Granny square goodness...

When I discovered flickr and "dottie angel", I almost instantly fell in love with the granny square (of course the one shown in this photo is actually a granny circle, but you see what I mean) and the style they call "granny chic". Ooh... to have a house full of mid-century modern furniture, afghans, and doilies is a dream. Since I live with a man who apparently has an opinion on home decor, I've been working on compromising. (Not that I'm complaining or don't like the direction we're going in. Its just different from what I have in my head.)

Anyway, my love for granny squares moved my determination to learn how to crochet one. My mother had taught me how to crochet YEARS ago, when I was IDK... 10 or so. I knew if I had someone there to teach me, I could pick it up. Since I don't know anyone who actually crochets granny squares, I took advantage of the good ol' interweb. I looked it up on youtube and found a tutorial.

That helped me some, but I was doing something wrong. I couldn't figure it out. Then I remembered Carol's post. She had written a granny square tutorial. I basically merged the two together to fill in the blanks. What one tutorial was missing, the other made up for. I was crocheting my little granny square blanket in no time!

I've been working on it for about two weeks, now. Any time I want to just unwind, I break out my crochet! I started with the big piece in the middle. I was just going to keep crocheting a big square until it was the right size. Then I realized it would be square, and not the shape I wanted. So I bought a skein of aqua yarn to add some color, and give it the right shape I wanted.

I know I messed up a little. I didn't want to undo all the squares, though. So I just filled in my gap with single crochet. Its not completely done yet, but I'm sure it will be nice when it is.

Despite my mistake, I am so proud of myself. I took the time to teach myself something new, and I actually followed through. (I have a bad habit of giving up on stuff. And I don't foresee me giving up on this because I have enjoyed it so much!) Now I have a new talent. AND I actually crocheted SOMETHING instead of just a chain! Next up... zig zag crochet!!

Happy little hearts...

I finally got around to making hearts for my Etsy shop. These are items that will be part of my "Have a Heart" collection, raising money for heart patients.

I went crazy the other night trying to find the pin backs I had bought. I ended up cleaning and organizing our spare room, a.k.a. the "craft room", and still couldn't find where I had laid them down. It was worth it, though, because I've been meaning to clean out the room so I could sew and craft in there again.

The next morning I actually found the backs, sitting on top of the desk in the craft room. OMG! Right in front of my face! So I hot glued them on and this afternoon, took some photos.

As I had planned, I made a few as key chains, or you could use them as charms, and a few as pins/brooches. (I think they're pretty cute.) They're really simple, but still nice. The backs are made from felt, and the front is woven cotton fabric. They're all stuffed, for a nice "plushie" look. Later I'll make some brooches that aren't, so that they lay flatter if you like that look better.

I can't help but smile when I look at them. I'm proud of my work, but also, cute stuff just makes me happy. I love that my life has taken this interesting turn, and I have the time to create cool stuff. I do something crafty every day, and hopefully that will bring joy to more than just myself.

My Surprise Ball!

I was fortunate enough to get in on the "Surprise Ball" gift exchange hosted by Melissa over at "Oh, My Darling". What a great idea! It was really an exciting process, finding things to put into my partner, Angie's ball. And then figuring out HOW to make the ball round was interesting. I didn't take pictures of the one I made, but it came out a little cone-shaped. (Just a little.)

My ball came in the mail yesterday, but I wasn't able to pick it up until this morning. I couldn't wait to open my box and start unwrapping my ball! It was like being a little kid again.

My partner was Angie, from "angie may handmade". I've posted about Angie a couple of times. She has a gorgeous Etsy shop, where she sells jewelry, little owls, and other things she's made. I was lucky enough to get a little owl in my ball! He's so cute, and will live with his brothers in my shadowbox.

I ended up with a lot of cute stuff! A lot of Hello Kitty, which is probably one of my most favorite things ever. She also found miniature art supplies. A tiny set of watercolors and colored pencils. Even a little keychain notepad! Adorable.

I was really excited when I saw the hair flowers Angie included. I have to go to a party Thursday night and dress like a "pin up" girl, or at least accessorize accordingly. ;) They are PERFECT, and now I won't have to make my own hair flower!

She also included a really great quote that will be going in my "art journal". It says:

I totally believe that. My life has been much richer and more meaningful since I've gotten back into my crafting. It had been YEARS since I sat down at my sewing machine or tried to learn how to make something new. I've been doing something creative almost every day for the last few weeks. It's amazing the pride, fulfillment, even the frustration at times, that you can feel. There's nothing better than looking at something you've made and knowing you did a good job, even if the process was difficult at times.

Thank you so much, Angie! I love everything you put into my ball, and appreciate your hard work and thoughtfulness. I hope you like your "Surprise Ball" as much as I do mine! :)

Kitchen cabinets...

Kris, my fiancé, and I moved into our apartment at the end of January. It was a blank canvas for us, all white and beige. We have the option of painting the walls, which a lot of renters don't, so we're kind of lucky.

If you're one of those renters who cannot paint without breaking your lease, there's a few simple things you can do to add a little color and personality to your home. Today, I'm going to discuss my kitchen cabinets.

I added vinyl wall decals to my cheap "plastic" cabinets.

I saw these cute bird decals at Target on clearance and bought two packages, planning on using them on the kitchen walls. Now, if you're walls are highly textured like mine, they won't stick. They just kept falling off. I thought I had wasted my money, until I realized how cute they might look up on the cabinets. So here's what you do:

First, clean the surface cabinets. If yours are actual wood, you may want to use a wood cleaner, otherwise a simple all-purpose cleaner is fine.

After you've cleaned the cabinets and they're completely dry, you can figure out where you want to place the decals. I had a lot of decals, but I didn't want my kitchen to look too tacky, so I only used about half of what I had on hand.

As you're placing them on the cabinet, smooth out any air bubbles that appear. It may take a couple of times to get it just right, but don't worry 'cuz the adhesive stays sticky a long time!

In all, I used the decals on four cabinet doors in the kitchen and two in my "laundry room" (below). Since you only see one set from the living room, they look more like a cute little accent. People always think I actually painted the cabinets, but I'm sure that's NOT allowed.

There are all different styles of wall decals. You can buy them at craft stores, home improvement stores, IKEA, you can even buy them off Etsy! I think they're great because they aren't permanent. When you get sick of them, you can just peel them off!

Do you have a decorating tip you'd like to share?

Surprise Ball Gift Exchange

I read a lot of blogs, which lead me to reading other blogs. So I stumbled across the blog, "Oh, My Darling", where the author, Melissa, is sponsoring a gift exchange. I read the details, and was super excited.

You can use a plastic egg and fill it with whatever goodies you can fit inside. Then you wrap it with crepe paper. As you wrap the ball, you add all kinds of trinkets to the outside, so that when the recipient is unwrapping more items fall out of the ball.

What fun! It reminded me of being a little kid. This is the sort of thing I would love to start with my friends. If you would like to read about the Surprise Ball Gift Exchange, here's the link:

http://o-my-darling.blogspot.com/2010/07/surprise-ball-gift-exchange.html

I'm hoping that the ball is easy to make. I guess it doesn't have to be perfectly round, but I'm such a perfectionist. I can't wait to get my buddy and start on this project! :)