What There's Time For

The Easiest Provisional Cast-on (plus a pattern for the easiest seamless fingerless mitts - knit flat!)

There's no Ravelry link for the fingerless mittens from Friday because I didn't use a pattern, but I did take notes, so here they are:

Yarn/needles/gauge:  thick light worsted yarn (I used Lana Grossa something or other), I used size 9 needles.  I haven't measured the guage.  ;)  You can eye-ball it because the sizing is forgiving.

Start by casting on 20 sts (for toddler size; enough to give the length from cuff to top that you want) using my unpatented and probaby ununique easiest provisional cast-on method (it's similar to how you start toe up socks on circular needles, I think I owe Cat Bordhi for that?):

1.  Tie a slip knot and place it on one needle.  Leave a tail about 24" long.

2.  Hold both your needles together, facing the same direction, and lay a piece of waste yarn or ribbon alongside them, too.  (Or use a circular needle of the same size that you won't be needing for this project.)

3.  Keeping needles and waste yarn/ribbon neatly arranged, wrap your working yarn in a spiral around and around the whole bundle until there are 20 loops on your working needle (the one with the slip knot; count the slip knot as one loop).

4.  Pull out the non-working needle when you're ready to knit the first row, but leave the waste yarn in.  (Or, if you're using a circular needle, just pull it through so the loops are on the thin cable part of the needle.)

The First Row:  The first row is a little bit tricky, but not hard.  Just try to keep the very loose cast-on loops about the same size as you're working.  Make sure before you take your first stitch that you pick up your yarn so it takes one last wrap around the waste yarn/ribbon (otherwise, you'll just undo everything and curse at me).  Knit one stitch into each loop.  No twisting the stitches!  Just keep them flat, just like normal knitting.  I know this feels wierd and loose and you hate it, but it's ok because it will all be over soon.

All the rest of the rows:  Knit every stitch.  (Actually, slip the first stitch of every row without knitting it.  The edge will be nicer that way.)

End when you've knit enough to comfortably fit around the intended hand/wrist (make a tube by matching the cast-on edge up with the stitches on the working needle).  End with the working yarn hanging off the opposite edge of the work that your cast-on tail is hanging from.

Finishing:  Now, we're just going to graft the live stitches on our working needle onto the provisional cast-on loops being held by our waste yarn/ribbon.

1.  Cut your working yarn, leaving a tail four times longer than the width of your knitted square.

2.  Thread a blunt needle with the tail you just cut.

3.  Put the provisional loops back on to the empty needle (or if you used a circular needle, just push them back onto the needle part).  You want the tips of the two needles to be facing the same direction again, just like they were at the beginning.  The work should be hanging like a sling underneath the two needles, which you should be holding together in your left hand with the tips pointing right (in order to most easily follow the instructions below).  I will assume the needle closest to you has a row of purl bumps below it, not knit v's.  This should be the needle you just slipped into the provisional loops.

4.  Now, we're going to weave the yarn so that it follows the path of the "missing" row of knitting that will join the two edges:

a.  Insert the blunt needle into the first stitch on the needle closest to you (we'll call this the first needle) as if to knit.  Pull that stitch off the knitting needle, but leave it on the blunt needle (i.e. don't pull the yarn through yet).

b.  Insert the blunt needle into the second stitch on the first needle as if to purl and pull the yarn through so things are snug but not tight (try to match the tension of your knitting).

Repeat steps a and b on the second needle, then again on the first, then again on the second, etc., until you have grafted half of the stitches together (ending after working the second needle).

Now, we're going to make the thumb hole.  In the toddler case with my gauge, the hole needed to be three stitches wide.  We're going to use Elizabeth Zimmerman's sewn bind-off for garter stitch:

1.  Drop the first needle for a minute.

2.  Pull your blunt needle through the next two stitches on the second needle, purlwise (this should be easy to do in one motion).  Don't drop the stitches from your knitting needle yet.

3.  Pull your blunt needle through the first stitch, knitwise, and let that stitch come off your knitting needle.

Repeat steps 2 and 3 twice more.  Weave in the tail you've been working with, you don't need it anymore.

Now, we need to flip the work around and graft from the other end, then bind off the other side of the thumb hole.  If you're not using circular or double-pointed needles, you will need to take the needles out of your knitting (one at a time!) and insert them facing the other direction.

