A Crafty Weekend

Over the weekend, Eric and I visited a really cool event in our Neighborhood. Hovercraft was a great opportunity for local merchants to host a little pop-up shop/vendor booth at local Urban aquaponic farm Sweetwater Organics. It was so cool to see all the talent by local artists and crafters. It was doubly great to see how many people attended - it was absolutely PACKED while we were there!

There were so many different kinds of vendors there, but some of my favorites were the stuffed hipster cats from Waffles + Spice, some uber-adorable knitted leg warmers (I'm sorry, I didn't catch the name of the shop!), and a really talented comic-book-style artist, Matt Chic.

It was also kind of a Hipster Palooza... I can't tell you how many times we quoted "Put a bird on it" throughout our visit.

I didn't buy anything, but I loved browsing all the unique goods for sale!

After our visit, I took all that creative inspiration and got to work on some things of my own. A couple weeks ago I noticed some cute burlap and felt ornaments for sale at Target, but knew they were something I could easily create myself at home, with materials I already had on hand. So I snapped a photo of one of the ornaments I wanted to create, then made my own version!

Here's the Target ornament:

And here's mine. A pretty decent knock off, right? 

I already had some burlap, red felt, pillow stuffing and twine at home, so it literally cost me zilch to make this!

After making that first ornament, I just couldn't quit. I was having way too much fun making fun, stuffed ornaments. Next, I pulled out some fabric scraps I had on hand and mad this houndstooth tree ornament:

I'm really happy with the way this one came out! And the best part: these soft, stuffed ornaments are absolutely cat-proof. No broken bulbs here!

Speaking of cats, once I got going making ornaments, I found it hard to stop. As I made another ornament, while I was stitching it closed after stuffing it, the fabric bunched a bit and my seam got a little wonky. Rather than throwing the ornament away, I sprayed it with a little catnip to see if Mr. Pancakes would like it. Turns out, he absolutely loved it! Because it was felt, it slid perfectly across the floor. It also had a sparkly loop attached, perfect for Mr. Pancakes to pick up with ornament and fling it in the air. My mistake had suddenly turned into something wonderful! After making the first cat toy, I remember we had some loose catnip around the house somewhere. So I grabbed some more scrap fabric, stuffed it with stuffing and the loos catnip and sewed up a little heart!

Turns out both cats loved this one, too! Mr. Pancakes and Lieu Lieu both couldn't stop batting it around. I got a kick out of making these little cat toys. And if my cat lady-ness already wasn't out of control, I think my newfound interest in making homemade cat toys really puts me over the edge...

But that's the fun of Christmastime. It gives me an excuse to make little crafts and put some creativity to use. I love making my own Christmas decorations - it just makes them all the more special!

Have you completed any Christmas crafts this season? What have you made?