It’s hard for me to get full on christmas crazy until after thanksgiving, but that time is just a 12 lb turkey away. I do have a few christmasy things made already, thanks to the fabulous Betz White. Betz asked me to take a look at her online course: A Fab Felt Holiday, do a project or two, and tell you all about it (and offer you, dear readers, $10 off)

I’ve never taken an online crafts course before, which is ridiculous because they are super awesome. You can sit at your kitchen table with some coffee and bits of felt and Betz will sit right there next to you and tell you how to make an adorable gingerbread houses and humongous snowflakes and poinsettia brooches (and lots more).

Betz’s course is from Craftsy, which I hadn’t heard of before, which is also ridiculous because it is fantastic.  Craftsy’s focus is on well produced video classes and tutorials. And they are very well done. Fab Felt Holiday course has 7 projects with a video tutorial for each that you can watch and pause and skip ahead and use however you like. You can also ask Betz questions while you watch and take notes too–Craftsy has got it all covered.

I chose to make the poinsettia brooches (obviously). I printed out the template at 100%, 75% and 50%. The 50% was a frustratingly small, but everything tiny is adorable.  I like the original size, but not everyone is crazy for a big, big brooch–75% is the way to go for those people. All these felt flowers have a pin back so you can put them on your winter coat, but you can also slip a ribbon through the closed pin and use them as gift toppers: 2 gifts in one! Put one on top of a little box of cookies and you have a pretty fantastic teacher gift.

To see more fabulous felt holiday projects, check out all of the stops on the Fab Felt Holiday tour. Or just go buy the course and make your own!

Week of October 3rd: A Sewing Journal
Week of October 10th: House on Hill Road
Week of October 31st: Maureen Cracknell Handmade
Week of November 7th and 14th: Stumbles & Stitches
Week of November 21st: Elsie Marley

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I am determined to crochet a snowflake this year. Preferably more than one, but after the first hot mess I made, I would settle for just one. I used a Martha Stewart pattern and it was actually quite clear, but my thread was too thin and I couldn’t work with it at all. These linen ones make me want to try again:

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Crocheted snowflakes just look so lovely hanging in a window…

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or strung together to make a garland…

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or crocheted around a bit of wood…

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or crochet together to make a christmas scarf.

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Crochet totally beats out knitting when it comes to making snowflakes (oh I’m totally keeping score). Most of the time crocheters get the short end of the stick (and the shaft at yarn stores—seriously what is the deal?), but those beautiful, delicate snowflakes are all crocheted.

Of course crochet can’t stay classy for very long, oh well.

snowman toilet cozy : :  santa toilet cozy

Some loot from the thrifty store–pretty tins to fill with christmas cookies. Feeling a little old because I’m planning for christmas in september, but maybe that’s just wise rather than lame. I can’t tell.

I’m going to have a hard time letting this one go. I hope you find tons of beautiful things you don’t need at the thrift store this weekend!

p.s. KCWC fall 2011 is filling up fast: 100 people and counting! yay!

There have been some lovely things coming out of the oven these days. I always tell myself I won’t make a thousand kinds of cookies this year, but then well: there are the ones I always make and the ones my mom used to make and the favorite ones from last year and the new recipe I found this year. I kind of like getting carried away, but the problem is that I tend to favor the extra complicated cookies at christmastime and I come away never wanting to see another cookie again. This year that hasn’t happened. yet.

fig pinwheels: these were a favorite from a few years back but they are less exciting to me now. The dough is super delicious, but the filling is too figgy. I think next year I’ll make it with dates and orange peel.

english toffee: always good.

hazelnut thumbprints: I made these last year and didn’t give any away because they were so good. This year I made a double batch (so I could share) and filled them all with apricot jam.

basler brunsli: I think these are Swiss cookies? They are chocolate and almond and rum and so grown up and wonderful. I’m going to share the recipe with you next week.

alfajores: this was a new one for me this year and blazzam! they are amazing. Two little flaky cookies, like barely sweetened pie crust with dulche de leche inside. awesome.

mexican hot chocolate cookies: these are new to me too and they are lame. The cookies are boring and not spicy at all. Oh well, there has to be one crummy recipe every year.

gingerbread and ganache sandwich men: I think gingerbread and chocolate are the best together, so I made these little sandwiches. How could they not be good?

All of the cookies I’ve made so far are packaged up and ready to go, but I’m working on another list: christmas cookies just for us. So far I have down these (which I make every year) and these (which are a perfect new twist on an old christmas favorite).

I’m going to be honest with you: I waited until the last minute to make this ornament and write the tutorial. Well, it seems the last idea I had was not so hot. Things can look so fantastic in your head and then you go to make them and turns out it’s actally crap.  I don’t want to give you a crappy present, so I thought I’d just fess up instead. I had a good run for a while there. I hope you liked the week (-1) of tutorials. I really loved making them.

If you are jonesing to make another christmas ornament there are a few hiden away in my archives that you might like: The one on the left is my tutorial for a half eaten gingerbread man ornament. And the one on the right are tutorials for some woodland ornaments I did for Sew Mama Sew’s Handmade Holidays a few years back. The pinecone is still one of my favorites.

This week was so busy I forgot to remind you about the advent calendar coloring pages I did last year. I posted one everyday of advent for you guys to download.  I also put the whole coloring book in PDF form back up on etsy in case you’d like to make some coloring books for gifts (St. Nicholas day is this weekend).

I love you guys and I hope you can forgive me for re-gifting.  We all have crappy ideas now and then, right? I know I’ve had my fair share.