sponsor giveaway: winners

I've got winners from Tuesday's giveaways! Congratulations to everyone, and be sure to look these over, because I need to hear from a few of you...

I'll be emailing the winners soon so we can get prizes sent out. And if your name is on here with a "please email me!" note, it means that I don't have a way to contact you. Please email me at molliejohanson at gmail dot com.

Thank you so much to my friends and sponsors, and thank you to everyone who entered!

this is nacho embroidery

There's a good chance that I'm trying to do too many things at the same time, but some just need to be done. Like stitching up some nachos. Life wouldn't go on without them, right?

Well, maybe it would. But I had fun working on this, and that's a good thing when there is a lot to do.

This is a pattern from the Pattern of the Month Club for May, which I haven't talked much about here since it started. Consider this a little peek into what has been lots of fun so far.

And speaking of peeks, you can see a teeny bit of something else that I'm working on in this pic. More bits of this should be showing up here soon. Oh! And if you'd like to read a little feature on me, head over to Julianna's site.

I'll be back later with some winners from Tuesday's giveaways (you can still enter!), and maybe even a new May desktop!

vintage craft: 1969 ads

A few years ago, I picked up this magazine at a local antique shop. It was only a dollar or two, and well worth it for the ideas featured in 1960-70. But the ads are nearly as good as the real content, and so I today I bring you...vintage craft advertising!

My grandma had some of this, and I've tried it. Interesting stuff...


No thank you!




These feel like classics.

Dreamy...

...and groovy too!


But you really can't go wrong with a classic like this:

Even though this is for needlepoint/tapestry supplies, DMC will always be a favorite of mine.

Looking through all of them, I think I was most surprised by the number of full page ads that were in this magazine. There were a lot, and most were in full color. Many of them had the editorial look going, so you aren't quite sure if they are ads or articles at first.

When I see old ads like this, I wonder how many of the companies are still in business in one form or another. There are definitely some of these that are still going strong!

embroidery basics: chain and detached chain

How's everyone doing with the basics? Still following along and learning new things? I do hope that everything has made sense so far. If you have questions, just ask, and I'll do my best to reply in the comments.

And if you're just discovering the series, be sure to go through all of the Embroidery Basics posts. There's lots of info already, and plenty more to come in the next month!

Today we're talking about chain stitches. Like the chains in crochet, these didn't come quickly for me. I still don't use the regular chain stitch too often, as it creates a relatively thick line, and I like to work small. But it is a beautiful thing when you are able to use it. Ready?

Come up from the back. Insert the needle just next to where you came up, then (using the sewing method) come back up a stitch length away.

Make sure that the loose thread gets looped around your needle that is coming up, and pull the thread. You don't want to pull it too tight, unless you want it look and straight and stretched. Traditionally, the stitches look a bit round...like a chain link.

Insert the needle just next to where the last stitch came up, and again, come back up.

Keep on with this, making sure that the thread loops around the needle/thread. If you miss it and pull, you'll start pulling out all of your stitches. A single tug could undo a whole bunch of your work, so be careful. (This is handy, however, if you have to rip out some work!)

When you are ready to end a line of chain stitches, instead of inserting your needle next to where you came up, insert it on the other side of the loop of floss.

You'll have a nice little chain. One thing to watch for is twisty floss. It can make your chains frustrating, so try to let your needle/floss hang and untwist every so often.

Now, let's talk about detached chain stitches. This is when you create a single link, and it usually makes a little tear drop kind of shape that...

Why, yes, Olive! It is most often called a lazy daisy stitch! I like that name better, but the thing is, there are ways to change the stitch so that it no longer resembles a daisy petal. Detached chain is a less confusing name in those cases. Either way, this is a great stitch.

Today, I'll show the basic daisy petal type of detached chain.

Patterns may mark this stitch differently, and often they show the entire outline shape of the stitch. For my practice, I've marked it with two dots for each stitch. One is at the point, and the other is at the rounded part.

Come up where the point of the petal will be.

Like with the regular chain, insert the needle just next to where you came up. Using the sewing method, you'll come back up where the rounded part of the petal will be.

Be sure to loop the floss around your needle, and gently pull the floss. Remember, you want it to have a nice rounded shape, and you can alter the shape by how loose you keep the loop.

Just as you finished off the regular chain, insert the needle on the other side of the loop to finish off the detached chain.

