Charm & Whimsy

Quick, beautiful crochet cowl and pattern.

I found this gorgeous cowl on Pinterest which led me to Anneliese’s beautiful blog www.aestheticnest.com. With all my web wanderings I can’t believe I’ve never come across her blog! Go check her out – she’s very talented.

Here is a link to her pattern. The light blue one took about 2.5 hours to make, the turquoise one about 1.5 hours. I just used yarn from my stash and that’s the great thing about this cowl – you can make it big or small depending on how much yarn you have. The pattern calls for a size N hook - I had a P on hand – no big deal! The stitch is very forgiving.

I used 2 1/2 50g balls of the Jaeger Baby Merino and 2 50g balls of the Zarella.

I love working with this twisted yarn. Aren’t the little bobbles charming?

I’ve made several so far – they’re quick, easy gifts to make. Also the stitch is simple enough that once you get the hang of it you don’t need the written pattern and can easily just carry the yarn and hook around with you to work on whenever you’ve got a free minute.

Hope this is something you’ll make too – go visit Anneliese’s blog to see all of her beautiful projects. I want to make that rainbow skirt for myself!

Have a lovely day!

Susie

DIY Picture Valentines with Hershey Kisses

I realize I’m posting this the evening of Valentine’s Day and it would have been more helpful last week; however this is something you could probably whip up anytime no matter the occasion or use it for next year’s valentines. Sorry for the untimely post!

All in these valentine’s cost about $2 for 20 prints at Costco and then another $3 for the Hershey Kisses – with plenty left to keep mommy happy while making them. I didn’t price regular store bought valentines but I’m guessing this is pretty comparable and cute to boot.

Isn’t he adorable?! I just want to nibble on this kid every day!

 

How To:

Start with a cute, close up picture. I tried to get a picture of The Boy giving a smoochie however they didn’t come out as cute as this one of him trying to grab the camera from me so I went with this one. Unfortunately I didn’t save a copy of it without the editing so imagine it’s a clean slate please.

Open up your photo editing software, I used MS Paint which I believe comes standard on most PCs. You can find it under Start Programs (bottom left button on your screen), All Programs, Accessories folder, Paint. Most photo software programs have some sort of editing feature so play around with what you’ve got. We’re just adding writing with brush strokes or you can also use text boxes.

I’ve selected “brushes” and chose the top right option which is called airbrush because I liked how it looked like a crayon (below). Then select the color of the brush stroke or letters. If you choose the brush stroke feature you’re going to be using the mouse to write the letters. It’s harder than it looks! The shaky letters below were not due to me trying to write like a child – it was really that hard. I did it a million times to get to what you see. Next time I’ll probably just add a text box although this still turned out nicely.

So once you’re happy with whatever edits you make, save the file and either order prints online or go somewhere to get them printed. I went to Costco and ordered 3” x 5” prints with a white border. I didn’t see the options online but I knew if I went in they could do modify the size and border. I think black borders are options too.

Once I got the prints home, I got a glue stick and a big bowl of Hershey Kisses. One for the card, one for me. One for the card, one for me. You get the idea

Add a touch of glue to the bottom of the kiss, then press on the photo.

Let dry thoroughly before piling on top of one another for transport – you don’t want the kisses to pop off.

Voila!! A Kissy For You Valentines. Mwaahhhh!

In hindsight this would have been fun to do with The Boy – he could have put the glue on the kisses. Next time.

Have a great day!

Susie

Need a 10 minute crafty fix? Sew a simple napkin from scrap fabric.

In an effort to teach The Boy how to be a civilized little guy at the dinner table - and to make using a napkin fun and exciting - I whipped this baby up. It took 10 minutes tops. Bonus that I got a crafty fix out of the whole thing!

I used a scrap of Yippee!! Michael Miller fabric that was leftover from making this apron a couple of years ago.

Cut two pieces the same size. Mine is a rectangle because that’s all I had left so I just trimmed the edges.

Right sides together, pin, sew around leaving a small area to turn it right side out.

Cut the corners to remove bulk once it’s inside out. Through that area you left open, turn it right side out.

The Boy was taking a nap and my crafty lair is in the next room so I didn’t whip out my creaky ironing board. This little tool (I have no idea what it’s called but I got it at a sewing shop for a quilting class) saved the day. Not only did the pointy tip help push out the corners, but I used it to “press” the seams. It’s awesome.

See how it flattened the seams? It kicks boo-tay.

Pin the opening and sew it closed. In hindsight – the opening should have been in the middle of a seam not at a corner.

Topstitch all around. Afterwards I didn’t like how the topstitch was so far from the edge leaving that little spot more open than the rest of the napkin so…

Sew another round! Ahh that’s better.

Alright, looks good and ready for action!

Action shots taken later that evening…

See Mommy? I’m wiping my mouth like you wanted. Now I’m going to throw it on the floor. Repeatedly.

Sheriff Woody is watching - I better be good and wipe my hands. (It’s amazing how having a toy at the table typically tames The Boy and lets him focus on eating. Whatever works!)

Woody, do you want to use my new napkin?

Thanks for sharing Deputy Mason!

So – use up those scraps, have yourself a quick crafty fix and make some napkins!

Marshmallow snowman ready for duty in your next hot chocolate.

I drew these marshmallow snowmen with food coloring pens while watching a movie earlier this month. Before I knew it I had gone through the whole bag. Cute, no?

They were part of holiday gift bags for friends and neighbors that included Truffle Hot Chocolate Bombs. Will need to post about those another time. I first saw the chocolate bomb idea here via Pinterest, although I ended up modifying the recipe after several trial runs (hmmm, delicious experimentation).

Just because the holidays are over doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a tasty hot chocolate with a cute snowman friend. Hope you try it!

Hold still. Hoooold stillllll…

And we’re spent!

Here they are, ready for service in a ziploc bag so they don’t dry out.

This was my first foray into food coloring pens (I used the Americolor Food Coloring Pens) and I must say they are pretty freakin’ awesome. All of the colors were rich and drew on the marshmallows nice and smooth.

Must find more things to color on and then eat. Any ideas besides cake pops?