book review: flip dolls & other toys

July has been Book Month here on Wild Olive, and it's nearly over...but I have one more book to share with you! Flip Dolls & Other Toys That Zip, Stack, Hide, Grab & Go by Laura Wilson is a child's dream. Flipping through had me flipping out and feeling like a kid again. Truly, Laura has crafted some of the most original soft toys I've seen in a long time.

I'm still a bit of a novice when it comes to making sewn toys, so books like this feel over my head most of the time. But this is just too cute for me not to jump into!




First, let me say that although Flip Dolls is a book of toys that children will love, as an adult I find them all to be very appealing. A stuffed ukulele? You know that would look awesome on your sofa. And a bearded lady that flips to conjoined twins? I love it. I have a bearded lady print hanging over my desk, so this doll would be perfect for me. She's a bit more complicated, so I've put in a request for my mom to make her.






There are robots and animals and computers and superheroes and even a lie detector. My sister loved spy-related things when she was little and would have gone nuts for that!

The majority of the projects are listed as moderate to difficult, but there are some easy toys as well. Like those sweet elephants that link up! They're definitely my speed...I could even hand sew them! But as I said, if you want to challenge yourself to try something at the next level, this book would really inspire you to do so.

But probably the best feature here is that Flip Dolls & Other Toys is filled with gender neutral projects. Some may have more appeal to girls or boys, but generally this is a book for all.



But here's my most favorite thing in the whole book. A turtle with changeable shells! Oh my goodness! The shells in different fabrics are delightful...and the naked turtles? Eep! I want to squeeze them!

For those who love toys, or love little ones who love toys, be prepared to flip for Flip Dolls & Other Toys that Zip, Stack, Hide, Grab & Go!

Thanks, Lark Crafts, for sending me a copy!

printable: book journal cards

When you like books, you look for ways to work them into every area of your life. They become your friends, and it seems that Ernest Hemingway felt the same way. (Although, he may have missed that there's a friend who sticks closer than a brother...or a book.) Anyway, his quote sounded like words that should make it into your Project Life pages, so here we have some cards suitable for that purpose!

This printable PDF has two filler cards and two cards for documenting favorite and recently read books.

Download the PDF Book Journal Cards

How are books a part of your life? Do they surround you? Get you through the tough times? I'd love to hear! I'd also love to see if you use these cards. You can add your photos to the Wild Olive Flickr group here.

book review: gooseberry patch stitching for the kitchen

We've had Gooseberry Patch books at my house since I can remember. In fact, some of our favorite holiday recipes have come from their cookbooks! But the truth is, I didn't spend too much time looking at their books (probably because I think of them as being too "country") until recently when I spotted one of their embroidery books at JoAnn. Seeing that book changed my mind. Shortly after my new interest in Gooseberry Patch craft books arose, I got an email asking if I'd like to be part of a blog tour for their latest title...and here we are!




Stitching for the Kitchen is a collection of projects that are focused on the kitchen and food. So good! There are things to make using sewing, embroidery, quilting, crochet and more. And they have clear instructions in their charming illustrated style. (The stitches shown above are a drawing, not a photo!) While this book has a cute, country feeling, it's also fresh, modern, and fun. I really do think that the Gooseberry Patch folks have found a way to span several generations with this.





I like that Stitching for the Kitchen's projects have a classic feeling with a contemporary touch. I also like that there are items in here that are perfect for gifts. Instead of just giving a new bride a 9x13 pan, why not make a carrier for it too? Or how about welcoming a new neighbor with some warm bread in a sectioned basket?



And though I don't crochet much (it's been a couple years since I picked up the hook), this rag rug and the charm of the edged napkins you can peek at really make me want to get back to crochet.




Of course, I wanted the first thing I made to be an embroidery project, and I chose a tea cup tea towel. My towel is an Aunt Martha's towel (purchased here), but the stripes run along the long edges instead of the short end. That meant that positioning the embroidery in the standard tea towel location would have meant hiding the stripes. That's no fun!

