a crochet pincushion

I have a sweet little crochet project to share with you today:

The photo-tutorial pattern is available from Sandra over at Cherry Heart

There's also a Ravelry download here.

The pattern is based on an African Flower Hexagon that I am all too familiar with from this work-in-progress:

The blanket was apparently too much for me to take on, but a pincushion?  A pincushion I can handle.

It worked up so quickly, I made two.  In one day.  

Seriously, I know.

The first one I made on the right followed the pattern as Sandra wrote it.

When I was working on the second one, I had a brainstorm of an idea to make a second hexagon so the bottom of the cushion could be as pretty as the top.  The above left shows that bottom.

 Then I followed Sandra's pattern for the sides and before decreasing, attached the bottom hex working the front loops only (at least that's how I remember it).  I'll be working on another one soon, so I'll pay better attention and let you know if that's not right.

These will be perfect little gifts for my sewing friends.

What crochet projects are you working on lately? 

Thanks for stopping by!

why hello there!

Oh my poor little dusty and neglected blog.  

I lay in bed last night with a deep desire to get on here.  So I grabbed this

to do notebook

and made a list.

Good things come from lists, don't they?

It's been way too long.  Where to even begin?

Summer was good to us.

It was short and long at the same time.

It was relaxed (a little bit too much if you look at the lack of posts around here!).

It was at times, dare I say, boring.

We didn't do a whole lot, and the boys had more than their fair share of:

video games (oh and ice cream!)

But now fall is in the air.  

The leaves are just beginning to show hints of earthy tones. 

Nights are cool, and mornings are chilly enough for sweatshirts.

School buses are running, and I'm looking forward to returning to the classroom part-time as a kindergarten aide.  

So, so excited!  

I'll be working just three days a week, and I couldn't be looking forward to this new schedule more. 

Hello two whole days off--I think I love you!

One day for errands and house work.

And one day for creative bliss (and blogging, I hope!)

I can't wait!

So I dedicated today to project photography, editing, and drafting posts (in between loads of laundry).  I probably got a little overzealous, seeing as the boys will start coming home in about 2 hours and this is my first post.  

But here's a little peek of what's to come this week:

dipping the pen (and other art journaling endeavors)

crochet pincushion

trudging through Project Life

summer embroidery

 All this blogging stuff is more fun when you have a furry little helper {who just wants to lay all over your projects when you're trying to photograph them} to keep you company.

It feels so good to be back!

ps.  The day I found out I got my job in the school, I also received this little bit of news:

So thrilled! 

Can't wait to share more when they reveal their new website.  

You can check out more about Accucut here, and also take a visit to some of the very talented girls I'll be working with here.

a sunrise and some scrapbooking

Summer is drifting right along here.  

We returned from our annual vacation to Maine: sun, sea, sand, shops, and seafood (and lots of photos to edit and print). 

 I watched my first sunrise on the horizon.

These unedited photos don't come close to capturing the color and beauty.  It was a very moving experience.  A reminder of how blessed we are each day, how each day is a beautiful, new beginning.  It made me feel infinitely small, yet large and powerful.  

And since I came home to a nice clean house, I decided to sit down in my stUdio for a bit and create.

I picked up a rainbow of Faber Castell Gel Sticks on our trip.

From what I can tell, these are very much the same as the FC Gelatos: smooth, rich, blendable color and for a cheaper price (I paid $12 for the set of 12 colors in a toy shop in Portland, but you can get them online for even less.)

To wake up my creative mind (which may have still been lounging at the beach), I tuned into one of the Two Peas in a Bucket videos {this one}.  Lately, I've been loving watching the Garden Girls' videos to spark some creativity, even if I just have one playing in the background while I make a page, or clean up my space.

Techniques used:

1) using spray mist wand to draw heart (shown in video) and splatter ink

2) spraying mist on bubble wrap and stamping onto page

3) coloring gelatos on paper and blending with wet finger

4) lots of layers from leftover scraps

5) creating cut files in Silhouette Designer Edition software using arrows, a font and the weld feature

Thanks for stopping by!

getting stitchy

This summer I joined a club.

I love Wild Olive's fanciful designs and, I loved the concept of a weekly pattern emailed to me.

So I signed up without hesitating.  

Then I kind of regretted it.  

One thing I did not need was another project hanging over my head, another unfinished object staring at me from a basket.  I already had two crochet blankets in the works, a pair of slippers that I started two years ago, a December Daily album from 2009, an embroidery sampler from a class last year, and well, we all know how this year's Project Life is going.

But then Mollie's first pattern arrived in my inbox and I was in love.

I gathered some supplies from my stash

and got right to work stitching fabric hexagons (my first time doing paper piecing) and cutie Wild Olive summer motifs.

So I'm all in, stitching away these summer days, and hopeful that this is one project that will not end up in a basket of UFO's.  Being motivated by everyone else's progress on Instagram definitely helps.

(and stitching is the perfect little poolside project.)

I'm pretty sure you can still sign up here if you're interested.

What little crafty projects are you working on this sumer?

google+ and blog lovin'

I'm sure you've heard all the fuss about Google Reader shutting down on July 1.

So I have a little favor to ask you:

If you like reading my blog (and i love you for that), 

please click below:

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

And while we're at it,  I've also created a Life Made Creations Google+ page:

It's a little lonely there (note the lone 1 in my circles).  I'm still trying to figure that whole thing out, but if you are on Google+ you can join my circles here (do I sound like I know what I am talking about, because I am totally faking it!)