12 Weeks Christmas - Week 2 Reveal

The Week 2 ornament is one of my patterns that includes a cute, easy to make, quick mitten pattern. What I love about small patterns like the stocking and the mitten is that I can fit them into a busy schedule with no problem. Within 5-10 minutes I have a completed ornament that I can give as a gift or add to my overflowing Christmas tree. As the weeks progress, the patterns will get slightly more time needy.

I have used tons of colors of yarn on this ornament and it still looks adorable.

Like last week, I used "Christmas-y" colors to crochet the mitten. Here's the pictures:

Hanging up.

From last year.

In the above pictures you can see two different ways to accomplish the handles. I did one as I was crocheting (the first picture). The second picture was an addition of the handle by adding yarn to one side and attaching it to the other after about 15-20 chains.

What is your favorite type of ornament?

Sarah

12 Weeks Christmas - Week 2

Week 2

Crochet Mitten

(http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/quick-mitten-ornament)

This little pattern is my own pattern that I offer free on my Ravelry page. Despite not being updated yet to the new format of my patterns, it has all the important information like materials and abbreviations. If you have any questions about how this pattern is written or if any instructions are unclear for you, please contact me at dandecreation@gmail.com. I will contact you as soon as I am able to help you!

Project Type: Scrap buster

Skill level: Easy/Beginners

Hook Size: H or I hook (I used H.)

Type of Yarn: Worsted Weight - I used Red Heart in Paddy Green, Cherry Red, Medium Thyme and Burgundy. 

Uses for finished product

• gift
• ornament for tree
• hiding small candies
• hiding a ring

Like the stocking ornament in Week 1, this ornament has an open top that allows you to hide small objects on the tree for a "Hide and Seek" game. Not only does this add a little more fun to your holiday, but after the game is finished, you have a beautiful ornament on your tree.

There are many ways to embellish this pattern. You could sew on sequins or other beads. You could use extra yarn and sew a pattern into the main colored portion.

Look for the reveal on October 13, 2014.

Sarah

12 Weeks of Christmas - Week 1 Reveal

If you are like me, the weeks leading up to the holidays equals tons of stress and busyness. So, my plan has been to create one thing for each week leading up to Christmas in hopes to have something done. I do have a large family who loves receiving homemade ornaments, so my focus is usually geared toward that. In Week 1, I provided the pattern for a cute little Christmas stocking from Daisy & Her Things as a way to kick off the 12 Week Countdown. It is an easy pattern that eases everyone into Christmas making mode. Boy did it deliver.

Great factors

• Easy pattern to follow
• Quick project
• Scrap buster with no purchases required (only due to having yarn already)
• Serves multiple purposes (gift, hiding small gifts, and ornament)
• In U.S. Terminology

Bad factors

• The pattern does not give many instructions for beginner crocheters. Some may not know how to read a pattern.

Are you ready to see the finished product?

Here you go!

Not hanging up

Hanging up, but not on the tree.

Obviously, it is much too early to put them on the tree for photos in October. As it gets closer to Christmas, I will take some photos of them on the tree and update photos.

How did you enjoy this Week's ornament?

Sarah

Clothespin Snowflakes - Photo Heavy

I recently saw a pin on Pinterest for a cute and inexpensive ornament that had my heart aflutter. Snowflakes, snow, and snowmen are my most favorite ornament and Christmas decoration out of everything. I can pass up Santa for a good snowflake! So when I saw this cute little pin, I knew I had to try it. I already had the glue sticks. I had the ribbon. All I needed was the clothes pins!

A few weeks ago, I found myself in the craft section of my local Walmart looking for clothespins. They had a set of 18 or so for almost 4 dollars. That makes this project less budget friendly. So I headed to the laundry section to see if they had a better pack for cheap. They did! A 50 pack for about $0.97. That is more than budget friendly as I could pick up 3 packs of 50 for the price of 1 in the craft section.

Materials:
50 pack of Wooden Clothespins from Walmart ($0.97)
Glue sticks (In stock)
Glue Gun (In stock)
Ribbon (In stock, but cost $1.00 per spool)

Optional: paint, glitter, craft glue, paint brushes


Now, for the instructions. I will be posting a set of pictures with the instructions below it. Please view all the instructions before beginning the project.

Here's the materials. I chose to not use paint and glitter, although I am looking into adding that later.

Twist the clothes pin until the twisted one pops out the spring.

Lay the one side off and pull off the spring.

It should be relatively easy. I have no use for the spring, so I just toss them.

Now you are let with both sides. Lay the sides with the straight sides up. Make sure the cut outs are facing the same way.

Place a line of glue along the pin.

Now that it is on, place the two sides together. Match up the cut out.

Here you can see what the glued pin looks like.

Tie the ribbon. I am going to show pictures of how I do it, but feel free to do it how you feel comfortable.

I actually added my ribbon into the pin as I glued it for the most stability. It is about an inch from the top of the pin.

Next, add some glue to the bottom of one pin and attach another completely opposite.

In the center, add another bead of glue and attach another pin.

Repeat for the other side.

Now, in each area between two pins, add glue and another pin. I did have some issues getting the pins to completely adhere due to the angle, but I just added some glue up the sides so the angles attach.

