Crochet Granny Trees

I have a tradition of creating an ornament each day between December 1st and Christmas Day. Whether I put them on a tree, garland, or package...doesn't matter!

So. When I can add my love of ornaments with my love of crochet with (specifically) my love of granny squares...this is what happens...

And this...

Very cute & cozy Granny Trees!

I used a pattern from The Royal Sisters blog. Her pattern is easy to follow and she has wonderful photos to go along with the written instructions!

Here they are hanging on our tree!

Heart Hair Clip

Nothing says My Sweet Valentine more than Hearts!

I found this cute idea for a Valentine hair clip at Skip to My Lou. There is a simple crochet pattern to make the heart with embroidery thread. This is the first time I've used anything but yarn to crochet with and I loved it! I've got a whole new world of  hearts and flowers and butterflies!

Perfect to pull back some wispy Lil Valentine hair!

Linking Here:

Crochet Heart Bracelet

Two Blog Posts in One Day!

I'm on Fire!

I wanted to share these cute and easy bracelets I made last year for my Katy Bug!

I saw them over at Tangled Happy, and there is an easy-to-follow pattern with lots of pictures along the way!

I was able to use some left over white yarn from my stash and I found the pretty heart beads in the Wally Mart craft section. Note the faded Mrs. Potts & Chip tat on Katy's hand. She's such a rebel!

Crochet Stocking Ornament

For the past couple of years, I've challenged myself to make an ornament a day from December 1 to December 25th! And...somehow...today is December 1.

So here is Day 1 of Ornie Challenge 2012!

How cute is a little Granny Square Christmas Stocking??? Complete with a candy cane! I found the pattern at Eating Out Loud. They work up quick and easy and there is a great photo tutorial to follow along with the pattern.

In fact, the pattern is so fast and fun...I couldn't stop myself!

Then I started having fun and mixing it up!

I was working on these in the back of our church while our oldest was going through some training to be an Altar Server. One of his best buddies since forever came back to chat and he was fascinated by the entire crochet process. "How do you do that? Do you think I could learn? These are so cool! Hey, everyone, look at these!!!" He was so sweet (he's always so sweet) I decided to make one for him. And his little brother. And his two little sisters. And then my three kids. Like I said...I'm addicted...

Love Them!!!

Christmas Linky Love:

Back To School Idea

I know we're just on the first leg of Summer Vacation, but I want to share this cute idea for a Back To School Teacher Gift!

Plus it never hurts to think ahead...although it might...I rarely think ahead! This would make a cute Christmas gift, Teacher Appreciation gift, End of School Year Teacher gift...or you might just want to make them for yourself!

Aren't the sweet??? I found them at Little Birdie Secrets! There is a free pattern for the dishcloth and also the link to the Apple Scrubbie pattern at Lion Brand's site. Super quick to work up!

I kept my Apple Slice Scrubbies simple without the stem or leaf.

Mmmmmm...I LOVE green!

You can get them hooked up now so you're all ready to go when August rolls around!

ps...for those of you who caught yesterday's post...here's the Lady Katy New Do Reveal:

Girl-Friend can Rock the Bob!

This morning when it was time to brush her hair it took a nano-second. She just stood there waiting for more. I was like, "That's all. I'm done." It took a minute to soak in and she said, "Well. We have time to make it pretty!" Love my Girlie.

Angry BIRD-Day! Part 1...

I'm pretty sure everyone and their Mom knows the game Angry Birds.

Well. Maybe not. My Mom was like, "What? What's this you're talking about?" But then, my parents still have a rotary dial phone in their kitchen. Ma & Pa Kettle they are!

Anyway. My kids are obsessed with this game. And they're ridiculously good at it! So it wasn't a surprise when my soon-to-be nine year old asked for an Angry Birds theme for his birthday party.

He wanted an Angry Birds cake, Decorations & Party Invites...but all the gifts on his list were either Pok-e-Mon (which will be the death of me) OR Skybenders (I don't even know if this is correct. It's the video game where you can buy little guys and put them on your glow pad (for reals) and that figure becomes your violent cartoon game character). 

Oh. And he wanted the game Mouse Trap.

But I had to squeeze some sort of Angry Bird into the gift pile. And I found the perfect idea over at Angels have the phone box. She has an excellent free crochet pattern page with the Main Angry Bird Himself and a Green Piggy to go with Him!

Seriously. Don't you want to smack that smug smile of the goofy pigs face when he doesn't explode?

Moving right along...the patterns were easy and quick to follow!

Here he doesn't look so angry! Let me mention that the safety eyes I had malfunctioned and attacked me...so I just made thick knots out of black yarn to use as pupils.

Now he's looking angry! Also, since these were going into the hands of a crazy energetic kid, I crocheted the Angry Uni-Brow instead of using black felt. And I stitched that bad boy on...tight!

Here's my finished pair. They look rather friendly with each other!

And here's my Happy Customer!

My Dad

Let me tell you a bit about my Dad.

He's HILARIOUS!

He's the kind of guy that wakes up laughing and falls asleep whistling.

He loves his family...esp. the Grandkids.

He's worked his hiney off his entire life...farming, meat packing, press operator and now he does maintenance work...second shift.

He'll be turning 67 soon and his cheerfulness, his activity level and his wise-cracker personality make me forget his age.

He'd also blush and say, "Cut that out!" if he heard those few praises I just sang!

