150th Square Completed!

I can't believe it. I finished crocheting my 150th granny square this evening.Yes, yes. I am ready to sew them together. Directions for that step are as follows:

"Thread light rose yarn into tapestry needle. Hold 2 squares with right sides tog, join with overcast st in outer lps only. Work across each square, carefully matching sts. Join all squares in this manner whether joining squares for a row or joining rows of squares."

My question at this point is "Is an overcast st the same as a whip stitch in embroidery?" Geez. Time to pull out the crocheting resource. :D

55 Down, 20 to Go

I wanted to post an update on my crochet blanket. I'm really beginning to enjoy the act of crocheting. I can think deeply during my crochet time and not pay attention to my project, and still produce something. It's a double whammy!

I found something to be interesting as I ran out of my yarn last night. One pound of Caron yarn at 4 ply makes 55 squares at 4" each. I am going to write this information down on a note card and store it with my knit and crochet samples. Good information to use for future projects.

I have 20 squares to go in the rose color, before I begin the ruffle for the blanket. I am considering sewing the squares together before I complete my ruffle. Since this is the first blanket that I've crocheted, I don't know if my gage is off enough to matter for the ruffle pattern. I have a little bit of time to think about it. :)

A Little Gift For The Tree

Isn't this such a cute pattern!? I decided it would be a perfect little hand made gift for my mum for the holidays. I found the pattern here.

My mom is a member of a quilting group, but she's the one who crochets at their meetings. She just might want this pattern to make them for the gals in the group next year. :D

Cards and beads, cards and beads...

Okay, Good day! It feels so great to be back in the saddle again (good song). :)
I have been working on finishing off projects that I have started as well as accomplishing little new designs for earrings.

First off, my "Girl, you have ... Style" card. I adore it. I got this theme in the clear stamps at Michael's for $1. Spectacular. Since I sew, I fell in love with the dress form and could not pass it up. And, I don't wear high heels EVER, but I just love the hip artsy look. I'd like to make a necklace using a heel as a pendant. One day, perhaps sooner than expected. :)














Now the beading! I love the loom. It's a different type of beading. At this point, my designs aren't very intricate but they will get there. Practice and desire makes perfect. Ed thought my flower was a kitty and the heart an arrow. ...he's got bow hunting on the brain! Haha...























Here are three pairs of earrings that I designed. The first pair are okay. I needed the color to go with something I was wearing. The copper pair: I made all of the findings you see with the steel plate and hammer technique. I definitely loved doing it, but I need a jewelers block badly. I like altering the state of the wire. (...I can picture the molecules moving under the force of my hammer with each steel tap and smash. Mmm, the thrills of physics!)

The gold necklace was me practicing my flower chain and finishing with double cup clams. I need all the practice I can get. I haven't taken any beading classes to learn what I know. I just talk to people and read books. So far, I think I get it. I'll just keep it up.

The teal bracelet: that was a loom project. I was experimenting with loopy-loops but I am not too thrilled about the turn out. I guess I was hoping for something a little more lacey. No biggy though, I have another technique in mind that might give me the results I'm looking for. ;D That's it for now!

Bead Earrings

I haven't posted in a while, but that doesn't mean that I haven't been crafty.

Here are a couple designs of earrings. I'm not very interested in the cat earring with the dome overhead as much as I am with the wire tri-loop jump ring design. Cute cute. I was practicing making bead links and I thought this was the perfect opportunity to apply what I have learned.

I'd like to finish off the cat earrings by pounding the copper tri-loop flat so it catches the light nicely. :) Ed said he'd help me do that tomorrow. That means "I got the tools that will help you accomplish that, Baby." YAY!

The next set is what I call Tiger Eye but it was listed as "Cateye" at the store. I found an adorable silver bead cap to top it off. I made them for Valentines Day. Again, cute cute!!

Teal Waters Bracelet

I've been so tired the last two nights, but I was still able to create something new. A piece of jewelry.

