Instead of throwing out single or holey socks, turn them into Owlies!

Drag the Sock Owlie Pattern (below) to your desktop and print. Select a size that fits your sock width and cut out two pieces. (It’s best to use a darker color for the back). With right sides facing, sew together the fabric pieces using a 1/8 -inch seam allowance, leaving the opening unsewn.

Turn right-side out through the opening. Fold down the triangle. Use 2-3 straight stitches of yellow embroidery thread to secure it to the front, sewing through the tip of the triangle and 1 layer of the body fabric. Knot the thread on the inside of the beak. Mark spots for the eyes with a pen. Use black embroidery thread and small straight stitches to make the eyes; knot the thread on the inside.

Cut up the excess socks into small confetti pieces until you have enough to stuff the owl. Stuff the body and fold in the bottom edge. Double thread a needle and sew a running stitch along the bottom. Gather the ends and secure with a knot. Optional: Sew on a loop of embroidery thread to make an ornament.

Note: These directions are adapted from my Mini Owls featured in Microcrafts.

So I entered a contest. If you’re part of Ravelry, you may have heard about the bag design competition last month to celebrate their official 5 year anniversary. I entered my design and the first round of voting is now open until midnight on May 15th!

You should definitely browse all the 200+ other entries first as there are some fun ones. Happy voting and wish me luck!

And earlier this month, this little girl turned 32.

She renewed her lease, renewed her license, renewed her passport…

And thought how lucky and amazing this past year as been…from freelancing at Martha Stewart Living, traveling to Germany/Denmark/France, working on my very own craft book (stay tuned for more details!), traveling to Bangladesh/Laos/Thailand (stay tuned for pictures!) and now freelancing at Martha Stewart Weddings.

It’s hard to believe it’s been 10 years since I’ve graduated from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. This weekend I’ll return for a mini reunion with my college friends (D7!) and meet the two new baby additions. I can’t wait.

When I return I hope to finally revamp and reorganize my blog, crank out some posts that I have been dreaming about, and focus on what I love doing best: Making crafts. Taking pictures. Inspiring you. Stay tuned.

Yay! Check out the Eggheads story in the Spring issue of Sweet Paul magazine! Click the image below to print your own. Enjoy.

Copenhagen via my Instagram: sah_rah

Berlin via my Instagram: sah_rah

While traveling in Berlin I managed to TRIPLE my mini owl collection browsing the Mauerpark Flea Market. The unenthused/bored worker must have thought I was nuts as I plucked the owls from a glass + mirror cabinet and tried to hide my excitement so I could bargain a
lower price.

It worked.

I’m curious who the original collector was and the story behind them. But maybe that is the beauty of it.

Hi. Happy 2012! This is me catching up on photos from September. Woopsies. First up: Paris!

Despite it being my third time there (the last time was 10 years ago!), it was the first time for my sister so we enjoyed seeing all the sights.

We pretty much were walking machines and ate mustard, cucumber, and cheese baguettes like it was our job.

I can finally check visiting the Louvre off my list.

And I couldn’t get enough of the mini chimney roof tops.

Oh, and we saw this tower a few times too. I seem to be collecting mini things. Stay tuned for more mini-awesomeness from my Berlin travels : )

Link: Flickr • Instagram

Last month I went to a Etsy Handmade Holiday event at West Elm. I kept admiring West Elm’s “snowflake” mobiles made out of branches, repurposed wood, and rope. I decided to make my own mini version with toothpicks, string, and hot glue.

To make a star you’ll need 4 toothpicks. Make two crosses with a dab of hot glue and then glue them together.

Repeat as many times as desired.

To glue on the string, dab glue in the middle and ends. Then press the string to the center toothpick.

Hand individually or on a string to make garland. You could even paint the toothpicks or add glitter (perhaps that will be next year’s project!).

These woven Danish Christmas Hearts or Julehjerte can be dated back to the 1860s where the author Hans Christian Andersen was known to make a few. In addition to writing poems and fairy tales, H.C. Andersen, was also famous for his intricate paper cutouts and mobiles.

