What is red, aqua, yellow, green, and white? A Christmas stocking, of course!

If you produce items for sale, you are presently working on your Christmas seasonal and gift items. I've seen several recent blog posts relating to Christmas so I know that it is already on some of your minds. I am bound and determined to get the rest of you into the Christmas spirit and what better way than to offer up this polka-dotted Christmas stocking.

To be eligible, you will need to make a comment under this post and tell me what your favorite Christmas memory is. If that doesn't put you in the mood my friends, nothing will. You may comment under this post until midnight EST on July 15, 2008. On July 16, one lucky person will have a brand spanking new Christmas stocking to call their very own.


As a child, my parents would throw yearly Christmas parties with relatives and close neighbors invited. There would be Christmas music, tons of food, dancing, decorations, party games, Santa Claus, everything that you would expect at a really cool holiday wingding.

I remember potatoes scattered on the dance floor in honor of the dance called the Mashed Potato. Then we would do the Limbo under the limbo stick and then everyone at the party would form a long train and do the Bunny Hop all around the patio. This was the 60's, folks, and what can I say other than we knew how to party! ROFLMAO!!

My parents didn't throw a lot of parties but they sure knew how to throw a holiday bash. It was the topic of conversation in the neighborhood for months after. In fact, when I ran into an old neighbor several years ago, he began reminiscing about those parties. It was then that I realized that these weren't only my memories, but the shared memories of many.

Have a good day!

Aloha!

Happy Saturday!

I thought I'd post a better picture of the tic-tac-toe game board as last nights photo was so dark.

To stabilize the game board, I inserted a sheet of chipboard between the two black layers of felt. One-inch buttons have been glued to the bottoms of the game pieces to add some height and weight and overall ease of handling.

I hope you're having a fabulous Saturday and are enjoying your time outdoors. Don't forget to save some barbecue for me. I'll be right over!
Aloha!

Tic-Tac-Toe, Three In A Row

It's already way past my bedtime and I can barely keep my eyes open. I've had a really long day. I'll leave you with a couple of pictures of a tic-tac-toe game that I put together in between paying bills, doing the laundry, and cleaning the house. Yeah, I didn't have much fun today and I was barely able to squeeze in any crafting time.

Please pardon the poor picture quality. The photo's were taken less than an hour ago in the dark under an OTT Lite. The colors are much more vibrant in person than they are in the photo's. Clicking on the photo's to enlarge them will help you to see the colors a little bit better.


The board is made from three colors of wool felt and measures a wee 6-inches. Each flower token measures just under 1-1/2-inches.
I couldn't resist challenging myself to a few games of tic-tac-toe on this pretty little board. I can't believe that I actually lost to myself half of the time. Geesh, I really must be tired!

I hope you all have an enjoyable weekend. See you on Monday.

Aloha!

Tea Tote

Do you tote your tea bags around in a plastic ziploc bag like this?


How about carrying your tea in a cute little Tea Tote like this.


I have been making Tea Totes for over 10 years. If you're a tea drinker and carry your favorite tea bags to work with you, these little totes really come in handy. They're so much cuter than a plastic bag and they're great for travelling too. They don't take up more than 3-inches of space in your handbag. I make both 2 and 4-pocket Tea Totes.


This is the inside of a 2-pocket Tea Tote. There's ample room for several sugar packets too.


The outside of the Tea Tote sports a cute little yo-yo posie.


Tea Totes make inexpensive gifts for tea drinking co-workers and they also make great table favors for tea parties and ladies luncheons.


Have a fabulous, craft-filled day!

Aloha!

It's Leon Day in Hawaii Nei!

I was pleasantly surprised to turn on the radio this morning to find Christmas carols being played by our local radio station. To my delight, they played five whole hours of Christmas music. Being at the half-way mark to Christmas, they are running an awareness campaign against drunk driving called Leon Day (Noel spelled backwards). Evidently, they're playing Christmas carols for all of the people who will not be alive to hear it in December due to drunk driving. That's a pretty sobering thought. A reminder that any one of us may not be around for Christmas because of a selfish decision that someone will make to drive drunk. The message rang loud and clear with me. Even more importantly, I hope it rings clear to those that drink and drive.

