A Little Hut - Patricia Zapata

natural nursery knits - review

2009-11-25T21:30:00.023-05:00

A few days ago I tackled a bit of knitting and here is a small unfinished sample of the results. This time I made a bootie from Natural Nursery Knits: Twenty Handknit Projects for the New Baby by Erika Knight.

As soon as I saw the projects I knew that I had to try something and the booties were calling my name. It's been a while since I knitted anything from a pattern so this is just a quick version with cheap yarn.

I've never made a knitted bootie and I was very surprised at how easy it was—the instructions were very clear. I can't wait to buy the cotton tape that I still need to complete the project. I also need the organic cotton yarn that I'll use for the final version of this project.

After a short intro about natural fibers and their differences, there are twenty simple but very chic projects which include: blankets, sweaters, booties and a variety of items for the nursery. All the projects are made using organic or sustainable fibers. I like that the projects are either very useful or at the very least they will make beautiful gifts. Since we won't be having anymore babies I'll be more than happy to make some for my friends' little ones.

I also need to add that the styling and photography of this book is beautiful. It makes the whole experience of flipping through its pages even more enjoyable. If you know a mom-to-be that knits the book itself would make a wonderful gift.

• • •

For those of you that celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow I hope that you enjoy the holiday with friends and family. Eat plenty, be merry and then fall back into a comfy chair. I know I will.

Happy Thanksgiving!

A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues.
~Cicero

hooked

2009-11-20T10:12:00.007-05:00

Last night I felt like crocheting a bit and tried it with paper raffia for the first time. I barely had enough for a quick coaster but it kept me entertained (and awake!) while I took care of some laundry (ahhh... the joys of house chores).

Crocheting, much like knitting, gives me such a warm feeling of stillness and peace. I think that because I learned to do both when I was young and only used them in a carefree way to make play things (clothing and blankets for my dolls), those feelings have and will always be there. That's a comforting thought.

Now I just need to remember to try this paper + hook thing more often. Loved it.

Friday Tidbits
- Janna Syvanoja - amazing recycled paper jewlery
- Jacob Hashimoto - I'm particularly inspired by his installations (scroll to the bottom)

Have a great weekend!

simple paper hurricane cover

2009-11-19T13:40:00.008-05:00

I've finally come to the realization that I have a thing for paper lamps. I had to go through some old photos and I came across this really simple project that didn't make it into the book. It's super easy and it dresses up a glass hurricane in minutes.

When I have too much to do, simple projects like this one satisfy my hands-on craving. I don't know about you but if I go to many days in a row without making or designing something I don't quite feel like myself.

Materials:
- 2 sheets of letter-sized office paper (height is determined by the glass hurricane that you have)
- ruler
- craft knife or scissors
- glue stick
- cylindrical glass hurricane (mine is 4" wide)

How to:
1. Cut 10 strips that are 2" x 11".

2. Attach strips to one another by adding glue along 1/4" the long side of each strip.

3. Attach all 10 strips to one another (forming a cylinder) and wait for the glue to dry.

4. Slide the paper cylinder over the glass hurricane. Done!

TIP - Make it a recyclable project by using one of those countless of meaningless junk mail letters or a misprint of your own. The typography will give the cover a distinctive look.

grateful

2009-11-18T18:30:00.010-05:00

I don't think this is particularly tied in with the fact that Thanksgiving is right around the corner but I have to say that I am overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude right now. I can hear my little C singing in her room (a song she's making up as she goes along), D is doing homework (without any of the usual prodding) and Mr. Z is at the grocery store right now, saving me a trip of getting a couple of things we need—and all of the sudden I'm just grateful. That's it. Plain and simple. I'm so easy to please.

