How to Make a Christmas Wreath out of Pine Cones

This tutorial shows how to make a Christmas wreath using pine cones. The pine cones are spray painted white to create a contrasting background for the red birds and ribbon.

How to Make a Rustic Christmas Star

This is a simple twig Christmas tree topper with rustic appeal. The natural materials for this star can be easily found with a quick walk through the woods.

DIY Wedding Invitations with Lace

10 Pumpkin Dessert Recipes for Thanksgiving

10 Pumpkin Dessert Recipes for Thanksgiving

How to Make a Duct Tape Dummy

How To Use Soap Nuts for "Greener" laundry

Want a natural, renewable source of laundry detergent? Try using soap nuts in your next batch of laundry. It's not hard to learn how to use soap nuts and it makes laundry so much healthier and eco-friendly. Read more...

Apple Chips Recipe

Apple chips are an easy way to make a healthy snack. They deliver delicious apple flavor with potato chip-like crunch. A great, healthy snack for kids. Read more...

Child's Jack-o-lantern Applique Shirt Tutorial and FREE pattern link

This is an easy shirt to make for a child. It involves using a simple blanket stitch to attach the applique to the shirt. You can down the free PDF applique pattern at: http://thewoodlandelf.com/patterns/pumpkin-applique-pattern

Harry Potter Costume Tutorial Part 2 - Robe, Crest, Glasses

Here is part 2 of the Harry Potter costume tutorial. This covers making the robe, the house crest, and a pair of glasses.

Easy No-Sew Harry Potter Costume Part 1: Sweater, Shirt, & Tie

This Harry Potter costume is pretty quick to put together. A lot of pieces needed can be picked up at your local 2nd-hand shop (which makes it an eco-friendly and inexpensive costume as well), and the rest can be very easily made. There is almost no sewing involved (just a tiny bit for the robe closure), so it's easy enough for kids to make themselves.

Thor Costume Tutorial Part 3 - Hammer, Cape, Boots, & Belt

Here is the third and final part of the Thor costume tutorial.

Thor Costume Tutorial Part 2: The Vest

How to Dry Sunflowers

Want to preserve those golden summer blooms long after the season? Try one of 3 easy sunflower drying methods. Read more...

How to Make Thor Costume Arm Bracers

This is a video tutorial to make arm bracers for a Thor costume. You'll be needing pellon and silver fabric - both of which I found at Joann Fabrics. This tutorial is meant to accompany a pattern which you can download free at: www.TheWoodlandElf.com/patterns/thor

Wheat Weaving: Heart-shaped Wedding Favor

These little hearts are made with a wire core that allows you to bend the finished weaving into any shape, in this case a heart. Wheat Weaving: Heart-shaped Wedding Favor

Go Green, Save Green: Reusuable Containers.

Going green doesn't have to be expensive, in fact there are little ways of going green that can actually save you money. You can save green, by going green. Read more...

New Images

Some New Images added to my photo galleries. View images...

Farm Market Opens Saturday

The Canandaigua Farmers' Market opens this Saturday! 8:30 AM under the Mill St. Pavilion

How to Make a Skirt from an Old Pair of Jeans

You can upcycle an old pair of jeans into a fun denim skirt by adding a little bit of material (I'm using some left-over curtain material here). It's a good way to use up old jeans that have holes in the knees, but the top is still good. Click here for the How-to Video

Hand Quilted Pillow Case

You can give any old pillow new life just by recovering it in a bright new fabric. Just cover right over the old cover, not cutting and restuffing required. Read more...

Leaf Printed Easter Egg

Click here for the how-to video

Happy Spring

Happy Spring. Who rememebers this snowstorm from last spring?

Down On the Farm (A song)

Just a little song I wrote about my love for the farm, called Down on the Farm, set to a slideshow of some of my black and white photographic images. Click here for the video.

Humanity and Technology

Albert Einstein once said that, “It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.” In a very short span of time we’ve gotten the internet, computers, cell phones, cell phones with internet, ipods and of course social networks. ...Click Here to Read More

How to Make Leprechaun Shoes

Leprechaun shoes can be made out of any pair of plain black shoes. All it takes is a little cardboard, some gold paint and some masking tape and you're ready to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in style. Click here for the how-to video.

What's the Best Way to Prevent a Landfill? Recycle of Course!

Recycling is as simple as throwing a bottle into the blue bin instead of the trash bin, but it's amazing how many people simply don't recycle... Click here to read more.

Multi Layer Spinning Shamrock

 

The layers of this shamrock are held together on each end by thread, so when hung from the ceiling, the multiple layers can separate, turning and spinning with the air flow of the room. Click here for the video how-to.

Eco-friendly Crafting

This week I added some eco-friendly crafting supplies to my online shop Read more...

