sketchbook 11/17 – 12/7
make a paper swan treat box : free tutorial
For little treats and treasures. This swan favor box is super easy to make. And I’ve made the template in two sizes for you (I demonstrate below using the larger size).
*This tutorial contains affiliate links – meaning I get a small commission if you purchase through the link.
download the template
You will need:
- the large or small swan box template
- heavy paper – mixed media paper, card stock or watercolor paper all work
- exacto knife
- masking tape
- glue
- paint (I used water color)
- pencils
- scissors
- paper clips
- clothespins
- optional – hanging string or ribbon
Notes before you begin:
The boxes are easy to make but tracing and cutting accuracy are very important. Also, please read through the steps before beginning.
1. Cut out a swan template (I’m using the large) and use the pencil to poke holes through the three dots on the pattern. Use the exacto knife to cut the tab slot lines on the pattern. Place the template on your heavy paper and use a few little pieces of masking tape to keep it in place. Trace around the edge.
* click the images for a larger view
2. Mark the 3 dots with your pencil.
3. Lift up the tab slot and trace that edge.
4. Using the tail dot as a guide draw the straight score lines.
5. To draw the 2 curved score lines cut the line and trace them. You can tape the template back together after.
6. Use the back of the exacto knife to lightly score all the lines you drew.
7. If you would like to add a hanging string use a large embroidery needle to poke holes through the two dots on the tab. Gently erase all the pencil lines.
8. Turn your swan over and paint. I also made the smaller size and painted that one black (for that one I painted both sides.
I like simple, quick gestural painting for the swans. Make a few quick strokes in shades of gray water color and used just a little orange for the beak. I’m using a koi water color box and mudder water brushes. I love both of these items deeply. *FYI – I get a small commission if you purchase through the links. Add some lines on the feathers in pencil or pen. I used pencil and sprayed them with a fixative so they won’t smudge. I made a curvy line for the eye with a black pen.
9. Beginning with the tail gently fold along the score lines.
10. Next fold up the sides.
11. Gently shape the curved score lines too.
12. Apply glue to the front as shown and press the sides together.
13. Use paperclips or a weight to hold the sides together while tit dries.
14. When the front is dry apply glue to the tail and bend one side of the bottom tail feathers over the back.
15. Clamp with a clothespin and gently curl up the end with you finger. Let the tail dry.
16. Repeat for the other tail feather.
17. Curl the ends of the middle feathers over a pen.
18. Add a string or ribbon if you like.
19. Tuck the tab into the slot by pressing down to close the box.
20. Finally curl the feather under the top feather up a little.
I hope you make lots of swan boxes!
cats in pants and other lovely things made by customers
meet gustav! by MelanieYou get at least 2 levels of awesomeness from this post: links to makers I think you’ll love (click the images to find the maker) and ideas for little gifts. I love seeing what you make from my patterns, your details and your stories, I love that these things are in the world, cats in pants, woebegone pines, enchanted mushrooms etc…
The mischievous fellows above are made from the mr. socks pattern and free little pants pattern.
The trees are made from the woebegone pines pattern. I love whole the table!
And I love that they are very often gifts. Handmade gifts that surprise and delight. The songbird pattern is breaking records in that department. Also – FYI – I am a big fan of cottage industry and selling things you make from my patterns is not only OK but encouraged. If you do sell stuff I so appreciate if you let people know where you got the pattern.
Find the mouse pattern here and the mushroom pattern here.
The world’s tiny doll population grows every single day.
And there are lots of free patterns for tiny doll accessories. checkout the miss thistle society collection for those.
There is lots more to see – check out #missthistlesociety and #annwoodpattern for more.
Also in the little gifts department I’m making you something! Look for a free diy and template for this little paper swan treat box next week.
Do you get my free weekly-ish newsletter? There are tips and tricks, ideas, stuff to try, all the latest news and blogposts and extra stuff, just for subscribers, delivered mostly on Friday. Pretty much.
sketchbook 11/3 – 11/16
make a penny rug for the tiny rag doll with wool scraps
It’s officially cosy season, I kicked it off by boiling some wool scraps on Sunday. I was trying to felt wool without putting it in the dryer. The boiling on its own did not do much in the way of felting but it did produce an unexpected result that I ended up liking, the dyes ran so all my scraps ended up over-dyed.
