Archives for December 2010

Lime Green Ribbed Knit Wrist Warmers



Here is what I have been working on… I can’t stop knitting!This is the first time I have ever knitted two items at once on the same circular needle. I feel like a real knitter now. These are a simple k2 p2 ribbed pattern knit with peruvian wool and lightly machine felted. I will from this point on, work both pieces in paired knits simultaneously. It just works for me. I know they will be the same size, and I love that when I finish, both are done!!

Indescribable Love…

This time of year forces into the forefront of my mind what should be there always. He made us to bring Himself glory. That is why we exist. The rest of it is just details. If you haven’t seen this, treat yourself. He is so very BIG.

Thrifty Thursday Blog Hop Week 3

Week three already… wow. Join Thrifty Thursdays and showcase your frugal recipes, projects or ideas. Or just join and enjoy!

Some things:
*If you don’t have a thrifty post to link to, feel welcome to join the hop anyway, and link to your main blog.
*Grab my “Thrifty Thursday” button above and throw it on your lovely site. Help me get the word out there so the hop grows!
*I will choose 2 participants to feature the following Thursday, and I will place their button in my ad space for the week. Free adverts. Woohoo. Please drop by and say hello to the feature bloggers. And follow them if it pleases!
*Follow the blogs that toot your horn, and feel free to follow anyone who follows you. Make sure to leave comments so you will be recognized as a new follower.
*Leave me a comment so I can visit you!

Feature Lovely Bloggers

1. Kelly at My Simple Walk:


Tons of craft videos and inspiration for living simply! I love that Kelly is documenting her journey towards living with 100 things. That is awesome. Check out her most recent post, a video on making Christmas tree ornaments!

Heather has compiled some wonderful DIY home decor tutorials. If you are looking for some inspiration, skip google, and go here. She has already done the work, and has wonderful taste! Thanks Heather!

Post It Note Tuesday!




Only Parent Chronicles

DIY Yarn Scrap Christmas Trees!



I saw these little beauties at my local yarn shop (knitting Christmas presents like nobody’s business). What a great project for scrap yarn. Had to share!!And here is the rest of it

Lightly Felted Men’s Fingerless Gloves With Pattern



It is crunch time folks, and I am knitting myself right into an arthritis diagnosis. I do this every Christmas. Handmade mania with an emphasis on wooly treasures to temper the winter freezes.My nephew wanted fingerless mitts and here is what I came up with (after making 3 oddly shaped gloves I would rather forget). I used Stitch Nation yarn by Debbie Stoller called “Full o’ Sheep”, 100% peruvian wool.


Here is the pattern I used, which I found at Piece By Piece. I used size 5 circular needles and the magic loop method. This pattern called for size 6 needles, but i knit BIG, so I dropped down a size. I also decided to machine wash felt the finished mitts for 10 minutes. It makes a fuzzier, tighter, neater knit, smaller mitt. Taylor will love. I am considering some button embellishments or maybe some embroidery. Off to knit more…

Last Name Wall Art DIY

LANIERWALL2



I saw these 6 rounded corner square pics at Goodwill and picked them up for a total of $3. It occurred to me in the store that my last name has 6 letters… perfect. I have been wanting to create thrifty last name wall art for awhile now. Check out the steps I took…”1. I lightly sanded the pics and cleaned away debris with a damp towel.
2. Cut scrapbook paper to size and adhere to surface using matte gel medium, mod podge or decoupage medium of your choice
3. Smooth paper to remove any air bubbles using brayer (This step is quite effective in getting rid of bumps).
4. To create the backgrounds: I did an acrylic wash using a dab of red “Golden” brand acrylic with water; let dry completely. I then stamped on the papers randomly with texture patterns in bright orange, painted white acrylic dots of varying sizes randomly, painted a white border with graphite pencil drop shadow, sprayed with shimmer mist and doodled starbursts and scratches…
5. The Name: Draw letters onto boards; I used vinyl stencils I cut out with my cricut and white acrylic paint to do mine. I outlined and blended with graphite pencil to make the letters stand out.
6. Seal with acrylic fixative
7. I adhered to wall using Command picture hanging strips…

 

That is all. Fun customized thrifty last name wall art! You can create some amazing effects with layering stamps, acrylic washes, doodles, textures, fibers, fabrics, tissue paper. My favorite thing about layering is you can feel free to try whatever you want, and if the outcome is not quite what you had hoped, just cover over the top with something different. This takes off the pressure I place on myself to make it perfect, and frees me to be spontaneous. You can do this on any surface. You may need to prime with Gesso first. I didn’t since I was using cardstock.Total cost: $3 + materials I had on hand. SCORE.

Thrifty Thursday Blog Hop Week 2


Back for week 2 of Thrifty Thursdays blog hop. The idea is to link to your frugal post, whether it be a DIY, recipe, tip, coupon… if you like it, link it. If you don’t have a thrifty post to link to, feel welcome to join the hop anyway, and link to your main blog.

Other stuff:
*Grab my “Thrifty Thursday” button above and throw it on your lovely site. I love the attention, really I do. I wanna have a big ol’ blog party, so help me out if you are so inclined.
*I will choose 2 participants to feature the following Thursday, and I will place their button in my ad space for the week. Free adverts. Woohoo. Please drop by and say hello to the feature bloggers. And follow them if it pleases!
*Follow the blogs that toot your horn, and feel free to follow anyone who follows you. Leave a comment when you follow so that the blogger will know you are a new follower.
*Leave me a comment (see above, I like the attention)!

Feature Lovely Bloggers:
1. Vintage Wanna Be
I just recently found this blog and love it. I don’t know how this girl maintains her site while doing the college student deal, but she is fabulous! At 21 years of age, she has endured some major challenges (oh yeah, she has a personal blog too) and has shone brightly, loves life, and is brilliantly creative. I can’t wait to try out Nichelle’s satin flower tutorial, here. She has wonderful ideas for hair accessories. Show her some lovin. You will be impressed too!

Angela at Green Submarine has a host of inspirational DIY projects. Just go there. When I need project ideas, I can pop over to GS and my “to do” list grows exponentially. Go say hi to her, and be ready to get creative.

Post It Note Tuesday!





This hop is wonderfully therapeutic. Thanks for enduring my unloading. You should totally join this. Here is the link…

Only Parent Chronicles

DIY Starburst Christmas Tree Topper With Free Cricut SVG File





I had been stewing over my inability to locate our starburst tree topper since moving, when I ran across this post at How About Orange complete with tutorial and all.
As soon as I saw it, I was reminded of my missing topper I got at Target a couple of years back, and knew this would be a wonderful replacement. Hello… it is DIY with PAPER, and I even figured out how to incorporate my beloved Cricut!! Jessica at How About Orange (if this is your first time to her wonderful site of inspiration galore, you are welcome) used a template to cut circles and the lines from the outer edge to the center. I decided to make a file I could cut out using Sure Cuts A lot and Cricut.

File available here:
I made my circles 6 inches each. You need 10 of them, as you see in Jessica’s tutorial. Other than the cricut and the circle size, I did mine just like she did. Then I stuck it on top of my tree and freed myself from the frustration of my missing starburst, while satisfying my DIY addiction. YAY!


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