Fall Nametags: Finished

I just wanted to share the 'after' shot of what the 'Herbst Laune Nametags' ended up looking like. Are you surprised to see more post paper? Hardly. This was a fun little project that used things I already had, namely post paper and twine, ha ha!

Seriously though, years ago I bought a package of handmade paper scraps and there were certain colors and prints that have just never appealed to me. Instead of throwing them away, or giving them to somebody else, I hoarded them. Anybody else do this? It's a terrible habit, isn't it? Well, I don't see this habit changing because the fact that I was actually able to use these scraps just adds fuel to my craft supply-hoarder fire. Sad, but true.

I'm pretty happy with how they look in small amounts, so using them in this way was perfect. I printed out all the names on a section of post paper, cut them out, and then attached all the layers together with a loop of twine.

You'll notice that these are pretty long 'nametags' and that's because they primarily served as place cards, but also as a place for notes. This could be fun for a Thanksgiving table setting so guests could write down what they're thankful for.

I hope you have a good weekend. We'll be celebrating Erntedankfest, which is similar to the US Thanksgiving holiday. I'm also hoping to get our balcony decked out for the fall/winter months. What are you up to?

Checked Off: More Pillow Covers

I recently gave my office/crafting room a total deep clean. The new semester is about to start at the Uni and I'm slated to teach 3+ classes, so it was time to get organized. Shamefacedly, I must admit that one of the things I found when I cleaned up was a bag of pillows and fabric that was supposed to become new pillow covers for my mother-in-law.

Gracious woman that she is hadn't asked me about them for months because she knew I was busy (yes, my MIL is tops!). So last night I cranked them out, crossed them off the list, and moved them out of my space. Phew!

So while I'm basically mortified that I forgot about these (um, and that other bag of mending) for so long, I have to say I was pretty pleased with how fast I was able to get them done! I also noticed how I can sew in a straight line super fast now. I've come a long way! I feel so victorious!

We have house guests coming in two weeks and my goal is to get these other pillows cranked out by then as well. There. I've stated it publicly. Let's see if that creates enough pressure...ha!

Anybody else celebrating little victories?

Of Ships, Shopping and World Hunger

I used to live on an island before I moved to Germany. We used to watch the tall ships sail majestically into the harbor every September as part of the annual Schooner Festival. I love the sea. I also love this necklace in the Handmade by Traveling Mama Etsy shop.

Tina is graciously offering 100% of your purchase price (not just profit) to go towards World Vision's Famine Relief Program in the Horn of Africa. You can read more about it here on her blog.

This would be a nice way to get some early Christmas shopping done while helping a great cause at the same time!

Herbst Laune Nametags

After a week of being sick and laying low, I woke up on Monday to a crazy week full of deadlines and meetings. Really not the most fun thing to spend your recovery dealing with, but such is the life of a freelancer. Enough whining.

Thankfully one of the things on my To-Do list was to make some nametags with a fall kind of mood (Herbst Laune). I used some scraps of handmade paper I had on hand. I like how I've been able to curl the paper 'ribbon'; it's so much more textured looking! I'm almost done and I think they'll look nice at the women's breakfast I've helped organize for tomorrow.

Sometimes I find I get overwhelmed with the selection of things, even in my own little craft cabinet. I've found it really helps to tell myself to just work with a certain set of supplies and see what I can come up with; I force myself to be creative, ha ha!  
Do you do this to?

Are you getting in the mood for fall? Have any fun weekend plans?

Made: Fabric Covered Journal DIY

Fabric covered journals aren't a new concept, but after reviewing this project again in Sania Pell's 'Homemade Home' I was inspired to put my own spin on it. The best part? If you sew, you probably already have everything you need, plus you could definitely do it in one evening!

