My Crafty Endeavours

As you probably noticed, Nonmom took a week off from her blog, there was just far too much going on.

But now she’s back and raring to go again!

It’s been a busy time with family things that came up and are still being dealt with, work and this odd, overwhelming need to finish things off. I had planned on having some time off this summer but that just didn’t happen unfortunately so I took snippets where I could and tried to have some ‘me’ time where possible.

I also got the crafting bug, BIG TIME!

I have a tonne of supplies for various craft projects that I get all set for and then promptly run out of time for. It’s very frustrating, but man, do I ever have a lot of supplies.

Then I discovered Pinterest. A dangerous site for a person like me. I saw all of these wonderful ideas and for a bunch I even had the exact supplies needed to go ahead and make them.

For example, more than a few years ago now my friend moved from Canada to Australia and gave me a few little things here and there including all of these amazing wooden clothespins. Not exciting to some, but to me, very exciting. The possibilities were endless and I refused to toss them no matter how long they sat in their bag.

Then I found this.

Well, all I had to do was convince hubby to have some tuna at dinner and I was set to go!

Here’s my work in progress (need to spray paint the cans white, paint the clothespins green and then glitter just part of the clothespins).

My new tealight holders!

And then my darling wonderful friend and her utterly wonderful daughter and I decided to have a craft afternoon and make flower clips for our hair. She had found some beautiful ones on a trip earlier this year and we figured we could make a couple ourselves.

So we made a couple, and then a couple more, and then she made a headband for her daughter, and then a couple weeks later I made more.

We both have hair flowers for every occasion now I assure you. But it was a blast and a needed one.

We made ‘a few’

The oh-so-lovely hairband

My solo afternoon because I just ‘needed’ to make more

And last, but certainly not least (or really last because I’m getting out my sewing machine in a few minutes) the purse that I started months ago and could never find the stuff for the strap so I could finish it FINALLY got finished LAST NIGHT! I am ecstatic!!!! It’s a design from The Crochet Dude and I adored it and I am so proud of it!

Next up: use those old tank tops that I have saved and taking up space for the craft I want to do with them that also was found on Pinterest and is making me save more stuff I have no room for LOL. Check it out here. Results to come!

Happy Crafting all!

My Summer Mini-Hoiday: Yarn Quest

I have a busy schedule, working for yourself is definitely not for the faint of heart, and as such I haven’t really had much of an actual summer to do something I really wanted to do. I’ve seen one movie, spent a little time in my pool (it’s inflatable but I can float on my raft so I love it) and done a little bit of crafting but really, I haven’t gone anywhere and that’s just depressing.
So on Friday, my work from home day normally, I decided I wanted a couple of hours to do something for me.

As you know, I love yarn.  I am a self-taught crocheter so my technique probably isn’t the best, but I think I do ok. Plus, I love it so it doesn’t matter. A couple of summers ago I went on what turned out to be a Yarn Tour with a cousin of my hubby and it was utterly wonderful. We visited a few stores and got some great treasures. I loved that so much I decided to make my mini-holiday YarnQuest12.

I found this awesome site that has yarn stores listed all over Canada and the US. It’s called KnitMap and I love it. I punched in a few places near me and plotted my route. As I only had a few hours I could only visit two stores, because you need to account for browsing time, and hit the road.

Both stores were divine, I visited Spun Fibre Arts first and everyone was lovely! So was the yarn. I must have wandered for 15 mins. I got some beautiful periwinkle baby alpaca ( I LOVE ALPACA!!!!) and a beautiful bright green and a bright blue wool that I am going to combine into a cowl. I am so excited!!! They had a lovely little sitting area and it was all I could do to not settle in and start crocheting on the spot.

Then my next stop was The Needle Emporium in Ancaster. Little did my brain realize (which is silly because I totally have golf fanatic parents) that the big golf tournament was on but thankfully, like when it was in my town, they are really organized and there wasn’t an issue with traffic.  I of course, being directionally impaired, missed it on the first go so I stopped at the Timmies (Tim Hortons to non-Canucks) and used the wifi to figure out how I missed it. I looked on the wrong side, I should have googled it first. Silly me!

I must have spent 25 minutes there as I wound up chatting with the owner and a customer and of course got way too many ideas.

And more yarn.

I got some beautiful mohair/silk and have already used one hank of it for this scarf. It is the softest thing ever and it really did only take me about 90 mins to do it like the gal at the store said. Yay! Go me!