Now, using the tail of the provisional cast-on, work the graft until all the stitches on the side with the thumbhole already done are used up.  But the graft has to be worked kind of opposite this time to keep the knits and purls right.  Follow the instructions above, but where it says "as if to knit" in step a, read "as if to purl" and where it says "as if to purl" in step b, read "as if to knit".

Bind off the remaining thumb stitches the same way as before and weave in the last end.

One mitt done!  The second mitt is an exact copy, no need to worry about left and right.

To wear, the slight longer section before the thumbhole should be the cuff around your wrist.

***

I'll come back someday when I'm not swamped with work to add pictures and clarify anything that you tell me seems confusing.  Or maybe I'll republish this in illustrated glory on my newly registered domain...  I'm up to something!  Stay tuned!  (It will probably be months, though, since I still have a semester and a half of grad school to not fail, so don't hold your breath... but do stay curious!)

 

Let Them Know

Our school year has officially ended.  Graduation for Mr. Pants, picnics all around, and the perennial question of how to let the teachers know how much we appreciate all they do.

Our preschool always asks for donations "in lieu of teacher gifts," but just like kids birthday parties where the invitation says "no gifts, please," half the crowd brings some wrapped thing, anyway.

What's a parent to do?

We did skip tangible gifts this time, but I wanted to do something to make our teachers feel really good, more than just say thank you and hand over a cash donation.

In three-step blogger style, here's my instructions for an easy, memorable teacher thank you that won't become a clutter problem for your teacher and won't cost you a lot of money:

• Take your child to the card aisle of the store and let them pick a thank you card.  You can steer them a little if you need to, but they might have a cute reason for wanting a particular card for a particular teacher.  (Of course, you can have them make their own card, too.)
• Sit down with your child when they're in a decent mood (maybe while they're eating a snack or something) and do a very short interview with them.  Write down exactly what you ask and exactly what they answer (if anything is too unpleasant you can leave it out of the final note).  Grammatical mistakes, non-sequitors, and wild mispronunciations are cute and uniquely your child, so don't edit them out.  A few suggested prompts:
  • My favorite thing about [teacher's name] is...
  • My favorite thing about [school's name] is...
  • The most exciting thing you taught me was...
  • The best thing about this year was...
  • Is there anything else you want to say to [teacher's name]?

• Write your own "parent thank you" to the teacher on the page of the card with the printed greeting, if there is one, and transcribe your (possibly lightly edited) "interview" with your child on the nice blank page of the card.  Differentiate your interview prompts from your child's answers by using a different color pen or using cursive for you and print for your child (or if your child is a little older, letting them write their answers on their own).  Have your child sign their name, even if that's just a scribble.

At least as quick as picking and wrapping a gift, and your teachers will be touched by this honest, personal expression of your child's love for them and their school.

Keep Your Ends in Order (tutorial)

The "tail" of yarn that's left when you cast on a knitting project can be all kinds of annoying if you just let it hang.  I guess some people go ahead and darn it in at the very start, but I rarely feel like I'm ready to do that until the end of the project.

Which is how I came to open my car door this morning to pull out my knitting bag and found that most of the (stupidly long, it's true) tail had been dragging through the rainy muck all through the drive to and from school.

I cut off the gunky part and moved on.

But then I started a new project, which uses two balls of yarn, meaning two tails hanging ready to tangle up in each other or with either of the working yarns.  After untangling twice, I wanted a solution.

This incredibly simple idea occured to me and it works just great.  It probably would be simpler to just darn the ends in at the beginning of the project, but where's the fun in that?

Materials:  

• Two large buttons (non-shank), preferably with some kind of indented shape that will hold the elastic well.
• A short piece (about 5 inches) of very thin elastic or elastic cording.

 

Thread the elastic through one button from back to front and then front to back, so both tails are at the back.

Thread the long tail of the elastic through the second button from back to front and then front to back, so both tails are now inside the button sandwich.  Now tie the ends of the elastic together, making sure to leave the loop the buttons are on long enough to wrap itself around the button sandwich once or twice but short enough to keep said sandwich together when a little yarn is wrapped between the buttons.

To use, pull the elastic up into a loop on top of one of the buttons and stick a fingertip through it.  Wind the tail of the yarn around the elastic between the buttons as if you were winding a yo-yo.

Wrap the loop of elastic that has been around your finger back over the buttons to lock the yarn in place.

Do you darn your ends in or would you like something like this to keep them under control while they hang?