Do this for each lazy daisy, and you'll have a nice little flower. (Probably nicer than this one...my points aren't quite close enough together!) Or you can make them all go the same direction and use them for raindrops.

Next time around, we'll stitch up some faces, and I'll show you how you can change up the detached chain for a sweet little smile!

Download the PDF lesson for chain stitches.

I don't have a pattern for this lesson, but I do have a fun way to use the chain stitch. Last year, I stitched a charm bracelet, and the chain stitch was the base for it! Find the instructions here. One thing...if you're new to embroidery, I wouldn't recommend using metallic thread just yet. Get comfortable with the regular kind first.

Keep stitching...and have fun!

feeling musical

From out of nowhere, yesterday was a day when I got into a musical kind of mood. I always love music, but I was caught differently. It's probably been coming on for a while, but yesterday was when I decided to do something about it. And I think it's due to these lovely folks:

(Press Photo. Credit: Danny Renshaw)

The Welcome Wagon has been on near-constant rotation lately and every time I listen, I find new things to love. Vito and Monique Aiuto are so real, and their music is both simple and rich at the same time. I was watching some YouTube videos of them in live shows, and was even more charmed. Unfortunately, I was unable to see them when they played a show nearby, because I know it would have been thoroughly enjoyable.

Anyway, on a whim, I ordered a glockenspiel yesterday. It looks just like Monique's, and I think it will be fun. Perhaps even something that I can play when I sing with the pre-schoolers at church. Oh yeah, and then I pulled out the ukulele to get to practicing that. See? I'm jumping into one of my goals for the year!

Also, while in a musical mood, I bought tickets to see a completely different kind of show at the end of May. Because I'm cool like that. (I'll bring my brother along so it seems less strange for me to be there...but secretly, I'll be loving every moment!)

Finally, don't miss all of the posts from yesterday. There is plenty of time to enter all of the giveaways from Michelle, Anita, Kara, Claire, Melisa, Mitzi, Rachael, and Maggie. Plus, the lovely things from Kat and Katie. We had a busy day!

sponsor giveaway: maggie's ebook

Hey there Wild Olive readers! I'm Maggie. I'm a portrait photographer in Los Angeles, wife to a bearded tech nerd, and mom to an extremely energetic three-year-old, Eleanor. I blog at Making Me Cranky.

I recognize that most of my readers are just there for the adorable photos of Eleanor. As a mom, my job is to capture images of life as it happens. As a photographer, my job is to do that in a way that is beautiful and interesting. But we can't all have a professional following our family around capturing beautiful images. Well, we could, but it would be awfully expensive! That's why I wrote "How to Shoot Your Kids! an ebook." I want every parent to be able to do what I do! I want us all to have great photos of our kids!





How to Shoot Your Kids is a quick and easy guide to taking better photos of your kids no matter what camera you have! Forget the technical, because it's all about the technique! Inside the book you'll learn everything you need to know to channel your love for your kids into great images!

And I'm giving away one copy to a lucky Wild Olive reader! To enter, stop by my photography site, and check out the Table of Contents for the book, then come back here and leave a comment with your name, a way that we can contact you, and what chapter of the book you look forward to reading the most.

And if you just can't wait to win a copy, or in case you're not the lucky winner, you can get your copy HERE for just $5 when you use the discount code: WILDOLIVE.

Thank you soooo much, Maggie! Friends, let me tell you. I've reviewed this book, and it is fantastic! Maggie has done an excellent job of sharing the really important things about taking photos of kids, and I was instantly inspired and thinking about her ideas when shooting my brothers and sisters. (And yes, I love the clever title!)

The giveaway will remain open through Saturday, April 30th, when we'll announce a random winner.

friendly recipe: katie's chocolate chip cookies

Katie Green is the only blog friend that I've ever met in person, and she lives in England! I'm so happy to have her as a friend, and that she is here sharing a life experience AND a cookie recipe.

Ten years ago, I was told by a doctor that I would be lucky to live another two weeks. I was struggling with anorexia, and that struggle nearly took my life. Now, ten years later, I am fully recovered, and I'm in the middle of writing and drawing a book about the whole experience. Over the past few days I've been celebrating proving that doctor wrong, and really absorbing what it means to be fully recovered, and how much I have to be grateful for.

