I've Been Knitting :)

On and off for the last couple of months I have been knitting beanies! 

So far, I have one completely finished and another on the needles. I'm not sure if it's just me, but it takes me quite a while to knit. Crocheting I can finish in a day, but knitting is a little harder on my fingers :( However, I personally prefer the look and, in my experience, the longevity of knitted beanies over the crocheted ones. 

Both of these beanies follow a basic pattern of a 3" ribbed band and 7" of stockinette. The total length is 10". I plan to reopen and stock these items in my Etsy shop in the next couple of months. 

The first beanie is made with Patons Classic Wool in Natural Mix. The second is a combination of Patons Classic Wool in Royal Purple and Deborah Norville's Serenity Sock Yarn in Teal Tease. I love the look of combining the solid with the variegated yarn. 

Just in case you were wondering, the needles are Knit Picks Rainbow Wood Circulars and the cute sheep stitch marker is one I've had for a while and can be found here. 

When creating and then selling wearable knitted items, I strive to use natural fibers and basic patterns to suit everyone. 

The Patons Classic Wool is one of my favorites to work with, besides the fact I can't just throw it in the wash :) 

The basic pattern leaves room for personality. I have an idea in my head of creating detachable bow, heart, or pom pom brooches to embellish the hats, so that is a near future task I have to tackle. Let me know what you think!

Be on the look out for more color options in these basic beanies and I will let you know when the shop reopens! 

Love. Peace. Happiness. 
B  

DIY Tree Skirt

My daughter has an adorable mini tree in her bedroom during the holiday season. It sits on her dresser and livens up her bedroom with it's bright gold color. We purchased the tree from Target's Dollar Spot last year along with the mini ornaments. She is fascinated at the fact the  tree is gold and loves having it in her room. 

This year, I decided the tree needed a simple tree skirt to cover the unsightly base and bring a lil more pizzaz to her bedroom. 

I used a large pasta strainer to cut a circle of felt. The circle I needed was bigger than the felt so I just hot glued two pieces together. I used two complimentary hues of pink to add some extra eye candy bordered with glittery gold ribbon to match the tree. The final details included adding some pink rhinestones around the edge and a small bow made with pink ribbon. 

As all the actual gifts will be placed under the bigger tree in our family room after Santa comes, we added some Doc McStuffins characters to keep the tree company :)  

We absolutely love how it turned out and hope you are inspired to make your own! 

Enjoy scrolling thru some more pictures and let me know what you think :) 

Love. Peace. Happiness. 

B  

Banner #2

Didn't take long for the banner bug to bite again - and this one I can keep up all year long :) 

Of course I had to make something for my daughters room. Her current bedroom is Doc McStuffins themed and the main colors are pink, teal, lime green and a touch of purple. I didn't want to make her banner super busy and decided to stick with only the main 2 colors. I am happy with how it turned out. My daughter loves seeing her name on the wall and that's all that counts! 

As always, the fun is in the embellishing! I added rhinestones, bows, hearts and paper punched shapes. I also outlined her plain white letters with a neon pink highlighter, for an additional pop of color. I left the hanging ribbons pretty long, but may trim it down at a later time, if I don't decide to tie them into bows :) 

For the time being, the banner is hung above her "Hello Beautiful" sign, purchased at Target. Unfortunately, the poster is not available online, however, you may be able to find it in Target stores. 

Love. Peace. Happiness. 

B  

Happy Holidays!

Somehow every year, after Thanksgiving, when the tree goes up the holiday season finally seems real. I start getting in the spirit and wanting to play Christmas music all the time. I am no longer annoyed at the sight of Christmas decorations in the stores and the days seem to fly by while we are all busy counting down. 

After the family and I put our little tree up this year, I realized something was missing. My wall was a little too plain next to the beautiful tree. I didn't know exactly what to put there until I watched Belinda Selene's YouTube video on DIY Holiday Room Decor A banner was a perfect idea! I immediately grabbed some large stencils from Walmart and got out my stash of scrapbook paper. I measured and cut the banner shapes out myself and strung up the letters between ribbon and some thumbtacks. The letters themselves were a little too plain for me so I added on some gold christmas trees and pretty bows made with thin ribbon. 

I am so happy with my little wall :) I might be more than a little sad when the holidays are over this year, but I am enjoying it while I can! 