How to Sew a Box-Pleated Ruffle

Obviously, the basic folding pattern for a box-pleated ruffle is not too complicated.  But... then there are the details.  I have a few tips for the basic process and then what I figured out for how to deal with the end of the ruffle in three different situations (all seen on the 'Paris' apron).

Create and Attach the Basic Ruffle

First, you need to cut strips of fabric that will make the ruffle.  How wide they should be depends on how deep you want the finished ruffle to be and what seam allowance you intend to use when attaching the ruffle.  Add those two numbers together, then multiply the total by 2.  That's how wide your strips should be.  I cut mine 2.25" wide.

The total length of your strips needs to add up to a bit more than three times the length of the edge you will be applying your ruffle to.

Sew all the fabric strips together end-to-end, making sure to keep the seams all on the same side.  Fold your new super-long strip over lengthwise and iron in a crease all the way down.

The material I used was 100% cotton, but from a business shirt that probably had a no-iron finish on it, which meant it was hard to iron a crease into it.  Because of that and because I'm hoping this will keep the pleats nice and crisp for a while, I ironed some fusible hem tape (left over from IKEA curtains) inside the fold.  If you want to use fusible tape, test first on a scrap of your fabric to make sure it won't show through.  Also, iron the crease down the long center of your strip once before trying to put in the fusible.  The crease will be a simple guide for you to lay the fusible neatly lined up.

1.  Using some kind of guide to keep your pleats evenly sized (I counted pinstripes; slightly crazy-making), start to pleat your ruffle.  Leave a bit of a tail at the end to make things easier.  You won't need to iron every pleat at this stage if you've used fusible tape, just crimp with your fingers and put in a pin.

2.  Stitch a line along the whole raw edge of the pleats to hold everything in place.  Make sure your stitching line is inside of your final planned seam allowance so that it won't show later (e.g., if you've planned a 1/4" seam allowance, stitch less than 1/4" from the raw edge).  Take your time with the machine because there's a lot of layers of fabric here.  You might even want to use the handwheel instead of the foot pedal for some or all of this part (especially if a baby is sleeping in the next room).  It's best to remove the pin from each pleat just before you sew over it, after it goes under the presser foot, so that it does its job keeping the pleat in place, but doesn't end up distorting the fabric permanently.

3.  Now pin your ruffle to the edge of your fabric, matching up the raw edges and putting right sides together (your ruffle probably doesn't have a right side, but you know what I mean).  Pin in the ditch of your pleats so you only have a few layers to go through.  On top of the ruffle, pin a strip of single-fold bias tape, making sure the crease in the bias tape matches up with where you plan to put your final stitch line.

4. Stitch through all layers, right along the edge-crease of the bias tape.  This is actually going to be easier than stitching across the pleats in the first step was, even though there are more layers of fabric, because the pleats are already secure and you can take your pins out before they go under the presser foot.

5. Iron the seam out flat so the ruffle comes off the edge of the fabric and the bias tape folds back over the raw edges.  Pin the bias tape in place and stitch the edge of the bias tape to the main fabric.

Detail One:  When the ruffle ends at a hemmed edge

Attach your ruffle to the proper edge, making sure to leave some extra ruffle past the edge of the fabric you're stitching to.

Use your seam ripper to free up the last pleat, both from itself and from the fabric, and make a small rolled hem (fold over about 1/8", twice) and stitch that in place.  Realize that you will need this finished edge of the ruffle to line up with the final finished edge of the fabric, not the raw edge you see right now.

If you are finishing the perpendicular raw edge of the fabric with single-fold bias tape, leave about a half-inch of bias tape hanging off the edge.  Stitch the bias tape onto the fabric.  Your stitching line should end at the point that the fabric seam allowance meets the finished ruffle edge.  Take a few backwards stitches to secure everything at that point.

Iron the bias tape back over the raw edges, tucking the tail of the bias tape back underneath the rest of the bias, so it's sandwiched inside.  Stitch down.

Detail Two:  When the ruffle is set into a square neckline

Align your ruffle so that the pleats appear evenly centered on the final opening (turns out, I had a little trouble with that, but that's ok).  When pinning your bias tape in place, cut a piece of bias tape long enough to go around the whole neckline and start pinning by matching the center of the bias tape to the center of the ruffled edge.  Don't pin the tails of the bias tape to the rest of the neckline yet.  Stitch all three layers together along the ruffled edge, starting from before the cut opening (the seam allowance amount before) and ending the same amount past the other end.  Backstitch at both ends for security.

