Last week my girl turned ten. My, oh my, how time flies! We thought about different favors to give her friends at the party. We both loved the idea of gnomes! A little magic to send home with each guest :)

We made the gnomes appeal to older children with different colors. We chose teal and black, white and purple, instead of pastels. Every child is different, of course, and these colors appealed to her friends. Even the boys!

The gnomes disappeared too fast for me to even take photos. Luckily, my girl and boy brought home a gnome of their own so I could photograph these two. 

I can see the gnomes being fantasic party favors even as she gets older. They are good luck charms :)

To make a big batch of gnomes (we crafted seventeen altogether), these tips helped me a lot:

• Buy gnome forms in bulk (if you can). They sell in craft stores a few to a package, but there may not be enough on the shelf. I order sets of the from A Child's Dream Come True in groups of 12 for $3- sweet! (1 and 5/8" size)
• Choose colors all at once. Pick a few colors of felt that work together as mix-and-match. Think of your friends. What are their favorite colors?
• Cut capes. I cut a couple of capes out of each color. I saved everything in a basket.
• Cut hats. Same story :)
• Use varigated thread for different colors. We used rainbow crochet thread (size 10)
• Sew the capes on the wooden gnomes. I did this in a batch where I didn't even tie knots in the thread. I started in the back, sewed a running stitch around, and knotted the two threads together. I didn't hide the threads, which was a shortcut for me. I knew the hats would cover the knots in the back.
• Sew hats. Add sequins, blanket stitch the bottom edge, whatever sounds pretty. Enjoy making each hat unique.
• Stuff a little wool or cotton stuffing in the hat and glue it on. Let the glue dry and enjoy your party!

I was busy getting her party ready, so I didn't photograph the process. One day :)

You could, of course, sew them at the party as a craft. That would be fun, too!

We knew that children would be busy playing so we made ours ahead of time.  

You can find more detailed gnome-sewing directions in our book on page 107. If you need help, I am happy to answer questions. 

Have fun sharing your gnomes.

P.S. My daughter sewed hats too. She loved giving her creations away :)

An exciting week in the forest! These beautiful flowers arrived on my doorstep. And flowers are always a celebration. I love flowers! The flowers didn't arrive by themselves, though. No, they were from our lovely friends at C&T Publishing along with a first copy of our book! And I just discovered there is a preview of the book, sharing pages here. So you can understand why we are happy-dancing!

Holding the book after all the months of writing and crafting and editing and sewing was a strange, marvelous feeling. They took our fairy-world and made magic. We love the layouts and colors. What a treat to see all of the hard work pay off :)

The book releases in late May, which is the trickiest part of showing it off. We took it to school and were asked many times where to buy a copy. A little waiting left...

I loved bringing it to school, because the children saw the wall between books and writers crumble. They thought hard about whether Asia and I had really written a real book. Until we showed them page with fairies and gnomes, their Moon Pockets and Treasure Owls. 

"We made ones like that!" 

Which quickly became, "When can we make pirates? And mermaids? And ninjas?"

I better get busy cutting felt :)

We also received CDs with all of the photos they used in the book. We had talented photographers work on Forest Fairy Crafts. I take many of our photographs, but the size and scope of this project meant I was happy to get help. We had over 400 placeholders for images in the original draft! Not all of them made it into the book, but still, they got to work with lots of fairies and crafts.

Our mermaids :)

I am busy today sewing sample for our hat pattern PDF that I will send out to everyone who preorders our book. You can order from any favorite book seller. We will simply ask for an order number or receipt copy. We are working on the technology to make this all possible. Amazon will have the book arrive on your doorstep on release day- you can order here .

We are visiting local bookstores and craft stores to set up book release parties. And I am ready to celebrate. It's a great day in the forest!

I have many postcards (pictured with the flowers) that I want to send you for helping share the fun news. Simply email your address with Fairy Crafts Postcard in the subject line and I will put one in the mail. Don't worry, I won't use your address for anything else :).  If you work at a school or know a group of friends/parents/crafters that may appreciate a postcard, tell me how many you would like and I will do my best to drop them in the mail soon. Thank you for supporting the forest!

All kinds of good news. We will keep you posted as we get closer to the big Release Day :)

I want to thank our loyal friends and fans of the forest who preorder our book. I am making a special PDF with at least 5 hats that couldn't fit into the book. I am working on how I will collect, keep, and send out emails to everyone who sends a receipt (I don't care where the book is purchased) or order number. I haven't figured out logistical details of organizing it all though, so save onto those emails. All receipts will be honored :)

Stay tuned for details!

The second big idea is from my daughter, Anika. She wants to start a Forest Fairy Fan Club for kids. The club will have newsletters with ideas and inspiration for new crafts. The theme would be Kids Inspiring Kids. We have tons of plans, including Magic Wands and Kitty Ears. Again, it's the logistics of gathering emails, creating the newsletter, and sending it to the email list... I've never done that before. More adventures in learning for me, which I love :)

I also have a basket full of craft kits made by Asia in delightful spring colors to photograph and post in our Etsy shop.

That and I just got a bunch of postcards featuring the cover of our book! I want to send one your way! ... I really need to find a secure way to let you send me address :). Hmmm...

Okay, enough announcements for today. I just wanted to give you a brief tour in our busy forest! And I'm planning classes, workshops, and book signings for the summer. A busy forest indeed!