So, I turned my towel sideways and will fold it to be wider and shorter than usual. Hey...being different is okay!

If you're looking for some new things to create for your kitchen (or for a friend or neighbor!), be sure to check out Stitching for the Kitchen. You'll also want to check out all of the other blogs that are part of the blog tour! You'll find more sample projects (including instructions for making a mug cozy), reviews and giveaways too!

July 22
Gooseberry Patch

July 23
Momma Young At Home
Craft Gossip

July 24
Glued to My Crafts
Green Eyed Momma

July 25
Sew Serendipity

July 26
Smashed Peas and Carrots
Marsha's Spot

July 27
Wild Olive (You're here!)
Only From Scratch

July 28
Pam Kitty Morning
Blue Nickel Studios

July 29
Old House Homestead
Susie QT Pies Cafe
Prairie Flower Farm

July 30
The Crafty Princess Diaries
Gramma's in the Kitchen
Two Maids A Milking

August 1
Vicki O'Dell
Homesteader's Heart

August 2
A Creative Being
Delightful Country Cookin

painting a piggy

Today I'm releasing a new pattern. Although, releasing may be the wrong word, since this pattern is a little piggy and he's clearly being held behind a fence!

There have been times when I've been able to create new patterns all the time...sometimes several in a month! This is not one of those times, so even just getting one new mini pattern out into the world feels like an accomplishment. This one really did seem to draw itself though, and I've been very excitedly talking about it on Twitter and Instagram!

When I had the pattern ready to stitch, I felt like outlining the piglet in pink wasn't enough, but fill stitches would be too much. Piggies are soft pink, so he needed a soft color to him, and watercolor tinting was the look I wanted. You can find my full watercolor tinting tutorial here.

Here's how to adding a blush of pink to the OINK pattern:



Using freezer paper, trace the part of the pattern where the piggy shows: The full head and front feet (all connected), the trunk that shows between the fence, and the back feet.

Then, cut those sections out of the paper to create a mask. It's really important on something like this to be accurate so that the color will only be in the area of the pattern where you want it to show.

Test your watercolor paint on a swatch of fabric so you can get an idea of how it will come out. You may even want to let it dry first, because the color can change.

Next, iron the freezer paper stencil onto the fabric and fill in the openings with watercolor paint. I mixed some pink, orange and white to get the color I wanted and even let there be some areas of different shading. Of course, this is up to you! You can make your piggy as bold or as subtle as you want.



When the paint has completely dried, peel off the freezer paper and iron the paint to help set the color. It won't be entirely permanent though, so don't plan on washing this.

Trace the pattern over the tinting, making sure that you line it all up. This is where your accuracy on the freezer paper mask really makes a difference. (By the way, I made the mistake of using a transfer pencil on this. But I'll discuss that in a later post...)

All that's left to do is stitch the pattern! I used six strands for most of the design, and three strands for the smaller details.




Don't you just want to give him a little hug? I once got to visit with some very, very young piglets and they are just the cutest things ever!

If you'd like to stitch up my OINK pattern, you can find it on Etsy and Kitschy Digitals.

project: eco photo book

Yesterday I shared a photo book that I found, and like when I just had to make my own needle book, I find myself doing the same with this. Instead of trying to cut sheets of wood and deal with leather (and most likely hurt myself...I've been a klutz lately), I went with a simpler version that pulls supplies from the recycling bin!



Here's what you need:

Cereal boxes
Felt
String/twine/yarn/ribbon
Scissors
Craft glue
Hole punch
Pen/marker/pencil



Cut the cereal boxes to the size you want your book to be. Mine are about half a cereal box, so I got four pages per box, but you could easily alter the size for a jumbo scrapbook or something on the miniature side.

I cut mine on a paper cutter for super straight edges.



Punch two holes in one edge of each page. Be sure to mark them so that all of the holes line up. It's also a good idea to decide if you want the printed side to be right side up (even if it's on the back of a page), so that you punch them all going the same way.



Stack all of your pages and tie string through to bind them together. To make it easier to open and look through your photo book, tie the string loosely as shown.



