Mama G's Big Crafty Blog

Pretty Easy Ninja Birthday Party

2012-02-12T10:47:00.000-08:00

(Yeah, that is a paint stir stick. It is his ninja/samurai sword. I thought about getting him a real one, but he loves this one and has never questioned it's obvious non-ninja/samurainess. He is probably the sweetest person on the planet.)

I put a moderate effort into my kids birthday parties. Here is my semi-not really that organized way of planning a kids birthday party:

First I focus on a present (PR mask as pictured above), which then generates a theme centered around the present, next comes the cake which follows the theme, after that snacks also centered around the theme, and then some decorations.

Pretty much in that order.

So this year it was pretty simple. My little boy loves Ninjago Legos and Power Rangers, so we went with a kind of Ninjago, kind of ninja, kind of samurai, kind of ranger type party. Yeah, we are laid back in this house. No games though. I hate putting that much structure in a kids party (I told you we were laid back). I do however plan a game for our annual Halloween party, since we usually have more kids there and they need some way of working off all those sweets.

First was the cake. Why didn't I chose Power Rangers when his present was PR related? Shoot, look how simple that cake is! A PR face would have been way more complicated. This was a really easy birthday cake. Plus, he had no problem with having like 15 themes going on for this party. In fact I think it made it better in a way. Anywho, I got the idea for the cake from this Flikr account. There aren't any instructions on it, but it was pretty simple to figure out. I just made some of this easy marshmallow fondant from candy.about.com (seriously I loooove this stuff. So much cheaper than store bought fondant). I just rolled it out bigger than I needed it to be, marked the face with a knife, piped on an outline for the face in black icing, made the eyes and eyebrows, and iced the rest in black. Wish I had a picture of every one's teeth after they were done with that cake! This turned out to be my 2nd favorite cake I have ever made. What's my first favorite?

This one! I did this for my tea pot birthday cake for my daughter's birthday. The only problem I ran into was that the fondant got a little, well, limp after it sat at room temp. for about a 1/2 hour. I heard that the store bought stuff holds up a bit more. Ok, back to ninja stuff.

I also made "Samurai Sushi" which is made from rice krispie treats, twizzlers, fruit roll-ups, and gummy fish. This party was very uncharacteristic of me. It was full of all kinds of processed foods and dyes. My kids didn't even know what the fruit roll-ups were! It was totally worth it though. They were a huge hit! Sure my son stayed up until 10:30 pm, but you only have one 6th birthday party! You can find the instructions here, also at candy.about.com.

The little "nigiri" were my favorite!

I also purchased these ninjabread men cookie cutters from Amazon. This is a picture of what they could look like.

This is what they look like when you get to the point in party preparation where you give up. Oh well. The kids loved em still. I even found my son scarfing one down, crouched behind his play kitchen (after he had already had cookies, sushi, and cake. *sigh*). I tried to act serious about it, but he had chosen to sneak a black iced one and was so covered in black icing he couldn't even attempt to deny what he had done ;)

(Here is a link if you want to buy some of your own! They look metal but they are actually plastic; just a heads up!)

I have wanted to use these "Cupcake Ninja" printouts from Zakka Life for a while now. Technically I have used these before for "computer ninjas" (I pretty much just printed these out and taped them all over the sides of the computer, which I thought was hilarious), but their original purpose is for cupcakes. Just make sure the inky part doesn't touch the icing.

Here is what our little snack table looked like. The black and red streamers were about the only other decoration I did.

Oh and this. I just copied it from babble fish and printed it off in Word (I think the font size was 500?). Apparently it says "Happy Birthday" in Japanese. Maybe someone can verify that for me? Note: My husband won't stop bugging me about giving him credit for this idea. He is the most creative person ever and far surpasses my feeble creative attempts at party decorating. Satisfied J?

Overall it was a really simple party. I wanted to do more, like always, and I just didn't have time for everything, like always, but everyone had fun and my little boy said it was the "best party EVER". That is all I needed!

