Lotta Jansdotter and Rowenta Host A Craft Party

On Tuesday evening, textile designer and author, Lotta Jansdotter, welcomed a group of magazine writers and bloggers to her Brooklyn studio for a night that was billed as a "D.I.Y. holiday gifting party." The event was co-hosted by luxury iron manufacturer Rowenta. I was lucky enough to attend the event and meet Lotta, whom I'd written about earlier this year.

To demonstrate the deluxe steam irons, Rowenta and Lotta developed three crafts that needed ironing. Lotta had set up her studio as a group crafting studio with stations for each craft, including these adorable bird ornaments, which Lotta had displayed hanging from winter berry branches -- so cute!

Lotta's three crafts included: a patchwork oven mitt that only one guest was brave enough to try making, despite the fact that Lotta insisted she encouraged "crooked lines" in quilting; the fabric bird ornament; and an iron-on tote bag project, which transferred one of Lotta's own drawings onto a tote. (I made a bird ornament, but it was admittedly not the best showing for my craft skills.) Luckily for all of us, Lotta and two of her staffers were on hand to help those of us who needed a hand with the sewing machine.

Above are the two newest irons from Rowenta, the Rowenta Steamium and the Rowenta Pro Master Iron. Both were a dream to use (yes, I actually like ironing) and made my own sorry $20 model from Bed Bath & Beyond seem woefully inadequate -- sigh.

There was a fourth project on display, which Lotta says she whipped up as a last-minute decoration for the event. Above is Lotta's twist on the decorative garland trend, crafted from the scraps leftover from making her bird ornaments. I love this idea for a garland that makes use of scraps you would normally throw away. In keeping with Lotta's it-doesn't-need-to-be-perfect attitude each piece is just a handmade cut-out -- no templates necessary!

Want more easy holiday craft ideas? Check out a my favorite gifts you can make for under $20. Love Lotta's style? So do we, you can check out her cozy Brooklyn apartment in this post.