Day 4 of the 12 Days of Christmas Challenge! Holly

         The third day of the 12 Days of Christmas is Holly. This was definitely the easiest pattern so far and took about 15 minutes. 

          The pattern is quick, cute, and simple. The berries are so small and cute and assembly was the hardest part. The pattern came from Lion Brand's website again. 

Tomorrow's item is is a Christmas Tree and that looks exciting and I'm looking forward to it.

4/12 Complete =) Post again soon

Day 6 of the 12 Days of Christmas Challenge! Snowflake

I didn't have much time today to crochet, but luckily I have already made snowflakes. So I will just share those :) I made these for the changeable weather scarf for Britney a couple years back. If you would like to see the other weather options or full post you can find that here: http://mylifewithyarn.blogspot.com/2013/12/christmas-gifts-i-made-this-christmas.html?m=1 

6/12 complete :) Post again soon

Day 5 of the 12 Days of Christmas Challenge! Tree

Day 5 of the 12 Days of Christmas Challenge is a Tree. This one was fun to make because I got to decorate it how ever I want. I don't know how to make French Knots so that was a challenge. 

Tomorrow's pattern is a snowflake. Post again soon :) 

Day 3 of the 12 Days of Christmas Challenge! Candy Cane

Day 3 for the 12 days of Christmas Challenge was a candy cane :) I'd been looking forward to making this for a couple days and whipped it up during my lunch. Which means it took about 20 mins.

It's about 4.5 inches tall and I thought the way the stripes are done gives it a neat look. 

Tomorrow's item is holly and the pattern comes from the same site as before. 3/12 complete :) post again soon

Day 2 of the 12 Days of Christmas Challenge! Present

           The 2nd day of the 12 Days of Christmas Crochet Challenge was a Present. The finished project was bigger than I had expected, at about 3" wide and 4" tall. It was a cute little pattern and used mostly beginner stitches and techniques. I got this pattern from the same place as the wreath, Lion Brand's Website. I think I may try a keep with the classic Christmas colors for most of the challenge.

Tomorrow's item is the Candy Cane and comes from the same site as the previous patterns. I have been super excited to make the candy cane so I hope it goes well.

             

2/12 complete! Post again soon

Day 1 of the 12 Days of Christmas Challenge! Wreath

The first day of Christmas is a tiny wreath motif :) sparkely green yarn tied with a red bow. I got the pattern from Lion Brand's Website ---> here. 

This took about 20 mins to make and that includes the time it took me to crochet the bow twice to get it just right :) 

I think it's pretty cute for such a quick and small item :) 1/12 complete! 

Tomorrow's item will be a Christmas Present and the patten is from the same set as the wreath 

http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/L32338.html

Post again soon! 

12 Days of Christmas Crochet Challenge!!

I had so much fun doing to crochet challenge in October that I decided to make my own challenge. That is how I came up with the 12 days of Christmas Crochet Challenge. Starting on Monday the 14th and continuing for 12 days until Dec 26th I will make one simple Crocheted Christmas item a day. Below is a rough calendar of the items I intend to crochet. 

The first day's item is a Wreath and the pattern I will be using is from Lion Brand's Website. http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/L32338.html  

Please follow along if you would like =) I chose very simple patterns that should take around 30 minutes a day to complete maximum. 

Post again Soon 

Crochet Challenge!! Day 29: Black

The last assigned theme is Black. Black is one of the hardest colors to crochet with, because it is difficult to see what you are doing with such a dark color. As soon as I noticed today's theme was black I knew what I wanted to make. It's a soot sprite from "Spirited Away". I've actually never finished this movie, but Kiki's delivery Service is my favorite movie and they are from the same studio. I simply crocheted a block ball and then Alfredo brushed the surface with a slicker brush until it became this furry, fluffy texture. 

Here is an example of what a slicker brush looks like and I actually found mine at the dollar store. They are meant for brushing animal hair, mostly fluffy dogs.  

You can find the challenge on usscrafty's blog:

Halloween Candy Wrappers

SWE needed a fundraiser for this year and as previously mentioned I love Halloween. So I figured putting them both together was a good idea. I spend a lot of time each day on Pinterest and found this cute idea. They also had a mini version, which is what we eventually used in the sale. This is their PDF for the mini versions. Unfortunately we did not have a paper cutting machine so we cut all of the shapes by hand. 

            When I showed the bats to the group a lot of people mentioned that not everyone likes chocolate. I spent a couple days brain storming and then came up with these. Twizzlers are one of my favorite candies. So I made the Twizzler gut Zombies. One side of the wrappers have been taped back and the other side is stuck through a slit and taped  to the back of the zombie abdomen. It looks like hanging guts which I really enjoy.   

          Then I got inspired to find other shapes that we could make in order to use up other colors in the variety pack paper I had. Ghosts were an obvious choice which I had also seen on Pinterest. I didn't use anyone's actual instructions, but I used the picture featured in this one as inspiration. 

            This is the finished table. We hung a clothes line between two twisty sticks and hung the candies up to bring more attention to the booth and to show off the shape. These would also be cute for parties or trick or treaters. 

Crochet Challenge!! Day 30: Crochet Family Tree

The theme for the last day of the challenge is random. So I thought it would be nice to reflect on my favorite part of crochet, the people. The best thing I ever made while crocheting was the crochet club at my college. It was a wonderful group of sweet and kind people that met together once a week in the library to crochet. There were around 11 of us normally and about 70% of those people didn't know how to crochet when we started. I feel like we started a same little family for a while and in honor of this I created my "Crochet Family Tree". If you click the link, the tree is interactive.

http://prezi.com/q5qbs8ylysf3/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share

The challenge was a wonderful experience and I recommend it to anyone who is able to do it. You can find it on usscrafty's blog:

Crochet Challenge!! Day 28: Grey

I don't use grey use grey super often, but I do use it every once in a while and those projects were some of my best and ironically a lot of the ones that I've sold. My favorite of these projects was a game boy classic back pack. It was requested by a client who had seem the orange game boy back pack that I made for myself. This one was much better proportioned then the one I made myself and I feel like it came out very well. 

Here are some of the other grey projects that I have made. The blanket that I made Magan for her wedding, a fluff ball, and a braided bracelet.

Crochet Challenge!! Day 27: Favorite Crochet Book

My favorite crochet book is actually the first one I ever got. It is so much loved that all of the middle pages are falling out. It's called Amigurumi World and it has the cutest, simplest, and best designed amigurumi's out there. When I make my own patterns I try to make them to this standard.

The author is absolutely brilliant and all the pattern books she put out after this are just as fantastic! And unlike most crochet pattern books where it is the same basic pattern over and over again, each of her patterns is different and has a purpose. It is a great book for anyone, but amazing for anyone just starting to learn. I would definitely recommend all of her books. Here are some of her other titles:

You can find the challenge on usscrafty's blog: 

Crochet Challenge!! Day 26: Amigurumi

The definition of amigurumi: (crocheted or knitted stuffed toy) is the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed animals and anthropomorphic creatures.

 The word is derived from a combination of the Japanese words ami, meaning crocheted or knitted, and nuigurumi, meaning stuffed doll. 

Amigurumi's are my favorite thing to make and I've made quite a few of them. Here are some of the amigurumi's that I have made over the years. There are others that I have just not had a chance to photograph.

 

You can find the challenge on usscrafty's blog: