Jennifer Carson's Blog, page 15
September 10, 2013
New sewing pattern, Lavender Babies
Lavender Babies are soft babies for you to make in the Waldorf style. This lavender baby smells as good as she cuddles with dried lavender inserted into the body. Double-seamed for safety and so easy to make you’ll be making one for every new baby on the block!
Baby is approximately 16″ long. Directions include illustrations and suppliers for materials.
Lavender Babies, PMRT
Soft babies for you to make in the Waldorf style. This lavender baby smells as good as she cuddles …
Price: US$5.00
A new hand-sewn faerie has arrived!
Tidbit Faeries are only 3″ tall, the perfect size for a pin, ornament or tiny doll. The basic doll is child-friendly, made from wool felt and cotton knit with embroidered features. This pattern has detailed written directions as well as illustrations to guide you on your faerie making journey. Inspired by Waldorf dolls, this little faerie has a wired boy for posing and playing.
You may use this pattern to sell finished pieces.
Tidbit Faeries are only 3″ tall, the perfect size for a pin, ornament or tiny doll. The basic doll …
Price: US$4.00
July 16, 2013
To Find A Wonder, sad news
I recently learned that the publisher (LLDreamspell) for To Find A Wonder is closing down due to the untimely death of one of it’s owners. She had battled cancer for a long time and apparently had a second cancer that snuck in under the radar. The two women that ran this publishing company were great to work with, and many writers will greatly miss them.
That being said, I will move forward with this great story and get it back out there. I do have a few copies left if anyone would like one, but when they are gone, they are gone! Visit my Etsy shop if you would like a copy, and look for announcements on its re-release.
July 8, 2013
A new Fox Hollow Etsy shop!
Patricia Ann Lewis-MacDougall, illustrator extrodinaire and I have opened a new Etsy shop dedicated to Fox Hollow tales. The profits from this store will support our new book series, Fox Hollow Tales. Look for new products to be added soon! We’d love to hear what kinds of items you’d like to see in the store too, so drop us a line!
July 5, 2013
New Sloth pattern available soon!
photo courtesy of the Zooborns page on Facebook. Check them out for some adorable critter photos!
Some of you may have seen the three-toed sloth photo I posted on Facebook (he’s to the left!). He was so cute I couldn’t resist trying to make one out of fur. Here is a photo of the new sloth pattern that will be available soon! Just a few tweaks to the pattern are needed!
Now he needs a name! Suggestions are welcome!
prototype for the three toed sloth pattern.
June 17, 2013
Books are Magic! Why two North Carolina Moms collect books for needy children and how you can help!
A couple of months ago I stumbled upon this great non-profit organization run by two moms in North Carolina called Books Are Magic. After reading about them and what they believe I decided that I wanted to help. Hapenny Magick was recently picked up by Spencer Hill Press for re-release and I had a couple of boxes left of the hardcover version I had printed through Pugalicious, so I decided the best way I could help was 1)Donating a box of signed books and 2)Getting the word out!
Books are Magic head book givers =0)
What made you decide to start Books Are Magic?
Both of us are book lovers. Books have been an important part of our lives, and we see the impact they have in our kids’ lives. In the summer of 2010, Jane read an article about a study at the University of Tennessee that gave 12 books to at-risk kids before summer break. The study found that having those 12 books counteracted the summer decline in literacy. At the time, we both had kids attending a high-needs elementary school in Raleigh, NC, and we decided to replicate the project for kids at the school who didn’t have books at home. We started running book drives to collect new and used books and then gave out books before the summer break. It was such an amazing experience we decided to form a non-profit organization and expand our efforts to reach more children.
Where do your donations come from?
We run book drives in the community and receive donations of new and used books through those efforts. We also have been fortunate to receive a number of donations from publishers, other literacy non-profit organizations, and directly from authors themselves. Collecting gently used books allows us to give so many books to each child and allows us to keep costs low, but it is also wonderful to be able to give some new books as well. This year we also received a number of books signed by authors, and the kids who received those books were almost giddy.
How many books have you given away so far?
Since 2011, we’ve given close to 900 twelve-book libraries to kids. This year we worked with three elementary schools and gave books to 375 children. The schools identify students who need books, and we set up a giving bookstore inside the school. Teachers select 6 books for each student, and then the kids get to come and shop for the other 6 books. For many, it’s the first time they’ve been able to shop for a book they get to keep forever. They are so excited, and it is wonderful to see such enthusiasm about books.
We are growing and hope to add 2 more schools next year, which should add another 200 or more children. It is an amazing feeling to walk out of a school at the end of a distribution and know that every single child at that school as at least 12 books of their very own.
Why do you think that getting books into the hands of needy kids is so important?
Books are powerful. They can open worlds of opportunity, information, and experience to children. There is a lot of research showing a correlation between having books at home and academic success. And research shows that owning books also changes the way children feel about themselves—they see themselves as Readers. The University of Tennessee study found that having 12 books at home over the summer had the same impact as summer school. The stark statistics are that as more than two-thirds of low-income families don’t have age appropriate books at home, so there is a very real need to make sure children have books of their own.
Beyond that, the children we meet are so excited when they hear that they are going to get to pick out books of their own. Some of the kids cannot believe they never have to give these books back. There is lots of jumping up and down, lots of grins, and always a few tears of joy. You never know which book might spark an interest in a child, provide a needed escape, or just provide an adventure. We hope that in addition to helping improve literacy we can foster a life-long love of reading.
