The Mandalas Flower

So, I was just pinning away on Pinterest when suddenly I was stopped dead in my tracks. It was love at first sight and I had to make it. It’s a Mandalas Flower pouch by Nimuae on deviantART. I joined just so I could see the rest of it and trust me it gets more bad ass as you click. I didn’t want to do the whole pouch, just the flower.

Here is my attempt:

A little bigger now:

Close up

I’m not sure what I want to do with it, but I have a few ideas. I’m sure you do also, here is the original tutorial. And the other tutorial that is on deviantART if you do not wish to join. Have Fun!

Update:

Apparently this is called Macrame, and more specifically Cavandoli Macrame. Which blows my friggin mind because I always thought macramé was this:

Which reminds me of something granny would have in her house. ( Not to diss granny, I mean I do knit and crochet so I thoroughly enjoy granny’s crafts ) But really? Macrame? Wow! I loved making friendship bracelets and I still do, I just never thought it was related to Macrame. But anywho I’m totally into it and I cant wait to learn more.

Know that everything moves in circles…

So I drew a circle with a compass and just continued from there. There are endless possibilities. I’d like to see your projects so post a link in the comments 🙂 For directions click here

Feelin’ the love

Wow! I’m glad that so many of you liked the Melted Crayon Art post.  I’ve taken a little break from crafting to enjoy being married and now it seems that we are relocating. I needed something to ease the stress so I have another Melted Crayon picture to post this weekend. Here’s a sneak peek.

Something about the glow of the little flame and the smell of crayons eases my nerves. In addition to that I’ve also become a master gardener. Who Knew?! I sure didn’t. We’ve had crazy success with our garden this year, even in the middle of a drought and water ban.

We really worked hard this year because it’s just failed in previous years. We tilled the soil then put down weed fabric. We cut out the hole for the plants and then used peat moss to install the plants or seeds. I really think the peat moss did the trick. Then we mulched to help the plants retain some moisture and it turned out great. My garden is completely organic. Just sunlight and water 🙂

We planted rosemary, basil, broccoli, carrots, spinach, collard greens, a ton of tomatoes, raspberries, strawberries, sweet corn, green beans, sweet peppers, hot peppers, pumpkins, cucumbers, and zucchini! A little too much for that area. And we didn’t realize that planting cucumbers and pumpkins close together would cause cross-pollination so we have orange cucumbers!

But I also planted red sunflowers and they are gorgeous! I hope they come back next year.

Candy Cane Wreath

I love Daily Craft and I check their Facebook page regularly for neat crafty ideas. Recently I stumbled across this jewel: Candy Cane Wreath.  I’ve always wanted to make a traditional wreath but my husband is not a fan of them. I think this is a cool compromise 🙂 It was really easy to make and I added my own decorations that I found at Michael’s.

 

Melted Crayon Art

I came across this project the other day on Helping Little Hands and I thought it would be something fun that my step-daughter and I could do together. I love that she’s artsy and enjoys cool crafts.

You will need:

• Adult supervision obviously. My step-daughter is 7, and we went through the “Never do this without an adult” talk.
• Tea lights
• Crayons ( Kroger has them for $.39 right now!)
• Canvas board or canvas panels
• pencils
• white eraser

So, first you need to sketch your design idea lightly in pencil on the canvas. If you mess up don’t panic, that’s why we have an eraser.

Make sure that you’ve peeled the crayons and gotten most of the paper off. Lightly melt the wax on the end of the crayon. I like to turn it in the flame so I have more control of the wax and it gives you cleaner drips on the canvas. Play around with it and you will develop your own technique.

Work slowly and turn your canvas so you aren’t dripping all over your picture. If you do drip in the wrong place, wait for the wax to cool and then scratch it up with your fingernail. It shouldn’t take much.

Have fun and make something beautiful!

My step-daughter’s creation 🙂

Kumihimo

My new little sister, Tori, introduced me to Kumihimo. Kumihimo is a Japanese braiding technique that creates beautiful cords made by interlacing strands of floss or yarn. She showed me friendship bracelets that she made using this technique and they are super cool. It took me awhile to catch on but when I did, I discovered it was really fun and relatively easy.

 

Your supplies are simple: a Kumihimo disk- I paid about $13 for mine, and DMC colored floss or a DK yarn – either are pretty inexpensive at Michael’s or Joann’s.

 

The disk is a must. It is lightweight and made of foam; mine is round and has 32 notches. You can also get a Maru dai for thicker yarn or string. With the Maru dai you can make braids that are flat, four-sided, or hollow. You can even add beads to your pattern and make some amazing things. So many possibilities!

 

There are three levels of difficulty: K1 for beginner,K2 for intermediate, and K3 for expert

I found a couple quick patterns here. Have fun and Happy Braiding!

Update: August 29,2012

Look for videos on YouTube. This one was helpful: RubberStanpRosie

You can also find free patterns for many friendship bracelets here at friendship-bracelets.net

Subway Seat Yarn Bomb

Guerrilla knitter Ishknits yarn bombs a subway seat on Philadelphia’s Blue Line.

Knitting Stress Relief

 

Well my Save the Dates are in and perfect! I addressed them last night and I should have them out soon. I wish I could invite everyone but that’s just unrealistic. With that being said, and lacking the energy to elaborate further, I’ve started knitting again to relieve some of the stress. At the moment I’m working on a cable knit cowl neck scarf thing lol So that will give my mind something to do instead of worrying about the drama that seems to be surrounding me at the moment. Thank the Lord for creative outlets!

One Hot August Night

After talking to a good friend of mine I took a step back from the whole wedding frenzy to re-evaluated things and just enjoyed being engaged. I was driving myself crazy, no wonder I was so discouraged. After the whole wedding freak-out break things started falling into place.

 Now, planning the wedding is a lot of fun. I think in a week’s time I had my dress, the location and the colors (Sundown Orange). I don’t like to dilly dally. I either like something or I don’t, however; I’m finding that hasty decisions aren’t always the best ones. I rushed the Save the Dates, ordered 100 magnets and envelopes when I really needed like 50. When I got them they just weren’t right. I didn’t even have my theme yet. I just jumped right in. Well the new ones should arrive today, and I think I got it right this time lol. We shall see.  

I am Currently Obsessed with Florence + The Machine. Check out her songs Girl with One Eye on Lungs and Heavy in Your Arms on the Twilight Saga: Eclipse Soundtrack.

Check out music from SO & SO