Plush Knit Scarf Completed!

I think I started this scarf last November but I posted about it back in December 2011. Well, it's finally finished! I had planned to keep it for myself but there's a special someone who looks fabulous in this baby blue color so she might get it for Christmas if I can part with it. It's just a basic knit stitch scarf but the yarn is crazy soft and feels wonderful. I didn't put fringe on it because the unbound ends unravel a lot and the fringe would soon look like a few scraggly strings instead of fat yarn pieces.

What's the longest it ever took you to complete a simple craft project? I'd love to hear about it!

Happy crafting, dear readers!

Happy Harvest Plastic Canvas Craft

Isn't this scarecrow, pumpkin and bird plastic canvas craft cute? I think of it as my happy harvest decoration. I figure it can be displayed from September through Thanksgiving so it has a nice long time on display before being put away for next year. I was the lucky recipient of it on my local freecycle group (I'll have to do a post about freecycle on my Frugal Phyllis blog soon - it's a fantastic way to build community, help others, save money and is good for our planet).

My plastic canvas crafts aren't that advanced (until a few weeks ago I'd only done basic ribbon cross bookmarks; I'll post my first project using yarn with plastic canvas on Monday) so I can certainly appreciate all the hard work that went into this craft.

It's a happy craft that makes me smile. What makes it even more special is that my Freecycle friend's mother made it before she passed away. That kind of makes it an heirloom craft. So when I see it I'm reminded to pray for their family. Do you have any crafts in your house that are especially dear to you? I'd love to hear about them!

Happy crafting, dear readers!

Easy Sisal Trivet

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Thanks to the Too Much Time on My Hands blog I found this great yet easy sisal trivet craft on the Hi Sugarplum blog.  I'm thinking of doing a heart instead of a cross (not quite as easy but I like hearts) and using red spray paint instead of blue. Our kitchen is yellow with red and black accents so I think the red would work nicely.

What would you do with this fun trivet craft?  Happy crafting!

Craft instructions and source: http://hisugarplum.blogspot.ca/2012/06/diy-sisal-trivets.html

Pillowcase Craft Ideas

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As the lucky recipient of a back of used pillowcases I had to go online and see what kind of crafts I could make with them (not all of them - some are too pretty or soft to cut up) and I thought I'd share some of my favorite links with you. There are projects for making tote bags, skirts, dresses, purses, crafts projects, autograph pillows, decorations, aprons, table runners, home decor, laptop cases and more from vintage, used or inexpensive pillowcases. When you reuse a pillowcase you're making a green craft and even helping our plant.

How to sew a pillowcase tote (pictured above) from Country Living

11 pillowcase craft ideas from Crafting a Green World (video tutorials)

9 craft ideas using pillowcases from essortment

5 pillowcase craft projects from Care2 (video tutorials)

Have you ever made a pillowcase craft? I'd love to hear about it!

Happy crafting!

Disclosure: I have no material connection with any of the people or companies linked in this post and am just sharing my opinions.

Patriotic Wooden Block Craft

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The link to this project was in my email from Michaels today. As a veteran and military spouse I have always loved the phrase "Land of the free because of the brave." I might make a sign instead of three blocks (I have sign making materials but no blocks on hand) but either way it's a lovely summertime patriotic craft. The free instructions are available here. If you don't want to click through the link you should be able to go to Michaels.com and search "land of the free patriotic blocks" for the instructions too. Happy summer and happy crafting!

Source:  http://www.michaels.com/Land-The-Free-Patriotic-Blocks/e10440,default,pd.html?cgid=projects-craftpainting-brands-americana&start=1

Drawing / Art Bootcamp Exercise

Creative Jewish Mom is conducting a drawing / art boot camp for her kids this summer. I'm thrilled that she's sharing the exercises via her blog because I'm going to join her boot camp from afar. How could I pass up free art training? I may not have been able to enjoy art as a kid but I can now. My results may very well look like they were done by a child anyway but I'm fine with that. I just want to enjoy the process.

The first exercise was to draw a horizontal pattern using two colors. I wanted to use hot pink for my second color but that marker wasn't available. The above picture is my final drawing. I wish I'd sketched it with pencil first so I could have avoided the screwy infinity symbol in the biggest butterfly but other than that I kind of like it. Can you tell the difference between the final draft (above) and the almost final draft (below)?  And if you can, which do you like better?

Source for art bootcamp: http://www.creativejewishmom.com/2012/06/building-drawing-confidence-in-kids-bootcamp.html

Cute Crocheted Cat (or Kitten)

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Saw this cute stashbuster crochetted kitty on Creative Jewish Mom today. It's so cute I might either have to learn to crochet or figure out how to transfer the crochet instructions into knitting instructions so I can make my own little crafty cat and maybe some to give as gifts for fellow cat lovers. They're adorable and what a great way to use up extra yarn (or less than one skein of yarn)!

The original source gives a nice how to tutorial here (in both German and English): http://breienenhaken.blogspot.be/2011/07/crochet-cat-free-tutorial.html. Happy crafting!