Crochet Clover Earrings

Back when I was younger I really got into making friendship bracelets, which resulted in my having a huge box of string.  This box has been handing around for years without being touched.  I finally discovered a project to use the string, as well as those teeny tiny crochet hooks, which I have also never touched. 

This set of clover earrings is my first attempt at crocheting something so small and I think they turned out rather well.  The clover themselves are a little over two inches big and the entire earring from top to bottom measures about three inches.

I hope to start making some other style crochet earrings soon.

This set of clover earrings is available in my etsy store.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/77553802/green-crochet-clover-earrings







Crochet Beach Bag

I crocheted this beach bag using Bernet 100% cotton yarnand added wodden beads to the drawstrings.  This bag is large enough to fit everything you could possibly need or want to take with you to the beach.  It easily fits your beach towel, flip flops, a book, sun tan lotion, a snack, sun glass, you name it, it will fit.

Once you've got your bag all loaded up, tie the drawstrings in a nice little bow and you are ready to hang it over your shoulder and off to the beach you go!

The pattern for this bag can be found in

This item is available in my etsy shop.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/77477895/crochet-beach-totebag?ref=v1_other_2

Crochet Laundry Bag

This bag was made from Bernet 100% cotton yarn and accented with pink and purple buttons.  I used this pattern (http://www.coatsandclark.com/NR/rdonlyres/A5426861-C099-4D70-9CEF-3122FE726688/103972/WR1796.pdf) as a base for my design, but tweaked it a bit.  The stretchy design allows for it to be filled with a full load of dirty laundry!  Im pretty excited about this item.  I wish I knew some girls going off to college in the fall, as this would make a great gift!

This item is available for sale in my etsy shop.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/77464438/hand-crocheted-laundry-bagtote?ref=v1_other_2



Mini-Messanger Bag

I finally had time to get some projects completed!  My husband is out of town for the weekend so I have some time on my hands.  I made a trip to both Michael's and JoAnn's today to pick up the needed supplies to finish several projects. 

Mini-Messanger Bag

This is a joint effort project with my cousin, for my cousin.  The idea came when we were at JoAnn's one day and she was looking into buying a plain jane bag and I asked her what she wanted with one of those.  She said she was looking for something to put her mini laptop in.  I told her I could create a way cuter bag then that.  And so the mini-messanger bag idea was born.  She bought all the supplies and choose the stitch she liked out of one of my many crochet books.  I created the crocheted bag.  She sewed on the applique and created the lining which she sewed in the bag.  All in all I think it turned out quite cute.  I maye have to consider creating some more to be sold in my etsy store. 

I added "D" rings to the body of the bag and clips to the strap, so that the strap can be removed and the "case" can be put inside another bag if desired.  This was done at my cousin's request and I think it works well.

And here is my cousin modeling the final product.



I've been MIA

This post is long over due.  Its been a month since I last posted!!  Things have been somewhat crazy at home with a lot going on.  But summertime tends to do that.  I currently have several projects in the works including: a lap top tote bag, a beach bag, and a baby blanket.  I hope to be wrapping all of them up very soon.  Once I do I will be sure to post some pictures. 

In the mean time though, I leave tonight for a 7 day cruise to Bermuda!  We will be leaving at 6pm and driving all night to New York.  When we get there we plan on checking out Time Square.  We load up on the boat and noon and will be gone until the following Sunday.  I can't wait to see the pink beaches!

Hope to be sharing more projects with you all soon!



Winning!

Everyday Cricut (see button on right side bar) has weekly giveaways available on their site.  In order to enter all you have to do is comment on the posts made that week.  The more posts you commnet on the more entried you get.  Thats it.  Pretty simple.  Last weeks giveaway was a Scrap'n Easel.

 (http://www.cricutcartridgestorage.com/scrapneasel.htm)

I'd never seen this before, but it really intrigued me.  What an interesting way to help with your page layout.  I really wanted to win so I made sure to comment on all the posts for the week.  Then this past weekend was so busy that I completely forgot about this giveaway until I was going through my emails this morning and was looking at the updates and saw that I had WON!  I can not wait to get this item and start working on my wedding page layouts!

