A Card and An Afghan!

 Hi Friends!

I'm feeling pretty confident that the new batteries for my camera did the trick. I was able to take a bunch of pictures for this post and the camera didn't shut off. Whoo hooo!!!💃😊 (Blogger now allows me to add emojis!)

When I was at Michaels a week ago, I came across a display that had several different stationery type items that one could color. I found card sets that included 6 cards of one design and envelopes. The kicker is the pack was $1.50! There were several designs, but the flower ones really drew my eye. There were also gift bags with designs, gift tags, gift boxes. I just got the cards. And I colored one of them this past Sunday while watching the football playoff games.

I really liked that the design continued to the back side of the card!

This was colored with my Prismacolor pencils. And I took my Clear Sparkle Spectrum Noir pen and filled in the background of the front of the card. I love the sparkle it adds. I also added a bit of glitter gel pen to the stamens on the flower. Very fun! 

As most of you know, the lighting in my house isn't really conducive to cardmaking at night, but I am always working on some sort of handwork project in the living room. I recently finished crocheting a granny square afghan from a book called A Granny Square Christmas. I got the book from Joann's and fell in love with the afghan on the cover. Had to make it! I started around Christmas and finished a couple of Sundays ago. I used all Red Heart Super Saver yarn. 

Amy wanted to photobomb and I told her to go ahead and sit on the afghan to give you some perspective as to the size of the squares. 

Then sitting  led to laying down. LOL She is about 5'3"

That's it from me for now. I hope you are having a good week!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Hugs,

Jeanne

Tags and a Santa

 Hi There!

Imagine my complete surprise  early this morning to get a phone call from my manager telling me that schools are closed today! A forecasted snowstorm came through overnight, but the totals weren't supposed to be very impressive. I hadn't even turned on my tv because our district very rarely ever calls a snow day.  Usually when I do check the news, it's only to be disappointed. I think there must be 7 inches out there right now. Whoo hooo for a completely unexpected free day! Now I can try to catch up on getting ready for the holiday. I'm now doubly glad that I pushed myself to get the packages I needed to mail out to the post office yesterday. :) 

My assistant manager asked me if I could make some tags for little gifts she is making for some of our co-workers at the school. She is making homemade caramel popcorn and we got to test her first batch yesterday~yummy! I agreed and immediately wanted to make snowglobe tags using Lawn Fawn's Ready Set Snow and Let's Toboggan Together stamp sets. I even splurged and bought the dies to cut the snowglobes and boy am I glad I did. Made creating the globes ever so much easier!

I spent a good chunk of time on Saturday afternoon coloring the images and fussy cutting the critters out. Sunday afternoon was spent creating the tags. 

Here's how they turned out. They are colored with Prismacolor pencils and blended with odorless mineral spirits. The hat bands and snowballs are "winked" as well. 

Here are close ups for your viewing pleasure (I hope).

I  actually made 2 of each of the designs above!

 I decided to add the ribbon in case the recipients wanted to use them as an ornament. 

They were a bit more work than I anticipated, but so worth the effort in the end. 

Here's the Santa I made. Actually I crocheted two of these and I'm really bummed that the backside photos didn't work for whatever reason. I can't re-take the photos because they are in the mail. 

Anyway, I saw this in the December issue of Crochet World. 

This Santa works as an ornament and as a gift card holder! When you crochet the back side, you create an opening to slip the gift card into place. 

That's it from me for now.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

I hope you have a great day and I hope to see you again soon!

Hugs!

Crocheted Retro Ornament Throw

Hi Crafty Friends!

Long time no see. I'm so sorry about my prolonged silence. I'm back to work, but our schedule is very different with Amy in high school now. I have to drive her to and from school. It's not bad, but it takes up time. She's loving high school so far. She is in marching band and played in her first football game a couple of weeks ago. The band sounded really good, but I might be a little biased. All that to say that my crafty time is limited. I don't do well stamping at night, so that doesn't help, either. 

Anyway, I have managed to work on some projects. I'm sharing a crochet project called a Retro Ornament Throw. It's a free pattern from Red Heart. The gal who wrote the pattern took the time to create some videos to show how to make the ornaments and then the strips and finally the finishing. Those were very helpful.  I just finished this project this afternoon. I'm thrilled with how it turned out. It is a gift for a friend who recently redecorated her home in a retro theme. 

I used Red Heart Super Saver Yarn to make the project. What I really like about this yarn is there in no dye lot, so if you need to get more yarn you don't have to worry about it not matching up. And I did need to buy more soft white. I think that is the only mistake in the pattern. The pattern said 2 skeins of the soft white and I needed a little over three. I also had to substitute a color. The pattern called for a coral color, but it's been discontinued. I chose to use baby pink instead. 

