{ A handmade Christmas }

This past Saturday I went to a Christmas Party (The first of the season) and it was wonderful. The company was lovely (as always) the treats were delicious, the Christmas Carols beautiful and the laughter plentiful! Every year us ladies get together and have a good old fashioned secret santa gift exchange, this year we thought it would be fun to give handmade gifts and it was! I didn't really know what to make so I hopped on Pinterest and and found a fabulous tutorial from Etsy for a ruffled decorative pillow. Although the process was quite labour intensive, I finished the pillow and was very happy with the results! I hope to make some additional handmade gifts this year, I just hope I have time. Are you making any handmade gifts this year?

{ Love your Home }

Today I am starting a new post series called "Love your home" this Mondays edition is focused on at home work spaces meant to inspire those that do what they love in the space that they love.

Recently we moved my work space from our office to a different room in our condo, although it is beginning to feel a little more like my work space each day, I still feel that it needs a little je ne sais quoi. So I have been searching the internet for sources of inspiration for my little work nook. Here are some tips and places to look for ideas to make your work space inspiring.

First is the Etsy blog that has a great section dedicated to Open Studio Tours which can provide a great sense of inspiration for making a work nook of your own. Second, image search's on google for "work studio spaces" or "home studios" can also provide you with a bunch of visual inspiration or eye candy to incorporate in your space. Or lastly, frequently visiting sites that are dedicated to decor often proves to be a wonderful source of inspiration, two of my favourites are Decor8 and DesignSponge. Hopefully these tips on finding inspiring work studios will help you make a space that is your own and promotes creativity, I know it has for me.

Original post Sneak Peek: DesignSponge

Photo credits: gwendolyn of dear hancock

Dwellstudio

Dwell Studio is a simply stunning bedding company based in the USA. Their designs and palettes are soft, lovely and modern. They are well known for their designer baby bedding, but they also offer an adult bedding line. If you find their prices a bit too high, a more modest line of Dwell bedding is sold at Target. It has a lower price point without sacrificing the style. I am in love with their bedding and I am thrilled to share with you that they now offer a mix and match baby line. This is a wonderful option for those moms out there who want beautiful bedding for their baby, but want a bit more versatility or perhaps do not want to go all matchy matchy to complete their perfect baby crib.

I will take one of each please!

1. New Mesh Lawn Crib Skirt 2. Filigree Blossom Bumper 3. Quatrefoil Blossom Crib Sheet

Happy Weekend! A little weekend craft project perfect for gift giving this Holiday Season. It is an easy and quick pattern, you will be knitting and felting in no time. Give this adorable felted bowl to someone special.

{Large bowl}

Materials

15mm straight needles, 1 yarn needle, 2x 100g balls of 100% wool yarn

Gauge: 10cm x 10cm

1. Cast on 54 stitches

2. Work 20 rows of stockinette stitch (work will measure appox. 7" long)

3. Decreasing rows:

Row 1 - K5, K3tog (repeat until last 5 stitches) K5

Row 2 - Purl

Row 3 - K4, K2tog (repeat until last 5 stitches) K5

Row 4 - Purl

Row 5 - K3, K2tog (repeat until end of row)

Row 6 - Purl

Row 7 - K2, K2tog (repeat until end of row)

Row 8 - Purl

Row 9 - K1, K2tog (repeat until end of row)

Row 10 - Purl

Row 11 - K2tog (repeat until end of row)

4. You will have 8 stitches remaining

5. Measure about 15" of yarn from your last stitch and cut. Thread yarn needle with the yarn. Pull the knitting needle out of the last 8 stitches, then send the yarn needle through those same 8 stitch loops.

6. Fold the finished bowl (which will look like a knitted hat), so the right sides are facing in.

7. Sew the two edges together with the same needle and yarn from the top of the hat down to the bottom edge.

8. Tie a secure knot when at the bottom of the edge.

9. Turn the finished bowl right side out.

10. Begin Felting

{Felting}

Place the finished piece in a wash bag and run it through a regular laundry cycle in hot soapy water. Toss it in with other items,which will intensify the agitation and help felt the wool. Mould the damp felted wool over and upside down bowl or cup and let it dry overnight. It will take the shape of whatever is used.

Then fill finished bowls with seasonal treats!

Original instructions for felted bowls printed in the October 2010 issue of

Canadian House and Home, weekend decorating.

{Pretty DIY Wreaths}

Winter Wonderland DIY Wreath Purl Bee

DIY yarn wreath Take Heart

Felt DIY Wreath Pickles

Felt DIY wreath Pickles

Felt DIY Ruffle Wreath Domestifluff

Happy weekend everyone! Continuing with my love of felt and wool, I have been thinking about various Holiday crafts that use these fantastic materials. Today I am sharing some DIY wreaths that you can work on this weekend too. Aren't they lovely?

{ Felt }

Flipping through my copy of Canadian House and Home (October issue) I came across a great little article about felt. Felt has really been making a come back these days (I remember crafting with it when I was a wee little one). But recently I've found some fantastic tutorials online, showing how to make everything from felted pillows to felted bowls (which are a great idea for Christmas gifts).

I also found out that you can buy designer's felt, industrial felt and crafting felt, a great place to purchase some felt for your next project is the Felt store or Purl soho.

All of these projects look great, I can't wait to start working on them!

1. Leaf potholders. Original tutorial posted by Design*Sponge - Brett Bara 2. Pillows. Photo credits: Etcetera Goods. To read the full post check out this website. 3. Felted bowls. Original tutorial posted by Design*Sponge. 4. Scandinavian needlecraft basket. Original step by step tutorial Scandinavian Needlecraft (cico books 2010 $19.95).

Image credits: Cico books, 2010. Tutorial posting Design*Sponge.

{ DIY Pumpkin candle holders }

I am still in the Halloween spirit even though stores are already beginning to put out their Christmas decorations (it is a bit early) and I've already started working on my 2010 Christmas card collection. I came across this really great DIY pumpkin candle holder tutorial and wanted to share it with you. It is such a cute idea, I will keep this in mind for next year!

Check out Twig & Thistle for the tutorial and the entire post.

Image credits : Twig & Thistle

{ Happy Weekend }

It is officially October and the weekend! Today I am leaving you with some photos taken from our recent visit to an apple orchard and pumpkin patch to get you in the October spirit! I have a fun filled weekend planned with friends and hopefully a little crafty me time.

Also, some really great DIY pumpkin place cards that are incredibly cute from Twig and Thistle

a lace inspired pumpkin project from Martha Stewart and a lovely sophisticated pumpkin display using Lumina pumpkins from Country living

xo

Tiina