I invite you to celebrate with me by baking and eating some chocolate chip cookies....


Ingredients:

125g plain white flour
100g oats, whizzed in the blender
1tsp baking powder
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
100g caster sugar
100g light brown sugar
100g margarine
1tsp vanilla essence
50g soft silken tofu and 1tsp baking powder (or one egg)
165g chocolate, broken into pieces

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C, and cover 3 baking trays with greaseproof paper

Mix together the flour, oats, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt.

In another bowl, cream the margarine and sugars until light an fluffy. Thn beat in the egg or tofu mixture and vanilla.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and mix slowly but thoroughly. Finally stir in the chocolate pieces.

Roll the dough into golf-ball sized pieces and place on the baking trays AT LEAST 5 cm apart. This might mean baking the cookies in several batches, which is fine.

Bake the cookies for 10 minutes. They will look slightly browned but still pretty much uncooked when they come out the oven. Leave them to cool and firm up, then enjoy one (or several) with a nice cup of tea.

You can read more about my celebrations on my blog, and I'm doing a celebratory giveaway today, so be sure to stop by. I've decided to list all of the original drawings from my Sheep Sketchbook for sale, and I'll be giving one of them away to a lucky winner!

And huge thanks to the lovely Mollie for sharing her space for me to tell my story :)

Thanks, Katie for being the dear that you are!

sponsor giveaway: shop credit from rachael

Rachael here! Sincerely Rae is a vintage clothing and accessories shop with a side of photography. I’ve always had a real passion for fashion design and sewing, I’m hoping to incorporate original designs and new dresses in vintage styles within the next year. The Sincerely Rae blog is a little random, fashion history one day and crafty goodness or baby talk the next. It represents my scattered personality pretty well and I love connecting to people from the blogging world through it.

I'm offering a $20 shop credit for one lucky Wild Olive reader!

Thanks, Rachael! To enter, become a follower of Sincerely Rae, then come back here and leave a comment. Be sure to let us know how to contact you! We'll announce a random winner on Saturday, April 30th.

sponsor giveaway: mitzi's hearts

Hello fellow Wild Olive readers! I'm Mitzi from Mitzi Makes and I'm really excited to get a chance to post a giveaway here! I'm a jewelery maker and over on my blog I post about all sorts of craft related things. So today I'd like to offer two craft inspired jewelery prizes! One reader can win the knitted heart and another can win the embroidered heart. Please leave your choice in the comments section to be in with the chance to win your favorite! Good Luck!

Eep! These are sooo sweet, and I don't think I could choose between them. But you heard Mitzi. Pick one, let us know which, and be sure to leave a way for us to contact you. We'll choose the winners on Saturday, April 30th. Oh, and stop by Mitzi's blog to tell her thank you for these pretty hearts!

sponsor giveaway: headband from melisa

Melisa from Pie n' the Sky makes lots of sweet things for her shop, and she would like one of you to have this Learn and Grow headband! I'm loving the pretty felt flower so much!

To enter, become a follower of Melisa (either her blog, Twitter or Facebook), then leave a comment with where you follow her, plus a way for us to contact you. We'll choose a random winner on Saturday, April 30th. Good luck, and thanks Melisa!

sponsor diy: kat's terrariums

Kat from Cheshire Kat is here with a Simple Succulent Terrarium Tutorial!

Supplies:

• Clear Glass container
• Rocks
• Dirt
• Sand/fine gravel
• Succulent

You can find most of these supplies at a dollar store. Walmart has some nice gravely sand with color and texture similar to a beach, for around $3 a bag. I buy my succulents at Home Depot. Individual ones only cost $2, so you can make one of these for under $10. Let’s get started!

If you can’t do it outside, make sure you lay down some paper for easy clean up. Now it is time to layer your supplies. I bought 2 different sizes of rocks, so I started by putting a few large ones along the bottom,

and then a layer of the smaller ones.

At this point you should set your succulent in the container to determine the placement of your succulent so you can adjust your layers accordingly. Make sure that the roots have enough soil to cover them, but they don’t really need much since succulents thrive in a hot, dry environment.

Finally, you top it off with a layer of sand. You can put a few rocks on top for interest, or even a plastic animal or gnome.

Have fun making it your own!

Love these, Kat! Thank you so much for such an easy way to create and keep beauty around the house. I'll be finding a spot in my work space to add one of these soon!