Feel free to make your own ornaments this Christmas with the pattern below. Simply print on paper or card stock and cut out.

Fold the two body pieces in half and make cuts along the lines.

Weave in the ends. (If you need more step by step instructions visit this site).

Attach the top piece with tape to the inside and hang by itself or with string.

If you’re looking for more last minute decorations or gift tags, head over to my digital shop where you can turn the designs into toppers or garlands.

Turns out my friend Kelsey and I are capable of making mini gingerbread houses. I may or may not have broken my old mixer in the process but that’s okay. I think it was worth it. We used the Joy of Cooking gingerbread recipe and were happy with the result.

To make the houses, print the pattern below on card stock and cut out. Trace the pattern with a knife onto the dough. To put the houses together we cheated and used store bought icing. I put the icing in a ziplock bag and snipped off the corner. Then we carefully assembled the pieces with a little trial and error.

With the left-over dough I finally had an excuse to use my Muji Alphabet cookie cutters and make a few Christmas tree ornaments for friends.

Last fall I created stenciled snowflake pillows for Better Homes & Gardens. They were featured in the December 2011 issue and the stencils can be downloaded here. I used the freezer paper technique where you cut the pattern out of freezer paper and iron it onto fabric to create the stencil. Even my friend, Will, who helped me out with the project, was amazed at how easy it was!

(Photo by John Marshall)

(Photo by John Marshall)

Because you are never too young or old to be Santa. Check out my tutorials on Babble!

Links: Babble

I had the chance to go to Munich, Germany in October. No, I didn’t surf in a river, but I did watch. And apparently I have a weakness for:

A hedgehog

Mossy star garland

and an advent calendar card! This was before the Christmas Markets so maybe it’s a good thing as I probably would have been way too overwhelmed with cuteness.

A few highlights courtesy of my iphone and the instagram app:

Links: Flickr Set • Instagram • Tumblr

Over the summer I had the opportunity to freelance for Martha Stewart Living. One of the stories I art directed and designed the layout for was the cross-stitch story in the November issue. My friend’s adorable daughter was also chosen for the opening image. So fun!

The talented Steph Hung designed and made all the crafts and I was super excited to meet and work with Jennifer Causey, having been a huge fan of her Makers Project.

Photos above by Jennifer Causey.

I took a few behind-the-scenes pics the day of the shoot.

The other day I organized the embroidery floss collection from my youth and wound new colors. Organizing it by color will happen another time (ha!).

The tutorial and patterns for the cross-stitch family featured in Living can be found here. It was a good starting point for me, but I ended up making my own designs.

I also made a card frame out of black card stock.

I can’t wait to snuggle with Maggie and Max over Christmas!

Yeahiknow. Finally, right? I’ve been making these owlies for years giving them away to family and friends for birthday, baby and Christmas gifts. They’ve been featured on Burda Style, Martha Stewart’s Craft Dept. Blog, Microcrafts…and now (sound the horns!) I have an Etsy Shop!

As always I’m happy to make custom sizes, colors, etc. Contact me for details.

Links: The Owlies Blog • The Owlies Shop • Owlie Flickr Set

In September I went on a short sailing trip in Denmark from Vejle to Bogense with my sister, aunt and uncle. Unfortunately, crazy winds kept us in the harbor at Bogense for a few days but we had fun taking walks and exploring the town.

On one of the walks we saw the most adorable knit houses in a window and just HAD to make our own.

We made a quick stop to a yarn shop and thrift store to pick up yarn and double pointed needles.

So fun!

Now excuse me while I go recreate Nyhavn, an amazing harbor in Copenhagen (and one of my favorite places!).

Links: Bogense on Flickr

Earlier this summer my friend Dorothy hosted a crafty gathering at her house. We tried Shibori, a Japanese tie-dying technique where the fabric is sewed and cinched before dying.

I found a cheap, cotton shower curtain at the Salvation Army and cut it up into pieces and stitched random lines.

