Winter Thaw

Greeting, Craftheads!

Winter still has its icy grip on us and we're in that awkward holiday in-between where crafting can get kind of hazy. As we turn our thoughts toward warmer weather and the part where March goes "out like a lamb," I thought I'd share a Valentine I made with a sort of St. Patrick's Day theme..

My boyfriend and I went to Ireland over the summer and have hopes of returning in the not too distant future, so I crafted this Irish Valentine as a symbol of our love for each other and the Emerald Isle!

Keep cozy, crafters!

Laila 

Adventures in Wonderland

I finally got the chance to use the Martha Stewart Craft Station that Santa brought me! The light box, stencils and razors were immeasurably useful when making this birthday invitations. To celebrate my 24th, a bunch of friends and I went to Alice's Tea Cup for a lavish afternoon tea. Of course, the invites needed to be equally whimsical:

I traced the tea cup design and thought I'd use the light box to trace a pretty font, but it turned out to be much easier to copy the lettering from sight once I'd gotten a handle on it. The cardstock I used was double sided with two different prints, so the back featured a heart cut-out of the front-side pattern.

With Love and Crumpets,
Laila

Valentine's Day Craft-tacular

Some polaroids from all the fun we had crafting for Valentine's day this year!

Heart-shaped ravioli

A crafter's dream...

With love and LOTS of glitter glue,
Laila & Kat

Gingerbread Rock

I recently discovered a miraculous substance called DISCO DUST. Craftheads, it has changed my baking existence. Check out the shimmery goodness that coats this year's batch of gingerbread cookies!

Stay Merry and Bright!

Laila & Kat

Ornament-ally Awesome

Cheers, Craftheads!

The holiday season is upon us. And you know what that means?! Lots of lovely crafts to be made.

Below is an all-time favorite that I recently crafted. Instead of purchasing a typical baby Christmas ornament, I figured it would be more fun and personal to craft one. I promptly headed to Michael's (where craft-dreams are made...) and sure enough they had a huge selection of ornaments. I settled on a wooden ornament as I knew I wanted to paint and that the wood would take the paint very well.




Also, major shout-out to the matte clear finish spray I used for the project. Not much is needed - just a light coating - but it did a great job holding everything together.

Keep on craftin'!
-Kat

Head-Turning Turkeys

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our readers! Although Turkey Day may not strike you as the most craft-conducive of holidays, there is plenty of room to get creative! Check out the delicious ways we celebrated at my house:

My mom and I have been making this platter since the hostessing-dawn-of-time! The pecans are neatly pressed into a ridiculously delicious dip.

Corn bread turkeys for each end of the table (Nordicware turkey mold)

A Thanksgiving staple - Cinnamon-Almond tart with candied cranberries

Mallomar turkeys

Even Lucy's handkerchief is homemade - my Aunt made at least 5 years ago and the leaves still glint with gold glitter!

Hoping everyone had a very happy harvest!

Love, 

Laila & Kat

Tales from the Crafting Crypt!

Halloween is not only one of my favorite holidays (Christmas, you better watch your back!) it's also a rich crafting opportunity! Here are a few highlights from this year's festivities:

These were ideal treats for our pumpkin-carving extravaganza - fun and easy to make (ideal for the kiddies)! They're oreo cakesters with store-bought cake decorations, classic Halloween candies, and some orange icing. 

What a mess! 

Above, Catherine's Celtic knot in progress and, to the right,
the finished product.

And now for a Medievalist's Moment:
Did you know that Halloween finds its roots in
the ancient Celtic holiday, Samhain?

Interesting stuff!

 

While I do love to savor the festivities the entire month and start my Halloween crafting when the Calendar page flips to November,  most of my effort goes into prep for our annual Halloween Party:

Sign for the specialty drink - held by a white gourd with pin eyes and classic plastic teeth

Mischievous Mice (these little guys have chocolate-covered cherry bodies, kisses for heads,
almond ears and white chocolate eyes) 

Vampire's Teeth (super jumbo marshmallows with melted hard candy blood)

Our spooky spread!

Yes, that's my 6'3" boyfriend in a Gumby outfit. Sipping his Corona through a crazy straw. And with that, Craftheads, I bid you good night.

    Laila