Nieces make for happy crafting

rafting can be a challenge in my house of men, if I'm actually thinking of gifting TO them. I suppose a scarf or two might work, but by and large, fabric and yarn and paper don't really do a lot to float their respective boats. Thankfully, I have enough other people I can make things for! My sweet nieces, Maizy and Lucy, are two of my favorites.

Lucy's birthday in December gave me the perfect excuse to add to her pink-white world, which I started with a blanket for her 4th (or was it 5th?) birthday years ago. It was meant to be a baby blanket to welcome her to the world (kid you not), but back in "those days," I had much less room for the crafty in my schedule, and her birthdays came and went without the blanket being finished. In fact, if I remember correctly, I actually had it half done, then forgot what I was doing--stitch-wise and hook-size-wise--so undid the whole thing and started over. Brilliant, Sher.

Regardless, word on the street is that she enjoys the blanket, and I had extra yarn, so I thought I'd send a couple of pillows her way. For this first one, I made the under-pillow from some flowery fabric and covered it with a pattern of double crochets and skipped stitches, to create the holes you can see through. I then took the floral fabric (see second picture) and made a smaller pillow that I then added a crocheted ruffle to.

In this second pillow, I turned the bigger pillow over so you can see the back side of it, which doesn't have the gaps to see fabric through... just one solid crocheted mass (I obviously need to work on my descriptive language for these crafty posts! Mass doesn't sound very appealing...)

Making a crochet ruffle is definitely something I had not done before and haven't really seen a lot of around the Pinterest-interwebs world, but I'm sure I didn't invent it. I reinforced the floral fabric with an interface to make it a bit heftier, which helped the ruffle not completely dominate the structure. I might experiment with this concept again, even just to make a crocheted ruffle for a crocheted pillow...

For Maizy's Christmas, I wanted to make something that she could enjoy during those mild Bainbridge Island winters, but that would add a little color to her world. I had been experimenting with crocheted leaves and other little novelties to embellish coffee cozies, and thought I would make a bunch of leaves and string them all together. A few leaves later, it occurred to me to just keep crocheting (doh!) between the leaves, and string them all together. I made it up as I went along, and want to come back to the project and actually make a tutorial for it for the future. I can see making more of these down the road, even expanding the leaf size and shape, etc. It was a very fun project to do, and I'm sorry I didn't take a more "close up" picture of it, but when I make a tutorial of it, I will, for sure!

Faintly remembering from my own childhood a craving for little spots to keep my treasures (childhood? I still like treasure boxes...), I decided to make each girl their own box for Christmas, and fill it will little crafty bits and bobs. I used a variety of paper types (and learned the difference between WalMart paper and nice paper from our local scrapbook store, for sure), and used some Martha Steward craft punches, washi tape, puffy paint and glitter, as well as Mod-Podge. All the good stuff!

Lastly in this crafty kind of post, I promised to show you a picture of the cowl I am so enjoying. Don't be distracted by my fake smile and the bad lighting--look at that cozy bit of yarn around my neck! It's one of those twisted kind, and Kim intertwined a soft, thin thread with the other, heftier yarn, so the whole thing is just like a warm hug. Love it, Kim! Now I just need some snow to go with it!!

That's the crafty update from here. My crochet needle is going, going right now on a friendly birthday present that I cannot show until "later," and I have plans to turn a crew-neck sweater into an embellished cardigan, a la this Pin (or this one).  I'm trying to keep the lists short and doable right now, as suits my work-life balance!

What are YOU crafting on these days?

Craft reveal: Kim's birthday pillows

y dear sister-in-law Kim's birthday was in August, and I made a couple of pillows to add to her birthday package. True to form, out of sight meant out of mind--I meant to post the pictures of the completed pillows ages ago, but finally seeing them at her home this past weekend, I thought, better late than never, right?

I started this pillow before I took the hand applique class last winter, so this was fused applique with embroidered embellishment. The dots are French dots, and I could have gone a little crazier with those... I was worried about cluttering it up, but now that I see the picture, I think it should have had more...

Rather than do a ruffle around the pillow, I decided to make a ruched edge. I was happy with how that turned out.

I cut the flowers from a background, and arranged them on a different fabric background.