Here's the completed snowflake.

From one half of the package, I got three snowflakes. These are unpainted, but still beautiful.

One thing I would caution you about is that the glue does snow, but can be covered with paint and glitter to mask. I do not have a problem with the view of paint, but some may. The original pin shows these snowflakes stained as more of a vintage look. What I say is to do what you like with them!

In about 30 minutes, I had all three completed including taking photos for this post! That is a quick and inexpensive ornament. The cost breakdown is below.

Costs

8 clothes pins  -   $0.16
1/2-1 hot glue stick   -   $0.10
Hot glue gun  - free
Ribbon     -$0.16
_____________________
Total Cost - $0.42


Each pack of wooden clothespins (50) can make 6 snowflakes.

Happy Crafting

Sarah

Throwback Thursday - A Rose by any other name....

This week, in honor of Mother's day, I am sharing with you my first crocheted rose. I inserted a pipe cleaner and wrapped it in a green yarn to create the stem. If I had to do it over again, I would probably use a wooden dowel instead of a pipe cleaner. It would be sturdy.

As you can see the pipe cleaner shows. I used Caron Simply Soft and that might have caused it. It wasn't wrapping very well!

Happy Mother's Day to All the Mother's out there

Sarah

Share it Saturday - African Flower

While the day has been brilliantly bright with sun and color, our little home has been filled with miserable and highly frustrated allergy suffers! Our little town is situated at the base of the Smoky Mountains, so each Spring we are faced with waves and waves of pollen. I am not sure why I started to crochet African Flower Motifs, but I did.

This beautiful motif has been worked into many different shapes, but these colors scream out to me to be the sweetest and pinkest baby blanket! I have a two and a half year old niece that is going through some troubling times, so I might just create a toddler version and give it to her.

It is always surprising that I declared yesterday that today would be a lazy day, but I have worked on so much it cannot be constituted as a "lazy" day. I still have to step out into the cloud of pollen to water my veggies. At least the pollen has not kept away tourists. Gatlinburg is humming again!

What are you doing with your weekend?

Sarah

Throwback Thursday

Don't judge, but I am apparently on a Christmas kick. Yes...by the end of the year I will be entirely tired of Christmas and spent about 3-4 months not thinking about it until the realization that I am a) a crafter and b) me and thus, start working on projects, gifts, and products so I will be done early. I know! Exhausting.  But any good craft can tell you that getting things done early is better than scrambling last minute to accomplish a huge goal. My goals for Christmas? HUGE! Thanks to a large family. LOL!

Well, this week I wanted to share with you something that I really enjoyed doing and the story behind it. My mother LOVES handmade gifts. What mother doesn't? I know without a doubt that I can spent an afternoon or a weekend creating a handmade ornament in the first experimental phase with my mother loving it from the moment she sees it. Maybe it is a mother just bolstering her child. I highly doubt it though. Two years ago it was crocheted snowman ornaments. Last year, it was medallion ornaments.

When my husband left the Navy in 2010, we ended up staying with my parents for around 4 months as we had to move states and such. It was Christmas in July (crafter's paradise) and I wanted to start on my gifts. This was before I was selling. As a stress relief, I chose to make my mother something special. Since as long as I could remember, my mother would use a plastic tree skirt that would threaten to fall apart every year. Tradition yes, practicality, no. So that was my goal - a crocheted tree skirt.

Before that time, I had never made one. So I spent a few hours searching for a pattern that was simple, within my skill range of the time, and would be finished in time. Without fail, I found a good single crochet tree skirt that I could change the colors on (Red, Green, and White). I would stay in the room we were staying in attempting to crochet on this tree skirt without notice. Once I heard someone coming, I would scramble to put it away fast enough so the gift would be a surprise. The smile on her face was the best present of all.

I unfortunately cannot find the picture of it finished and around the tree; however, I have a picture of it almost finished.

Last year, I finally created a tree skirt for my own family in deep red, dark green, and white. It was a great experience. Slowly, we are moving away from commercialized gifts and products to handmade and local!

Do you have a similar story?

Sarah

Share it Saturday - Upcoming project

This week I thought I would give a preview of what I will be doing for my next Make it Monday project. I saw this idea on Pinterest recently and wanted to give it a try. For a few years, I have been a big supporter of giving ornaments for Christmas. Last year I gave mittens and my Medallion ornament to most of my family members as a handmade sentiment for the season. This year, I do have similar plans to provide handmade ornaments; however, I have not decided quite what I want to do.

As I prepare for Fall, I know that I need and want to add Christmas ornaments to the roster. (The list gets longer each day.) When I saw this pin, I thought...well that is a relatively easy project that looks adorable in the tree. So, I tried it. The pin did not include a tutorial as the blog just contained multiple pictures. So going with a rough idea, I created a cute version.

Here's the preview!

Can you guess what it is?

Now, I wanted to provide a material list.

