"Mr. Fix-It"

The other day I was trying to organize my little office when I stumbled across my birthday "card" from my dad. I love my dad, and I love his creativity. He is always building the coolest stuff for my niece and nephew. This card is simple enough in design, but I love the mind that came up with the idea. Even if I had to "work for it".

It's hard to see here, but this is constructed of two pieces of wood.

Notice the screws in the corner?

And the fun surprise inside when you unscrew it.

This was such a fun surprise. My birthday was months ago, I've been meaning to share this for a while.  Thanks dad, you made my day!

All About Mom's

I don't think it's possible to truly express just how much we love and appreciate our mom's. Still, we do love and appreciate them, so of course we have to try.

While it may be true that card companies take advantage of holidays, you have to admit that cards are a great way to express our feelings. That's why I love handmade cards. In my mind, at least, they show the person that I took a little extra time to create something special for them.  So of course, as I prepared for Mother's Day, my thoughts turned first to cards.

"On Mother's Day"

"And every day"

"We love you"

As I've mentioned before, my mother-in-law is particularly difficult to choose gifts for because she only accepts handmade items.  For someone who crafts as much as I do, I know this shouldn't be hard, but I try to give people things that I think they will use. That's why, when I saw this pattern, I realized that it's always fun to have a new purse.

 The body of the purse was pretty easy and came together fairly quickly. What I failed to realize until I was nearly done, was that I was going to have to hand sew the inner lining. Not impossible, just annoying. Oddly enough, I can work with seed beads and crochet thread, but hand sewing really tries my patience. It just never comes out how I would like. I actually sewed the lining for this three times. It's not perfect, but much better than the first two tries. Hopefully, she will enjoy using it during a special evening out.

Flowers Squared

Since my first request for a doily, I have fallen in love with crocheting with thread. It takes a little adjustment, not only to work with the tiny little needle, but to make your fingers hold the skinny little thread, especially after working with yarn. But once your fingers are convinced that the movements are the same, everything just comes together.

Lately, I have been looking for the perfect pattern for a background for a new memo board for my kitchen. There are a lot of beautiful patterns out there, but while playing around, my fingers came up with this:

 I've designed patterns for lots of different things, but never anything like this. It's very basic, simple and maybe even plain in comparison to some that I've seen, but here it is. Of course, it's only a few inches wide, so I made several more, joining them as I went. I added a border  and came up with this:

Add a picture frame:

and any dry erase marker:

And you have a beautiful memo board. At least I think so. I was pleased to hear that my husband agreed. I hung this right by our door so that we can write grocery notes, bill reminders, whatever we need to remember before we head out to run errands. This is really going to help.

Usually, I don't share my patterns. Not because I don't want to share but because usually when I write them down, they only make sense to me. This pattern has only been tested by me, so if you decide to try it, certainly let me know if you have any problems or questions! The pattern is as follows:

Flower Squared Pattern

Round one: ch 6, join with slst. ch 2, hdc 11 in circle- 12 hdc.

Round two: ch 2, 2 trc cl in same st as joining. *(ch 5, slst in 4th ch from hk (picot made). ch 1, 3 trc cl in next sp) repeat from * around. slst to top of beg ch. (12 petals, 12 picots)

Round three: sc in joining. *(ch 6, skip picot, sc in tip of next 3trc cl.) repeat from * 11 x's. ch 3, trc in beg sc.

Round four: sc in top of joining trc. (ch 5, sc in next ch 6 sp, ch 6, slst in 3rd ch from hk (picot made), ch 3, sc in next ch 6 sp, ch 5, sc in next ch 6 sp) 3 x's. ch 5, sc in next ch 6 sp, ch 6, slst in 3rd ch from hk, ch 3, sc in next ch 6 sp, ch 3, dc in joining sc.

Round five: ch 1, sc in top of dc. [ch 6, sc in next ch 5 sp, ch 6, (sc, ch 4, sc) all in picot, ch 6, sc in next ch 5 sp] 4 x's, join in beg sc.

Round six: slst to next ch 6 sp, ch 1, [6sc in next 2 ch6 spaces, (sc, hdc, dc, ch 1, dc, hdc, sc) all in next ch 4 space, 6 sc in next ch 6 sp] 4 x's. slst to beg sc. fasten off. weave in ends.

I Lost My Groove!

Since our move, I can't seem to find my groove. I keep wondering if it fell off the moving truck somewhere between here and there. I was so excited about moving into this townhouse. When we walked through it with the realtor, I was secretly thrilled to discover this little closet sized room in the farthest corner of the basement. In my mind I was already transforming it into my craft room. My yarn could hang in the closet, my desk could go in that corner, my bookshelf could go under the window.....