(click on this image to see it larger)

Now, what we need to do is make the bias tape turn a corner that won't cause a pucker, while also enclosing the raw edges of the ruffle and the neck opening.

1.  Clip into the corner of the cut opening (to the end of the stitching line you just made when you attached the ruffle).

2.  Holding the neckline right side up in front of you, flip the ruffle up into place.  

3.  Tuck the bias tape and end of the ruffle behind the raw edge of the neck opening.

4.  Fold the whole side of the garment over onto the neckline, which will expose the seam you will be sewing.  The ruffle probably has extra seam allowance, so don't try to match up the raw edges of the neckline and the end of the ruffle, just make sure they are parallel.

5.  Holding things in place and flipping the whole sandwich over, fold the bias tape down, away from the neckline at a 90-degree angle from the edge which has the ruffle already attached.  Then, fold the bias tape back up, so that it will now be lying in place along the raw edge of the side of the neckline.  But, leave a little pleat in the bias tape when you make this last fold up.  This little pleat is what will allow your finished neckline to lie flat, without puckers at the corners.  (I cheated one side and did the other just right, I'll show the comparison at the end.)

6.  Put in a pin to hold it all together.  If you put the pin in aligned with the seam you'll be stitching (instead of perpendicular, like I did), you'll be able to try folding the bias tape back into final position to check that you've left enough of a little pleat in the corner.  (The photo in step 9 shows the effect of a little too small of a pleat.  Oops.)

7.  The view from the other side.  Note that the garment is still folded to allow the seam allowance of the neckline to line up with the ruffle's raw end.  Keep it that way while you sew.

8.  Stitch the bias tape to this half of the neckline, starting a little ahead of the ruffle's attachment stitch line and backstitching up to meet it exactly in a corner.  The tail of the ruffle will be caught between the bias tape and the garment fabric.

Do all the above on the other side.

9.  Fold the bias tape back into place and iron it down.  Trim off the excess tails of the ruffle and stitch the bias tape down, which will neatly cover all raw edges.

Hopefully, both your corners turned out nicely.  :)

Detail Three:  When the ruffle is at the top of a patch pocket

This one is pretty simple!  Attach the ruffle to the top of the pocket the same way as ever, making sure to leave a good tail of extra ruffle hanging off at each end.  Iron all the edges of the pocket under, including the edges of the ruffle (you may need to use the seam ripper to free the last pleat so you'll be able to fold the edge under).  Stitch the pocket to the garment on the machine, leaving the ruffle free.  I found it easiest to attach the edges of the ruffle by hand.  Fold them under twice and stitch to the garment fabric, leaving the front layer of the pleats free.

Blue Jeans Up-cycle Tutorial: Mini Totebags

These personalized mini tote-bags were a big hit at the birthday party.  I made 8 of them assembly-line style in two days and I think they probably took about an hour each when all was said and done.  I'll offer some suggestions for simpler (faster) variations at the end.

Materials

• Old blue jeans, adult size.  (You will be able to make two bags from each pair.  They should have intact hems, but don't worry about a little fraying; just trim off any long strands.  The shape of the leg will determine the shape of the tote.  Straight legs = square tote.  Tapered legs = tote slightly wider at the bottom than at the top.  Flared legs = tote narrower at the bottom than the top.)
• About 2 yds grosgrain ribbon for each bag, 1" - 1.5" wide.  (You want a ribbon that looks good on both sides.  I found grosgrain with lengthwise stripes especially attractive.)
• (Optional) Scrap material for the front pocket.  (I used a torn business shirt.)
• (Optional) Iron-on transfer sheets for your printer, or other method of personalizing the pocket.

Tools

• Basic sewing supplies:  scissors, thread, needles, pins, iron
• Not required, but very helpful:  rotary cutter and mat, clear 6.5" square ruler

Instructions

1. Cut the jeans to length.  A rotary cutter and mat are very helpful for this.  Smooth out the jeans leg so that the seams are NOT stacked right on top of each other.  Line the two sides of the hem up with each other as best you can and cut a straight line parallel with the hem and 9.5" away from it.  Don't look at the seams of the jeans!  They will almost certainly not line up with anything and just confuse you!  Make your cut parallel to the hem and everything will be fine.
   
