Cute Crochet Coasters

These are so cute and fun to make.  They whip up in no time flat.  I can make one in about 35-45 minutes time and I am a slow crocheter.

I got the pattern off someone else's blog.  I can't seem to find it again unfortunately.

I am an intuitive crocheter when it comes to making things I look at a bunch of patterns and then put a couple together to make what I am looking to create.

My pattern may not be exact nor might it be exactly what you are looking for.  I will try to explain it as best I can though.

Coaster Pattern:

1 skein of 100% cotton base color (you will be able to make several coasters with just one skein)

1 skein of edging color (100% cotton)

Chain 14.

Single crochet in 2nd loop and each loop after.  (13 SC) ch 2 and turn.

Next row: SC in first SC. *Skip next sc, dc and sc in next sc* to end.  Ch 2 and turn.

Next row: sc in first sc. skip dc, dc and sc in next sc. Ch 2 and turn. You will be doing a dc and sc in every sc in previous row. 

Continue until it looks like a square, about 10 or 11 rows. 

Change colors and sc all the way around the square, with three sc's in each corner. Then slip stitch around the entire thing again to finish it off.

And there you have it.

Pens, Pens, Glorious Pens!

I love to do pen work on my pages and cards.  I love how it gives a little bit extra to whatever project I am working on.

My go to pens are usually Sakura Souffle or Glaze pens.  I also love my Micron pens.  The points are awesome and gives such detail to things. Use the .05 and the really fine tips, .01.  LOVE them!!

When I am journalling I love my Creative Memories colored pens.  The CM pens are about a .05 tip. The thin tips are awesome for journalling. 

I have several cups of pens on my desk.  I love that they are right at my fingertips. I also have some markers, from Creative Memories in thick  point that I use sometimes.  Watercolor pencils are also on my desk. I do love shading with those when using stamps. 

Teachers need cards too!

I was a classroom teacher for 19 years.  Now we homeschool our kids so I am not in the classroom anymore.  When I was teaching in school I always needed note cards.  I would use them to write a quick thank you to a child for doing something awesome, a thank you for a parent who contributed to the class in some way, a thank you to another teacher, principal or guest speaker.  I used the cards to write a quick note home to a parent about their child (usually a good note) or requesting something from a parent.  Anyway, I loved it when I would receive gifts of a note card set from others.

Here is a set that would be fun to receive if I were teaching again.

I used the DCWV Grade School (with glitter) stack.  I love the foil and glitter on the papers.  I had the 4.5" by 6.5" paper stack that I had gotten on sale a couple years ago.  These are so much fun.  I used pen on the edges to draw the dots and lines.  The pens were Sakura Glaze and Souffle.  I love these pens!!!

Scrappy Goodness-Note Cards

I haven't scrapped in like forever (in my best Valley Girl voice).  So I decided to start with some cards.  Everyone needs a few note cards laying around the house for when you need to write a note. People still do that, right??? Write????

I was unpacking my FEW supplies I still had and came across some old scrapbook kits I had never used.  Well I did use this kit but I didn't like it.  So I had a lot of paper and embellishments left over. I decided to dust off the rust with this kit because if I didn't like what I created it wouldn't really matter.

However, I really liked what I came up with.  These all came from the same kit.  Like I said, I didn't like the kit so much for scrapbooking so I had a lot of paper left.

Time Flies:

 I used pen around the edges to make the dots.  This pen was a thick point pen.  I stickled the butterfly's body with Gold Stickles to give it some bling.

True Love:

I had fun with the Diamond Stickles on these cards to really make them shine.

You're such a HOOT!

These cards were a lot of fun and I used more layers on them.  I blinged them out with Gold Stickles and made them really extra shiny.

I am taking these up to a local store where people can sell their handwork. Maybe I might actually sell a few. Who knows!

Moving - What happened to my craft stuff?????

