Mermaid

Hello!  I took on a small project...it was this pattern from Etsy:  https://www.etsy.com/listing/155776488/crochet-pattern-mermaid-cocoon-tail-fin?ref=shop_home_active_6.  I thought it was quite adorable, and really perfect for my niece who is having her first baby this month.  My niece eloped to Florida for her marriage, and loves the beach.  She even recently commented how she couldn't wait to get back to the beach and take her little baby to be a mermaid.  So I am surprising her with this gift, and I hope she loves it!  I know I love it!  I got all of my yarn from Hobby Lobby.  I think I used 3 skeins, used the H hook, and made the 0-3 month size.  The seller of this pattern was super helpful and quick in responding to a couple of questions I had.  The only stitch I had to learn was the crocodile stitch, but it didn't take any time to pick it up.  Thanks for looking!

Heart Garland

I had a friend request I make a heart garland for her.  I was so happy to do so!  I love little banner/garlands to crochet.  They make a home or office so much more cozy!  I didn't have to buy anything as I already had the yarn on hand, and I used a pattern I already had printed from the internet years ago, too.  This took a little under 2 hours from start to finish, minus the breaks I have to take while mothering.  Thanks for looking!

More Crocheted Afghans

I finally finished up (after Christmas) some afghans I made for Christmas presents.  So I made a total of 6 this year for presents during the holiday.  I am grateful for this talent and knowledge.  Each afghan is a total of 3 lbs. of yarn.  Now it's almost time to re-open the Etsy shop for the new year.  Thanks for looking!

Crocheted Christmas

After I finished up my Etsy shop orders, I immediately started on some handmade gifts that I wanted to give.  I typically revert to these lap blankets that work up quickly for me and I bought the yarn throughout the year when sales would come up.  I love making these!  They are my favorite gift to give.  Thanks for looking!  I have three more to go!

Crochet Baby Overalls

I recently found the pattern for these little crochet short baby overalls, and I fell in love! I had seen some pictures of baby boys in them in photos all over the internet...and I couldn't pass up trying my hand at them.  They are so stinking cute! I don't have a baby boy, but I know someone who does, so I wanted to give them as a gift.  I hope she likes them!  I used yarn I already had on hand, so all I had to pay for was the pattern.  The pattern can be found here:  https://www.etsy.com/listing/195784161/instant-download-crochet-pattern.  It was really easy to follow, and it worked up for me in about 3 hours, which is great since I'm so busy with my own Etsy orders lately.  Thanks for looking!

Crochet Cushion Take Two

I finished the other crocheted cushion I wanted to make! I love it even better than the first.  The cream yarn helps disguise the muslin cushion inside.  It makes for a better finished look, I think.  Have a nice day!

Crocheted Floor Cushion

My mother-in-law has a crocheted floor cushion (probably ordered from a home magazine), and my kids are all over it when we are at her house.  So, I decided I could probably make one!  And I did!  I got the free pattern from joann.com and ordered my muslin and foam filler from Amazon.com.  Then I set to work and this is my first!  I have one more floor cushion to make.  I have four kids so I figure about half of them will want to sit on one of these cushions versus on the couch.  I love the way it turned out.  :)

Chevron Crochet Blanket

I am in love with chevron crocheted items right now!  I love these ones on Pinterest:

Scarf - http://babytoboomer.com/2013/12/29/chevron-infinity-scarf-crochet-pattern/

Baby Blanket - http://annemarieshaakblog.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/new-baby-blanket.html

Love this ripple blanket and colors! - https://crochetcricket.wordpress.com/2013/05/30/modern-granny-stripe-baby-blanket/

and then this is the pattern I followed to make mine:  http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/granny-ripple-afghan

And using only leftover yarn from other projects, I created one of my favorite afghans!  I am so pleased with how it turned out.  I am enjoying catching up on some projects of my own pleasure while I have a break from the Etsy shop.  :) 

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. 

Chevron Crochet Blanket

I have been working on a chevron blanket recently with some leftover yarn from other projects in between working on my Etsy orders.  I just shipped the last board over the weekend.  Now I have 5 boards to do for a family member's order.  Anyway, I love the way my blanket is going.  I work on it at night when the kids are in bed and my eyes are too tired to concentrate on my birthday boards.  I will post the finished project when it is done after Christmas.  I have also been working on crocheting those leg cuffs to wear with boots.  I hope Carly likes them.  :)  And Shelby has been interested in learning to crochet, too!  ;)  Love this girl!!

Hunger Games Sweater

As soon as I saw Katniss wearing this awesome sweater in the second movie, I knew I was going to find a way to make one!  So later I pinned different versions on Pinterest so I could figure out which one I thought I could do best by crochet.  And when the kids started back to school this past Fall, and Shelby was taking a nap, I went for it.  I have to say it looks like the pattern I got.  You can buy that here:  https://www.etsy.com/listing/171365844/crochet-pattern-cross-body-cowl-scarf?ref=shop_home_active_2.  It was fairly easy pattern with great written instructions.  The seller was completely available and courteous for any questions.  Today, Carly is wearing hers because the new Hunger Games movie is out tonight!!!!  She wants to go...but not on opening night.  It will be packed.  And we will see it over Thanksgiving break.  "May the odds be ever in your favor!"

She Was a Cabbage Patch Doll

She looks like a doll, don't you think?!  :)  The only thing I would have done differently is make more of the curly part around the front of her forehead.  But I had to guess at how much to do since she was napping when I made the wig and I couldn't try it on her without waking her up.  Thanks for looking!