   
2. Cut two lengths of  ribbon, each 26.5" long (or, you know, a length that pleases you when you lay it out on your bag).
3. Personalize your pocket material, if you'd like.  We'll cut the pocket out in the next step, so leave enough room around your design.  I used Avery iron-on transfers for light fabrics and they worked quite well, after I actually read the instructions and realized I'd have to leave the iron sitting on the fabric/transfer stack for several minutes!  With too little heat (or time, or pressure), the transfers won't stick completely and bits will peel off when you remove the backing paper.
4. Cut out the pocket, 6.5" tall and 6" wide, carefully centering your design.  A clear square ruler is very very very helpful for this step because you can be sure to line up the center of your design with the center of the pocket and keep the lettering absolutely straight.
5. Arrange your bag so that you are looking at the front of it.  Because jeans legs are usually wider on one side than the other, you should be able to get both seams to go on the back of the bag, nearly at the sides.  The hem of the jeans is going to be the top edge of your bag.  Lay the pocket on your bag so that it looks about right, then flip it down as if it were attached to the bag at the bottom edge.  Now line it up exactly centered on the jeans, parallel to and 5.25" away from the hem of the jeans.
   
   
6. Pin in place, being careful not to shift the pocket out of position, and stitch the bottom edge of the pocket to the bag.
   
   
7. Fold the pocket back into its final position and iron the new seam.  (If you've used iron-on transfers on your pocket, be VERY CAREFUL not to let the iron touch the design, even from the wrong side of the fabric.)
8. Fold the raw edge of the pocket flap under about 1.5", making sure the folded edge stays parallel with the top of the bag.  Iron the fold in place (again being careful to avoid any iron-on transfers!)
   
   
9. Fold the raw edge under one more time, iron and pin, then stitch it down.
   
   
10. With the pocket flipped back into place, lay the ribbon handles on the bag, lining up their cut ends with the raw edge of the jeans and making sure there are no twists in the handles, and pin them.  The raw edge of the pocket should line up with the middle of the ribbon on each side.  Be sure to catch the pocket material while you are pinning so the pocket stays securely lined up.
    
    
11. Turn the bag over and make sure the first handle is centered evenly in from the top edged of the bag.  Lay out and pin the second handle, using the first as a guide.  With luck, your ribbon won't overlap the jeans seams (the seams which may, again, not line up with anything; don't worry about it).  If it does, just be careful when stitching those parts because you could break your machine's needle.  If you're worried about it, use the hand wheel in those areas.
    
    
12. If you don't fancy getting nicked constantly while doing the final assembly, take a second to baste the ribbon in place with some really big running stitches to replace the pins.  I was in a rush and didn't do this, which actually took more time in the end as I tried (unsuccessfully) to be careful enough not to cut myself.  Ouch.
13. Stitch the ribbon in place at the machine.  One strip at a time, start at the bottom of the bag and stitch very close to one edge of the ribbon going up to nearly the hem of the jeans, turn and stitch across the ribbon, turn again and stitch very close to the other edge of the ribbon on the way back down.  This process takes some patience because you have to make sure to keep the bottom layer of the jeans away from the needle while you're stitching and that means slowly turning the bag nearly inside out while you sew.  This is where you will suffer if you skipped step 12, because the pins will go every which way and the stiff jeans material will poke them into your poor knuckles.  You can usually take the pins out after the first pass up one side of the ribbon, but make sure you've stitched the pocket side down before you take out the pins!
    
    
14. Almost done!  Turn the bag inside out and match up the raw edges of the ribbons, front and back.  
15. Pin in place and sew a 1/5" seam across the bottom.  For extra security and to prevent fraying, zig-zag stitch the seam allowance.
    
    
16. Turn right side out and start making another one!

Variations

• I'll admit, the iron-on transfers were a pain.  Fabric paint and stamps or stencils would have been simpler and given a more definite handmade look.  Another option would be just to use a fun printed fabric that coordinates with your ribbons, maybe even one with a motif large enough to center on the pocket.
• You could leave off the pocket entirely and make the project a good bit simpler, though you'll have to take more care to get the ribbons quite straight.
• You could use much less ribbon, bypass the pins-in-knuckles issue, and save time by attaching the handles to the bag from the inside, just below the hem of the jeans, instead of running them all the way down the outside.  To do that, I would pick a color of thread you want to see on the outside of the bag and stitch the end of the ribbon on in a square pattern, then stitch an X in the square.
• If you aren't quite the mad collector of worn-out jeans that I am and would like to make more than two bags from one pair of jeans, you can hem the top edge yourself (this is what I wanted to avoid because I don't think my machine could handle it) or leave it to fray like a nice pair of cut-offs.  Note that your bags will be different sizes since the leg usually gets wider as it goes up!

