Our friends over at Chronicle Books sent us this clever and inspiring stop-motion video holiday card which they created in-house! I especially like the animated books and spools of thread.

Enjoy!

Most of our holiday meals are served buffet style and since we all bring dishes to share, it's nice to have some labels so guests know what is what.

I grabbed some assorted wooden craft pieces which you can find at any craft store to make some quick chalkboard labels and place cards. Wood scraps work too! Or maybe your kids have some blocks to spare? You can even use wooden plant markers (above right) for cheese labels. (Just make sure to leave enough unpainted area on the sticks so that when you stick it in cheese, the painted area will be about one inch away.) I used our chalkboard paint which comes in four colors--I love the black and grey.

Happy Thanksgiving!

1 Crochet necklace using our unique Mambo yarn! http://marthastewart.lionbrand.com/patterns/L10099.html

2 The Statement Strands necklace requires only braiding and a few sewn stitches: http://marthastewart.lionbrand.com/patterns/L10259.html

3 Twisted strand necklace, a great beginner project: http://marthastewart.lionbrand.com/patterns/L10279B.html

4 Two stitch knit necklace: http://marthastewart.lionbrand.com/patterns/L10111.html

5 Medium loose strands necklace http://marthastewart.lionbrand.com/patterns/L10261.html

6 Crochet bracelet: http://marthastewart.lionbrand.com/patterns/L10105B.html

7 Braided bracelet: http://marthastewart.lionbrand.com/patterns/L10257E.html

8 Loopy necklace using Glitter Eyelash yarn: http://marthastewart.lionbrand.com/patterns/L10176.html

9 Wrapped bangle bracelet, so easy! http://marthastewart.lionbrand.com/patterns/L10254B.html

10 Earmuffs, another fun use of Glitter Eyelash yarn: http://marthastewart.lionbrand.com/patterns/L10178.html

11 Circle earrings: http://marthastewart.lionbrand.com/patterns/L10431.html

12 The yarn assortment in the giveaway includes Mambo and Glitter Eyelash!

13 Then loom kit is part of the giveaway, along with the yarn!

I love to knit and crochet, but I've never gotten past squares and rectangles. The yarn projects I'm sharing in the gallery above are really easy, and most require no needle-crafting at all! I also love to make jewelry using nontraditional supplies, such as yarn. These yarn necklaces are easy and quick and make great gifts. Our metallic Glitter Eyelash yarn will be showing up in my next batch of necklaces. It's not too early to start holiday gift-making!

The Martha Stewart Crafts yarn line, created with Lion Brand Yarn Company, is now available at Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft stores, Michaels, AC Moore, and other retailers. All of our patterns are available online here.

To win, please leave a comment below before 6 P.M. on Friday, October 21. Click here to view the full terms and conditions.

1 Bat silhouettes are one of the fun items in the giveaway. Click through the gallery for the rest.

2 Crow silhouettes

3 Witch wall cling

4 Pumpkin transfers (you get two sets!)

5 Beverage labels (also two!)

6 Mouse silhouettes (two sets of these, too!)

7 And here is everything in the giveaway!

With Halloween just around the corner, we’re giving away an assortment of Halloween decorations from our crafts line. One lucky person will win a witch wall cling; pumpkin transfers; mouse, crow, and bat silhouettes; and assorted beverage labels—everything you need for a great Halloween party!

All of these products are sold at Jo-ann Fabric and Craft Stores. Click here to find a store in your area.

Tto win, please leave a comment below before 6 p.m. on Friday, October 14. Click here for giveaway terms and conditions.

Good luck!

1 Martha, Piper, and me with the umbrellas we "pounced" behind us.

2 Our stencils not only create beautiful designs, but they can help keep you organized!

3 Use Martha Stewart Crafts™ paint on any surface, including wood, metal, fabric, glass, and ceramic.

4 The Barnyard stencils we used today on the show make great wall art in a nursery or a kids room.

I just finished a great morning over at the TV studio—painting and stenciling with Martha and my crafty 11-year-old niece, Piper—a fun way to start the week! We paint-pounced umbrellas and totes and stenciled on a bunch of different surfaces. It’s Craft Week at The Martha Stewart Show on the Hallmark Channel. Be sure to tune in for new crafting ideas and a special offer from our friends at Michaels. Today through Friday, Michaels will have a 50-percent-off Daily Deal on one of our great craft products. Click here to see what you can save on today.

If you missed this morning’s show, you can still see our project ideas here.

1

2 Amazing Acrobats, a geometric puzzle/mathematical sculpture made of laser-cut metal from the Museum of Mathematics

3 Making folded paper flexagons

4 Brush bots!

5 Loom weaving on the grass.

6 The Life Size Mousetrap!

7 Another view of the Life Size Mouse Trap

8 And another...

9 ...and one more!

10

11

12 Paella...yum! Look at those giant paella pans!

13 Ultimaker, a 3-D printer!!

14 Items created by the Ultimaker...

15 MakerBot 3 D printers...

16 ...made all these!

