Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm taking this week off from the blog to spend time with my family--and probably eat way too much turkey. Happy Thanksgiving to all, and thank you for your continued support KBB Crafts & Stitches!

Mini Autumn Treat Bags

I love making little things, which is why you'll find a lot of projects labeled "mini," "tiny," and even "itsy-bitsy" on my blog. This week, as Thanksgiving quickly approaches, I'm sharing a collection of small fall-themed bags that can you can use as part of your table decor. You can tuck some wrapped candy or another treat inside each bag as a thoughtful gift for your guests.

Each felt bag is just 3 inches square and features an applique of a familiar autumn motif--a pumpkin, an apple, an Aspen leaf, and an oak leaf. I used simple embroidery stitches to give the designs a bit of detail and added orange rickrack hanging loops.

These mini treat bags were featured in the Fall 2015 issue of Craft Ideas magazine. Click here to link to the instructions and patterns on the Craft Ideas website.

Gilmore Girls Cross-Stitch Magnet

I know Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away, but I couldn't ignore the other big event that's happening in November--the premiere of Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life on Netflix! Everyone in our house is a huge Gilmore Girls fan, so we've seen the episodes from the original seven seasons dozens of times. To celebrate the return to Stars Hollow, I created a cute little cross-stitch magnet project, compliments of Luke's diner.

I used 14-count white perforated paper and DMC floss--725 Medium Light Topaz and 780 Ultra Very Dark Topaz--to make my magnet. To make your own, follow the chart above and use three strands of floss for the cross-stitches and two strands for the backstitching.

When the stitching is complete, cut around the design carefully. Be careful not to cut too close, or your stitches could fall off the edges. Attach a small magnet to the back with clear glue or double-stick tape.

As far as cross-stitch projects this go, this one is pretty straightforward, but it still requires an hour or two of stitching time. What should you watch while you're working on it? An episode of Gilmore Girls, of course. (The entire series is on Netflix.) Since it's November, I recommend one of my all-time favorite episodes--"A Deep Fried Korean Thanksgiving" (Season 3, Episode 9). Enjoy!

Scrap Basket Halloween Pumpkins

Happy Halloween! My treat for you on this spookiest of days is a super-simple pumpkin decorating project. I used a few buttons and  scraps of ribbon and rickrack to make two happy little Halloween pumpkins. Like Linus in "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," I prefer not to "kill" my pumpkins. This minimally invasive method just inflicts a few pinpricks. The instructions are self-explanatory: assemble your materials, as in the photo at right, and fasten them to each pumpkin with straight pins to make eyes and a mouth. I tied a bow on the orange pumpkin, because I thought its curvy stem looked like a ponytail. The white pumpkin got a cool ribbon-wrapped hairstyle.


As an extra treat, I'm also sharing a list of my favorite scary movies:

Dracula (1931)
Frankenstein (1931)
The Wolfman (1941)
The Body Snatcher (1945)
Thing from Another World (1951)
 Them (1954)
Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
Tarantula (1955)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
The Blob (1958)
Earth vs. the Spider (1958)
The Fly (1958)
The Screaming Skull (1958)
The Mummy (1959)
House on Haunted Hill (1959)
The Tingler (1959)
The Killer Shrews (1959)
Psycho (1960)
Thirteen Ghosts (1960)
The Day of the Triffids (1962)

As you can see, I prefer my horror classic and/or campy. If all goes well, I'll be watching at least of few of these tonight while I stitch and snack on Halloween candy.