A Little More Love...

I just have a minute and I wanted to show you a few Valentines crafts that I finished up this week! I love Valentines! It makes me feel like spring is right around the corner!

Hugs & Kisses Blocks 

Heart Trio 

Love Blocks 

Love Nest Plaque 

Valentines Frame 

I hope this gives you a little bit of inspiration to make some Valentines decorations for your home!

Happy Friday!

Countdown to Valentines!

It's that time! Time for all of us crafters to get busy on some new Valentines crafts! There are countdown calendars for Christmas, Thanksgiving and Halloween, but I have not seen too many for Valentines Day. So, tonight I put one together...

  I used a fun silver 5x7 frame for the base of the countdown

 As you flip each page, there is a new little Valentine

 I used some non-traditional colors for this countdown calendar, and I really like it!

 It is hard to tell in the pictures, but each white heart is embossed with different pattern

 This is the final page, which represents Valentines Day

The heart is popped and there is a fun tag

 On February 1st, all the pages lay nicely on the front of the frame

 As you progress through the days, the pages lay nicely on the back side of the frame

 Well, I can cross one more craft off the list for Valentines Day!

Happy Wednesday!

Linking to:
Sewwoodsy
Sew-Much-Ado

Piano Bag...

Let's face it, whether we write it down or not, we all have a "bucket list" of sorts. Things we want to do before we die. Well, one of the things on my list is to learn to play the piano. I have taken on and off, and yes, I can read the notes - but that is as far as I have gone with it. Well, I am pleased to say, starting Thursday, I am starting up lessons again. Therefore, I need a new piano bag, right? So, this morning I made this cute little tote:

I found my inspiration HERE. And, here is what the inspiration bag looked like:

I know I copied it pretty much to the T. I did a few things different though. The original just had the ruffles on the front side of the bag, and I chose to take the ruffle all the way around the tote. 

I added the trim to the top of the ruffles to give them a more finished look. 

I also added my favorite fabric from Heather Bailey as a lining. Plus, a little pocket for pens/pencils. 

I loved the burlap rolled flower!

Hopefully having a cute bag will make me play the piano better! ;)

Have a great week!

Linking to:

Sewwoodsy 

Sew-Much-Ado 

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!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Welcome 2012!! I am so ready for the ceremonial re-start that we all take at the beginning of a new year. I have one big plan for 2012.....

SIMPLIFY

Hahahahahaha! I know, right. But, I mean it, I am gonna do it! The last month has been a very blessed, crazy, stressful month and a month where I was on my knees, a lot. The only thing I learned from this past month is that there is only one answer for me...and you guessed it, to simplify.

Now, on to fun stuff! I must have been a good girl last year because Santa Clause brought me this....

A brand new, stinking beautiful sewing machine! This sewing machine also has an embroidery attachment that I am super anxious to learn!

I am on "rest" mode for the next week or so, so instead of laying in bed, I thought sitting on my sewing chair was just as good! I wanted to sew something fun and simple to try out my new machine.... 

So, I made up this cute Valentine's pillow. Yes, I said Valentines. All of you crafters out there know that you are making up your crafts now too!

But, what I really wanted to show you was a "cheap" trick to pillows. We all know that pillow inserts cost a pretty penny. So, Here is a trick that I do to save money on pillow inserts.  

Take a $2.50 bed pillow from WalMart. I made my pillow the same width as the height of the bed pillow. I determined my height of my pillow and measured up on the bed pillow and cut. 

Cutting through all the stuffing can be a bit tricky.

I then pinned the open edge closed and stitched.

I used a zig-zag stitch to sew up the edge of the pillow. Slip your new pillow form into your pillow... 

And there you have it, a $1.25 pillow form! Easy. There is enough of the pillow left to make a second pillow. 

I made cute little ribbon ties on the back of the pillow to close it off. 

The pillow looks cute on my chair in my office...but, this little gem is going to my Mom. She has been a lot of help this past week, and I think this makes a cute thank you gift.

Linking pillow here:

Northerncottage