I posted this photo a while back, but I just found it again and I have nothing new right now... ;)

Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy -- because we will always want to have something else or something more.
- Brother David Steindl-Rast

Anything making you grateful lately?

baby favor boxes

2009-11-16T14:13:00.006-05:00

Well posting without writing didn't quite last—did it? For anyone that knows me personally I'm definitely a talker. I've been a bit more quiet around here because our house is still a huge mess and it's not very conducive to creativity. On the flip side I've been getting a lot of reading done. I hadn't done that in such a long time—so refreshing.

I've had this set of boxes made for quite some time now and I just got a chance to put them together. I opted for the neutral colors imagining a more natural shower or party theme but they can be printed on any color of paper. They're available at my site or Etsy.

dots

2009-11-16T10:18:00.001-05:00

no words

2009-11-10T09:26:00.006-05:00

I'm going to try this for a few days. I'll post just photos/ideas + no words.

I hope you're all doing well!

wip - calendar

2009-11-06T11:47:00.009-05:00

Remember this embroidery on paper? I really like those random circles and I've been wanting to use them somewhere else. I knew I wanted something for us to enjoy and it hit me last night—a hand written calendar to put in our studio. It's a WIP because I'm going to embroider some of the circles with white thread. Yep. White-on-white again.

Some overdue thank yous...
- To the generous bloggers who've mentioned my 2010 calendar. There are always great designs out there and this year is no exception. Thank you to Holly, Kristen, Kelly and Print and Pattern. Thank you. Thank you! If I'm missing anyone please let me know.
- To Sara for an interview with me that she posted at Handmade News a few days ago.

Friday Tidbits
- This is a repeat from Twitter but I just had to post it again here. I love Noriko Ambe's work. Amazing.
- There are days that I crave absolute simplicity like this.

Have a wonderful weekend!

a question | una pregunta

2009-11-05T15:28:00.004-05:00

I have a small question for those of you that speak Spanish...

Hace mucho tiempo he pensado que debería escribir no solo en Inglés sino en Español también. Lo que no he resuelto es si debería comenzar otro blog (un duplicado de este) o simplemente escribir en ambos idiomas aquí mismo. ¿Que opinan?

El plan es comenzar el año nuevo con los dos idiomas. Por adelantado les pido mil disculpas por los "horrores" de ortografía, falta de tildes, etc. Se que en algún momento u otro me hará falta algo. Para los que no sepan y tengan curiosidad, he vivido la gran parte de mi vida en Estados Unidos pero viví unos años en Colombia.

Acepto sugerencias de todo tipo.

gift giving with paper

2009-11-05T09:57:00.010-05:00

I've been asked several times if I use my projects as gifts and the sad reality is that the majority of the times I don't. I'm trying to change that. At a minimum I want to make changes in the gift wrapping department and I started this morning.

Instead of starting from scratch, I decided to reach for my own book, to work on a project for a gift that we'll need for one of little C's friends. I remember that the minute I sketched this project out, I knew it was going to work and that it would definitely make a cut for the book. I love it when I have an idea that goes from sketch to paper without any glitches—VERY rare.

I like the box as is but my little C may want to add some cut out shapes to the base. We'll see what we come up with. I'm just happy that the main part is done—and it's ahead of time!

If you need other gift wrapping ideas, here are some more. This is a photo that didn't make it into the book but all the projects are included—templates and all.

• • •

Thank you all for your kinds comments and for sharing your hostess gift ideas in my previous post. I'm in the flowers and wine camp.

The winners (via Random.org) for the Thank You PDF idea are: Jessica Jo and Abbie. Congratulations! Please get in touch with me and I'll send you your file.

Happy Thursday!

thank you stationery box set - printable

2009-11-03T12:48:00.017-05:00

With the holidays just around the corner, I thought it would be nice to make a set that can be used as a hostess gift. I'm the type to be running around at the very last minute so I know this will come in handy. I find this set fun to make and would've loved to send them out all made up and nicely packaged but there is no way I can swing that right now. So that's why I decided to go with a printable version for now.

