Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Comet Cuff

Its been a super busy couple weeks for me- I'm wrapping up the semester, and gearing up for finals this week. The glory of it all is I'm finally going to be done with Community College, and have my Associates. Its been a long, hard, bumpy road for me, and I can't wait to be done. In order to keep my mind clear and free, I have been taking breaks in between studying and homework to work on a couple projects, so I have lots to share over the next several days/weeks.
This post I am going to share some Comet Cuffs I have been working on. This has easily become one of my favorite cuffs I have done so far. Its fun to wear, and is super cozy on your wrist. I got the pattern Here.



Don't you just love this button?! Adorable!



The teal one is a little bigger and chunkier than I would have liked, which is why I tried it out with the thinner black yarn. I still like the look of the teal one, but the thinner yarn is a little more delicate.




I wasn't able to find any decorative jewelery hooks for this project, but I did see a whole bag of key chain rings that were on sale at Beverly's. They aren't as fancy, but they work great, and the yarn covers the part that you don't want to see.

Friday, May 20, 2011

My back deck

I took a moment yesterday after a long day to sit back and relax in my backyard. While its not the most glamorous deck, or yard, I love it for all its worth. It makes me really appreciate summer and nice weather ;) After cleaning it up, and giving some plants some much needed love, I snapped a couple pics to show it off...



We rent this house, and this deck is super strange and not the way I would have done it if it were my way. I mean, thank goodness we don't have kids, cause it would be totally unsafe! There aren't any railings, or posts of any sort- the deck just stops... But like I said, we rent and we just can't be spending money on things like that when we don't even know how long we will be renting this place...

So I put up the bench and some tables and plants to kind of hide the drop off, and make the deck look a little more contained.

This is the back door, off of the kitchen, and my favorite part of the deck. I love the way everything looks all together like that!

This adorable yellow bench came with the house- something that a previous renter left behind. And I'm pretty sure you can guarantee it won't be at this house still when we leave... I love it that much!

The cute little oriental, metal, candle holders came with the house as well. And those are coming with me when we leave too!

And, I got really excited about my orchids that bloomed! They never fail me, and have been blooming every year since I got them! They were dug from a family friends garden years ago when she passed on, and her kids were selling her house- they gave us permission of course! It is such a nice reminder of her wonderful spirit whenever they bloom.



Although, it looks like I'm not the only one enjoying the orchids! There is some type of bug out there that is eating the flowers! Oh well, I'm happy to feed another...

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Crochet Circle and Bead necklace

For lack of a better name...

Its been a week from hell this week, and boy have I needed something to take my mind away to a magical place. A place where the universe doesn't hate me- where I'm not thrown a million obstacles just to get one tiny thing done. Its been rough to say the least... I have been trying to bury myself in either crochet or drawing lately just to keep my mind busy. The last thing I need right now is free time, and the opportunity for my mind to wander and think too much.
Hence this post... I made a new necklace the other day.

I used key rings that were on sale, and crochet over them, then joined with a chain and added some beads, and VIOLA!



I am really loving all the crochet jewelery that I am making. It is so lightweight, and I barely feel it! Its a nice change...


*You like the fridge shot? Hey, it was a white background that I was looking for!*

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Light blue Julie Cuff

Super pissed this morning- I just found out my laptop (with ALL my schoolwork and homework and research material) was stolen out of my car- which was in my driveway! Like I wasn't stressed out about the end of the semester, now I have to figure out a way to make up all that work in just a short period of time. *This is where I begin screaming profanity*

Anyways, on to my scheduled post... A newly made cuff bracelet using this pattern. Totally in love with this piece, and most certainly going to make more!

I love this color, but the only negative thing about it is it gets dirty easier. Oh well! Guess the next one will be in a darker color!

I think that the fake pearl buttons really finish off the look of this cuff. I love it!





See? Totally stoked! Simply stoked....

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Teal Clutch with Brooch

I think of all the crochet projects I have done lately, this one is my favorite. I love the tightness of the stitches, and the color. The shiny brooch adds a little extra oomph that it needed too.



Currently, this is my little bag for crochet hooks, as well as scissors and buttons, and any other random crap I shove in there. I keep getting surprised that I am able to stick more and more items in it, without it bulging.


I got this brooch for Christmas last year, and it has had several different homes. I am completely smitten over how it looks on this adorable clutch though!


It isn't all the way done yet- I have yet to put a zipper in it, but that is a whole other challenge. I have never dealt with a zipper, so that will more than likely require long hours of frustration with my sewing machine... Totally looking forward to it ;)

Monday, May 9, 2011

Orange Cuff

I really love this new cuff I made. It is bright, fun, funky, and different. The color makes me happy, and the buttons make me smile.

Cute little sunflower buttons.

I did mess up a little with the buttons, and the positioning of them, but it still works, and looks cute when I wear it, so I don't really care. This was such an easy thing to do- I did this while I waited for one of my classes to start...


It twists while I wear it, which is nice cause sometimes you see the buttons, and sometimes you see the chains...

Although I got the idea from CreativeYarn, I made up the pattern as I went along- it might have been done the same way, but might not have... What do you think?
Would you wear something like this? I'm thinking about doing more, but with different colors and maybe a lighter yarn...

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Hats

Well, it's official- I sold to my first customer! Granted, she is my cousin- but money is money! I was super excited when she hit me up on Facebook asking me to make 3 hats- one for her daughter, her cousin, and her niece, and she wanted them all matching. She asked for them to all be navy blue with white flowers- adorable! I took a little spin of my own with them just to add a little pizzaz, but I think she is going to be stoked.


They are for a newborn, a 2 year old, and a 4 (almost 5) year old. This was a little bit of a challenge for me, just to make sure that I was getting all the sizes correct. My cousin lives in Maine (I'm in Cali) so I wasn't able to test out the sizes. Hopefully they will fit!

You can't tell in the photo, but the white yarn is this cool shimmer yarn, so it looks awesome in the sun! I also added the button in the middle of the flower. This particular flower is made with a larger hole in the middle, and this button really helped to finish the look, and close up that hole.


I can't wait for pics from her with all the kids wearing the matching hats together!


This is really exciting for me- to sell something I made. I mean, people have been telling me for a while that I should sell, but I don't have the stock of things quite yet. I am building towards craft fairs, and my own Etsy shop- we shall see where this journey takes me!