DIY Stuffed Hobbes: The Rebirth of A Childhood Friend

How ever were children of the 80's and 90's to learn a good dose of fantasy, sarcasm, and an impressive vocabulary without the stories of Calvin and Hobbes?

Hobbes was a part of so many of our lives growing up, and that homocidal psycho jungle cat is just as cool now as he ever was.

As children, my brother collected all of the books, and together we mourned the tragedy of the comic's discontinuation from the local funny papers.

Now that my brother has little sons of his own, I felt the time had come for them to have their own adventures with dinosaur-flying spaceships and suicidal snowman while accompanied by their new best friend Hobbes.

However Bill Watterson, the creator of Calvin and Hobbes, chose not to license his characters for distribution, so you won't find a Hobbes doll sitting on the shelf at your local toy store. So the best option is to make your own*.

St. Pattys' Four-Leaf Clover

St. Patty' Day, the day when everyone is just a bit more Irish!

In recent years, St. Patrick's day has been all about sitting down with a tall dark stout at a local microbrewery, like the Appalachian Brewing Company, or sitting back and listening to some good Celtic music at a fair or concert for Gaelic Storm or The Hooligans. So, I was having trouble thinking of St. Patrick's Day as a craft-project inspiring event.

For inspiration for this holiday craft, I joined up with my friend Ali to create St. Patty's decoration ideas for her friend's bridal shower.

DIY Celtic Knot Heart Pillow

With Valentine's Day on its way, it's time to deck the home with an ode to love. In a quest for unique and cozy Valentine's decor, I created this lovely Celtic knot heart pillow. Made of comfy knit jersey, this Celtic knot pillow makes a statement in the room while also providing a cozy place to snuggle up during the holiday of love.

Celtic knots are a design that are near and dear to my man due to his part-Irish ancestry. My search for a new way to use the Celtic knot pattern, led me to Cut Out and Keep's tutorial featuring the idea to twist a long rope-like pillow into a Celtic knot pattern. I love the idea because it is unlike any pillow I've seen at the average department store.

Ready to give it a try?

DIY Fleece Ear Warmers

Baby, it's cold outside! As our rather large families gathered together for Christmas by the fire, the time came to watch White Christmas, drink hot cocoa, and stuff those stockings with gifts. One easy, fashionable, and useful DIY gift that snowy day was this fleece ear warmer headband.

A thick ear warmer headband with rosettes or floral details can be so stylish and chic. Variations of this tutorial have been floating around Pinterest and I traced the directions back to Delia Creates. So what if I haven't used a sewing machine since middle school home ec class? How hard could it be, right? Well, it turns out you do have to be able to sew a straight line for her tutorial, so I made a few adjustments to the original design via trial and error to find an easier way to make the same look, even without perfect hems.

How to Make Sew Only Rosettes

Have you noticed that Crafting 101 demands you know how to make rosette flowers? So many tutorials mention adding pizzazz and upscaling sweaters, bookmarks, ear warmers, or dog collars with the addition of a rosette. And why not? They're simple to make and the result is classy and chic!

Most tutorials suggest hot glue to bind the stripes of cloth together into a rosette, but hot glue can break down over time and won't last in the washer. So here's my personal twist: how to make rosettes entirely with only a needle and thread.

Start with long strips of fleece fabric between 1/2 inch to 2 inches wide. You can use strips that are all the exact same width or varying width. Since I want my rosettes to emulate nature and nature is so diverse and unique, I preferred to use strips of varying width.