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

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 - Five Petal Bookmarks

In preparing for a previous booth, I created tons of bookmarks. They work up SO quickly. Here's a similar product of mine offered free in my ravelry shop: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/five-petal-flower-bookmark

This bookmark was done in blue and white that fits a paperback and can stretch into fitting a hardback book.

Please check back on Saturday for a preview of my new project!

Throwback Thursday - Oh Snap

Hello friends!

Here is another week of firsts.....

Hair Snaps

These cute little hair snaps was my first try of making some. I had no buyer. Again, this was just attempting to expand what I could accomplish. I used small 1 and 1/2 inch hair snaps, e6000, and 4 - 6 petal flowers in pink. They did turn out cute. And perhaps I will expand my product line to include them further.

I would like to know if you have any ideas on displaying them. I could never find a great way.

Snap!

Sarah

Throwback Thursday - Dangling

Hello friends! Another week of firsts.

First earrings to sell

As you can see, there are two different kinds. My little sister requested me to make two sets of these earrings for her in-laws Christmas gifts. I had given her a pair of each a few weeks earlier for her Christmas gift. The red five petal flower ones actually have some gold thread weaved in. The other pair is some pale blue snowflakes.

I actually enjoyed crocheting these. I thought about adding them into my product line-up; however, there were no bites to purchase. So I did not continue.

Would you like to see a pattern for these?

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

Make It Monday - 2 Autumn Cards

Were you excited when you saw the preview on Saturday? I couldn't believe how cute they turned out. I plan on sharing another card I made using a Jack N Jill set soon. The goal of my Make it Mondays is simply to work on increasing my stock or other business ventures for the upcoming fair/sale season. Feel free to use the search bar to the right to search for my previous Make it Monday posts.

Before I go any further, please be aware that I am not a professional card maker. I am not a consultant. I make cards because I like to and as a beginner. This tutorial is at a beginner level.

This week is 2 in one! Yep, using the same stamps and same paper I am creating two different looks. Here's the preview: 

Material List

• White cardstock
• Brown cardstock
• Cream cardstock
• Colorbok Luxe Designer Paper
• Jack N Jill Stamp set - by Prima Marketing
• Autumn Sentiment stamp set - by Inkadinkado
• StazOn Ink pad in Timber Brown
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink pad in Walnut Stain
• Pop Dots
• Snail glue - or whatever adhesive you want to use
• Gold Glitter Ribbon
• Scotch tape

As you can see in the photo above, there are two different sizes of cards. I will post the dimensions for each card.

Card one - Side Open

Dimensions of card cut and folded - 5 1/2 x 4

Mat in brown - 5 1/4 x 3 3/4

Designer paper mat - 5 x 3 1/2

(This card was cut in half on the long side. Almost, I do not have a cutter that breaks down further than 1/4.)

Card two - Top Open

Dimensions of card cut and folded - 5 1/2 x 4 1/4

Mat in brown - 5 1/4 x 4

Designer paper mat - 5 x 3 3/4

(This card was cut in half on the short side.)

Stamp Mats In brown

For Jill - 3 1/4 x 1 1/2

Sentiment - 1 1/4 x 2 1/2

Stamp Mats in cream

For Jill - 3 x 1 1/4

Sentiment - 1 x 2 1/4

First, I gathered all the materials together so I did not have to struggle to find something. I cut the cards and mats at the same time. 

*Note: My cutter is a little weird and leaves fibers on the sides of the cuts, so I trim when I see issues. My dimensions do change when I trim. 

After cutting the mats, Cut the ribbon and used two pieces of tape and attached the ribbon to the side open card.

You can see how I accomplished that in this photo.

Add the designer paper to the brown cardstock mats by using snail glue.

Not pictured: Stamp the images to the cream cardstock and attached them with snail glue to their respective mats.

In this photo, I was attempting to figure out where I wanted the images to sit. You can change the layout to fit what you want.

Attach the backings to the card base.

Add pop dots to each of the stamped images.

Place them in the correct position.

Stamp a secondary sentiment inside the card. This is optional, but I think it matches the card.

I did not notice until afterwards that the sentiment inside matches the choice of ribbon, but it goes well together!

 

What do you think of this week's Make it Monday?

Card making is so versatile! I found it easy to create two similar cards with one set of materials. Yet, they look different and appeal to a different set of people. I would love to see any photos or creations you make from this tutorial. You can share them via email at smchatton.writer@gmail.com or on my Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/DandeCreations. Who knows! You may find your creation (with your permission of course) on the Share it Saturday post.

Happy Crafting!

Sarah

Preview - Make it Monday

Well, Monday is almost upon us and that means another "Make it Monday!" This week, I had to think of what I could use around the house to make something that would be useful for my upcoming fair/sale season. As I have been really interested in making a) cards, b) crochet, or c) wooden sleds, I decided to choose A for the upcoming Monday. So, for the first time I am posting a semi-okay card tutorial - on Monday of course. Today, I am just providing a quick preview.

Aren't they just cute? I just purchased both of these stamp sets on Ebay and couldn't wait to try them. For the longest time, the only sentiment sets I had were Christmas. I am very glad to now have some new Autumn type sentiments. Also, look at the little girl! She is part of the Jack and Jill line. I just found it and fell in love immediately.

(Forgot to post when published)

Materials List

• white cardstock
• brown cardstock - mat
• Colorbok Luxe Designer Paper
• Jack N Jill Stamp set - Prima Marketing
• Autumn Sentiment - Inkadinkado
• Cream cardstock
• StazOn Timber Brown Ink pad
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Walnut Stain
• Pop dots
• Snail adhesive (or whatever you want to use)
• Gold glitter ribbon
• Scotch tape

Have a wonderful day!

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

Some New Cards

With a week off, I have been attempting to get a little bit of everything done. I am watching my seedlings grow. Working on the containers that are out on the porch. But the best thing I have done this week is work more on my products for Fall. I have a project to show you tomorrow that is particularly fun. For today, I just want to share some of the cards I came up with this week. Yes, some of them will have similar stamps. There happens to be two or three I really love.

I have gotten a few new toys including a cloud embossing folder. So far, I have only made one or two designs with it. I plan to add more. I also have four stamp sets on the way including a cute little Jack and Jill combo that might become my favorite stamps. I cannot wait to try them.

The goal this week is using leftovers and scraps to make cards. In the space of just a little bit, I have a stack of scrap paper really high! They are turning out nicely I think.

Have a great Friday!

Sarah