9 creative project ideas for big folks and little folks

March 25, 2020

by annwood

1.

A terrarium is an awesome project for big people or little people. There are a bunch of tutorials available in varying degrees of complexity – this one is specifically geared towards little people. My advice would be to not get too locked in by details like the right kind of container or soil, or plants, adding charcoal etc. etc.. Improvise, work with what you’ve got and try stuff. Make a magical mini landscape.

2.

This wax paper specimen collecting journal is another great idea for backyard or park adventures. If you can’t get outside it could be for collecting words and ideas.

3.

Fabric scraps – I love this sweet scrap bunting and there are tons of fabric scrap ideas here and here and more here.

4.

Cardboard castles and playhouses – I sure do love cardboard. Use whatever you’ve got to build a ship or castle or playhouse.

2008

5.

Fun kitchen projects for kids – the playhouse above is one of my most favorite projects of all time. I made it for Clare Crespo’s Yummy Fun Show. So many cool kitchen projects to do with your little people. And super duper talented Clare has shared all the episodes right here.

6.

Paper mache teacups – Have you got a cereal box and paper? Make a sweet paper mache teacup. And you can make your own wheat paste!

7.

Make an installation – a cozy space for daydreams. In the best of times I am obsessed with making things cozy. In the current deep uncertainty this impulse has gone into overdrive. Easy to make paper boats, simple and festive paper lanterns and scrap garland (plus twinkle lights if you’ve got them) could turn a corner into a magical space for daydreams.

8.

Homemade journals – there is a great tutorial for making a journal from brown bags here and another from junk mail envelopes here. Besides the fun of making the journal it’s a great time to get into the habit of a small daily creative practice- maybe a journal page a day – collage, drawing, collecting – whatever you like. Showing up everyday for a small daily practice is as close to a magic formula as there is for growing creatively.

9.

Play – You know what my most frequently asked question is lately- “ Where do you get your ideas? “ Such an interesting question. Making a painting everyday has made a big difference in the quantity and quality of my ideas. And play is a huge part of it too. Messing around without being too concerned with the outcome. Try this 30 minute figure play session.

Check the free pattern page for even more ideas! And if you have a project or idea to share please leave it in the comments section.

onward!

ann

wire doll bed diy

March 22, 2020

by annwood

Maybe you’d like to start a home for tiny foundlings. Or your mouse house needs a bed.
I’ve made you a diy just in case. When I started messing around with this I found the twisting and wrapping wire construction method pretty difficult so I experimented with other ways of fastening wire. I ended up with something that I think is way easier to do (tape) and I’m super happy with the result. So happy I made a bunch, I am currently even extra obsessed with making things cozy. And I like their wonky vibe, it’s a big part of their charm, perfection should not be a goal in this project.

I’ve sized this bed for very nice mice but there are notes for enlarging it a little for the tiny rag doll or mr. socks. It’s a good idea to have socks or the tiny doll nearby while you make it to double check your fit.

*This tutorial contains affiliate links – meaning I get a small commission if you purchase through the link – they are marked with an asterisk.

Notes on wire: I used 19 gauge galvanized wire in the demo – it’s pretty stiff. The easiest wire to use is this soft annealed *19 gauge black wire. If you have something else on hand give it a try. As long as it bends easily and holds it’s shape it should work.

Notes on tape: Masking tape and *floral tape both work. I made the demo with masking tape since it’s likely you have some of that. The floral tape makes a more invisible join but after making a whole bunch I prefer the masking tape functionally and aesthetically.

Before we start putting the bed together let’s talk about finishing. Because I use tape as the fastener I painted the whole bed. Both the galvanized wire and the softer black wire took the paint (acrylic craft paint) well. I recommend using darker colors or black.

And of course you’ll need a mattress and pillow. It’s super easy and you can sew by hand or machine.

download the mattress and pillow patterns

You’ll also need scraps of fabric a basic sewing kit and something to stuff with. Anything is fine – even toilet paper…

*If you opt to make a larger bed for the tiny rag doll add 2 and 1/2 inches to the length of the mattress template.

Cut out the mattress and pillow fabric and pin with the right sides of the fabric together.

