Hooray, the big day is finally here–Brooklyn Craft Camp is live and registration is open! Boogie over to the pretty new site to check out all the details.

I’m SO excited about how everything came together. Planning this event has truly been a joy–I know people always say stuff like that when a new project launches, but I really mean it for reals this time. I loved collaborating with all my favorite designers, authors & teachers on their classes; I loved (loved, loved) planning the menu with one of my favorite local chefs, I loved collaborating on the website design and building process… and now I’m excited to start focusing on how to decorate our space for the event, book a DJ, choose some cocktails, and plan all the fun little details that will make the day special.

But enough gushing for now! I’ll post more in the coming days about our classes, teachers, giveaways and more–but until then, go check out the site and more importantly, I hope you’ll join us on March 16 for a day of DIY magic!

PS: And if you live out of town, check out the travel page on the site where I give some suggestions for how you can make a whole crafty-NYC weekend trip out of it!

Well, to say our Sandy Craftalong has been a success would be an understatement! That’s me and Natalie, above, with the projects we received in our first full day of boxes arriving. We look tiny because those are the really big size contractor bags, 20 in all, full of hats, scarves, blankets, sweaters and more. 1000 projects so far, and this is just the beginning!!! We’ve received lots of messages telling us more projects are on the way, and we are now expecting several thousand donations.

To keep things as manageable as possible, we are asking that no more donations be sent after this Friday, November 16. We are overwhelmed, blown away, amazed and so grateful for your response!! We can truly feel the love of crafters all over the country (and beyond), and we so appreciate how much everyone wants to help. We are a small team and we want to make sure your donations get into the hands of people who need them as quickly and efficiently as possible, and we feel that we can best do that by asking that no more donations be sent after the end of this week. If you won’t be able to send your projects by then, we hope you will consider donating them to a shelter or local cause in your area.

We’ll keep posting updates, so check back often, and make sure you go over and like our Facebook page so you can follow along with progress reports as we begin to distribute donations. Tomorrow morning I’m driving out to Coney Island with my car filled to the brim with the first load of donations! xoxo

I thought I’d share some great DIY ideas I’ve come across recently on Pinterest. So many ideas, so little time! Here goes:
Wrap Japanese washi tape around simple candies for instant adorableness! (I recently went on a washi splurge at cutetape.com and I do not regret it. Washi tape is like fancy stickers for grown-ups. And by grown-ups I mean those of us who act like eight-year-olds.)

Love this for large-scale, cheap DIY art. Just paint a bunch of canvasses white, add some stripes (heck, maybe with the washi tape you just bought), and you’re done. Classy!

This is a toy horse spray-painted glossy white! What what! How can it look so good? I want to spray-paint a whole menagerie for my credenza. Then maybe cover them in glitter too. (DIY for the white horse shown here at DreamGreenDIY.)

More easy large-scale artwork. Just make some big circles on the wall and paint them in. Love it.

How cute would these be for small holiday gifts, party favors, or just party treats? Just fill plastic spoons with tempered chocolate then arrange pretty candies on top. I love this so much. Just picking out the candies alone would be so fun. (from DeliciousDeliciousDelicious)

Are you on Pinterest? If so let’s be friends! Follow me here. xoxo

Last week I made a cake for 70 for a friend’s birthday party, and I thought I’d share a little of the process I use to make one of these giant cakes. I learned this method from a former neighbor of mine who was a professionally-trained pastry chef. About ten years ago, when I was preparing to make my first-ever wedding cake, she was generous enough to sit down with me and share a few tricks of the trade. Thank goodness for her, because my cake would have definitely been a hot mess without her advice!

The main gist of this method is that the cake are built using cake rings, which is what you see here. Just a simple metal ring with straight sides. I bake the cake itself in half-sheet pans, then use the cake rings to punch out the size cake layer I need, then build the layers inside the ring. I have rings ranging in size from 14″ down to 2″. So, in this picture you see my 14″ cake ring as well as several sheet cakes in the background. (The cakes all get baked on parchment paper, which allows them to be moved around easily during this process.)