I kept the design very simple, but it can be altered with paper and maybe a few strokes of a crayon if you have little ones that would like to help. All the printable materials are included to make everything you see here: note cards, flats, gift tags and a plain envelope. The templates for the box top, bottom and dividers are also included. Just pick paper, some ribbon and you're set!

The cards, flats and gift tags are provided in four colors (orange, plum, red and gray) in a solid colored font and in outlined form. The outlined version can be used by kids that enjoy coloring.

The base of the box is a good opportunity to show off any patterned or colored paper that you prefer.

If you'd prefer to say Thank You in a different language I'd be happy to set that up at no additional cost—just send me a quick email.

This set is now available in my online shop and Etsy.

As a small thank you to all of you, leave a comment below and I'll be giving away a couple of PDFs of this set to two lucky winners. To make it fun, share your favorite hostess gift to give or to receive. I'll leave comments open until tomorrow at 9pm. I'll announce the winner on Thursday morning.

And as always... thank YOU! :)

crafty tree trimmings: six festive ornaments to make

2009-11-02T05:00:00.018-05:00

I'm back! We've had some seriously busy weeks around here—sorry for the absence. I simply had to let some things go and blogging was one of them. I hope to get into my routine again even though things are still not back to normal at all. But enough about that...

After such a long absence, I knew I couldn't show up empty handed and I think I picked the right project to accompany my comeback. It's my first ebook collaboration with Diane Gilleland and I love it. It's always so hard to be quiet about projects such as these, so it's really exciting to finally be unveiling this today.

Our very talented contributors are: Susan Beal, Linda Permann, Kayte Terry and Betz White. Each one of us came up with a holiday ornament that fits each of our styles. The results are six very distinct and fun ornaments to make. I created the paper globe ornament below and designed the book itself.

There's an added bonus for anyone that orders this ebook—part of its proceeds will go to charity. We've decided to donate 15% of our sales to Project Linus, an organization that donates handmade blankets and afghans to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need.

My house is still a wreck (reconstruction still to come... sigh), so it would be a serious crime to bring any new materials home. Even though I'd like to try to make all the ornaments, I'll be tackling only the ones that just require me going to my crafty stash.

If you're interested in joining me with some holiday making fun and helping a worthy cause, you can purchase the book at the CraftyPod shop until December 31st.

back home

2009-10-15T14:59:00.008-04:00

I can't quite say 'home, sweet, home' but at least we are home. Although the stay in a hotel was quite relaxing and convenient, I just want to get to tackling the whole mess we have here.

A result of some doodling with my little C while D did homework yesterday.

It isn't all bad, because there is a silver lining to this whole situation. We now know, for sure, that we can live with less. No real shocker there at all—but when you experience it 'for real' it puts things in perspective. We stayed at a hotel this week, where we only had some clothes and personal items, a few books, school work and my laptop. That's it—and we were ok. More than ok.

If anything, we had a great time together. I realized at times that I was feeling like I was 'really' there, really present and not doing one thing will thinking about what needed to be done next (laundry, the next meal, the next project etc). We slowed down and I really enjoyed that feeling. It has given me some food for thought.

Now that we're back, I'm going to focus on becoming more lean in regards to our belongings. We just proved, that not much is needed at all so I want to take advantage of that lesson. To that effect, a good part of everything, that was dumped (in a huge hurry) either in the living room or part of the kids' rooms, will not go back to were it was before. It will either be donated, given away or thrown out. I'm actually looking forward to that.

As for waiting patiently for all the work to be done for replacing base boards, painting, insulation, water heater, etc. etc. Yuck! I will mentally kick and scream the whole way through it all.

I'll be back next week. Be well!

• • •

Check out the wonderful review Diane gave Home, Paper, Scissors! Her Craftypod podcast is one of my very favorites and I value her opinion a lot, so her words mean the world to me. Thanks Diane!

one hundred eighty

2009-10-13T00:52:00.006-04:00

Friday evening I joined a group of ladies that were in Houston for the Quilt Market. I saw familiar friendly faces and meet new ones. In particular, I was so happy to see Michelle again and meet her partner Gina. I am most impressed by their hard work and perseverance. Check out their Cloud 9 fabrics. They are all organic—love that!

