printable // jam of the month valentines

I love a good Valentine's Day pun, and I chose a few to go along with some jars of jam! (Because apparently, I can only think about jam things this year...) And hoping that you or your kids are as excited about this sort of thing as I am, I made them into printables!

At one point these were only going to be orange marmalade. Then only cherry preserves. But finally I was like, why am I trying to choose? So you get two Jam of the Month features in one set of cards!




Yes, they're cheesy and maybe overdone, but that's part of the charm of Valentine's Day. In the download, you'll find two more designs not shown here (thanks, printer for running out of ink!). But my favorite is probably "We were marmalade for each other".

DOWNLOAD THE JAM VALENTINES PDF

I'm sure you can think of some fun ways to give things along with Cutie oranges or cherry candies. If all goes to plan, I might even have a fun project to share that would pair well with these!

calendar // february cherry preserves wallpapers

When it was time to choose a jam for the month of February, I HAD to go with cherries for these wallpapers (and the other goodies I'll share soon). Cherries are pink and red like Valentine's Day and they remind me of George Washington, who's birthday was this month. So here we have some February cherry preserves!

It's probably also appropriate that they are preserves, as I seem to desperately want to preserve time these days. And with a short month like February, that gets difficult. So I guess we'll just be holding onto cherries in a jar instead of time in a bottle.

Okay, so how about some shelves filled with jam for your digital devices?

Add these calendar wallpapers to your computer, phone, or tablet for a cherry sweet February!

Download the Desktop Wallpaper

Download the iPhone Wallpaper

Download the iPad Wallpaper

printable // orange marmalade recipe cards

At the risk of turning Wild Olive into one giant jam fest, I have more jam-filled goodness for you today, in the form of free recipe cards! (And be warned: lots more jam is coming your way...)

I don't know if you've ever made your own jam, jelly or marmalade before, but it's fun and worth doing at least once. To be fair, the last time I made jelly I nearly ruined the stove, but that's a story for another time.

Anyway, since the idea behind the Jam of the Month Club is this picture of little jars all in rows on shelves, I thought it would be fun to encourage some food crafting too. So today you can download 4x6-inch orange marmalade recipe cards! Fill them in with your favorite orange marmalade recipe (this one from Alton Brown is sure to be a winner) or any recipe you like.

DOWNLOAD THE ORANGE MARMALADE RECIPE CARD PDF

Now tell me about your favorite marmalade or jam...

epp // jam of the month club mini quilt pattern

Want to stitch a free mini quilt with me? You may have already seen the first pattern in this yearlong free embroidery stitching club. If you haven't, jump back and check it out.

The embroidery is only part of the fun with this. Of course, you can use the embroidery patterns on their own, but I like to piece them together with English paper piecing. But what to do? Well...

There's something so charming about shelves lined with, well, almost anything when they are cute and color coordinated. But I thought that it would be especially adorable if I were to take all the Jam of the Month Club embroidery patterns I'm making this year and place them on EPP shelves in the form of a mini quilt.

That's the idea behind this:

DOWNLOAD THE JAM OF THE MONTH EPP TEMPLATES PDF

The printable templates have all the pieces you see in the graphic. I'm not including full piecing instructions, because it's pretty easy to follow the diagram. If you're new to English paper piecing, I have a few tutorials around on my blog, plus the stitching clubs in my shop have full photo tutorials.

I'm using a light gray crosshatch fabric for my embroidered hexagons and the triangle pieces (basically the back of the shelves). For the shelves and the sides, I'm using the mix of aqua fabrics in the photo above. All the colors in the embroidery will be light, bright, and kawaii.

You can use any colors you like, but to get the shelf effect, it'll work best to have similar colors for all the shelves/sides, and for each shelf backing. You could even change the color for each shelf backing, but keep in mind that you're stitching over these.

This is my big quilty project for 2019. I can't wait to see this come together. Both for me and for you! Be sure to tag your photos #wildolivestitchingclub.

Questions? Leave me a comment or reach out via email or social media!

pattern // january's jar of orange marmalade

Are you ready for some stitching this year? Throughout 2019 I'm releasing a free pattern a month for my latest Wild Olive Stitching Club. This time, it's the Jam of the Month Stitching Club!

I've hosted a variety of paid stitching clubs, and those will still come around occasionally, but I like letting everyone join in with no pressure. It's also less pressure on me, because while I'll make sure you get a pattern each month, I let the schedule be a little more relaxed. Check back each month for your freebie, or follow me on Instagram or Twitter, where I'll always post when a new pattern comes out.