Wedding Shower Card

I finally had a chance to sit down and really use the new Cricute Expression I bought.  Lol, don't worry, I did get some use out of it when it first got delivered.  I messed around with it a bit and made some pretty plain Easter Cards just to get the feel of the machine and all its features.  My mother-in-law also made some use out of it when she was here last weekend, cutting out some letters and some animals.  I made this card for my cousin's wedding shower which is tomorrow.

Here is the front of the card.  I used the Stretch Your Imagination cartridge for the image, as well as the background.  The embellishments are Jolee's Boutique Wedding Gem Flowers.  The small pearls on the ribbons I actually popped off the Jolee Flower stickers.

This is the inside of the card.  The background cut out is from the Storybook cartridge.  Again the pearls were popped off the Jolee's Flower stickers.  The quote is from an DCMV Vellum Quote 3' x 6" Stack, either the Wedding & Romance one or Love and Friendship, I can't remember which one it ended up coming out of.

This picture gives you a better view of the layering and 3D effect onthe front of the card.

The matching envelope.  I know the letters on this one arent the best, they arent the same size, nor are the lined up straight.  But, Im still getting use to using the machine.  I know there is on option when you are cutting to make sure all the letters get cut the same finished size, but I didnt think to use that when I cut these letters.  Oops.

Over all I am pretty happy with my first Cricut expression project.  Hopefully she will like it.  We will find out tomorrow.

Crochet Elephant

Back when I bought the dragon pattern from 'DeliciousCrochet' on Etsy, I also bought this elephant pattern for my sister.  She grew up collecting elephants and I thought it might be a good project for her.  A few years ago I taught her the basics of crocheting and then, like me, she taught herself how to read and follow patterns.  However, she struggled to put the pieces together to make the final product.  So, she came to me.  With my help and some instruction she was able to creat her first amigurumi. 

His nose turned out longer then it should have.  Lol.

For a first project, I think it turned out pretty good.

Scrapbook Mega Meet in Novi Michigan

This weekend is the Scrapbook Mega Meet in Novi.  I just heard about this a few weeks ago, but apparently this is an annual event that has been going on since 2000.  Essentially its a convention at the Suburban Collection Showplace (formally the Rock Financial Showplace) with venders from all over the country selling great scrapbooking/card making items.  They also have an improptu cropping area and classes you can sign up for, as well an a crop session from 6pm til midnight.

My mother-in-law (Kim) and I decided we wanted to go and see what it was like.  This being our first time, we didnt pre-register or sign up for any classes.  We figured we check things out, and depending how things went maybe go next year and sign up for some classes. 

I wasnt really expecting very much.  I didnt want to build it up to be something great and then end up being disappointed.  I thought we would go spend 2 hours or so looking around and go home.  Boy was I wrong!  We got there at 10am and didnt leave until almost 4!  I came across several items that you wouldnt find in your every day scrapbook store.  Im really glad I was limited in the amount of money I could spend, otherwise I would have gone on a huge scrapbooking shopping spree.  I did however end up buying a few page layouts and some interesting page dynamics.  Ill be sure to post some of the items I make in the up coming weeks.  I am really excited to try them out! 

What I was most looking forward to about this event was being able to check out the Original Scrapbox.  I forgot how I originally stumbled across this AMAZING scrapbook storage system, but its been a few years and I am DYING to get one.  Being able to see one in person just made me want one all the much more.  Unfortunately they are currently out of my price range.  But some day....

Ultimately Kim and I had a great time and decided we would need to return next year.  We decided we are going to make sure to pre-register.  Pre-registering allows you to get into the venue an hour early for shopping and to register for classes before they fill up.  Can't wait!

For information on the convention check out their web page http://www.megameet.com/

For information on the Scrapbox check out their web page http://theoriginalscrapbox.com/

Cricut Expression 2 Giveaway!

One of my favorite scrapbooking websites

 

is currently hosting a giveaway for a new Cricut Expression 2! 

For your chance to enter visit http://www.cricutholiday.com/2011/04/enter-here-to-win-new-cricut.html They have generously allowed for 26 entries per person! 

Good luck ladies!

I caved....

...and finally bought a Cricut Expression.  I have wanted a Cricut for months.  My original plan was to buy the Cricut Personal Electronic Cutter.  Retail price for the Personal Cutter is $199.99, but Joann's frequently has it on sale for $89.99 or $99.99.  On Black Friday it was even as low as $69.99!  I was waiting for it to go on sale again and then I was going to buy it.  However, I kept hearing that it was silly to buy the smaller version because in the end after using it for a while the person just ends up buying the larger version, so I should save myself the money and just buy the Expression. 

