin cushion by gently pulling on the excess fabric on the back. Once you have the front like you want it, trim the fabric on the back and glue trim around the aperture. Add trim around the front of the pin cushion, and whatever decoration to the front you like.

To make the snowman counting pins, first use wire cutters to trim the pearl heads off the pins. Be sure to hold the pin when you're snipping off the head, so that the head goes flying and not the pin! Smear a little craft glue on the end of the pin where the head was, and slide two pearl beads onto the pin. Don't worry if the glue squishes out the bottom (it will dry clear). Cut a tiny felt circle for the hat brim and glue it to the top pearl bead, then glue a tiny pom pom on top of the felt circle to make the crown of the hat. Tie a piece of embroidery floss between the two beads for a scarf.

And there you have them! These take only minutes to make. Super easy.

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We're having soup today! This is probably our favorite soup recipe and I make it a lot in cold weather.

Creamy Chicken and Broccoli Soup

1/4 c. butter
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 c. frozen seasoning blend (peppers, onions, celery, parsley)
1/4 c. flour

Melt butter with oil in a stockpot over medium heat. Cook and stir seasoning blend until soft; stir in flour, coating vegetables.

3 c. chicken broth
2 c. broccoli
1 c. half & half
2 c. milk

Stir chicken broth into vegetables, stirring until flour paste combines with broth and soup is thick and smooth; add broccoli and cook about 5 minutes. Pour in half & half and milk and bring to a simmer. Cook until slightly thickened, about 5 more minutes.

2 c. cooked, shredded chicken*
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Add chicken and seasonings to soup; heat through.

*To prepare the chicken for this soup, sprinkle 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts with salt, pepper, and onion powder. Bake at 400 for 1 hour, remove from oven and cover with foil; let stand at least 15 minutes. Shred while hot.

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Happy crafting... happy cooking! More tomorrow!

Christmas Crafternoon: Stitching is the Best Medicine

Happy Monday, y'all! It's Christmas Crafternoon Week! The sewing room is open, the kitchen is open, and we're ready to go! 

Today's project is so, so versatile. It could be a stocking stuffer, it could be a pick-me-up for someone who's blue or down with a cold, it could be a keep-busy gift for someone who's sitting with a loved one in the hospital, it could be for a long trip... really anything. And best of all, it's so easy to put together from your own stash, you'll probably only have to purchase one item. Let's get started!

Stitching is the Best Medicine Pill Organizer 

What you'll need:

*a large plastic pill organizer (the larger, the better)
*tiny cross stitch freebies
*fabric, floss, needle, needle threader
*prescription form

For this project, I used some tiny freebies from DMC's Spanish blog, but any really small designs will do. Choose seven designs, one for each day of the week.

For each design, choose the necessary floss colors and cut 12" lengths. This should be plenty for tiny designs, as it equals one yard of floss when separated into two-strand lengths for stitching.  Cut fabric for each design, probably a few inches square, depending on the size of the designs you've chosen. Add a needle and a needle threader.

Put a design and its materials in each compartment of the pill organizer. Be sure to include the needle and needle threader in the first compartment.

With your gift, include a prescription form. You can make one up to say whatever you want, but here's an example of what I came up with:

Rx 24-7-365

Prescribed by: (your name)
For: (recipient)

STITCHICILLIN

Take one dose every day for 7 days for relief of symptoms (boredom, stress, the sniffles, etc.)

#7

Expires: N/A
Refills left: 1 of 1

May cause neglect of housework. Take with snacks and cups of tea.

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You may also want to include finishing ideas. The stitched squares could be sewn together to make a couple of bookmarks, or even a tiny quilt. Add an extra piece of fabric just in case the stitcher wants to stitch a signature block for her project.

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Today's recipe is a savory baked omelet that is perfect for breakfast or brunch, and we even have it for supper sometimes! This is one of Mr. Wonderful's favorites.

Baked Denver Omelet

2 Tbsp. butter
1 c. frozen seasoning blend (peppers, onions, celery, parsley--or veggies of your choice)
1 c. chopped ham
8 eggs
1/4 c. milk
1/2 c. shredded cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Saute veggies in butter until golden; set aside to cool. Beat eggs well with a fork; beat in milk, salt, and pepper. Stir in cooled veggies, ham, and cheese. Pour into a greased 10" pie dish and bake at 400 for 30 minutes or until eggs are browned and puffy. 

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Have a great Monday! See y'all tomorrow!