The Jam of the Month Stitching Club is more than just embroidery. First, I'll be sharing a fun EPP mini quilt project to make with the 12 patterns coming your way. The printable paper templates and layout are coming in a day or two.

Plus, I had a request for cross stitch patterns too, and why not? Those will release separately from the embroidery patterns and will be their own growing chart. Yay!

DOWNLOAD THE ORANGE MARMALADE EMBROIDERY PATTERN

I do hope you'll stitch some jam with me each month! I'm really excited about this (and some other jelly, preserves, and compotes I'm concocting!). When you stitch and share photos, be sure to use the tag #wildolivestitchingclub and tag me too! I'm @molliejohanson on Twitter and Instagram.

Finally, as I mentioned, this is a free stitching club, open to anyone. I LOVE sharing free patterns, projects, and printables, and I can't imagine ever stopping. I also wanted to make a way for you to support me and the freebies I share. So if you're so inclined, I made a way for you to "buy me a coffee" (kind of like leaving a tip!). No pressure though, okay?

calendar // january orange marmalade wallpapers

Happy New Year!

Every year, I choose a theme for fun things on my blog. That theme doesn't show up in every post, but it is on every wallpaper I share, plus some projects and free patterns. Over the years, I've had woodland friends, craft supplies, guinea pigs, birthstones, and more. Finding something new and fun that I don't think I'll get tired of is always a challenge, but I think I'm ready for 2019.

Because this year I'm hosting the Jam of the Month Club! This may sound silly, but I'm crazy excited about this!

So excited, in fact, that I need to not share my plans for this just yet. Because I have a lot of ideas, and I don't know if I can make them all happen. But just know that some very cool things might just show up around here throughout the year.

For now, let's start with some orange marmalade. I made a bunch of jars so you can fill your shelves!

Add these calendar wallpapers to your computer, phone, or tablet. Or...print one to hang on a memo board!

Download the Desktop Wallpaper

Download the iPhone Wallpaper

Download the iPad Wallpaper

Here's to a sweet new year!

looking back // 2018 in review

At this time of year, you see a lot of "top nine" posts popping up on Instagram. You can see mine above, but I wanted to do a little more here on my blog to look back at 2018. You see, I'm really good at keeping track of the things I didn't get done and feeling bad about them. But I forget about the stuff I did accomplish.

Do you do this too? Seriously, I get down on myself. And that's not helpful. So that's why I put together this list. Not to show off. But to celebrate good things. I'd encourage you to do the same. Look back over your year and celebrate the blessings of work, leisure, people, projects, food, fun, and more.

Ready for my list? Here's a look back at why I'm so tired as the year comes to a close. In 2018, I...

released 3 new patterns, including an advent calendar with 25 patterns in it

made and gave away 12 free gemstone embroidery patterns

designed a new needle minder for Cloud Craft and a pin for The Pink Samurai

created or updated ~90 posts for The Spruce Crafts, including designing my first knit and crochet patterns

designed 25 crafts for Handmade Charlotte

stitched 12 embroidery projects for Simply Sewing Magazine

designed 4 cross stitch charts for Cross Stitch Crazy Magazine

started The Very Serious Crafts Podcast and became great friends with Haley from Red Handled Scissors and Heidi from Hands Occupied

released 19 episodes of said podcast, including a new episode out today

designed and made 8 secret projects for some secret somethings, which I look forward to sharing in 2019

In addition to these, there were more posts and projects I didn't even count. I traveled to a few fun places, spent time with incredible family and friends, made personal projects and gifts, volunteered with amazing people, ate yummy food, and laughed and cried through it all.

What a full year, filled with God's blessings! Thank you so much for spending this year with me. I truly appreciate every view, comment, pin, click, and share.

May your new year be filled with good things and lots of creativity!

pattern // a princess-cut zircon birthstone

So here we are, almost at the end of December (okay, so since this is the 29th, it IS the end of December) and I'm just now posting this last free pattern of the year? Honestly, it feels quite apt. I'll get into that soon, but I don't want to let the year end without posting this.

Ironically, I had this pattern ready on December 1, but I hoped to actually stitch it for a photo. That STILL hasn't happened, so whatever. Done and shared is better than perfect and stitched, right? Right.

For all those who have been stitching along with these birthstones this year, get ready for the last one! It's a princess cut blue zircon (or whatever color stone you want!). So pretty!