I used some of my boiled wool for this little rug for the tiny rag doll. Of course she needs a cosy rug for her little house in the green valley. I ran into wool pennies and penny rugs for the first time a few months ago. I love a scrap project and the idea of using everything and making something out of nothing. And I’ve got plenty of little scraps of wool. The little stitched circles are charming and satisfying to make. It’s meditative work.
And there are endless ways you could embellish and assemble them. I’ve made you templates for the shapes I used in this little rug.
find the template here
You’ll need wool and/ or wool felt scraps (I used a mix of felt and wool)
Embroidery thread and a needle
And (optional) a glue stick for assembling
1. To make the individual pennies place the little circle in the center of the larger. Stitch an X or star in the center with straight stitches. Blanket stitch around the edge, to begin make one straight stitch and come back out out at the edge.
2. Insert the needle a little away from the first stitch and the edge of the circle. Don’t pull the stitch tight.
3. Bring the needle back out just past the edge of the circle, bring your needle through the loop and pull tight.
4. Begin another stitch and repeat all the way around. You will need 20 pennies for this rug.
To assemble blanket stitch 4 pennies onto oval 1. Attach oval 1 to oval 2. I cut oval 1 with pinking shears and stitched little V’s around the edge to attach it.
Place your 16 remaining pennies around the edge and blanket stitch around each penny edge attaching them to oval 2.
I hope you make a penny rug! If you do, I’d love to see, you can use #missthistlesociety and #annwoodpattern on instagram. And find more Miss thistle society patterns here.
scrap flowers and cardinals on my work table
Is there a color, or colors you have a hard time working with? For me it’s red. It’s not that I don’t like red, it just hardly ever seems to find its way in to anything. Until lately, all of a sudden lots of rich red scraps have been turning up (or maybe I’ve just started noticing them) and my worktable is covered with magnificent reds and crimsons.
I’m working on two projects to share at the Sugar House Retreat in March. a cardinal, and a fabric necklace. The cardinal is made from the songbird sewing pattern with a few modifications. I love all the varieties of red and pink that turn up in cardinals and I’m working on a few.
The necklace is a scrap project, most of them collected in France this summer. It’s a jump in without a plan sort of process, step one is just cutting some circles. I’m adding little bits of green too. I like the idea of using color as a starting point and a constraint and I’ll probably use the scrap necklace project ro experiment in other shades. I’ve started collecting some teal scraps for another.
If you’d like to join me in Vermont for the Sugar harvest and lots of projects, exploring and fantastic food and friends you can find more details here. It’s a small and super friendly retreat. I had a fantastic time last year and you can checkout some images from that here. Or checkout out #warmbrookbarn on instagram.
sketchbook 10/6 – 11/2
abandoned quilt tops and stitched crows
It has some great moments and some highly questionable choices (worn towels…). All of it is very nostalgic for me.
I’m always on the look out for vintage or antique quilt tops. They are frequently super cheap and a great source for unusual little bits of fabric, perfect for all sorts of small projects (including doll quilts). Or if you find something with no objectionable moments or issues you can take it across the quilt finish line. The quilt above (found on ebay) was probably assembled in the 70’s and has lots of sweet calicos. Another I found recently is pale and has a mix of small turn of the century and depression era prints salvaged from garments. Both are coming to workshops in LA with me.
I’m using the older quilt for needle book pages. I’ve been stitching up lots for the class. You wouldn’t think machine sewing a ton of rectangles would be appealing but it is. I’ll probably get over it but right now I can’t get enough. It’s peaceful and satisfying to stack up the finished pages. Also I’m thinking of offering the pre-sewn, ready to embellish pages as a kit this winter – what do you think?
Besides needle books we will be making paper ships, beetles, mushrooms and crows. I’m bringing lots of old garments to work with.