One of the things I didn't have time to make that I had full intentions of making this awesome Ninjago key chain from Wee Folk Art. I will still make it eventually! Maybe I can make it in time for V-Day?

I just love how cool this looks. I have had a hard time finding homemade gifts to make a 6 year old boy. It was super easy when he was little, but now he likes stuff that is a bit more "manly". This definitely meets his standards! You can find the pattern here to make your own Ninjago key chain!

tangled happy: How to Sew a Fabric Liner For a Granny Bag

2012-02-10T04:38:00.000-08:00

tangled happy: How to Sew a Fabric Liner For a Granny Bag: Check out this quick tutorial on how to line one of Tangled Happy's granny bags. This is would be useful knowledge for lining any crocheted bag :)

Free Crochet Owl Purse Pattern

2012-02-09T15:02:00.000-08:00

I. am. so. excited. about. this!!!!! Is this not the cutest dang thing ever?!

I love owls. I mean, who doesn't right now? But I am old school. I loved owls before they were so cool, lol!

I wasn't planning on making this at all, but lately I have been on a mission to get rid of some of my craft supplies. I have so much stuff! Especially yarn, so I have been making all sorts of stuff lately. This purse is a great size for a toddler/preschooler. It would be really easy to make bigger too, just by adding some rounds.

As of right now, please only use this pattern for personal use only. Please read my policy on using my pictures and patterns first :) Ok, on to the pattern!

What you will need:

Hook Size- H for the body and an F for the eyes and beak.

Yarn- I used Lily Sugar and Cream 100%. I think any worsted weight yarn would work. As you can see I used lots of different colors. I think a solid color purse would be adorable as well.

Other notes: For this pattern I chose to bring my stitches up through both "loops" of the previous chain (you can see this in the second picture below this sentence). I find doing it this way gives the owl a tighter appearance.

Stitches Used: SC-single chain, HDC- half double chain, YO-yarn over

Row 1:You have two options here: you can either ch 3, and then 11 hdc in the first chain of the chain 3 (which is what I did to end up with the picture about), or you can do a magic ring, ch 2, 11 hdc in the middle of the ring, pull tight. For either way, join at top of original ch 3 with the new color (Check out 2 pictures down for a better idea. I forgot to take a pic for this round).

Row 2: Ch 2, hdc in same space, 2 hdc in each space around (see how I use both "loops" of the previous row instead of using the front or the back? Not sure if this makes sense, just email me if you have questions).

Join at the top of the ch 2 with a slip stitch in the new color.

Row 3: Ch 2, hdc in same space, *2 hdc in next space, hdc in next space *. Repeat from * to * around. Join at the top of the chain 2 with a slip stitch in the next color.

Row 4: Ch 2, hdc in same space, *1 hdc in next space, 1 hdc in next space, 2 hdc in next space*. Repeat from * to * around. Join in the top of ch 2 with a slip stitch in the next color.

Row 5: ch 2, 1 hdc in next 14 spaces (Check out pic above, this is going to be the top of the purse where the eyes will go). Ch 2, turn your work, 1 hdc in next 14 spaces). That is side 1 of two for your owl.

Make another side just like the one you just made. I chose to do the second one in a solid color.

For the eyes, switch to your f hook. Start with a magic ring, ch 2, 9 hdc in ring. Pull tight and join with a slip stitch with your white at the top of the chain 2. Ch 2, 1 hdc in same space, 2 hdc in each space around. Join with a slip stitch in the top of the chain 2. Make one more eye (obviously! ;) )

For the beak, use your F hook. Do another magic ring, ch 2, 1 hdc, ch 2, 2 hdc, ch 2, 2 hdc into the ring. Pull tight and join with a slip stitch in the top of the chain 2. This should give you a little triangle.

Now attach your eyes and beak however you want. Do this before you attach the two sides of the purse together, it is much easier! Use a darning needle and some yarn to sew the pieces on.