Cabbage Patch Crochet Hat

Part of Shelby's costume for Halloween!  I got the pattern from Etsy.  I think she will like it!  ;)  Thanks for looking.  I'll post a picture of her wearing it after Halloween.

Crocheted Coasters

Until now, I had always used a folded paper towel every night to set my drinks on.  But now I have these awesome coasters...handmade, too!  I (again from Pinterest!) found this great link: http://colorncream.blogspot.com/2014/08/flower-coaster-tutorial.html to a pattern and knew immediately I wanted to make them.  The lady was very friendly in the transaction on Etsy.  She has an English version of the pattern.  I personally prefer the look of the coasters without the scalloped edge, but they're cute either way.  In her link, she uses very bright and fun colors.  I don't typically decorate that way, I'm more traditional and mute in color around my house, so I opted for more neutral yarn colors.  I used sugar n cream 100% cotton yarn.  And the awesome thing is I won't be wasting paper towels anymore, and I can just throw these coasters in the wash and they're clean.  It took me maybe 2 hours to do the set I created.  Thanks for looking!

Red, White, and Blue Bunting

So I found this awesome pattern on Pinterest for an American bunting:  http://www.whiskersandwool.blogspot.com.es/2012/06/patriotic-bunting-free-pattern.html.  The pattern is free, but the rights are reserved for it to not be sold.  So I just made one for myself.  I thought at first I would use it in my traditional 4th of July pictures with the kiddos.  Here's how that turned out:

Shelby dropping the bunting

Jayna fidgeting

Shelby and Jayna not really into this

 

 

So I decided that wasn't such a success.  Luckily, I could use the bunting not just for a photo shoot, but also as decor for the upcoming Independence Day celebration.  This was a much better use! 

 

Happy 4th of July!  Slightly late...



Carly Crochets!

Technically, these kinds of scarves aren't crocheting, but they involve a crochet hook, and the work up really fast.  Carly pretty much taught herself how to make these this past winter when we have been stuck inside for months with seemingly no end in sight.  I was so proud of her!  She looked up some tutorials on YouTube and picked the one that seemed to be the easiest instruction for her understanding and went with it.  She's made a few, and this one is for a friend for her birthday.  I am proud of my girl for following in my craft footsteps and developing her talent.  :)  Good job, Carly!!

Owl Costume

Pinterest is such an amazing tool!  Adam and Jayna wanted to be characters from Harry Potter for Halloween this year, and I decided to keep with that theme, they needed an owl to take trick-or-treating with them.  I got on Pinterest and within minutes I knew exactly what I was going to do to make Shelby's costume.  I found my hat pattern https://www.etsy.com/listing/81661715/owl-hat-pattern-us-and-uk-terms?ref=shop_home_active on Etsy and since I know how to crochet I did it myself.  Then I followed a no-sew tutorial on Pinterest for the poncho-altered costume http://www.u-createcrafts.com/2012/10/no-sew-baby-owl-costume-tutorial.html.  Thanks for looking!

Shelby's Party Decor

Okay, okay, I'm guilty!  Almost all of these ideas are from Pinterest....except for the old book pennant "Happy Birthday, Shelby" banner.  But let's be real...how original is that?!  The unique thing about it is that the ribbon came from my grandmother.  I love inheriting craft supplies from my grandma from time-to-time when I'm back home visiting family. 
The giant "1" is made from coffee filters hot glued to a board I cut in the shape of the "1."  Then I spray painted it to give some color and add festivity to the look of it.
My favorite creation below is the crocheted triangle pennant banner in Fall colors.  I am going to save that and use it for an upcoming craft show and also for future Fall décor and/or home decorating in the girls' room.  :)
The doily table runner I hand-stitched together from doilies I either already had or picked up at JoAnn's.  I love the look of it and felt it added to the homemade Fall theme of the party.  The porcelain pumpkins I purchased years ago when I lived in Bakersfield, CA, at a Hallmark store.

I also made some brown paper bag flowers to hang around the room which I thought turned out super cute and fit with my "Autumn" theme for Shelby's party.  We had caramel apples, grapes, sandwiches, hot dogs, chips, vegetables with dip, hot pepper jelly with cream cheese and crackers, and cupcakes flavored pumpkin spice and caramel apple for dessert. 

Pink Rag Rug for Girls' Room

A looooooong while back, I made this post:  http://thecozyhousecrafter.blogspot.com/2012/01/afterthe-girls-room.html.  I was really excited to have updated the girls' room, and I started looking for a rug to match their walls and bedding.  Unfortunately, everything out there is expensive when it comes to floor coverings, and also with specific colors in mind, I couldn't find exactly what I wanted.  So, I started collecting sheets from yard sales and wherever I could get them (my mother gave me some old sets and what-not).  I was determined to just make my own rug...fast forward to now...and it's finally done!  hahaha  That didn't take long, did it?!  Anyway, I am pleased with the finished product and it does match their room really well.  Just hoping they don't want to update their room again too soon.....

It looks a bit "wonky" in this bottom picture but once I was able to get it in their room and pull it and straighten it out a bit, it looks perfect.  It's just from where it was just finished and hasn't been walked on or anything much yet.

Crocheted Bonnet

My church decided to have a "Pioneer Social" picnic this past weekend.  Even though I was out of town last week visiting family in WV, I took time to crochet this cute bonnet https://www.etsy.com/listing/108275046/pdf-crochet-pattern-penelope-bonnet?ref=shop_home_active.  It was a great pattern and easy-to-follow instructions.  It took me maybe 90 minutes to complete from start to finish.  Shelby really looked the part in my opinion during the picnic.  She's a sweetie.  Thanks for looking!