Knit One, Purl Two

Recently I have gotten back into a hobby that I have neglected for a bit. Knitting. And, for some reason I am in love with shawls this season. So, I wanted to share with you a shawl that I finished.

I LOVE IT! YIPPIE, it's done! :) When I saw this pattern back in October, I knew immediately I wanted to make this for Christmas Sunday.  

The red yarn is just stunning. The yarn is hand dyed by a gal named Mira out of southern California. The yarn is LaJolla by baah yarns. You can find Mira's fantastic yarns HERE or HERE.

It took me the entire two months to finish this, as a matter of fact, I was blocking the scarf on Christmas Eve at 5:00p.m.! But, I was determined and I am so glad I was! 

It is pretty basic until you get to the lace portion of the shawl...then a bit of concentration is needed.  

The funny thing is that I do not wear this like a traditional shawl. I wear it "backwards", with the point of the shawl in the front, then wrap the two ends back around to the front. The pattern that I used for this shawl is called the Holden Shawlette and the pattern is FREE on Ravelry.com.

So, here it is on me...

The picture is super blurry, sorry!

Happy knitting!

Christmas Spirit

I wish so bad that I could share with all of you what I have been crafting and sewing...but everything is a gift for some one and I know that those people check my blog, so I will have to wait to post pictures. So, instead, I wanted to wish everyone a very merry Christmas! This year, as for most, has been a year of financial change in our home. We have gone back to the basics for Christmas and I cannot even begin to express how blessed our home is for doing so. This year, we have gone back to the true meaning of Christmas, that maybe in financially better years was lost a bit. Please enjoy this wonderful Christmas message, and may you all have a wonderful Christmas.

Christmas Love Birds~

I love chunky wood. So, when I thought about making Christmas love birds, I knew I had to use some chunky wood....

The birds have a somewhat rustic look to them and I just love that. I sketched out the birds and had my father cut them out. Here is where I have to give a plug to my dad...THANKS DAD for all the cutting you do for me! Anytime I get a hair-brained idea for a craft, I call my dad and the next thing I know, he has whatever it is, cut out.

Have a great week!

Snowman - Vegas Style!

As you all know, we don't get snow in Vegas. On the rare occasion that we do, it does not stick long enough for kids to make a snowman. So....I decided to turn a stair spindle into a snowman. SUPER CUTE! This pair of snowmen are tall and handsome! They each have a carrot nose and a sweet look to both of them. I may add a little bit of snow to the top hats, I haven't decided yet.

Both snowmen have a cute pair of mittens and a top hat. And yes, Crafty Girls, this will be a kit at the next crop! :)

 

Tin Christmas Star

So, as all of you know, I went to Utah this week. While there, I was only able to visit a couple of stores. :( I wished we would have had more time, maybe next time. I saw a tin star that was covered with Christmas papers and I fell in love with it. I know you all probably have already made one of these, but I was slow to the attempt. I bought a 24 inch tin star on sale for $8.00...

I picked out 6 or 7 pieces of Christmas papers that I really liked. This year I am into the vintage look, so that is what I looked for.

I cut out a pattern of the the star and began to cut the patterned paper out. I then inked the edges and glued the paper to the tin star with mod podge.

Let the star dry overnight, and this is how it turned out...LOVE IT! 

As always, everything looks better in person. I think this year I just may decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving.....I am sure I won't be the only one!

Another Button Idea

So, a little while back I made this...

Well, this button tree was a kit at the last LV Crafty Girls workshop and I had two kits leftover. So, I wanted to make a companion picture to go with this. But, in my brain...groupings of a decorative item needs to be in "three's". I needed a third button picture. Tonight, I made two more button pictures. Before I show you the button pictures, I have to apologize for the quality of the pictures. For some reason my camera kept giving my an error message of "reinsert the memory card". I reinserted that memory card 100 times! No use. I went to the good old camera on my phone. Needless to say, my phone does not take good pictures.