Now join your two "owl sides" wrong sides together. Try to line up them up so they match. You are going to sc around the outside of them to attach them and you want to them to be perfectly lined up. Now stick your hook through both sides, like I have pictured above. YO and pull the yarn through. Ch 1, insert your hook into both sides again (like pictured above) and sc. Sc in each space of both sides around.

This is what your purse should look like when you are done! Now all you have to do is the strap:

Chain 40.

This is where it gets crazy (not really, it is just hard to explain). Insert your hook into the opposite top corner of the owl (don't twist the strap). YO and pull though. Turn your work so that you can sc back up and over the strap. Join with a slip stitch next to the 1st of you original 40 chains. Make sense? If not, let me know!

Hopefully this is what you ended up with! As you can see, I added some cute little pigtails to the sides of the head. I just used some scrap yar, pulled them through and tied them.

Like I said, if you have any questions, just shoot me an email! Hope you enjoy "The Oh So Cute Owl Purse" :)

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My policy on using my patterns and pictures

2012-02-08T20:36:00.000-08:00

I got an email today from a very nice person letting me know that my my picture of my floppy bunny hat was being used on a page without permission. I went to look but the person had already taken it down so problem solved!

That got me thinking that I never have put a "policy" about that kind of stuff on here (uh, at least I don't think so!). First I want to say that while the info below might sounds rude, there are very few people out there that break the rules and the below info is for them. While I would like people who use my pictures and patterns to read the following info, I know very few would actually do the things I mention below. Anyways, here is the deal:

Pictures:
The only pictures you may use are pictures of my finished projects (if you want to use pics of other parts of the tutorial for some reason, shoot me an email and let me know what you are using it for and I will get back to you quickly), but you must add a link to the post you are taking the picture from and clearly state that it is from my site. Please only use ONE picture. Some of my patterns are available for anyone to sell (check each pattern individually to see if you can or can't please), so it is my personal advice that if you do make something from a pattern of mine to sell, that you should really make it and take your own picture to use. I mean, from a business viewpoint, that just makes more sense to me and seems more professional anyways.

Patterns:
Obviously you can use any of my patterns for personal use or charitable use (how or why would I stop you anyways?!). You can sell products you make with some of my patterns (each pattern should list whether that is ok or not. If you have a question on whether you can sell products from a pattern or not, shoot me an email and I will respond quickly). Please DO NOT sell my pattern. Unfortunately I have seen quite a few patterns that look an awful lot like my patterns for sale. I am putting these patterns on here free for anyone as something nice I like to do. Please don't be a turd about it and try to take credit and or sell my patterns. On the other hand, sometimes things are coincidence. I have made things that I thought I was probably the first to make and boy was I wrong! That leads me to the next thing. I have seen patterns that were exactly the same as mine, except for a stitch or two on websites where the person took complete credit for the pattern. Seriously, that is lame. Come up with your own stuff please :) I have altered a couple of patterns from other sites and have thought about putting them here, but you can bet I would have a link to the original pattern and I would only post the rows I changed. Not post the whole pattern with the changes I made. That way, people have to go to the original site, which is really how it should work.

Like I said before, I know most people follow the rules and probably don't even need to have this stuff laid out for them. To all those awesome peeps; thanks so much for visiting my blog! I hope you enjoy the patterns and other stuff and I love having you here! :)

Sewing Pattern Review: Simplicity 2295

2012-02-06T10:29:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the first post of my new series of sewing pattern reviews!! To start off, I will be reviewing Simplicity pattern 2295, for a girl's apron and accessories. Below is a picture of the one I made for my daughter, and she loves it!

Eeeeek! Isn't is sooooooo cute?! I really really love how it turned out. Did I mention this was my first project to use ruffles?! Seriously, I never though I could figure it out! I am sure if an expert looked at them, they wouldn't look so great, but my daughter loves them and that is all that matters ;)

I am going to follow some basic pattern review questions to give you better details about the pattern and how I used it:

What can you make with the pattern: Aprons, tote, bag, felt whisk and bowl (you can add a crayon carrier to the tote or apron, which would be super cute!)

Pattern Sizing: 3/4,5/6,7/8

Did it turn out the way I wanted it to?: Yes! It looked just like the one on the package, and the sizing was perfect.

