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!

Cast a Love Spell

Adam is super interested in Harry Potter books/movies/wands, etc.  We have bought several HP wands from this Etsy store:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/BlackPearlShop?ref=related-shop-1&ga_search_query=black+pearl+shop&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery.  They are super awesome and worth the price.  Adam likes them a lot, and when I came across a photo tutorial on Pinterest, I knew he and I were going to have to make some.  So then V-Day rolled around, I told him we ought to make some for his class with a cheesy line, like "Watch out for the Love Spell!"  While he was interested in making the wands, he did not like my catchy phrase!  Oh, well, what can I expect!?  He's almost 11.  Anyway, here are some pictures of our wands.  I think they turned out great, and he said his friends really liked them.  He even gave one to his Language Arts teacher who said it was the best non-edible gift she had received thus far (the day before Valentine's Day weekend with her family).  :) 

My Quilted Gift!

I am so excited to share something I received for Christmas!  I normally do not like to brag about gifts I receive, but when it is handmade, it's hard not to share! And this is especially sentimental.  My mother had a rough upbringing; and thus dropped out of high school, later got her G.E.D., and then worked at schools close to home as a school cook which gave her the flexibility to still be at home with the children when we would be there.  I admire my mom for a lot of reasons for she has overcome a lot of hardships in her life.  Well, she does not craft.  She jokes she can't sew on a button even!  But she retired a couple of years ago, and she had hundreds of those "scrubs" in fun patterns and colors since she worked at an elementary school.  She asked a distant relative who quilts to take all of the uniforms and make each of us children (four in total) a quilt from her old uniforms.  Then she gave them to us at Christmas.  I absolutely love mine!  I am not even going to use it.  I bought a quilt rack from Etsy (here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/101014543/reclaimed-wood-3-foot-quilt-rack-with?ref=shop_home_active_22) to hang it on in my home...at least until my children are older and we can be more gentle with the quilt.  This was such a wonderful gift to receive and I look forward to handing it down in the family along with the stories of my mother and her life.  Thanks for looking!

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. 

Let's Eat Menu Board!

Last week I whipped together this menu planning board fashioned after some pictures I had seen on Pinterest.  This menu board was a gift to one of my friends as she is getting married this month!  The "Count Your Blessings" tea towel is from latterdayhome.com.  And the little recipe box is something I picked up from Hobby Lobby.  All the accessories for the menu board also came from Hobby Lobby (except for the scrabble letters which came from Etsy.com a couple of years ago).  The cookie sheet is from Target.  Happy crafting!!!

A Handmade Christmas for the Kids

Typically every year I make a lot of my gifts for friends and family.  However, this year, with babysitting three days a week for 10 hours each day, and not having the down time we had last year after Brent's hip surgery, I found I was really too busy to get much done craft-wise outside of my Etsy shop orders for others.  So, I chose just one gift for each of my kids and went with that for a handmade Christmas.

The first is the fabric alphabet set I made for Shelby.  I had inherited a lot of scrap fabrics from my grandmother this past summer, and I really wanted to recycle it into some cute things for my family.  I researched some pins with tutorials about fabric alphabet sets on Pinterest, and I then did what was comfortable for me with a combination of steps from different tutorials.  Overall, I was really pleased with the outcome of my product, and my grandmother was impressed with the idea and wanted a set for herself!  :)

For Carly, I scrapbooked a page of pictures from Taylor Swift's concert that Carly and I attended earlier this year.  I also included her ticket from the concert, and an actual autograph from Taylor Swift addressed to Carly that a friend gave her for her birthday a few years ago.  (Before Taylor Swift became really popular around the country, she had stopped in my town...yes, just one mile away!...at a local grocery store to sign autographs and release her first cd.  Oh, how I wish I had known how famous she'd become...I would have been there myself!)  Carly now has the shadow box framed page on her wall to remember that special day we shared as mother and daughter.  :)

