bookmarks

Does this look familiar? I bet it does to many of us. I am actually not that much of a reader, but would seem to be better at starting books than finishing them.


Which means that there is a high need for bookmarks in our house.


I love bookmarks almost as much as I love books. When the kids were small, we often made bookmarks specific to the books we were reading. It was a good activity for boys who couldn't sit still while listening, and it was a nice exercise in turning abstract words into something more concrete. I loved seeing their interpretations.


Some bookmarks are manufactured as such and given as gifts:

Some were made as advertising or promotion:

Some are cherished handcrafted items:

I am even known to use random scraps of paper to mark my reading place—do you do this, too?

I could tell you the story of each and every one of the above bookmarks, where they came from, when I got them, what their significance is. I mean it: I really love bookmarks, signifying as they do the optimism of continued learning and the promise that even if you are too tired tonight, you can pick up again tomorrow. Bookmarks save your place, just like a friend.


And bookmarks are on my mind right now because of a question Elizabeth posed on twitter a few months ago: what is an easy way for a non-crafter to begin crafting?


I've thought about this, and I believe the best way is to just make something you can use. At its most basic, crafting is simply the personalization of objects we keep around us. Whether you add a bit of color or whip it up from scratch, the functional property is what separates craft from art, isn't it?


So if you were to make a bookmark, how would you do it? Would you draw and color a strip of cardstock? Glue pieces of newspaper or glossy magazine together and brush with Mod Podge? Would you add a magnet to hold it in place? Fold origami? Stitch up some leftover fabric from a favorite shirt?


Try doing an image search for "handmade bookmark" and see if it doesn't inspire you. If you want to be particularly timely, type in "valentine bookmark." I think a bookmark is the ideal Valentine card—how about you?

Image via Wikipedia

chocolate agave syrup

I have a number of coffee-loving friends, some of whom do not use refined sugar. Last Christmas I came across this recipe for coffee syrups, but realized I would have to tweak it for my friends. Because agave can be used as a straight substitute for simple syrup, it was a pretty easy swap. The only problem was that in my first experiments, the agave flavor was stronger than anything I was adding. I finally gave up and decided that they would all have to have chocolate in their coffee. As it turns out, this syrup also makes a fair cup of hot chocolate and tastes pretty good over ice cream. It didn't occur to me until I was finished, but this is just chocolate syrup! It's not particular to coffee.


I bought bottles from here for $5/case. Even with shipping, I seem to remember that it came in well under $2/bottle. The ingredients for the syrup itself (shown for a single 8 oz bottle) are:

• 1 Tbs. cocoa powder (the very same from yesterday's popcorn)
• 1 cup agave
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch salt

Pour the cocoa powder in a small saucepan and add about 1/4 cup very hot water, stirring to dissolve completely.

Add the agave, and just bring to a very gentle boil, stirring to blend. The mixture will be light at first, then marbled, and finally it will mix into a beautiful dark chocolate color.

Remove from heat, add vanilla and salt and let cool completely before bottling.

You can multiply the quantities to make a batch for gifts. Although these were Christmas gifts, I think the red ribbon and the heart on the label also make them perfect for Valentine's Day. The only change I would make would be to write the label without the word 'coffee,' and with a list of ways the syrup can be used.

the waterless hot water bottle (heated rice bag)

Although I've filled old socks with rice to heat the dog beds on cold nights, I'd never used one myself until a friend gave me one as a gift. It's long and skinny and drapes around your neck to keep your torso warm.


It worked so well that I also started using it to warm the (human) bed...and then I had the idea to make a rice bag shaped like an old-fashioned hot water bottle. Remember those? They always felt so good at the beginning of the night, and then you'd wake to find this cold slab of rubber like a lump in the bed.


Rice doesn't do that.


So here's a quick project to keep your bed warm on winter nights. I like it plain, but I also went ahead and made a second with a Valentine heart on it since I had extra fabric.


This is basically an envelope-style pillowcase around a pillow filled with rice. I made up two simple patterns, which you can download here and here. Unfortunately, the patterns won't print to original size (which runs to the edges of the paper) but always add a little margin around the edge. My suggestion for this is to redraw the pattern yourself, or trace around an actual hot water bottle. The only thing you need to remember is that the back pieces must overlap by about 2 inches or so.


Or you can use the patterns as is and have a slightly smaller heat pack.


For the pillowcase/cover, I used a red fleece. Red fleece is in abundance in the remnant section now that Christmas has passed. Anything over 12" should work comfortably and make 3 water bottles.


My rice pillow was made from a scrap of muslin. Any tightweave cotton in any color/pattern will work, though, as it won't show through the fleece.


The filling is 2 lbs of rice. Lentils, dried beans, and even clean cherry pits also work. I like rice because it's cheap and relatively fine. I don't think I'd want to roll over onto a sack of cherry pits in the middle of the night. (I also can't imagine how one would accumulate 2 lbs of them in the middle of winter.)


After you print out the pattern, cut around the solid outline and lay it on the fleece. For the front piece, you can just weight the pattern down with your rice and cut around—be sure to add 1/2" for seam allowance.

If you want to add the heart, this is where you'll do it. I just cut a pink heart from some scrap felt and zigzagged it to the center front of the fleece. I also played around with adding a felt initial and a strip of ribbon, but it's that time of year, so ultimately the heart won out. Here's what the others look like, though:

The back pieces are a tiny bit more complicated. You need to fold down Pattern 1 along the long dotted line for the lower half—don't cut it, as you'll need to unfold it later. Pattern 2 is the upper half. These two pieces are placed on the wrong side of the fleece (it'll be the side with less pile and fluff) with some clearance. Then you'll take a marker and draw around the outlines of the patterns, as shown below.

Remove the patterns and cut 1/2" around the marks you have made. Hem the straight edges by rolling them under and stitching.

Now you just layer the pieces thus:

• On the bottom is the large front piece, with the right side of the fabric facing up. 
• Next is the hemmed top half, right side of the fabric facing down.
• On top of these two pieces is the hemmed bottom half, right side down.

Pin carefully and sew along the lines you've marked. Sew all the way around, overlapping to secure the seam. Trim your seam allowance, clip curves, and turn right side out. You should have a little pillowcase.

inside out, sewn

inside out, seam allowances trimmed, curves & corners clipped

right side out, front view

right side out, back view

Now for the pillow. Unfold your large pattern again and refold at the dotted line going across the neck.  Draw around the pattern on the wrong side of the fabric as you did above, and cut out 2 pieces with the extra 1/2" seam allowance. Sew on the marked lines, leaving a 2" opening at the top for filling. Trim and notch as before.

Then turn right side out, fill with rice, and stitch closed. If your machine is a tabletop model like mine, it may be easier to place the filled bag to the right of the needle so that its weight doesn't drag down.

And that's all there is. Stuff this rice pillow into your red case, and you are done. The total cost of this project is under $5, and it takes no more than an hour to cut and sew. 

To use, heat in the microwave for about 3 minutes. Keep an eye on it to be sure the fabric doesn't get caught up anywhere (ask me how I know this) and take it out when it's comfortably warm. Then tuck it into your sheets just before bedtime. It should keep you or your loved ones comfortably toasty all night.