I came home feeling totally relaxed and immediately pulled out my hook and finished a project I had been working on so I could start o the new ones LOL.

I’m already into planning another afternoon (or day) of Yarn Questing.

Do you have a hobby where you travel around to enjoy it like my YarnQuest12?

Wordless Wednesday

My latest crochet ensemble!

Wordless Wednesday October 5th, 2011

Friday Fun: Getting to Know NonMom

I was sitting at my desk and pondering what to write about and I thought I’d let you all get to know a bit more about me and I’d love it if you’d reply back with some of your unique takes on the questions below too!

1. Favourite Colour: I have two, I LOVE pink, but I also am a big fan of Tiffany blue and try to replicate it in as many places as possible.

2. Favourite TV Shows: I have a few, Glee, Martha (even though I can’t get it in Canada, thank goodness for her website), NCIS (I love Gibbs), Burn Notice (can’t get enough of Jeffrey Donovan) and The Big Bang Theory.

3. Favourite Actress: Jennifer Garner

4. Favourite Actor: A tough one, Jeffrey Donovan (see above) and I’ll always love Harrison Ford.

5. Favourite Car: My absolute dream car is an Aston Martin, any model will do, I adore them.

6. Favourite Vacation Destination: Two here again, I love going out to the Southwestern US (Nevada and Arizona) but I dream about going back to Europe and the UK constantly.

7. Favourite Time of Year: Fall. I love the colours and the freshness of the air. Plus it means harvest season and apples and veggies and more!

8. Favourite item in my closet: My WLU hoodie. I bought it a couple of years ago when I went back to my University for Homecoming and it is the comfiest thing ever.

9. Any pets? Yes indeedy! I have my 2 adorable cats who are pretty sure that they are in fact in charge at home and let my hubby and I continue to live with them.

10. Favourite food: Manicotti. I rarely get it, but I love it!

11. Are you a morning person? No, but I do a good impression of one as soon as I have my coffee. Sleeping in for me for the past 3 years at least is 7:30 am.

12. Hobbies: I have a few. I taught myself to crochet, I love to make cards but haven’t had time in a while. I love to craft paint when I get time too. I garden in my back yard and am learning and practicing sewing more. I also love to take pictures of nature and my cats as well as munchkins. Decorating is another one too. I keep busy.

13. If you had a theme song what would it be? I think the way things have gone lately I would say it’s ‘Edge of Glory’ by Lady Gaga. I’d like to think I’m on the edge of glory. Time will tell.

14. Favourite flower: White roses or blue and green hydrangeas.

15. Favourite game to play: I love board games. Monopoly, Clue, Trivial Pursuit, they all rock. I also majored in Cribbage in first year University.

16. People are surprised to know this about me: I don’t know why but people are always surprised when I tell them how much I love motorsports. I am a huge F1 fan as well as Indy, ALMS, Rolex and WRC. I met my husband while volunteering at the races actually. Fun story, he had a raincoat and I was soaked. Not fair. I haven’t let him live that down yet.

17. Blackberry or iPhone? I cannot function without my Blackberry (can we say BBM?) but I admit I have an iTouch. My first cell phone was a Sony but my fave was my Nokia….I still have it too. Something about that ringtone!

18. Favourite book/author: I am a Jane Austen Fan and Northanger Abbey is probably my favourite of her books. I also fell in love with Jane Eyre a couple of years ago. I love the classics. I am also a Philippa Gregory fan as well as a fan of my friend Patricia Sands and her book, The Bridge Club.

19. Favourite Movie: Again, I have a couple, I love the Harry Potter movies, the first one will remain my favourite though, truly magical. I also love Star Wars, but the original three, and before they were updated and my favourite line was cut. Sixteen Candles is another one as well as The Great Outdoors.

20. Favourite Holiday: I do the most decorating for Christmas, I maintain my tree needs another 150 or so lights to an even 750, but I also love Halloween and want to do more for Halloween this year.

21. Favourite Childhood Toy: My ALF doll. I still have him.

22. My ideal treat to myself: If I’m really craving a treat and know I won’t have buyer’s remorse afterwards (I am notorious for that) it’s either a purse or jewelry. Nothing major on either, but something small. I have my eye on a pair of silver earrings from Tiffany at the moment. And of course I aspire to one-day own a Louis Vuitton Speedy 25 to befriend my beloved and treasured Burberry bag I got in my 20′s.