For Jayna, I had pinned some peg doll ideas because she really loved playing with a set I made identical to our family before Shelby was born.  So I pinned a few and when it came time to choose, I decided since she loves princesses so much, why not "the Princess and the Pea" to add to her collection of princess stories?  She didn't know the story yet so I ordered the book off of Amazon.com and set to work on the peg doll set.  Again, I used fabrics from my grandmother to "dress" the dolls and the "quilt" the mattresses.  Jayna has loved it so much and I'm really glad I didn't second guess my crafty abilities and went through with the plan.  I will make more for her in the near future!  Just pinned another set I'm sure she'll love....  ;)

When it came to Adam, well, boys are just harder to craft for, and there's not as much "cute-sy" stuff for them.  But when I saw this pin, I knew it was the gift for him.  http://www.meggipeg.com/2012/04/boy-bedroom-makeover-scout-blanket-with.html  I have so many extra patches that do not go directly on his uniform, and also some that Brent acquired as a Scout, so I have begun working on sewing them all to a blanket.  I have the trim almost all done along the edges as well.  While I haven't completed Adam's project to date, I did show it to him close to Christmas and he was happy with it.  I look forward to giving him something special and that accounts for time he has spent learning things with Scouts.  I also think it will be nice if he has sons that he can hand this down to them and they can add their Scout badges as well. 

I had about a week to work on my children's gifts for Christmas after I had completed my Etsy orders, so it wasn't much time to finish everything I wanted for them. 

Felt Nativity Set

Over the past few years I have really started collecting Nativity sets.  For a few years into our marriage, I didn't have any.  Then I started buying them after Christmas on sale, and friends even bought a couple of sets for me.  But with Shelby, my 1 year old, it was hard to let her handle any fragile sets or small pieces.  Yet I wanted her to have something for herself to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ along with the rest of us...something she could touch, feel, and play with as I talked to her about Christ.  Therefore, when I came along this pin: http://whatmadeleineloves.blogspot.com/2011/12/felt-nativity.html on Pinterest, I knew it was something I had to do for my baby girl.  Bonus:  I didn't have to buy a single thing to make it as I already had all of the supplies in my craft stash.  After a week or so in my spare time, I had it completed!  It was really fun!  And I will admit that although she didn't take the interest in it right away that I thought she would, she did like to carry around one piece at a time and she knew it was "hers."  I look forward to seeing how she interacts with it next year when she's a few months older and can understand a little more about our Savior's birth. 

Teacher Board Gift

At the end of every year, I try to make my kids' teachers a hallway pass board.  I started this tradition about three or four years ago.  It's been really fun to see my style evolve, and also to see how creative I can get based on what I know the teacher likes.  This is one I've made this year to give to one of Adam's teachers tomorrow.  She is a sweet lady.  She let Adam bring Shelby in for his "show and tell" this year when he earned a certain number of reading points.  Anyway, I noticed her classroom is very "beachy" so I decided to try this out.  What do you think?  I hope she likes it.  :)

Sunshine in a Box!

I recently had a dear friend with a birthday and I knew exactly what I was going to do for her.  She is so upbeat and positive and so kind and generous...I needed to return some "sunshine."  I found this idea on Pinterest first.  So I mimicked it and here is what I came up with.  I just found an old cardboard box and decorated the outside with some scrapbook paper and die cuts from my Cricut machine.  Then I filled the box with paper filler from the Dollar Tree in the bottom; layered with yellow candies; then yellow lemon soap and the like; then I found a Willow Tree actually labeled "Sunshine."  My friend collects them and she loved it!  Then I found the perfect birthday card that told her thanks for being a bright light in my little part of the world.  She truly is.  And I am so glad I found this idea to share with her.

It's a Circus!

I had the opportunity to plan and host a diaper shower for two ladies at my church.  They have the exact same due date and both are supposed to be having boys!  (I say supposed because another lady at my church was supposed to have a girl and had a BOY on April 1st! No joke!)  It is one lady's 4th baby and another lady's 3rd so I thought a diaper shower was appropriate.  I went with a circus theme because I think I am doing the same for Shelby's first birthday later in September and I wanted to save some money.  :) 

The invitation was this (I made it up!): 

Here are some of the decorations and food that we put out (Thanks, Milana and Collette!):

 

Some of these ideas above were from Pinterest.  The last picture above is of a photo op table where we could "clown" around and take pictures.

 

 

And this was the party favor!  Too cute! (Also from Pinterest!)

