First up, an oversize ruler growth chart for Arlo. I saw these on Pinterest years ago and have always wanted to make one. I read several tutorials but this one was the one I most closely followed. I originally planned to use a stencil for the numbers and just sponge paint them on, but didn't like the look when I practiced it on a scrap piece. So I opted to trace the stencil lightly with a pencil, and then do all the painting by hand. This method took way longer but it turned out even better than I hoped it would. I usually opt for a dark stain for wood but wanted the painted letters to really pop so I picked a lighter color. Total cost for this project was around $10 as I only had to buy the wood board and fine paintbrush, I had all of the other materials on hand already. I haven't yet officially made a mark for how tall he is, I plan to mark it on his second birthday in a couple of weeks.
Just before Halloween I had the motivation to do a little pattern writing, so I made these cute little Halloween crochet corks. You might remember the Holiday cork set I made last year. These are the same idea -- little crochet figurines around wine corks. I started with the pumpkin and then made a skeleton and Frankenstein to go with him, and then kind of lost steam after that. I never got around to publishing the patterns even though I have them ready to go, but there is always next year... Total cost of this project was free because I already had the yarn on hand and it was easy to quickly down three bottles of wine ;)
I am not traditionally a painter and had actually never before painted on canvas, but I had so much fun hand painting the ruler growth chart that I decided to try another painting project. I initially wanted to make just the deer head canvas seen below, but the canvases were on sale at JoAnns and I had a coupon so I bought two. I made both of these during a single nap time one afternoon. The deer head was really easy and fun to make, and is currently residing on top of our fireplace mantle as a fun Christmas decoration. Go here to find out how you can make your own!
The other canvas was something I decided to make once I was home and had started the deer head painting, so it had to be something I already had all the materials for. Let's call this one an impulse craft project. And also a Pinterest fail -- turned success. I followed the instructions for the birch tree canvas and ended up with this:
I sort of liked it, and set it upstairs in the hallway so I would see it frequently before I committed to putting a nail in the wall for it. After a couple of days I decided it needed a little more work, and spent about an hour "erasing" the blobby black paint by going over it with white acrylic paint. I then loved how it looked (so birchy!) and will be hanging it in our bedroom when I get around to working on the wall collage in there... Lesson learned - credit cards are meant for buying things, not for painting things! I think I spent around $5 on each canvas, $2 on paint, $4 on glitter and $4 on the gold paint pen to make the K + E. Not bad for two pieces of wall art.
This next crochet project was something I saw some else make and share on Instagram. I am slowly starting to develop a crochet wall hanging obsession, and when I saw these I knew I had just the right spot for them. In our new house, we have a front room that I suppose is designed to be a formal living room, but right now it's pretty much empty. We do have plans for eventual built-in bookcases and new furniture, but for now all that's in the budget is these free crochet hangings, ha. The pattern was written to be a rug, but with an appropriate sized hook and yarn weight, it can be made into pretty much any size desired. I used navy yarn that I already had on hand and hung them above our vintage sewing table. I love, love, love them and kind of want some in every room of the house. I was a little nervous to hang them up because I had to put eight nails in the wall for each one, but once I put them up I knew I wouldn't be taking them down any time soon.
I took a little break from my constant crocheting to do a little sewing (have I mentioned how much I love to sew?!) and make Arlo a couple of pillowcases for his toddler sized pillow. I recently started putting his little pillow in the crib with him, and he seems to really enjoy using it. Standard size pillowcases are way too big, so I whipped up a couple that fit it just right. I used flannel fabric because we are heading into winter, but will probably make a few more warm weather cases at a later date. Total cost was only a few dollars as the deer fabric was on super sale and I already had the other fabric on hand. I used this great video tutorial, but used only two colors instead of three.
Out of the leftover deer fabric I made Arlo a pair of pajama pants. I didn't really use a pattern or tutorial for these, I just traced a pair of pants that fit him currently and added a seam allowance and an inch or so to the length so he has some grow room. The decision to not follow a pattern was likely why half of the deer ended up upside down, which initially made me annoyed because at that point I had already cut the fabric and didn't have enough to redo them. So I proceeded with the project and then posted a pic to Instagram. Someone mentioned that half the deer would be right side up to Arlo as he wore them and then it all made sense and I loved the pants and all was right with the world again. Or something like that. Anyway, pants:
Up next is a quick and easy project I started before Halloween but didn't figure out just the right spot to hang it until nearly Thanksgiving. It is a cute little pumpkin garland, and I ended up putting it in our living room above our sofa wall collage. I used sewing pins to hang it so the holes in the wall are super tiny and not visible to the eye unless you are actually standing on the sofa, which most of our house guests typically refrain from during their stay. Cost: free as I already had the yarn, pattern: here.
Before I even took down the pumpkin garland I knew I wanted a Christmas garland to replace it, so I found this quick and easy tutorial online. At the time I didn't have a pom pom maker (I have since bought one for other crafts) so I used two empty TP tubes, which worked pretty well! Cost was only a couple of dollars for the mini ornaments.
I started making this little lamb over a year ago, and finally got around to finishing it in the last few weeks. I followed the pattern pretty much as written but did go up a couple of hook sizes because I was struggling with the small hooks and that super fluffy yarn. Not sure where I am going to keep him but for now he is sitting on a shelf in the office guarding my yarn stash, and doing a darn good job of it.
Next project was very quick and easy, and required that I learn how to make my own pom poms which turns out is also very quick and easy. It uses a large hook and chunky yarn so it can be made in around an hour or less. Arlo has had quite the hat obsession for a while now and wants to wear them all day (indoors and out) so he was pretty happy about the hat mama made him... Pattern here but you do have to create an account on the Lions Brand website (it's free and easy!) I ended up making two hats, one rainbow colored and one red & white, and the cost for each was around $5 for the yarn.
On our recent drive up to DC for thanksgiving, I started making these adorable earwarmers and legwarmers for Arlo's little friend, Lyra. The pattern uses a shell stitch which I don't remember having done in the past, and I immediately fell in love with it. It's an easy, repeatable stitch that is almost meditating to crochet. In fact, I loved it so much I also made a set for our babysitter's daughter and plan to make myself earwarmers out of a similar pattern. Not going to mention the cost because it is a gift but I was able to make each set out of exactly one skein of yarn.
Arlo modeling them after I finished them during our trip. It always helps to have a kid the same size as the person you are making the gift for! He has actually tried to steal them several times now so he can wear them himself. Are they still girly if I make him a set in blue and grey?? ;)
Speaking of Lyra, she is also now a big sister! Her family welcomed their new little lady, Lucy, at the beginning of the month. Of course I wanted to make her a little something, and decided upon this sweet little pixie bonnet (also made with a shell stitch!) It turned out great and I hope she loves it. This little bonnet would also make an excellent photo prop for anyone doing newborn photos. I love the slightly scalloped edge and subtle yarn variegation.
And they ended up loving the Santas so much that they requested another one, so I made a few trees and an elf...
Whew! That was a lot of crafting. You might think that all I do is craft all day long, but truth be told these were almost entirely done during nap times, or finished up after Arlo went to bed. None of these projects were attempted whilst our tiny tornado of a toddler was on the loose, I know better than that. Ha! More projects to come soon, as I don't have any intentions on stopping this crafting madness anytime soon...
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