23. What do I love to do on a rainy day?: Other than sleep in? I like to watch movies and simply be lazy.

24. People I admire: My family of course and my hubby. I also love Audrey Hepburn, the epitome of class and elegance.

25. If I could live anywhere?: London. England. From Notting Hill tube station come up to the street, turn left, turn left again and look at the white houses, one of those. I have pictures at home.

26. What would my ideal job be? In a perfect world, I’d love to work in social media, I really enjoy writing and meeting people and sharing ideas. Getting paid for it would be a dream come true. It would also make my degree in Communications work for me

27. Introvert or Extrovert: You’ll be surprised at this one if you’ve ever met me: I am very very shy. Going to a big event and meeting a lot of new people intimidates me but once I find one friend I’m usually great and can easily meet more. I was very shy at BloggyCon over the summer but made some amazing friends there once I got over my nerves. People never believe this but it is something I’ve been working on for a few years now and am getting better with.

My question to you is tell me something about you in the comments section, what makes you ‘you’. Join the fun!

My crafty weekend

I love to craft, whether it be crocheting (which I am a nut for) or craft painting clay pots or boxes or even basic sewing (a proper seamstress I am not but I wish I was), I just love it. I find  it so relaxing and I can forget about everything when I am doing it. This weekend was all about crafting for me and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

My friend from University came down for a visit and to sew. Now I should explain, we started crafting together a few years ago in the form of scrapbooking and then it evolved to sewing. I arrived at her place one day and she had her sewing machine out and instead of the crop we had planned on, we wound up making dresses! We even had the same little Kenmore machine. A basic one, but one that I adore and doesn’t intimidate me. Then she took off to travel the world and we had to discuss our crafting until she was home again…now of course we’re both nutty with work and other commitments, but we try!

On one of our visits Julia showed me the baby blankets she makes for her nieces and nephews and I was blown away. Stunning! She’ll downplay that, but I adore them and remain very impressed. I bought some fabric and then was given some as well from my sister’s mother-in-law and finally after close to  year we were able to have a sewing day!

I had planned on buying the rest of the supplies needed on Friday but instead decided to be silly and in so doing fell off the stepstool and hurt my arm and leg so I made the decision to sit still instead. Next time I will wait for my hubby before doing stuff like that.

So Saturday we trekked to the fabric store and agreed I should do a practice blanket first so we got the supplies needed and then the fun began!

I must have ironed and pinned my blanket about 6 times to try my darndest to get it right and still had to have Coach Julia as I had termed her, help me do things properly. I learned to be more patient and that I shouldn’t have trimmed the excess fabric until afterwards, oops, but it all turned out ok…just don’t look too closely at the back seams LOL.

I’m very proud of the finished product (see above), but am also VERY glad I did this one as a practice.

And since I wasn’t worn out enough, LOL, I decided to finish my stuffed toy for a friend’s baby-to-bee . I can’t show a picture yet, since I haven’t seen her and want to surprise her, but I can assure you it’s uber-adorable.

My hubby, my mom and a lot of my friends can’t get over what I get myself into craft-wise sometimes, but they are all constantly telling me to relax too. This does it for me. I love seeing a piece come together and knowing that I did it. There really is something about getting back to basics isn’t there?

Next up, more practice sewing straight lines: I plan on a curtain for my nifty new linen cupboard that was last weekend’s project for  next weekend, and maybe some painting of the house…. Wish me luck!!!

Crochet Crafting 2011 has begun!

As some of you may know I taught myself to crochet about 2 years ago now (wow, almost to the day too!) and I have since become an addict of this wonderfully relaxing and beautiful fibre art. Oh, and I learned it’s a fibre art too!

I have made the requisite blankets and scarves of course but my favourite thing to do is to ‘create’, put an image from my head into yarn. It’s so satisfying when it works too!

So, last night I got home and decided that I was going to make a cover for my newest coveted toy, my Kobo e-reader. I have a feeling I’m going to get a lot of use out of it so why not make a cover now to keep it safe? I attempted to sew one on Sunday but, well, my vision didn’t quite come out as planned. I pondered, I googled and I etsy’d and saw some ideas I liked that set off my inspiration.

Again for those that know me, I have a thing for Tiffany’s. It might possibly have something to do with the movie, but I just love those colours. I even had my wedding cake be a Tiffany box in beautiful fondant! This doesn’t mean I have an overflowing jewelry box, but it does mean that I like to dream.