I have to say I was really motivated to do this project simply because I am so excited about what the future contents of this book will be! Most of you probably know I freelance for a living. I mainly edit medical research articles, but I also do some teaching and coaching. While I like the nature of my work and like to support a good cause (and help people), I get far more excited about creative endeavors. Ever since I went to the Handarbeit + Hobby Fachmesse Fair where Allison and I met Amy Butler earlier this year, I've been dying to work in the creative industry somehow. Just recently I was contacted by a couple of creatives about helping them in their work, one of which is a longer-term contract. Needless to say, I'm super excited! So to celebrate taking a step into the creative business world, I thought I would dress up one of the notebooks I'll be using.

I don't think it's too hard to cover a book, so I'm not going to spend time on that. However, I wanted to personalize my cover beyond a fabric's pattern. I've been really liking messy-stitched applique trend and thought I could try that on this project. The end result is a very tactile book with a lot of visual dimension.

What I used:
* sewing machine with zig-zag stitch (even the older machines have this)
* solid base fabric (I used curtain remnant which was almost too thick to work with)
* patterned fabric with shapes you can easily cut out (I used Ikea's Gronska Blom)
* contrast thread for stitching (optional, I didn't have a color I was loving, so I just went with a matching color I had on hand)
* ribbon for a bookmark (I like the durability of grosgrain)
* a third fabric to line your book (optional)
* adhesive (fabric glue worked well for me, but stronger double-sided tape would be wonderful; sadly mine wasn't strong enough, probably because of the heavy curtain fabric I used)

Cut your patterned fabric out and decide on placement. TIP: I folded my background fabric around my book and used the creases as my guidelines. I wanted a wrap-around effect for main main applique piece, so it took a little wiggling to get things right. Pin cutouts into place. If you want to add a bookmark ribbon, plan that now as well. I used a smaller cutout of my patterned fabric to hold down my ribbon.

***NOTE*** I thought I was so clever adding three bookmark ribbons; while that might have been a nice idea, it would have been smart to put them close to the spine of the book. Good idea, bad execution. I ended up having to snip 2 ribbons because of poor placement. Whoops. Learn from my mistake!

Zig-zag stitch the cutouts onto your background fabric. Mine looks pretty tatty, but since that's the look I was going for, I don't care. Expect it to take a while if you want a cleaner look, especially if your shape has an irregular border!

Neatly adhere the cover to your book. Now, you could stop here, but since the outside looks so nice, I decided to keep going and polish off the insides. I grabbed another blue fabric I had (curtain liner remnant, woot) and cut it to size. For the inside of the front cover I cut a longer section to fold over so I could have a pocket.

I could have just placed my rectangles in my book, but it looked unfinished to me. I thought if I just stitched a border it would look a little more intentional plus make it look as though I'd sewn it onto the cover itself. Then I figured I'd just go ahead and add some applique inside to continue the look of the book cover. The bonus to this was that when I added my fabric glue to the back, I just did it along the stitching and any bumps from the glue were hidden.

I'm really happy with my finished project! This really didn't take long at all and I especially love the little pocket on the inside. Yay!

Watch with glittery eyes...

Happy Roald Dahl Day! This is one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite authors. While I loved 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', I think my favorite Roald Dahl book is 'Mathilda'. What's your favorite Roald Dahl book?

Tilda love

I'm not really into girly-girl crafting (dolls, lots of floral prints, etc.), but I have to say when I saw this book in my Amazon recommendations list I had to look twice. Tilda anything is hugely popular here in Germany and while I really like some of her fabrics, I just think they're too expensive. However, I could...perhaps...be tempted to buy just a little...for the right project. 

Enter Tilda's Studio: Over 50 fresh projects for you and your home. This book looks really sweet and has some pretty creative project ideas. I'm not convinced I'd love any particular projects in our home, but maybe there's something in here for my nieces.

I think the little bird cage is especially sweet. It reminds me of the mobile I made for my first niece a while back. Then today I saw a blog post on how to DIY a fabric covered bird cage and thought it was pretty clever. Somebody should try that!

What about you? Are you a Tilda fan? Do her fabric and craft project styles appeal to you?

Loving the new issue of eMag 'Styled'

Pretty pretty eye candy. Free downloadable invites. Great DIY decor ideas.
These are some images from the latest issue of 'Styled'; check it out!