A Little Research Can Prevent a Lot of Animal Cruelty

Killing an animal for food is a basic instinct dating back to prehistoric humans. The difference now is how the animals are treated before they become food. A little research in knowing where one’s food is coming from can mean a lot in the way of better treatment for animals. Click here to read more...

Rainbow Tissue Paper Card

This little card is made by placing colored paper or cardstock under a printed tissue paper overlay for a muted rainbow effect. Easy for kids. Using recycled paper keeps your cards eco-friendly. Click here for the video tutorial.

New Website

It’s been a long time coming, but I finally got my website redone and I moved my blog to its front page on www.TheWoodlandElf.com. It just seemed to make sense to have everything all in one place. Therefore I will no longer be putting full posts on this blog. However, for those of you currently following this blog, I will continue to post the feed linking to the current blog. In the meantime, check out the new blog at www.TheWoodlandElf.com (and if you find any links I forgot to activate, be sure and let me know. Thanks.)

Too Little Sunshine as Harmful as Too Much

We all know that too much sun is a bad thing. Sunburns hurt, are very bad for the skin and can even lead to skin cancer, but getting too little sun is just as dangerous. Sunshine is a real life "miracle drug." The natural source of vitamin D is something our bodies need, but very few people actually get enough of it. One of the biggest problems is sunscreen.

Naturally most people use sunscreen to avoid being sunburned, but sunscreen also blocks the rays needed for the body to create vitamin D. That means all the sun being absorbed isn't providing the body with any benefit; in fact it can actually be harmful. Vitamin D helps prevent all types of cancers, but if sunscreen is blocking the vitamin D intake, then body is just absorbing sun rays (often a cause of skin cancer) with no vitamin D to counteract the effects. Sitting in a sunny window has the same consequences. The harmful rays that can burn your skin come through the glass, but the good vitamin D infused rays can't get through the glass. 

Make a Moth Repelling Lavender Sock Sachet

Scuffing my feet in and out of farm boots all the time means that I go through pairs of socks pretty fast. That leaves me with quite the pile of socks with holes in the heels. I've tried darning them, but it doesn't really last that long, so what to do with all those un-wearable socks? Make sock sachets!

More specifically, sock sachets filled with lavender. It's a "two birds with one stone," solution. Moths don't like the smell of lavender, so a sachet filled with lavender heads keeps moths away from clothes just as well as cedar or mothballs would (and the lavender smells a lot better too!). And making the sachets out of old socks is a great way to upcycle socks that are past their prime.

How to Make a Lacy Heart Valentine Magnet

Most Valentines go through the mail, are enjoyed for a few weeks, and are then thrown out, never to be seen again. So this year I decided to try something a little more practical, by giving out Valentine magnets instead of Valentine cards. They're something practical (as far as I know, everybody uses magnets at some point or another) as well as being cute enough to keep year round.

These little magnets are also a good way to recycled excess seambinding pieces, small bits of cardstock and business card magnets. (In the office where I work, they often update the magnetic business cards. Rather than throw out the old ones, I take them home for crafts, so I've usually got plenty that need recycling.) The lace makes these look fancy, but really they only take a few minutes to make, and since they use hot glue, you don't even have to wait long for the glue to dry!

Can Green Energy Help Prevent Nuclear Weapons?

We all know that green energy is good for the environment, better for our breathing air, and helps lessen our dependence on foreign oil, but what about world affairs? Can green energy help with that? Well, it could certainly help prevent the generation of dangerous nuclear weapons.

Some people refer to nuclear power as a "green" energy, and while it is true that it doesn't produce emissions like coal, it is certainly not a "green" energy. The Nuclear Energy Institute says that "A typical nuclear power plant in a year generates 20 metric tons of used nuclear fuel." That's a lot radioactive waste, which can remain highly hazardous for thousands or sometimes millions of years. The only way to dispose of it is to bury it for thousands upon thousands of years. Somehow a power source that produces so much dangerous waste just doesn't strike me as being all that "green."

2 Minute Valentine Card



Here's a simple, kid-friendly Valentine card that's good to do with younger kids. It's quick and easy and turns a bunch of hearts into a flower for Valentine's Day. Regular tacky glue and kid-friendly scissors will help keep the project nice and safe for tiny hands.

An Easy Homemade Cleaning Product

When it comes to household cleaners, many of them carry a toxic chemical ingredient list long enough to warrant a hazmat designation. These noxious chemicals pollute our water when they're washed down the drain, as well as being potentially hazardous to breathe while they're being used to clean. Fortunately there are some safe (safe enough to eat even) and very effective alternatives that you can find right in your own kitchen.

Vinegar is probably most well-known of natural cleaning substances and with good reason. It's a wonderful disinfecting cleaner and is great for rubbing down countertops and greasy appliances. When mixed with baking soda it can be used to unclog a drain, and you can even throw a little vinegar in with the laundry for a safe, natural fabric softener.

