Crochet Boot Cuffs

Carly wanted new boots for Christmas and I knew right away I wanted to make her some pretty boot cuffs to go along with her boots.  I already had the leftover yarn that I wanted to use from another project last winter, so I found some patterns on Etsy (here:  https://www.etsy.com/listing/170653451/crochet-pattern-boot-cuff-simple-style?ref=shop_home_active_2), and made her a pair.  These were one of the only gifts I had time to make to gift to someone else this year after completing Etsy orders.  Luckily, they worked up quickly and I had them done in an hour.  Pretty cute, huh?!  The pattern was easy-to-follow, and the sellers were quick to respond to any questions I had. 

Shelby's Blessing Boots

Shelby was blessed this month, and to go with her little cute dress, I crocheted her some booties.  They turned out just how I wanted and they kept her feet warm.  :)  The pattern didn't call for the scallop border; I added that as my own twist.  The buttons I got from JoAnn's.  Thanks for looking!

Clair Dress

I bought a second pattern from Lisa's Heirloom Designs on Etsy this Fall, and here is the listing: http://www.etsy.com/listing/108383543/elegant-clair-dress-crochet-pattern.  I loved the blue she used, so I followed suit, and made the same for Shelby.  I am so glad!  She looked beautiful in it!  I used Caron Simply Soft yarn and the buttons I bought at JoAnn's.  Thanks for looking!!!

Olivia Ann Dress

I am a sucker for babies in crocheted dresses being as adorable as it gets, so I recently made a few purchases from this shop on Etsy:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/Lisasheirloomdesigns?ref=pr_shop_more.  She has very easy patterns and is ready to answer any questions you may have as you work through her designs.  I made this Olivia Ann dress for Shelby, sticking with the yellow yarn, hoping to match her and Jayna together for church someday soon.  Jayna already had a dress I purchased on Etsy here:  http://www.etsy.com/listing/104297011/fall-vintage-yellow-sparrow-dress, that being another worthy purchase as I have not had time or energy to sew as much lately.  I have another pattern I bought from Lisa's shop I plan to use soon for Shelby in the pretty dark blue using the Clair pattern she has in the store.  Thanks for looking!

Handmade Bonnet

Hello, all! I know it's been QUITE A WHILE since I've posted any crafts. I've been too busy to really sit and make any! But recently we had a celebration of Pioneer Day (http://lds.org/study/prophets-speak-today/unto-all-the-world/we-all-share-pioneer-legacy?lang=eng) at our church, and in the spirit of making it fun and accurate, I decided to make some bonnets for my girls to wear to the activity. I don't have any pictures of Carly's, but here is what I made for Jayna. I only had a toddler sized pattern to fit her head, so it looks small, but she "broke it in" so to speak and by the end of the evening it fit her head perfectly, keeping the sunshine out of her eyes. She actually loved wearing it, to my surprise; she usually doesn't like wearing whatever I've spent time making myself! The fabric I already had on hand, and the pattern is one from a yard sale I bought two years ago when she was still a baby. Thanks for looking!

Crocheted Green Dress

Hey, everyone! It's been a while since I've made a post of something I've crocheted...so here you go! I actually have had this dress done for a few months...but it didn't fit Jayna until now. I can't even remember where I got the pattern -- a book or magazine maybe? All I can remember at this point in time is that it took me many hours and at first I didn't like the results,...but now, seeing her wearing it, I am in love with it! She wore it out of the house last week on a cool day and she received many compliments. Carly and she share a room and the nice purple curtains are what covers their closet, so she had a lot of fun modeling her new "princess" dress for me. She even gave me a kiss when she realized I had a new dress for her to wear! :) Thanks for looking!

GO VOTE, PLEASE!!!

