So Thankful...

On this day I cannot help but be thankful for all the many blessing in our lives. As thoughts of a growing family have consumed us in the past few days, we look forward with anticipation.

Thank you for all your kind words these past months- I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!

Magnetic Paper Dolls Tutorial

I figured I would kick off the ICD tutorial series with a project I've been wanting to make for quite some time.  I first saw this tutorial a year ago over at One Pearl Button and have been dying to make these for my nieces ever since.

Here's what you'll need:

• Betsey McCall paper dolls printed from here.  When I clicked on the file, I had to zoom in in order for the page to be full size on the printed paper.  
• Small metal box to store the dolls.  I picked up a couple gift card holders from Michael's (found right by the cash registers), but there were also some plain silver boxes similar in size in the back.  They were a bit deeper than these ones, so if you're really into cutting things out, you may want to go with that option :)
• Adhesive magnetic paper.  I found the 1'x2' roll at Michaels.  The smaller sheets came from JoAnn's. 
• Scissors

Step 1:  Cut out your dolls and outfits.  Since your set will be magnetic, you will not need the tabs.

Step 2:  Peel backing off adhesive magnetic sheet and arrange dolls and dresses.

Step 3:  Cut out your shapes.

Step 4:  Repeat.

Easy, peasy- no?

When you have the dolls and dresses you want, you can store them in your magnetic metal case.  Alli from One Pearl Button made this little label to put onto her little tin:

Find more info on how to download on her blog. 

My Craft Room

The day has finally arrived.  I can't tell you how excited I am to share this space with you.  Now that the baby showers are over and the space is ready for crafting, we can finally explore the wonderful world of before and after.   Here's before, just to remind you where we started:

Great space, not a lot going on- can you see the potential? Here's another:

And here it is as a WIP:

And finally... drumroll, please...

The after shot :)

The techy area...

and the crafty area.

You may notice a slight 'red' theme going on in the studio.  The photo series above is from the amazing Nichole Robertson of Little Brown Pen.  If you are looking to accent a room with a specific color, Nichole has a variety of "Paris in _____" photo series in a variety of colors in her Etsy shop.

I was thrilled to find this vintage doily stretcher in an antique shop in Bay City.  Essentially, it's an old blocking board- how cool is that?

And to think- the only reason I went with red accents was because of my Strauch ball winder- I wanted to make sure it fit in :)

And just for the sake of instant gratification and seeing the pictures back to back:

And finally- just because many of you have asked- here's a bonus picture:

That's right, the updated belly shot at a full nine months (39 weeks) of pregnancy. Feeling a little like a sausage, but not too uncomfortable. 

It's Almost Here!

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Does anyone know what a week from today is?  Probably not, unless you happen to remember reading my blog a year ago to know what is celebrated in our household the first Sunday after Thanksgiving.

That's right- a week from today is International Craft Day.  This will actually be the seventh International Craft Day we are celebrating.  Craft day really isn't international, or national, or even state or city- wide for that matter- but it has become a bit of a tradition for us.  I figure with a little more warning on the blog this year, we might actually be able to officially call it International Craft Day.  I mean, come on... all we need is one Canadian friend to participate and acknowledge it as a holiday- any takers?

Why celebrate International Craft Day?  The Sunday after Thanksgiving just seems like a great time to focus on creating.  The Christmas season is quickly approaching and the weather is cooling outside.  With Thanksgiving leaving us in an post-turkey haze, there's just no better day to hunker down inside next to a warm fire, your favorite hot liquid, and craft of choice in hand.

So grab your needles, thread, sewing machine, hook, paper, glue, fabric, buttons, embroidery, yarn, whatever it is that suits your crafting desires.  In honor of International Craft Day, we will be having a bit of a craft tutorial explosion over the next couple weeks here at French Press Knits.  The craftiness will start tomorrow.  In lieu of a tutorial, I will instead be showing you where my crafting is taking place these days.  That's right- a long awaited introduction to my newly finished craft/knitting studio!

Find a little more history on International Craft Day here.  See you tomorrow!

Nesting

The other day I came home from work to this:

It made me laugh a little, aren't I the one who's supposed to be nesting?  That's right, this was not my doing.  Joe had everything out of the shower and was scrubbing it clean.  I have no problems with this, actually I rather like the idea.  I think I'll leave the nesting to him, and take more knitting time for me!