owl softie giveaway

To enter the owl softie giveaway CLICK HERE!

abominable softie

This poor blue abominable is wondering.......READ MORE.

whitman the bookworm

This is Whitman the bookworm, he is a special Solstice gift for one of the little ladies. When he’s not quietly reading poetry by the fire, I have to keep a good eye on him......READ MORE.

felt leaves and autumn!

We’ve been a busy bunch the last few days! I’ve been sewing felt leaves to make all kinds of Autumn goodies! READ MORE......

little ladies WIP

There has been A LOT of hand sewing going on over here (especially by Araina)!.....READ MORE

felt fairy house

This little felt house is not a WIP exactly, because it’s already done. However, I will be making a couple more for the Little Ladies come holiday time. I made this fairy house 5 years ago for Fauna’s wee folk. I LOVED making.......READ MORE.

WIP- owl potholder and breast cancer ribbon felty

For Work In Progress Wednesday, I thought I’d share two of my projects that fill my evening creative time right now. First is this owl hot pad holder. I know the button eyes might interfere with the pans.......READ MORE.

Work in Progress Wednesday (WIP)

I thought I’d share some sewing goodies that I have been working on lately: tree, leaf and bat felties .

This upside down bat felty was inspired by two special boys of blogging friends (Owen and Binky).

This little leaf toy will be stuffed when complete. I am still working on her face; not quite sure how I will finish her!

Have a great day!

Shhhh....birthday surprise

My baby will turn 6 on Monday, June 22. How is this possible? Where does the time go? I often have to put the quickness of time out of my thoughts when I look at my girls; it really tugs at my heartstrings.


I think Araina is my biggest fan of my felties and handsewing silliness. She is always throwing ideas at me in hopes of seeing her vision made in some form. For her birthday she told me that all she wanted was things made by me and Fauna. She LOVES owls and told me many times that she would love a few for her birthday. Needless to say I have been a very busy mama trying to make her simple dream come true. Here is a sneak peek of the owl pillow I'm making her. It's made out of thrifted sweaters.

I have never made anything like it and am really enjoying it! So far it is totally handesewn, but I think I will have to get out the sewing machine to stitch up the sides. The thought of that machine stresses me out!

I need to go now and work on the owl some more; Araina gives me grief when I am on the computer, she thinks I should be locked in a room sewing for her.....ahh, the thoughts of a soon to be 6 year old!

Geez, I'm also going to have to keep her away from my blog or the surprise will be ruined!

Felty Giveaway

As a thank you to all of the very kind words, wisdom and support from all of my friends out there I'm doing another giveaway.

One of my dilemmas with an Etsy shop is trying to decide if I should make my felties into pendants,

Brooches,

Keychains, hair pins or hair bands.

Here are the two felties up for the giveaway- the orange coneflower pendant

Or my newest favorite, the mushroom felty. You choose the backing: brooch, pendant or hair pin.

To enter the giveaway please do 3 things for me....

1. Tell me your favorite felty from above.

2. Do you see my felties as a brooch, hair decor, keychain or pendant?

3. Should you win do you want the orange coneflower or mushroom (be sure to let me know the mushroom backing)?

You will get an extra entry if:

1. You twitter the giveaway.

2. You are/become a follower.

3. You post the giveaway on your blog.

4. If you aren't a blogger or you are anonymous, tell me another way you spread the giveaway.

As always the giveaway is open to everyone across the globe. Thank you all so, so much for your opinions and support. You are all the best! ;)

*Lisa

Oh, and I almost forgot, the deadline is Saturday afternoon. I will randomly draw the winner, then announce it Saturday evening.

Ethiopian Wishing Scroll Case

In Ethiopia, people wear cases around their necks which contain cures, talismans to ward off evil, or prayers on scrolls of paper. I saw a wishing scroll made out of a film canister and thought it could easily be made of felt. I did not include a lid on the case because my girls like their wishes to blow away or disappear...then the wish magic begins. Here's how to do it.

To make the wishing case you need: a 3 x 1 1/2 inch piece of felt, a felt circle which has been traced around a quarter, embroidery floss (I used 2 strands of the 6), felt for the embroidered detail of choice with matching floss, bells, beads, scissors, needle and hemp cord.

Embroider the design (I chose a lucky ladybug) onto the center of the rectangular piece of felt. This would be another great project to put a child's doodle on.

Finish off with the details.

Take the felt rectangle and overlap the edges a little. Knot your floss, place your needle on the inside top of the pocket, push the needle through both layers of felt and pull through to the knot. Whip stitch down to the bottom of the case. If you know how to whip stitch you can skip the next few photos........

Once you reach the bottom, don't cut and knot the floss just yet, use the same floss to whip stitch the bottom onto the case.

Whip stitch all around the bottom and tie a knot.

This is how the pocket should look now.

I love the tinkle of bells and add bells whenever I can. I stitched them to the bottom of the pocket.

Now cut about 27 inches of hemp cord.

Use something sharp to puncture a hole on both sides of the pocket and pull the hemp cord through both holes.

String a pretty bead onto each side of the cording.

Tie a knot with the bead inside the knot, tie again for added strength.

Pull the cord up from the center of the pocket, now you have the loop of the necklace.

Write your wish on something natural, like osage orange root, an acorn or a maple seed. Make sure it is something natural from nature, you don't want to be a litter bug when your wish naturally falls out. You could even make a wish on dandelion seeds or flower petals, you don't necessarily have to write down your wishes.

Fauna used osage orange root, rolled it up as a scroll and tucked it into her wish case.

Your wish will fall out one day and be carried away to where wishes come true.

Happy Wishing! For more felt tutorials visit turn your child's doodles into a felt bracelet, mushroom brooch, sewing with children, and moustache.

May Day Coneflower Giveaway

Happy May Day everyone! To encourage those May flowers I'm having a coneflower pendant giveaway.

To enter just leave a comment telling me the color you prefer....orange, pink, blue, yellow or purple.

My friends from outside of the USA are welcome to join the giveaway too. I'm going to close the contest Tuesday night at 7:00 and post the winner soon after. If you have trouble leaving a comment send me an email. Giveaway Over.

Felty Giveaway from a Leprechaun

You caught a little Leprechaun, now he must grant you your wish.....take a look, note your first and second choices. There are options to choose from so be sure to read each description. To enter you must leave me a comment stating your first and second choices or your name won't be included in the drawing (if you have trouble commenting let me know via email). The leprechaun wilI pick 2 lucky winners on St. Patrick's Day, Tuesday, March 17 and will post the winners here, at 5 Orange Potatoes, Tuesday night. :) Here are the choices...........

Ginkgo Leaf Brooch

Evergreen Love Tree, you choose pendant or brooch

Fawn Brooch

Lucky Ladybug or Acorn Pendant

Blowing in the Wind Tree Pendant, choose from the following colors

Little Mushroom, you choose brooch or hairpin

Overseas? Include yourselves too. ;)