Hi, all! Please go vote for this lady at The Cottage Home! She entered an adorable dress into a contest and if she wins, she will share the pattern. I LOVE THIS DRESS!!! http://thecottagehome.blogspot.com/2011/01/week-1-project-run-and-play-winter.html. I really want to have the pattern...I can even crochet the neck piece for my daughter's dress myself. But sewing doesn't come naturally so trying to mimic this dress on my own would be disastrous. And wasteful. Please vote for Lindsay so we can all enjoy her awesome talent! http://projectrunandplay.blogspot.com/2011/01/winter-wonderland-submissions.html. Thanks!!!

Ballet Slippers

I recently came upon a pattern through Etsy from Holland Designs (pattern here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/61920495/toddler-boho-ballet-flats-pattern-pdf), and I fell in love with the cuteness of the slippers! Her instructions were relatively easy-to-follow, and I might purchase the adult slipper pattern soon. (I love wearing slippers around my house and hate to go barefoot. Even in the summertime, I have to at least wear flip flops all the time around my house.) Anyway, I chose to use up some yarn I already had on hand. The off-white slippers are Cotton Tots yarn (100% cotton), but the yarn is sort of bumpy, and I wasn't sure I liked the outcome of the slippers with it. So next I tried a smooth and shiny acrylic yarn (Caron?) and I like the detail of it a little better. The color is alright, but I didn't want to have to run out and get new yarn when I have aplenty laying around. All of the buttons were purchased from JoAnn's, which I also had on hand. I used the largest toddler size instructions in the pattern to fit my 2 1/2 year old, but she is in the 90% percentile and wears 3T and a size 7 shoe. They fit her well, and she enjoys wearing them. Thanks for looking!

Ruffles, Ruffles,...and More Ruffles!

If you haven't met this amazingly talented lady named Anneliese, go now! HERE: http://www.aestheticnest.com/. She paints, sews, crochets, knits, makes party invitations,...and everything she touches turns out beautifully! (I want to be her when I grow up! ha!) ;) Well, recently she featured this beautiful crocheted ruffle skirt for one of her little daughters, and I fell in love at first sight! I immediately left her blog and went to purchase this pattern http://www.etsy.com/listing/53843165/cotton-ruffled-skirt-and-top-2t-to-4t from Sandy's Cape Cod Originals on Etsy.com. Then I started crocheting away! I tweaked the pattern just by changing the hook sizes...the underskirt on mine is a "G" but the ruffles are in "I" because the "H" ruffles didn't seem to want to lay as flatly down the skirt. I used the same Lily Sugar n Cream 100% cotton as Anneliese because I loved the warm brown color and Jayna already had a sweater that nothing dressy matched yet. So I solved that problem, and this was the best money on yarn I've spent, as well as the best time I've spent on an item for Jayna. My husband was impressed and adored the skirt as well...which is saying a lot! Since Sandy does allow for the crocheted skirt to be sold following her pattern (I can't give, sell, or pass on the pattern, though) I might just add these sweet skirts to my Etsy shop this winter. What do you all think?

Smurfette Costume

Hi! I just want to share some pictures of a Smurfette costume that I made for Carly for Halloween this year. I bought some white fleece at JoAnn's (too much - I have 3 yards leftover!) because it's always cold on trick-or-treat night here to create her dress and hat. I used the tutorial for this shirt: http://www.u-createcrafts.com/2010/06/reversible-sun-top-tutorial-by-from.html and made it into a dress instead. For the hat, Brent and I traced our own pattern on a paper bag, but it took us three times to get the size right for her head! (Don't look too closely at the pictures or you'll see punch and pizza sauce on her outfit from the party!) Then we bought some blue tights and "long johns" from Target, used some face paint for the blue skin, and attached a flower clip to the side of her head...and voila! Smurfette is here! She already has blond hair and I tried flipping out the ends but by the time we traveled out-of-state to the party, it was done and not as cute when it was picture time. Carly loved the outfit...until the when we attended a birthday costume party and the face paint started to dry and tighten on her skin. She didn't like the way it felt. But she endured and everyone bragged that they couldn't believe how much she looked like the Smurf from years ago. Thanks for looking! PS - Jayna and Adam's costumes were much easier to put together...thank goodness! I'll post pictures of their outfits on Halloween for our family blog.