Were the instructions easy to follow?: Yes. You do need to know how to make ruffles. Just check out YouTube and search for "How to sew ruffles". There are some great tutorials if you don't know how to do it.

Fabric used: Basic cotton calico fabrics.

Would I sew it again?: Hecks Yes! I plan on using this pattern pretty much anytime I need a present for a little girl!

Other comments?: This was a great first ruffle project for me! It helped me move onto a more advanced "ruffle project" (review coming soon!". I would highly recommend this pattern (guess you probably figured that out by now right?!).

Here is another picture, with my daughter wearing it:

(BTW, you try and take that dang bottle from her!)
Check out the link below to get more info on the pattern, or purchase it so you can make your own super cute little apron!:

Child's Chunky Cloche Hat Free Pattern!

2012-01-22T12:51:00.000-08:00

I made this really cute cloche hat for my daughter. Unfortunatly I don't think these pictures really give the hat justice. First, because my daughter refuses to let me take pictures of her because she wants to look at the screen while I take her picture too, which as you know is not humanly possible. Second, my camera is what you could call a piece o' crap. Third, even if I had a good camera I still don't have the mad skillz to take good pictures.

So these pictures are the best I could do, and you will have to trust me that it really is cute!

You should also know that this pattern might not be perfect. Specifically, the bottom where the cloche flares out, the numbers don't exactly match up. It actually caused the "brim" to be slightly pinched in the back which I think looks really cute.

I also didn't have this pattern tested. I don't even know how to go about all that. Fair warning has been given! If you have any questions, shoot me an email. If you have a suggestion of how to phrase something different I would love it hear it :) Plus it is made with Wool-Ease Thick & Quick so it whips up in no time, so if it doesn't turn out the way you want, you only wasted like 15 minutes. Also I didn't want to make the math of the pattern all perfect and stuff. I just started college again after a 4 year break and my brain hurts. You are lucky you have a pattern at all ;)

Yarn: Lionbrand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick (This is the yarn I used, I have never used another yarn with this pattern and I have no idea if other thick yarns would work right. I don't know if doubling up worsted weight yarn would work either).

Hook Size: N

Size: Fits my daughter who is 2 1/2. The yarn gives the hat a good amount of stretch. If I had to guess I would say you could safely make this for an 18 mo. - 3 year old girl.

The products you make from this pattern are yours to do with as you please. You can sell products made with this pattern (woohoo!). I would be flattered to see some of these popping up on Etsy. However, do not sell this pattern. First of all I don't think it is good enough to sell, second of all this is a free pattern for everyone, so don't get all greedy. I understand that you could change like 3 stitches in this pattern and "make it your own" and that "technically" there is nothing I could do about that but, are you seriously that lacking in creativity that you would need to do that? Have some faith in yourself and your creativity :) Come up with your own stuff. (The right to sell products are for my crochet patterns only unless otherwise stated.)

Ok enough of that...on to the pattern!

Round 1. Ch3, crochet 11 hdc in the 3rd chain from the hook. Join with a slip stitch to the top of the ch 3.

2. Ch 2, 1 hdc in same space , 2 hdc in each chain around. Join with a slip stitch in the top of the chain 2.

3. Ch 2, 1 hdc in same space, *1 hdc in next chain, 1hdc in next chain, 2 hdc in next chain*, repeat around. Join with slip stitch in top of chain 2.

4-7. Ch 2, 1 hdc in each chain around. Join with a slip stitch in top of chain 2.

8. Ch 2, 1 hdc in same space, *1 hdc in next chain, 1 hdc in next chain, 2 hdc in next chain*. Repeat around. Join with slip stitch in top of ch 2.

9. Ch 2, 1 hdc in same space, *1 hdc in next chain, 1 hdc in next chain, 1 hdc in next chain*. Repeat around. Join with a slip stitch in top of chain 2 (this row didn't add up for me. I ended up with 1 hdc and a join in the last part of the row. Honestly it looked fine.)

