Back to School Cookies

Today is the first day of school here in our district. To celebrate I made some back to school cookies at work.

These were actually 'gift package' cut out cookies. We get our cookies in frozen and bake them off in store. We don't use a traditional royal icing, like I would prefer, but a glossy frosting more used for donuts. It never gets super hard, which makes it delicious, but also harder to decorate. I am taking it upon myself at work to sort of be 'in charge' of the sugar cookies though as we roll into the holiday season. Most times we do 6cts that are simply decorated with icing and maybe sprinkles. I'm hoping to bump it up a notch this year and offer at least some cookie options that really tap into the cute factor. There are some truly amazing cookie artists out there! I am nowhere near as talented as some of them but I vow to continue to try to make cute yummy cookies.

To all my teacher friends: Good Luck with this school year! And a special Shout Out to my fiance who is starting as a Math Corps Tutor!

Shark Blanket

I started my mermaid tail crochet project with a lot of enthusiasm. I was convinced that I would be able to 'wing it' and have it turn out awesome. Well not long after my 'Skein 1' update I was hitting a bit of a roadblock and getting frustrated. That's when my friend Becky posted on my FB wall a picture of a shark blanket from MJ's Off the Hook Designs. Being the crazy person I am I saw it and immediately wanted to make it. I bought the pattern (my first purchased crochet pattern!) and ran off to the craft store to buy gray yarn. I had enough white and red on hand for the teeth and gum details. I had to tweak the pattern just a bit because I did not use a bulky yarn. I used regular yarn and used two strands. It went pretty smoothly but I did end up making the tail 3 times to get the sizing right.

I am super happy with how it turned out. I just took a couple of quick shots before wrapping it up and sending it off to Texas! It got there only a couple days after her birthday. The nice thing about the pattern is that it includes lots of different sizes (baby to adult) and she allows you to sell your finished products as long as you give her pattern credit.

She also has a mermaid tail blanket pattern....I may just break down and buy that as well. Although it is probably very similar to the shark pattern I want to start supporting craftspeople more when I can.

So excited to have finished another LARGE crochet project. Working on more and more and keeping the momentum going. Getting back into hats too now that fall is here (in name if not in temperature). Trying to decide if I can buckle down enough to be part of the Halloween cryptkeepers this year. If nothing else look for a giveaway I am hosting in early October!

Happy Labor Day everyone! And Happy Crafting!

Make do and mend

Just a little Sunday mending. I admit to the bad habit of buying 'super cheap clothes' but I just love the target clearance rack! To make up for this I try to make them last as long as possible. Sometimes I get overwhelmed with the mending pile so today I grabbed 3 quick fixes, two broken straps and a popped seam. A little hand sewing later and I'm done! 

I hope everyone else is having a lovely Sunday. I don't often get a weekend day off of work so I savor them all the more. 

Bit of mending, laundry and letter writing so far. Now to scrounge up some lunch and get outside! 

Mermaid Blanket: Skein 1

Well after a hard couple of days at work I have a day off. Pancakes in the morning, Lots of internet reading, crocheting, and going to see Magic Mike XXL with some gal pals. Perfect day really. Now I am doing a last minute load of laundry so I can return to work and the real world tomorrow.

I have the crafting bug HARD and am still riding high after finishing the granny square blanket. I am doing a project for myself this time so I can share more 'in progress' posts without fear of ruining any sort of surprise. Have you seen the super cool mermaid blankets online? There are a few different patterns out there as well. From what I can tell though most of the blankets are 'lapghans' so they just sit on top of you like a blanket. I'm interested in something a little more lifelike. More cocoon. Actual feeling of being a mermaid. Sure I might have to struggle in and out of it or hop around like I'm in a potato sack race but I still think its the way to go. Despite the patterns available I am making this up as I go along. I am trying out different stitches along the way and sort of making this a sampler project. I found the loveliest Red Heart Soft yarn in 'Deep Sea' (perfect, I know) and am not changing colors so I am trying to add some interest and texture with different stitches. It would be a quicker project if I just went with one stitch I'm sure but it feels good to try new stuff on a project that does not have the pressure of being a gift or on a time crunch.