To go with the Carpe Diem pillow, I decided I would make a giant granny circle pillow, a la some pretty pillows I've seen on Pinterest. The fabric behind the crochet is the same fabric in the ruched border.

It's always challenging to work on crafty projects and want to share, but then need to keep them secret for a special occasion... I'm working on a few more projects currently, but trying not to stress about the 80 days until Christmas... tick tock, baby! It's a comin'.

Thursday 13: Projects for Easter consideration...

aster is a little later this year, but that's OK with me... lots of time to get ready. The nieces (and their parents) are coming, so that gives me incentive to get off my tush and get a little spring rolling on in... as I've been pondering the decorating/basket/menu, a few tidbits have popped up to share:

1. Yarn-wrapped eggs. Aren't these just so beautiful?

2. Fabric carrots. Clever! Might even fool a bunny or two.

3. Crocheted flowers--I saw these put into a garland, just lovely. And totally up my alley!

4. Crocheted egg garland.  Also well within my crochet obsession, though I might be a bit reluctant to put a ton of effort into something I haul out once a year... on the other hand, it doesn't really look like a lot of work. Hmmm...

5. Faux milk glass. A fun DIY--not necessarily Easter per se, but very springy, and lots of applications! I think I'll definitely do this one day, if not for Easter...

6. Peeps. Well, peeps on white-chocolate-covered-marshmallow-Rice Krispie treats. Oh yeah. Can you feel the sugar high?

7. Easter cake. Doesn't this just look like something I'd love? I was just saying today, "I'm in the mood for cake," like I expected someone to walk in with one. (That didn't happen.)

8. Fabric eggs. I love these! And I especially love that they're not absolutely "Easter" in color. I've never been especially pastel, but will tolerate it as needed for baby showers and springy events...

9. Wrapped wreath. So pretty and simple.

10. Another wreath option, a paper wreath. Probably wouldn't want to hang this one on the front door, especially given the spring we've been having!

11. Two ideas with eggshells from Martha Stewart: votives and centerpieces.

12. Bunny marshmallows, also from Martha. I also found a clever chocolate-covered marshmallow egg how-to that I might try out this year.

13. Spring chick cake pops. So cute!

So which ones should I do, absolutely? Let me know, even if you're not a niece! (But nieces get two votes, for sure!)

For more Thursday 13s, go here.

Wordless Wednesday

Welcome to Love Month!

ove. That's how I feel about this artist I discovered recently. I have a soft spot for color and words together, especially when the words are inspirational. That really surprises you, doesn't it? The piece above is a perfect transition from one month to another... January is over and gone. That feels really good to say out loud, given how gray and long it seemed. And here we are at February, which will pass in a flash, I know, with everything that's on tap. And hopefully contain a wee bit more sunshine? We can always hope, right?!

Before it all whooshes by, here are some lovelies to kick off this month of love!

From paperfinger, a bunch of pretty cool stamps. Check them out.

From Make Something Happy, a beautiful vintage locket or two. Sweet.

A little DYI for a recessionary V-day, from How About Orange! A good one for the kiddos and you, together.

And of course, the choices at etsy are endless!

Red heart pins from The June Bride shop.

A sweet cupid hear lariat from Bbel's shop. I'm hankering for this one, especially.

Beautiful carved heart from Dean's Woodshop.

Lovely letterpress from Sweet Harvey's shop.

Sweet little crochet patterns for the kiddos, from anapaulaoli's shop.

And for a sweet pal, from aPassionforFashion's shop.

And because we just can't live without a few Valentine goodies from the kitchen...

Beet ravioli from Dirty Kitchen Secrets

Cake balls from Spork or Foon... originally billed as Christmas cake balls, but would easily do double duty for Valentine's too!

And a true original for lovers everywhere: coeur a la creme.

This one solves two food issues (for me!) at once: chocolate AND cupcakes. Nice. From bakeaholic.ca.

And last but not least, the basic, beautiful, sugar cookie. I have collected a few promising-looking recipes to taste test for my pick this year! (This pic is from sugarcoatedkitchen. That sounds like my kitchen some days!)

I hope these lovelies have inspired you! I know they have done the desired trick for me... I'm ready to get rolling on a little V-day crafty-kitchen action. Happy February!