Sew the seams leaving a small section open for turning.

Clip of the corners, turn the mattress and pillow right side out, stuff lightly and then stitch the openings closed.

The template includes a pillow case and you can find instructions for that right here.

make a wire doll bed

materials and tools:

needle nose pliers and wire cutters

19 gauge wire – this soft annealed is easy to work with

masking tape or *floral tape – see the notes above

craft paint and brushes

1. Cut all your wire pieces:

2- 18 inch
1- 10 inch
2- 6 inch
1- 10 and 1/2 inch
1- 8 and 1/2 inch

If you would like to make a larger bed for miss thistle make the long pieces 20 and 1/2 inches instead of 18. Also cut an extra 10 inch piece.

2. Bend the 10 and 1/2 inch and 8 and 1/2 inch pieces into U shapes.

3. Bend each of the 6 inch pieces as shown – 1 and 1/2 inch from each end.

4. Bend the 10 inch piece into a rectangle with the ends overlapping (for the larger tiny rag doll bed make 2 of these).

5. All your ready to assemble parts should look like this.

the plan for weird times

March 17, 2020

by annwood

For the next couple weeks (as of now) ~~I won’t be shipping any physical items.~~ I made my last trip to the post office with current orders yesterday and now I’m staying home and making stuff. And soup.

UPDATE 3/24 –

All the booklets are in stock – tiny dolls, socks, owls etc. I’ve adjusted the packaging to go in the mailbox (NYC recently changed to secure mailboxes with very small slots). During the virus crisis there is a limit of 2 booklets per order. You can place more than one order but I can only ship 2 per order.

And I’m working on supply packs too – something that can fit in the mailbox. Stay tuned for more on that soon.

Get the paper mache ship pattern.

During this odd liminal moment I’ll be working on new patterns and projects and ideas for you – lots: video demos, stuff to do with kids, stitching tutorials and more free patterns. And I’ll share what I’m making. Some of this weird period of time will be spent finishing projects and mending – particularly old quilts – we might as well be cozy right?

Wishing you well and hoping for the best,

ann

PS – find a good soup for weird times right here.

make a house for a mouse

March 15, 2020

by annwood

A fancy dress tea party for very nice mice!

They are so happy to see you! Come right in!

Step into their warm, welcoming ramshackle room. I could totally live there! They’ve made it extra festive and cozy for a fancy tea party with friends.

Find part 2 – a cozy bedroom right here.

The dear little scene is made from stuff I had around, a couple things from my childhood dollhouse, old french letters on the wall and some favorite tiny treasures. The mice and plates are free tutorials in case you are feeling the need for a mouse tea party. I’ve shared a few tips and ideas below for creating a very nice mouse house including miniature plate hangers for your tiny mismatched china, more on that in a minute.

Making a mouse tea party was not my plan for Saturday. All of a sudden I felt the need to make something entirely for Joy. 100% JOY. And it was, sorting through my treasures, making the wire chandelier, putting together the little scene and photographing it was 100 % joy.

some details:

*some links are affiliate links – meaning I get a tiny commission if you purchase through the links – they are marked with an asterisk

A fancy bicorne hat for the host -The tiny bicorne hat was made using this pattern but I used the “bird bicorne accent” pattern piece for the hat and then cut another a little smaller for the decorative piece.

The mice – made from the very nice mice free pattern – pro tip – lately I’ve been adding walnut shells or a coin or two for weight in the bottom to help them stand up.

Tiny plates and cups – made from this free tutorial – so much fun.

mouse food – Pickling spice makes great mouse food. I put some in a little glass button and sprinkled some by the door mat too – little mouse debris, you know how mice are…

Chandelier – Its made from this *super handy 24 gauge wire, a vintage earring I’ve had for ever and a few tiny beads. The easy plate hangers are made from this wire too.

make miniature plate hangers

Cut a few inches of *24 gauge wire. You will also need needle nose pliers – small ones are great, wire cutters and pins for hanging. I used the sharpie to color the *little applique pins. The little pins come in handy for lots of dollhouse things.

Bend the wire in half and make a loop. Twist the ends under the loop,

Place your tiny plate on and bend up the ends.

