Crochet: Amigurumi Characters

Its Never TOO Early

It seems to me that I am always trying to find a great, budget friendly gift for the kiddos for the holidays, but as the end of the year comes around it can sometimes be too late to start a project! Last year I made a goal to learn to crochet and so in January I started working on it. I started with some baby blankets which I gave away at baby showers and then I was on a search for a new project that I could make for my children.

That's when I discovered these little amigurumi characters! I thought these would be the perfect stuffers for stockings the coming Christmas. When looking around for patterns I found many books and ideas but I felt like many of the patterns out there were kind of funny looking creatures. I wanted something more traditional that could easily become a child's "friend". I purchased this book called Amigurumi by Lan-Anh Bui and Josephine Wan. I loved this book, it had so many great projects and the patterns were easy to follow! These are just three of the examples of the ones I have made. (Maybe if Brittany feels energetic enough she can post pictures of the ones I made for her kids)

Some things I did to save a little money were: 1-start early, you will have more time to find yarn at a good price and if you have some mess ups you wont feel too much pressure the get it done! 2- Use craft store coupons for all your products! I used coupons for the book itself as well as yarn, stuffing, toy eyes, etc. (That's also another benefit of starting early, you will have the time to collect coupons for all the things you need along the way!)

If you have any questions please feel free to ask, Ill try and answer whatever I can. Otherwise good luck with your homemade gifts!

Sydney

Garden Party Dress

 

 

Hello All!!  I wanted to share with you some cute dresses I made up for my girls!! Aren't they fun!?!  I am entering them into the Sew-Off Competition over at Naptime Crafters. I love Amy and all her cute patterns at Peek-A-Boo Pattern Shop, and am so excited she has decided to start a sewing competition!! I am always scrambling to get on her pattern testing list, and have made it a few times, (too bad that doesn't give me an in!).  You have probably seen my girls in lots of her designs over at my personal blog!  You really should check out her patterns, great for all skill levels! Anyway..moving on to the competition..

So here's the story..

I bought this fabric a while ago because, well, it was just too pretty to leave behind!  Not having a plan, I bought a random yardage because I would find something for it.  I was so excited when I finally got to sew it up into a dress for my oldest...but there was one problem.  I had too much leftover to toss, but not enough to make my other two gals matching dresses (I'm a mom of 3 girls..we LOVE matching!), so I had to get creative.  I didn't want to make just a skirt because I never can find the right shirt, or with babies, skirts never stay in place.  That's when I ran into this pink knit in my stash, and right away I knew what to do!  Using some tees for a pattern, I cut out the tops and got to work on the skirt part of these t-shirt style knit top dresses!  (whoa..that was a mouthful!)

 

 I was thrilled with how they were turning out, and how easily they came together.  I've done a bit of pattern-making experimentation, and it doesn't always go so well, but this time was dead on!  As I got them "finished", I could tell something was missing, they needed a little "uumph", so back to my stash I went...and remembered that I had some darling scalloped elastic trim that had matching regular elastic for the waist.  How could I get so lucky?? I tell you, it was meant to be!!  I love the exposed elastic trend..it added just the right touch, and the trim made it just a little bit more "fancy." 

A little more close up so you can see the finishing touch details

And even more luck was to be had when I found the flowers for a great deal on PickYourPlum.com, and yep, you guessed it, just the right color;  And that's how the dresses were born! Perfect dresses that stay put, and no hoping the matching top is clean because its already attached.  I hope you love them...they are a favorite around here!!  I think this style dress will become a staple around my house.  Keep an eye out for a short sleeve spring edition (complete with tutorial) coming soon! (Taylor will be glad she gets to match all her sisters 'exactly' this time..)

So what do you think?  Do I have what it takes to make it into the "Sew-Off"??  I sure hope so! Fingers crossed, wish me luck!!

Just had to add this one too...isn't she a cutie??

Credit where credit is most certainly due!!
  The all floral dress is The Lizzy Dress from Shwin&Shwin, here
  My lovely friend Rachel helped by taking these darling pictures.  If you are in the Vegas area, check her out here.

Quilt Scrap Dress--Sew-vivor Entry!

So I bumped into a new-to-me blog that is having an AWESOME sewing competition!! Its called "Sew-vivor" from the Family Ever After blog..(you can read about the contest here). What I love about this contest is that its just sewing, (which is really the only crafting I'm good at!!), and she has gotten incredible sponsors. Also, even if you aren't entering, she's having a giveaway a week during the competition, so check that out!! One ends today!! I'm entering my Quilt Scrap Dress...and I have my fingers crossed!!! Wish me luck!!

The Story: So, I was making my daughter a quilt for her 3rd birthday, (you can check it out HERE if you want), and I had a bunch of leftovers that were just too cute to throw away. I started racking my brain for what I could do with them..and then it hit me! I could use my leftovers to create "fabric" for a dress to match the birthday quilt. My 3 yr old will love it, I will love it, and I won't have to just throw the scraps away! So, after some configuring, here's what I came up with.

(Couldn't coax any smiles out, she was little nervous about her debut..)

What I love about this dress:

1. It is totally bright and fun! 2. It's economical..you could make this dress with leftover scraps from any project, or hang onto clothes that get stained and cut them up into squares to create your own "fabric". 3. This dress is almost all rectangles, so you don't have to have a pattern. 4. It matches her birthday quilt...what little girl won't love that?

Here's a quick close up of the bow knot, can you tell I just love it??

Valentine's Day "We Love You Because.."

So, I've been seeing those " I love you because..." walls where they use vinyl and sticky notes for a Valentine's decoration..and I LOVE IT! But..I am renting, and the paint in our house comes off a little easy, so I'm too nervous to put vinyl on my walls. So here's what I came up with instead...