Decorate the cover of your book however you like. I glued a small felt heart in the corner and wrote "Scraps!" in a style similar to my inspiration book. Your basic book is done, but now it's time to add photos or other fun things!



Grab a photo and place it on the page where you want it, marking the corners. Mine is a little close to the edge...be sure to give yours enough space.




Cut four strips of felt, each about 3/8 x 1-1/4 inches. It's okay to eyeball it.

Glue the ends of each felt strip, then place them on the page over the corners that you marked. It's important that the glue is only at the ends of the strips so that you can insert the corners of your photo under these strips.

Alternately, if you don't want to ever remove your photos, you can glue the strips and photos in place all at the same time.





After the glue has completely dried, slip your photos into these corners, and they'll be held securely in place. On the sides of the pages with printing, it can be visually overwhelming to have a photo. Instead, use these areas to insert an index card so you can add some captions or journaling!

What's fun about a book like this is that you can have these felt photo corners hold cards and photos of any size. You could even take inspiration from Project Life and attach their cards onto these pages instead of using plastic sleeves. For a big project it would take longer, but it's a nice way to put together a little photo memory book as a gift!

PS: I'm sure that I was much happier in that photo than my face lets on. I LOVED playing with animals with my Papa!

found: vintage photo book

Awww...Snap! I couldn't resist. This vintage photo book, labeled "Snaps!", was just calling out for some pop culture references. Snaps for me!

This is another one of those things that I found in with family stuff, and I snapped it up for myself. It kind of makes me think of the original Parent Trap movie, with it's slight camp feeling. Wood covers, leather ties...you can see where I get that thought, right?





The book comes to me empty, and I'm not sure if I like that or not. Finding a book like this that has been filled in with snaps from another time is like finding treasure, but I suppose having the option to fill it myself is pretty great too. And it wouldn't take long to fill it either, because it only has six pages. Six! Does that seem strange to anyone but me?

I do really like the construction of this, especially with the wood covers. It's a nice variation on the scrapbooks with posts, and I'm sure that you could add pages to this. But maybe the leather wouldn't like the untying process. Even opening and closing it too much will wear it out. Sigh. I'll still enjoy this as is...




A book for snaps is too good to not use as inspiration though, so I've been working on an eco-friendly book for holding your photos or other memories. Tutorial coming very soon!

japanese embroidery books

If you pick up a copy of Pride and Prejudice in Japanese, I'm guessing that for most of you reading this, it wouldn't be a very interesting read. I know that it wouldn't mean much to me! But craft books are different. Embroidery books are are different. These books can be very easily enjoyed...and even understood...in Japanese.

A picture is worth a thousand words, and it's really true with Japanese craft books! I have a growing collection of these books, and I don't see my habit ending soon. Sometimes I buy these from the bookstore at the Japanese market near me, but these came from a fantastic Etsy shop. And I love them! They have such a unique style (one even has several unique styles within it!), as do many crafting books from Japan.

Take a look at my latest additions...




This first book is actually a combination of two books. One is a book that I've looked at and wanted many times, and it just worked out that it was in this title! It has lots of little patterns with plenty of fill stitches (something I really want to do more of), but it also has lot of embroidery with applique incorporated.





See what I mean about the different styles? All of those are from the same book, so for one price, I got plenty of variety! So much sweetness!

The second book doesn't have as many patterns, but each one is super precious. SUPER precious!





This book has a pull out section with all of the motifs. Well, it might have more than that...I haven't opened it all up yet! Unlike the first book, here we find more projects.




This is where not reading Japanese does have its downside. The projects are pretty simple, but as far as I can tell, most don't have instructions for making them. At least, not the illustrated instructions that you usually find in Japanese crafting books. There are some with graphics (see below), but the projects serve more as inspiration. Great inspiration...because just look at this glasses pouch:




If you've never looked into books like this before, I highly recommend that you do. They cost a bit more than buying something from Amazon, but it's worth it! To get started, try searching for "Japanese Embroidery Book" on Etsy. Good luck, and get ready to be tempted into many new purchases!