I added 2 pink little buttons on the side as you can see in the picture above. I hope you like the pattern! Like I said, just email me with any questions.

Felt Campfire Tutorial

2011-11-30T12:38:00.001-08:00

This tutorial used to be at simple-and-frugal.com but I decided that instead of paying for a website, I could do just as well with a free blog :) So now you can find that tutorial over at Simple Frugal Homemaking! Enjoy!

Crocheted Spring Garland Pattern

2011-04-19T08:11:00.000-07:00

Hey there! Are you feeling as great about spring as me?! I just had to bring some color indoors since everything is so pretty outside.
Note: Just remembered that this link is broken. I have re-added the pattern below!

For the garland across my fireplace I made 6 motif's. They whip up in very little time and use a small amount of yarn, making them a great frugal decoration! Crochet is a wonderful frugal craft, as it requires little expense to start and there are tons of free patterns out there.

These can also be used as gift toppers, or just little things you hang here and there around the house.

This pattern is pretty easy so I would suggest it for advanced beginners. I like to use Lily's Sugar N Cream cotton yarn, but I have also used Red Heart Super Saver with great results as well.

For this pattern you will need:

Hook Size G

4 colors of yarn. In my pattern I reference the colors, blue as A, white as B, green as C, and purple as D.

I also added a little button in the center of mine which is optional.

When I reference breaking off a color of yarn what I suggest doing is tying both ends of the yarn in the back in a knot. This will make your life a lot easier! When you are done with the motif you will have a bunch of ends of yarn hanging out in the back. Just weave the ends of the yarn into the back of the work.

Abbreviations I will be using:

sl st=slip stitch

sc= single chain

hdc= half double chain

yo= yarn over

If you have any questions about the pattern, or need something in the pattern explained, just send me an email by going to the "Contact Us" page found to the left of the page.

Starting with color A, ch 3, then make 14 hcd in the 1st stitch of your ch 3 (reference picture above). Join at the top of the ch 3 with a sl st.

Break off color A and join color B. *Ch 3, skip a space, then join with a sl st in next ch.* Repeat * to * around 6 more times, making a total of 7 ch 3 spaces.

Break of color B and join color C. In the first ch 3 space, sc 6 times. Do the same in the next 6 ch 3 spaces.

Break of color C and join color D. Sl st in the first stitch of color C from the previous round. Sc in next ch, and hdc in the next ch. Ch 2, hdc, sc, sl st in the next 3 ch. *Sl st, sc, hdc, ch 2, hdc, sc, sl st* around 6 more times.

Break off color D. Insert hook into the first ch of color D, yo and pull through. Tie in back with end of yarn from previous color. Weave in all of the ends of the yarn in the back of your motif.

Here is what the finished motif will look like all strung up :) !

Make as many as you want, in whatever color combinations you like!

You may use the products you make with this pattern for commercial use but DO NOT SELL THE PATTERN. Please read my picture and pattern use policy before selling any of the products please. If you sell a bunch and would like to make a little donation for my yarn ~~addiction~~ collection, I would greatly appreciate it! You can find the donate button at the top of the pages on the right of the screen.

New reusable snack bag totorial...

2011-04-02T18:39:00.000-07:00

I have been working lots on the new website. Just wanted to let you know that you can find a tutorial for my reusable snack bag over there ;)

These are great for your own house or for a gift for others. Enjoy!

Free felt campfire toy tutorial....

2011-02-14T09:55:00.000-08:00

For my son's gift I made him a felt campfire. He always pretends to have a campfire so I thought he would enjoy a "real" one! It was super easy and cheap to make. I love to make gifts for them as I feel they are more meaningful. He really loves it and I hope you do too! You can find it here at my website. If you happen to find any mistakes please let me know, I would really apprectiate it!

Easy finger puppets and my new website!!