How can people or organizations help you donate more books?
We are a relatively young organization and are growing because there is such a need for books in our community. We always need new and used books for elementary-aged children. And as an all-volunteer non-profit, we need volunteer support to help us reach more kids. Our website, www.booksaremagic.org has a link to contact us and ways to help. We also have a Facebook page (www.facebook.com/BooksAreMagic) and we are on Twitter at @Books_Are_Magic.
May 14, 2013
New sketches in for Fox Hollow Tales!
Just in! Sketches for the official Fox Hollow Tales map! Two corners of the map are shown below and a new sketch of Wojer fishing at his favorite watering hole. Did you know you could get a chance to name one of the roads or shops in Fox Hollow? Check out our kickstarter page to discover how you can be part of the fun! There are only 14 days left!
May 7, 2013
Another free pattern to celebrate Fox Hollow Tales!
Bear in a top hat–couldn’t get much cuter!
This cute little bear is one of the creatures you might meet in Fox Hollow! Want to meet some of the other creatures that live in Fox Hollow? My Kickstarter campaign is going strong and you can visit and see other character sketches and watch the video! Please help me spread the word and met my goal!
This Bear is easy to make– you can make him into a pin or an ornament.
Here are your directions!
1. Download the bear-pin-J.Carson pattern.
2. Print the pattern on cardstock or print on regular paper and trace onto heavier paper.
3. Trace the pattern onto the back of your fur fabric. Only trace 2 ears on fur. Trace 2 more ears on felt.
4. cut out the pieces. Pin the side head together from nose tip, under chin to neck edge. Sew with a whip stitch.
5. Pin the gusset to the head. Stitch in place.
6. Turn right side out and stuff. Gather neck edge.
7. With a blanket stitch, sew one fur ear to one felt ear– place felt on wrong side of ear and blanket stitch edges.
8. Stitch ears to head.
9. Sew glass beads on for eyes.
10. Embroider nose and sew pin back on back of head, or attach a hanging loop.
If you want to make a top hat: cut one circle about the size of a quarter. Cut a rectangle about 2″ wide by however tall you’d like it. Sew the flat edges of the rectangle together with some embroidery floss. Cut a circle the size of the top of the fat and whip stitch circle to top of hat. Them stitch the larger circle to the bottom of hat. Stitch hat to bears head. Attach a little fabric bow and/or other bits and bobs for decoration.
May 1, 2013
Free softie sewing pattern to celebrate my new book, Wojer and the Wizard of the Wood!
To celebrate my new storybook series, Fox Hollow Tales, in which the first tale stars a little badger named Wojer, I created this little badger for you to sew! Okay, so Wojer isn’t a European badger, he’s an American badger, but he’s still cute! Here’s what you’ll need to make a badger: wool felt in black or dark gray and white, black seed beads for eyes, floss to match felt and black for his nose, a bit of stuffing and a dab of fabric glue.
If you’d like to learn more about the books, please visit my book page!
Here are your directions:
1.Print out PDF here:badger-felt.carson
2. Trace pattern pieces onto freezer paper. Cut out pieces on the line.
3. With a warm iron press the pattern pieces onto the felt. The body, belly, soles, tail, inner ear and face stripe should be on black/gray. The head and outer ear on white. Cut the pattern pieces out. I like to store all of them in a ziploc baggie while I’m working so that I don’t lose a piece!
4. Match the notched curve of the belly and blanket stitch together, leaving about 1-2/2″ open for stuffing.
5. Match head to body and whip stitch in place. Place inner ear on top of outer ear and secure with a dab of fabric glue. Place Face Stripe on top of white head and stitch on at neck. Place a dab of fabric glue near the nose (away from the edge) and at back of head to keep the felt from slipping when you stitch the gusset in place.
6. Match one side of the belly to one side of the body and stitch together using a blanket stitch– secure threads at bottom of legs and start again at the bottom of the other leg. Repeat for opposite side of body.
7. Sew the front of the body where the belly meets in the chest, up to the point of the nose.
8. Pin head gusset in place between the head pieces. Stitch with a blanket stitch.
9. Continue stitching at point in head gusset down the badger’s back.
10. Stitch soles to bottom of feet.
11.Whipstitch tail in place. Stuff badger. Close stuffing opening with a whip stitch.
12. Sew seeds beads in place for his eyes. Whip stitch ears in place.
April 29, 2013
Fox Hollow Tales, Kickstarter is launched!
3…2…1..
Today I launched the kickstarter for my project with illustrator Patricia Ann Lewis– she’s the fabulous artist who illustrated Hapenny Magick and To Find A Wonder. It’s a scarey feeling to put your work out to the world but also exciting =0)
Fox Hollow Tales is a series of stories set in New England in the 1830′s.
Wojer and the Wizard of the Wood
is the first tale in the series and stars a little badger named Wojer. The neighborhood bully, Lilly, tries to scare Wojer with a story about a wizard who turns anyone who picks berries at the Old Lark Meadow into frogs. But Wojer humorously turns the tables on the Lily and her friends.
You can find out more about Wojer and the Fox Hollow Tales series by following this link:
