So, I found this old shelf that I have had for a long time, and I finally decided to put it to good use. Originally, the shelf was supposed to go in the kitchen so that we could hang jackets or scarves or keys. But, there is already a similar one hanging, so it occurred to me to use this shelf while cleaning up all of my accessories and other junk cluttering my bathroom counter. I crocheted a big piece of fabric that I can hook my earrings on and hung it on the hooks of the shelf.

I also hammered in a nail on the lower sides of the shelf to hang stud earrings. No need for a before picture, but trust me, it was a mess. Perpetually mateless earrings, tangled necklaces, bracelets that I haven’t seen in years.. Now it looks so much better!

Posted in: Crochet, Crafts, Daily
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I found a hat similar to this one a few months ago, and I immediately decided to crochet my brother one for Christmas. He and I used to not only watch TMNT all the time, but collected all of the action figures and even had the party van. My Barbies became good friends with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I made Leonardo for Landon, and it turned out great. When I posted a picture of his, I had some friends request their own TMNT hats.

So, I decided to make another one. Pictured to the left is me sporting the orange mask of Michelangelo. He was always my favorite character besides April. But, for the second TMNT hat I wanted something a little cooler; I wanted options.

I wanted to make a hat that had detachable, mix-and-matchable masks. So, I stitched some Velcro onto the hat and each mask. Poof! Now you can be which ever hero in a half shell you like!

This is perfect for any hardcore Ninja Turtle fan, or even any kid that loves dress up My friend Bryan was the lucky winner of this one. He got his in the mail yesterday, so I can finally post this!
I am thinking some crochet nunchucks would go great with this….

(Sorry, no tutorial! I didn’t use any tutorial to make it. I just kind of made it up as I went.)

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Here is my boy Max showing off one of my favorite projects. I crocheted this scarf using what is called a broomstick lace stitch. I love this stitch not only because it looks super pretty and elegant, but it is super easy and quick to do! I was going to write out a pattern for how I made this, but I will direct you to the original pattern that I used. She does a wonderful job explaining it in an easy to understand way. The only difference I made was using a larger hook size, and instead of 60 stitches across (you have to have a multiple of 4), I did 16 since my loops were a larger size.

I love it, and I think Max does too!

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To celebrate Earth Day, I bought a new cloth bag to carry groceries home in. I love these bags for many reasons. First of all, I never have to grab a basket or a cart if I’m just getting a few things. Usually I will just fill the bag and go instead of buying more than what I need. Plus, all of the bags I use have long straps, so it is super easy to carry a tote of groceries on each shoulder instead of 10 plastic bags in hand. I try to keep several cloth bags in my car all the time so that I can just take one into any store. Here is some great information about getting rid of plastic bags!

Today I am going to share with you all how to make “yarn” from plastic bags.

Step 1: Lay your plastic bag out flat.
Step 2: Cut off the top (handles) and the bottom. You should have an open cylinder left.
Step 3: Fold this piece of plastic into a flat strip.
Step 4: Cut this strip leaving about 2 inches of space between each cut. You are left with some plastic circles!
Step 5: Lay one plastic circle strip on top of another.
Steps 6 & 7: Connect each piece together using the knots shown above.
Step 8: Pull the knot tight, but be careful not to tear the plastic or you will have to pull the broken plastic pieces out!

Step 9: Roll your “yarn” into a ball and it is ready to use!

Here are a few purses that I made to auction to benefit the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources in 2008:

Posted in: Go Green, Crochet, Artsy Fartsy, Photos, Crafts, Daily
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I figured that it was time to finally post an entry about this!

This is a blanket that I made for a friend to give her at her baby shower. It didn’t take very long because I used a huge hook, so after watching several episodes of Jon and Kate Plus Eight and everything else on TLC, it was finished. You can’t tell in this picture, but I started to add a stitch or two on the turn around, so the bottom of one side sort of sticks out. Either way, this is the first blanket that I have ever made!

Posted in: Crochet, Artsy Fartsy, Photos, Crafts
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