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!

SVG Cuts-Cute Scarecrow

 Sometimes I just feel like playing with paper and, when there are cute cutting files like this scarecrow from a set called Leaves are Falling at SVG Cuts, playing with paper can result in something really neat. Thanks to some extra time due to Jessica signing up for a few after school activities, I was able to make this fun scarecrow. There are other projects included, but I've not gotten to those yet.

I cut the files using Make The Cut software and my cutting machine. The paper is a DCWV stack from last year called Amber Autumn.  I also used some scraps from my stash. 

Putting it together isn't hard, but it does take some time and patience(and maybe a peek or two at the assembly video on the SVG Cuts website). 

I'm pretty dang happy with how this project came out. 

*Ü*

Thanks so much for stopping by!

I hope you have a happy weekend.

Sparkly Reindeer Card

It is great when your creative mojo coincides with having some time to act upon that creative urge! I have one more card to share with you.

Recently Jessica celebrated her 11th (sniff) birthday and she received just about the most perfect gift for a bibliophile, a gift card to Barnes and Noble! While there so she could shop to her heart's content,  I came across a magazine published in the UK. I've never bought any of these types of magazines, but this one had some stamp set freebies I couldn't resist. It's called Make Christmas Cards Bumper Pack. I tried finding it online, but I was unsuccessful. Anyway, I thought some of the stamps were adorable and sat down this weekend to use one stamp in particular. The magazine also came with a packet of papers, both for making cards, decoupage and even coloring.

The magazine had a step by step on how to create this card, although it isn't difficult. It came with the pattern paper, but I had the cardstock, snowflake punch, ribbon and gems. I also colored him and his little friend with colored pencils and odorless mineral spirits. I added the sparkle using Stickles. Had a little issue with globbing on the one side, but after it dried it didn't look too bad, so I didn't have to start over. 

Isn't he just so cute?

That's it from me today.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Hope to see you again soon.

Advent Calendar Cubby and Warm Winter Wishes Card

As I was starting to write this post, I realized I have neglected to share a project I made last month. My friend, Becky, became a Close To My Heart consultant this year. Over the summer she came up with a workshop idea to create an advent calendar cubby using a My Creations Cubby and box cuts from the Artiste Cricut cartridge. . One day last month a group of us got together made our cubby. I just realized I never shared mine!

The paper I chose to use is a special paper pack in the Holidays from the Heart Gift Guide released recently. It's called Sparkle and Shine. We used the Magical Days set for the numbers and my version uses Ruby, Slate and Twilight ink. While not a difficult project to create, it did take time. But it was well worth the effort!

Thanks for putting this together Becky!

It's hard to tell in these photos, but one of the circles on each row of boxes is popped up to add a little dimension. Not too long after the workshop, Becky got the bright idea to decorate the back side of the cubby with different paper, thus you could alternate the cubbies each year. I think that is a great idea!

In the Autumn/Winter 2013 catalog, on page 69 you'll see a Workshops on the Go Frosted Cardmaking Kit. It comes with its own stamp set. You can also see samples of the cards you can make using the kit. I chose to use some leftover Sparkle and Shine paper, Ponderosa Pine, Ruby and Heavenly Blue ink along with a little cardstock and clear embossing powder as well as a rhinestone and a scrap of white ribbon to pull the card together. I stamped the tree image with full strength ink, then stamped it again (what CTMH calls second generation stamping). I used the same technique that I used on the Season's Greetings Snowflakes card on the snowflake image. This pattern paper is reminiscent of snow falling to me.

Getting ready to post this card reminded me that I hadn't posted the cubby project. 

Now I have posted both.

Thanks for stopping by. 

I hope you are having a happy day.

Season's Greetings Snowflakes

I was completely smitten with this card I saw on Pinterest and was excited to try my hand at recreating it using my own stamps and inks. I'm thrilled with the end result. I liked revisiting a neat stamping technique.

 The two larger snowflakes are from a new stamp set from CTMH. The set comes with a cardmaking kit shown on page 69 of the idea book. The smallest one comes from an old CTMH set. I punched circles out of cardstock and after embossing the snowflakes, rubbed ink over the snowflake using a sponge. Very fun.

The ink colors are retired from CTMH, Bubblegum, Clover Meadow, Holiday Red, Orange, Sunny Yellow. The sentiment is from Paper Smooches Christmas Sampler sentiment set.  This would be fun to try again.

Edited to add: I didn't explain the procedure on how to create the snowflakes very well as I didn't want to repeat what the poster said in the blog I linked. But to clarify, I punched circles out of a separate sheet of cardstock. I laid an open circle over a snowflake, inked a sponge and rubbed it over the opening/snowflake to get the circle of color. You can easily overlap the colors as well. Hope that helps in understanding the technique.

Thanks ever so much for stopping by.

Hope you have a terrific day!

Scandanavian Wishes with a Fall Feel

The Broncos have a bye week this week, so I was fine with listening to football instead of watching. And that means I have cards to share with you! Yay!

This card uses the October Stamp of the Month from CTMH again, Scandanavian Wishes. I saw this card while searching for the gatefold card I posted previously. I was struck by the colors in the card that inspired today's card and wanted to try my hand at it using colors in my stash.

I played around and used Ruby, Sunflower and Topiary inks and cardstock colors. I also used a piece of pattern paper from Doodlebug's Happy Harvest.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Scandanavian Wishes Cards

When I saw the October Stamp of the Month in the Close To My Heart Fall/Winter catalog, I knew I wanted to add it to my stash. I just loved it. Then, before I had the opportunity to order the set in October, I came across this card (and video) and I got even more excited to get the set. Well, last weekend I was able to make my own version of the card. Yay! Sorry to share after it is no longer available. :( Maybe it will be added to the main catalog in a future issue.

I'm really happy with the end result. I thought I had the Martha Stewart paper in my stash that the gal used, but alas, that was not the case. I did have the Diane Kappa papers that were sold along side the Martha Stewart papers at Michaels last year and I was able to make them work. 

Yay!

The Martha Stewart paper is double-sided, and the paper I had is not, so I had to cut extra paper to make it work. The card's a little heavy, but I really am happy with it. 

I used Holiday Red and Clover Meadow CTMH ink (retired colors)

While I was searching for the post again, I came across some other card ideas using the set, and I was able to recreate one of them. I found it here. I thought it was very striking.

Honestly, I think the card colors look better in person than they do in the picture. 

For this card I used Cranberry ink (mainly because I am just about out of Holiday Red cardstock)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

I hope you have a fabulous weekend!