Where have I been?!?!

Sorry to have been MIA for so long. I have a good excuse. My oldest son got married. His sweet bride requested my help. I was absolutely thrilled to get to use my love of all things creative to help make their day special.

I was under strict orders to keep this under wraps until the day was passed. So now get ready for a photo heavy post of all the crafty goodness I have been up to over the last several months. 

First came the save the date cards. 50+ of these beauties created. So fun since the bride, myself and my mom all worked together to create these. Good times spent together. Gals crafting, chatting and drinking mimosa's. You have got to love that.

Next we scoured Pinterest for invitation designs and combined favorite details to finally design this beauty. A wood grain embossed gate fold card where the flap actually slips under the ivory front panel. The twine was just a decorative belly band that slipped on and off. Again the three of us gals got to work, assembly line style, creating 50+ of these with coordinating RSVP cards.

This is the card I created to include with her shower gift. In retrospect I should have made it a 5 x 7 inch card, because I wrote a book and filled this lil 4.25 x 5.5 inch card up from top to bottom. ;) 

Part of my gift was a hand crocheted wrap. First I made the shawl, but then began thinking it was too old fashioned so I also created a blarf (blanket scarf) and let her choose her favorite. She chose the blarf. And I get to keep the shawl. Win, win. 

On to wedding favor creating. This is a lavender sachet. I case'd a box created by Pootles.co.uk and tweaked it to suit our decor and theme. I made a total of 45 of these. They are filled with a couple of tablespoon of dried lavendar buds ordered off of Amazon. 

These are recycled glass jars of varying widths, heights and diameters. Wrapped in book pages that were punched with various heart punch shapes. The tops have been wrapped in jute twine and little embellishments of either gold cord or ivory crocheted lace. I filled them with Ikea tea lights. I created 27 of these, 3 per dining table.

These are a variety of recycled bottles wrapped in burlap and ivory crocheted lace and tied with more jute twine. Filled with silk flowers and greenery and stems of dried lavender that I had ordered off of Amazon also.  

This is the dining tables center piece plan. Sweet and simple. 

This is the guest book and wedding favor table at the reception. With the lavender sachets laid out on a tray lined with burlap. A few amber bottles wrapped in the same ivory crocheted lace and tied with the jute twine for decor. 

I printed this explanation of what the favors are and stamped the lavender details and framed it to include beside the favors.

This is my card I made for them. It was a labor of love. I took much inspiration from this idea I found on Pinterest. I added the love knot out of jute twine detail over the crocheted lace to tie it all in with the wedding decor I had created.

This is the stamped images on the inside of the card. Before I wrote my thoughts of love and joy at their marriage and how happy I am for both of them and for the wonderful addition of a daughter to our family.

So, that's where I have been. What awesome crafty-ness I have been up to. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming. I hope to post more regularly again.....hope springs eternal, right?

Find inspiration everywhere! Go... Create something fun & fabulous. Enjoy! 

Granny stitch cowl

This gorgeous Alpaca yarn was a purchase in Ketchikan Alaska at the cute little yarn shop on Creek Street. It is Mirasol Pagu Pura yarn and was $20. per skein. It was an investment, but I considered it a wonderful souvenir of my visit to Ketchikan. There are two variegated skeins and I stitched it into a kind of granny stripe cowl inspired by this pattern. It is pure heaven to wear, totally worth the expense. The nicest yarn I have purchased and it worked up into the prettiest and softest cowl I have made to date. And added bonus each time I wear it I smile remembering my cruise to Alaska with my mom, and our lovely day spent in Ketchikan Alaska.    

Find inspiration everywhere! Go... Create something fun & fabulous. Enjoy! 

Yarn creations

There is just something about winter that has me more interested in snuggling up and working with yarn, rather than paper crafting. I made lots of Christmas gifts this year. Above is a ear warmer head wrap made on the green Knifty Knitter loom. I did random combinations of purl stitches and knit stitches to get the texture you see above.

Both of these were made with left overs from other projects. I have no idea of brand just that they are a bulky or super bulky yarn. One thing I did learn is be SUPER loose on your bind off row, I mean when you think you are being loose enough, make it even looser. First to match it to the cast on row and also you do no want these to have a tendency of sliding up and off the crown of your head. The first one I made, that's exactly what it did, as you moved your head it slowly inched its way up and off.

These are just some of the preemie and micro preemie baby hats I made for a challenge I joined on Facebook. You can see the challenge group here, or search Sunset Crochet and 2014 NICU Challenge Hats. A lot of adorable hats made and donated this year, and lots of great free patterns available too. Check it out. 

This is a crocheted beanie I made and had enough yarn so I made one for my friend Angela, doesn't she always make my yarn creations look so pretty?!?! This is the wonderful and easy pattern I used with Caron Simply Soft yarn. Whips up in a matter of hours. 

And I also made two of these neon green and black beanies for my son and my husband. These are loom knit using Red Heart Super Saver yarns I believe. Not 100% positive anymore, its been a month or two since I finished those. A lot of yarn has passed through these fingers since then. ;)

Now I'm pretty much caught up with posts of what has been keeping me entertained these past few months. At least of the projects I took pics of before I gifted them. Happy crafting, whether it be yarn or paper crafting. It's all good!

Find inspiration everywhere! Go... Create something fun & fabulous. Enjoy! 