Easy Mini Chalkboard Favors

These turned out charming, if I do say so myself, and took just a few minutes each.

Materials and Tools

• chalkboard cloth (mine was vinyl from the fabric store, but there are online and do-it-yourself options)
• simple picture frames with acrylic "glass" (I used IKEA's NYTTJA 5X7, which come in packs of 2 for $2.99 in a bunch of bright fun colors; they are only available at the store, not online)
• scissors to cut your cloth

Instructions

• Take all the pieces out of the frame (save your nails by using the scissors to help pry back the little tabs).
• Lay the paper insert on your chalkboard cloth and cut around it.
• Stack all the frame pieces back together and put the chalkboard cloth you just cut out on top.
• Insert the whole stack back into the frame and secure.

So easy!  Perfect compliment to a chalkboard birthday table.

Tomorrow:  Mini tote bags made from old blue jeans to put your new chalkboards in!

Fourth Birthday Party Sanity! Chalkboard Theme

Yesterday was so much easier than last year that I keep worrying maybe it wasn't a good party.  Which is silly.  I know.

I think, mostly, it was that we invited many fewer people.  Mr. Pants actually has friends now and he knew exactly who he wanted to invite.  Not all of them came, but it would have been fine if they did.  (She says confidently, now that it doesn't have to be proven!)

It was also lunchtime instead of dinnertime and two hours long instead of... open-ended?  I don't even remember what we said last year.  It was crazy.

Anyway, in case you're googling over here for party tips on a chalkboard theme...

* We had a chalkboard vinyl tablecloth on the table.  We got ours last year at G Street Fabrics (in the form of fairly reasonably priced cut-to-your-length yardage), but here's a list of online sources or, if you really want to, instructions to make your own (which looks a little bit simpler than the Martha link on that first page).  You could also test plain black fabric - I think that might work fine and the chalk would probably wash out.

* I drew a Happy Birthday message (delivered by my son's favorite character of the moment - he's so hard to draw!) in the center of the table the night before as a surprise.

* At each child's seat, I drew a placemat-sized "frame" for them to draw in (they definitely drew outside the lines and I definitely didn't care, but it helped me know where to confine my drawing and gave them a place to start).  I took the easy route and simply traced a plastic placemat.  And, no, I didn't measure to make sure they were exactly aligned.  With older kids who would notice, it could be fun to draw fancy frames.

* Drawing on the table lasted about 5 or 10 minutes, I'd say.  We put them at the table and gave them chalk as I was taking lunch out of the oven, so the food had a chance to cool to kid-friendly temperatures while they worked their chalk magic.  (We did rinse their hands off before food, but I'll admit they probably ate some chalk dust.  I don't think that was a problem.)

* Party favors were mini chalkboards, which were incredibly easy to make (I'll post a tutorial this week), inside of mini tote bags up-cycled from old blue jeans (another tutorial coming - requires basic machine sewing skills and a little patience), and pop up sponges cut into the shape of each child's first initial (cut from sponge sheets, I think we had 5X7 Sponge 'Ums).  Each child got a handful of chalk to put in their bag on their way out, too (we warned the parents).

* The cake was chocolate with chocolate frosting (the birthday boy's request, one I was not prepared to deny) and basic white icing for the lettering, which ended up serendipitously looking a lot like chalk on a chalkboard!  Points for theme!!!  My son was disappointed that I hadn't drawn Buzz, and Woody, AND Jesse (oh, and the Star Command Badge - I almost attempted that one) on the cake, but my skills are just not that advanced.

* I had some basic party game ideas, but the kids were happy to just play with Duplos while the adults talked and frozen nuggets and mini pizzas cooked in the oven, so we never bothered organizing a game.  I had also thought the pop up sponges would be a good activity, but we ended up just sending them home to plump later.

* Clean up was not too bad and brought back long-burried memories of my turns being the teacher's helper to clap erasers and wash the chalkboards at the end of the day.  It takes several passes with the sponge to get off that much chalk!

Snowflake Thank You Notes DOWNLOAD!

If you've ever been bashing your head against the wall trying to print a design evenly spaced in the four quadrants of a standard sized paper, I can tell you that your problem has something to do with built-in printer margins.

