Colored Pencil Case

Ellie loves to make art - it's one of my favorite things about her. My other favorite thing about her is that when her preschool teacher asked her if she'd like to be an artist one day, she confidently answered, "I'm already an artist." Love that girl and her confidence!

I was so excited to make this colored pencil case for my little artist - and I'm thrilled with how it turned out. I got the instructions from an amazing book called Last-Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts. I just knew this book was made for me because "Last-Minute" is right there in the title. It's a beautiful publication with so many great projects in it. I'll be sure to share other projects from this book on the blog - it's really one of my favorite titles on the shelf right now.

If you want to make a colored pencil roll-up case you can also google it and find a lot of great tutorials like this one. It's a simple concept that can be used for crayons, knitting needles or whatever other tools you can think of that you'd like to roll up and take with you. I personally loved working with all these bright fabric scraps in the dull days of winter and even though every single pencil is now scattered around the house, I still get a little thrill each time I match up the colors, roll it up, and stash it away for another day. Happy making little, Ellie - I hope you continue to love creative pursuits as much as I do.

P.S. Don't you dare color on this fancy gift I just finished for you!

You Make My Heart Glow Valentines

Even though we were sick on Valentine's Day, we had a stroke of luck when freezing temps and ice canceled Ellie's school on the day of the Valentine's party. We used our winter break to recoup and then had a chance to make some awesome cards for her class party. This was the greatest project for she and I to work on together: just enough structure for me and plenty of freedom for her. I thought I'd share the process for anyone else interested in making valentines like these.

Materials Needed:
- construction paper
- oil pastels
- scissors
-washi tape
- glow sticks

Draw hearts on sheets of construction paper.
Color in the hearts with different designs (this was Ellie's job - that girl LOVES oil pastels).
Cut out the hearts and cut two slits for the glow sticks to slide into.
Write a message and attach it to the heart with washi tape.

This project was super simple and we were both thrilled with the results. I've started a Pinterest board called My Hands Made where I'll pin photos of the various projects I complete. I hope you'll follow along! I love Pinterest and the creativity it has allowed me to tap into daily. I'm quite proud of my boards and welcome you to follow them if you'd like. (search Whitney Hardie under pinners)

I'm excited for this new venture on my blog. Hopefully it will help me document my projects more and who knows - it may even lead to more blogging!

Sending Thumb Love

I don't know if we'll ever send Christmas cards again. With the births of two girls and one member of the Godhead to commemorate, December is too crazy for me to think about sending cards to loved ones. Valentine's Day, though - I could really go for some crafting to break of the monotony of February. So this year I made some cards (with the help of Ellie's thumb) for some family members.

Pretty great, right? Seriously, I don't think I accomplished a single thing of real value in the month of January, so this kind of concerted effort has got me feeling mighty impressed with myself. I just love the idea of handcrafting a special note to the people who mean the most to me - sending a little love through the mail. I like this idea so much, I just might solidify it as Hardie Family Tradition.

Originally the idea was to make a little portrait of our family on the front of each card, but sometimes Ellie went rogue with her thumb printing responsibilities and I was left to improvise. Poor Wren always got the short end of the stick with this arrangement.

Here she is as a buck-toothed toddler boy.

And here she is again - our little slug baby.

Funny renditions of Wren aside, though, the real beauty of Valentine's Cards are witty puns.

True genius struck me after 8pm when I found a rubber stamp of a maple leaf in my craft drawer. That's right, I can't leaf without you. Ba-haha! Surely there's an arborist society somewhere that will hire me to make Valentines fundraising cards.

Get crafting, friends - nothing brings out the Valentine's spirit like glue sticks and paper doilies.

Making it by Hand

"You never forget a beautiful thing that you have made...it stays with you - always."

- Chef Bugnard

I came across this quote while reading Julia Child's book, My Life in France.  I love the sentiment expressed; that even after you gift it away or pass it on, the beauty of something you made stays with you always.  I'm not an accomplished cook like Julia, but I do like to make things with my hands.  And so I present this new segment, Making it by Hand.  Here for your viewing pleasure is my very first quilt.  I made it for my friend who just had a baby boy.  It's small and very simple, but I'm still immensely proud of it.

Thank heavens that blogs have made crafting cool again.  Otherwise I'd have to be a closeted quilter.