Remove the plate, trim the ends and curl them with the pliers.

Put your plate on and press the curled ends to hold the plate snuggly.

The wall is made from foam-core and I push the little pins (colored with a sharpie) in to hold the hangers. You can use tiny nails too.

If you’ve got kids home from school this would be a fun project and stay tuned for more ideas. If you do make a mouse tea party I’d love to see – you can email photos to info at ann wood handmade dot com or use #annwoodpattern and #mousehousediy to share on instagram.

Wishing you all health and peace and happiness and I hope this all passes quickly.

Onward!
ann

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sketchbook 3/1 – 3/14

March 14, 2020

by annwood

making a cardinal or other crested bird

March 14, 2020

by annwood

You’ll need the songbird sewing pattern and details below to make your cardinal.

It’s surprisingly quick and easy to create a fabric crest for a cardinal or bluejay or tufted titmouse etc. etc.. The tutorial that follows was created for my songbird sewing pattern – but you could adjust the size to fit pretty much any bird pattern.

We made cardinals in a workshop in Vermont. It was a great weekend and the cardinals are awesome. Check out more about the workshop at the end of the post.

The Cardinal Modifications

You can find the songbird pattern here

– or use any bird pattern you like and adjust the template size.

download the crest template

1. Download and cut out the templates. Cut the face cover and 3 crest pieces from fabric.

2. Place the face cover on your bird – around the beak – trim and adjust the size however you like – for this demonstration I left it full size.

3. Pin it in place – overlap the top corners to make it fit snuggly and stitch in place.

4. Pin the head cover in place and stitch around the edge.

5. Pinch the pointed end of the crest 1 piece.

6. Pin in to the top of the head and stitch around the edge.

7. At the back stitch the sides of the opening together – just at the base.

8. Pin the crest 2 piece the same way – on top of crest 1 and stitch around the edge.

9. Again stitching the edge together – just at the base.

10. Add the third crest piece. Optional – fray the edges or make a few stitches through the crest layers. Stitch simple eyes onto the face cover.

So easy! If you try making a crest I’d love to see! Use #annwoodpattern on instagram

A couple more workshop highlights – 2 students brought a pin girl for everybody!! I love them – find the free sewing pattern to make your own here.

sketchbook 2/23 – 2/29

March 2, 2020

by annwood

extreme mending and how to make a front bustle and scrap binding

February 29, 2020

by annwood

The Second Annual International Scrap Festival comes to a close today! Thanks to everybody who participated – you can checkout some of the swaps and projects here. I’m already planning the 2021 festival…

You can’t have a scrap festival without talking about mending. I love my mended sleeves and knees, it has nothing to do with being practical or frugal, although I am both of those things. Pretty much. I get nostalgic and attached about clothes and the practice itself, the mending, the meandering stitches and serendipitous layers, is a daily meditation for me.

And I like an interesting hem, not sure why, but it might be at least in part because I’m pretty short (you may not have noticed this because I project quite tall). The hitched up skirt has a little lengthening effect. And it fits right in with my middle age art lady personal style ( #contemporaryhollyhobby). I stumbled onto the front bustle, or bustled hem idea idea while mending this dress.

The first bustle was a simple button and loop. I’ve just button bustled my ancient and beloved cal patch smock. The mending on this smock is so extreme it will eventually be nothing but mends.

I have a flannel shirt (purchased for 25 cents at the Herkimer NY Goodwill) that’s like that too – just can’t let it go. Plus it keeps getting more interesting. The edges near the buttons were shredded so I made edge binding from scraps.

Check out this tutorial on how to make your own. It’s super easy. And it begins with “iron your scraps” so you know it’s a winner. I’m making a bunch of this for frayed pillowcase edges too.

Back to the bustles. I tried a different method on an antique linen nightgown I got in France last year (it started out ivory – I dyed it blue with woad).

make a bustled hem

I’m using a strip of cotton fabric that’s about 3 inches wide. You can make it any length you like – depending on how bustled you want to be. I made the cord from very light weight fabric – you could also use ribbon or twill tape, any sort of cord you like. I started with about 30 inches of cord and trimmed it .