DOWNLOAD THE PRINCESS CUT BIRTHSTONE PATTERN

I wasn't sure about what the 2019 theme would be for my calendars and patterns...until perhaps right as I was typing this. But you'll have to wait just a few more days for that!

printable // kawaii christmas lights garland

Today in my Sending Christmas Cuteness pattern advent calendar, the pattern is a few twinkle lights. And I thought it would be fun to share a printable version as well. So in a short and sweet post that will help you get in the holiday spirit, I present my Kawaii Christmas Lights Garland!



You will need:

Cardstock
Scissors
Yarn
Stapler

DOWNLOAD THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS GARLAND PDF

Note: The PDF shows the bulb on the far left as a more teal color, which is the intention. But for some reason, my printer interprets it closer to turquoise. Just a little heads up if yours prints as a different shade too!



Print the PDF on cardstock and then cut out all the pieces.



Fold each lightbulb in half and place them over the yarn. Staple the lightbulb so the yarn is encased above the staple.



Hang your lights and enjoy!

calendar // a zircon fit for a princess

December is here, and that means we're at the end of these birthstone calendars. How can it be that a year could have passed? I'm just not sure.

Even though it's December, this one isn't particularly Christmas-y, which I rather like. December has a few birthstone options, and most of them are blue. In this case, I chose blue zircon because it's a lovely teal color. And I made it a princess cut because, well, it's just a really pretty one and I love the lines in it.

Now, add one of these to your favorite device for December while I start thinking about what might be on the calendars next year!

Download the Desktop Wallpaper

Download the iPhone Wallpaper

Download the iPad Wallpaper

pattern // a tri-corner topaz birthstone

What does it mean when the birthstone embroidery pattern for your own birthstone is the latest of all the pattern posts of the whole year? I think it means that November starts the busiest season of the year, and it doesn't end until that delightful week between Christmas and New Year's Day.

At any rate, I at least printed my pattern, chose topaz-colored embroidery floss (DMC 725), and pulled out some golden fabric scraps.

DOWNLOAD THE TOPAZ EMBROIDERY PATTERN PDF

Maybe I'll even sneak in a few minutes of stitching in the next week!

introducing the sending christmas cuteness advent calendar

Every once in a while an idea comes along that I can't quite shake. And the Sending Christmas Cuteness Advent Calendar is one of those ideas. Mainly because I love the idea of sending a little Christmas cuteness into inboxes around the world!

So here's the scoop:

Each day from December 1-25, I'll send a surprise Christmas/holiday/winter-ish pattern. The designs are small and easy to stitch, so you could, in theory, stitch one a day and even make some gifts. Plus, some of the patterns will work for after Christmas too.

I'm really so very excited about these! Especially because I'm offering these sweet designs in two formats: Hand embroidery (my favorite!) and counted cross stitch!

If you love stitching little Xs, the cross stitch version is perfect for you, and if you like backstitch, french knots, and scallop stitch (the only 3 stitches needed), choose the embroidery option. And if you dabble in both, you can always sign up for both versions!



Both clubs will have matching designs each day, although the style won't always be exactly the same. That means that everyone stitching along can still see how others are doing with the same pattern even if they are using another technique. To interact with each other, we'll use the hashtag #SendingChristmasCuteness. (The community part is always the best part of any of my stitching clubs!)



When you purchase the advent calendar in my Etsy shop, you'll get a PDF with some basic info and the embroidery floss colors you'll need. Then, you just wait for December to start the fun! But don't wait to sign up...the price is just $8.00 for now, but will go up to $10.00 on December 1st.

Whether you want to make some ornaments or other gifts, or you simply want to have something to craft and relax with, Sending Christmas Cuteness is going to be so much fun!

To recap:
• 25 Christmas Patterns (embroidery OR cross stitch)
• One Pattern a Day, December 1-25
• Digital Patterns via Email
• $8.00 Introductory Price

Purchase Sending Christmas Cuteness EMBROIDERY Advent Calendar

Purchase Sending Christmas Cuteness CROSS STITCH Advent Calendar

Questions? Leave a comment and I'll get back to you!

calendar // a triangular topaz for november

Welcome to November! Time for holiday preparations, giving thanks, and another calendar wallpaper!

November is my birthday month, and I'm gonna be honest...growing up I was NOT a fan of my yellow topaz birthstone. When I learned that topaz came in other colors, like a lovely light bue, I was happier. But as I've gotten older, I've become a big fan of traditional topaz. I love it. Especially the rough, uncut ones.