The result of the two loves (Tiffany & crochet) can be seen here in my cover. What do you think? I’m ecstatic at how it came out!

Handmade Joys!

Again why I was not posting, I was busy with my crafting for holiday gifts. I didn’t craft as many as I would have liked, but what I did I’m very proud of and was received very well!

As a few of you know, I do indeed have a new nephew so, being that financially I had to show restraint, craft-wise I didn’t.

Due to my Martha Stewart addiction (I’m willing to acknowledge the addiction but not move any further than that LOL), I was watching my coveted Handmade Holidays DVD and she made these gorgeous fleece hats for kids and adults. Well, I don’t have any fleece handy, but I can make my own fabric through crochet, so I did! You need 4 panels that are the same size and then you simple sew them all up and it’s an uber-cute hat! Here is the final result, I know it’t not perfect, frankly it was an experiment, but my sister was ecstatic:

Next up was a scarf for my neighbour. She walks to the bus stop, walks her doggies and is just a really great person to have for a neighbour so I made her this one (seen about 98% done) in Lion Brand Yarn’s Homespun.

And last but not least on my homemade gift odyssey are the requested ‘sea creature’ toys for my nephew. His room is all fish and so I did a few searches and came  up with a dolphin and octopus. Hope you all like them as much as my sister and he did:

Homemade Gift Ideas!

I am all about homemade. As my friends know, my nickname is MiniMartha, and believe me, it’s deserved at this time of year. My hubby lives in fear of what nutty thing I’m going to try for the holidays next. This year it was the light display out front. I was channeling my inner Clark Griswold. I don’t feel that the 600 lights I have out front are enough, nor are the Snowman and Santa. Plans are already in the works for next year. I want more on the lawn and I am determined to do the garage as well. Hmmm, I wonder, maybe I COULD start on the garage this year……my hubby will drag me in the house LOL.

My 2010 Light Show

So, onto the topic of this post. Homemade gifts! There really is nothing like them and they are so personal too. I know some can be time-consuming, but they can also be a lot of fun! Being that I am a Martha Stewart addict I have made several of her crafts and now am adding to my repetoire.

Here are some ideas that have gone over well for me and have been received with great enthusiasm as well as some new ones for you to try that are low on budget, but huge on appreciation!

1. Homemade bath fizzies and soaps

Here is the bath fizzies link from Martha Stewart’s website. I made them in my mini-muffin tin so they were just the right size for a bath. The citric acid was a little bit tricky to find but I did get it at a wine making store and apparently someone else had the same idea as we wound up splitting the bag.

For the homemade soaps I simply bought the soap from the craft store, followed the directions and went to town. Here is a craft where you can really get creative too with colour and scent! I used my mini loaf pans as a mold and they turned out great! I had a little trouble getting them out of the mold at first but I popped them in the freezer for a few minutes and then they slipped out no problem! Wrap the bars in cellophane, tie with some raffia and maybe a strip of a favourite wrapping paper and you’re done!

2. Bath combo kit!

I’ve done this for a few occasions and it has always gone over well. This year I’m adding to it with handmade crochet face cloths. I include either a bar of the soap from above or make pretty baggies with bath salts and with the facecloth what a gorgeous simple gift!

I also did a variation on this for my sister’s wedding shower a couple of years ago. In a prettily trimmed paper bag I included a CD of girly fun songs, lavendar or vanilla scented bath salts (simply add scent to epsom salts and mix, mix,mix!), a tea light and 3 yoga stretches on cards. The salts are available at drug stores, the tea lights you can even probably get at the dollar store (or IKEA may have some nice ones too). The scents are available at craft stores and well, the CD’s are available just about anywhere now.

3. Scarves

Living in Southern Ontario we do indeed get some cold weather and since I taught myself to crochet (yes I tend to get a little bit overambitious) I’ve made several lovely scarves and cowls for gifts.

You do not need to be a crochet expert (or knit) to make a simple scarf. You can simply repeat one stitch row after row and they turn out lovely. I suggest the Belle Scarf on LionBrand.com and the yarn for it is even on sale this week at Michaels! Check out the yarn company sites themselves, I have a few listed in my links, they all have lovely patterns! And who doesn’t like to be warm outside in winter?

And now a couple of new ideas for 2010!

1. A wreath

These are in no way as intimidating as they may look, and you don’t need to spend a fortune either! Michaels has wreaths that are plain and ready to be decorated (and I believe they are on sale at the moment as well) with ribbon or ornaments or anything you want! If it were me (and it’s possible it will be this week), I’d pick up the wreath there and then you simply get a roll of wired ribbon (it works best in my experience) and start at the top and wrap it from back to front as you go around the wreath in a spiral ending with the two end at the back of the wreath. Simply use a glue gun to secure them, add a bow and you’re set! Of course if you’re me, remember the nickname, glue gun on some ball ornaments, and glitterfy it!

2. Snowglobe

Yes I have seen this from Martha Stewart’s website, but I’ve also seen it in other places in recent days. Use up some of those jars you have lying around, or get the family to finish the jam or sauce in a cool jar. Clean it out well! Use that handy-dandy glue gun to stick an ornament or figure to the inside of the lid (the lid will be the base so the jar will end up upside down). Fill with water, add a teaspoon or so of glycerine (Bulk Barn has it) and some glitter. It’s all about glitter. Shake, shake, shake! You can further decorate by adding some fabric to the lid so it looks prettier too!

3. Beverage gifts!

From a friend of mine and using a now favourite product of mine (Starbucks VIA) in a fun and exciting new way (more ways for me to continue my addiction):

Give with tumbler glasses with a serving pitcher (again, you can get really nice ones at the dollar store nowadays and I’ve seen others at the Superstore too!) and the following recipe:

Spiced Coffee Liqueur

Ingredients:
2 cups hot water
4 packets Starbucks VIA Italian Roast
3 cups sugar
2 cups vodka

2 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
1 bay leaf

20 whole coriander seeds

1 vanilla bean

Directions:
Dissolve coffee and sugar in hot water. Add vodka. Split vanilla bean lengthwise, scrape and add beans and pod to liqueur. Break cinnamon stick into pieces and add. Stir cloves, bay leaf and coriander into liqueur. Do not crush cloves or coriander. Chill for two weeks and allow spices to infuse into liqueur. Strain and serve by shaking equal parts coffee liqueur and milk with ice. Keeps well, refrigerated, for one month.

Consider bringing all the fixings for dessert – including ingredients for fresh, homemade hot fudge. Combine a gallon of vanilla ice cream and holiday cups or bowls with the ingredients below, festively displayed in a clear glass jar from which the finished hot fudge can be served.

Mocha Malted Hot Fudge Sauce

Ingredients:
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup light corn syrup
1/8 teaspoon cider vinegar
3 ounces semisweet chocolate
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 tablespoons malt powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 packets Starbucks VIA Ready Brew Italian Roast

Directions:
Finely chop chocolate and set aside. In a heavy saucepan, whisk together cocoa, sugar, salt and milk until mixture forms a smooth paste. Place over medium heat and stir in the cream, corn syrup, vinegar and 2/3 of the chocolate. Bring mixture to a boil, whisking or stirring frequently. Boil, whisking frequently, until the sauce reaches 220 to 225 F on a candy thermometer, about eight minutes. Remove from heat. Whisk in butter, malt, vanilla, coffee and the remaining chocolate until the sauce is smooth. Strain and set aside for a few minutes before serving. If not using right away, chill sauce in airtight container. Re-warm before serving. Keeps well, chilled, for three weeks.

Adding the below recipe and ingredients to festive baking supplies makes a sweet holiday gift indeed – just don’t forget a candy thermometer.

Coffee Toffee with Milk Chocolate and Pretzels
Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1/8 cup corn syrup
8 ounces unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup almond slivers
1 cup chopped pretzels
2 packets Starbucks VIA Italian Roast
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup chocolate (milk chocolate is preferred)

Directions:
Bring sugar, water, and corn syrup to a boil. Stir in the butter when temperature reaches 280 F. When temperature reaches 315 F, stir in the salt, almonds and 1/2 cup pretzels. Cook the mixture until it reaches 320 F. Remove from heat and stir in the coffee and vanilla. Immediately pour the toffee into greased pan. Let toffee cool for 15 minutes and sprinkle on finely chopped chocolate and spread to evenly cover the surface. Sprinkle on remaining 1/2 cup pretzels and gently press. Break toffee into squares and store in airtight container for up to two weeks at room temperature.

I hope these ideas have got those creative juices flowing! If I come across any others I’ll be sure to post them! Happy Crafting!!! And if you have any you’d like to share I’d love to hear them!