This morning I pulled a book out from my bookcase called Fantastic Fabric Folding by Rebecca Wat. I remembered seeing a hexagon flower project in her book that I had been wanting to try since I purchased the book seven years ago.

So in honor of Leon Day, I have made a pincushion done up in Christmas colors with a hexagon flower reminiscent of a poinsettia. It is difficult to see, but the green fabric actually has glitter embedded into it. The hexagon flower is pretty easy to fold, especially if you have some origami experience under your belt. Although I do need a little more practice in getting the petals just right, all in all, I am very pleased with the way it turned out for a first try.

Have a fabulous day, everyone!

Aloha!

Tutorial--Folded Hexagon Yo-Yo

**This tutorial is intended for personal use only.**

A couple of you have asked for a tutorial on how to fold a fabric hexagon yo-yo. Here goes....


Begin with a fabric circle. Keep in mind that the finished hexagon will be approximately one-half of the size of the circle so you will need to gauge it according to your project.



Fold the circle in half. With an iron, press a crease into the center of the fold.



Open the circle, make a quarter turn, fold in half, press a crease into the center of the fold. You should now have 4 equal quadrants.



This photo shows the center creases that have been highlighted with a pen for easier viewing. (You will be using only the creases as your guide).



Fold the outside edge of the circle to the center, press the fold with an iron.



Bring 1st point to the center, press the fold, pin in place.



Bring the 2nd and 3rd points to the center, pressing and pinning in place.



Bring the 4th point to the center, press, pin in place. Take remaining point(should look like a long triangle), bring to center, press but do not pin in place yet.



Open the left side of the long triangle.




Fold 5th point to center, press, pin in place.



This is what it should look like after the 5th fold is in place.




Take something flat like a bone folder or a letter opener and use it to ease the flap under, forming the 6th fold.



You could stop at this point, hand tack the points in place, and add a decorative button to finish it off or you could move on to the next step...


HOW TO ATTACH THE HEXAGON TO ANOTHER PIECE OF FABRIC WITH HIDDEN STITCHING



Unfold the hexagon to expose the creases. Please note that I have traced the center hexagon creases with a pen so that it can be easily seen by the camera but you will be using just the creased lines as your sewing guide.



Place the circle onto the fabric surface that you want to attach the hexagon to. With needle and thread, take small running stitches just inside the creases.



Refold the hexagon using the previously made creases as your guide. It should fall into place with little effort. With needle and thread, tack down all 6 points. Sew on a decorative button and you're all done. Voila! Fini!



Meet my newest pincushion! I bet you had no idea what I was making, now did you? LOL


Have fun with the tutorial and hexa-yo-yo the night away(that sounds like the latest latin dance move or something)!

Aloha!

**This tutorial is intended for personal use only.**

Yo-Yo Christmas Tree Skirt

Wannabecrafty, I don't know how to get in touch with you so I'm posting here. I have been holding on to this magazine picture for 20 or more years and thought it might be of interest to you and to other blog readers.

While waiting in the car for my niece to finish her piano lessons this evening, I devised a quick diagram showing the connecting points(unfortunately, I'm very low tech). This is using the 6 connection point method that I show in my yo-yo joining tutorial. The end product is a hexagon, not a circle, but I think it's rather cute. Of course, a yo-yo(s) would have to be left out of the center to enable it to circle around the tree stump. I colored in blue the section that you will have to either omit or just leave open, whichever you prefer so that it allows you to place it around the bottom of your tree.

I hope this helps you a little. I've never made a yo-yo tree skirt before. I've always wanted to make one but never got around to actually doing it. I held on to that old magazine article with hopes that I would get around to it some day. Here I sit, 20 years later, and still no yo-yo tree skirt. Go figure! rofl

Have a nice evening.

Aloha!