Camera Bag Strap

Check out this cute camera bag strap cover I made for my work camera bag.

   

 I couldn't really get a good photo of the back, but maybe I'll try to get one. I hate the whole photo-in-the-mirror thing, but that was the best I could do with this one.

   

 I made it with an old sheet and a little hot glue, and my friend Heidi who helped me twist a few flowers. I think it turned out pretty cute. The best part? It was free! Oh, and I'm sorry if the text on this is showing up weird, for some reason the new blogger posting thing is being difficult.

Fruity Crayons!

The other day I saw this super cute idea for recycled crayons. I used to make recycled crayons when I was little, but they were never this fancy. Anyway, I haven't made them in ages. I thought it would be a fun project for me and goose.

I found it on the Little Blue Boo blog, which I've been reading a ton lately since it was suggested by Lauren @ LaurenDarlings.

In case you didn't see my first link:

http://www.lilblueboo.com/2012/03/recycled-crayons-a-tutorial.html

We already had a ton of broken crayons and a silicone mold, so we gave it a try.

If I could make a suggestion, it would be to follow these tips... that LBB published on the Blog. I totally didn't, but wish I would have.

A few tips!

1. The smaller the bits of crayon….the better the result. It will take less time for the crayon bits to melt and the colors won’t mix as much. Chop them up using a sharp knife.

2. Using the lowest heat possible on the oven is ideal…..you’ll just have to be REALLY patient for the bits to melt. 150 to 175 degrees is recommended.

3. Allow ample time for the crayons to cool so they won’t break as you remove them from the mold.

4. Stay away from washable crayons….they have a wax in them that will float to the top. I use them anyways just in very small amounts.

5. Don’t mix too many colors….in case you end up heating the crayons too much you’ll keep the colors brighter. Mixing across the color wheel results in brownish colors!

6. Quality of crayon can make a difference! I had some cheap dollar store crayons that took too long to melt and left some large chunks. The color seemed duller too.

My oven was set to 150 degrees and it took a REALLY long time for them to melt. Even after more than an hour they still weren't melted all the way.

I cranked up the oven to 180 and they started melting a lot better, but looked soupy. I wasn't sure if they were supposed to look that way. I thought all of our crayons were going to be brown.

Also, a lot of our crayons didn't have wrappers, so I couldn't tell if they were washable or cheap or what. But LBB is right. The washable ones do have wax that floats to the top and it's colorless. And they don't melt as well.

Anyway, V was thrilled with our crayons and took them to show-and-tell at preschool. I think they turned out really, really cute for a first try and I can definitely see making them again.

See the back? They wouldn't melt for anything! Next time I'll make the chunks smaller. I even had an idea to melt a color, pour it in the mold, let it dry, melt another color, pour, let dry, etc. to get a rainbow crayon. But that's a lot more time consuming then throwing them in the mold and sticking it in the oven.

Be sure to check out the Little Blue Blog for the tutorial and for tons of fun ideas, and inspiration, as well as an amazing outlook on life.

I have some more fun projects to show you and stuff to post, but that's it for now! Happy Sunday friends!

Crochet Creation

I wish I could be more clear about this, but I can't. When it comes to medical names and terms and whatnot all I see is red squiggly lines (the ones you get when something is spelled wrong or incorrect as you're typing). So you'll have to bare with me.

My cousin had a sweet little baby boy. He was born with a liver disease. My cousin was asking for donations for an Art for a Cure fundraiser. I wasn't sure if I could donate crafts but she said I could donate a basket.

Without further adieu, here is my basket. I'm really happy with how it turned out.

It includes:

one neutral baby hat

matching baby booties

and scarf

and a matching star-shaped baby blanket... which is very difficult to photograph but incredibly cute.

and a little sheep bank, but I didn't make that.

Here's what it looked like all finished. I didn't love the bag, but hopefully people look inside the bag and see how cute everything is.

One last photo of my love.

Sprucin' Up for the Holidays!

Gary wanted me to title my blog post that ^. Hehe.

Anyway, Gary has been making up these centerpiece creations from dried zinnias, spruce branches, Juniper, Autum Joy Sedum and whatever else he can come up with. Tonight, he drilled a hole in a tree branch for some dried flowers. I love how it turned out, so I thought I would share it.

And finally, I saw some painted pinecones on Pinterest that I loved. I was wanting some for several days. The Friday after Thanksgiving I had to work and Gary and Vin were off, so they painted a few pinecones for me. Vincent picked the colors. They're really Christmas-y, which I love. The ones I saw were painted in bright shades, but these are perfect for the holidays. Every time I look at them I smile. I want them all over my house! Ok...I'm getting carried away.

I guess I didn't have to tell you that G added the spruce to this arrangement...

And it looks pretty no matter which way you turn it!

See? Easy peasy!

The best part? It's pretty close to free!

Cute Cuddlies!

Want to see what I've been working on lately? Alllrrriiiggghhhtt.

Here are a few hats. Vincent wanted a puppy hat first. Then he wanted matching penguin hats for him and his best friend Paige. I haven't made Paige's hat yet, but it should be pretty cute because I get to "girl" it up!

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I had a little model!

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Side view.

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Honestly, for the penguin hat, which I started yesterday and finished today, I didn't use a pattern. I just found something I liked and made things up as I went along. I think it turned out pretty cute!

This puppy hat was the first animal hat I made. I was always nervous about making a lot of pieces and sewing them on and it really seemed like a lot of work. I couldn't find a (free) pattern that I loved, so I combined all the parts and winged it. The ears took forever, but other than that, it wasn't too bad. I like how it turned out, especially for a first hat.

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And of course I think those baby blues underneath the hat make it 10 times cuter!

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I think the fur is a cute touch, even though it was a huge pain! I do wish the ears were a little bigger, but Vincent was pleased, so I am too.

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And... a baby blanket! I made this star blanket using a youtube video. Gotta love youtube, and people who can explain things so I can understand them (Thank you Mikeyssmail!). I wanted to make a star blanket, but my stars kept turning out lopsided. I'm just not good at understanding the written crochet patterns. But the video seriously made it SO easy! I have this in mind for a little baby a friend is expecting, but I'm not sure if this will be "the one" just yet. We'll have to see.

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"Pooky" bunny is about the size of a newborn baby, so he got to model the blanket.

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Well, that's it! Happy Sunday everyone!

Gingermen House

This morning I awoke to Vincent tugging at me asking if we can make the "gingermen house" I picked up shopping with a friend yesterday.
After getting him to snuggle for a few minutes I finally acquiesced and we set to work on our Mrs. Field's Gingerbread Cottage kit.
Only two hours later, we had created a pretty cute house! Vincent did most of the work and only ate a little bit of icing and candy. Although, he already wants to tear it apart and eat it. I, on the other hand, think we should wait at least a few days! Here is what we came up with:

Ignore that Vincent is eating icing straight from the pouch...

A close-up of our house
The other side

Our snowmen are a little lopsided...

We later had to move the right snowman because he kept falling over.

Anyway, the house looks nice and I think this might be a fun family tradition. And we'll let dada help. He was making us pancakes this morning.