Happy Easter!

 

Happy Easter from this sad little bunny! He loved the peeps but hated the bunny hat.

 

 

See? All better! :)

Photos from Lissa May Photography.

Itty Bitty Easter

Here are some little quick projects I've been working on in between orders. They are super quick and easy to make, especially when you follow the great tutorials.

The first item is a little bow. I found this tutorial at craftiness is not optional. I can't say enough about this little tutorial. It's super easy and super quick. I literally made this bow in about 15 minutes. If you are a beginner, than this tutorial is perfect because it has step by step pictures to help you through the process. If you are a little more seasoned, then it just has the pattern at the top. Perfect!

 

This bow was for a Dr. Seuss set I made, but I thought I'd give it a try as a hair accessory. So cute! You could just bobby pin it in place or sew it to a headband. Or you could use them as I intended for this one and make a little bow tie (you just have to add a strap with a little button to go around the neck). I will definitely be making more of these.

 

Next up is the bunny applique. This is another great picture tutorial. I found it at Love the Blue Bird. Again, this is great for a beginner or an old pro. I love how it's a backside view of the bunny. The little tail was really easy to make!!

I thought these might be great for sewing on a hat, headband or blanket. I even thought some people might like to attach it to a pin for Easter! If I had enough time, I would make them in lots of bright spring colors for a garland.

 

 

Finally, I whipped up a little mini Easter basket. I shared a picture before of how I was inspired by the basket pattern I found at Craftsanity. The pattern was pretty easy and it didn't take very long. I've been thinking about upgrading and trying to make a bigger basket for Little Bub to collect Easter eggs. It would be lightweight, but big enough to hold a few eggs. 

 

If you have any time before Easter, these are three easy and quick projects that will make your little ones smile. Have fun!



St. Patrick's Suspenders

Just popping in to say I hope you enjoyed your St. Patrick's Day celebrations yesterday. In honor of the occasion, I made Little Bub his own bow tie and suspender set.

 

He doesn't much care for either, but he was content to let me put them on him if I let him play with the sewing machine. ;)

 

I used the tutorial from Make It & Love It for the suspenders. Super easy to follow directions with pictures. The only trouble I had was that I wanted to include snaps on the front so I could lengthen the straps for next year. It took quite a lot of banging and extra snaps. Oof.

 

For the bow tie, I found another great tutorial at Paper & Stitch. Again, lots of pictures and detailed instructions for a beginner like myself.

 

I hope to have enough time to make a set for Easter. I'm still looking for the perfect fabric to go with the little blue and white seersucker blazer I bought for Little Bub. I can't wait until his Easter pictures!

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!!

Fantastic Fringe

For me, the best part of crocheting is finding different things to make while testing and expanding my skills. When Lissa May Photography asked me to make a fringe blanket for her, I was pretty nervous because I thought it would be a huge undertaking. She wanted one with spring colors that could be used for both boys and girls.
I was inspired by the fringe blanket here, that I found on etsy. I did end up buying the pattern from Sunset Crochet. It has the option of making it into a hammock for newborns, which is pretty cool.
I bought 7 skeins of yarn to use in this project.

Here is the shopping list:

• Lion Brand Homespun: Hepple White
• Lion Brand Hometown: Daytona Lemon
• Lion Brand Fun Fur: Ivory
• Sensations Beautiful: White
• Sensations Wave: Turquoise Lime
• Tizzy: Sweet Green Pea
• Red Heart Pomp-a-Doodle: Fluff

After making the blanket/hammock part with the white homespun yarn, I was ready to start cutting the pieces for the fringe. It was actually easier and faster than I thought. I just wrapped the whole skein of yarn around the back of one of our dining room chairs. I started with what was left of the homespun and did the same for all the skeins. I cut down along one edge of the chair to make the long strips. This is what it looked like when I was done.

 

Then I took one piece of each different kind of yarn and looped and knotted it through the end of each row all the way around the blanket. I have to say I was so proud with how it turned out. I even had a few skeins of yarn that I didn't even use!

 

I think the best part was buying and using yarn that I have never used before. I hope to make another one soon!

Little Leprechauns

A couple of weeks ago I had a sale in my shop for leprechaun hats. It is one of my favorite hats because it is adorable and so quick and easy to make. Last year I made one for Little Bub.

This year with the sale I made 4! One customer wanted a little bow tie to go with it. I love how it turned out! This picture from Cortney Rowley Photography is wonderful!

Since I made Little Bub a leprechaun hat last year, I wanted to make him something a little different for this year. I was inspired by the color block hat from Micah Makes. I followed the directions for her versatile earflap hat and then added a large, dark green shamrock to the front. It came out exactly like I pictured it.

 

I finished it just in time for Little Bub to wear for a few weeks. It's a little big and keeps slipping forward and covering his eyes, but he is too cute!

 

I'm not sure if I'll be making an Easter hat for him this year. I'm running out of time and I have no ideas. Any suggestions?

Sixteen Months

Today Little Bub is sixteen months old. It seems like we just had his birthday! During Little Bub's first year, I took a picture each month as he grew. I thought I would continue that as he grew, at least until his second birthday, but it's hard to find the time. Also, his baby book doesn't have entries for those months, yet I feel like they should because he is still learning so much each month and growing so fast that I feel like I won't remember all of it!

 

 

So this is going to be my baby book entry for 16 months of new things since his last entry.

 

Sleeping patterns: 7/8 PM-7 AM; 1 nap per day about 1.5-2 hours

Eating habits: Breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner; will try just about anything; often eats whole grilled cheese sandwiches, slices of pizza and pancakes

 

 

Favorite foods: peaches, pears, string cheese, yogurt, pizza, pancakes, bananas, lunch meat, grilled cheese, and BREAD (especially garlic bread)

New foods: hot dogs, Chinese food, pulled pork, Chef Boyardee Ravioli

New skills: walking, riding the tricycle, using the potty, shape sorting, following directions, swimming without any adult help, climbing into little rocking chair, flushing the toilet, feeding self with a fork

New words/signs: Nap, bath, blowing kisses, eat, more, drink, mama, milk, uh-oh, hot, brrr, yuck

Favorite activities: playing with Frankie (the dog), helping wash the dishes, reading books, looking out the window, coloring (read hoarding crayons), playing kitchen, throwing balls

 

 

And we can't forget his first haircut!!!