{ crochet } leafy twig

Yesterday, while stumbling around on Pinterest, I came across Mamachee's blog (how cute is she?!), and specifically this post where she clothes a naked branch with the cutest little crochet leaves ever.

So of course I had to whip some up.

They come together incredibly quickly, so I made a rainbow of them.

 I used DK weight yarn and an E hook.  I especially love her technique of slipstitching up the center of the leaf to create the "vein."  

My tip: don't fasten off first, just slip stitch to the first sc and begin slip stitching up the center to the picot stitch.  Also when I crocheted up the other side of the foundation chain, I crocheted over my tail--one less end to weave in makes me happy!

 I glued them to the ends of a fallen twig from the backyard with the teensiest drop of hot glue.  

And now this happy little branch adorns our kitchen windowsill and makes doing dishes a little more appealing (just a little).

floral wall art

Hello my little blog!

Couldn't let the entire month of April slip on by with only two posts.  Not sure what happened this month, and not about to make any excuses (like maybe gorgeous weather after a looooonnnnnggg winter indoors, or spring cleaning the house, or hosting the Easter holiday, or three boys home for a week off from school, or reading, reading, reading).  But one thing is for sure, I have actually been creating some fun projects that I promise to share with you in the coming days.  There might even be a free cut-file download just for sticking through this quiet-around-here month with me.

Once in a while you make something that you just fall utterly and totally in love with.  This is one of those projects.

I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut most of the flowers using gorgeous cut files from Jamie Cripps.  You can find her amazing designs in her Silhouette Store.

Her blog contains easy-to-follow instructions for assembling each of these fabulous blooms.

I had so much fun putting them all together to fill a metal ampersand I had scored on clearance at Target.

The inspiration for this project came from the amazingly talented Cole Franke.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

crochet mood blanket: march recap

Hello April, I could not be happier to see you!

The crochet mood blanket 2014 is still going {kinda} strong over here.  I fell a little off the wagon mid-month and had to play catch-up, but March is complete:

 I also figured out a double crochet edging for each month's blocks and decided to use the same Flat Braid to join the months together.
1) Join border yarn to any chain3 loop space on bottom side of panel.
2) ch4 (counts as first dc, ch1), 1dc in same space; 1dc, ch1, 1dc in next space.
3) Continue on working 1dc, ch1, 1dc in each chain3 loop space.
When two squares intersect, 1dc in first color, ch1, 1dc in next color.
At corners: ch2, 1dc, ch1, 1dc in corner space; ch2 and continue on as step 3 above.

At side where two panels will connect (joining one panel to the next): 1dc in chain3 loop space, pull hook out insert into opposite side in ch1 space between 2dc in same loop, put loop back on hook, ch1 and 1dc in same space.
1dc in next loop, pull hook out, insert hook into ch1 space, put loop back on hook, ch1, 1dc in same space.
At intersecting colors: 1dc in first color loop, pull out hook, insert in ch1 space on opposite side, put loop back on hook, ch1 dc in next color loop.  Continue flat braid join along side, and finish border on bottom side.
To finish: join with a slip stitch to 3rd chain in beginning ch4 and fasten off.

January and February joined

Thanks for stopping by!

purse to camera bag tutorial

Last week, I spent part of one of my days off making some custom-fit padding to turn a purse into a camera bag.  

And now I finally have a moment to share the how-to with you!

It all started with this bag I picked up on sale at Target

Originally,  I thought the front pockets would be perfect for holding lenses.  The problem: this purse lacked any type of padding to protect my little camera from bumps and bruises.

A quick search on Pinterest turned up a few tutorials that seemed easy enough.  Mostly I followed this one from Make It & Love It.

I started off with a trip to my local fabric and craft store to pick up some coordinating fabric, padding, and Velcro.

 The padding I chose is Fairfield's Soft n Crafty NU-Foam premium densified batting.  

Start by cutting a piece of pad to fit the bottom of your bag.  I just lined the pad with the bottom outside of the bag and snipped for the length and width then continued cutting at the snips to cut the entire rectangle.

Then cut a length of pad to fit the entire perimeter of the inside of your bag--I had to cut mine in two sections due to the size of the padding.

Dry fit the pad into your bag and make adjustments if needed.

Next, cut the fabric large enough to cover your pad pieces.  I left a good inch around the edges and cut along a fold to give a nice finished edge (and to have less to sew).

Before you sew the cover of the perimeter pad, you'll want to stitch on your Velcro strips.  I placed the strips (soft side) so they would be on the long sides of my bag and sewed around the entire edges of all four strips.

Fold fabric pieces right sides together and stitch, leaving an opening to turn your fabric and insert the padding.  Do this for both the bottom and side pieces.

To make the dividers, I followed Make It & Love It's directions (and forgot to snap pics!).  I didn't even bother stitching the base to the sides because I'm a lazy hand-stitcher it all stays together snuggly once inside the bag.

This project took under 2 hours (it would have been a lot faster, but my sewing machine and I had a couple of battles and I had to show it who was boss).  I'm thrilled with the result of a cute and trendy camera bag without the boutique price tag {materials: $15 + bag: $20 = total cost: $35}.

Happy Sewing!