I wonder what they talk about – somebody seems pretty bossy…
sketchbook 9/29 – 10/5
sketchbook 9/15 – 9/28
make a paper boat : a free tutorial
*This post contains an affiliate link
Some projects are most satisfying to work on in batches. These paper boats are like that. They are quick and easy and you can make a bunch at once without much extra effort. Plus the finished group is very satisfying. You probably already have most of the materials you need and you could easily be hanging a respectable fleet by the end of the day, who doesn’t want that?
download the boat template
you will also need:
- heavy paper (I’m using water color paper) or light cardboard (like poster board)
- a bamboo skewer
- paper for the sail
- elmer’s glue
- gluestick
- embroidery thread or light string (like baker’s twine)
- buttons
- paints, brushes and/or collage materials
- exacto knife
- clothespins or paperclips for clamping
*Please read through all the steps before beginning.
*Also note I included some simple directions on the sail template for your convenience but the directions below include more details and options.
1. Cut out the boat and mast support templates and trace them onto light cardboard or a heavy weight paper. I’m Using water color paper (140 pound hot press is my favorite). Optional – paint both sides. I almost always paint a wash of water color on both sides of the boat and mast support.
2. Place the template back on the boat and poke your pencil through where the score lines intersect. Mark with a dot. Remove the template and draw on the score lines. Draw the score lines on the mast support too and mark an X on the center of the top section.
3. Use the back of an x-acto knife to score the lines on the boat and mast support.
4. Gently fold the boat and mast support at the score lines.
5. Add glue to the last section of the mast support, fold it into a triangle and glue the top section over it.
6. Clamp with paper clip or clothespins while it dries.
7. While your mast support dries paint or collage or draw on your boat. I did all three. I used a wash of watercolor, some pencil lines and a little collage. If you’re doing lots of collage I recommend using nori paste instead of blue stick . It is awesome. You can find it here. * FYI – this is an affiliate link – meaning I get a small commission if you purchase through the link.
8. Apply glue to the bow as indicated on the template.
9. Fold the boat together at the front and clamp with clothespins or paper clips while the glue dries. Alternatively – you can skip the glue, bring the front sides together and stitch on the sewing machine close to the edge.
10. Fold the center back ( A on the template) and apply glue to the top.
11. Bend up tab B – covering the top of tab A and matching the top edges. Apply glue and bend up tab C covering the top of tab B and matching the top edges. Clamp and let dry. Alternatively – skip the glue and attach the three layers with a stitch and a button (step 16 below).
a paper ship installation and other notes from the forest
It was a pretty cozy situation, hanging out by the fire watching paper vessels turn in the breeze. And that’s what I wanted to make. A cozy situation, a daydreaming place for anybody who chose to partake. A situation I think Mr. Roger’s would approve of. That is my barometer for lots of things – “what would Mr. Rogers think of this? What would Mr. Rogers do about this?” It never steers me wrong.
(photo by awesome @bailey.b.raha)
And the world needs more paper ships. This is my firm belief. I made lots of paper ships and boats over the last couple months to bring to the Squam Art Retreat. I hung an installation of them in the sweet little library, it’s my favorite room at the camp.
The smaller boats are quick and easy to make and I’ve made you a tutorial and templates for making your own. You can find that right here. And I’m teaching the larger ships in a workshop in October.
I love the retreat and I love that giant forest and I made the artwork for the tote bag this year! So happy with how it turned out.
And it was an exceptionally good year for mushrooms at Squam Lake. Big colorful mushrooms kept popping up all over the place. This one was just right for sheltering a tiny lady. You can find the free pattern for her little jacket and hat right here. Bundle up somebody little. It comes in Mr. socks size too.
Speaking of that mischievous cat I ran into some of the Socks cousin’s on a path, it was a happy meeting for everybody. You just never know who you might meet. As usual I was so busy being in the forest I hardly took any photos but you can find more images from the Squam Art Retreat right here.
In other news : The Owl Booklet starts shipping today! It turned out even better than I expected and I’m excited for you to get it. Thanks so much to everybody who pre-ordered. The first printing is just about sold out and there are more on the way.