Fold the side edges under and press, then folded the top and bottom edges over twice and pressed. Pin the piece to the skirt.

Sew a U shaped channel in the center – about one half inch wide. Sew the long sides down as well- I used a tiny whip stitch along the edge. Be sure to leave the top and bottom edges open.

Use a large needle to thread the cord through from the top.

Come out at the bottom and go back in and come out at the top again. Once the cord is in you can stitch the bottom closed (being careful not to catch the cord) or just leave it open – I left it open.

Trim the cord and knot the ends. You are bustled! If you bustle a hem I’d love to see – use #contemporaryhollyhobby on instagram.

PS – There has been serious naked lady rag doll progress – The pattern is almost done – I’m in the tiny adjustment/improvement stage. This process involves making tons of dolls and some of those, in various states of dress, will be in the shop soon.

sketchbook 2/16 – 2/22

February 22, 2020

by annwood

pin girls : sweet pin cushions made from scraps – free pattern

February 16, 2020

by annwood

*This post contains affiliate links – meaning I get a small commission if you purchase through the link.

Did you ever make something you liked so much you put it next to your bed so you would see it first thing in the morning? This pin girl is like that for me. Something about it… And I’ve made a pattern for you. The pin girl is not only the official pincushion of the 2020 scrap festival but she is also the official pincushion of the miss thislte society.
Before we get started let’s talk about pincushion filling for a minute. I think walnut shells are ideal (unless you have a tree nut allergy). They add a nice weight and fill out the curvey shape beautifully. I got a huge bag here (I get a small commission if you purchase through this link).
Sand works too and you can most likely find fine sand at your hardware or gardening store. For this pincushion I don’t recommend using just fiber – the weight and shape won’t be nearly as nice. If you have other filling ideas please let us know in the comment section. Also – I’m thinking of putting together kits for the shop with sweet fabric, and everything else you need – what do you think?

Let’s make pin girls!

You will need:

download the pdf template

Affiliate links are marked with *

fabric scraps – cotton and a little wool or felt
A wooden bead- I used a ⅞ inch (about 22mm) bead – a little bigger or smaller is fine. You can get beads with faces! *right here.
wooden skewer – the larger size is best – what matters is that your bead fits on it. I *used these.
crushed walnut shells – I *used these
a little wool stuffing
trim and lace scraps
chopstick
funnel
glue stick
paint and brushes
white or wood glue
a basic sewing kit

1. Cut out one bottom and 3 doll pattern pieces. Mark a 1/4 inch seam line lightly in pencil on all your pieces.

2. Fold the top edge of the doll pieces over towards the wrong side at the seam line and press.

3. Pin two of the doll pieces – right sides together and stitch one side. Stitch over the folded edge and stop at the bottom seam line as shown. You can hand or machine stitch – in either case use a very small stitch.

4. Open the two pieces you just stitched together and match the edge of the third doll piece to one side.

5. Pin it in place and stitch the side.

6. Match the last two sides, pin and stitch.

7. The 3 pieces assembled should look like.

8. At the bottom edge press the 3 side seams open – you don’t have to press all the way up – just near the bottom.

9. Carefully matching the edges, pin the circle to the bottom opening.

10. Stitch the bottom circle to the opening – make sure you follow the seam line and use small stitches. It is easier to do this by hand.

11. Use a chopstick to turn the doll right side out through the top opening and run the stick around the seam with firm pressure.

12. Painting the heads – paint simple features with acrylic craft paint or *get heads that are already painted here.

13. I’m using *crushed walnut shells and a tiny bit of wool to stuff the body (probably not a great idea if you have a tree nut allergy). Checkout the notes at the top of the post on stuffing materials. You can also use fine sand or sawdust.

14. Place a small funnel in the neck of the body and start adding the filling. As you add the filling use the funnel to crush and press it down and into the edges. Keep compressing and adding filling.

15. Use your chopstick to push filling into any soft areas and add more if necessary. Tap the bottom of the body on your table to settle the fill and add more – stuffing as firmly as possible will make the best shape.

16. Paint a little glue on the blunt end of your skewer (white or wood glue works).