plant hanger

I bought some odds and ends of wool to practice spinning. I spun up this super bulky yarn but it only made a couple yards so instead of knitting or crocheting something with it I chose to make this plant hanger using Julie's of Gleeful Things plant hanger tutorial

If you think our plant looks a little sad it is because our cat, Kizzy, is fixated on chewing the ends of each leaf off... so hanging this up may save this little plants life!

feather mobile

We recently fixed up our guest room upstairs. It is beginning to be my favorite room in the house. It's so peaceful up there. I usually go up there just to get away from the chaos and mess of the downstairs. One of my favorite details in the room is this feather mobile. 

I painted the tips of the feathers with mod podge and sprinkled gold glitter over the mod podge. I let the feathers dry by sticking the ends into a piece of foam. Once they were dried I tied crochet thread on a stick I found on the beach during one of our vacations. I then tied the the ends of the feather using the thread onto the stick. I dabbed a piece of hot glue to keep them all secure. Simple but lovely!

Feathers were bought from Feather and Earth on Etsy.

roasted pumpkin seeds recipe

I love carving pumpkins at Halloween time but my favorite part is roasting the pumpkin seeds afterwards! Here is a simple recipe for roasting them.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

• pumpkin seeds, washed
• sea salt
• cooking spray

Spray a cookie sheet with the cooking spray. After washing the pumpkin seeds, dab them with a paper towel to remove the excess water. Spread evenly on the cookie sheet. Sprinkle as much or as little sea salt on the seeds as you would like.

Bake in an oven set at 250 degrees for 40 minutes or until they are completely dry, stirring every 10-15 minutes to be sure they bake evenly.

Let cool and enjoy!

For another version try using this candied pumpkin seeds recipe from Taste of Home... so amazingly delicious!

birthday party

I can't believe my son is a year old! His party was a great time with family & friends!

recycled izze bottle vase

I found this upcycled Izze bottle vase tutorial on See Vanessa Craft & remembered I saved an Izze bottle from our date the other night. I have a hard time throwing away glass bottles. I know there are many uses for them. This seemed like a perfect idea for this one & I already had all the materials at home to make it!

I used a big wooden button instead of a ribbon bow. I loved how it turned out! I love quick & easy projects!


Anyone have any ideas for the bottle cap??

free pattern: delicate flowers

This pattern is an oldie but I wanted to transfer it to my current blog so all my patterns can be found in one place. It's a super simple pattern but I love the results, especially with a bunch of them together. There are so many uses for these adorable little flowers!
What you need:-I used a small amount of vintage acrylic sport weight yarn in white & eggshell that I had in my stash for this project. You can use any color you wish.
-Size G (4.25mm) crochet hook

chain 4
slip stitch in 1st chain to form a ring.
(chain 3, 2 dc in ring, slip stitch) 5 times - makes 5 petals
slip stitch in the 1st chain 3 to finish
weave in tails

sew on button or bead for center of you flower. I attached floral wire to the back of the flower and wrapped it with green yarn for the stem.

Make several and display them in your favorite vase! These can also be used as embellishments on your crochet/knit or scrapbook projects!

free pattern: soap saver sack

It's been a while since my last post! Life is busy with a baby! Who would have thought?

I'm here today with a new pattern for you guys. I love using bar soap but it never seems to last long enough. It makes a huge mess too. I hate cleaning the soap dish. Using a soap saver sack will lessen the mess & make your soap last longer!



This is crocheted in the round without joining unless noted in the pattern.

Materials
worsted weight 100% cotton yarn
E hook (3.50MM)
bar of soap

Pattern
Leave a long tail at the beginning to sew up the bottom of the bag.
Chain 32, join without twisting.
RND1: Ch3. *skip 1 chain and hdc in next.* repeat * all the way around. (16 sts)
place a marker at the beginning of the round and move up as you finish each round.
RND2-13: Hdc in the spaces of the last row all the way around. (16 sts)
after round 13 slip stitch to join.
RND14: Ch5. Skip 1 stitch. DC in next. *Ch2. skip 1 stitch. DC in next* repeat * around. Slip stitch to join at the top of the 1st DC. (7 sts)
RND15: *Ch3. Sc in the chain space between each DC* repeat * all the way around. Sl stitch at the beginning of the round.
RND16: *3sc in chain space. Slip stitch in the sc from last round.* repeat * all the way around. Slip Stitch to finish.

Cut yarn and weave into your work. Using the long tail at the beginning of your work, whip stitch the bottom of the bag shut.

Bag tie
using the same color of yarn or a contrasting color
chain 70. Weave in ends and make knots at both ends of the chain.
Weave the tie into the DC row of your bag.

Insert soap, tie the sack shut and enjoy!

For another variation of the soap saver sack hold 3 strands of cotton thread together.



If you make this pattern I would love to see! Just leave a link to your soap saver sack in the comments so I can check it out!

valentine's day diy roundup

Here are some cute DIYs that I have found that would be perfect for Valentine's Day coming up!


easy valentine's "oreos" by holly of create*loves

valentine twig arrow by carolyn of homework

crayon heart valentines by heather of whipperberry

beeswax heart candles on sticks by margie ooman on poppytalk

amigurumi heart friend by lisa of goodknits

Free Pattern: Hacky Sack

I remember in high school before classes started each morning a bunch of kids would play hacky sack. I was not coordinated enough to play but I did love to watch.

I am still not coordinated enough to play so my way of getting involved in this sport is to crochet the hacky sacks!

I wrote up this quick and easy free pattern for hacky sacks. They are filled with dried beans. I have used pinto & black beans but any dried bean could be used.



These are crocheted in the round without joining at the beginning of each round.

Materials
worsted weight acrylic yarn
F hook (3.75MM)
dried beans

Pattern
chain 2
RND1: sc 6 in 2nd ch from hook. (6 sts)
RND2: 2sc in each st. (12 sts)
RND3: *2sc in next st, sc in next st; rep from * 5 times (18 sts)
RND4: *2sc in next st, sc in next 2 sts; rep from * 5 times (24 sts)
RND5-10: sc in each st. (24 sts)
RND11: *sc2tog, sc in next 2 sts; rep from * 5 times (18 sts)
RND12: *sc2tog, sc in next st; rep from * 5 times (12 sts)

-fill mostly up with dried beans

RND13: *sc2tog; rep from * 5 times (6 sts)

Finishing:
cut yarn leaving tail. Use the tail to sew the hole shut. Weave in ends and cut tail.

pinterest'ed: friendship bracelet loom

As a kid I loved making friendship bracelets... what little girl didn't!? I found a super easy way to make some bracelets that would be great for teaching little kids how to make them... and they are even fun for adults!

I used this tutorial from Homemade Gifts Made Easy. The loom is really easy to make. I just cut out a circle from a granola bar box and cut 8 slits evenly around with a hole in the middle. I used embroidery thread. It's fun picking out colors to include and I love watching how the colors work together!

This was really fun! This would be a fun summer activity for you and your kids!





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Crafting is exhausting for Batman...

pinterest'ed: handpainted plant pot

So I'm addicted to Pinterest... anybody else?

I signed up onto Pinterest and didn't like it at first. But the more I browsed the site the more I fell in love with it. So much inspiration in one spot!

I want to try so many projects and I will share them on here as I do them.

This project is a handpainted plant pot by Elise Blaha of enJOY it.

I just took an ugly scratched up green flower pot that has been sitting empty on my counter for months. It previously held my aloe vera plant until Batman decided to chew it up.

I drew this triangle graphic onto the pot using a marker and painted them black and white using acrylic paint.

Super duper easy & cute!