kro designs

As I posted here , I make my holiday cards every year and they are all textile related.  This year, I deceided to use up some white buttons from the stash to make snowmen. Here's the tutorial on how to make 4X6 cards To add some interest, I used to pieces of different colored paper.  Cut the inner card 5 1/2 x 8 inches,  and outer card 4 3/4 x 7 3/4 inches. Fold each in half and nestle together. Punch 2 holes on the fold line through both cards. Thread ribbon through holes, tie in bow and trim ends. To make snowmen, center three buttons on card using Welbond non-toxic superglue. Add a ribbon scarf using same glue. Mine were 2.5 inches then folded in half. Top hat was put together in two parts: 1/4 x 1 inch strip of paper with a 3/4 inch square on top.  Adhered with a regular glue stick! Face and "3 dots" were made with the tiniest dots of puffy paint.  Let dry for 4-6 hrs Assembly line process works best! This idea was adapted from Martha Stewart...

I've been baking days. Just kiddn', just a few hours. But phew, did I get a lot done~ Clockwise: sugar cookies, pecan-cranberry biscotti , German love cookies, spritz I also made English toffee bars too but I don't want to talk about that.  Ok. Scratch that... I do need to tell you.  Since it was so cold the other day, instead of putting the dogs in the garage while I was out, I decided to barricade them in the kitchen.  Belle got into the pan licked all the nuts off the top and if she would have had a spatula would have eaten the whole pan, and would have asked me for a bowl of milk too.  Leach! These ladies are waiting "patiently" to get to the kitchen floors after I'm done. I don't know how many times a day I have to yell. "OUT". Thank goodness she isn't named Spot!  Out, damn'd spot! out, I say! No energy left to frost.  Maybe later.

Mark has taken each of the boys out for breakfast this week and feeling "left out", I thought I'd make a gourmet breakfast for moi! I had a craving for quiche; mushroom bacon and cheese. No recipe just on the fly!

Time to make those holiday cards! No fabric this year but definitely textile related. Stay tuned for tutorial and final pics!

Felted ball and button bracelets! Super cute!!!

It's a well known fact I hate salads. By the time I'm ready to eat lunch I'm ravenous and want to grab anything leftover in the fridge and go. This morning while making my husband his salad, I made a carbon copy for me too. I will be enjoying this one!! Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

We had a great time last Friday doing these scarves at the Eden Prairie Art Center! Another proud Mama moment when all of them walk out of class wearing their project!  We've now decided to add it as a birthday party for adults starting this fall.

reBAG-it, my reusable bag line has  new online home (s)! and Shop and Twitter I'm not stalking you, really...

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

I've decided to jump into the wholesale pool...splash!

No... not the Lego got stuck up my youngest son's nose...well, it's out now too. But even more exciting than that, the video I did for Learning ZoneXpress! Here is the You tube clip... I guessed they liked it so much, that they have asked me to do ANOTHER ONE ! Personally I think they are crazy for asking me again...but they sure are fun to make! Just in case you want one ...

Here is some student work using our wet felted spheres to construct a necklace. We also added some "sushi" rolls done in another session. I think they add a lot of dimension. Beautiful use of color!

In order to feel more in control of my work and life balance, I'm trying a new system. In the past I've used just an old notebook that the kids used for school, post it notes, you get the idea. Problem is that IT DOESN'T WORK FOR ME! I'm always forgetting that one thing when I go to the grocery store or not actually achieving some daily work goals I've set for myself. Other things like answering e-mails, class proposals etc. all find their way into my day instead of actually making anything. Which for an artist is kinda important. So....I put together a little spread sheet to help me . Now everything is in one place. Home Book

This week I start teaching a weekly class at The Minnetonka Center for the Arts about Wet and Dry Felting and wanted to let you in on a little bit of it too. This step by step tutorial teaches you how to make felted balls that will be a component in a necklace which I will show later on. Start with 1/2 oz. corriedale wool. I get mine at one of two places, The Textile Center shop and The Fibers Studio . You can also pick it up on Etsy . This time I am using this variegated dyed one purchased at The Textile Center . The corriedale at The Fiber Studio is a better quality wool but it only comes in solid colors. Trade off, I suppose. The soap is from Kiss My Face , a pure olive oil soap. Fill a bowl with water and place the soap in it and mush it around. I like to do it this way until the soapy water opaque and slightly yellow then I take the bar of soap out. When wet felting if you fill your bowl with warm or hot water it speeds up the process. I want beginners to use room temp water (so...

"What did you do on Winter Break?" We read. We snuggled. We unwrapped. We wrote Thank yous. What did you do?

My boys are always asking me "What's for Dinner?" And the last thing they say to me while tucked in bed at night is "What's for Breakfast?" I cannot keep them fed enough. I had heard that this happens with boys, constant eating, standing at the fridge eating, whining when there is nothing to eat in sight but it didn't hit home until recently. They are "Mad Hungry"! And when I saw this book, "Mad Hungry: Feeding Men and Boys" and read "you should never be without bacon" I knew the author was my kind of cook! To combat so many meal related questions, I've turned the side of my fridge into food central. My youngest calls it, "Mom's Diner" (which it really seems to be) always thinking of the next meal to prepare. It describes every meal, every sauce, every side dish (but sadly, from their point of view, not dessert) for the entire week. Unannounced to them, tucked away I have a monthly calendar which has meals...