2011-02-06T08:39:00.000-08:00

So first off I want to tell you about my new website! If you have ever visited my other blog, Glenn Family Gardens, you know that I love all things simple and frugal. So it is only fitting that I start a simple and frugal website right? Lol! After having way to many problems with blogger I decided to make this website as it is much easier to put together. You can visit it at http://www.simple-and-frugal-living.com/ . I have some frugal recipes, my instructions on making your own homemade yogurt, and my homemade laundry soap recipe. If you are interested please check it out!

I plan on having a frugal crafts page and would like to give you a sneak peak at my first tutorial. I made these super easy finger puppets out of felt nursery print fabric. They are so quick, easy, and cost next to nothing! My kids love them! I have also given them out as gifts for friends kids. Check out the tutorial here. Please check back on the site often for updates. I will still be posting crafty goodness here. I am hoping to get a free crochet pattern together soon for you all!

Teacher Gifts

2010-12-16T10:17:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is LM's last day of school before Christmas break. I put together these little gift bags for his teachers.

I can't for the life of me find the site where I got these labels, but they were a free download. If I come across them I will give you the link. Inside the bags are half dipped chocolate covered pretzels with white chocolate and candy cane pieces sprinkled on them. Why half dipped? Because I usually break half the pretzels when I try and take them out of the chocolate with tongs. This was much much easier to do and I got more out of the batch of chocolate :) Another homemade gift I did was peppermint hot cocoa mix. I used this Alton Brown recipe, but substituted candy cane pieces for the cayenne. I just make sure to tell people who have little ones to let the candy pieces dissolve before giving it to them. I finished another gift for my son that I will try and take a picture of later when he is in bed. Right now I am going to go make some hot cocoa and sit with the kiddos and enjoy looking at the snow outside :) :) :)

Super quick Christmas ornament :)

2010-12-09T13:58:00.000-08:00

Well I was stuck on the couch today with a super cute baby napping on me, and my crochet stuff within reach and this is what happened...

Kinda cute huh? We here is the pattern if you would like to make some. I think I will make a bunch for our Scandanavian Christmas tree next year :)

Hook size: E (Yes it says F on Ravelry, but I realized I put the wrong size and can't figure out how to change it! OOPS! The smaller needle makes for a tighter ornament with better points. If you use a bigger needle it get floppier)
Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver
Gauge: Not important (woohoo!)

Ch 4 and join with first chain to make loop.
Rd 1: ch 2, HDC in sm stitch and 2 HDC in each stitch around, join to 2nd ch of ch2
Rd 2: ch 2, HDC in sm stitch, *1 HDC in next stitch, 2 HDC in next stitch* Repeat ** around. Join in 2nd ch of ch2.
Rd 3: *Slip stitch 1st stitch, sl st 2nd stitch, (sc, hdc, ch 2, hdc, sc) in next stitch* (I did not make a picot if you are wondering, I just let the ch2 be it's own space, I noticed on Ravelry someone said theirs turned out more like a flower. If you want it to look like a star just try ch3, sl st in 1st ch of ch 3, instead of ch2. I haven't done this myself, but will try to later today). Repeat ** around. Join in first sl st. Here I chained 14 and sl st in the sm stitch to use to hang the ornament. You can use a metal ornament hook instead or you can loop some ribbon in one of the ch 2 spaces and use this as a gift topper. Whatever takes your fancy!

You could whip up a ton of these as fast as you can! Feel free to give or sell the finished project but please don't sell the pattern. It is free for everyone's enjoyment! I do not have a pattern tester so if you find a flaw let me know and I will correct it. Hope you enjoy!

2010-12-02T10:45:00.000-08:00

This is a little doll I knitted for my daughter for Christmas. This is the largest project I have done so far and took me way longer then I thought since I am such a slow knitter! I loved the pattern and found it very easy to follow. I think she will really love it :) Here is the pattern and here is the blog of the lady who created this cute little doll!

Thrifty goodness

2010-11-22T07:18:00.000-08:00

We went to an Antique mall this weekend and I picked up some good stuff...

The book is really cool looking but is in really bad shape. I will probably just set it up on a shelf in Little Lady's room and hope it doesn't completely fall apart.

