Crafty Elements

I meant to post this tutorial yesterday, but I got hit with a terrible migraine, and 2 Excedrin and 2 hours later it was still there. The pictures for the tutorial are not the greatest, but I will describe it the best I can :) If you're confused, leave a comment or email. 1. First make a lose slip knot on the left side. You will need the open sid e to be at the bottom, that way you will be able to make the strip longer than your loom. 2. Take your string and wrap it over and behind the right side of the loom. 3. Put your hook through the loop and yarn over. Pull the string through the loop. 4. Yarn over through the loom, taking a loop through the back, and pull it through the loop. It should look like this: 5. Okay, t his is where it may get a little confusing. Lift up your hook, like in the picture with the hook part going first, and the other end following. So, the should now be upside-down and the loop that was on the hook should be on the back side, facing away from yo

c I finally finished the baby 'set'. I had to remake the booty that I previously put on here because after looking over the pattern again for the second booty. I think it looks good together. I'm debating on whether I want to make another set or something else. Maybe a scarf/hat/mitten/booty set? As previously mentioned I did start another project. I decided to make a dark green hairpin lace skirt and crochet the strips together with white yarn. It looks pretty decent. I also decided not to make the strips the same length to make it more interesting. I will obviously wear something under it though since it is see-through. I was also looking at this skirt: http://www.maggiescrochet.com/stitch-diva-hairpin-lace-bustle-skirt-p-1010.html and this top: http://www.stitchdiva.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=SDS-017 I don't want to pay for the pattern, so I'm going to see how this skirt goes and if it even works out. Sorry so short, but I'm watching America&#

Very long day at work, and a lot of stuff to get done around the house.....almost none of which got done :( That's okay, there's always tomorrow! I managed to figure out how to crochet hairpin lace! YEY! After watching several videos and looking at even more tutorials I got it. So I think that some time this week I am going to write a GOOD tutorial because it really isn't that hard, but there is almost nothing out there about it. It reached it's popularity in the Victorian era, and apparently died out since then. I also was able to finish the loom I was making, and tried it out.....with little success. I found tutorials on how to make one out of bamboo and toilet paper tubes and decided to make mine out of bamboo skewers and p ieces of cardboard. It is not sturdy enough and I wouldn't recommend it, but it was fun to make. It is just too flimsy. However, I found, what I think is a hairpin loom (at least that is going to be my purpose for it) that I already

Sorry for the no post yesterday....I was pulling apart a DSL modem, a satellite receiver box, and cable modem. That and after posting for a week and a half straight, not going to lie, I wanted a break. But I was a crafting fool! I found an obscene amount of copper wire in the satellite receiver box. It took me about 20 minutes, some patience, and a hammer to get it, but it was well worth it! I made some cool earrings by crocheting the wire. Sorry for the slightly blurry picture, but I have found it's very difficult to take pictures of earrings since they're so small. Pattern with size E hook: Ch 4, 6 dc., tie off. Tuck in ends. I flattened them, and then shaped them....it's that easy :) I added some "washers" (they're not really washers, I don't think, but I don't know what else to call them) to balance out the fact that I only had silver fish hooks. However, I think they turned out rather nice. I also decided to use the cover for the satel

Today was a busy/frustrating day. I was doing major work in the crochet department, and looking back, it doesn't seem like I accomplished that much. I finally got to making the last part of my father's day gifts....I hope he doesn't see this, and, yes, I am a month or so behind. I originally was going to make him a "man garden" specialized to what he likes (the man is a garlic-o-holic, but that's okay I'm like that too!). Man garden ingredients: - packs of veggie seeds he could cook with - growing instructions, recipes, plant usages - small little mulch-like 'starters' that you soak in water and they expand - pots to plant them in - labeled popsicle sticks. I wasn't able to get everything together on time, and I was poking around online and came across this pattern by lion brand: http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/90152AD.html?noImages= ch: Chain sc: Single Crochet st: Stitch It's a can cozy, but I didn't like the colors, so I figured

I just want to clarify.....not currently prego and never have been. I have been getting a lot of questions and phone calls about it. The baby clothes are not for me, they are for my friend's son's girlfriend. She is almost 7 months along. I was just excited to try something new (making baby clothes) because I have obviously never had any reason to make them before. Thanks for the concerns though :)

I have a couple of plain lamps that I've had for years, and one of the shades got crushed in a move. I decided that I would paint it. I used orange fabric paint, and it turned out really well. But, it doesn't look as good when it is in use. I have already put on 2 coats, therefore, I have concluded that you would be better off to remake the lamp shade with an alternative fabric, dye it with fabric dye (which is probably what I am going to try with the other shade), or use a different type of paint. So I'm not sure if I should just paint it again, or give up. I have also started on the baby clothes. It took a while though because I am not that good with counting my stitches, so I restarted multiple times. But I think it is well worth it since it is turning out really cute so far. Here is the link to the pattern I am using: http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/hdc-shirt.html I used stitch markers because with the yarn I am using, it is difficult for me to find the 's