This is how the button wreath turned out. Super cute in person. These frames are silver and are 8x10. So, these pictures makes them look super small.

Here are the three button pictures together. I wish you all could see them in real life...adorable! These will find a home this holiday season for sure! Or, maybe I will just leave them hung up right now.

Christmas Countdown!

I stayed up a bit late last night (all of you crafters with children can relate to this) to work on this years version of a Christmas countdown board. I think it turned out pretty dang cute. It is unique in size, 13x16 and it can either sit on an easel, or run ribbon through the holes and hang it on the wall.

I also like the not so Christmas greens and reds, but a shade or two off the traditional!

Happy Tuesday!

Christmas Blocks

Last month Crafty Girls offered the "Give Thanks" blocks...

They turned out so cute, so then I thought that we should have a monthly block kit. So, today, I worked on the "Merry Christmas" blocks that will be available at the November crop. Here they are...

I love how this set turned out!

I hope everyone has a crafty week!

**It is now Monday morning, and I am going to post these blocks here,

So skip on over to Skip to my Lou and check it out!

Buttons, buttons & more buttons!

I love buttons. Not so long ago my dear mother gave me her button stash....

This picture does makes it appear as though the bucket is small, it is not small. I have a ton of buttons. So, I started thinking of what to do with some of these buttons. And, without further ado, this is what I came up with this...

Once again, the picture does not do this button tree justice! The frame is an 8x10 frame. I think that is will look great for the holiday season!

***DON'T FORGET TO ENTER THE FREE GIVEAWAY HERE***

Library Pocket Album

Several years ago, while working at a local scrapbook store, I had the great privilege of learning how to make a Library Pocket booklet. Basically, what a Library Pocket booklet is, is six library pockets attached together, with a cover and a back put on it. With Christmas approaching fast, I have always wanted to make a Library Pocket booklet and use it as a Christmas card for my siblings. Each tag would have a current picture of my children (I have 5 great kids) and the 6th tag would host a picture of my husband and myself. Then instead of the traditional "family brag" letter, I would write a little something about each child on the back of each tag. The daunting thought is this...I have 6 siblings, my husband has 5 siblings. Oh, and lets not forget each set of parents and grandparents. It really starts to add up.

Well I decided to start making the Library Pocket booklet. I love it! I haven't made one in a few years, and I had forgotten just how dang cute these are...

Library Pocket Booklet Front Cover

Library Pocket Number 1

Library Pocket Number 2

Library Pocket Number 3

Library Pocket Number 4

Library Pocket Number 5

Library Pocket Number 6

Library Pocket Back Cover

Library Pocket Expanded

Whew...now off to make 754 more! ;)

Re-do!

I really think that the nativity scene that I made is super adorable. But, I felt like something was missing from the set.

I kept looking at the nativity, and then, it hit my like a brick! The STAR! I was missing the start. Of course, the nativity needed the star. So, I thought about how and where I would put the star. This is what I came up with...

How cute is that! I added some wire, with the star at the end of it and added it to the cradle of baby Jesus. I think that it is the final touch of an already cute nativity scene.

Mary, Joseph & baby Jesus

Shepherd, donkey, camel & lamb

The Wise Men

I love how this set turned out. This set will be available at our next LV Crafty Girls crop!

A few new crafts....

I am always trying new crafts, and with the holiday season coming upon us so fast, I thought I would start now with the holiday crafting! I first made these adorable Santa hats! I just love the trio of these whimsical hats.

The mink rim (fake mink of course) around the bottom and at the top of each hat is super silky and soft.

I have three very active little boys and I love nativity scenes. Well, boys and nativity scenes don't seem to mix well. They are very active boys, and every chance they get, they are playing football in the house! So, I will just say, a few things here and there have been broken due to the game winning throw! So, I made up this great wood nativity and I love it! The boys can't break these pieces!

I love the holidays! Stay tuned for more ideas to come!