At first I thought I'd have to go find out what the standard margins are, do some math, go through some painful trial and error to see if my layout was properly compensating...

But it turns out you can just go to the amazing Avery website and download one of their (free) postcard templates.  The one that matches your needs.  I used the Postcard - wide, 4 per sheet template and it worked like a charm.

Except make sure you save the template on its own once and then as a different file name when you've added your designs, because you might need to go back to the empty template later.

For instance, my first two cards printed perfectly (on my printer, at least - someone please test and tell me it works for you, too!) and then I figured I'd just replace the big front snowflakes and re-save.  It all looked fine, but when it printed, the info on the back of the card was printing off the page.  I have no idea why, but from my limited computer programming experience, I can tell you there is a reason, but it is not likely a reasonable reason.

Anyway, my advice is: start with a fresh template every time.

But you don't need to know any of that to print my snowflake word art thank you's; all you have to do is:

1. Download the .doc files for  Snowflake Thank You Notes 1 and 2 and  Snowflake Thank You Notes 3 and 4 (by clicking on those links, there, Mom).  These are sized for 8.5"X11" paper.  (And I'd recommend a heavy-weight paper so it feels substantial.)
2. Open one file at a time in Microsoft Word and use the menu Print option (not the print icon) so that you can make sure your print quality is set to "High" (a lot of the design lines are very very fine, so the cards won't look great at standard quality).
3. When you actually press Print, you might get some sort of warning saying something is outside the printable area...  tell it to go ahead anyway and everything should be fine.
4. Cut the pages down the middle (at 5.5") and fold over.
5. Pour out your gratitude and put it in the mail!

As I think probably goes without saying, these cards are free to print for personal use (please retain the web address, etc. on the back of the card).  You can't print and sell them, nor extract the snowflake designs for other purposes!

Thanks for all your enthusiasm about these yesterday.  I really appreciate it.  :)

Snowflake Thank You Notes

I am not the sort of person who usually pines for software, but I have pined for Adobe Illustrator for well over 5 years.  Imagine how excited I was when Mr. Right gave it to me for Christmas!

And then he took the kids away for a few hours so I could get through some video tutorials, which got me off to an excellent start.

How excellent?

This excellent:

But this excellent is just not quite excellent enough.  Because I really want this to be a download you guys can print yourselves and make one cut down the middle of two sheets of paper and get four notecards, but right now...

Right now the alignment is just off enough to be ick.  I've googled and fussed and googled and futzed and I now at least have some concept of some things that will probably get me on the right track eventually, but not tonight.  Can I just say again how much I hate printers?

So... uh... if you haven't done your Christmas thank you's (did you catch that each snowflake is formed from the words "Thank you"?) and you think you'd like to use mine (this download will be free), be assured I'm working on it... and until then, you have an excellent excuse to procrastinate further.

If you've already done all your thank you's, don't tell me.

Thank you!

A Gift to Next Year's Self

Two years ago, I took a little time after Christmas to put away the Christmas "stuff" with some forethought and now when it's time to get out the Christmas "stuff", it's like opening up a delightful gift of calm organization to myself.

I have four large lidded plastic tubs (red and green!) and I thought about which things I like to get out when.  Box number 1 has a wreath, the candle sticks and advent calendars, creche scenes and Christmas books and toys (though the truth is those get wedged in where they fit in some of the other boxes, too).  Box number 2 has stuff for making and serving stuff - cookie cutters, Christmas sprinkles, craft supplies, Christmas mugs and trays, that kind of thing.  Box number 3 has all the stuff for the tree - the skirt, the lights, the ornaments, and (a bit randomly) the stockings and stocking hangers.  And box number 4 is wrapping materials, which is happily getting more and more under control as I sew a few new fabric bags and wraps each year.

It's so nice to know at a glance what's in each box (the labels are clear enough, though you can see I had some "help") and what should go back in it when Christmas is over (and to have a clear boundary on how much "stuff" we can keep - it has to fit in the boxes).  It's saved a lot of time - mostly time that I used to spend avoiding putting the "stuff" away because it seemed so overwhelming.

Now that it's all compartmentalized, I even think I had more fun tying up the mugs in extra dishtowels (Gerber birdseye diapers, actually - very useful) than I had unwrapping them a few weeks ago.

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What's your favorite thing about packing or unpacking holiday "stuff"?