I got this little Putz house for $1! It isn't in the best of shape as you can see, but they are so hard to find I couldn't resist! I have some other good thrifty finds to show you later :)

Early Christmas craftiness

2010-11-22T07:01:00.000-08:00

If it wouldn't cause so much distress in the house I think I would decorate in early October. As it is I just like to sneak some early Christmas decorations here and there. I also bought my copy of Martha's Christmas issue, so I have been doing some things from that. Here are some acorn ornaments I made for the Little Mans teacher's...

I used some of Martha's glitter, which is super expensive but really does look better then the cheap stuff. Also I got some pipe cleaners which I haven't used since 2nd grade to make this...

It took me awhile to find off white pipe cleaners. You can't really see the colors that well in this picture (stupid camera!). Not sure if this looks too "preschoolerish". Usually I try and read DH's expression but he was ratherhard to read that day so I guess I won't find out the truth for a couple of years. Lol! Also working on Little Lady's present which is knitted, and taking my longer then I hoped due to the fact that I am not a very fast knitter yet! Hopefully pictures will follow soon!

Halloween Party Pumpkin Patch

2010-11-03T11:48:00.000-07:00

So we threw a little shindig for the little man for Halloween. We invited all of his friends and cousins, had a bon fire, played games, and gave out little treat bags. Here are some of the crafty things I did for the party...

These were the biggest hit on the snack table. They are made of marshmallows, black icing, pretzel sticks, and spray green food coloring. I couldn't for the life of me find the spray food coloring until I went to Hob Lob which was the last place on my list. I just stuck the marshmallows on bamboo skewers when I sprayed them which made the process a lot cleaner!

I also made some recycled crayons for the treat bags. I also included Halloween erasers, and pencils. Not super exciting for the kids but I figured they all had enough candy! These were made with jello molds which I found very difficult to work with. I finally tried this process which worked the best...

I sprayed the molds, placed the broken crayon pieces in them, and filled the pan with about 1/2 in of water. Then I simmered the water for about 5 minutes. I am not sure what the long term effect would be on the molds but I only needed a couple more.

I usually have a plain black G hanging above the bookshelf but I decided to make a spooky one. For this I just decoupaged some scrap book paper to the letter.

Some knitted pumpkins, I tried a different variation of stitches on each one but I really like how they all turned out.

And some spoooky paper towel ghosts...lol! All in all the party was really fun and we will be doing it every year, I am sure!

2010-10-27T14:40:00.000-07:00

Eeeek! You can get the directions to make these cute baby food jar pin cushions at Scented Sweetpeas.

I am back!

2010-10-14T04:28:00.000-07:00

Ok camera broke, farmer's market, kids, school, work, blah blah blah. There you have all my excuses. So I want to show you what I did!!! It was my daughter's first b-day a few weeks ago and I wanted to make her a little out fit. I only have a pic of the onsie I made but there was a cute skirt that went with it that I will post a pic of later...

EEEK! So Cute!!! (What is that thumping sound you ask? Oh that is just me patting myself on the back) Want to see it closer?...

EEEKKKK!!! (Ok sorry I will stop) I used that fabric fuse tape which was fun and actually gets stuff stuck! I find most products that claim to do this don't. I have more pics I want to post but I had to use my dad's camera at the party and he is being a stinker and keeps "forgetting" to download them and email them to me so dad if you are reading this you will be getting a call later today. I really want to show you what I bought her from a fellow blogger who is an amazing knitter but that will have to wait :(

Pumpkin pie

2010-07-20T17:40:00.000-07:00

Alright well I am not sure if this qualifies as a "Finish It" project as it is more of a "re-did it because I wanted to change the old one", but here is the new pumpkin pie!

Awww isn't it cute! (If I do say so myself!). I figured this might be fitting as the fair is in October and lots of vendors sell pumpkin products. Anyways hope you enjoy!

Finish it!

