Oddly placed coffee carafes and a touch of baby swag.

Friday evening I arrived home from work in a timely fashion and like most days, instinctively opened my fridge. Low and behold the red coffee carafe my parents have had sitting on the counter for nearly 100 years, or at least 5, was staring me in the face. Brightly lit by the strategically placed bulbs in this chilly food closet, it sat there between the spinach dip and heavy whipping cream that I am still questioning. What is that stuff for? Is it what came before whipped cream? Maybe it's the Stone Age version of the spray can whipped cream. Or for people who have a phobia of spraying things, here is the pourable version? Cartons do offer a distinctive taste when placed directly to your lips. I remember the adorable little milks they gave kids in elementary school. Back in the days when sitting Indian style was politically correct. Cross cross apple sauce, people? What does that even mean?!

So this carafe is in the fridge for 3 days until my mom gets home and asks me why is the coffee carafe in the fridge? I tell her I had nothing to do with this. It must have been dads doing. Now here I am a day later and what does mom do? She texts me from downstairs where she happens to be conversing with my dad. She says exactly "Dad says u put the carafe in fridge". The man has clearly lost his mind. But now I am thinking to myself, did I possibly misplace this thing? The truth is out there. We just have to find it.

Anyway, I have been making baby things for days. I'm in love with this neutral color baby hoodie! 3 bibs, 1 sweater and 1 more of each to go! Next on the list is the finishing touch to a hello kitty scarf. I have also finally crocheted my iPhone charger! Ohhh it's a beautiful thing!

Learned a new crochet stitch: loop stitch! It was difficult at first, but by golly I think I've got it.

Reflecting on Life, the Universe and Everything

9 days into the new year and I am already super pumped about 2013! Who wouldn't be, after surviving the chaotic mess that was 2012? Just kidding. It wasn't so bad. 2012 was a year of definite personal development and with that, I shall reflect on and be thankful for:

• My incredible boyfriend who I was lucky enough to celebrate our 2 year anniversary with in December.
• A pretty fantastic career that allowed me to work on some really amazing projects.
• Many different craft excursions...I learned to weave on an Inkle Loom, son!
• Bought my first brand spankin' new whip to cart myself around. 
• Took a handful of road trips to parts of Michigan I had never seen before.
• Visited a couple of new Zoos and was able to watch a turtle lay multiple eggs! Dream come true for me.
• Drank an abundance of craft beers from all over the world, resulting in a slight obsession with all brews containing coffee.
• Became the proud owner of a top notch bicycle and rode as much as possible along side my dear one.
• Developed an illness my boyfriend calls "Vera Aids" and accumulated an embarrassing amount of Vera Bradley products.
• Came up with a way to combine my love for crocheting+Harry Potter by making crochet hooks inspired by magic wands! Sold some on Etsy to some amazing people across the world.
• Taught myself a few chords on the Ukulele thanks to the YouTubes
• Welcomed a beautiful little niece into the world!

There are probably dozens of other mentionable instances that will come to me after I publish this entry, but for now this will suffice. I live a pretty spectacular life and hopefully I will remember and enjoy it even more this year.


 
<3

Swish and Flick

Here it is, folks! The perfect combination of craft and magic. Assuming there is a difference between these two fav worlds of mine. Harry Potter Wand Inspired Crochet Hooks! This idea was first executed late some Friday night in June, as a gift for my dear friends Birthday. Deliriously I slaved over a forest of melting plastic, pouring my intense love for Harry Potter into each hand crafted piece.

...ok, maybe that description is a BIT over the top. In all honesty, these were absurdly fun to make. Especially after seeing the reactions of my friends and family who saw the finished products. Encouraging bunch, they are! Instead of keeping these lovely tools of magic to myself, I've decided to post them on Etsy for the world to try. I made myself a set and use them on the regular to ensure they are not only decorative, but functional, too!

Each wand/hook is uniquely crafted from plastic and coated in acrylic shades that I mix to reflect the colors of wood you might see in the hands of actual witches and wizards. To really give the owner a sense of authentic companionship, as portrayed by the Harry Potter movies and books, I include a personal message describing the origins from which the wand/hook is made. Recently I sent out a note that described the purchasers hook as Alder wood with a phoenix hair core. So much fun!

The crochet hooks are available individually, or in a full set of 6. They made a perfect Birthday gift for my fellow Potter fan and crafter!

Who knows, maybe like the Orchideous spell that conjures a bunch of flowers...there is some sort of Crochetulous spell that conjures all the yarn fairies to help you crochet in double time! Clearly these are the only hooks that could possibly make that happen.

Check out my Etsy shop!



Hungry Charms for Hunger Games

In honor of the highly anticipated film release of The Hunger Games, I decided to make necklaces for my friends and I to wear at the show. My first idea was to gather charms relevant to the story. Sounded simple enough, until it came down to actually looking for these charms. I wanted a bird or a wing to represent the Mockingjay, but sadly never found such a piece. I was also on the hunt for charms to represent District 12, and never found anything cool enough! After weeks of searching, I was on the verge of giving up completely on my idea. That is until I came across the cutest little silver frame charms ever!

With these fabulous finds, I was able to print out little pictures to fit between the clear pieces in the frame and then push the silver exterior back in place around them. 1 side has a Mockingjay design like the cover of the first book, and the other side has the District 12 logo. I made 9 of them, hung them on some black chord and passed them out to friends.

You can purchase these pretty much anywhere it seems. I picked up my packages of 3 for fairly cheap at Walmart if the idea tickles your fancy. Here they are!

These necklaces turned out pretty adorable. I would most certainly use this same technique again for future charm making endeavors.

All Day I Dream About Crafting

Use Your Wand, Harry!

In honor of the golden snitch around my neck today, I think it's time I re-blog something Harry Potter related! I am in the middle of so many craft projects right now, yet all I want to do is drop everything and make myself a wand after reading this! Here is a step-by-step tutorial on how to make your own Magic Wand!

It seems fairly simple, however most things I get excited about seem that way...then I manage to spend all sorts of time and money working on said thing, and it turns out to be horrific! Hopefully my wand isn't a failure. I would hate to end up with a busted up piece of wood like Ron Weasley sports after breaking his Unicorn Hair infused first wand.



My Final Choice



My crafting this weekend will revolve around 2 purse orders (my personal long strap pattern), and crochet flowers by the dozen!!! It took me hours to find the right crochet flower pattern to make into a cute little spring style pin. Here is the site that I used to locate such a pattern: FLOWERS!

Next time I blog, I'll upload some pics of my latest craft excursions.

Can I Get A....

 What? What? (<-in Jay Z voice)

It's all happening! Finally, I got my cute boyfriend to help me snap pics of my crochet projects. As a result, I was able to actually post them in my new etsy shop! Feast your eyes by clicking the link below!
 
MY ETSY SHOP! <3

More items will be posted throughout the week so keep checking folks.