The first Monday of every month the Designer Crafts Connection hops with thirty of the Craft industry's top designers. We are all professional designers, members of the CHA designer section. (Craft & Hobby Association)

This month's theme is thank you gifts. November marks the beginning of the holiday season, invitations to holiday parties, gatherings, gift exchanges. My favorite thank you gifts to give are handmade ornaments. I design and create new ones each year. One of my favorite designs is this whimsical elf  popping out of a stocking. I create them in different color combinations to match the gift recepient's holiday decor.

The elf's head is a needle felted 1 1/2" Styrofoam brand foam ball and the stocking is made National Nonwoven's wool felt. The scroll design on the stocking die cut with the Sizzix Big Shot. It cuts felt beautifully. Bead and button embellishments complete the ornament.

Be inspired with the projects offered by the other members of this talented designer group, just hop along with the DCC button in the side bar!

I enjoy my students, they are so creative and with a little direction they run with their own ideas. Once they get the technique I provide them with lots of color and material choices. One of my students wanted to needle felt owl ornaments for her new young stepsisters.

Since the girls both love pink and purple she decided to reverse the colors with one being more pink and the other more purple. They turned out so cute and will be sweet cherished gift, their first Christmas together as a blended family.

Creativity is a gift in itself, taking the time to craft a gift is special. Making something special for someone you love, in the act of creating love is woven in and so there is no greater gift than that.

It is the season to create with love! Always!

I have been having such fun lately with Rit Dyes and my favorite wool felt from National Nonwovens plus I love to needle felt so my pen tool from Clover came in handy to add dimenssion to the dove.

What you will need.

Rit Liquid Dye Aquamarine, Fuchsia, Lemon Yellow
2-9" x 18" pieces of Natural Wool Felt by National Nonwovens

2 ounces polyester stuffing

4 yards of white craft thread

1 yard black craft thread

Measuring Cup & Spoons
Spoon for stirring dye
2-Gallon Container
Large Pot for heating water
Rubber Gloves
Plastic Table Cover

Westcott Brand Scissors

Cutting Mat

Clover Pen Needle Tool

Ruler

Embroidery needle
Pencil

Cardstock

Pattern (enlarge 50%)

Step 1:

Prewash felt pieces to remove any finishes that may interfere with dye absorption.

Cut  ¼ piece of felt off one 9" by 18" piece.

Step 2:

Cover work surface with a plastic table cover. Wear plastic gloves.

In a large pot, heat 4 cups of water on the stove until very hot, at least 140° F.

Dye Preparation: Wearing rubber gloves shake dye bottle and measure 1/2 cup of Aquamarine with 1 cup hot water. Stir well to mix dye and water.

Carefully transfer 4 cups heated hot water into large dye container. Pour dye solution into hot water and stir well.

Immerse a piece of wool felt in the dye bath and stir continuously for 10 minutes. Add 2 yards of craft thread to dye bath. Stir felt. Allow the felt to remain in the dye bath until the desired shade is achieved. Color will appear lighter when dry.

Remove the felt from the dye bath and squeeze out excess dye. Rinse in cold water running water until the water runs clear.

Repeat dyeing process with Fuchsia dye.

Needle felting with Wool Wisps from National Nonwovens and Styrofoam Brand foam is one of my very favorite techniques. The above design I created for the 4th of July can also be adapted very easily for the Canadian July 1st celebrations. Photo courtesy of and complete instructions are available at CraftsnCoffee.com.

Crafty happenings, the talented and divine Ms. Margot Potter is on the new TLC Craft Wars show hosted by Tori Spelling. Can't wait to see her! Trailer promo http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/tv/craft-wars/videos/on-the-craft-battleground.htm

Have a creative week! Follow the Joy!

The birds are singing about a great giveaway for the DCC Designer's Blog Hop. Hop on over to Julie McGuffee's blog to get the details and have some fun! Happy Friday!

Happy Spring! The birds do sing from the treetops with JOY! This one of my favorite pieces, the technique needle felting is fun, easy and relaxing.

Delicious vibrant wools from National Nonwovens, pen needle tool from Clover, a sheet of STYROFOAM Brand foam, Wrights ricrac and buttons from Blumenthal Lansing.

Creating with JOY, never forget to just create for the sheer pleasure, the relaxation of hand, heart and mind engaged in creating! Follow the JOY always!

Easter is a favorite holiday of mine, the pretty cotton candy colors, cute bunnies and chicks oh and of course the chocolate! Even though my girls are grown up we still have an Easter egg hunt although this year I was thinking of hiding Keurig cups as they both enjoy their coffees!

Over the years I have designed many bunnes which have been published in a variety of magazines. So in honor of the holiday, here is a roundup of some of my favorites. To go along with the bunnies, Crafts 'n Coffee  is having a week of Eggstravaganza projects! Enjoy!