I was the outsider, by not being a fabric designer, but I enjoyed hanging out with these very creative women for a bit. I hope they all did well. It is so unfortunate that the Market isn't open to the general public. I'll have to scour some other blogs to see how it went.

On Saturday, we went camping with D's boy scout troop and had a wonderful time. Not even the gray weather could dampen the fun. There was hiking, touching a baby alligator, and of course many roasted marshmallows. It was so nice to unplug from the world even if it was only for 24hrs.

The rest and relaxation ended the minute we got home to discover our water heater had burst in our attic. We walked in to feel squishy carpeting under our feet in several areas of the house. I will spare you all the details of the minutia behind taking care of something like this. I'm sure many of you have been through something similar and I know it could've been worse but... umm... wow.

crafty synergy feature | crafterall

2009-10-08T00:10:00.000-04:00

The first time I saw Marnie's work it reminded me of my childhood interest in maps. It brought up many memories. The simplicity is very alluring.

Artist: Marnie B. Karger
Business: Crafterall
Web site: Crafterall.etsy.com
Blog: crafterall.blogspot.com (shop); kargertift.blogspot.com (family)
Location: Shorewood, MN

Can you share with us a bit about your business and how it got started?
I make and sell hand cut cards and art. I’ve always wanted to have a role in some sort of indie business and found just the right fit with an Etsy shop. In the fall of 2007, during my maternity leave with my second daughter, I started listing fairly cookie-cutter greeting cards. I liked their simplicity, but felt they sorely lacked any sense of uniqueness or authentic handmade touch. I started experimenting more with my favorite material, paper, and dug through my tool drawer to find my X-Acto blade. Full disclosure: I was inspired by Patricia’s recycled paper projects that seemed to be featured everywhere and that exuded a “you can do this too” invitation to try it. From there, I totally fell in love with cutting paper. The movement of a nice, sharp blade through crisp card stock and the reward of a clean cut edge or a smooth curve had me sold as a paper cutter.

How did you come up with the idea of working with topographic images?
It was a bit of a happy accident. I was working with chromatically related papers and I just sort of fanned them out on my studio table. As the colors graduated from light to dark, I was instantly reminded of topographic maps of lakes and oceans. I’ve always loved poring over maps, and trying to read the history of how the land was shaped by glaciers, fault lines, waterways, and time. My home state of Minnesota is renown for its glacial scarring and the thousands of lakes produced by the receding ice. I love lake silhouettes and looking at them much like you’d look at clouds, seeing in them recognizable shapes and characters. I love the mystery of lake depths and all the spooky thoughts of what creatures and plant life reside in the deepest, darkest parts of a body of water. Working these thoughts and feelings about lakes into a series of layered cardstock is like inventing my own little tracts of land and the lakes and rivers that live there. While the resulting image has a modern and simplistic appeal, the process itself is what keeps my creative fires stoked.

Which of your tools is your favorite?
Since I work with so few tools, this is pretty straightforward. My tool of choice is this neat little gizmo called a Blade Runner. It’s basically a small shaft of clear plastic with a teeny tiny swivel blade on the end. It took a bit of mastery, and this is what allows me to cut graceful curves and smooth lines in my work. I also couldn’t work without my self-healing cutting mat, my double-sided adhesive, and the pair of daylight lamps that illuminate my workspace.

What part of the creative process do you enjoy the most?
It’s a tie between creating a new sort of fictional landscape, and watching a piece come together as I add layers and color. Even when I’m in “mass-production” zone working to fulfill a wholesale order, every piece is at least a little different and therefore each piece unfolds a little differently from the last. It’s this uniqueness in what I make that keeps me going.

