Sara In Akko

You may not be aware, but Valentines day is actually totally foreign here in Israel. As a rule, you can usually count on most St. anything days being out. Some people might have a growing awareness that it's a big deal elsewhere, but culturally it just misses the mark.

Even though I grew up in the US distributing my handfuls of store bought, tear apart valentines with matching stickers, my children won't be receiving the same childhood memories. No classrooms decked out in cupids and hearts or the big sugary parties with the classroom moms. It's just not what goes on around here and I'm Ok with that.

BUT, there are so many great Valentines day crafts that have been circulating the blog world recently, I'm starting to get a creative itch for some projects that, although heart-based and adorable, but not overly Valentine-ish.

I've always loved simple softie making patterns, and this is a perfect one from LollyChops 
who created and shared this excellent pattern and step-by step tutorial about a year ago for a sweet Hedgehog named Hamie. Go check it out!

To get over my "heart ache" (sorry) my matching hedgies have bright colored hearts.



This is a great quick project and the outcome is so terribly cute, it's worth all of the tiny cutting to make the furry bits. Originally, all the tiny hearts were larger scraps so it was great to be able to plow through a bit of that left over to remake something adorable.

I'm a fan of plain muslin for dolls and softies, it's like a blank canvas for your imagination. Even if you're the biggest fan of February 14th, this hedgehog would rock any way you craft it up.

We're not big on physical gifts to adults for birthdays or holidays in my husband's family. Maybe a family dinner but that's usually where we draw the line.

However, my mother-in-law does like to bring me potted orchids that I somehow manage to turn around and kill within weeks.


But there is more to this phenomenon than the orchid entering my care and then suddenly dying. There is first a hopeful stage where a new plant is gifted to me. I vow that it will not die on my watch and then I feeble try to assess which mineral water will best sustain the life of my new pant. I dutifully grimace at my plant and will it to live with all the good intentions I can muster. I have heard  that talking to your plants can help them grow and I have taken to gently whispering to the these fledgling flowers "Grow damn you!" But all to no avail. Within a few short weeks I find the petals wilting from the yellowing plant and I know I have failed again.

Sometimes I am lucky, and my mother-in-law rescues the orchid and magically nurses it back to health. I'm not sure what she does to resurrect these delicate buds but I am almost positive it involves love, patience and some sort of flower doping. Really, this is the only possibility for the success of all orchids once out from under my watchful eye. My mother-in-law cheats nature by pumping the orchids full of some super-botanical flower drugs. These things are probably so hyped up they could pedal in the Tour De France.

But I digress. Another birthday has come and gone and I am left with the seemingly not so large burden of caring for another floral thing. When it entered the house I checked to make sure it wasn't last year's orchid making a reappearance from beyond the grave. It was not. I asked my mother-in-law to set up the plant in the optimal place, in her expert opinion, to receive appropriate sun and humidity. Check. I review the care instructions of watering once a week with mineral water for set amount of time from the pan below. Yes. I then run to the internet and check the facts that I already know to be true. OK... so what now?

Now I sit staring at this ticking time-bomb, waiting for the day when I will have to relinquish custody back to the family flower caretaker.

Is my inability to keep these orchids alive some sort of in-law issue lurking just bellow the surface? Is it possible that of all the species I have dutifully cultivated over the years, orchids are just my Achilles heel? Is "someone" poisoning these plants to later step in and save the day?

February 2, 2011 Thank you little orchid plant

Dear Orchid Plant,

Although we have only known each other a short while, I am thankful for everyday you continue to flower and grace my home with splendor. I hope we continue to grow together. Your resilience despite my ineptitude is a triumph of natural beauty and I hope we share a long and healthy future together.

When visiting the States a few months back I was drawn to quite a few retail items that should clearly be craft-it yourself projects in the making. One perfect example, these silly yet ingenious earmuff headband wraps found at Target (sorry about the shoddy camera phone picture).

My husband literally had to pull me out of the accessories aisle to stop me from buying them for a ridiculous $20, if I recall correctly. And then came the magic words..."Why don't you just make them?"

