Inspiration Boards

I have two favorite places to search for inspiration for future crafting projects. I can easily get distracted for a few hours searching through all the tutorials, patterns and ideas out there.

One addicting site is Pinterest, which has been a great source of many free patterns or ideas of patterns to make up myself. I wish I had time to try out all the things I've found! I'm always looking for something new for my crocheting, knitting or sewing boards.

 

 

The second place is Etsy. I love looking through other people's work and combining the things I see into something new. I just started creating treasury lists. I just get inspired by a color or a theme and a treasury list is a way to keep a collection of things together. Here are the lists I've posted so far.

I try to only include things that I would use or love to have. So a lot of the items end up being crafting supplies, or crochet items. :)

If you like what you see, I'd love to have you follow me on Pinterest or on Etsy and get inspired!!

Garlands, Banners and Bunting, Oh My!

Besides making many crocheted hats, I've been busy with some holiday garlands, as well as name banners. They are quickly turning into a popular item in my facebook shop. I love making these because each one turns out so different depending on the colors used.

Two years ago I came across a kit at my local quilt shop with materials to make a heart garland for Valentine's Day. I loved how easy and quick it was to make! Shortly after, I came up with my own template to make a shamrock one for St. Patrick's Day. These are the two I made then.

 

This year, I've been so busy with making hats, I asked my sister-in-law if she wanted to tackle making some garlands and banners. She made the garlands for the few orders we had for V-day and St. Paddy's. Then I came up with some new templates and she made this one for Easter. We put a surprise white Easter bunny in the middle of the eggs!

 

My sister-in-law also helped me with some name banners. As I said before, I love how they all turn out so different because of the colors.



One of my mother's friends ordered this name banner and a birthday bunting.We used glittery fabric for these two.

 

And don't forget about the birthday banner I made earlier this year! I made a matching one in blue for boys to use.

 

I just got an order for another name banner for a little boy's nursery. Gray, orange and turquoise...I can't wait to see how it turns out!!



Christmas Stockings

Last year, a few weeks before Christmas I decided I wanted to make stockings for our little family of three. So I went to the local quilt shop and bought some fabric to make them. Then I realized I needed a lining for the inside and I wanted to use muslin because it's cheaper and no one is really going to be looking at the inside anyway. Well, I guess that was my big downfall because I never got the muslin before Christmas, so they didn't get done last year.

This last summer I had bought muslin for another project so I pulled out the stockings again. And they sat on my ironing board for months. Again.

Finally right after Thanksgiving I started to finish Little Bub's stocking. I figured his was the most important anyway and if I didn't finish the other ones, oh well.

I have a great quilting book by Eleanor Burns called Christmas at Bear Paw Ranch that had a great stocking pattern in it. She makes crazy striped stocking, but I wanted mine to be solid with an applique, but here is a link to the pattern for free online (look for strip stocking). I just used her steps and the outline shape of the stocking. Warning: They are pretty big stockings!

For Little Bub's stocking I made a gingerbread man applique. I actually drew the gingerbread man!  For Daddy's stocking, I drew an elf (at his request) based on the elves from the Rudolph movie. For myself, I used cookie cutters and traced snowflakes onto paper. I used Heat 'N Bond, buttons and embroidery floss for all of the stockings.

 

And in case you're wondering, like most everyone else, I do have some fabric for stockings for any future children. No misfits in this house!