July Bunco Goodies

Hello? (hello...hello....)  Echo? (echo...echo...)

I've been doing quite a lot of crocheting lately.  I'm enjoying it even more than I did in the past!

Right now I'm working on Christmas presents for the boys.  I've also got hat requests from them.  Aren's is done minus one detail.  Ajay's and Alex's aren't started yet.  At least the hats I can work on with their knowledge.  The gifts I have to be sure I keep those hidden!

In July I hosted Bunco and I crocheted up a little something as the prizes.  I had spent a sleepless night dreaming up a way to make little "cozies" for the travel tissue packages.  The next day I decided to look on Ravelry just in case someone else had the same idea.  They did!  It was a lot easier following someone's written pattern than trying to do the math for my own.

Travel Tissue Cozy

This was the first cozy I made from the pattern...

....I didn't really care for the green plus it made the cozy too snug for the packet.  I ripped out the green and liked it better!

This was the second cozy I made.  I made these up at my parents house around the 4th of July...

....and I gave it to my niece, Jenna, for her birthday.  She's a big KU fan.

 The next 4 were the Bunco prizes.... (along with some hand wash from Bath & Body Works)

Here's one side....

...here's the other side

The pink one from above minus the green, with white embellishments.

I liked this one much better!

This was supposed to be WSU inspired...

...but it looks more like a bumblebee.

This was KU inspired.

Swap items

I recently participated in a swap with some online ladies.  I haven't received my items yet but I did get the items I made for someone else mailed off last week.  She has received her package and says she loves everything :)  So of course that makes me happy!!

Bath poof

Dish towel

It is circular so you can slide your arm inside while you're drying dishes.

A shrug.

A closer view

And this wasn't for the swap - these are for me!  I had some leftover yarn from the shrug so dressed up my flip flops a bit.

Neck Pillows

I made neck pillows for children's gifts for Christmas.  I used Hobby Lobby's I Love This Yarn for all but one.  The light purple one with the heart was made out of a Caron One Pounder, I think.  Here they are, in no particular order:

17yo nephew:

16 yo cousin:

12yo niece:

4yo nephew:

6yo niece:

3yo niece:

2yo niece:

14yo  niece:

10yo nephew:

18yo cousin: This picture was taken before I stuffed it and I forgot to get a pic after stuffing it.

10yo niece:

Crocheted Ornaments

I've been working on some Christmas presents for my nieces and nephews so I can't show those just yet - I'll try to come back next week and post photos of those.  In the meantime, here are some ornaments I made up.

The white snowflakes were for all the kids in Ajay's class.

Here is the pile of 24 of them.

This red Mary-Go-Round was for his teacher. You can kind of see the little charm in the center - I wasn't able to get a very clear picture of it, unfortunately.

This is one of two beards I made a friend for her to give as Christmas gifts.  I forgot to get a picture of the other one.

Paper Ornaments and Scraves

I started the previous post on December 10th and I just got it finished today!! Here is what else I have been up to.

I buy much of my scrapbooking and craft supplies from my friend Darcy who sells Stampin' Up. On the cover of their Holiday catalog, was a paper ornament and I was looking forward to making similar ornaments for Christmas gifts this year.
There are several steps and a ton of individual pieces to stamp and cut out to be glued together for just one ornament. I added buttons and snowflakes to the centers. I completed ten and love how they turned out!

The individual pieces being glued together.

A couple knitting friends have been making what they call dreadlock or spaghetti scarves. I decided to crochet a few and give them as gifts. They are super easy with just a crochet loop and long fringe added to one side....that's it! I used a flower loom and added a cute flower to each one.

Here are two of my completed scarves. I kept the red for me!



Just loop around your neck and thread fringe through the loop. Cute and warm!

Another Crafty Catch Up....

I have been busy....darn that Pinterest! My crafty bucket list keeps growing! I have been working on Christmas gifts and decorating. Here are a few things I have made recently.

Quilt block
I think I am behind posting about my quilt project. We are about half way done with  our 12x12 blocks and here is a picture of my completed blocks. I can't wait to put it together!

7 blocks done and 5 more to go!

Crochet Boot Cuffs
A friend told me about crochet boot cuffs that tuck into the top of your boot so, you are not wearing a big bulky sock in your boot. She had seen crochet ones and asked if I could make them. I found a pair at Studio 11, copied the pattern (shhhh) and have been working on a couple pairs for her.

Silly me forgot to take a picture of the pair I made! So,here is the pair from Studio 11 that I modeled mine from.