Wait, did my husband really just green-light a whole new project to *sit dormant around the house until my creative juices lulled me back toward the memory of how badly I wanted this thing again? Why yes. I do believe he did.

*Expected completion time for any given project can be months or hours depending on how long my adrenaline and interest carry me. I hear some people find this quirky and endearing.


So here's a free pattern for the Crocheted Earmuff Headband
*Warning this is my first pattern so bare with me and let me know if you find mistakes also, if you've ever crocheted anything, you probably can eyeball this project and crochet it by instinct fairly easily.



Materials
Bulky or Extra Bulky Weight Yarn (way less than one ball will do)
5.5 MM "I" or even "J" crochet hook  (Check your gauge hooks on preference)
Craft needle 

Notes: You can either work continually in rounds or Slip-stitch your final stitch to your first in the row and Chain 3 to count as first Double Crochet stepping up in your next row (my example steps up each row). Also, I used a fairly bulky acrylic which gave a finished size of about 4 inches or 10 cm diameter, they're one size fits most unless you'd like them bigger or smaller.

Earmuff (make 2)
Starting: Either Chain 3 and return to first loop to start or create Magic Circle.
Round 1: Double Crochet 10 into loop (10 stitches total)
Round 2: 2 DC in each stitch (20 total)
Round 3: *2 DC in first stitch 1 DC in next, repeat from* (30 total)
Round 4: *2 DC in first stitch 1 DC in next 2 stitches, repeat* (40 total)
Round 5: *1 DC in first 2 stitches, 1 Decrease in next, repeat* (30 total)
Slip-stitch to finish and weave in ends.

Headband (make 1)
Chain 36 (or check length you need from ear to ear, chain to that length)
Row 1: Double Crochet in each stitch, work in round (both sides of stitch) for 2 rows of 36 DC.
Continue around until reaching desired thickness. Slipstitch to finish ends.

*For my some one round is enough but you can continue with another "Round" of 36 DC on each side until you reach desired thickness of band. I chose this method so I have clear front and back to the headband to hold better to the top of the head as the edges curve in a bit.

Ties (make 2)
Make a simple 3 or 5 strand braid of about 8 inches to attach to bottom of of each earmuff, you can finish with a simple knot or a pompom if you're feeling extra cheeky.



Assembling All the Pieces: Check the crown of your head measurement one more time for final placement for each round earmuff piece and then stitch securely. Find bottom center stitch of each earmuff and secure braid. Have fun dancing around your house wearing your new creation because if you live where I do this is too extreme for the sweater weather we are experiencing and if you live somewhere with real winter like the Weather Channel  describes I can't imagine you would dream of going outside. Stay in and make another pair for your spouse, or a miniature pair for your cats, or some for the kids. Whichever creative drive strikes you.

  
This project has been a very long time in the making. Originally it was one of the gifts of a fourth birthday extravaganza that was scaled way down after a week long family emergency that kept the set from being completed. I even sat in the hospital with an injured toddler stitching felt food by nightlight but just couldn't make this deadline.

Months and months later, I think that my own birthday is the right time to give the littles in my house their play set. Lucky for them, the extra time of hiding in the craft room has expanded the set to include all sorts of neat extras.

Have a look!

It inspired comments like "Best. Cake. Ever!" and  "Wow!" and my personal favorite "Will you be my Mommy?" Now that's validation for the day of work you took off to bake a cake for a toddler.

Although it may seem simple enough, I admit I googled through a dozen or so blogs to see the variations on rainbow cake just to give me the start-up courage. In keeping with the birthday spirit, I want to share with you the straight forward how-to of this cake (it's a monster but worthwhile). But onto the How-to.


How To Bake your own Huge Rainbow Cake


2). Break out the gel food coloring. You really want your colors to be vibrant now before you bake (some colors may dull out a bit in the oven).


3). Pour and bake each batter in separate aluminum pie tins, unless you have 6 or so cake pans lying around your kitchen. These make slightly thinner layers than a normal batch of layer cake (1/3 batter vs 1/2) so watch carefully. 