 

 

 

Lastly, here is my horrible attempt at a diaper cake.  I've done better...but this was all I could get done before Shelby couldn't take my inattention any longer!!!

 

 

 

 

I love celebrating new babies!  Good luck, Sarah and Layla!!!





Scrabble Coasters

Hello! Things have slowed down a bit after two vacations in three weeks' time so I can post a few projects.

This one I recently finished for my new sister-in-law.  She had a unique outdoor wedding and reception with ideas from Pinterest, and I asked if I could help...from a few states away.  She assigned me the task of making 62 Scrabble coasters to be used as seating markers and guest favors that I could bring to town with me for the occasion.  She gave me this tutorial to follow:  http://www.intimateweddings.com/blog/diy-wedding-ideas-scrabble-coasters-tutorial/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+IntimateWeddings-SmallWeddingBlog+%28Intimate+Weddings+-+Small+Wedding+Blog%29  I followed it with the exception that I used wood stain as the alternative (that she lists) to staining the names and I used wood varnish, but not the specific "marine" one the lady lists on her tutorial.  I also purchased all of my scrabble tiles from one supplier on Etsy:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/XOSupplies?ref=pr_shop_more.  She was terrific to work with and a fast shipper!  I will order from her again, for sure!  I bought 1,570 tiles in multiple orders.  The cork I bought in rolls at Target in the office section, and I also bought my wood glue at Target.  The stain and brushes and all of that I had on hand already from past projects.

I had fun making these, although I had to kind of watch the weather to complete them as I am preggers and wanted to make sure I was in a well-ventilated area, a.k.a., the outdoors.  I also wore this awesome mask I have been using throughout my pregnancy (since I discovered my pregnancy, anyway) for every paint and stain project, along with some protective gloves that go to my elbows, and of course, I had on my apron!  Otherwise, this project was simple and fun.  I was careful not to spell out any bad words in the miscellaneous scrabble pieces, or at least I tried!

I think these would make a great Christmas gift or for other type of parties. Thanks for looking!

Teacher Gifts - My Latest Hallway Pass Boards

I just created these two boards for each of my school children's teachers.  I hope they like them as an end-of-the-year gift!  Thanks for looking!  PS - I sell these in my Etsy shop.  Look for shop name:  thecozyhouse OR seller name:  ScrapMom8.  Thanks!

Birthday Board with Tons of Tags

I love this one! It has so many tags for a large family (she also included her daycare kids and friends) it just looks great! Thanks for looking!

Busy with Birthday Boards on Etsy

Hello! I have been soooo busy! Not only with being preggers and trying to keep my momentum up through the first trimester (now in the second), but with the kids' school and sports activities, Easter, traveling, etc. And I have had a big jump in my sales on Etsy for my birthday boards. I have sold many since the first of January, and here are a few of them. It's fun seeing how each person wants them to be customized! Thanks for looking!

Peg Dolls for Fun!

Hi! I've been creating...and one interest has been these peg dolls. I originally saw the idea here: http://tomiannie.blogspot.com/2011/08/peg-doll-family.html and have been in love since August 31st...haha! So I tried to pester Tomi Ann to make me a set cause she is so extraordinarily talented at crafts, but she had faith in me to try...so I did. And I have to say, I am happy with the outcome. :) I did use her suggestion and buy the peg dolls from Etsy dealer GooseGrease and bought the unfinished, naked ones to try my hand at this. I used non-toxic acrylic paints, and I have yet to seal them up with mod podge. I wanted pictures first. My lighting is horrible...but I think you get the idea of my "family." Brent always has WVU gear on; his alma mater. I wear my pearls more than anything with lots of muted shades, and I couldn't leave off my glasses since they never leave my face...sometimes I fall asleep with them on! Carly loves anything with a peace sign, and to look very girly. Adam is a Tiger Scout. I wanted to do his whole uniform top, but there were too many details for a tiny peg doll and I just do not have steady enough hands or patience! And Jayna is our little princess. Her crown is slightly brighter than her hair, but it's the best I could do! And her skirt is actually sparkly pink paint, but again, the lighting....so what do you think? I tried my best and I think they look similar to us!