Category: Uncategorized

handmade christmas 2024

December 21, 2024

by annwood

Orange slice ornaments are in the oven – 2 weeks later than planned or at the exact right moment…

I’m deeply immersed with a lot of very ambitious last minute Christmas project ideas, it smells like white pine and orange peel, the stick trees are up and it’s snowing the exact right amount.

All the work things are done (at last!) and the coziness here is deep, twinkly and particular.

let’s talk about stick tree number one

An elephant and monkey are merrily attending the base and there’s a happy cat on top this year. The tree is made from several sticks bundled together and wrapped with a fabric scrap. The skirt is a bit of an old crazy quilt.

The whole thing lists significantly to the left and is festooned with:

snowmen in bad moods
jingle stars
a sleepy moon
minimalist chicken
little owl
sheep
scrap trees
and wax paper snowflakes

I wish I had some flies – maybe I’ll add that to the last minute list.

I do like my holiday decor just slightly off kilter – like these cardboard castles with austere little windows. The creature that may or may not be a cat is by my brilliant friends at Codo Experiment. The white pine branches were obtained legally and definitely not in my annual december crime spree under the cover of darkness.

and stick tree number two

Branches in a vase filled with pennies for stability (pebbles or sand work too) The ornaments are the ghosts of Christmas past- my mom’s treasures that sleep the rest of the year in the crumpled tissue she wrapped them in. The big paper star on top is made with the wax paper snowflake method but in vintage paper and tin foil.

My plan for the day is to smell the smells and make the things and bask in the twinkle. I hope you are similarly situated and your holidays are merry and bright!

After the holiday break we have lots to talk about – most importantly the 2025 100 day stitch book!

customer projects

December 2, 2024

by annwood

projects made by customers and readers

You can find all the patterns for the projects below in the shop or on the free pattern page.

Magical and imaginative work by customers and readers. I’ve added links to the maker wherever possible – check them out – the mushroom below (little mushroom pattern) and gorgeous photo are by Trish.

crow by gill

crow by anni

Crows by Gillian and Anni the wing details are fantastic!

alexandra

gabi

sue

Songbirds by Gabi, blue bird by Alexandra and colorful songbirds by Sue.

handmade textile mushrooms in a variety of vintage scraps

michelle

mushrooms by S arah and Michelle

elegant rag dolls by Marilina

barb

cris

Frogs (find it on the free pattern page) by Barb and Cris.

holiday ornament roundup : 9 sweet little project ideas

November 19, 2021

by annwood

Patterns and DIY’s I think you’ll love. Easy and pretty quick projects you can make a bunch of with stuff you probably already have. Little extras on a package, tiny unexpected presents are magic.

1. Let’s start with these super sweet mittens. I love a thing that you can tuck another thing inside of. They work as ornaments, wrapping extra’s, advent calendars, garlands etc. etc.. And there is a free PDF! Find it Oliver and S Patterns.

2. Also from Liesl Gibson: these tiny walnut ships! Hot glue, a walnut shell, toothpick and paper. Brilliant.

The next 2 use my free patterns as starting off points and add super clever details.

3. This raccoon! @erinpcf used the mouse pattern and added raccoon details. It would make an adorable ornament.

4. Kates Creative Space used the lucky fish pattern to create this charming advent calendar.

5. Make macrame trees with this detailed tutorial by The Pretty Life Girls.
And if macrame appeals to you you’ll love this too.

6. This is a great one to do with little folks. Everybody loves a pompom. Find this instructions on Project Kid. That tree!!

7. Rocky the owl! From the free pattern page here. This group is by @cjasews You can get the owl pattern here.

8. Pinecone people have a very firm place in my childhood holiday memories. Check out Lia Griffiths super cute video tutorial for these elf friends.

9. So nostalgic! And clever. Old fashion fabric christmas lights tutorial.

Plus don’t forget these other holiday gems from the free pattern page! woebegone pines, paper swan treat boxes, and easy waxpaper snowflakes.

Are you making ornaments? have a favorite holiday DIY? let us know in the comments.

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.

the magical possibilities of cardboard and behind the scenes in the mouse diorama

October 26, 2018

by annwood

Cardboard is all over the place, for free! It has lots of interesting qualities and I’m always curious about the possibilities of things. I’m very interested in transformation, particularly of modest things, discarded things. The thin stuff, like a cereal box, is wonderfully flexible and you can create remarkably graceful curves with a little ingenuity. It is the secret ingredient in my paper mache ships. I think that is quite a transformation, from family size Cheerios box to floating ship, it is a kind of magic.

It is also what I use for my teacup armature.

Or even more intriguing, let it be the star of the show, glorified in all its cardboardness. The shapes and tones and textures all observable and celebrated. And I can’t resist an interesting die cut, they set my imagination on fire. Die cuts figure heavily into this spooky cardboard castle.

I made this playhouse from cardboard and popsicle sticks ages ago for Clare Crespo’s Yummyfun Cooking. So many hot glue burns but so much fun.

And speaking of fun checkout this super simple diorama for photographing your continental mice in a make believe French countryside. It is sand and pebbles, a little fake moss (all found at Joann’s) and a sweet print I got in the actual South of France last summer. It’s in a giant plastic container to diffuse the light.

This guy seems pretty excited about it. He was made by a student in the French General Mouse workshop last week. Find the pattern to make your own here.

P S – Do you get my weekly -ish newsletter? (there are two great cardboard halloween costume ideas in this week’s issue.

And you can signup for it right here.

handmade christmas 2017

December 22, 2017

by annwood

Unwrapping ornaments in soft, crumpled paper that my mother wrapped and unwrapped one million times, treasures that never lose their magic, the ceremony of their yearly appearance, that is most of the reason to Christmas the tree.

