American Flag Quilt Blocks

I have wanted to do a patriotic theme quilt for quite a while now.  I am not a true quilter...rather a novice at it.  But I found a simple and easy-to-follow flag pattern on Pinterest, and I have begun my small blocks.  They're not perfect!  Again, I am not a knowledgeable quilter...just learning.  But I love this patriotic theme!  Thanks for looking. 

God Bless America!  :)

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!

Updated U.S. Flag

My husband and I have been a little busy installing these custom built beauties into our house.  My husband made them from scratch and it took four months of his free time, but they're finished and we are so happy with his craftsmanship.

But I realized (through t.v. show one night) that I messed up my U.S. ribbon flag (see top right of picture above).  You see, I thought the ones I'd seen on Pinterest had it wrong...putting the blue part on the left top corner.  Because if you turn the flag from horizontal to vertical, the blue part travels to the top right.  So that's where I put mine.  But then I heard on t.v. one night that the blue part must always be in the top left corner, no matter what direction the flag is.  And then I googled it... http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/more/displayonly.htm So, I took it down and changed it on mine.  I want it to be as proper (for a ribbon flag!) that it can since it depicts the U.S. flag that I love so much.  Thanks for continuing to follow!

Patriotic Burlap Wreath

I made this wreath for a friend's birthday.  I bought all of my supplies at Hobby Lobby last week for under $15 dollars...some of it was on sale.  Anyway, I came home and watched some video tutorials on how to make your own burlap wreath, and voila!  I created this one.  I really like how it looks and might make one for myself soon.  Thanks for visiting!

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).  :) 

Hearts

Yesterday my kids had another snow day this winter!  We had to find some things to do so we worked on Valentine's Day projects.  Jayna decorated her school box; Carly made some wire and beaded hearts along with working on her personal progress project; and I made some paper hearts and heart softies.  I already had everything in my craft stash to make the hearts.  Most of the things we did came from ideas on Pinterest.  I am glad I had some extra time with my kiddos this week.  I love them and so making hearts and celebrating an upcoming holiday was fun!

USA Ribbon Flag

My living room is patriotic themed, and when I was sent a pin from a friend that is similar to this ribbon flag, I knew it was on my project list.  I received this pin from her months ago, and finally decided last month to make it.  Sometimes when I am consumed with Etsy shop orders, I crave a creation for myself!   haha  So I bought all of the ribbon at WalMart and the blue fabric came from JoAnn's.  Then I hot glued everything together and tacked it up on the wall. I love it!!!  Thanks for looking!

Updated flag post here:  http://thecozyhousecrafter.blogspot.com/2015/07/updated-us-flag.html

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.

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...



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. 

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!

Pocahontas Costume

Carly had a school assignment to study and educate others on a person in history - she chose Pocahontas.  For her school presentation, I wanted her to seem authentic, so I made her a Pocahontas costume to wear.  (Plus, being 10 years old and in women's clothing sizes, it's really hard to find a modest Indian costume!)  I bought all of the materials at JoAnn's.  The suede cloth already had the cut-outs and fringes, so basically all I did was take one of her basic form church dresses, and use it as a pattern to cut the dress for this costume.  Then I sewed the sides and shoulders together, and voila!  It was ready.  I also bought the Indian-looking trim at JoAnn's and sewed it along skirt bottom.  The feather band on her head came from the $1.00 spot at JoAnn's, and again, I only added the trim by sewing machine.  Her wig came from KMart on sale for $7.00 and the brown tights are from Target.  The turquoise around her neck were string of beads also from JoAnn's that I strung onto elastic cord for a quick necklace.  All in all, this was an easy project and I am pleased with the outcome of the look.  She looked great for the presentation at school!

Elves!

I've been on Pinterest a lot lately, and found this cute little tutorials for kids to make Christmas Elf ornaments! Too cute! So I had my kids try their hands at them, and these are ours! Thanks for looking!!! P.S. - Even my 3 year old could get in on this action...very easy! http://www.parents.com/holiday/christmas/crafts/christmas-kid-crafts/

Snowflake Applique

Recently I saw this tutorial: http://www.aestheticnest.com/2011/11/crochet-sparkle-snowflake-applique.html and ever since have been making those pretty snowflakes to wrap gifts, and even as appliques! (Thanks, Anneliese!) Our church recently held a Christmas party with the "Polar Express" theme, and I decided to make the kids snowflake shirts to coordinate with their pajama bottoms. It was fun to create the different colored sparkly flakes. And I tried to keep Adam's more for a boy by using a nice gray yarn. (His pajama bottoms were dark blue with polar bears on them.) Stay tuned...I will also be making a garland for this winter season...just as she suggests! :)

School Christmas Crafts

So, I've mentioned before I'm heavily involved as the Volunteer Coordinator at my kids' elementary school, and this month is no exception! It's Christmas-time! And as such, our PTO decided to do away with the typical "Secret Santa Shop" and host our own craft nights so the gifts are more sentimental and handmade. I scoured Pinterest for ideas (of course!), and also received some ideas from friends. Since we live in the great state of OSU territory, some of the crafts are buckeye keychains and necklaces. We are also crafting fleece scarves (the kids are basically just tying the fringe at the ends into knots); making Christmas tree canvases; glitter bulbs; painting porcelain tiles; and decorating picture frames, etc. I am also crafting some snowman face kits with buttons for the kids to use on their real snowmen this winter.

We have a total of 175 kids participating, with a grand total of 580 craft orders placed. We have two nights with the children (approximately 5 hours total) to finish everything! We'll see how it goes. I am sure it will be hectic...but when kids are involved, isn't it fun?!?! I love spending time with my kids and their friends at school. It's heartwarming. However, I do need to learn to say "NO!" sometimes. :) But aren't these cute ideas?!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like: HALLOWEEN!

I don't know why, but I am super into Halloween this year. I think the older my kids get, the more enjoyable it is for them...less scary, maybe. So last week I spent a day making my home look more like Fall, but specifically decorating for Halloween. These spiders and the scared cat are cut from vinyl. The patterns came from a magazine. They are pretty large cuts, though. The cat really kind of weirded out all of my kids the first day it was on the wall! ;) The Haunted House was actually built by my son in Kindergarten last year. And the wreath was decorated by me. I bought a cheap grapevine wreath, spray painted it black, and then used some embellishments and ribbon I found at WalMart recently. 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!