Repurposing Food Containers: Cheese boxes

This is nothing fancy and I'm sure I'm not the first person to do this, but it was a quick and fun little project that provided some smiles. Some containers just beg to be reused, so I popped the top of a couple of cheese box lids and made them into little gift boxes. Easy, quick, and uses what you have on hand.

And no, they didn't still smell like cheese!

Modern Jewelry Storage

I'm a necklace fan. A big one. They make perking up an otherwise bland outfit simple, wouldn't you agree? But finding a good storage method hasn't been easy for me. Most jewelry boxes on the market are perfect for rings and delicate necklaces, but fuggetahboutit if you want to put a few longer, chunkier necklaces in them -and guess what I wear more of?

Sure, there are lots of DIY jewelry storage ideas out there, but most seem to involve 3 things I'm not a fan of: 1) using wall space, 2) hanging up everything, and 3) things getting dusty. Since I'm rapidly running out of wall space (and since I don't like the cluttered look of hanging jewelry in my bedroom), I hate dusting, and since I feel like it's probably not good to hang necklaces from a peg for the long term, I was stumped.

Back when we were in Bamberg I found myself perusing a modern home decor shop (across the street from this cool place) and found my perfect solution. Enter Koziol's tiered serving tray, Babell. I love this thing! I keep meaning to buy more, because at 12 Euro I can actually afford to buy more, and because with the amount of small stuff that needs corralling in this house, more would be helpful (think phones, keys, and spare change).

Why I love it:

• Clean modern design that comes in lots of colors
• At approx. 12 Euro, the price is right (though my size is showing 20 Euro on their site and more on Amazon, weird! I think the shop must've made a mistake when I bought mine, hm.)
• It's plastic, so it's not too precious to use for everyday items
• The 3 tiers stack, so you could use the top tray in one room and the others elsewhere, or use all 3 separately to serve things at a party; the possibilities are endless!
• I can see everything that's on there, making it easy to find just what I want.
• It's not huge (the bottom tier is dinner plate sized), meaning I can easily slide mine into my bedroom cabinet to keep things dust-free.

And no, this is not a sponsored post! I'm just really happy with how this has worked out so well for the past several months and it's only now that I got around to taking pictures to share.

What about you? Any favorite repurposed items in your home? Anybody else have a nagging storage problem?

And the winner is... (+ survey results)

First off, I just realized I've been calling the prize "The Handmade Home" when it's English title is clearly "The Homemade Home"...whoops! I mean, really...

Secondly, since I had my husband help me write down all the entries on slips of paper before letting him draw the winner, he had to read the original post. It was at this point that he read my pathetic German translations. He's a German and he's a teacher, so of course there was much head shaking and smiles. I've been told to go back to German class; we'll see about that...

Which brings me to the VERY strange result shown by my survey: although 66% of you are native English speakers, 70% of you want to see my posts written in both English and German! How does that compute?? I know 2 people said they wanted to practice their German, but since we know my German is less than perfect, maybe I shouldn't assist in your demise, ha ha! Seriously though, what up?

Here's a short summary of the survey results:

• There was an even representation between readers who are new and been reading between 1-2+ years.
• 50% found this blog via another blog
• only women completed the survey, but I know I have at least 3 male readers =)
• 58% of you are in your 30's and the rest of you are likely to be older
• 66% of you are native English speakers, 16% are native German speakers, 16% of you speak another language.
• While 70% of you want me to write in English and German, 30% want English only -and nobody voted for German only (phew!).

The language verdict: since most people are native English speakers I will continue to write in English and will sometimes include a German version. This means more German than in the past, just not all the time. But feel free to leave German comments!

Now that's out of the way, I have to say my husband and I had fun writing down all the entries and I let him draw a winner.

Congratulations to Desha Peacock!

Desha, I'll send you an email to get your shipping address so I can send you a copy of the book.

If you didn't win but would still like a copy of the book, grab the English version here and the German version here. Looking for more creative book ideas? Check out the comments on the original giveaway post here to see what creative books others love!