Christmas Window
I got this re-purposed window a year or more from Studio 11. I had good intentions of hanging it up with wedding or family photos...never happened. So, since we moved I rediscovered the window and decided to place some old Christmas cards in place of photos for December. Love how it turned out and it looks great hanging in our dining room!

Christmas Yarn Wreath
The Halloween yarn wreath was so fun, I made a Holiday wreath by wrapping another foam ring with green and red yarn. I got creative and added paper snowflakes and buttons to my crochet flowers....I call them snowflowers! It is hanging on our apartment door and looks very festive!

Here it is hanging on my tree before I placed it on the front door.

Wooden Signs
This idea came from Pinterest (you can look at my Christmas Board for the original designs). I made a sign at Studio 11, so I knew what to do. I recycled plywood from work and had my Dad cut the wood into workable sign sizes. I used the red Milk Paint from Studio 11 and several acrylic colors from my stash and the hobby store to paint the wood. I pulled out tools and paper from my scrapbooking stash to embellish the signs. Most of them are going to be turned into Christmas card holders once I get the ribbon attached to the back and clothespins. I might just add ribbon or wire to a few for wall hangings too.


Mixing the red Milk Paint with water in a jar.

 

During the painting process.

 

Most of my signs, before the ribbon and hangers. I added a few details before I gave them as gifts.

AND I still need to....make Christmas cards, make paper ornaments for Christmas and finish Christmas shopping, baking, wrapping and.......the list goes on and on. TOO MUCH CRAFTING and not enough time!! Happy Crafting!

Halloween Wreath

I have seen yarn wreaths on Pinterest and in gift shops for sale. I have been wanting to make one and don't know why I haven't sooner. It was fun and only took me a few hours to complete!

I started with orange, Fallish yarn I bought last year to make pumpkins. I bought a foam ring and some raffia from the craft shop.

I wrapped the foam wreath tightly with the yarn. It took a while to get it all covered and have no white showing. I do have yarn leftover, so depending on the weight of yarn you use, it shouldn't take more than one skein.

I crocheted a few flowers, added buttons, and hot glued them to the wreath with a little raffia behind.

I used extra raffia and black yarn to make a "hanger". It turned out cute and I want to make more for other holidays. It is now proudly displayed on my front door!

World Card Making Day

Saturday, October 6th was World Card Making Day. Here is my Thank You card. I am sending it to a friend who gave me a beautiful angel figurine last week.

I love scrap booking and don't usually make cards expect at Stampin' Up parties. It was fun to try something different and I already have all the supplies to make cards. I used two of my new stamp sets, a new border eyelet punch, and leftover paper to make this cute and simple card. Maybe I will try making more than just one a year!

Crafty catch up!

The past month I have been busy with  quilting and crocheting projects! I finished my quilt block, a purse, fingerless gloves and our honeymoon album digitally! Today, I bought more yarn and supplies for a Halloween project to work on this month!

This block is for September and Nancy chose Nonesuch. It is a paper pieced block and has many variations by turning the smaller squares.



This is my version of the Nonesuch. Love all the color!

I have the pattern for this month's block called Corn and Beans. It also has many color and block variations...so I am having a hard time deciding on the layout. I think I will work on it some tomorrow.



I have had this crochet bag pattern for a while after finding it on Pinterest. (Have you been to Pinterest...if not it is addicting but oh my, there are so many amazing ideas, DIY, recipes, and more!!!) Here is the link from Pinterest, then on this gal's blog there is a link for the pattern from Ravelry. Look at both because there are examples of different purses made with the pattern.

http://sandra-cherryheart.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/eclectic-grannie.html

The pattern is a little hard to follow. I deciphered as I crocheted and did some ripping out, but finally got the basic idea. I used up yarn from my stash that I had collected on two different yarn hops. I finished it in a week and there are so many color options that I definitely plan on making more!



A large granny square turns into a open and versatile handbag!

 

The inside...fun lining! I chose a Batik fabric in similar colors to the yarn. I need to work on a better technique for sewing in the lining but it is okay for my first one.



Fingerless gloves have been on my Yarn Bucket List for a while. I found a simple pattern and used new fun yarn from Plum Bazaar and whipped these out! Which I am wearing right now cus it is cold in our house!

Red fuzzy, warm fingerless gloves!

The pattern is on Lionbrand.com....

http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/80703AD.html?noImages=0

Crocheted in the round all the way up, they are fairly easy and again, the yarn variations are endless. I am going to make more pairs and I want to try adding the "flip top" to make it a mitten!

I have one more DIY project that I did this week (with help), but that is over on my family/personal blog!

 http://lostinthewoods-erin.blogspot.com/