That's it from me for now. I thank you so very much for stopping by. I will be posting a couple of cards in my next post. I just thought to keep them separated from the crochet project. 

Crochet African Flower Motif Dragon called Smaug

Hi Crafty Friends!

Yay! School's out for the summer! :) 

Now that I have a minute to breathe, I thought I'd show you a project I've been working on recently. It's another doll using the African Flower motif using a pattern created by Heidi Bears. 

My assistant manager at work asked me if there was a dragon pattern like the hippo I had made her daughter. There is indeed a dragon pattern! She asked me if I'd be willing to crochet the dragon for her and I agreed. I've been pretty busy working on this so that I could finish it before school let out for the summer. I handed it over earlier this week, but not before I took a few photos. He/She is bigger than the pictures suggest and it was kind of hard to get even decent photos. I was kind of surprised at just how long it turned out to be! It was fun to create, but also a challenge. I can't imagine how big this would have been had I used heavier weight yarn. I used the Aunt Lydia's crochet thread and it seemed huge!

Enough talk, here are the photos. Hope you enjoy!

In case you were wondering, 128 motifs were crocheted to complete the project. That is way more than I've had to crochet for previous projects I've made. But many were for the wings and the scales, so it makes sense, I guess. 

My friend at work was thrilled with the final project. Yay!

It's a one of a kind, for sure as I have no desire to make a second one. LOL 

Thanks for stopping by. I so appreciate you! I know I am completely hit and miss when it comes to posting and I am sorry for that. Life and kids keeps me hopping, but you all are busy, too! I so admire the bloggers who are able to juggle everything a bit better than I can. I'll keep plugging away!

Thanks again for the visit and I hope to be back again soon.

Hugs,

Jeanne

Finished a Crochet Project for a Friend...

Hello Friends!

While I was not successful in creating a single Easter card this season, I have finished a project I've been working on for several weeks. I'm pretty happy with the finished product(s).

A good friend of mine emailed me to ask if I'd be able to create an item she found online. Normally, I might say no, but she is a very good friend. :) Going by the picture alone and some of my crocheting background and patterns, I managed to cobble together a fairly decent replica of the picture she showed me. These are gifts for people working with her on an upcoming weekend event that is Hawaiian themed.

Are you ready??

 Hula Minions!

Aren't they so  fun and yes, funny?!

*Ü*

They are about 3 inches tall and I've attached them to a key chain.

Don't they look like they are ready to hula (or maybe do the Rockette kicks) here? 

Hee, hee!

So, this is what I have been working on lately. I'm happy to have been able to help out my friend with this project. 

I used size 10 crochet thread (Aunt Lydia's brand) and a size 1 crochet hook. I also used 6mm safety eyes. They are stuffed with fiberfill. 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

I hope you have a lovely holiday and a happy Spring!

Hugs,

Jeanne

Aloysius the Owlet (or maybe the penguin...)

Hi there!

Back again. I know feast or famine, right? Two posts in one day. If you didn't see my other one about the crochet-a-long I'm trying you can check it out here. This one is about a crochet project as well. Sorry, no cards...yet.

Back when I found the Happypotomus pattern from HeidiBears, I also saw a pattern for Aloysius. He is an owlet. A pretty dang cute owlet. I tried reallllllly hard to resist buying the pattern. But(hangs head)...I caved. Every time I thought about it, I'd hear it calling to me...you know you want to download me and make me. Not in a creepy way, mind you. Okay. What really struck me was the wings on the doll. I thought they were so neat looking. So, anyway, I had a certain someone who came to my mind when I looked at the pattern, too. I've crocheted it, boxed it up and sent him to his new home, where I'm sure he is going to be very happy.

I've developed a pretty neat friendship with a gal named Kay over the past couple of years. I've talked about her before on this blog. If you haven't been to her blog, My Joyful Moments, you should seriously take a peek. Oh and plan to stay a bit as you meander around and take in all the eye candy. This gal has got some serious card making talent. She is also a fabulous polymer clay designer as well. She has an Etsy shop where she sells the clay ornaments that she makes. But you know what? They sell out in minutes. That's how fantastic her ornaments are. I mean, I don't even get to see them posted, they are gone before I can get to the shop. As I said, we've developed a pretty special (to me) friendship and she is the one who immediately came to mind when I saw Aloysius. I'm not sure why, as I have other friends who like owls too, but I felt a strong urge to create him for her and so I did. He's in his new home now and so I felt like I could share.

The penguin part comes in because he sort of also looks like a penguin. It could be because I didn't stuff him all that well. Oh well. Owlet, penguin, I think he's cute either way. :)

Enough talk....here he is!