So here I’m punching out the first 14″ layer. As you can see, the ring is larger than the cake…

…so I just take that leftover chunk of cake off the side and place it in the empty spot of the ring, so that I now have a complete layer.

It won’t matter in the end that the layers are pieced together in some spots – they’ll get glued together during frosting and no one will ever be the wiser.

Just repeat that process to create as many layers as are needed. I usually do 3 layers for party cakes and 4 layers for weddings or other “grand” events. Extra layers = extra fancy!

The thing about this method is that you get all these leftover corner pieces. But that’s really not a problem! These are perfect for quality-control taste testing, and they can also be made into mini cakes. (I usually use my 2″ cake ring to make tiny scrap cakes which I store in the freezer for late-night cake emergencies.) Also, obviously, these are good for snacking! Trust me, everyone is always more than happy scarf up the scraps.

Once all the cake layers are prepared, it’s time to build the cake. The ring is used for this as well. I make all my cakes on disposable cake boards so that they can be left behind at the party venue and I don’t have to worry about getting them back. So, just place the cake ring on the board, and spread some frosting on the board. (I always use Italian meringue butter cream – it’s like cement. Delicious, delicious, buttery, sugary cement.)

Then just plop the first layer right into the ring.

Spread the frosting or filling you’re using between layers.

And just keep repeating all the way to the top. Another great thing about using the rings is that you can check at the top to see if the cake is level with the edges of the ring, and it’s easy to correct at this stage by either trimming the cake or adding more frosting.

Done! Now it goes into the fridge to set–just long enough for the frosting to chill and become firm.

Then, I run a small offset spatula between the cake and the ring, and the ring lifts right off, revealing a perfectly straight and even cake! And of course at this point it can be decorated however you like. At this stage (after frosting the naked sides) you could freeze the whole cake and decorate it later. Perfect if you’re throwing a party or making a wedding cake, so that you can get some of the work done ahead of time. Frosted cakes freeze like a dream.

So why cake rings instead of round pans, you may be wondering? At the end of the day, I think it’s probably just a matter of personal preference. But the rings really do allow you to achieve perfect results, with completely straight sides and even, level tops. My personal favorite thing about using cake rings is that all the scrappy pieces allow you to taste the cake, then taste the cake with the frosting–and anyone who watches food TV knows chefs must taste their food! Actually I get completely nervous if I bake a cake in a normal pan and I don’t have any scraps to taste before serving it. In that case, I usually cut a small bite from the inside of the cake to taste, then fill the hole with frosting. And every single time, it makes me think of this:

How about these yarny chairs? Pretty cool. I came across this photo somewhere online and I believe (to the best of my foreign language limitations) that I’ve traced it back to its original source, a Japanese craft blog called Plain Living. The site is in Japanese, but it’s worth a visit just for the photos alone – lots of adorable crafts, beautiful food, and great photography. There’s so much amazing craft inspiration coming out of Japan right now, and this blog is a good place to start soaking it all in.

So, I think the creator of the blog Plain Living is the person who made these chairs (if anyone has any other info, please let me know in the comments). From looking at this photo, I have a feeling the chair on the left was made by working crochet surface slip stitch through the spaces in the metal chair, with roving. At least that’s what it looks like to me – what do you think? The chair on the right could be the wrong side of the surface slip stitch, or it could be that the roving is just woven in and out through the metal spaces.

I totally want to try this — all I need is a wire chair. Hmmmmm…..

How amazing would this technique look worked on one of these babies? Unfortunately these are a bit spendy for me right now, but a crafty girl can dream. 1. Eames Wire Dining Chair, $629; 2. Knoll Bertoia Diamond Lounge Chair, $988; 3. Knoll Bertoia Side Chair, $501; 4. Knoll Bertoia Asymmetric Chaise, $6,187 (I think this one would be downright spectacular with a sweater!)

But all hope it not lost. There are many knock-offs of these types of mid-century wire chairs, and even the authentic ones can often be found vintage at a reasonable price. Consider me officially on the hunt.