Love. Peace. Happiness. 
B 

Pretty Bows!!! :)

Played around with some scrap ribbon to create some new bow designs for embellishment of cards, artwork and such. Also, with the gift giving season right around the corner, this would make a great gift topper! 

I used a hot glue gun to hold everything together quickly and made sure to burn all my ends to prevent fraying. 

After I was done, I got a little carried away with picture taking and have posted a few for you to view too :) 

Love. Peace. Happiness. 
B 

Operation: Fancify Desk

As of today, my daughter is 6 years old. I saved one of her old formula cans and have been using it to store a couple of my crafting supplies. The other day it occurred to me I should at least make it pretty as I do have to look at it everyday. Also, my crafting/work desk in in my master bedroom and I do not need any eyesores :) I painted it with white acrylic paint and lined the top and bottom with ribbon and rhinestones after a coat of glaze. I am very happy with how it turned out. 

It's all about the simple things :) 

Love. Peace. Happiness. 
B 

All you need is love - the BLUE kind...

When you have beautiful yarn, where can you go wrong? These standout bright blue shades are Knit Picks Palette in Jay and Crystal Palace's Mini Mochi in Neptune Rainbow.  I did order the Knit Picks yarn online, but the Mini Mochi was purchased in person. I had the pleasure of visiting the famous San Francisco yarn store Imagiknit a couple of years ago. Yay me for using up my stash! And if you have never been to Imagiknit, you must go. Both the customer service and the yarn selections are AMAZING! 

I recently watched Too Too Amy's great YouTube tutorial on quick and easy crochet hearts and found this yarn combo to be perfect. As you can see, I could not stop making them :) 

The turquoise section of the Mini Mochi proved to be my favorite as you can see :) But for each of the hearts, I have to say I am head over heels, goggly eyed for the Knit Picks Jay. Literally the perfect beautiful, bright blue. 

I'm now leaving you with two more pretty pictures, just cause I couldn't stop snapping and I'm hoping you can't stop looking :) 

Love. Peace. Happiness. 
B 

Hand Sewing

Completed my first kit from Daiso! 

I found this store a couple of years ago and am so happy I did. The prices are amazing and the crafting items are perfectly cute and fun to play with :) 

I picked up the Felt Sweets Kit - Fruit Tart, earlier this summer and just recently had the time to sew it up. 

I did have a couple of mishaps on the crust and on the filling tip but, overall I am very pleased with the way it turned out. I also altered the strawberry's colors, using only red and white. The pattern had suggested using pink for the strawberry's flesh. 

The instructions were very clear and pattern pieces were very easy to follow. I would suggest making a photo copy of the pattern page to have the option of making this again and again! 

Below is a close up of the fruit details. 

Love. Peace. Happiness. 
B 

Accomplished :)

It took a little while but I'm done! So happy and the floss looks absolutely gorgeous lined up showing it's the bright colors :) 

I did have more than I originally anticipated and wound up using both the box and its lid however, I am not complaining. I have exactly what I need and am ecstatic to not have to suffer through any tangles along the way. 

In love with all the colors but, I must admit I am very partial to the blues and greens :)

Love. Peace. Happiness. 
B 

Mom's Day 2013

Happy (belated) Mom's Day!!! 

Above are some dishcloths/pot holders I crocheted for my lovely momma.

I used Lily's Sugar and Cream Cotton Yarn, the pattern can be found here. (Thank you Apple Blossom Dreams!) Pattern is very simple and this project is ubber quick to complete.

Side Note: I am in LOVE with the texture of these cloths. They are perfect for the real dirty work, I am all for saving elbows here :) 

Love. Peace. Happiness. 
B 

Crochet in COLOR

I whipped up some crochet granny squares and circles. All made with 100% cotton.

The colors are so bright and happy - I am now ready to embellish and make some more :)  

Love. Peace. Happiness. 
B 

Cowl Fashion

The grey cowl is complete. Actually its been complete for quite some time now, but I wont get into that. I will just say I will try my VERY BEST to keep y'all updated from here on out.

 *pinky swear*

Life is hectic, to say the least, but I am currently "attempting" to live my life with no excuses. This is MY passion and I refuse to excuse myself from MY dreams and MY aspirations. 

Anywho back to the cowl, Caron's Simply Soft is literally simply soft and the cool grey is perfection, if I do say so myself :)  

My sister was nice enough to be my model (thx Girl) and rocked it with neon and camo. 

Love. Peace. Happiness. 
B