I decided today to make something similar to rice pilaf on a whim. It turned out fairly good, I was kinda surprised, even though there were a couple road bumps in the way. Here's the recipe: 3/4 c.- 1 c. Rice 1 Can stewed tomatoes 1/2 Bag frozen veggies 1 1/2 c. Water 1 T. Butter Garlic powder Salt Italian seasoning Put rice, water, stewed tomatoes and veggies in 9" pie pan. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt, and Italian seasoning (I would say roughly about 1-1 1/2 t. of each...for those of you who prefer exact measurements) and add butter. Mix and put in 350 degree oven, covered, for about an hour. Check and stir every 15 minutes. It is done when rice is tender and liquid is gone. If you prefer, instead of adding Italian seasoning, add cumin or chili powder. Or add broth instead of water. Good as a side or meal. I also made a hair tie....if that's what you call it. I got the idea from this website (http://www.crochetme.com/Feb_Mar_2005/patt_barrettes.html) but m

So I was selling a lamp I had on Craigslist, and I found that one of the bulbs broke. I had to make an emergency light bulb run to Kroger, and got back just in time before the lady who wanted the lamp got to my apartment. I was just going to give her the extra bulbs, but alas, she told me she was planning on using the new florescent bulbs. So.....$2.00 out with 3 extra bulbs.....I decided to make Christmas ornaments! I figured that it's never too early to start shopping for presents, so it's never too early to make christmas decorations......right? The first one (on the left) I hot glued some circular metal chips, and ran out close to the bottom. So I painted the rest of it white, and added a white bow at the top to "balance" it. The second one was actually the first one I started with, and I was going to try to run the glue down the sides to make an "icicle" effect, but soon found that the hot glue was not runny enough. I decided to just go wild wit

I was at work today and somebody had a chicken pot pie. Since I'm a veggie, chicken is out for me....but vegetable pot pie is another story. So all today while I was sorting and pricing, I was thinking about how I could just substitute chicken gravy for mushroom and extra veggies instead of chicken. I got home and found this recipe http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-Vegetable-Pot-Pie/Detail.aspx, so I tried it. I didn't have the potato soup, so I used mushroom instead and defrosted frozen veggies I had in the freezer. I also made the pie crusts, since it is cheaper that way, and I had everything I needed :) Pie Crust Recipe: 3/4 c. and 2 T. Butter/Margarine 1/4 c. boiling water 1 T. Milk 2 1/4 c. flour 1 t. salt It makes enough for a top and bottom for the pie. It turned out pretty well, although I had to cook it for longer than the 40 min. the recipe suggests by about 20 minutes or so. I would also suggest that you use half of the pepper in the recipe or to taste because

Just made the best Banana Bread ever! It's an older recipe from my mom's cookbook that I got a copy of. I call it my magic book, lol. It's a super easy recipe: Banana Bread (vegetarian) 1 c. sugar 1/3 c. butter 2 eggs 1 1/2 c. mashed ripe bananas (3-4 medium) 1/3 c. water 1 2/3 c. flour 1 t. baking soda 1/2 t. salt 1/4 t. baking powder 1/2 c. chopped nuts Mix and bake in 350 degree oven for 1 to 1 1/4 hours in a bread pan with only the bottom greased. This is the original recipe, and I'm not sure where she got it from. Mix ingredients in the order listed. When I made it, I omitted the nuts (I just prefer it that way) and I greased all sides of the pan....I figured it couldn't hurt. You could probably substitute the butter for applesauce or imitation margarine and then use egg substitute for a vegan recipe. I also recently made some earrings out of parts that I dug out of an old printer. s The first pair has springs, not sure from where at in the printer, but

I've been working on two skirts this weekend. Separate projects that I keep putting down and forgetting to pick back up.....but they are finally done! The first one was a plain gray, mid-calf length skirt. I cut two 3" sections off the bottom and sewed them together. I used this to make the ruffle at the bottom and just added a bow with ribbon that I had lying around. The second skirt used to be a pair of jeans that I didn't like (I still don't know why I bought them). I made lemons out of lemonade and turned them into a skirt. I cut the legs off at the knee and seam-ripped it almost all the way up to the crotch. I then overlapped and sewed it together. I installed a zipper on the side (my first zipper, yey!) and left the edges at the bottom to fray. I kept it this way until this weekend, where I went mad-scientist on it. I took out the zipper, and seam ripped the side up another couple inches. I added grommets so that I could switch out the ribbon whenever