currently obsessing... crochet

I have some serious craftiness on the brain right now!
I just spent an hour{or two} searching for new crochet patterns.
I'm in the middle of a few projects right now, but am already looking for a new one!
Here are a few fun stitches and projects I found today!

Source: cultofcrochet.wordpress.com via Ameryn Marie on Pinterest

Isn't that awesome!?! It's called Broomstick lace. I can't wait to try it!

Source: yarn-muse.blogspot.com via Ameryn Marie on Pinterest

I'm loving this crocodile stitch! I need to make a scarf like this!

I found a video tutorial for it too!

Source: crochetincolor.blogspot.com.au via Ameryn Marie on Pinterest

Yeah, I'm loving this! I want to make baskets for every room now!

Source: svpply.com via Ameryn Marie on Pinterest

I found this picture today, I'm going to have to figure out how to make that!

Source: fantaisiesdeflo.canalblog.com via Ameryn Marie on Pinterest

How fun would this be as a little baby throw or something?

I want to make them all! Lol!
I have a $50 JoAnns card burning a hole in my wallet, and I think I'm going to blow it all on YARN!

What are you currently obsessing over?

Ribbon Jewelery Frame

I have been in need of a new solution for my earrings for a while now.  I have a neat stand that my husband made me years ago out of perforated stainless, but it was better for posts than 'hook' earrings.  So, I thought I'd go ahead and make myself something I could attach all kinds of earrings on. And I came up with this.

And, since I was making it I figured I could share! So, here we go.  You only need three things to make this project:

an old (or new) frame - which I happened to have saved for something like this

ribbon - I chose a semi-stiff transparent ribbon, so I could poke earrings through easily

and last but not least -  hot glue


First thing's first, take your old frame...

and remove the print, glass and backing.
Now you will have a blank frame.

I measured out where I wanted my ribbon, but you can eyeball it if you want.  Next dab a little bit of hot glue on one of your marks and attach your ribbon.

After it has cooled down a bit I like to add another layer of hot glue on top, and fold down the tail of the ribbon.  It looks like a globby mess of hot glue, but it should hold well.

Attach all the ribbons to one side and let them cool before attaching them to the other side.

Do the same on the other side, making sure to pull the ribbon pretty tight. Cut off any extra ribbon.  And you're done!

Super fast and easy project that is super cute and practical!

Now I just have to finish filling it with all my earrings!

If you make one yourself I would love to see them! It could be so fun with different ribbon, or painting the frame a fun color.  Hope you enjoyed!

Flower Hair Accessory Tutorial

I FINISHED!!!  Yay!

These actually were pretty quick and easy once I figured out how to make them, so I thought I'd create a tutorial to share!

This all started with a trip to a local bridal boutique, shopping for my friends wedding dress, and our bridesmaid dresses.  When she went to try on veils we found that even a really simple veil was about $200! So, I told her I would be happy to make her veil for her (I made mine and it was pretty easy).  Then when we looked at hair pieces for us bridesmaids they were pretty pricey too.  So I thought (out loud) I could make those... and so, I made those. ;)  It worked out nicely, she got the EXACT color that she wanted, and I made all eleven for the price of one from the store!

So, here it goes, my first full tutorial. Sorry for the not so awesome pictures.

First of all here is what you are going to need:

Flowers or Flower petals

Felt

Tulle

Feathers (I chose two kinds)

Rhinestones

Hair clips or combs

Hot glue

Scissors

I also used a rotary blade and mat, but that's optional

The first thing I did was cut my tulle into 6 inch squares. I did so with my rotary blade, but scissors work just fine.  You will need two squares for each hairpiece you are making.  I made 11 so I needed 22.

Then I cut all my felt pieces.  I made them all hearts.  Why? Why not!  I could have just made a circle, but this was more fun!

Now comes the fun part!  If you have pre-made flowers then this is an easy step for you, just glue your flower to the felt!  If you are using petals like I am (we could not find a single hot pink flower) Then follow along.

Take your first petal add a dot of hot glue on the base and center it on your felt.

Now continue until you have a full flower.  Tip: flowers usually have an odd number of petals, so try to do 5 or 7 if you can.  I did 7 each.

Now that your flower is done it's time to add the tulle!  I took my two 6 inch squares and laid them on one another like this:

Then I pinched the center and twisted it up like this:

That's what give it that nice wavy texture.  Then apply hot glue on the twist and apply it to the center of your flower.  When I did this I found it was easier if I stuck a pin in the twist to help hold it while I glued.

Pull open the tulle to the way you want while the glue is still hot.  Also, if you used a pin pull it out now too.  Press down on your center to get it as flat as possible.  Warning: YOU WILL GET HOT GLUE ON YOUR FINGERS!  If you want to avoid this use the back of a pen or something for this step.

Now it is time for FEATHERS!  I found these feathers on a band at Michaels.  I thought they were neat because some of them have little seed beads up the quill.  Anyways, I played around with the amount I wanted to use, and decided on 4 or 5, so I cut a small section and trimmed the end a bit.

After I played around with the placement I glued them to the center of the flower.  Now it looks like this.

I wanted a little more body in there, so next I added a 'fluffy' feather the same as the others.

Now for a little SPARKLE!  I used simple and inexpensive rhinestones for the centers.  They give a nice sparkle, and hide all the ugliness in the center. When you apply the rhinestones make sure to apply the hot glue to the center of the flower, and then place the rhinestone on top.  When I tried to apply the glue straight to the rhinestone it 'melted' a piece of the reflective backing off and ruined it.

Almost done!  Flip your flower over so it is face down.

See, the heart is super cute!  ;)  Even though you will never really see it, its there.

Now to add you clip.  Make sure it is facing the right direction so when you put it in your hair it's not upside-down.  Add a dab of hot glue where the base of your clip should be and attach.

And Voila! You are done!

Just to give you an idea of how big they are and how they actually look in your hair.

All eleven of them!  Yup, she has a lot of friends!  Love you Steph!

Pom Pom Tutorial

I've had a few friends ask me about the fun Pom Poms I made for Melissa's baby shower. So, I thought I'd share it with everyone. :)

I used this tutorial I found from Martha Stewart but modified it a little to make Poms for the table instead of to hang.  Basically you stack tissue paper, fold it like an accordion, tie the middle with wire, cut the edges, and pouf! Pretty simple, though slightly time consuming if you are making a ton, like I did.  On her tutorial she has a very specific size for the tissue paper, but I played around with the sizes a lot.  I think I ended up making 4 different sized Poms. Also, since I was making flat bottom Poms instead of full Poms I used 5 or 6 sheets of tissue paper instead of the 8 that the full Poms call for.

Here is what you will need to do this project...

 

Tissue paper, scissors, wire and pliers...the longboard is optional, but recommended  ;)


Here is an up close view of my first finished Pom...

and here they are out on our giant table...

I love that big table!

Well, I hope that satisfies any curiosities.  If anyone decides to make them I'd love to see them in use!  We liked them so much that we found a place to keep them to use again!