"Fobulous" key rings

This little project was inspired by these cuties at 

Well, here's how that turned out:

Kind of blah.  I think the little monograms are what make hers so cute, and I was flat running out of time to be cutting and hand stitching felt letters to fabric.

So, I did my best Winnie the Pooh:

Think, think, think...

And came up with this:

Yo-Yo's.  I love them.  I could make them all day long (thanks to this handy little gadget)

I simply stitched two yo-yo's together through their button centers,

slipped a loop of ribbon between them, 

and ran a few stitches on the machine to fasten the ribbon.

Slip in a split ring and a printed tag and they are the perfect little thank you for the classroom assistants.

Crochet Mug Cozy

I have an easy little crochet pattern for you today.  Oh happy day!

I'm using the term "pattern" loosely here--it's more of a walkthrough so that your cozy will be custom fit to your mug.

First, you'll want to find yourself a cute little mug in a fabulously fun color.

Then, pull out some coordinating yarn and a hook.  You'll also need a largish button.

Chain a length nearly as tall as your mug:

sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across; ch 3; turn.

dc in each sc across; ch 1; turn.

If you want some subtle ribbing, work your sc rows in the back loops only of the dc.

Continue alternating rows of sc and dc until long enough to reach around circumference of mug on either side of the mug's handle.

Now we'll create the bottom chain attachment:

Chain a few stitches at one corner and sl st to the corner on the opposite side of handle

sl st in next few stitches (enough to get you to the section of mug between the top and bottom of the handle).

Next comes the strap that runs in the middle of the handle:

sc in the next few stitches until you reach the underside of the top part of the handle, ch 1, turn.

Continue these short rows of sc until the strap reaches through the mug handle and onto the crochet piece on the opposite side (it's good to overlap it a bit)

Complete an even number of rows for the strap, ch 1 and turn to create the button hole.

sc two or three stitches depending on how wide your strap is, chain a length long enough for your button to pass through; skip a stitch or two, then sc in the last two or three stitches.

Almost done.  Now we'll just finish off that top edge of the strap and get ourselves back to the other side of the fabric:

Simply sl st along top edge, and continue sl st to the top corner of the fabric.

ahem, that should read "along" not "slong."  Darn Photoshop doesn't have autocorrect.

Last thing.  Ch a length that will reach over the top of the handle to the opposite side of the fabric and sl st into top corner.  Fasten off, weave in your two little ends and stitch on a cute button.

Then steep some tea or brew some java and wrap your hands around your cute little cozy.

I hope this photo tutorial makes sense to you.  If you have any questions at all, drop me a line or leave a note in the comments.  And if you make one of these, I would love to see it!

Enjoy!

I have added this pattern to the Ravelry library, so if you hook one up add it to the projects so we can all see!

Ahhh, summer...

Yup, it's definitely summer around here.

Days spent lounging by splashing in pools, sucking on popsicles, playing baseball in the yard, washing endless loads of pool towels (and we don't even have a pool!), dinners on the grill.

And lots and lots of time with the boys.  I love it, but it also means that my crafty time suffers a bit, especially when I collapse into bed at the end of the day and only manage to read a page and a half of a book.  

Two things have kept me in the creating mode

this crocheted baby blanket for my cousin's new baby:

And this awesome class with Amy Powers:

Textured Grid Baby Blanket by Bernat

Bernat Baby Sport Textured Grid Baby Blanket

It has been a fun little blanket to hook up.  You repeat 6 rows 12 times so by about the third or fourth set, you've got the pattern memorized.  The crosses add just the right amount of airiness and the popcorns add some fun texture.  I can just imagine a little baby chewing and sucking on those little puffs of yarn.

Happy Go Lucky stitchalong

This class has been so much fun.  I haven't been able to stitch as much as I wanted, but I did get all the planning done:

*wrote my 25-item happy list (see below)

*sketched little doodles to go with each item

*chose a color scheme

*colored most of the sketches and their backgrounds

*selected the fabric, cut it to size and drew in the grid

*colored the fabric squares

*started transferring doodles onto the fabric

I have learned so much from Amy--she is so positive and encouraging and incredibly talented.  I did manage these three squares so far:

colored-in grid ready for drawings and stitchings

 Can't wait to get back to this happy little project!

Hope you are making some time to be creative, even when it's not easy to do.

Thanks so much for looking!

Thank You Cards

A couple of thank you cards I made for teachers.
{just found this post in my drafts--yup, it's definitely summer}

inspired by this card by Danni Reid

Paper Bag Card: the tutorial

I have the best kids in the world.  This morning they have worked in their summer journals, played hockey in the basement, listened to music on their iPods, and read their books so I could edit these pics and post this tutorial.  

Of course, I did bribe them with some M&M pancakes.

These cards came out so cute, I made a few different styles.

For the teachers:

teacher printable found at eighteen25

For the bus drivers:

summer printable found at eighteen25

For my Dad:

father's day printable found at a profitable life

I am so grateful to the amazing designers who create fabulous graphics and share them for free on their blogs!  The links to all the inserts are in the captions above.

And here's the really simple how to

click on the photo to view it larger

A couple of notes:

*I like to cut the top liner paper (polka-dotted one in the card above) longer and tuck the excess into the front pocket to cover up all the messiness in the paper bag.

*I use a circle punch to cut a little notch for the card insert to slip in and out (forgot to show that in the tute).

*On some, I used washi tape to create the band around the card.

If you give this style card a try, I would love to see your creation!

Thanks for looking, and I'm off for some outdoor fun with the boys!