2010-07-17T04:28:00.000-07:00

Ok so things have been really busy but really fun this summer! Farmers Market has been great, and we have had a lot of successes and failures in the garden, but mostly succeses. I absolutely love staying home with the kids, and am still working one day a week which is nice for groceries and what not. I still need to get my butt moving on canning more as I have only canned 3 jars of pickled beets, 3 jars of applesauce with plastic in them (ok not plastic, but I guess when I cored them I got big chunks of the middle part which didn't grind up in my food processor which my 4 year old refers to as plastic!), 5 jars of pickled garlic scapes, and 5 jars of mulberry raspberry and rhubarb jam that I think tastes funny. I haven't had much time for crafting but recently Chase over at Oh the Cuteness started a craft challenge called Finish It! which I have decided to participate in. Basically you finish all your unfinished project before Dec. 15th (there is more to it so run on over there and check it out!). This is another great kick in the bum for me as I have some things that really need done. First off my daughters baby blanket (she is 9 1/2 mos now!) needs done for her b-day (end of Sept.) or Christmas (well Dec. 15th at the latest!). Actually I would prefer to get it done by her b-day for Christmas. That way I know it is done! The other major project is an entry I want to do for the county fair. I want to crochet a bunch of "Fair Food" and enter that. I had some stuff to use already that I crocheted for my son. I made a really cute pumpkin pie that I can't find but will take a pic of as soon as I can! This is the first of the projects I started as the fair is Oct. 16th. I know I said I wanted the blanket done first but I really wanted to do the fair entry because I have been talking about doing this for a couple of years now. Also I had to design my own patterns so it took a bit of playing around but I actually finished these four in about 3 days!

Overall I am pretty happy with them. The pretzel is just a tube I crocheted then tied together in 3 places. It needs to be taken apart and re-tied as it is a little lopsided. The cone on the ice cream cone could fit better as well. It kind of bunches at the top which you can't see in the pic. The burger and cinnamon roll turned out great I think! So there you have it. I might make one more thing for this project, I am not sure. So far so good! So if you are like me and most crafters and have lots of unfinished projects, head on over to Oh the Cuteness and join the fun!

Thrifty Monday!

2010-06-21T17:10:00.000-07:00

Ah I swear I have not forgotten my blog I promise! I was having some issues with Blogger. It wasn't letting me upload photos. Then little man broke my camera which is actually a blessing as I need a new one. I just have to figure out if I want to buy a good one. So here is some stuff I bought last week at the thrift store.

I will start off with my most favoritest find...maybe one of all time favorites (ok top 5?). It is one of those canvas baskets you see people carrying around the farmers market. I find it is very useful to take to the store as well because you can carry your groceries around in it and leave with no bags! Of course this only works if you need a couple of things. I paid $1.50 for this!!! The book is a book about the Pike Place Market which I bought the same day for .25!

A groovy little pyrex dish, perfect for a small loaf of zucchini bread.

Every lady needs a pair of black shoes...and apparently needs a pink pair of slippers with some kind of weird bunny. Ah I couldn't pass them up!

And a little amber glass dish...completely useless really but I just love the color of the glass.

2010-05-18T10:25:00.000-07:00

If you want a good laugh read this post and watch the video over @ colormekatie :) :) :)

Yarn lover's wall decor...

2010-05-14T04:00:00.000-07:00

Eeeek! I want! You can make your very own here at Bright and Blithe...you should check out the other tutorials if you have a sec!

Flowers...

2010-05-08T14:34:00.000-07:00

So I used to think that fresh cut flowers were wasteful...well I guess I still kind of do. That is until I get some flowers and see how much they can transform a room. Well I still have issues with spending a lot of money on flowers (although I see why you would!) and I realized that at least half of the year I drive by or walk by gorgeouse flowers that I have always considered weeds. I saw some people selling wild flowers last year at the farmers market so this year we decided to do the same thing. I mean we sold them dirt cheap but people seemed to appreciate the fact that someone had taken the time to go out and cut them.

They really do complete that spring feeling!

They can really brighten up a room!

I could have put them all over the house...but I wanted to leave plenty for the bees!! Hope you are having a wonderful Mother's Day weekend!