17 Solar powered merry go round!

18 BUST magazine's Craftacular!

This weekend my family and I attended Make magazine’s second annual Maker Faire New York, a festival created to "celebrate arts, crafts, engineering, science projects, and the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) mind-set." Our two boys, 5 and 8, had a great time making, crafting, and playing. All the volunteers that we met were incredibly generous with their time and knowledge—and cheerful, too, despite the large crowds and the fact that they were demonstrating soldering for the 127th time!

My kids are still playing with their “Brush Bots”, tiny vibrating toothbrush heads turned robots that they built at the Faire. You can purchase a kit here. Another "make and take" my kids enjoyed was creating a flexagon—a folded paper model demoed by a group from the future Museum of Math, coming to NYC in 2012. (Exciting bit of news for math fans!) Try one yourself here.

A big highlight was the Life Size Mouse Trap—this giant handcrafted Rube Goldberg machine is a mix of sculpture and performance art. And the Crafty vendors and demos at Bust Magazine’s Craftacular tent, where the kids made soap and little clay sculptures.

Particularly mind-blowing was 3-D printer village, where there were many examples of 3-D printers, yes...3-D!!! These machines extrude plastic models. So amazing, but I need to do more research to understand them…and you can, too, here and here.

There was so much more to do and see than we had time for—we can’t wait to go back next year! If you didn't get to go, check here to see if one of the Mini Maker Faires are coming to your town!

To introduce and demonstrate some products from our new line of paints with Plaid, we have a few instructional videos on our site that you can find here. Take a peek at the Spray Kit video below. I mentioned in an earlier post that it is my FAVORITE tool—you can turn any of our paints (except for glitter paint) into a spray paint! Look in the gallery below to see how we used the Spray Kit to make some of the crafts pictured in the cute kid's room above. You can find all our paints and tools at Michaels. Click here for a coupon to receive 40 percent off any one item from this line.
One lucky winner will win the spray-paint kit, the "On The Farm" stencil set used to make the projects above, a set of 10 bottles of satin paint, and a set of six foam pouncers. In order to win, please leave a comment below before 6 pm on Friday, September 16. Click here for giveaway terms and conditions.

Good luck!

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1 The ombre edges on these plates were created by painting around the rim with our Spray Kit...which is part of the giveaway!

2 The green "grass" on this pillow was also created with the Spray Kit by lightly spraying along the bottom of the pillow before stenciling on the white fence.

3 The giveaway!!

Today we're giving away one of our new Knit & Weave Loom Kits and an assortment of yarn from our line with Lion Brand Yarn Company. The Loom Kit is perfect for beginner and intermediate crafters who want to knit, crochet, or learn other woven techniques. It is adjustable, portable, and designed to suit different yarn gauges and stitch styles. To win, please leave a comment below before 6 pm on Friday, September 9. Click here for giveaway terms and conditions.

Instructions for the cute loom-knit bird, pictured above, are at the bottom of this post. More projects, and pictures of the items in the giveaway, are in the gallery below. Visit lionbrand.com to find instructions for these projects and lots more free patterns!

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1 The Knit & Weave Loom Kit, which includes three project patterns.

2 An assortment of yarn is part of the giveaway!

3 Loom garter knit patchwork baby throw.

4 Loom woven houndstooth check scarf

5 Loom double-knit rib scarf.

6 Loom woven tonal pillow.

7 Loom knit baby blocks.

8 Loom woven baby cardigan with loom knit trim.

9 Loom woven pretty pink baby throw.

10 Loom knit pig.

SIZE
About 5 in. (12.5 cm)
MATERIALS
MARTHA STEWART CRAFTS TM/MC LION BRAND® YARN EXTRA SOFT WOOL BLEND (Art.# 5400)
- #507 Winter Sky 1 ball (A)
- #557 Lemon Chiffon 1 ball (B)
or colors of your choice
MARTHA STEWART CRAFTSTM/MC LION BRAND® YARN Knit & Weave Loom Kit
ADDITIONAL MATERIALS
Fiberfill stuffing
2 black safety eyes, 9 mm
GAUGE
EXACT GAUGE IS NOT ESSENTIAL FOR THIS PROJECT.
NOTES
1. Follow loom manual instructions for SINGLE KNITTING for how to cast on, knit, purl and bind off.
2. For Body, Feet, Beak and Wings, the loom is configured into a rectangle for stability. All work will be done on one long side only.
3. Loom can be configured into a variety of shapes to suit your preference. If desired, use additional loom pieces to configure loom into any shape, then knit back and forth in rows on just one side of loom.
LOOM CONFIGURATION
Use the following pieces: (2) 36-hole pieces, (2) U-shaped pieces
Connect the pieces as follows: 36-hole piece > U-shaped piece > 36-hole piece >
U-shaped piece
STITCH EXPLANATIONS
Knit 2 stitches together
Note: The following explanation only applies when knitting 2 stitches together at the end of a row.
Move yarn loop from the last working peg to the next to last working peg above existing loop – 2 loops on peg. Knit both loops together to decrease 1 stitch.
BODY (make 2)
Set Up
Insert 28 small pegs into center 28 holes on 36-hole piece – 28 working pegs placed. Insert contrast color pegs into connecting holes to hold loom together.
With A, cast on to all working pegs.
Knit 21 rows.
Next Row: Knit to last 2 stitches, knit 2 stitches together.
Repeat last row until 16 stitches remain.
Bind off.
FEET (make 2)
Set Up
Insert 12 small pegs into center 12 holes on 36-hole piece – 12 working pegs placed.
With B, cast onto all working pegs.
Knit 2 rows.
Next Row: Knit to last 2 stitches, knit 2 stitches together.
Repeat last row once more.
Bind off as follows: cut working yarn, leaving an 8 in. (20.5 cm) yarn tail. Thread tail into yarn needle provided with loom. Slide needle through yarn loop on peg from bottom to top of loop. Repeat along loom until all loops are threaded. Gently remove knitting from loom. Pull end of yarn to gather stitches, add a small amount of stuffing, then use remainder of tail to sew seam.
BEAK (make 2)
Set Up
Insert 8 small pegs into center 8 holes of 36-hole piece – 8 working pegs placed.
With B, cast onto all working pegs.
Knit to last 2 stitches, knit 2 stitches together.
Repeat last row once more.
Bind off.
WINGS (make 2)
Set Up
Insert 8 small pegs into center 8 holes of 36-hole piece – 8 working pegs placed.
With A, cast onto all working pegs.
Purl 1 row.
Knit 1 row.
Repeat last 2 rows until 9 rows have been completed, ending with a purl row.
Next Row: Knit to last 2 stitches, knit 2 stitches together.
Repeat last row once more.
Bind off.
FINISHING
With bound-off edge at top, follow package instructions to attach safety eyes to front of one Body piece. Seam Body pieces together, stuffing as you go. Sew Feet to bottom of Body. Sew sides of Beak together, stuffing as you go. Sew Wings and Beak to Body.
Thread yarn ends into yarn needle provided with loom and weave in ends.

Every effort has been made to produce accurate and complete instructions. We cannot be responsible for variance of individual knitters or crocheters, human error, or typographical mistakes.

We are very excited about our new line of craft paints, tools, and accessories with Plaid! The paint is formulated to work on ALL craft surfaces, indoors and out, and is even dishwasher-safe! To celebrate, we are sharing some tote bag project how-tos (below) and offering one lucky winner a goodie bag* that includes some of the new paints, tools, and stencils. One tool in the bag is my personal favorite, our Spray Paint Kit, which turns any of our satin and gloss colors into a spray paint!

Click here for a coupon for 40 percent off any one item from this line at Michaels.

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1 The giveaway! (Includes the Satin Spray Paint Kit, not pictured.)

2 Closeup of the stencils

3 Satin paint, glitter paint, and fabric medium

4 Fine-tip tops and foam pouncers

5 The Satin Spray Paint Kit, also included (not for use with glitter paint).

*For a chance to win the goodie bag, please leave a comment on this post (50 words or less). All comments must be received by 6 p.m. on Friday, August 26, 2011. We'll choose one commenter at random to win the prize.  Read the official rules for this giveaway here.

PROJECT INSTRUCTIONS:

STENCILED TOTE BAGS
YOU WILL NEED:
- Stencil brush
- Tape or stencil spray adhesive
- Paint (we used satin paint in: Geranium, Camellia Pink, Geranium, Wild Salmon, Camellia Pink, and Pink Dahlia and glitter paint in Candy Apple)
- Stencils (we used Eyelet Lace Medium Stencils)

TIP: Practice your technique or check your color by first making a sample print on paper or scrap fabric.

1. Place stencil on your surface, and secure using tape. If using spray adhesive, spray stencil first, then place on surface.
2. Pour a small amount of paint onto your palette. Load paint sparingly on a stencil brush or sponge, and dab off excess. Lightly dab on a thin layer of paint; apply a second coat if necessary. Paint all areas of one color on the stencil before moving on to the next. 
3. While paint is still wet, carefully peel stencil off.
4. Continue painting areas of the stencil according to your design. Let the paint dry completely before placing another stencil or color over it.
5. Wash all stencils, brushes, and tools immediately after use before the paint dries.

SPRAYED TOTE BAG
YOU WILL NEED:
- Satin spray kit
- Satin paint: Pink Dahlia
Mix Pink Dahlia with the satin spray medium as instructed on package. With the bag upside down, spray back and forth in smooth even strokes, lightening the application as you work toward the middle so the color fades out, creating an ombré effect.

STIFFENED FABRIC BUTTERFLIES
YOU WILL NEED:
- ¼ yard linen fabric
- Scissors
- Fabric stiffener
- Satin paint: Pink Dahlia
Follow instructions on the bottle to stiffen the linen fabric. Let dry completely. Use a stencil brush with Pink Dahlia and follow general stenciling instructions. Use scissors to cut around the butterfly shapes and attach to pin backs. Gently fold the butterflies to create a dimensional look.