• glue gun
• glue sticks
• popsicle sticks - at least 9 (8 for sled and 1 just in case)
• scissors
• paint of choice - I am going to use some brown I have sitting aside
• paint brush
• scrap paper or newspaper
• twine/yarn/ribbon

I have not decided what I am going to use for hanging, but I will decide before Monday. One thing I have seen is that this project is easily transformed so children can join in. Instead of hot glue, you could use Elmer's or similar glue. The drying time would just be greater.

The goal for me was a quick, simple project that make a good end product and obviously, a great ornament. I hope you visit on Monday to see how to put this together!

What are your crafting plans this weekend?

Sarah

Throwback Thursday

It is that time of the week when I show something that may bring a little embarrassment or shame. Perhaps a bit of reflection and thankfulness that I grew, quickly. That I learned a little bit that affected my abilities and skill set. This week is none of that. This week I want to reflect on something that has been a part of me...since birth apparently!

In the 80's, I was born! My mother, who is also a crocheter, took my photos in a lovely crocheted set of a hat, jacket, and booties! I wish that I had the set for the future mini me, but I do not. What I have is a gift! A knowledge that my mother crocheted a set of lovely clothes for me that set my future in motion. The picture that solidifies that emotion of connection.

Here I am, all these years later, a crocheter would loves to give crocheted pieces as gifts and who makes things to sell.

Reflecting....just a bit,

Sarah

Inky Rainbows

A few months ago when I decided to try paper crafting, I found a technique I was interested in trying. It involved pigment ink, a dauber, a white wax crayon, a stamp, and a piece of white card stock. The idea was that you stamped a certain image onto the white card stock and used the white crayon to cover up the area you did not want colored. I tried with an owl stamp. I covered up the face and began rubbing the stamp with purple and yellow ink. I found that the ink did not quite work as well as I thought. The purple bled and the yellow did not.

What I realized is that I REALLY enjoy the technique without using the crayon. I began experimenting with just a piece of white card stock and pigment ink. The result was a great, bright background. Here's some examples:

If you would like a photo tutorial, let me know!

Do you have any unique techniques involving ink?

Sarah

Throwback Thursday

It is that time of the week where I get to show an early picture or something as a throwback to older times! This week's throwback photo is:

Dolly

This was my second or third doll. It was for a friend's daughter who wanted a doll. It was relatively easy to crochet, but it took a while. Of course, looking at it 3 years later I know that I could and would change things like the eyes, the hair, and add more stuffing.

The important thing is...the little girl liked it. So I was happy!

Thanks for going back with me

Sarah

Where I live

I was beginning to think as I reflected on the veggies we planted today about how my location is a bit of a mystery to the reader! Now, normally I would love to keep that part of me hidden. But, in the scheme of the coming year, I wanted to mention where I live.

Nestled in the valleys of the Great Smoky Mountain is a little town most people just drive through to get to a tourist spot. Each little home are individuals who more than likely had ancestors that grew up, thrived, and died here.  Here...well that is in Cosby, TN.

This beautiful area is home to some of the most diverse plant life (causing major allergies) and also where I call home. After 8 years living a more nomadic life with my sailor of a husband, we settled back down in the place I have always called home. Each morning we wake to see mountains in the distance. Animals weave in and out of the National park. Deer hop across the road. And we live in a more tranquil environment with beauty abounding.

This past winter was a bit more bitter and brutal than it has been in a while, but I am sure happy that I can get out and try to grow more. We usually do not get out to enjoy this amazing view due to tourists and traffic; however, we sometimes grab a creamsicle and head up on the Foothills Parkway to take in the breathtaking views!

Have you been to East TN?

Sarah

The Essence of What I do

There was something weighing on my mind last night and the last few months. Something large that seems to be pushing at my soul. It's about my life, my passions, and about my business. I have struggled like many other small business owners in this economy. I have struggled with other crocheters undercutting my prices or offering the same items. For months, the struggles I faced trying to build up a reputation as a good designer and as a good seller seemed to bring me down further instead of uplift me. The fear of not succeeding weighed me perhaps the most.

What if I spent all this money and no one buys?

What if I upgrade this and redo that with no interest?

What if my customers have no interest in my patterns or items?

As months went by, those stones in my basket became heavier and heavier to bare. I continued to doubt myself. I changed this thing and that thing to increase business. I offered deal after deal with not one bite.

Through all that, I continued to see a quote about how long it really took to build a business and a brand. How many hours, heartaches, struggles, changes, and frustrations it took to build a worth while business....

Last night, it dawned on me.

I do not crochet, craft, or write because of other people. I do not sell items. I do not sell my time, my materials, or even a bunch of yarn knots made with a metal hook. I make and sell memories. I make and sell a connection between two people that will last a lifetime. I make and sell heirloom ornaments and dolls...that will withstand more than a few weeks of play at Christmas time. I make and sell that smile exchanged between two people....and the hug...and the heartfelt gratitude.

Most handmade sellers do the same. When you factor in the fees, the listing amounts, the time, energy, material costs...even the gas to get the materials, some of us barely break even trying to keep up with trends and the "best" price.

Well, no more! I want to maintain the very essence of why I do what I do - the memories, the hugs, the laughter, the smiles, the connection, and the heirloom that touches more than one generation.

So thank you, for sharing that with me. It means more than you know!

With lots of love,

Sarah