Luckily, my sweet, patient, and understanding husband had the same thought, so my yarn is hanging in the closet, my desk is  in the corner, and there is a bookshelf under the window. However, I don't seem to venture into my special little nook as much as I'd like.

These days, rather than a crochet hook, scissors, or a sewing needle,  I brandish a hammer, a measuring tape and a screwdriver. Sadly, my sewing machine sits in my parents basement among a pile of other items that there simple was not room for on the truck. What was I thinking?! So, while I'd like to be sewing new covers for my old throw pillows,  I instead find myself hanging curtain rods, dusting nic nacs, and rummaging through storage boxes in a desperate search for my lost groove.

 I was grateful when my sister called and requested a baby blanket. What a perfect project to get me back into the swing of things. Although it isn't anything fancy and it took me much longer than it should have, I hope that a precious baby boy will enjoy being all wrapped up in this soft and cuddly blanket. 

A simple stitch, but so soft!

Between a birthday, the move, and life in general, I found it necessary to thank an awful lot of people. So, yes, once again, we are back to cards. Lots of cards.

After making all of these, I had a thought tickling at my brain. I'm a little surprised that I made it work, though not perfectly, but check out these interactive cards I made for my niece and nephew.

Wondering why there's a popsicle stick poking out? Unfold the card and see.

Hmmmm....

What happens when we move Thomas?

 A secret message appears!

And of course, for the lover of all things horse:

 I think they'll really have fun with these! If I were to do this again, I would play with the background a lot more, but for a first time try, I am pleased with the results.

Phew, that was a post- ful!!  Hopefully soon, I'll have more to share. A few cards, but hopefully some other projects, too! Stay tuned....

Baby and Mommy gifts

Did you know that March is National Craft Month? One good thing about crafting of any kind, it's a good form of procrastination! My husband and I just found out that he got a new job and we have to be ready to move in less than a week. Still, I find myself looking for ways to put off packing. Actually, I'm really sad that I don't actually have time to focus on crafts right now, but am glad I've found time to fit in a few last minute gifts.

A friend of mine had a baby a few weeks ago. When I asked her what she wanted, all she would allow me to do for her was a very simple pair of baby booties. Honestly, she had no idea what she was doing to me, asking for "simple". There are so many cute ideas out there, simple was the last thing I wanted to do. Still, out of respect for her, I finally went to my baby bootie pattern that I used to use when I made booties for the Church's' Humanitarian program. When all was said and done, in my humble opinion, these simple baby booties are darn cute!

Still, I decided to be sneaky. Since she would only let me make booties for her new baby boy, I decided to make a "mommy gift". I chose two things that she had admired in the past. First, my most favorite crochet Mary Jane slippers. This picture doesn't do them justice. They are adorable and OH so comfy!

I added some tiny crochet flower details.

Second, this pearl ring that I have been receiving loads of compliments on lately. A few weeks ago at church, a woman stopped me in the hall to tell me how much she liked it. When i admit that I had made it, she studied it up close and had me walk through the steps of how I'd done it. Hopefully, my friend will like it just as much. And since I won't be in the ward anymore, she'll be the only one to have one like it!

Hurry Spring! Birthday Card

Lately my efforts have been more focused on reorganizing my craft supplies than on actually using them. Trust me when I say, it's a lot of work and it's long overdue! However, I realized today that all my recent creations are of the paper variety, especially cards. I admit that today's post is following that theme!

I don't know about you, but where we are, we just wish the weather would make up its' mind. 50 degrees and beautiful one day, snow and bitter winds the next. I think we are all ready and yearning for Spring to be sprung already!!!

Usually I put a lot of thought and even research into my cards before I do them. This one, however, fell right into place. Not only has the recipient shown interest in Iris Folding, she has these sweet little porcelain birds sitting around her home. Add to that a touch of spring, and viola!! It's perfect!

Special cards for special people

February 25th turned out to be a very busy day this year! Not only was it my hubbies birthday, a friend of mine also got married!! What an exciting day!

Special days mean special cards. Homemade cards for guys are always sort of hard. You don't want them to come out feminine in any way but you can only do fish themed cards so much... I think I managed okay with my husbands' birthday card this year. He even complimented it!

The "congrats on your marriage" card was even harder. I wanted it to be something really special, especially since I wasn't able to be there. I wanted her to know that I cared enough to take the time. Hopefully, it shows! It actually took me a few days to put together, after thinking about it and studying it out for weeks. Then it didn't turn out anything like I originally planned. I think I'm okay with that...