Easter is only a couple weeks away and even though my girls are grown now, we still have our traditional easter egg hunt. I enjoy always each year too finding a stray egg that was missed. One year as I hid the eggs our little dog followed behind me eating several candy eggs before I caught her! OOps I meant when the Easter Bunny was hiding the eggs!

This year I am counting the days till Easter weekend, I haven't seen my youngest since Christmas so can hardly wait until she is home and the three of us are together. My daughters are such a joy! My oldest daughter has just bought her first home, so exciting and she is moving in June.

This year if you are looking for inspiration to craft some eggs to fill a basket or two Crafts 'n Coffee is having an Eggstravaganza and giveaway so hop on over! I have experience with hopping seems my bunny designs have multiplied over the years! I will be sharing some of my favorites. Full instructions for the Jester Bunny at http://www.creativehomeartsclub.com/projects/articletype/articleview/articleid/670/spring-jester-bunny

Designer friend Eileen Hull who designs dies for Sizzix is hosting a linky Spring Party and giveaway. Eileen's dies are wonderfully versatile allowing you to create layered textured accents and elements from a variety of materials. Check out the inspired creativity!

Finally we get to see a friendly face around here! Debra has been making mostly feliines lately and we were getting concerned. Freda has been watching her tail feathers so much she has a stiff neck and can only walk sideways!

This new friend began as a 12" sheet of Makeit:Fun STYROFOAM Brand foam and the Spring Blossoms Wool Wisps Collection by National Nonwovens. Debra began by drawing a design lighty on the sheet. With her Clover pen needle tool she just needle felted away creating our very cheery spring friend! Adding some stitches, buttons and trims and in a very short time he was singing spring!

 Obviously he hasn't looked out the window at the four foot high snowbanks yet! He still thinks he is in New Mexico, has a bit of an attitude as he was on the PBS show Creative Living with Sheryl Borden. Another Prima Donna, he and Freda will have to sort that out, ah should be a fun weekend! Follow the Fowl!

Taping segments of Creative Living with Sheryl Borden in New Mexico was a great experience! I travelled to Portales NM with a good friend. She got to watch behind the scenes and from the control room. Everyone connected with the show was warm and welcoming. Sheryl is delightful to work with and made me feel at ease.

Besides the usual concerns, hair wouldn't co-operate in the morning, last minute change in wardrobe which was a good thing as wearing a blouse and skirt made it much easier to place my mike and attach box to back of my waistband!

I had prepared stepouts for each of my four segments. As we finished one segment all the pieces were whisked away and the next set arranged on the table. Count down would go to three and then Sheryl would be cued by signal to begin. That moment I would take a deep breath ready to start. My intent was to make the demo of the project as clear as possible.

I was fortunate to demo projects for three sponsoring companies whose products I work with constantly, Westcott Brand Titanium steel scissors, Make it: Fun Styrofoam Brand Foam and National Nonwovens wool felt and Wool Wisps.

The segments will air next fall on 118 PBS stations in four countries. I will have the segments on You-Tube in a couple weeks along with the instructions for the projects. Below are some photos that were taken before each segment began while we were setting up. I am very grateful for the experience, to Sheryl and the KEN-W crew for making it as easy and enjoyable as possible!

Early this morning I am off to tape segments of Creative Living with Sheryl Borden in Portales, New Mexico. This has been a whirlwind trip from CHA in Anaheim to flying to Albuquerque to prepare for show. Stepouts and instructions are ready. Outfit planned, no black and white so I chose a colorful dress to wear!

I am a little nervous and very excited to be showing techniques and designs featuring my sponsors, Westcott Brand, Makeitfun Crafts and National Nonwovens. I appreciate their support very much to be able to offer crafty and sewing inspiration!  Projects and instructions coming soon!

Meanwhile here is a sneak peak behind my scenes, my exploding suitcase and my entourage and assistant Fox the cat, I couldn't have prepared without his invaluable assistance!

I was inspired by some lace I found in my stash and a bag of broken pearl necklaces I picked up at the flea market this past weekend. The pearls are a range of gorgeous vintage hues. Not being a jewelry designer Katiedid components were great as I could glue broken pieces of pearl necklace into the doughnut components. The slipper is a version of the fun shoe I made at a Make and Take at Summer CHA at the Tombow booth with designer friend Marie Browning.

Eileen asked us to think outside the box with using the die in other ways, to show how versatile the die is. I used it to create a flower, layers of paper, lace and felt. I also used the pieces to make the double layer hat, collar and dress for my wee Mousekin. The scalloped pieces were perfect for the outfit.

Making the slipper, tan cardstock covered with lace.