Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm guessing that most of us don't have enough "roasted turkey" paper in our stash to make a whole turkey out of it (maybe a turkey breast?). If you find yourself running out, you can just print this turkey template to make your Turkey Day preparations go quicker.


via swiss miss

Amy Butler/K&Company Fabric

The wonderful collaboration of Amy Butler and K&Company provides us with some great fabric and scrapbooking coordination. And, above all of that, they even have gorgeous bags & totes so that you can coordinate how you haul around all the coordinating fabric and coordinating scrapbooking supplies in.

Cosmo Cricket Fabric

Cosmo Cricket, one of our favorite companies for fresh and unique design, has a couple of great fabric collections based on two of their great scrapbooking lines, Halfway Cafe & Hey Sugar. Hey Sugar is one of our favorite lines ever (LOVE those stickers and journaling cards. And rub ons. And button fashions. Ok, all of it) so we are over the moon about having this paper in fabric. Be sure to watch for lots of fun applications in our upcoming issues!

Heather Bailey Fabric

Not only does Heather Bailey offer gorgeous fabric with fun names like freshcut, pop garden & bijoux, she also has some great ideas of what to do with it! With some great free patterns, patterns that you can purchase from her store , and a myriad of ideas from her flikr group, you'll have plenty of projects in mind by the time you're through looking. A lot of them would make wonderful handmade gifts too!



Oh, and if you're thinking of buying some of her awesome patterns (I know I am) here's a coupon for orders through December!
You can also find her scrapbook line marketed by Autumn Leaves. It is, of course, lovely as well.

Heidi Grace Fabric

Heidi Grace's quilt collection is carried by Jo-Anne's and includes almost 50 different patterns. Fabric choices include her Birds Tale, Day Dream and Midnight Kisses lines.

Trendspotting: PB Kids

It looks like Pottery Barn Kids has taken a turn for the crafty with their holiday lines. Check this Thanksgiving Countdown Calendar out:

Very cute! I've never seen a Thanksgiving countdown calendar before, but hey, why not? It's a great holiday to be excited about. You might say that any celebration involving pie is countdown-worthy.

Also some felt leaves:

Those wouldn't be too hard to make yourself, I don't think. Heck, find a leaf and trace it for a template.

For Christmas, this rather spectacular and huge tree advent calendar:

(Unfortunately I couldn't find a bigger image on their website, it must be sold out. I did see it in their store, and it's pretty neat, cute details on the pockets.)

And felt baked goods:


But here are my two favorites:

and


Ack! I don't know if it's the 5-year-old girl in me coming out or what, but I really want a "mouse house" around, for no other reason than it's adorable. My grandma made a little rabbit house when I was a girl, with a front that unzipped so you could see inside to where the little rabbit family lived. The mom rabbit had a little lacy apron and everything. I've been wanting to make something similar for my daughter lately, so if I don't get Mouse House, maybe I'll make my own little house. That would make a fun article, no?

Has anybody out there made something similar lately? Upload an image to our new Flickr group, Simply Handmade Dollhouses.

Oh, and I almost forgot, just about everything from the Brooke Bedroom:


Especially this cute little owl pillow (and the one to the left of it that you can't see too well):


And ESPECIALLY these butterflies:




That is all.

Oh, and the woodland decal...

and the fairy village.

OK now I'm done.

Basic Grey Fabric

Basic Grey's new fabric is being talked about all over! It is produced and sold by
Moda and it lives up to their reputation for stellar designs. They have converted two lines (more coming? please?) so far, Sultry and Urban Couture.

Anna Griffin Christmas Fabric

For those Christmas projects, Anna Griffin also has a Christmas line.

Anna Griffin Fabric

I never thought I would say there is such a thing as too many good fabric options, but here I am saying it. It took way too long to narrow it down to my favorites. Anna Griffin has a bunch of different lines and some great variety. From crisp Mediterranean prints to swanky paisleys, a fun circus act to bold silhouettes, she's got everything I need!

This striking blue pattern reminds me of these West Elm Chairs. Incidentally, it doesn't look like they're selling their mini chair ornaments again this year. Sad!





Isn't this chair great? This photo is from Anna's booth at the International Quilt Market.

If only I had a penny...

for every time someone said "I wish that patterned paper came in fabric!" I would be independently wealthy and basking in the sun somewhere. Well, some scrapbooking industry favorites have decided to indulge the fantasies of crafting extraordinaires everywhere, developing fabric lines to add to their list of product offerings. This week we are going to feature a few of those companies and their beautiful fabrics, as well as a few companies that did it the other way around, creating pattern paper from fabric designs. Break out the bobbins and stock up on some extra thread - you might just be persuaded to use it all up!

image courtesy of Heather Bailey

Amy Butler holiday templates

Who doesn't love Amy Butler? Everything she does is beautiful and she has some very cool AND free holiday patterns on her site right now.

Our poor tree has been seriously underdressed the past few years. The random piece of fabric "artfully arranged" around the bottom doesn't hold a candle to this button up skirt. I love the Lotus fabric used in the photo too - so perfect.

Tammy is already planning all of the different ways she can use this flower featured on the Snow Mum Pillow. Maybe some of them will make the cut for a future issue of Simply Handmade!

[Tammy's note: In addition to the pillow itself, which is awesome, I'm picturing just the top 2-3 layers on a clip/purse/pin/belt. Or the whole big flower glued/sewn to PINK patterned paper/fabric and mounted inside a deep frame in my kids' room. Although I'm really digging that white-on-white.]

daytime television

We are currently selling a boxed set of one of our other publications, CARDS, and it was featured on Good Things Utah yesterday morning. We're feeling famous.

Check it out:


This set would make a killer gift for someone special!
You can buy it here:

salivate

Wow. This photo from our Brownie Mix Bag shoot is a true diet-killer.


And to further assist in holiday poundage (you can thank us later), here is the recipe, courtesy of Northridge Media Editor-in-Chief, Pam Baird.

click for a high-res version

Hot off the press

The first issue is hot off the press and it's beautiful! This book is generating a lot of excitement around the office and everyone is on fire about it! Issues will be shipping out to stores and subscribers soon. In the meantime, here are some sneak peeks of a few of our favorite projects in the book:

Ad ideas

You can get some great ideas for creations from ads too. These ads sparked some great ideas and half of the work is already done - you don't have to pick out which products to use! These trees made with My Mind's Eye's pattern paper would look adorable on a table. Group three of varying heights on a tray in the center of your table with little ornaments or tinsel filling the base of the tray. Their snowmen would be great sitting on a child's bedroom window sill.

SEI has a beautiful "family" word album that would make a great gift or keepsake.

And how cool is this idea for creating your own personalized stockings? This has been on the Christmas to-do list for ages and Ellison makes it easy with their Sizzix Big Shot. It cuts felt! Ooh, there are so many beautiful things that could come of this.