Best Daddy Ever

The latest challenge at The Memory Nest was a Color Challenge with a twist, the twist being to include flowers. No problem there, with two little girls flowers are a staple, maybe even a necessity, on each layout I make of them.

For this layout I paired adorable photos of my girls with their Daddy on Father's Day, with paper from American Crafts.

I made this tag, added the title, and then layered it on my page.

You want flowers, you got them.

Even a little flower button.

This was a really great color challenge - I loved the colors and that I got a chance to use some of the paper that I have had in my stash for far too long.

Thank you to The Memory Nest for hosting these challenges. Head on over there now and see what the other amazing ladies on the Design Team created...and while you're at it, why not play along.

Crochet Jellyfish

After making an owl and a frog princess, I decided to pick a theme for my crochet toy making - sea animals. To start my little group of ocean friends, I made a a jellyfish.

Like the frog princess, the pattern for the jellyfish can be found in this incredible book. This is a great pattern book; the toys are adorable, and the patterns to make them are so simple to follow. I highly recommend this book if you are at all interested in crocheting toys.

Positioning and sewing on all those legs was a bit of a chore, but so worth it. Isn't he cute? I love his little smirk.

Any guesses as to what ocean friend I made next?

Crochet Frog Princess

Like I said, I have become obsessed with making crochet toys. So fun!

Here is my latest creation, made by following a pattern from this fantastic book - a frog princess perched on her lily pad

So cute!

I'm so happy with how she turned out. What a cute idea for a toy.

My girls love her and have been playing with her quite a bit, taking her on and off her throne.

Another benefit of making all these toys is that I am using up some of the cotton in my stash. I honestly never thought I would see the day when my big balls of cotton were used up, but it is happening, and I have some adorable handmade toys to add to the girls' toy box. Win, win!

Have you made any crochet toys lately. I would love to see them.

Card of the Week: Summer Smiles

With summer coming to an end much faster than I would like it to, I was inspired to make a Summer card this week.

Card Base: Recollections; Patterned Paper: Jillibean Soup; Die Cuts: Jillibean Soup; Flower: my craft stash; Border Punch: Fiskars; Corner Rounder: EK Success; Adhesive: Scrapbook Adhesives, Glue Dots

I have never really known what to do with this paper, the one with the bathing suits on the clothesline that is. It never worked well on a layout for me, but on this card it works perfectly. It's really cute and I am glad that I found a place to use it.

Sending you all summer smiles as you finish off this amazing season. Thanks for visiting.

Crochet Owl Toy

Crocheting toys is becoming an obsession of mine. They are quick and simple to do, and they are adorable.

Using this free pattern from Daisy Cottage Designs, I made this incredibly cute owl for my daughter.

My owl is a little smaller than what the pattern says because I used cotton yarn rather than acrylic. I prefer cotton when I am making toys - it is a little stiffer and I find it holds up better in terms of the toy keeping its shape and not getting all fuzzy looking as the yarn wears.

This was a very simple project to work on and it only took me a few hours to make. That is exactly what I needed after the time investment of my two recent blankets (see here and here) - something small, cute, and quick to finish.

Watch this space for more toys to make their debut. I was not kidding when I said this was becoming an obsession.

Sticky

It's time for another Sketch and Color Challenge over at The Memory Nest. I was so excited when I saw the colors for this challenge because they worked perfectly with my new Happy Camper paper from Jillibean Soup that I was dying to use.

For this layout I used pictures of my girls eating S'mores while we were camping. Sticky hands and faces are a given when S'mores are being eaten by these two girls.

I embellished my page using coordinating stickers from the Happy Camper line plus and a few other nature inspired things I found in my stash - butterflies, a corrugated cardboard flower, and a mushroom.

Want to see what everyone else created for this challenge? Head on over to The Memory Nest and be ready to be inspired - so many talented ladies with lovely projects to share. 

Card of the Week: Funky Hello

Last week I had so much fun using my leftover bits from Glitz's Yours Truly line to make this card, that I decided to use my scraps from Glitz's Cashmere Dame line to make this week's card.

A funky little card to say 'hello".

Card Base: Recollections; Patterned Paper: Glitz; Flower: Prima; Button: Basic Grey; Stickers: Glitz; Circle & Arrow Punch: Fiskars, Floss: my craft stash, Adhesive: Scrapbook Adhesives, Glue Dots, 3D Foam Squares

I have a hard time throwing paper in the trash and cards are an awesome way to use up even the smallest bits. Anyone else do this too?

One Big, Colorful Granny Square Blanket

I have mentioned a few times how I wanted to make a big, colorful granny square blanket using yarn from my massive cotton stash. I love making granny squares, but after finally finishing my Garden Patch Granny Afghan, I knew that I did not have it in me to crochet many squares and then sew them together; the thought of sewing squares together actually made me shudder. So I decided to just make one huge granny square, around and around, changing from one color to another, a simple and rhythmic project that fit nicely with summer crocheting on the patio.

To begin, I laid out all my cotton yarn and played around a bit deciding on the color order. I was a little apprehensive at first to include the red, but in the end I love it being in the colorful mix.

I kept crocheting until I ran out of yarn to complete another repeat of the pattern. I added a white border to frame the blanket.

When I began, I really had no idea where I would put this blanket, but when it was finished I realized that it would be a perfect addition to Bridget's room. It is now laid across the chair in her bedroom where she sits and reads.

My goal was to make a colorful blanket, and I do say I have succeeded.

I am very happy with my one big, colorful granny square blanket and that making it made a huge dent in my cotton stash.

I am kind of done making blankets for a while, and am working through some of my remaining cotton by doing some fun, smaller projects which I will show you soon. It feels odd not to have a huge project 'on-the-go' but is also quite satisfying to be finishing up smaller projects quite often, especially during these busy days of summer when there always seems to be somewhere to go and something else to do.