And I love it, my dear norfolk pine, all festooned and twinkling.

I skipped the tree last year. Got too busy, got the flu, and it didn’t happen. It almost didn’t happen this year. The big crash in October left a wake of disruption and chaos that is still not over. But as soon as I got the boxes down and saw familiar things peeking from that tissue (Christmas tissue is not like other tissue, something special happens to it) I felt inspired to do it.

Wrapping paper was next on my Christmas list. I decided to make my own and be super simple about it. I’m splattering plain newsprint paper (I always have a huge roll around for packing and shipping) with red paint. I’m also using plain brown paper and twine, red hemp and baker’s twine and a little green tissue left over from last year.

I like it. It’s simple and sweet and I spent zero dollars. I love an elegant economy and there will be more on that in the new year.

Merry and Happy to you,
ann

please meet vivienne and work on a new rag doll experiment

March 9, 2017

by annwood

Entirely nude, but for a threadbare whisper of a nightgown.

The gown is made from the sleeve of an Edwardian lawn gown – so simple to make. I just hemmed the top edge – gathered across the front side and added ribbon ties that go around her neck – halter style.

She sits serenely, in her nightgown, silently judging that little ant who admires himself so constantly.

Update 1/6/2019 : There is a nude rag doll pattern and kit in the works – you can sign up here if you’d like an email when it is available.

And something new on my worktable – an evolving rag doll creature. The texture thing is pretty ambitious and I’m not sure I’ll ever do it again, it’s labor intensive even by my standards. But I do like the effect on him.

a diorama workshop at squam – and a scholarship opportunity

December 22, 2016

by annwood

Before I tell you about the workshop I have to tell you that the squam art retreat, where I’ll be teaching it, already sold out in pre- registration – both spring and fall sessions (there is a waiting list and stuff happens in a year so …. contact squam to get on the list). That’s the bad news. The good news is – just today I learned of a scholarship opportunity being offered by Honey & Oak:

We are offering one spot to attend the Squam Workshops either for their Spring session (June 7th – June 11th 2017) OR their Fall session (September 13th – September 17th 2017). You get to choose what works best for you! In addition, we will provide a $500.00 stipend to be used towards Travel Expenses and Extras.

It’s a pretty sweet deal – find all the details on how to enter right here. You must enter by January 3rd.

And also – just so you know – September will be the 10th and last retreat – I’m sad to see it go – it has been a truly marvelous experience.

In my diorama workshop (fall 2017) we will explore the poetry and spirit of things. I’m bringing all sorts of things to play with and we’ll forage the magnificent fall Squam forest for natural elements too. The compositions that emerge might be entirely abstract or tell a story, they might reflect an inner landscape, an outer landscape or an intersection of ideas – intersections are always interesting places.

There is more info on the class and retreat here.

I hope your holidays are lovely,

ann

sketchbook : week 41

December 27, 2015

by annwood

Week 41 in my yearlong sketchbook practice.

my big creative year : mind maps

July 13, 2015

by annwood

Mind mapping and I go way back….. I first used it during the couple of years or so I spent trying to figure out what I wanted to do next, pre – this blog, pre – ann wood handmade. It helped me feel my way through, sort and evaluate ideas and then figure out steps to begin, to make stuff happen.

My brain is not a good place to keep things – ideas chase and distract me, things get lost, when my head feels cluttered I get overwhelmed and unhappy.

Getting stuff out helps me keep moving forward. My notebooks remain my most important tool for capturing ideas but for looking at the whole picture, making complex plans or experimenting with possibilities I find mind mapping incredibly useful. And I enjoy it – which matters – it’s fun, fun is good, fun gets me to do stuff. I use software or sometimes just pencil and paper – each have their advantages, the premise is the same for both:

Organize thoughts around a central idea.

Topics, sub topics and related ideas radiate out from the central idea and then branch off into increasing detail. That’s one of the big benefits for me – details go where they belong and I’m less inclined to become mired in, or overly focused on them. I use shapes and colors and lines and size to define or highlight ideas. I see connections and intersections, relationships and priorities that I might not otherwise have seen if I was working something out in my head or making a strictly linear list.

I started a new mind map this weekend. I’ve got a wicked summer cold, laryngitis, zero energy and large sections of me are covered in calamine lotion (unprotected walk in a swampy forest) – I’m wretched and itchy and generally poorly so I took to my bed on Sunday and played with Xmind all day – it’s free unless you want to get super fancy and I love it. It looks snazzy and you can add hyper links, images, reminders – all sorts of useful stuff. The image below is the beginning of my map (it has gotten much bigger) and I blurred some stuff out so as not to spoil any surprises.

My central topic is broad – my plans for the second half of 2015 – products, artwork, marketing, workshops, blog stuff – all of it. I’m just getting started and it’s already helping me generate new ideas and have a sense of direction and priorities for the rest of the year. I start messy and inclusive, brain dump style – and then refine – wether I’m working on paper or a program. As my focus gets clearer I start to add action steps. I love the structure around my ongoing projects and it makes space for new ideas. It’s not a to do list but it helps me build meaningful to do lists. Excellent and entertaining use I think, of an entire Sunday in bed.

my blog is moving

July 23, 2014

by annwood

ann wood -site makeover

Ann Wood Handmade ( my shop website) is getting a make over. And part of that makeover is to consolidate my blog and shop into one place. In a couple weeks the new site will be complete and everything will live at annwoodhandmade.com ( for now I’ll still be posting here). I’m making lots of improvements to the shopping experience and I like the idea of having it all in one place – just seems simpler. While the shop site is down I’ll be using my etsy shop for sales.