Despite a near-miss from Hurricane Irene, my Etsy Craft Night & book launch event went off without a hitch this past Monday! It was a jam-packed day full of many sewing activities as well as wine and cheese and photo booth activities. Here’s how it all went down.

First, up, at 3:30 Julie from Etsy and I went live on the internet to demonstrate how to make the One-Hour Skirt from my book Sewing in a Straight Line. Except we made in in, like, 15 minutes! Fast! Above is a video of our live demo.

Next up, a whole bunch of crafty ladies came for a two-hour sewing class, where each and every person made her own One-Hour Skirt – and I’m proud to say that everyone finished! Here are some of the cuties in attendance modeling their creations:

(I love these photos so much.)

The class was super successful and it was so fun to help everyone make their skirts – I loved how almost everyone had an I can’t believe I made this myself and it was so easy moment – those are the best. And at the end, everyone had that glow you get when you love something that you make.

More shots from our skirt-sewing class:

The final portion of the day was a book launch party in the evening where peeps could sit down at the sewing machines and make fabric-embellished greeting cards, while others mingled about with wine and snacks, and I signed books. And then there was the little matter of a certain photo booth…

Yeah, that photo booth was fun.

I want to thank Etsy for hosting me for such an epic event – over 8 hours of nonstop sewing/partying! And a big thanks to everyone who came out – it was so fun to spend the day with scores of crafty ladies, new friends, and all my besties. *Sigh of contentment.*

Earlier this week, Fifi and I got into a cab together and went into Manhattan to get our hair done. I dropped her off at the kitty salon, went to get my hair cut at the people salon (my cut was uneventful), then picked her up… and discovered my big floofy smooshball had been transformed into the world’s tiniest lion!

How could I ever, ever have known her little body was so tiny under all that fur??

Now she’s smooth as velvet, with pom-pom feet and a tufted tail! I CAN’T STAND IT.

Look at these before and afters! It’s straight out of The Biggest Loser: Kitty Edition! She used to be a big-haired buxom beauty and now she’s one of those celebrities who’s so skinny, her head looks big. Eat a sandwich, would ya?

I was quite reluctant to take her in for this transformation. I realized she really has become my security blanket – I loved scooping her up and snorgling that big floofy coat. She would just become a big marshmallow in my arms and all my cares would melt away… but lately she’d been spending a lot of time like this – belly up. She was just hot, I’m sure. And even though (I swear) I brush her every day and her coat was in good shape, she was just looking like a ratty muppet all the time. Ladies, we’ve all been there — it was time for a trim.

You can hardly believe it’s the same animal, right?

I think she feels a little naked, and believe it or not, chilly. She’s been curled up in a ball on my bed for the past few days – no more belly-up for this girl. She used to love lying on hard surfaces and now she only wants cushy surfaces. I guess her coat was like her own portable cat bed that she took with her wherever she went — and without it, well, the world is a cold, hard place.

I think she’s getting used to it though, and at any rate – it will grow back. Now she’s ready for fall and for her winter coat to come in all fresh and nice. But for now, I have the teeniest little velveteen lion living at my house.

ROAR!

EDITED TO ADD: For those of you who have been commenting that kitties feel humiliated or angry when they get a haircut, I just have to chime in and say that Fifi hasn’t seemed unhappy at all. Her behavior did change, but only in that she suddenly only wants to lie/sit on soft surfaces all the time. But otherwise, she has been as sweet and lovable as ever. She seems to like being petted more than ever – I’m sure she can feel it better now without that super thick coat. I definitely feel that overall this cut was a good thing to do for her in the dead of summer. I’m sure not all cats would react the same way, but I just had to report back and let everyone know that this cut was a very positive experience for us overall! Moving forward I will probably do this once a year, every summer. And she’s so cute! xoxo

After two years in development, my book Sewing in a Straight Line is finally hitting shelves today! Hooray! I’m super excited to share it with the world, at long last. I’ve got all kinds of goodies lined up to celebrate the launch, like a four-week worldwide blog tour, three fantastic web videos showing how to make projects from the book, and giveaways every day from now till August 12. Giveaways every day, people! Every day! So, bookmark this site, follow me on Twitter, and stop by every day to see what kind of sewing stuff you can win.

