Fun Fingerless Gloves (FFG)

A couple weeks ago I decided that I have really missed knitting and crocheting. I checked around the internet for a simple, yet cute pattern for fingerless gloves (free pattern here).

It was an easy knit pattern and helped used up scraps of yarn from other projects.

What makes the pattern so darn easy is that is in knit flat and then simply stitched up the side - leaving a hole where you want your thumb.

It was fun getting the knitting needles moving again.

Here a Chick

Chickens can be so much fun. Just before the holidays set in, I made some wool chicken refrigerator magnets. They were quite fun and oh so easy.

Go ahead, take a peep - oops, I mean peek!

The Owl Pillow That Isn't

I guess I'm pretty lucky, most often when I get an idea or see an idea from someone else's work, I can dig in and make it. Sure - it's not always just what I had in mind - but it works.

Well I saw this pattern somewhere on the world wide web some time ago and thought it was a great idea. It appeared that an owl face and outline was either painted or drawn on a beautiful wool fabric. (I apologize for not giving full credit to the original artist - I'm sometimes so bad about noting where I get ideas from so I can't point back to it when the proper time comes.)

I remembered a wonderful gray wool that I had stashed away for years - waiting for the right project to come along. I dug it out and proceeded to drawn the owl faces on the fabric - intending to sew each individual one into a small pillow-like piece.

I started the process by using a permanent black marker thinking that it would certainly work well - easy to draw with - and it's permanent, right?

After utilizing all of the fabric I had, I started to cut out shapes to sew the pieces together for the pillow - and realized that the marker was rubbing horribly off on my fingers. Sure - it was still permanently on the fabric - but it was also on my fingers.

I decided to try washing the already marked fabric to see if I could wash away the residue that was coming off on my fingers. I was able to do that - and able to get the marker to stop bleeding from the fabric - but by that time, the design was so light that it wasn't strong enough to look ok on the pillow.

So....I now have about 10 cute little faded owl faces with no place to go and no place to call home. All-in-all, kind of a failure project, but I guess I learned from it. I've also debated whether I want to try hand stitching the design with black wool yarn/thread, but gosh, that seems like a lot of hard work. In the meantime, this project will sit in the undone world of my fabrics and projects.

Homemade Hot Chocolate

I just finished putting together gift jars of homemade hot chocolate mix. I found the recipe here. I LOVE it - it's such a yummy mix - and mixes up so smoothly.

After making the mix, I packaged it in clean (new) canning jars, wrapped with string, added a little bag of mini marshmallows, and wrote on a small tag so the recipients would know how much mix to use for  that perfect cup of chocolaty warmth!

In addition to the gift jars, I had to make sure I had some still left for myself. If you taste it yourself - I think you'll know why I turned seasonally selfish on this one!

A Holiday Chandelier

Many moons ago, I purchased this wooden chandelier at a thrift store. In typical me-fashion, I promptly grabbed the can of spray paint and provided it with a lovely fresh antique white coating.

During the Thanksgiving holiday, I simply propped some lovely fall gourds on it's different petals and placed it in the center of our table. I also sprinkled some hand-cut felted recycled wool leaves. (Note: To my surprise, when left on the center of the table while eating, the wool leaves provided extra hot-pad protection for our casserole dishes!)

Now for Christmas-time, I've decided to move the chandelier to my kitchen table and sprinkle the petals with miniature vintage tree ornaments. I'm enjoying their shinny simplicity. And who doesn't love vintage?

I can't wait until Valentine's Day to see what awaits this fun thirft store find!

Baby on the Way

A couple weeks ago, I received an email from a friend/co-worker of her young son wearing a T-shirt saying "BEST BIG BRO". I responded promptly telling her that the picture was really cute - and the shirt was fun.

She quickly appeared at my desk asking "Don't you get it?". I said "What?". She replied, "The picture."

I told her I thought it was a great photo - and I thought it was cute that he was being called a big brother....assumably to her family cat and dog.

She said "But don't you get it?......He doesn't have a sibling." I said, "Yup - that's so cute about him being a "brother" to the animals.

She stared at me with a quizzical smile/question on her face that basically said "you nut" - and at that moment I GOT IT. I broke out laughing - realizing that it was her cute way of telling me that she was pregnant and her son would soon have a new sibling!

We spent the next several minutes laughing at my response/non-response and then I was able to properly congratulate her.

To help remember our giggles about her big announcement - I decided to make her a coffee cup coaster of her son's photo. I printed the photograph, decoupaged it to the top of a tile, coated it poly spray, and added felt pads on the back.

She loved it.

Working in Wool

I took the day off from my "day job" today and should have spent more time working on wool. Instead, I spent time some time creating this fun little video.

Hope you like it.

Fit for a Princess

I saw this adorable little crown in one of the latest issues of Mollie Makes. [I do so love that magazine!]

So...I couldn't help but think of a friend of mine who loves to be a princess [I previously made her an all-wool full-size crown!] and knew I had to make her a finger-puppet crown as well. It stands 1/2" high and fits wonderfully on my index finger.

My friend, Sally, lives in another state - and I haven't sent her the royal crown yet - but I'll have to get it in the mail to her soon. Most likely, her finger is feeling quite naked without it.

New Lighting

I found this fantastic idea somewhere online (I can't totally credit anyone - because I can't recall where I saw it! But I believe it was somewhere on Pinterest.). It's a refurbished chandelier - from cast away light to solar-powered garden chandelier! [New note: I found the webpage where I initially saw this idea.]

Here's how I did it...

I grabbed the old chandelier that I found hiding in my shed that I had nabbed at a garage sale years ago. It still had the sale tag on it....$2.99.

I removed all the electrical parts and primed and spray painted the base.

I spray painted the "scones" a contrasting green. 

I bought some small solar lights for $1.99 each (Target). The globe didn't fit properly into the required space - so I had to saw off part of the lower tab . I was then able to glue the bottom of the globe into place using a strong outdoor glue.

After putting all the lights back in place, I now have a solar-powered garden chandelier!

I am still a bit challenged with just the right place to hang it in order for it to get the proper amount of recharging daylight.

But in the meantime, I think it's pretty fun.

Can you see it shining proudly in the background?

Making Coasters

Last week I made a couple sets of coaster for a friend at work. She wanted something bright and bold - and I thought this great retro-styled paper would do the trick!

Here's a quick look at the process.

Start with blank tiles found at the home-fixin' store (these came from Menards).

Gather some of your favorite decorative papers.

Decopage the papers onto the tiles. Let dry. Use a sharp razor to trim the paper around the edges.

Add word rub-ons or stickers if you wish. (I made a total of 8 coasters - 4 had words - 4 didn't.)

Add self-adhesive pads to back of coasters (one in each corner) so they won't scratch your table surfaces.

Spray with several coats of clear protective spray. Let dry thoroughly between each coat.

When spraying multiple coats, don't accidently grab the WRONG black can and begin spraying the tiles. IF you do, quickly cuss - then run to your cabinet and find some paint thinner. Pray your entire way back to you project that the paint thinner will work. Thank God that you already have a coat of poly on the coaster, so when it sprays black spray from the wrong can, it DOES come off with the paint thinner. (Trust me on this one. Yup. I really did it.) Breathe a huge sigh of relief.

(See how similar the cans look? Only, one sprays clear liquid and one sprays black liquid!)

And, after a short panic, two sets of coasters are created!