How to Make a Valentine Hearts Wreath from Scrapbooking Paper

This wreath uses 6 strips of scrapbooking cardstock to make hearts. I used tacky glue to fasten my hearts together which makes the sides pinch up and gives the hearts a pointed, abstract look. If you don't like that look and want the heart edges to remain rounded, use some scrapbooking sticky dots instead to connect the hearts together.

You Really Believe That?

In a world of email, social media and digital camera phones, it is now easier than ever to keep tabs on what's going on. We can share everything with our friends and family and they can share back. And while that is a wonderful convenience, the ease of connection also has a dark side sometimes. The sad fact is that the simplicity of sharing information makes it even easier for someone to say anything they want, no matter how untrue, and let it spread like wildfire across the Internet.

I've gotten my share of forward emails containing completely fabricated information. People will forward everything from imaginary children dying of cancer to photoshopped images of sharks hunting people in the Hurricane Sandy aftermath. The part that amazes me is the fact that people often forward such emails without thinking twice. I guess if someone writes something in an email then it must be true right?

How to Make a Hair Scrunchy

I have long hair so I often wear it in a scrunchy, and as I don't really like going shopping, I usually make my own. Due to sewing all the time, I generally have plenty of leftover material lying around, and scrunchies are a great way to use up some of those extra pieces. They require very minimal sewing, using only a basting stitch. For each scrunchy you'll need a piece of fabric 18 inches long and 3 inches wide, as well as a piece of thin elastic (no thicker than 1/4 inch).

Cheap Home Decor from Nature

Leonardo da Vinci once said "Those who take for their standard anyone but nature - the mistress of all masters- weary themselves in vain." He was right. When it comes to creative design, Mother Nature is still the greatest maker. Decorating with branches can be an easy and inexpensive way to put Mother Nature's beautiful genius to practical use.

At our house, we do a lot of outdoor decorating with branches. In particular, we love the branches that the cows have rubbed over and over again by the edges of the pasture. The oil from the the cows rubbing them gives the branches a shine and makes them look as beautiful as any store-bought stain. We have several gnarly "cow branches" gracing our gardens.

Spock's First Christmas

No, it's not Spock the vulcan, it's Spock the big-eared cat named after the vulcan. Spock is the little kitten I rescued over the summer. He's gotten much bigger since then, but he still has very much the energy of a kitten. As such, he tends to get into mischief.

This year was his first Christmas, and to his delight, he thought that we had provided the Christmas Tree just for his personal amusement. He spent most of the holiday season running up and down the tree continuously, trying to pulling off all the paper cranes that were decorating it. He actually succeeded in completely pulling the tree over three times this season.

This was just some video I shot of him in the decor, to the tune of Silent Night. Most pet owners can probably relate. Hope you enjoy.

New Year Reflections

Well as 2013 begins, I think it's safe to say that one of the best parts of 2012 was my family's new addition, Mr. Spock, the market rescue kitty. He has thoroughly enjoyed his first holiday season, succeeding in pulling the Christmas tree over three times in his obsession to rip off every paper crane on the branches (and we haven't the taken the tree down yet, so he might still get the chance to pull it down once more!)

So as I head into the new year, I've decided to make it easy on myself. My resolutions are consisting of three things that are pretty much guaranteed at this point. My evil plan is to convince myself that I've gotten a lot accomplished by selecting resolutions that are already a sure thing. That way maybe it'll end up actually allowing to get more completed later if I give myself that false sense of accomplishment now.

So my to-do for 2013 consists of getting my first children's book, The Witching Hour, published (it's actually in process now). Get my website made over (already half done). And lastly, clean my craft room (aka my bedroom) and finally complete all those half-started projects. This is the one that's going to take the most work, but it's also the one I want done most of all (I hate feeling cluttered with unfinished projects). And as my crazy quilt and the Clint Eastwood serape are both part of that equation, I'll be doing a lot more work on them as well (yes, I really am planning to finish them at some point, it's just slow going).

So now if I can have all that done by the end of 2013 (or actually before the start of farm market season would be even better), I'm going to be one happy farmer!

Renewable Energy Doesn't Have to Be Ugly

When people mention green power, images of clunky solar panels and huge fields of wind turbines often come to mind. These are often the way sources of green power are implemented. The problem is that they're such an eyesore, people are often hesitant to accept these alternative sources of energy. That's understandable, as anyone who has ever been close to a field of wind turbines, probably wouldn't want that to be their backyard view.

The truth, however, is that alternative power doesn't have to be ugly if it's done on the smaller scale. At left is a picture of the windmill that my neighbor uses for electricity. We don't consider his windmill an eyesore at all. It's much smaller and cuter than the huge white wind turbines. In fact, it used be common to see a windmill at every country house back when they were used for drawing water. Nearly every farmhouse painting includes a windmill in it. The trouble is that when green power is reduced to the small scale, it means that individuals profit instead of some large corporation.