The first night, I drew up the design and got the clam-shell on the beading string and the second night I was able to implement my plan. I used Miyuki seed beads and Czech beads but I forget the shape name. Some sort of faceted glass, anyways. It's a pretty bead. :) At the end of the fringes I used a cheap seed bead I purchased in a bulk bag from Joann's Fabrics and Crafts. I gave this bracelet a name. I got the idea to name it while browsing bead store websites. Most places have classes and they have named them according to the name they have given to the jewelry piece. So this is called Teal Waters. =D

"For You" Card

This "for You" card was made with my markers and clear stamps. I'm sorta frustrated that the ink doesn't stick thoroughly to the surface of the stamp. I didn't read the directions on the bag after I purchased them. It might say to do just that. The effect is similar to mixing oil & vinegar and then pressing it onto the paper. The stamps probably have an oily substance on them.

I love this little chicken or chick-a-dee. Whatever you want to call the bird, it's cute. After seeing the card here, I am going to go back and fill in the tag with some background pencil. Next card that I do, I'm going to try some watercolor pencil. I also made some copies of my own art that I will color. :) That will be NEAT-O! Okay, that's it for this entry.

Acrylic Stamp Organizer

Today I made an organizer for my acrylic stamping blocks. I'm so excited to share this! I didn't like the idea of stacking them in my Rubbermaid tote with my stamps. They weren't fitting the way I wanted them to and I grew too frustrated too quickly. :p

I really like how it turned out concerning the appearance of it. And all of my needs were met--so I think it will be just as functional as it is cute. The fabric was inherited from my Grandma Kay, so I didn't shop for the supplies. The ribbons and lace were also hers.

I wanted something cutsie in addition to the lace. The idea for a pleated pocket hit when I refreshed my memory on how to make a pocket in A Complete Guide To Sewing--an excellent teacher!

The photos are posted in the process order of Last to First. I was going to be super lengthy, but I hate trying to adjust my wordage layout with my photos. I guess I get too easily frustrated with that too. =)

First Wedding Anniversary Page

Well this is the most recent page that I've done. I've been busy interviewing and working longer hours on my side job and working more hours as a sub in the school district. It's fun, but nothing is as stimulating as creating cards or scrapbook pages, drawing or baking! :)

Ed and I went to Tucci Benucch--Italian Country Dining for our first wedding anniversary meal. We have more photos that I will scrapbook and hopefully within the next week or so!

Anniversary

Well this is my latest page.

1st Year Wedding Anniversary

January 18th, 2009. Ed and I have been married for 1 year! The year seemed to go by quickly. We've now settled in nicely.

We decided that it might be fun to go to Tucci Benucch for our anniversary since it was the first place we had a meal as husband and wife. The food is delicious and the desserts are even better. The waitress took our photo--what a blessing. Now I have something to post here! I know it's not a craft of mine, but it was a special day!

After we ate here, we went to Micro Center and got our free 2 gig jump drives! Haha...

Elephant Illustration

This is "Baby Elephant Wants a Cookie". It's one of my watercolor, watercolor pencil, and regular color pencil illustrations. In case I ever illustrate for a children's book, I want to get some practice in. =D I had fun with it. I was playing around with the light source, but it's not perfect. I love the bright yellow though. I didn't know exactly what I wanted to come across, but I think the cheery softness lends itself well to the story.

Pumpkin Spice Balls

This late morning I decided to make Pumpkin Spice Balls.

Cookie Recipe:
1 cup butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 cups flour
1 cup chopped pecans

Glaze:
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp pumpkin spice
3 to 4 tsp milk

Preheat at 325. Blend w/ mixer: butter, pumpkin spice, sugar and vanilla for 30 seconds. Add the rest and stir. Roll into 1" balls and place 2" apart on sheet. Bake 16 to 18 minutes or until bottoms are lite brown. Dip into glaze after completely cooled then let glaze set for 1 hour. Keep at room temp for 3 days or freeze for 3 months. =D










These are delicious! They melt in your mouth and give you that nutty texture to chew. Mmm...one of my holiday favorites but I didn't bake much this holiday season. I'm catching up now. ;-)

I'm off to card-making or scrap-booking now. Toodles!