Half granny square shawl

I made this. I am so excited. This is my first big crochet project completed. And I am thrilled with the finished shawl. Originally, this was my Pinspiration, I fell in love with the fall colors and soft lacy look of it. 

Sorry this is a terrible picture, but this is how I like to wear it. Draped around my neck and spilling down the front of me. I'm a show off like that. I can't help it, I am still so happy with every single thing about this shawl.

The pattern was very easy to follow and surprisingly quick and fun to work up. I used 2.5 skeins of Red Heart Super Saver yarn. Yes, I said Super Saver. When I finished I followed this tutorial for softening and blocking this shawl and it worked wonders. Washing and blocking improved the drape and softness immensely. I absolutely love wearing this, its so soft and comfortable.

Even though its huge, it's a very open stitch and so it wears very light and easy. Its not heavy and it just melts around my neck.

In homage to fall I made little clover shapes all along the outer edge. In homage to my recent Ireland trip I added one 4 leaf clover (see it there in the middle of the photo). I love this little hidden treat.

Find inspiration everywhere! Go... Create something fun & fabulous. Enjoy!

Tunisian crochet pot holders & wash cloths

I am back at the yarn and crocheting obsession again. I have taught myself Tunisian crochet with the help of these easy to follow YouTube videos. She has made 5 videos on the basics of Tunisian crochet, I watched them all, then picked up yarn and a crochet hook and watched and practiced along with her. Super simple.

Then I moved on to this wonderful pattern that has you practicing all the basic stitches in 1 easy project. As is in my nature I went a little overboard, so when I was done practicing I decided to use them as potholders not wash cloths, so I sewed 2 together with a simple slip stitch all around the outer edge and chained an extra 9 chains for a little hanging loop.

Here, I did my own thing. A row of purl sitch, a row of simple stitch repeated a few times and then some rows with knit stitch in the very center just to break up the pattern. I am addicted to Tunisian crochet. It is fun and quick and uncomplicated.

These are very basic wash cloths. As I was reading and watching more on Tunisian crochet, I learned a recommendation to combat the typical Tunisian curl that happens at the starting edge of your crocheted project. It is recommended to do your cast on row and your return row and then do a purl row. This cuts down the tendency to curl. I liked the nubby feel of this so I continued with alternating rows of simple stitch and purl all the way until I had a square. These make nice textured body wash cloths.

For all of these projects I was using 1 skein of Benat Handicrafter cotton yarn in Emerald Isle. I still have half of the skein left, so I think I need to make myself some matching kitchen wash cloths and some face scrubbies and make up remover pads, so they all match.


Find inspiration everywhere! Go... Create something fun & fabulous. Enjoy!

Crocheted spa cloth & face scrubbies

I had made a set of these face scrubbies back in November and have been using them with this DIY facial cleanser every morning since. I love them. I rinse and allow them to dry and then place them back in the container with the liquid cleanser. I throw them in with my laundry every other weekend or so. Now we are putting together a spa basket for a raffle type fund raiser at work, so I made a set of 3 of each to add to the basket. The facial scrubby pictured on the left is crocheted from this pattern, and the makeup removers pictured on the right are created following this pattern. For the sets I am using personally, I followed the patterns exactly. But now that I have been using them for months and washed and dried them I realize they are getting a bit loose and floppy. So for this new set, I added a slip stitch all the way around the edge to firm and tighten it up a bit, in the hopes that they retain their shape a little bit better.

I crocheted this yummy little spa style wash cloth from this pattern that I embellished a little by adding a single crochet row all the way around the outer edge. The finished size is about 6 x 6 inches. I crocheted these using Bernat Handicrafter cotton in By The Sea color.

Here they are wrapped with some jute twine. I added a tag I printed on the computer, punched out and then added some rubber stamped shwoopies for decoration. These are ready for addition to the spa basket. 

Find inspiration everywhere! Go... Create something fun & fabulous. Enjoy!

More Crocheted Coffee Cozies

 

A few more coffee cozies I have made and given away lately. These are such fun project to use up scraps and create wonderful gifts. Above I used a navy blue and bright blue and a shiny white yarn.  

 

Purple and white stripes with picot edge only around the top, as specifically requested by the recipient. She was concerned about it fitting in her cup holders in her car. It's fun to change them up and personalize them specifically for friends. 

A navy and black striped one with a small scallop edge at the top and bottom. 

And my final purple and ivory stripes with a picot edge at the top and bottom. 

Find inspiration everywhere! Go... Create something fun & fabulous. Enjoy!

Fallen leaves slouch hat & crochet wrist warmers

I recently finished this hat and wrist warmers set for a friend. I followed this complex pattern for the beautiful hat. It did finally turn out beautiful, but not before I pulled it out and started over probably 5 times. I would not be lying to say this is the most detailed pattern I have made. I am thrilled with the finished project.

Here is a close up of the wrist warmers. They were made following this pattern. The finished wrist warmers are delicate and lacy and a quick project. Both of these where crocheted using Loops & Threads Impeccable yarn. I really do love working with this yarn, it is easy on the hook, not splitting or knotting and it finishes to a soft touch while holding its shape.

This is a quick snapshot of the hat on my head right after I had finished crocheting. I like to take a snap to be sure it sits nice and has enough slouch before I cut my yarn and weave in the ends.



Find inspiration everywhere! Go... Create something fun & fabulous. Enjoy!