Here's how I did it...its super easy!!

1. Paint an 8 inch piece of a 2 x 4 red

2. Cut out phrase in vinyl w/craft cutter, or make stencil, and paint on

3. Staple cute ribbon to the back

4. Make little love notes

5. Attach with clothespins, paperclips, etc..

6. Make that loved one feel super special! (We plan to leave a new note everyday until Valentine's day)

Family Assignment Board

This is a fun craft for the whole family! Even the youngest child can help pick out their own personalized name tag. This is also versatile, although we made one for F.H.E., it can be easily adapted to a chore chart or any other alternating responsibility board.

Materials:

1. unpainted wooden board- easy find at the craft stores in your area, there are many styles and sizes, choose according to the size of you family or number of items you want it to have on it
2. pegs- this is a personal style preference, (my hubby picked out the ones you see in the picture and wanted them upside down). There are many options at craft stores; don't feel  like you have to stick with wood, I have seen it with nails, etc.
3. Screws- to attach the pegs (may not need these if you are doing nails)
4. Spray Paint- color and texture according to preference (we chose brown with different color speckles)
5. Paint Pen- to write the various assignments on the board (I did mine free hand, but you may also use a stencil instead) There are various size tips in the pens, I bought a fine point and medium point, since I had large and small words.
6. Individualized wooden pictures- also found at any craft store, you can even get them unpainted and paint them yourselves. (have everyone choose one for themselves that matches their personality or likes)
7. Yarn, twine, or ribbon- for hanging the wooden pieces
8. Drill- to make a hole in each wood piece to string the yarn through.

Procedure:

1. Spray paint board and pegs separately and let dry according to directions on can.
2. Once dry, screw the pegs to the board, try to evenly space them using a ruler and pencil to mark on the board.
3. Using paint pen, write words (Family Home Evening, or Family Chore Chart) whatever you come up with! Also write the smaller assignments, mine says “prayer, song, lesson, activity and treat”. Don't forget to write the names on the individual pendants too. The tricky part of this step is evenly spacing the letters and words. Since I was doing mine free-hand, I practiced on paper first.
4. Drill holes in each wooden piece, sting yarn, twine, etc. through the hole and hang over each peg.

Easy peasy! You have a family assignment board, the kids love to change their name to the next spot when its time, and it makes doing work a little more fun! I hope you enjoy.

Sydney

Mac & Cheese with Tomato

Guys it's been too long! But I just wanted to drop in and tell you about this great recipe that I saw on Cooks Country TV show (the same people that do America's Test Kitchen). It looked pretty simple so I decided to give it a whirl and it was pretty good. A nice change to the normal mac and cheese. I got the recipe from here. Try it out guys it's good!

When I made it, I only made a half batch and put it in a 9x9 instead of a whole recipe in a 9x13. Also make sure that you let it sit for like 15 minutes when it's done cooking otherwise it'll be soupy.

INGREDIENTS (SERVES 8-10)

• Salt and pepper
• 1pound elbow macaroni (see note)
• 1(28-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
• 6tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 4cups half-and-half
• 1cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 4cups shredded mild cheddar cheese
• 2cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

• 1. COOK MACARONI Adjust oven to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large Dutch oven over high heat. Stir in 1 tablespoon salt and macaroni and cook until just al dente, about 6 minutes. Drain pasta and return to pot. Pour diced tomatoes with their juices over pasta and stir to coat. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until most of liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
• 2. MAKE SAUCE Meanwhile, melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat until foaming. Stir in flour and cayenne and cook until golden, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in half-and-half and broth until smooth. Bring to boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture is slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Off heat, whisk in cheeses, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper until cheeses melt. Pour sauce over macaroni and stir to combine.
• 3. BAKE MACARONI AND CHEESE Scrape mixture into 13 by 9-inch baking dish set in rimmed baking sheet and bake until top begins to brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Let sit for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
• MAKE AHEAD: Macaroni and cheese can be made in advance through step 2. Scrape mixture into 13 by 9-inch baking dish, cool, lay plastic wrap directly on surface of pasta, and refrigerate for up to 2 days. When ready to bake, remove plastic wrap, cover with foil, and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until top is golden brown, about 15 minutes. Let sit for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Christmas Crafts Part 2

The Sparkling spruce

One of my favorites!

What you will need:

• 2x8 piece of wood, or whatever size fits your fancy (all depends on how large you want your tree)
  
• Sage colored Burlap, or clothe of your choice (i.e. white felt), cut into 3”-4” strips         *we bought the left over scrap pieces they have at the cutting table so they were marked down!
  
• Glitter. I used silver. Spray glitter will also work.
  
• Spray adhesive. If you use spray glitter, you won’t need this!
  
• Hot glue gun with sticks.

The Steps:

1. Cut a triangle out of the 2x8. The dimensions of my tree were  16”x16”x7.5” (the true width of a 2x8). I used my husbands circular saw, but a hand saw should work as well!
   
2. Cut ~1-inch flaps in the strips of fabric. Don’t cut too deeply, however; halfway through should do the trick.
   
3. Take your hot glue gun and squeeze a strip of glue along the bottom of the triangle. Place your strip of fabric on the glue so that the flaps hang off the wood. Then turn the wood piece and do the same on the small side, then the back, and then the other small side, so that in the end you have completed a 360, and fabric completely lines the bottom of the tree.
   
4. Continue with these same steps over and over as you move up the tree. Make sure to overlap fabric so that no wood shows when the flaps come up.
   
5. Optional: Once the tree is covered with fabric spray it with the spray adhesive and dust with glitter. (This would also be a good time to curl the edges of the fabric up if you want them to stand up more). 

Have some fun!
Sydney