The dye seeped more than I intended which is probably due to not tying it tight enough, but it was still a fun project.

I later sewed the fabric into a tote bag as part of a gift for my mom’s birthday.

You can see Steph’s shibori post here.

The latest issue of Food Gifts Magazine is out on newsstands! I have a handful of projects featured in the Flea Market section. It’s always fun to see the finished project styled with amazing food and photographs! Thanks for the opportunity, Stephanie.

I was deeply disappointed earlier this year to discover that my beloved Enje roller shades no longer were available at Ikea. They were simple, minimal and let in a lot of light. I searched Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, even K-Mart for cheaper alternatives but didn’t have much luck. Surprisingly, Home Depot was the answer. Home Depot carries the Martha Stewart Living line of curtains and I was happy with the white, sheer curtains. They were also priced under $15 dollars so I couldn’t complain too much.

After debating between yellow or black pom pom trim (I mean, how cute is the yellow!) I decided on black mainly because it would hide grime from lovely city life. I bought the trim at Daytona Trim and sewed it on. I’m quite happy with it for now but am hopeful for Enje to return some day.

P.S. If you are curious about the artwork, it’s a screen print of a skyline I turned into vector art years ago. My friend Phil sells it on etsy and is available to purchase here.

Inspired by the decoupage pumpkins I saw in Country Living, I decided to make my own.

I cut out black diamonds…

And arranged them in shapes…

And primed a few pumpkins…

And used Mod Podge to adhere the diamonds. I’m almost tempted to get more pumpkins so I can paint them black and use white diamonds! If you want to make your own you can download the pattern below. Enjoy!

Yay! Check out Martha Stewart’s Craft Dept.’s Blog for a tutorial on making your own owlie from Quirk Books’ Microcrafts!

And if you’re in NYC, don’t forget about the Pins & Needles event on Saturday, October 22nd from 3-5 PM. Hope to see you there!

Last year I celebrated my 30th year by quitting my job and going freelance for the second time in my career. Oh. And I also put everything I owned into a storage unit in Brooklyn, spent 3 months in Minnesota, 6 months in Denmark, and 3 months in Iowa—all places that have been home to me at some point in my life before. I’ve since moved back to New York and continue to freelance for various magazines, craft, and take breaks to travel as often as I can.

This year, my friend Nancy Martira, reached out to her friends to reflect on turning 30. I contributed by designing the book. The result is a collection of amazing essays, photos and illustrations by Ariel Aberg-Riger. The book is available to purchase on Blurb and five dollars of every sale goes to The Girl Affect. Yay, ladies. We did it!

I first made a dreamcatcher when I was a Girl Scout and have been meaning to make another one ever since I saw this post.

I ventured to Michael’s last week for pumpkin carving supplies and after discovering some amazing polka dotted feathers and random decorative curly wooden things (I’m sure there is a real name for it) I knew it was dreamcatcher time.

I took apart the curly wooden things and was able to bend them and secure in place with wire to create 4 different frames. I used crochet string for the inside and followed this tutorial on how to wrap it. I added a bead in the center and put a feather
through it.

So simple and the perfect craft to make with friends. Thanks Kelsey + Lindsy!

For the last few years I’ve had the opportunity to carve pumpkins for Better Homes & Gardens TV segments. Usually it involves the marketing team selecting pumpkin designs from BHG.com, me running all over town gathering supplies (Thank goodness there is now a Michaels on the UWS!), making the pumpkins, then delivering them to the set at the crack of dawn. (One year my friend Alicia and I rode in a taxi with a scarecrow. Um. Hilarious.). I have watched the segments a few times and sat in the green room to warm up, but Live TV is a little too nerve-wrecking for me! This year I was able to deliver the pumpkins to Meredith’s New York office and watch the show at home.

I also have a favorite pumpkin…

The mummy. The best part is he glows!! Check out the instructions here.

Witch pattern here.

Candy Corn Pumpkin pattern here.

March of Dimes pattern here.

Click here to view a flickr set of pumpkins I’ve made over the years.