 4). Take random pictures of your kitchen until your cakes are baked and cooled entirely. Again, if you are smart you will level out the layers of your cake that have puffed during baking before using your store bought frosting to layer and crumb-coat the ginormous cake tower.  If you're a renegade like me, you will throw caution to the wind and begin stacking your puffy cakes with homemade buttercream and hope the shear weight of the piled cakes will hold it upright.


5). If you're looking to go all the way with this cake (come on, you know you want to) cover in fondant and create 6 balls of gum-paste to match the colors of the inside of your cake and decorate in an outside ring. If not, decorate as you please.


 But cut one of these babies open at your party and wow! Even when you see it open for the first time, it's impressive and worth all the tiny steps.


6). Cut yourself and your party-goers a slice with a very large and very sharp knife (keeps the colors tidy) and enjoy!



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I've successfully moved on from clouds to stars and from adding graphics on top of photos to starting from scratch. Progress is slow but steady. Here are some name prints.

I know that everyone is writing their 2011 lists of wishful thinking and hopeful goals but I spent today trying to cross an old resolution off my to do list. This particular one is so old, I can't even tell which year it's carried over from.

Learn to use some fancy photo editing software.

The trouble my children have with sharing toys isn't usually their lack of desire to share, it is mostly their lack of desire for sharing to interrupt their own toy enjoyment.
Take, for example, our doll farm. This is what my four year old calls a wooden barn house where all the small doll live with their tiny pieces of furniture and accessories. Also residing in the doll farm are the many tiny animals that belong to my two year old.

For the most part, these toys live together in harmony. Unfortunately, for the two year old to get to his toys, he must rummage through his older sister's well-organized doll house.

The solution? The felt barn toy carrier.


This is inspired by one of my favorite tutorials from  UKLass. This tutorial also appeared in One Yard Wonders, but I personally like the original dollhouse from the blog the best.


I decided against the fold out design and side closures because two is a delicate age where all sorts of hidden toy elements set off tantrums on occasion. Best to steer clear with something more straight forward that I won't have to open and close a thousand times a day to appease two year old whims.

I've been trying to wait to post these until my children receive them this evening, but I just haven't got that sort of patience. The entire set was finished without the use of my sewing machine and some of the gifts were a LOOOOONG time in the making, so I just can't wait any longer to share!

My 2 and 4 year old like to play together and any gifts given need to be something that accommodates that.

If you're the kind of person that has carefully shopped for and already arranged all your family and friend's gifts just in time for tonight, the first night of Chanukah, you deserve a treat.

If you're the kind of woman who is still planning on piecing together what to get/make your loved ones for those lingering nights towards the end or hoping that they'll loose interest in eight nights of gifts, you deserve a break.

If you haven't already visited my Etsy store, drop in anytime today (December 1st) for a for a 1st night of Chanukah special.

Use this coupon code: 1STNIGHT2010 for a savings of 10% on all items.

Send this code on to anyone you'd like, I'll be happy to honor the discount for the general public. As I'm located in Israel, the sale starts from my 12:01 AM on December 1st but will last until 11:59 PM out on the West Coast. I like to get the most out of time differences.

"Happy Cha-noo-kah Day 1 Mawdie!"

These are only the first of many owl clips I have started crafting like crazy to get ready for the start of holiday gifting time. However, these are not the most exciting owl objects to be finished this week.

I wanted to get these posted before the evening gets away from me. Looking forward to sharing the owl pouch that will hold these clips for some of my favorite little girls.

Maybe I'm still hanging on to the tail end of the owl fad, but I just love little kids decorated with these cookie birds. More to come...

Like the Owl Purse I just finished!





Materials:
1 stained but salvageable child's T-shirt
1 fat quarter or other quilting weight cotton square
1 square of canvas or other heavy material for lining *(unless you enjoy playing with interfacing the canvas will keep the purse shape without too much hassle)
1 colorful shoelace or length of twill tape to coordinate
The basics- scissors, needle, thread, felt scraps for decorating