Heidi Kenney is well known for adding faces to food. Here she whips up some adorably festive pot pies with little jack o’ lantern faces! Find the recipe at My Paper Crane! And, if you’re up for making your own puff pastry, Annies Eats shares a tutorial for making your own from scratch!
Crafting Into Autumn with The Artful Parent
We woke up this morning to welcome coolness in the air. I love the feeling of Fall coming into season. It brings such an excitement of the festivities to come!
We don’t experience Fall in the same way that most others do, being in Florida and all, but we do our best to share as many of the delights of the season as we can with our girls through food, decor, and crafts!
This year I am very excited to make our way through the days of Autumn with Jean Van’t Hul’s new E-Book, “The Artful Year: Autumn.” I downloaded my copy a few days ago, and it is absolutely beautiful! The book includes directions for Fall-themed crafting and decorating, recipes, recommended books, and a ideas of special ways to enjoy the season with your family!
Here are just a few things from the book that we’re looking forward to: yarn spiderwebs, pumpkin waffles, thankful stones, leaf printing, and the many variations of making our own colorful Fall leaves!
You can download a copy of the ebook here.
What are your favorite Fall crafts?
How to Make a Felt Bat Bow
you need:
paper
: Cut pattern pieces from felt, and cut a 1/4″ by 1 1/4″ strip of felt :
: make a bow with the top piece, position the “ears” on the edge :
: position wings behind bow and use a needle and thread to tack into place :
: tighten the center of both pieces and wrap thread around a few times to hold :
: wrap strip of felt around center, keeping edges in the back :
: make sure the strip is wrapped nice and tight :
: cut off any excess felt from the strip and stitch down :
: use the same thread to wrap around a hair tie :
: or hot glue the bow to a head band :
The bow was inspired by this pin. Please have fun making these for yourself or someone you know, and if you have any questions just ask!
15 Simple Kid Knits for New Knitters
One of the best things that fall brings with it is knitting. I tend to sew a lot, but it was so exciting to break open my knitting bag and get my needles going on some new projects!
Are you new to knitting or looking for some quick knits for your kiddos (or upcoming babies)?
Check out these links for beginner knitting patterns that are simple enough for newbies, but equally useful for the seasoned knitter:
knitting for kids: 15 beginner knitting patterns to grow your skills
knitted headband pattern with pom pom from Rust and Sunshine:
slippers in any size from Beatrice Cavicchioli
any size beginner hat recipe from The Sheep Shop
This hat is knitted flat, so it’s perfect for those who aren’t quite ready for knitting in the round!
3 and a half knitted bows from Cornflower Blue Studio:
These are so useful! Boys can wear them as bowties, or pair them with the above headband for girls!
knitted treasure bag from Inner Child Crochet
 I love this little bag for keeping tiny treasures that my kids have collected!
knitted doughnuts from I Like Lemons
In her post she offers her variation, plus a link to the original pattern. The pattern uses an M1 stitch, which might be new for beginners. For a great demonstration of this stitch, see this video.
Child’s play crown from This Cosy Life:
I made one of these crowns for each of my girls a couple years ago and they still wear them for dress-up! Also, be sure to check out her pattern shop, it’s full of wonderful things to knit!
ninja toy from Vickie Howell at Craftsy:
*this one is free from Craftsy (part of the Purple Stitch Project), however you will need to sign up for a Craftsy account to access it
knitting for babies
Simple baby bib pattern:
(image is from ellemme, pattern found here)
Knitted baby bonnet from Knit and Bake:
easy baby booties knitting pattern
these are wonderfully easy to knit and have so many variations to play with!
preemie baby hat from Ewe Ewe
Striped baby hat from A La Sascha: English translation and link to PDF found at the bottom of her post
Baby frog legs (legwarmers) pattern from Lauren Dahl:
bias baby blanket from JCasa
this blanket is knit in 3 colors and is so beautiful in its simplicity
Printable Lunch Notes from Sarah Jane Studios
Sarah Jane is a mommy and illustrator whose work embodies the sweet simplicity of childhood. Here she offers a few special notes to include in your child’s lunchbox! (click here for the free printable)