The maze book

Hila was the first to introduce the maze book, a wonderful mini album, with a tutorial available on craftweekly. The whole album is made out of 1 12X12" (30X30cm') cardstock, the final size of the pages inside the album is 3X3" and the finished album is a bit more than that because of the cover which is slightly bigger.I created one for a swap, it's stamped with Stazon Timber Brown ink using Tim Holtz and Uptown Design Company stamps. I think I have a growing fetish for wings, actually I think I'm going to create a deco with wings as a theme, maybe get it out of my system (-:
I love this album it takes only 10 minutes to create the cover and pages, and ages to embellish but the possibilities are endless, check out Hila's Flickr.

A new felt covered notebook

I created this one for a swap in my favorite combination of pinks and browns. The brown lace on top is from the pile of scrap fabric that Ifat brought from the sewing workshop, I could see the potential immediately and fell in love with it after I ironed it.

Felt Box

Last night Neomi taught me how to make these lovely hand stitched felt boxes. They are great for storing soft things such as socks or tissue paper or even cotton-wool in the bathroom.
Measurements of this one are 20X20cm (8X8inches) but can be made any size.
Thanks Neomi and thanks to Maya for hosting the noisy group.
Tzik if you read this, I'm going to test you on this one (-:

Strawberry jam

I love the smell of freshly picked strawberries, such a sweet irresistible smell. There’s an organic field of strawberries next to my house, my kids love them with sprinkled sugar on top, I love them as is, this week I made jam.
So easy to prepare, all you need is 1 kg’ strawberries cut in half, 700 grams plain white sugar, 2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice that acts as a natural pectin.
Wash your strawberries and remove the hulls.
Put all the ingredients in a pot, bring to a boil then turn the heat down and simmer for 30-45 minutes.
Skim any excessive foam, no need to get it all, it’s harmless, just tastes better without.
To test if your jam is ready just pour a teaspoon full of jam to an ice cold plate an run your finger through it, if the gap you created with your finger remains this is when your jam is ready.
Get your jars and lids sterilizing by putting them into a pan of hot water for several minutes.
Pour into your jars, I decorate mine with a piece of cotton fabric and string and attach a little tag, then I share it with my family and friends.
Enjoy!

Indulgence

I fear this is becoming a new fetish of mine, fabric... All projects are top secret at the moment (-:

Teddy bears

I took some lessons to learn the one stroke technique, we painted a few kinds of flowers and teddy bears. I must admit I think the flowers are so kitsch I'm not even going to share their photographs, I do like the teddy bears though, they are so sweet!
Painting is probably not one of my talents, I found the whole process quite exhausting but I finally managed to complete it and here it is, size is 27X9.5 inches (25X70 cm').
I once heard a saying "Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely", I hope to use the experience wisely.
I want to thank my dear friends Michal and Orly who sat by my side for their support (-:

Mini accordion album

I took part in a mini accordion album swap. Every participant sent the swap organizer 3 topics that he/she would be interested to receive a book about.
I was happy when I found out that I will be preparing an album for Maya (Yama) as I really appreciate her art. The topics she suggested were magical creatures, birds and journeys, I only had to choose one out of the three so I chose journeys as you can see.
The album is quite small, only 5cmX5cm, made of cardstock, stamped with See D's Clear Stamp Rubber Images-Travel by Sugarloaf Products Inc, using Stazon ink and colored with Aquarelle colors, I opened it and took a photo of both sides.
The deadline is at the end of the month but I finished early for a change so I'm going to mail it tomorrow, clearing my desk for the next project (-:
The topics I suggested for my album were nostalgia, black and white and wings, I wonder what I'll receive.... Swapping can be so much fun, I really enjoyed creating this one.
You can see more of Maya's art at http://www.flickr.com/photos/mayac72

Wondeful rings

Michal, a dear friend, taught me how to make these wonderful, simple to create colorful rings.
I hardly ever wear rings, not even my wedding ring that has been in the drawer for years but I loved these so I made a few.I'll probably give them away to others that will show them off and in the meanwhile created a tutorial just in case you decide you want one yourself.
Jewelry wire is available in many different colors and is sold in several sizes, called gauges, with the larger gauge wire being smaller in diameter. Use a 20 gauge wire (In Israel it's referred to as "Alpaka")and I must warn you that it hurts a bit to bend the wire round the bead, but it's only for a few minutes so it's worth it (-:
You'll have to Click every image to enlarge it.
Thanks Michal!
Enjoy!

A recipe card and a coffee flavor cake

A recipe card I prepared for a swap size 3"X5.5".The recipe I used is one of my favorites, coffee flavored cake. Here's the recipe:
Mix 1 cup self raising flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 spoonful butter and 2 eggs until all ingredients are combined.
Pour batter into a 26” baking pan and bake in a preheated oven at a temperature of 180 degrees Celsius approximately 15 minutes, until the cake gets a golden color and a toothpick comes out dry.
Mix in a bowl ¼ cup milk, ¼ cup sweet wine, 2 table spoons granulated coffee.
Pierce the cake with a fork and pour the liquid evenly on the cake.
Whip up ½ liter cream, 1 cup of milk and 1 package of vanilla flavored instant pudding powder.
Spread evenly on the cake.
Heat in a small pot 1 spoon of butter, 2 spoons sour cream, 4 tablespoons of sugar and 2 tablespoons of granulated coffee until all the ingredients are combined.
Pour on top of the cream and move the baking pan from side to side until the glaze is spread evenly.
Cool in the fridge for at least 24 hours for the cake to set.
Enjoy.

My champions

The Israeli Taekwondo championship 2007-2008 for cadets took place today and my 10 year old twins participated.They both fought like little lions, made the finals and both received silver medals.
I'm a proud mother today. Actually, I'm always proud of them, today I'm proud of their accomplishments.

Felt covered notebooks

My daughter is writing a diary so I made her a felt cover for it, her only instructions were no flowers as a main theme and not too much pink. She actually likes flowers as well as pink but I tend to overdose both, I can't help it I'm a declared pink addict, I admit it, so I have an excuse...

As the diary is top secret I could only take a photo of the cover, then she took it away and as I might never see it again I made some more. Here's another attemp to take it easy on the pink (-:

And then I heard a little voice inside me saying PINK, PINK, PINK.... When it comes to pink I'm too weak so I gave in.

Most of the work is done with a sewing machine with a touch of embroidery done by hand.

Here's another one I made for a dear friend's birthday a long time ago.

I love felt, it's warm, versatile, easy to use, friendly, the perfect material.

Scarves made by my daughter

My 10 year old daughter started crocheting, she already made 2 scarves and she's so proud of herself and to tell you the truth so am I....