stitch together pics

On Saturday morning, I hosted a little Stitch Together for folks in the area, and we had a very lovely time embroidering, eating fondue, chatting, and sipping cool beverages.

Posts like this make me feel like a bad blogger, because I really didn't take many photos. In fact, if I hadn't brought my sister along, there wouldn't have been any! But take a peek at the fun we had, then come back Thursday, when I'll share how to make the pincushions we made together!








Some folks were stitching for the very first time (there was a collective gasp in the room when that was announced!), some brought their very organized embroidery floss, and we had baby Nora to entertain us when we weren't stitching!



Supplies all over, chocolate, and new friends? Yes, please!

giveaway: heart-felt holidays and more

Last month, I had the great pleasure of giving away a copy of a book that I got to be in: Heart-Felt Holidays! This is a super cute book, with something special for nearly every holiday you can think of. Even Groundhog Day, which is my project!



We're no where near Groundhog Day, but the funny thing is, this time of year is when you're more likely to see one of these critters. In fact, I saw one in my neighbor's yard the other day, and Kathy Sheldon, the author of this delightful book has seen a family of them near her! So we thought this would be a good time to giveaway another copy of the book. But this time...

The winner will receive Heart-Felt Holidays signed by Kathy Sheldon, plus my original Seeing Shadows Groundhog case...the one that is actually in the book!

Enter to win below, and in case you don't win, I'd like to tempt you with a few extra pics of the book:




These are a couple projects to go with some upcoming holidays. There's plenty of time to order the book and get making before Father's Day and Independence Day! With all of the projects included, it really is a bargain. Find it on Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Thanks so much to Kathy and Amanda at Lark Books for creating this lovely book!

snapshot saturday // piecing it together

Lately there has been a lot of making going on behind the scenes. No sharing yet, but this is a peek at things in the works.

sponsor links you'll love for may

Each month, I like to share some links to some specially chosen posts from my sponsors. I really think you'll enjoy these!

Helengrey has made some really great chalkboard tags to hang on your beverages. Simple, sweet and it works!

Aimee shares how to make this adorable skirt with a built in apron. What a great way to incorporate some embroidery!

Threadbias has some really nice projects featured in their project pages. Joining is free, and you can upload what you've been working on and share it with the community!

Liesi shows how to make an embroidered feather necklace. It's now on my list of things to make for my sister's birthday!

Kelley tried out a ceramics painting tutorial, and wow! It came out so well...I might need to try this one too!

Be sure to visit my other sponsors too! Modern Buttercup is getting ready update her blog's look, Bramble Bird recently took a trip to the Northwest in the US, Petite Insanities shares some shots from the sky, and The Perfect Pear has whipped up a batch of rhubarb water!

june sponsorship available

Have you been looking for a good spot to advertise your blog or small business? Wild Olive offers reasonable rates, and my readers are always so supportive of the people who sponsor me! Find my traffic stats and sign up here.

As an added bonus, June sponsors will be offered the opportunity to be guest contributors! Only a limited number of spots are available though, so don't miss out!

wallpaper: cloudy sky

Every month, I share a calendar wallpaper for your computer, and now iPhone or iPad. But I got to thinking that it would be fun to have some non-calendar wallpapers around here too. So from time to time, I'll start adding them.

To start, how about some clouds for your screen? At least one of them is happy, but the others probably are too...they're just hiding their faces for now.

Grab your wallpaper and your days will feel a bit less gray and cloudy. At least, that's the hope.

Download the 2560x1440 Wallpaper.
Download the 1920x1280 Wallpaper.
Download the 1280x800 Wallpaper.
Download the iPhone Wallpaper.
Download the iPad Wallpaper.

And just as a reminder, if you're in the Chicago area, I'm having a Stitch Together on Saturday! I'd love to see you there!

japanese book review: anpanman

If you've been following my collection of Japanese craft books (or even if you haven't!), by now we should all know that there's a lot of cute things coming out of Japan. Today's book features a very popular character: Anpanman. He's a superhero, and his head is made of bread. Bean-filled bread to be precise.

You can find episodes of the Anpanman cartoon online, but they're pretty much all in Japanese, as far as I've been able to tell. Sometimes, however, you can find them with subtitles, like this one. More details on the book at the end of the post, but now...on to Anpanman and Energetic Three Colleagues: Part 3 (gotta love Google Translate on these titles!)




There are lots of characters in this series, and many of them have food for heads. Seriously? I love this stuff! The book shows you how to make all of these fantastic finger puppets, plus other figures too. I'd really like to make this choo-choo for my train-loving brother. Do you think he'll appreciate the cuteness as much as I do?