But since this is a year of gemstones, I felt like I needed a cut topaz for our wallpapers. And I chose a concave trillion cut, which is a fancy way of saying triangle! This is another one that I think would look so cool as English paper piecing, though for now I'll just be working on an embroidery pattern, which is coming soon.

For now, have a wallpaper or three!

Download the Desktop Wallpaper

Download the iPhone Wallpaper

Download the iPad Wallpaper

pattern // a soft pink october birthstone

Who's ready to stitch another birthstone? This month's free embroidery pattern is for an old mine cut of a tourmaline, but then, you could really stitch this in any color. And you can easily combine it with other birthstone embroidery patterns to make any design you like.

But if you've been following along this year, the October Tourmaline embroidery pattern is meant to go in the center of some gem-like English paper piecing blocks. The templates are included in the pattern below.

If you're just finding this, this is the tenth pattern in my free Birthstone Wild Olive Stitching Club. They'll come together to make a project...eventually. It's definitely a long and slow-going project.

DOWNLOAD THE OCTOBER BIRTHSTONE PATTERN

And for honesty's sake, let's just be real about how slow crafting can be.

Now, I'm a "professional crafter", as in, I make the majority of my income from designing craft projects and writing about them. Literally, the bulk of my time is spent in craft-related work and I churn out a lot of projects each month. But that's mostly separate from this blog, which means anything I do for my blog (and sometimes my shop!) fall under extra crafting. Almost like a hobby that you don't always have time for. It sounds silly, but it's how it is sometimes.



So here's the current state of my own Wild Olive Stitching Club that I started at the beginning of 2018. Note that the year started out okay and I did a little catch up at one point. I finally basted some half hexagons last night, but missed a few for the May Emerald block. Apparently I never even cut out the June pieces and I'm not entirely sure where I put that fabric...and I still haven't stitched July!

This is clearly a slow project and I'm just going with it that way! I'll take a few evenings to do some piecing soon, and before long they'll all be ready to join and finish as a birthday table mat.

How about you? Are you a fast crafter or do you let yourself take it easy? There's no guilt or shame in either one!

project // sew a softie ghost (and ghost animals!)

Booooooooo!!!! Today I'm so excited to share a simple sewing project for you and your kids to work on together. And since it's Halloween, we're making a sweet ghost softie!

This project is part of Sew a Softie for Halloween, which is all about making easy plush toys. Anyone can make these! I zipped out my ghosties on the sewing machine...it's simple enough for new sewists to do! But you can VERY easily sew your ghost by hand with running stitch around the edge.



I also thought it might be fun to make some animal ghosts. Because, why not? I started with a ghost cat, but the pattern includes a few more ear shapes so you can make a bunny, a dog, and a bear too.

Instead of stitching the face on, I made this even easier by adding the face with paint. It gives it a different look that I really love.

Ready to sew a softie with me? Here we goooooooooooo....



Supplies:

White Wool Blend Felt
Pins
Scissors
Black Acrylic Paint
Paintbrush
Sewing Machine -or- Embroidery Floss and a Needle
Stuffing

Ghost Softie Pattern PDF



Print out the pattern and use the templates to cut out two ghost "body" pieces and a set of ears if you are making an animal.



Since we're going to be painting the faces, it helps to practice drawing the face first. You can do this on the template. This is a fun way to make your ghost look however you want! You could even add other details like hands or a bow tie.



Now it's time to paint! Use a fine brush and gentle brush strokes. You could even practice on a scrap of felt to get the feel of how painting on felt works. It's definitely different than painting on paper!

If you'd rather stitch the face, you could do this with embroidery or applique instead.



After the paint is completely dry, pin the front and back of the ghost together. If you're making an animal, place the ears between the layers. Be sure that they're far enough in from the edge so that the sewing catches them.



Sew around the edge of the ghost, but leave an opening on one side.

If you're sewing this by hand, leave the thread attached so you can continue sewing after the stuffing goes in.



Fill your ghost with stuffing. Add it a little at a time, and be sure to push it toward the edges so the shape fills out.

Sew the opening closed. If you're using a sewing machine, like I did, push the stuffing away from the opening so you can slide the ghost under the sewing machine foot.



Your ghostie friend is finished! You can make more than one and flip which direction they go so they can hang out and talk with each other.




Want to make a smaller ghost or ghost animal? Just shrink the pieces to craft a pocket ghost softie! If you make one of these (in any size), be sure to use the tag #sewasoftie on Instagram or other social media. I'd love to see!

Meooooooooow!