A few weeks ago I was going through my normal routine at work, opening up the office, logging on to my computer, and checking to see what the Daily Deal was at Target http://dailydeals.target.com/.  It was my lucky day, because the Daily Deal happened to be a Cricut Expression for $199!  Normal retail price from the expression is $399.  But that wasnt even the best part.  Not only was it 50% savings, but is also came with 4 cartridges!  These cartridges are available seperately in the store and retail $89.99 each.  Luckily these also go on sale pretty frequently for $29.99.  It seemed like such a good deal that I couldnt pass it up.  The cratridges that came with the machine were Storybook, Destinations, Desginer's Calendar, and Stretch Your Imagination. 

So I am not the proud owner of a Cricut Expression!  I can't wait to start using it and buy some more cartridges.  I really want to get the Hello Kitty Cartridges.  I also need to look into which cartridges have the patterns for making little boxes and bags. 

Thank You!

I just wanted to give a big THANK YOU to Cara over at Sweet Memory Graphics for creating this new blog layout.  I love it!  Thanks so much!

If you are interested in getting a custom layout done, check out their website.

http://smgraphics.proboards.com/

Crochet Zebra Afghan

I bought the book "48-Hour Afghans" several months ago and fell in love with this pattern.  I desperately wanted to make it, but I couldnt find the yarn I was looking for, Lion Brand Homespun yarn in Metropolis (a black/white/grey multicolored yarn).  There was a reason I couldnt find, it had been discontinued.  After searching on-line I found a craft store chain in California that still had some skeins in stock.  Needless to say I bought them out :-)  I used Caron Simply Soft yarn for the solid black, white, and grey yarn.  This pattern was simple enough to follow.  It used a single stitch, double stitch, and popcorn stitch.  It turned out fabulous! 

(Ignore the mess, I spent the day glued to the couch in order to finish it)

I made this afghan to giveaway as a Christmas gift this year.  Im pretty sure they are going to love it!  Hopefully between now and then I dont convince myself I should keep it!

Crochet Baby Girl Dress

I've found myself struggling to make items of clothing for myself and though maybe I should start off with something more simple.  So I crocheted a newborn dress to give to a friend of mine when she has her baby girl, which should be any day now.  She was due on this past Tuesday (4/12) and the little one just doesnt want to come out!  She is being served an eviction notice on Thursday (4/21).  I really like the way this turned out!

Its a full length empire waist dress that frills out so nicely.  I can't wait to give it to her!

I got the pattern for this dress out of the book "Oh Baby! Crochet".  I did run into a few problems using the newborn pattern, but with some tweaking I was able to make it work.

Crochet Dragon

Last year I stumbled across a pattern for a crochet dragon on etsy that instantly made me think of my cousin and her love for dragons.  I decided to go ahead and buy it and see if I could make it.  It was my first project that was not a blanket, so I was a little bit worried about whether I could pull it off or not.  I gave it my best shot and have to say I think it turned out pretty well.  There were a few errors and some spots where I didnt quite understand what the directions were saying, so I did the bed I could.  The final project measured about 3 feet or so. 

My cousin loved it, as did many other people who saw it, including a friend of mine.  I ended up making her one as well. 

My friend picked out the color scheme on this one.  I think I prefer the red one.

I purchased the pattern for this dragon from etsy.com seller 'DeliciousCrochet'.

Old Crochet Projects

I remember my excitement when I first learned how to make a granny square.  I enjoyed the simple granny square pattern so much that I decided to make a giant granny square blanket. 

I think most of the excitement from learning to make a granny square stemmed from the fact that I learned how to make the granny square from following a pattern in a book....I could read patterns!  This opened a whole new world of possabilities for me.  After that I sort of went on a crochet book shopping spree.  I have so many books now, that my husband insists there couldnt possibly be a pattern out there that I don't already have.

Once I realized I could read patterns the next project I tried was a shawl.  This involved a little bit more of an intricate pattern.  Again, I was surprised that I could easily follow the pattern.

One of my favorite projects so far has been a granny square baby blanket that I have made for a few friends for their baby showers.  I really like the lacey look to this and how they dont lay quite flat, but have more of a ripple effect.

The pattern for this blanket can be found in the book "Afghan's by the Pound".