If you had no financial or time constraints, what dream project would you like to work on?
I think I’m living the dream right now! Honestly, being able to work at home, spend loads of time with my girls, my husband, and our dog while still being able to successfully create and sell my handiwork is pretty sweet. Thinking outside my idyllic little existence, I’d love to do learn how to work topographic-type landscapes into other, more durable media such as ceramics and wood to produce large-scale topographies, fit for an entire wall or a permanent art installation. The idea of an entire wall transformed from flat into a 3-d topographic work of art gives me goose bumps.

Thank you so much Marnie!

challenge

2009-10-07T01:11:00.006-04:00

I will be making a huge chandelier for the kids' school (cruise themed) fund raiser. I'm torn between excited and worried. I've never worked on such a large scale before. On the other hand, large installation type pieces are something I've dreamed about doing. The chandelier will be a center piece for the room (aka "cruise ship ballroom") and it needs to be really big in order to look proportionate to everything else. I've been doing a little research on shapes and styles. I'm leaning toward doing something a bit more contemporary due to weight and time constraints. I'll try to post some photos as it develops.

If I go the traditional route I will definitely be using Jeff Ruddell's beautiful paper chandelier as inspiration. Isn't it amazing?

mini-break

2009-09-30T13:59:00.022-04:00

There are several projects that I'm working on that will keep me quite busy for the next few days. I just wanted to let you know that I'll be taking a mini-blogging break so that I can take care of it all. I'll see you next week.

Be well!

Flower Favor Box project found in Home, Paper, Scissors and featured in DIY magazine.

just thoughts

2009-09-29T20:07:00.016-04:00

I just deleted a long post that I had ready to go. I know, maybe I shouldn't have done that. On the other hand, just writing out my thoughts was all that I needed. In lieu of my ramblings I leave you with a couple of quotes that sum up how I feel right now.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
- Mark Twain.

It's time to start living the life that you've imagined.
- Henry James

do it yourself magazine

2009-09-29T12:04:00.014-04:00

Thanks to the heads up from a friend (don't you love online friendships!) I purchased the latest Do It Yourself Magazine (Winter 2009) and found that four pages were dedicated to four projects found in Home, Paper, Scissors. It's so exciting to see the word spreading around about my book.

I hadn't had a chance to really take a better look at this magazine. There are some fun projects in it and they're inspiring me to look inward a bit. Inward in the sense that it is high time to apply some of my ideas to our own home. I've been concentrating on work so much that I've neglected to make our little corner a little cozier. That will be changing and hopefully the results will be good enough to share with you.

• • •

Thank you to Apartment Therapy - OhDeeDoh for featuring my Numbers Flash Cards on their site. Welcome to those of you that are visiting via their site.

I've had some serious thoughts about using the illustrations in my flash cards for to be used for paper or fabric designs (maybe even digital applications?). I'll have to do a bit more of research to see what direction to take. Hmm.

numbers flash cards

2009-09-27T13:32:00.026-04:00

I finally got around to working on this project that has been on my mind for a while and has been a request from some customers. This is a set of printable (animal themed) numbers flash cards that match my alphabet flash cards.

They are available in my shop now in: English, Spanish, German, French (feel free to contact me for any other languages).

Thank you so, so much to those of you that added a comment to my previous post. My little C enjoyed every single one of your words. They also sparked interesting conversations between us. This Mom is very appreciative of your kindness.

special request

2009-09-25T17:39:00.007-04:00

For all intents and purposes my weekend started today. The kids were with me because parent/teacher conferences were this morning.

We've been working on one of D's school projects and the only reason I'm here is because my little C asked me to post the drawing below. She'd like to know what you think about it (her words). I'll be reading your comments to her if you care to share.

Friday Tidbits
- Irma Gruenholz: This illustrator uses clay in ways that just astound me.
- Genevieve Bennett: This artist does amazing work in leather.

Well that's it for today. Have a wonderful weekend!

makoto yabuki

2009-09-24T09:24:00.002-04:00

White Box from makoto yabuki on Vimeo.