So. On with my story.

Growing up in a crafty family...I got a lot of homemade gifts for Christmas, birthdays, whatever.

My Dad's Mom crocheted me a couple of afghans, lots of booties and she sewed me endless jammies.

My Dad would always tease and say, "No one's ever made ME a blanket (or whatever the gift was)!"

Now that I'm a crocheting fool, I've been whipping up scarves and hats for everyone.

If I'm working on something while my Dad's around he'll shake his head and put on his puppy-dog look and sigh, "No one's ever made me a (enter project here)."

Can you guess where I'm going with this???

For Christmas I crocheted him a scarf!

I didn't follow a pattern. 

I just crocheted back and forth and back and forth. 

Forever. My Dad towers in at six foot four!

Here's Louie "measuring" it! Floor to ceiling...I think it's long enough!

Here it is...all Sushi rolled and ready to wrap.

Do you think he liked it?

I think he did!

Before he opened it I said, "Now. You can finally quit your belly-aching!"

Now I need to start on a matching hat for his birthday!

White Christmas?

Who knows! In Nebraska it could do anything on December 25th. We woke up this morning with a little white stuff in the grass...but not enough to shovel or have fun in. 

But I love snow & snowflakes in particular! So Ornament 21 is a set of pretty crochet snowflakes...so our Christmas will have a little White!

I need to pin and starch them (that's why they aren't on the tree yet!). But I wanted to share them right away! They were all quick to crochet and would make great ornaments, garlands, gift toppers, appliques...wherever you need a snowflake!

This first snowflake I found at Gardener's Ramblings.

This next one, I found at Heart Handmade UK.

This simple snowflake pattern came from Sarah Landon.

The final one is more solid than the rest. I found the pattern on Red Heart's site.

I love them all being unique! That's what snowflakes are all about!

Sassy Monkey!

No. The Sassy Monkey isn't some new dance craze!

Let me tell you about it. 

Not so very long ago, I was reading one of my favorite blogs, It's Just Jennifer. I've never met this lady before, but at times it seems she is living in my brain! And she's a Rock Star Crocheter!!!

So. It was her birthday and she decided to share the love and do a giveaway.

Drum Roll.

I ended up winning!!!

It was muy exciting! I'd never won a giveaway before!

But the SUPER exciting part was the Giveaway Item.

Shall I let my photos do the talking???

Here's Kat with the package. She was mad because it wasn't her turn to go down and get the mail from the box. 

Big Brother is helping her through the tears. Are you seeing the Giveaway Cuteness?

Hmmmmm...it FITS!

And we have achieved Sassy Monkey!!!

Although it is not a dance...Kat enjoys, "Shaking my bum bummmmm!" while wearing it!

I want to send a Woot! Woot! at Jennifer, for making such an adorable hat and then being sweet enough to share it with someone (us!)!

Crochet Chain Wreath

I saw today's ornament and had to make it. Right Now!!!

There was just something irresistible about it. Cuteness? Simplicity? Crochet?

All three, please!

You can find out how to make your own little Crochet Wreath at Tangled Happy. Super easy to follow directions with great photos!

Our oldest son recently told me he'd like to learn how to crochet something. I think this will be the perfect first project for him!

I can see me making up a LOT of these. I've got a bunch of random green yarn to use up, but I'm also seeing little white wreaths with blue ribbon? Adorable!!!

Crochet Stars

I love stars. They are my favorite shape.

And Stars shine Brightly this time of year as a beautiful symbol of Christmas!

Leading our way towards the Newborn King.

So I wanted to crochet a couple Star Ornaments for our tree. I found a great and quick pattern HERE at Cross My Hooks. They worked up beautifully!

I'm thinking about making a LOT more and chaining them together to make a garland. 

Also, great present toppers!

"The stars in the bright sky look down where he lay. The little Lord Jesus, asleep in the hay."

25 Days Of Ornaments Twenty-Eleven!

Happy December Everyone!!!

I'm really feeling the Christmas Spirit this year. We've had some fantastic weather this Fall and I think I'm just ready for some snow and some frost and all the cozy things that go with that!

Last year I challenged myself to make 25 ornaments (one for each day) from December 1 through to Christmas Day. And I DID IT! And I had so much fun, that I want to do it again!

So here I go!

Drum Roll, Please.........

Aren't they sweet? Old Fashioned Looking Baubles!

I found the incredibly easy pattern HERE. They crocheted up so quick and used hardly any yarn. These would make great stash busters and look great on a tree or decorating a gift! And you can embellish them as much or as little as you want...I used sequins, a lazy daisy flower and buttons.

I chose some non-traditional colors because I knew where I wanted to display them:

On Miss Kat's new Super Pink Tree!

What's that?

You want to see more of the tree???

(and, people who know me in real life...no jokes about me buying a pink tree!)

We couldn't resist it! The boys have a blue one in their room. Too cute, and the kids LOVED decorating their own trees, not to mention the insta-night-light the pretty glow creates!

I wasn't about to shell out five bucks for a tree topper, though. Did you notice Kat's star?

Gotta love it being held on by a hair clippie!

Her "super shiny shiny star" started out life as...

...a pumpkin pie tin! I used the tip of my scissors to draw a star on the flat bottom and then cut it out. It was easy as, well, Pumpkin Pie!

Now I just need to whip up some mini-tree skirts!

Please come back tomorrow for Ornament #2!