Last year we moved out of our house.  We sold the house and put all our belongings in storage.  We had lived in this house for 13 years and accumulated a LOT of stuff.  No big deal.  We can weed out the stuff we don't really need and have a yard sale.  So before packing a single box we went through the house and gathered all the stuff we didn't need and had a yard sale.  We got rid of a lot of stuff!  It was great.

Then we gathered some more stuff and had another yard sale.  We got rid of a bunch more stuff. It was good.

Then we started packing.  While packing we found that we still had stuff we didn't need so we had yet another yard sale.  After each sale we gave all our leftovers to the Goodwill. They loved us! :)

With each yard sale I got rid of my yarn stash, paper stash, and material stash. I still saved stuff but I got rid of a LOT of stuff.  Everything else went in storage.

This past April we came back into town and went through our stuff one more time.  We had the MOTHER of all yard sales and got rid of HALF of all our belongings, including ALL of my yarn stash (save a few hand dyed items), ALL of my paper stash (save for a few boxes), and ALL of my material.  We didn't want to move it 1000 miles away.  It is really far and the less we had to move the less money it would take. I was saving money.

Now plans changed and we actually moved back to our hometown and are in a new house. The reality has hit me that I no longer have my awesome yarn stash, my awesome paper stash and my awesome fabric stash.  I want to make curtains but can't because I have no material for that. I want to scrap a bit but am missing paper that I got rid of. I want to make some placemats but have no yarn to crochet them.  Oh and did I mention that there are only 20 weeks until Christmas???  I have no stash from which to make presents yet.

I have learned my lesson.  I will no longer listen to my husband when he says I have too much stuff and need to get rid of it.  I will no longer listen when he tells me that "we can just buy new later".

Do you ever????

Do you ever see a pattern and fall in love with it?

Do you ever know that this pattern is EXACTLY what will look awesome on you????

Do you ever choose a yarn that you love, but feel like you spend too much money on it, but realize it is worth it and you will LOVE the finished product and use/wear it all the time??????

Do you ever realize about half way through that you HATE this for you????

Do you ever just set it aside because it is no longer worth working on?????

This exact thing happens to me ALL. THE. TIME!

I love the yarn, I love the pattern, but when I am working on something, I begin to hate it, for me.  If I am making something for someone else I will continue to love it.  But if it is for me. Nope. HATE. IT!

Here are two of the many unfinished projects in my house right now.  I know I have at least three more but can't seem to find them right now. They are packed away somewhere.

This (above) is a pretty pattern, pretty hand dyed yarns that I paid $20 a skein for and bought 5 of them.  I loved the sample in the shop. It is a shawl. It looks so pretty on the mannequin. I am about 40% done and I don't like it anymore. I haven't worked on it in a month. I am thinking I should unravel it out and make a sweater or something for my daughter instead. Hmmmm......

This was going to be another shawl.  More of a wrap that would go over my shoulders on cold days.  Honestly, I end up wearing a sweater and I don't use wraps too much.  It is made with fun chunky yarn in a pretty blue and lime green pattern. I now HATE it. It is sitting on the floor in my closet and will probably sit there a while longer.  It is about half done and I have no intention of finishing it. I am thinking about ripping it out and making an afghan out of it. I will give it away or sell it if I can.

The only things I love and wear are socks.  I love my socks that I knit and I do wear them all the time in the winter. Other than that, I really hate the things I make. Maybe I need to make a sweater for me instead.

So tell me what do you do with your unfinished projects that you no longer love???

Cute little Hearts for Valentine's Day

I made a bunch of cute little hearts for Valentine's Day.  They are so sweet.  I used DMC thread and love making them.  They are about an inch in width and about 7/8 inch tall.

I am thinking that you can put a button in the middle or a brad in there and attached it to a cute handmade card or a sweet layout.

I am selling them in my Etsy Store if you want to purchase them. $5.50 for 6.

Yeah, I have been busy!  I love making these little embellies!  So much fun!