Connect with your creative side as you make simple and beautiful crafts that will fill you with the pride of a project well-done.
Create your own Little House in the Big Woods scene with these beautiful downloadable dioramas by artist Renée Graef. Download the Pepin, Wisconsin diorama here and the Big Woods log cabin here. Once you’re ready to get started assembling, follow along with these diorama instructions: Step One: You will need scissors and tape handy. You...
Ma brought out two long strips of brown wrapping-paper that she had saved. She folded them, and she showed Mary and Laura how to cut tiny bits out of the folded paper with the scissors. When each unfolded her paper, there was a row of stars. Ma spread the paper on the shelves behind the stove. The stars hung over the edges of the...
A recent issue of From Scratch Magazine featured some of our fabrics in a quilted snowflake winter pillow DIY. We wanted to share another variation for a winter pillow DIY with this simple four-patch background appliqué snowflake. Both projects feature the beautiful line of Little House on the Prairie® fabrics by Andover Fabrics in...
“Laura was proud to be helping Ma with the milking, and she carried the lantern very carefully. Its sides were of tin, with places cut in them for the candle-light to shine through. When Laura walked behind Ma on the path to the barn, the little bits of candle-light from the lantern leaped all around her on the snow." "The night was not...
We are so pleased to have Linda Halpin back with us to share some quilting tips for beginners. Many of us are inspired by Laura Ingalls Wilder to learn some of these lost arts but might be wondering where to start. Here Linda shares tips for beginning quilters to learn old-fashioned crafts for the modern era. How to Choose Patterns to...
"Mary was sorting quilt blocks and Laura was making a little apron for her rag doll, Charlotte." On the Banks of Plum CreekLike many other pioneer children, Laura, Carrie, and Mary each had their own doll fashioned out of rags and leftover materials. During the pioneer era, people were not wasteful. They used every scrap of fabric,...
We've been so excited to see all the ways that crafters, homemakers, and fans have been using the Little House on the Prairie® fabrics by Andover Fabrics to create unique projects. Check out the variety of beautiful projects below. You can find fabrics online at Fat Quarter Shop and Amazon.com. Everything from DIY Christmas gifts to...
"Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus." Carrie Ingalls, Christmas at Plum Creek, Season 1, Episode 15 In the "Christmas at Plum Creek” episode of the first season of "Little House on the Prairie", each member of the Ingalls family works hard and makes sacrifices to give gifts to other family members. It reminds me of O. Henry's ironic short story...
The Little House books tell of the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder as she grew up in the Midwest during a time of pioneering expansion and exploration. These beloved children’s books were made even more popular by the “Little House on the Prairie” television series.Quilts and Their Role in Laura Ingalls Wilder's LifeChildren and adults...
We can't help but think about how many of the beautiful crafts and goods the Ingalls Family made that are no longer made by hand. While some of their skills feel lost on us today, they can still be enjoyed as hobbies for relaxation or embraced for making personalized gifts. Here are 18 crafts and skills you can learn through the...
“Laura felt a warmth inside her. It was very small, but it was strong. It was steady, like a tiny light in the dark, and it burned very low but no winds could make it flicker because it would not give up.” —The Long WinterNothing says “pioneer living” quite like making your own beeswax candles. If you’ve never made them before, dipped...
"Ma liked everything on her table to be pretty." Little House in the Big Woods I have fond memories of reading the Little House on the Prairie books and watching the TV show as a young girl. I love Christmas and tablescapes, so I decided to create a Christmas Tablescape inspired by the Little House on the Prairie "Christmas at Plum...
"Laura's gift was a bracelet of blue and white beads strung on a thread and woven together, and Carrie's was a ring of pink and white beads interwoven." These Happy Golden Years There are few things as precious and timeless as making beaded jewelry with kids. There’s just something almost meditative to sitting with a young child and...
Mary was braiding a new rug. She had cut worn-out woolen clothes in strips, and Ma had put each color in a separate box. Mary kept the boxes in order and remembered where each color was. She was braiding the rag-strips together in a long braid that coiled down in a pile beside her chair. —The Long WinterOn the prairie, no scrap of...
‘Tis the season for all things festive! It’s time to trim the tree, wrap the gifts, and hang the stockings by the fire. This year, why not create your own handmade stockings that remind you of simpler times? With some help from the Andover Fabrics Little House on the Prairie® fabrics collection, you can create stockings for everyone in...
“Oh, I do, Pa! And you should just see Miss Beadle. She's the nicest lady in the entire world, and she smiles all the time, and she smells as good as she looks. I came right out and asked, and she says she wears something called lemon verbena. She's the prettiest lady I ever saw--except for Ma, of course.” Laura Ingalls, Season 1,...
"Ma turned the strips of muslin and pinned them together and Laura whipped the new seam, over and over with tiny stitches." By the Shores of Silver Lake Laura, who didn't like to sit and make fine stitches as a young girl, became very good at her handicrafts later in life. She made beautiful quilts, lovely buttonholes for a job in town,...
Andover Fabrics recently released three beautiful Little House on the Prairie® fabric collections. For those in love with all things Little House on the Prairie, the possibilities of what you can make are endless. For example, you can create Little House on the Prairie dresses and bonnets for girls and adults, straw hat decorations, or...
"As you read my stories of long ago I hope you will remember that things truly worthwhile and that will give you happiness are the same now as they were then. It is not the things you have that make you happy. It is love and kindness and helping each other and just plain being good." Laura Ingalls Wilder I've been so inspired by the new...
Every seam must be exactly right before Ma would let her make another, and often Laura worked several days on one short seam. —On the Banks of Plum CreekWith the so many country-style fabrics available at your local fabric shop, it’s now possible to make some beautiful prairie dresses and sunbonnets that look authentic as well as...
Throughout the Little House books, the Ingalls family stays busy day in and day out making their home cozy and safe. Many of their daily activities were done out of necessity but they also created beautiful playthings, and added ornamental charm to an otherwise simple life. Over a dozen of those crafts are presented in My Little House...
"There were several beautiful hats, but Laura knew at once which one she wanted. It was a fine, cream-colored straw with a narrow brim, rolled narrower at the sides." These Happy Golden Years A sturdy straw hat was an essential accessory to have on the prairie that could be as pretty as it was practical. With just a few supplies and a...
"...and then because the air was so fresh and the newcut hay so clean and sweet, she wandered over the field, picking the wild sunflowers and Indian paintbrush." The First Four Years Time and time again we read the vivid descriptions of wildflowers in Laura Ingalls Wilder's books. Each book contains descriptions of the beautiful blooms...
An apron was a necessity in Laura's day; women were used to keeping their everyday dresses clean enough to wear throughout the week, and made sure to protect their special occasion dresses so they would stay pretty and nice. Aprons come in handy these days, too! Here are two easy-sew aprons (adult and child sized) for you to make;...
"Onions were made into long ropes, braided together by their tops, and then were hung in the attic beside wreaths of red peppers strung on threads." Little House in the Big Woods It was common to hang herbs, peppers, onions, and garlic to let them dry for long-term storage. Garlic and onions were often braided. Herbs were often cut,...
One of my favorite “Little House on the Prairie” television episodes is “Christmas at Plum Creek.” If you're a fan, then I'm sure that you remember it, too. It's the episode where Ma, Pa, Mary, Laura, and Carrie face the challenge of finding a way to give each other Christmas gifts at a time when acquiring money -- beyond what was...