I found this so inspiring. For some reason it gave me many ideas to explore. It puts my little video to absolute shame, doesn't it?

More of Makoto Yabuki's work can be seen here.

autumn tree gift tag tutorial

2009-09-21T16:02:00.009-04:00

I believe it was about two years ago that I made a very simple series of gift tag projects during the fall. I enjoyed working on them because they were quick and they gave me some crafty time that I many not have had otherwise.

I'm going to start up another series of simple projects. Instead of my usual photo tutorials, I'm going to make short videos. As a warm up, I worked on a simple autumn themed gift tag to welcome the first day of the season.

For those of you with more experience, please keep in mind that some of the steps are very basic. I've taken the approach of assuming that beginners would find this more useful. The other thing is that there are no fancy cutters or tools in this tutorial. I want to keep the gadgets to a minimum — no huge investments here.

This is only the second video I make and I know there are many issues to be conquered (editing, lighting, maybe the addition of some music etc. etc.) so please bear with me. If you don't mind watching me stumble a bit, these videos will also be a great way for me to learn something new.

I feel like I'm talking rather slow in this video so I'll definitely be speeding things up for the next one. More editing to make the project go faster will also be a priority. If you have any helpful suggestions or critiques I'd be happy to hear them too.

Here we go...

mental + physical

2009-09-20T22:15:00.006-04:00

The fall brings a new soccer season, so yesterday we were at a day long tournament with the kids. While we watched one of D's games, my little C took the camera from me. After taking some 'normal' shots she started experimenting a little. I didn't change the photo above at all. She took it on that angle.

Once we made it home I headed straight for my bed, at 4pm mind you, and took the best nap ever. The price I paid was that once everyone was in bed at night I couldn't sleep a wink. But I did use my time wisely.

I know several of you may be viewing this via a reader but I just wanted to give you a heads up on a bit of housekeeping I did on my blog. There is a new menu bar at the top of the page that will guide you to the most visited sections. I felt like super woman doing it all without my IT guru husband. I hope you find it useful.

I'm hoping for a very productive week. One of the items on my to-do list is to follow the kids' example and get on the exercise bandwagon again. I desperately need it. If only cutting paper were a high calorie burner — I'd have it made!

Thank you to those of you that voted for me at Craftevolution. Home, Paper, Scissors was selected to part of the October book club meeting!

happy friday!

2009-09-18T10:18:00.015-04:00

These are two books that I received in the last few days and they are so adorable. They're part of the same Make Good: Crafts + Life series that I mentioned a while back. The photography alone is beautiful and the projects are all very doable and sweet.

Felting for Baby: 25 Warm & Wooly Projects for the Little Ones in Your Life:
Isn't this cover adorable? I scared Mr. Z by saying that this book almost wants me want to have another baby. But no, I'll wait to be an auntie or for friends to have babies to work on any of the more specific baby projects. There are some that I could try now, like the: Felt Basket, Wall Pockets or Sachets. I love the simplicity of all the designs and the instructions are very clear. The how-to photos are excellent.

Carefree Clothes for Girls: 20 Patterns for Outdoor Frocks, Playdate Dresses, and More:
What I like about the designs in this book is that they aren't the typical types of clothes that I see little girls wearing. They have a rustic comfy feeling to them.The photography throughout makes me want to try making everything, but I'll probably start with something simple like the scarf. If these designs could convince my daughter that she looks beautiful in dresses that would be an added bonus. I won't be holding my breath though. I used to hate dresses too.

For more info about both books and many photos (which I'm sorry I didn't have time to take myself for a better review) visit Make Good Books.

Friday tidbits
• Nathan Martell: I fell for his paper lamps that I saw on Design Milk and had to check out the rest of his work. I love it all.

• A Lego a Day: I just found this blog this week and even though the year long project is completed it's still a fun place to visit. I find myself digging deeper and deeper into the archives. We are big Lego lovers in this house!

Enjoy your weekend!