Reversible Girl's Top

I came across this tutorial: http://www.u-createcrafts.com/2010/06/reversible-sun-top-tutorial-by-from.html and decided to try it out for Jayna. It turned out to be partly a craft fail, I won't lie. The reason Jayna's shirt has an extra band of material is that I made it too short. And when I threaded the elastic inside it got twisted and I didn't know until I had sewn it up. But I do love the fabrics we picked. We got those at Hobby Lobby, though I've seen the same at JoAnn's. Now Carly is waiting on me to complete hers...I hope it goes better than this one!

Crocheted Sweater

I have been working a while on this for Jayna. I found the pattern on the Lion brand yarn website. It was fairly simple for my first sweater, and the sleeves are meant to be wide as they are. I like the color for Jayna. The yarn is Bernat Cotton Tots. I found the button on sale at JoAnn's a while back. Anyway, I think it's a cute addition to her wardrobe for the changing seasons. I really hope I can continue finding patterns of cute clothes. To me, nothing is cuter than a baby or young child is something completely handmade (with love). Thanks for looking!

Jayna's Birthday Skirt

I followed this tutorial: http://alemonsqueezyhome.blogspot.com/2010/05/scalloped-skirt-tutorial-sew-through.html, and made this skirt for Jayna's second birthday. Thanks for looking!

Ruffle Skirts

Here are the items I spent almost all of my free time on in the evenings of June - 6 different ruffle skirts! They fit anywhere from 2T to 4T since they stretch some. They are made with acrylic yarn which makes them machine washable and dryable. The flowers are actually pins which you can remove to change the look of the skirt and add to your hair or jacket. I made my girls these skirts in the past and they are adorable with tights and jean jackets in the Fall. These ones will be sold at the Lola Leigh store downtown, but look for some in my Etsy shop when the weather changes to Autumn! PS - My favorites are the black and white ones! They didn't photograph well, but they are really eye-catching in person and I will probably end up making my girls some in those colors!

Jayna's Newest Handmade Skirt

I've been wanting to make Jayna this new skirt for a while, but I lacked the much-needed knowledge and confidence in the area of sewing and using my sewing machine. Before I sew ANY clothes, I have to read, re-read, and read again the sewing pattern. Then I have to talk to myself for a while about how I can do this. But I am not really sure. Then I look for the perfect fabric for the item for a long while...this could take months. Then when I finally start my project and hop on the sewing machine, I get very discouraged. If the bobbin is the least bit off, I struggle for about an hour to get it all right and ready to go again. Very frustrating! Thus, I do not sew often. If anyone is willing to tutor me on my sewing machine I would be very attentive and a fast learner. Until then...

I recently came across this book at Hobby Lobby entitled, "making children's clothes." (The title of the book is in lower case...normally I would capitalize a title.) The book is by Emma Hardy, and probably for anyone who already knows how to sew it would be an awesome book to make some really cute stuff. It has great instructions and detailed pictures. But this skirt took me 4 1/2 hours to make. But again, I am incompetent at this hobby so far. The corduroy flower print is from JoAnn's...can't remember where I got the brown polka dot print...maybe JoAnn's? The velvet trim is from Hobby Lobby. The button I had in my stash of scrapbooking supplies. And now Jayna has a skirt. She was not happy to model it for me, though. So I didn't get many cute pictures of her wearing it yet. She doesn't care that mom spent lots of time sewing that skirt the night before --- she just wants to go into Adam's room and pick out a toy to play with...sheesh, MOM!

Thanks for looking, reading all this, and putting up with my poor humor. haha! :)

Keeping Baby Girl Warm!

I finished Jayna's helmet and mitts today. Just in time, too, cause it is really starting to get cold, snowy, and windy outside around here! I couldn't find anything I liked in her size at Target, or anywhere else for that matter, so I decided to find out how to make her a toboggan and gloves. I came close enough and I think this set turned out pretty cute! She liked clapping her hands with the mitts on. It was funny. Look for some sets of these in my Etsy shop soon.

What a cheeseball?!?!?!