But first, want to see some photos from the book?

Sewing in a Straight Line is a collection of 26 projects for home decor, gifts, quilts, clothing and accessories that can all be made by simply sewing straight lines. My inspiration for this book came after many years of people telling me they’d love to learn to sew but they just didn’t know where to start. One day it hit me that so much of what I sew is super easy to make — in fact, much of it is sewn with straight lines only. And anyone can sew a straight line! So I set out to make a book that would show readers that they can make cute projects even with very simple skills.

My goal was to design projects that were cute and stylish, but that didn’t look like they were simple to make. I wanted to create a resource of good, basic pieces you’d return to again and again (and learn to customize to your own taste), like curtains, duvets, quilts, small gifts, simple clothes, and accessories. I also wanted to teach readers new skills, so once you get comfortable with the basics, there are lots of projects designed to help you learn new stuff, like inserting zippers, working with specialty fabrics, and more.

The book is available for purchase today, so please check it out at these retailers:

• Amazon
• Barnes & Noble (including a Nook version)
• Borders (including Kobo e-book version)
• IndieBound (independent retailers)

BOOK VIDEOS

I’m very excited to debut the first of three book videos I made with Rarebit Productions. Each one demonstrates how to make a project from the book, so you can see just how to sew it step by step. First up today, I am proud to present: How to Make the World’s Easiest Zippered Throw Pillow!

Zippers are a subject near and dear to my heart – I just think they’re kind of fun to use in sewing, and I know that some people find them intimidating, but I think they’re actually way easier to install than most people think – and what can I say, I just want the world to know that zippers are worth giving a try. So check out the video and let me know if it inspires you to get your zip on!

Major thanks to the fine folks at Rarebit Productions who created these videos with me, to Molly White for the wonderful music, and to many of my friends for coming out to help in guest spots. Very special thanks to Coats & Clark for sponsoring this video series.

BLOG TOUR

I’m excited to set sail around the world-wide interweb, visiting crafty friends old and new on their blogs. Come, travel along with me and visit some great sewing and craft sites on the dates below (links coming soon):

Tuesday, July 19: Stitch magazine blog

Wednesday, July 20: Design Sponge

Thursday. July 21: Vickie Howell

Friday. July 22: Kristen Nicholas

Monday, July 25: Crochet By Faye

Tuesday, July 26: Prudent Baby

Wednesday, July 27: Craftsy

Thursday, July 28: Nicole Smith

Friday, July 29: The Crochet Dude

Monday, August 1: Coquette

Tuesday, August 2: CraftSanity

Thursday, August 4: CraftZine

Friday, August 5: Ellen Gormley & daughter Chickee

Monday, August 8: Etsy Craft Night

Tuesday, August 9: Linda Permann

Wednesday, August 10: Cal Patch

Thursday, August 11: TrueUp

Friday August 12: Blog tour finale & grand prize giveaway winner announced!

THE FIRST GIVEAWAY!

Let’s kick things off today with the first of many giveaways – an autographed copy of Sewing in a Straight Line and an 18-spool set of Coats & Clark Dual Duty XP Thread.

T0 enter, leave a comment telling me what you’d like to learn to sew. The winner will be drawn tonight, Tuesday July 19 at 11:59pm EST. One entry per person please. This contest is now closed. Please check out the current contest, running every day through August 12!

Check back here soon for more book announcements! xoxo

Oh, hi!

I have a new website! Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you’ll bookmark my new interwebhome and stop by often for crafty fun!

The biggest change is that now there are now category tabs right under the header which will take you to landing pages where you can browse my posts by category, so whether you’re looking for a sewing tutorial or a jello recipe, it will now be easier to find. (Things are also more narrowly organized by tabs, over there on the bottom right, in case you want to go straight to, oh, I don’t know… cat pictures!) My sidebar is now a little better organized too, so keep an eye over there for news on things like special projects, new videos, and giveaways.

Special thanks to the lovely Kate Miss for creating my new blog design, and to Jon for developing it in record-breaking time. And to my favorite photographer Rose Callahan for that pic above.