I really liked the look of the wings as a solid color, but what really drew me in was the scallop on the wings. Gah! So darn sweet!

Now I ask you, could you have resisted this face?

So, now you see I've been a little busy creating. But I couldn't really share until it was all done. 

Thanks ever so much for stopping by.

Hope you have a great week!

Hugs,

Jeanne

PS Kay, I hope I didn't embarrass you. I'm just get so happy when I see what you create and I want to share it with others. 

Happypotamus!

 Hi there!

I've been a busy little bee since I last posted. I have been working on a new project. I had shown my co-workers photos of the giraffe I crocheted for Amy last year. My assistant manager has two daughters. When she saw the giraffe, she told me her younger daughter loves hippos. She mentioned she knew her daughter would love a hippo version of the giraffe. I knew then I would try to make it for her daughter as a surprise as kind of a thank you to my asst. manager for how kind she has been to me since I started working in the kitchen. I had wanted to make it time for Christmas, but quickly realized that wasn't going to happen! So, I started a couple of weeks ago and just finished Happy a little while ago. My assistant manager also said blue was her daughter's favorite color which is why she/he is mostly blue. I found the pattern here. In case the link doesn't work, it's on Ravelry and also in her Etsy shop as well as on Craftsy. Here is the link to her blog. It will always have the direct links, I'm thinking. So, here is my version of Happypotomus. Enjoy!

That is a cute face, right?

Well, hello there!

Oh my, the rump looks a little big from this angle. Sorry! I do think it is a cute shape, too. 

This is the belly side.

Such a cute face!

The doll is crocheted with size 10 cotton thread-Aunt Lydia brand. I used a size 7(1.65mm)crochet hook. It is stuffed with polyester fiberfill. The eyes are 12mm safety eyes. I didn't use the backs to attach them. I used the small holes in the ends of the shaft and the directions in the pattern to attach them. 

I got a lot of this done last weekend during the football playoff games. Bummed that the Broncos didn't pull out a win, but happy to have been able to accomplish so much of the project! 

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you have a great day!

*Ü*

Jeanne

Thankful Wreath Card and Crochet Tablerunner

Last year I saw this card by Lisa Spangler on the Hero Arts blog and loved the wreath she created. I so wanted to try my hand at creating it, but with all the stamp sets I own, not one of them really worked to create a wreath even remotely similar to the one Lisa created. I couldn't find the set locally and I was bummed. I know I could have ordered it online then, but I never did. Fast forward to August, 2014 and I was roaming Michaels just to see what they had in the way of new Fall/Halloween schtuff. Lo and behold, I came across the Hero Arts stamp set I would need to recreate the wreath from last year! How cool is that?! Of course I snatched it up with a 40% off coupon and went along my merry way.

Last week I sat down to try my hand at the wreath. I quickly discovered I'm no good at eyeballing a circular shape with wood mounted stamps. I tried several times and chucked each effort. Then I got the bright idea to lightly draw a circle and use it as my guide. Success! Completely cased, but I like it!

Hero Arts - Thankful stamp set L295

Close to My Heart Inks - Autumn Terracotta, Cranberry, Garden Green, Saddle, Sunflower

Gems/Bling - My stash/Michaels/Hobby Lobby

I've also been working on a crochet project for our "new to us" dining table. We replaced a really light wood rectangular table with a darker, more dining room like oval table a couple of weeks ago. The napkin holder we have is a bit too small for the size of the new table, so I decided to crochet a table runner. I found a free pattern I liked and got to work. I just finished it today and thought I'd share. I didn't really block it, so it needs to be straightened a bit, but I like it. It is basically made of motifs that you add as you go and then has a triple crochet border. 

Aunt Lydia's Fashion Crochet Thread size 3

3.5mm crochet hook

That's it from me for today. Thanks so much for stopping by! 

Jeanne

Baby Granny Blanket

Back again! Yay! First off, I'd like to say a great big thank you to my friends who left me some lovely and encouraging comments on my last post. I really appreciate you stopping by, especially after my long absence. :) And I'm happy to post another project today.

Back at the beginning of May, Jessica came home from her assessment day with a piece of math homework. It was a decoding assignment that had some "breaking news." She had to solve the math problems to figure out the code. By the time she was partway through the assignment, we had a pretty good idea of what the breaking news was. Jessica's teacher is going to have a baby! I thought was a pretty clever way to announce the news to the class. :) I wanted to make her a little something before the year ended, but ran out of time, what with the other gifts I had planned to make. And I felt bad, since I had made gifts for the other teachers the girls have had that had babies. 