When I found the yarn I bought several skeins and I thought I would share what it looks like after skein 1;

My game plan is to start at the bottom and work up and then return to the bottom to add the fin. Progress is progress. I plan to continue sharing as I go along. Has anyone else made a mermaid blanket of any sort?

Happy Crafting!

Stormtrooper Granny Square Blanket

July already? My word this year is slipping by fast! Today I am happy to share my latest completed crochet project. It is my largest crochet project so far and I am so happy with the way it turned out.

I present to you my Stormtrooper Granny Square Blanket!

I am so excited that it actually turned out! And that I finished it in time for my sister's birthday. That was the goal. I first started this project over a year ago and was hoping to give it to my sister for Christmas. I was making massive granny squares and it was taking forever and I got discouraged and gave up. Like many another project it sat in the corner, a few stacks of black and white squares and no real intention of picking it back up.

But this early spring I had caught the crafting bug again and was determined to pick a large scale project that I would finish. I came back to this idea and had a light bulb moment. Little squares. I know it sounds dumb but by making my squares less than half the size I was going to (I dont know why I started so large!) I convinced myself that the project was do-able and made the goal to be finished by June 30th so I could give it to my sister. My sister is a lover of all things geeky and nerdy but Star Wars is a big one and one that we bond over.

I did seriously consider more 'in progress' posts, but on the off chance she might see this and find out I thought it better to just share it all at once.

Here is a picture of all my finished white and black squares. I timed it out and I could make a square under 4 minutes if that was all I was doing. If I was talking or watching something it was a bit longer. Many a car ride was spent making squares, and many a movie. They are so easy to make I could see this being a great 'filler' project too, between bigger projects and such. Make a  few squares here and there.

Once I had 10 squares of the same color done I would tie them together in little bundles. I have never made a granny square blanket before so I was somewhere between making it up as I went along and looking to the internet for tips.

The idea for the entire project came from a pinterest pin that led me to this great image from Crafster.

Super happy with the way it turned out. I eliminated the white squares around the boarder and after assembling the blanket I did a simple border out of gray. Even with all my planning and working on it I was still finishing the border the day of! I have since pinned several of these grid type patterns. You can also look up 'perler bead patterns' and 'cross stitch patterns' for more options. As long as you have a pixelated grid image you can make any granny square project your heart desires! 

I'm still loving hard on crochet. My next big project is going to be a mermaid tail blanket. There are quite a few patterns and ideas out there. I'll for sure share once I get it started. This one will be all for me so no need to surprise anyone!  

I hope everyone has a Happy and Safe 4th of July weekend! 

Happy Crafting! 

Settlers of Catan: Cupcakes

I can't believe I didn't post this last year but I am fixing  it now. Have you played Settlers of Catan? It's a fun game that quickly gets competitive and sometimes heated :) 

Last year I was invited to attend a birthday Catan tournament. With over 30 people invited I knew I probably wasn't going to bring home the game trophy... But they were also giving a prize for best food- now that I had a shot at. Lots of people have done versions of cupcakes or cookies so building from those ideas I made a cupcake version of the game board.

I used a combo of frosting, candies, and a bit of fondant.  I was super pleased with how it turned out. And at the end of the day I did being home the award for best food! 

Now the tournament is again taking place this weekend and I have to live up to my name.... What to make! I haven't figured it out yet but I'll share once I do. 

Cheers all and may your Catan playing bring you much glory. 

Crochet Cacti

After seeing the idea on the internet I loved the idea of sweet little crochet plants around the house. Finally a plant I can't kill. On a trip to the dollar store I grabbed a 3 pack of mini clay pots. It actually took a LOT of restraint not to buy more but I made myself a promise that I could only buy more if I made at least these 3 first. Now after a couple of weeks I have 3 new little cacti! There are lots of free tutorials out there for all different varieties of little cacti. They are quick to whip up and I find it super satisfying to sit down and have a project done start to finish in the same sitting. After making the first one Tony liked it so much he wanted to have it on his nightstand. (The entire collection resides there currently, I may have to make more for other areas of the house!) With the never ending winter these sure have helped me think of warmer days to come. 

Now on to bigger crochet projects? I feel like there are always more projects in my head then I will ever get to. Nice to get these little ones done! 

Happy Crafting!