Of course, there's also some odd items. Like the Anpanman bathroom set. Or not pictured here, the seat cushion you can also wear as a hat. For real.




Apart from the cuteness factor that these characters bring, the projects in this book, overall, are still worth the price of this one (which wasn't even all that much). There are games, toys, a diaper bag, pencil toppers, a quiet book, a wallet, and more! Lots of great ideas! It even has a pullout section of full size patterns.




And then you reach the end. And it's sad. But wait...because I didn't show you my favorite thing in the whole book! Let's go back a few pages...



A felt takoyaki set! I'd never eat the real deal, but I sure do think they're cute!

The ISBN for this title is 9784529045094, and you can find it on YesAsia.com. Here's the fun part: Google Books has a preview of more of the pages! Enjoy!

3 ways to enhance your embroidery

One of my favorite things about embroidery is that it is simple, and easy to learn. I also love that it is complex, and takes ages to master (if that's even possible!). But if you're like me, you're somewhere in the middle of that, or are just about ready to head towards the middle of that.

Today I have a few easy ways to enhance your embroidery. These ideas are good for giving your work a boost, and keeping you learning and trying new things in your work. And the best part is, these apply to stitchers of all levels!




Try a new or different stitch. I rarely use the stem stitch or the chain stitch in my work, but sometimes I look for ways to use them because they're different. This is also a good opportunity for me to get better at those stitches. See the yarn up top? Chain stitch that really made this pattern stand out to me. The Sweet Otter? He's got plenty of stem stitch, and it came out nice and smooth (like an otter!).

And those are just some basic stitches that I started adding in. There are hundreds and hundreds of stitches you can learn, but start with just one. You'll find that adding in something new can make a huge difference!





Fill in an area. I love the simplicity of just lines, but sometimes, filling things in is just what is needed to make something special. There are lots of different fill stitches you can work with, but that's not the only way to fill in an area! You can use crayon tinting, or even acrylic paint (color or paint first...then stitch!), or applique using a variety of materials.




Stitch without a pattern. Given the number of embroidery patterns I've made over the years, it should be no surprise that I love patterns, but sometimes stitching freehand can get you creating things you never imagined! I love using this technique with children, because they are good at just jumping in, but it's a good practice for adults too. See where they thread leads you as you make random shapes, lines and designs!

This is also fun when you combine it with a pattern. For example, stitch a small pattern in a hoop, then add all kinds of free hand embellishment around it. Think of it as the embroidery equivalent of drawing and doodling in the margins.

Try one of these ideas, and watch your embroidery grow!

printable: grocery staples checklist

We have this game that we play at my house. It's called "See how long we can go without going to the grocery store." I suppose that's not really a game, but we do make a challenge out of it. You see, most of us have certain items that they just keep on hand or have extras of, or even things pushed to the back of the pantry, and you can put together some great meals with those!

But then there are the items that you really, really need to have on hand at all times or you'll be stuck. And that's where this printable checklist comes in. You write in the items that you need a stock of, and mark it down as you use them. That way you can see in one spot when you're getting close to the end of an item.



The PDF of this list is set up so you can type in your own staples (you know, in case your needs are different from the needs of my family!). Of course, you can also write them in my hand on your printed page. If you plan on updating your list regularly, print them as you need them. If your staples remain the same, how about laminating the list and using a wipe-off marker?




As you use the staples, mark out the numbers so that the first open number is how many you have of the item (or how full a canister is). (I see you looking at that photo above...and yes, sometimes we do have 3 gallons of milk in our refrigerator!)

Download The Staples Checklist PDF

I want to thank Cécile for this lovely idea! If you have a printable that you'd like to see here on the blog, let me know! I might just be able to make it happen!

we're praying

Sundays on Wild Olive are a point of prayer. Please pause, leave a prayer request, and pray with us.

Thank you so much to each one of you who is praying along. Whether you leave a comment, or are just quietly taking all of this in, I'm glad you're here.

Would you all pray for some friends of mine? My friend's husband was just laid off without warning. Pray for peace for them now and hope for the future! I know this is something that is weighing on many of you as well, so let's pray for peace and hope!

snapshot saturday // best hoodie ever

Many years ago, a friend gave me a copy of My Neighbor Totoro, and told me to watch it whenever I was feeling down because it would help fix that. He was right, and since then Totoro has brought much joy (and even some of my most favorite friends!) into my life.

Now, I am ever so happy to be the proud new owner of this Totoro hoodie! I spotted one on Kelley's blog when she approached me about sponsorship, and I wasted no time in asking if she could make an adult size version for me. And she has!

I love, love, love it!

(Please don't mind my bare face and tired eyes...I was so excited when this arrived, I just had to take a pic right away!)