So, I decided to work on a small baby blanket last weekend. I had seen the pattern on a list I am on called Hooked on Crochet, from All Free Crochet. (All the patterns are free,  and many I don't care for, but often enough I find one that I really like and want to try). The pattern is called Nana's Favorite Baby Blanket. It's all double crochet stitches (my favorite) and it is small, like a "lovey" so I knew it would work up quickly. I found some great neutral yarn colors in my stash and started the project on Memorial Day. I finished it up Wednesday night. We took it to Jessica's former (!) elementary school and the wonderful ladies in the office assured me they would make sure she got the gift. Happy sigh.

I really like how the colors looked together and wanted to share the project with you. I ended up adding another round of each color to make the blanket just a bit bigger. My thought is that they can use it to tuck around the baby in the car seat or something. I didn't measure it but I think it's about 22 inches square. The color that looks blue in the photo is really a seafoam green color. The lighting around here today isn't that great, I guess. Oh well!

I had thought about making a card to go along with the gift, but I originally planned to take this to the school yesterday and I didn't have time to make one as we had errands to run. So the girls and I picked out a card while we were out that had a teddy bear holding a blanket, which we thought was too cute to pass up. 

I've also made a tatted bracelet for Amy and one for Jessica since I last posted as well. They are the same design that I showed before. This time one is purple and one is pink. 

Now I need to decide what to work on next. :)

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you have a wonderful weekend. 

Jeanne

Amy's Flower

Jessica hasn't had the best week, darn it. She came home early on Tuesday afternoon with a fever and has been home sick ever since. It's not the flu, but most likely the same virus that laid her low a couple of weeks ago. I almost sent her to school this morning, as she was quite perky yesterday afternoon and evening, but she felt pretty puny (and looked like she felt pretty puny) when she got up. So, I erred on the side of caution and kept her home to hopefully kick the bug once and for all. Amy had a night this week, too, where I thought she was going to be parked on the other side of the couch with Jessica, but whatever was in her system seemed to be more food related than an illness. Whew.

Whenever the girls are home sick, I like to hang out with them and keep them company. This meant I had lots of extra time (in between taking care of Jessica) to work on the giraffe I've been crocheting for Amy. And, happily, I finished it yesterday! Amy was quite happy when she got home from school. She promptly named her new friend, Flower. I found the pattern for this project here. The motif used to create the doll is called African Flower, which is what inspired Amy with her not entirely original name. But hey, it's her doll.

Instead of regular worsted weight yarn, I used size 10 crochet thread from my stash. It's the type of yarn that one typically uses to crochet doilies. Most of my stash is Aunt Lydia's brand. It really wasn't too hard to put together, although in all honesty, I did mess up a few times sewing incorrect sides together. That certainly wasn't the pattern maker's fault, but operator error. LOL In the end, it was a fun project to work on. 

I'm glad Amy is happy with her new friend.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

I hope you have a great weekend!

Jeanne

Crocheted Owl Gifts

I recently completed a couple of crocheted items that were birthday gifts for my friend, Becky. She really likes owls. I try to find something unique and/or fun that has an owl theme for her. She liked them (yay!) and I thought you might like to see what I made. It was fun getting back into crocheting again.

This first project is called, It's a Hoot!

I found it via Pinterest. Here is one of the pins you can find on Pinterest. A unique feature is the fact that the buttons are crocheted in place as you complete the round of stitching. This is opposed to stitching them in place after you are done with the project. I thought that was pretty neat. And I liked the cable look of the owls themselves. The yarn I used is Red Heart Shimmer. You may not be able to see it, but there is an iridescent thread running through the yarn that adds a wonderful, well, shimmer. I can attest that the pattern was easy to follow and worked up rather quickly.

Next up is an owl doll/pillow/decor item. 

The pattern calls her Maggie the Owl and I was immediately smitten with the geometric shapes and the African Flower design. (Becky is also a fan of anything geometric) How cool to piece the motifs together to create and animal. Here is the pin that sucked me in...lol

Here is the finished project.

I have to share that I originally crocheted all the motifs using regular worsted weight yarn as specified in the pattern. I freely admit that I have difficulty visualizing what a finished project will look like in terms of sizing. And it wasn't until I started putting the owl together that I realized just how big it was going to become. Too big for me to feel comfortable with. I took a picture of the one I completed and the front part of the original version. 

Yikes, huh?

I was bummed at first when I realized how large it was going to become, thinking I wouldn't be able to make the owl after all. Then I got the idea to try again, only using a smaller yarn. So I ended up using what is called crochet thread. It is bedspread weight cotton thread. I'm thrilled at how well it worked! I took these pictures on my bed so as to give you an idea of the size of the owl against the standard size decor pillows that are on the bed. Plus I thought the colors worked well together. 

*Ü*

Thanks so much for stopping by.

I hope you have a happy weekend!

Check back soon as I made some cards today. 

Yay!