4 Bird and Branches Cards

To begin, I am not the best at laying these out for the blog. I have such a hard time placing them where I want them, to present them as nicely as I can. I have more work to do concerning HTML. I gotta switch over. Moving forward, I made 4 cards tonight. Two have branches on them and two have birds on them. All backgrounds are from the same cardstock. They look nicer than previous cards that I've made. This one is a little boring. I should add a border or something. The sides are so bare--too bare.













This one is cute. My husband taught me an "old wallpaper trick" concerning mitering the corners. I think it looks sharp. A lot nicer than what I had originally--to flat edges together. EEK!

I like the birds. This one is nice with a Prismacolor gold pencil border. I also added some glitter glue to add a little sparkle, but I could do something different too--add a bow for instance. My husband, Ed, said that he liked the gold brads on the last card. I like hearing stuff like that. It's encouraging. I keep getting more and more ideas. That's it for cards tonight. Tomorrow I think I am going to work on scrapbooking. We'll see. I'll post what I create! :)

A Saturday At Nata's

So it was another day at Nata's and I used her stamps and punches. The flower punch-out on this card is hers. I need to invest in one. I love putting these adorable little flowers on everything. It seems that I can make a reason to use them on anything I do!

My complaint to Renata today was that my cards that I make are just not so professional looking. I told her that I liked it that way (mostly because I didn't know how to make it look that way--haha). Then I saw NATA'S cards! Oh my goodness, I had some adjusting to do in my own creativity. I was challenged and this was the outcome. I'll still work on it, but it's better than what I have done in the past.

Thanks Renata! :)

My Thank You Page

Another page done!

Today I met my mom for lunch at Potbelly's and a visit to Archiver's and Joann's. She was so wonderful and bought me the Cutter Bee Curvy Cutter Oval Template set! WOW!

It was a toss up between the oval and round template. This was my deciding factor: my mother pointed out to me that I can easily find a circle in the house to trace but ovals are harder to find. =D I can always use a glass or a bowl. We even discussed the compass that architects use.

Oval it was. I loved the way the blade cut seamlessly! It swivels nicely, but I still had to move my other hand that held the template down when it came time to pass. It wasn't a big deal at all. I'm grateful to have such a tool among my crafting tools. Thanks Mom! Thanks Curvy Cutter!

About my page: this page was made to honor and remember the people who are responsible for making my wedding picnic memories. I had fun with it. I only used a heart to stand my mom out and the others got flowers. Hearts are my picnic theme, but I thought flowers would be nice for this page. I'll continue on with my heart punches for other pages that include me and my very sweet Sweetheart, Edward Joseph.

I can't wait to use Nata's flower puncher again. :)

Paradise Scrapbook Page

Since my girlfriend Renata has introduced me to the exciting craft of scrapbooking. I am unable to stop thinking about it. Well, it's actually a blessing because I had been saving miscellaneous photos for several years now and had no idea what to do with them. Now I know.

Well today I went to a store called "Crafts Direct" with my long-time friend Nikki (it's her 30th birthday today!). (She doesn't have a blog ...yet.) Anyways, I have fallen in love with the craft of punching. Each time I visit a craft store, I carry around a heart puncher until it's time to check-out. Then I put it back. BUT NOT TODAY! NO! I made my big purchase. Perhaps it's just that much sweeter when I can put off gratification. Delayed gratification is so much more enjoyable, YES! =D

So tonight I went heart-puncher crazy and made this page of me and my Sweetie. I'm so in love.

After each page is completed, I say to my husband "Wanna see my new page?!" Of course I am excited, so of course he says "YES!" What a SWEETHEART! He liked this page.

= )