JUST KIDDING. I'm back.

Hello all! It's been a while. A long while. I might be a little awkward at this at first, because it's been almost 3 years since I last truly blogged. And it's been almost 3 years since I updated this blog.

Truth be told, I didn't even plan on revitalizing this blog. But today by chance, I meant to look up Gmail and accidentally Googled my e-mail address instead. Doing that brought up this blog and I decided to take a look again. As I read my About Me section, I realized what a passion I once had and longed to have it back. I wanted to share the things I made with everyone again. I wanted to find my purpose again.

A LOT has happened since I last posted. I cut my hair, had a kid, cut my hair again, dyed my hair, got pregnant, miscarried, got pregnant again, had a mental breakdown and buzzed my head Britney Spears style, had another kid, dyed my hair, then cut it again, and now we are here. Would you believe that I've been trying to grow my hair out since then?

The most recent picture of us. Chase is holding Liam, and Michael is sitting next to me.

I did a LOT the year my oldest was born, but got a little burnt out since then! Once I got pregnant with my second, I was just SO EXHAUSTED. I barely had energy to do anything. And now since becoming a mom of two, I've been so ridiculously busy that the only time I have to crochet, sew, knit, or ANYTHING is after the kids have gone to bed! Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought my life would be like this in 3 short years.

And while I LOVE my children with all my heart, I do miss having that purpose. That passion. A passion for something that doesn't make me lose faith in humanity. (I've gotten into veganism and feminism, so you can imagine I've become a lot more cynical since I first started the blog haha) I miss it. My husband misses it. My children probably don't miss it, since they never knew I was that way to begin with. Motherhood and life has just consumed me, and I want myself back.

So starting next week, I will create. I will make everything I can. I will find that passion again. And I will share it with all of you. I've become a pro at crocheting, (at least I think so) so I have lots of projects to share with you on that! I made a business out of it there for a while. I'll share those older projects over the next few weeks, and then get into my regular stuff. I'll be sharing crochet mostly, but I will be working on knitting, embroidery, cross stitch, hand sewing, and other crafts and DIY things as well. I can't wait to find my passion again, and I hope you'll join me on the journey!

Crochet: Red and White Mesh Hat

After all those Christmas gifts, I decided to spoil myself with a hat of my own. Since finishing it, my mother wants one exactly like it, and a scarf to match. Oh well. At least it was an easy project haha!

I used a pattern from Meladora's Creations found here. This hat was simple and came out really nice! I love the colors, and it's nice and warm too! For the pattern, after the headband part was done, I did 1 row of red. For the rest of the hat, I did 2 rows of white and 4 rows of red. Then I turned the hat inside out and closed it up with a bunch of slip stitches until the hole was closed enough.

I used up almost the entire red yarn ball I had, so I used the remains in a red and white pom pom. I wish I could put a pom pom on every hat. I'm obsessed with them!

 This pattern has a few advanced stitches, but they are quite easy to figure out. The result is so worth it too! You can use any and EVERY color you want! It'll turn out awesome no matter how you do it! Post your results in the comments!

xo Link

Crochet: Slouchy Summer Hat

This has to be one of my favorite hats I have made so far. This is SUCH a cute hat and one I am so proud of. I plan to make at LEAST 2 more for myself and my mom. I think the color I used helped as well.

I used a pattern from Ravelry found here. This pattern was actually really easy and worked up really fast. I love the textures on it and love that it's not too thick. It's definitely a perfect hat for summer.

I did do things a bit different with this hat. For Rows 5, 11 and 12, I did a pattern on and off of BLO. Row 5 was BLO, row 11 was normal, and row 12 was BLO again. When I finished row 14, I realized it wasn't slouchy enough (the gauge was being weird) so I repeated rows 8-14 until I was satisfied with the slouch and did row 15 in the opposite of the previous row. (depending on if it was BLO or not)

Halfway through the pattern, I realized it also required knitting. Which I cannot do. (yet) So instead of knitting the headband, once I was done making the main part of the hat, I chained 11 and did 10 dc in BLO and ch 1 until it was long enough to stretch around my whole head, then with the hat inside out, I used sc to stitch it to the hat. I'm sure it would work just as good (if not better) with a sl st as well.Then I just finished it in my preferred way and wove in the ends.

I also ended up making a second hat which turned out better than the first. I unfortunately can't remember what I did differently, but I didn't have to repeat any rows. I didn't realize that until I was done though, because it turned out too slouchy and I have to fold the band back in order for it to not look like a fashionable hair net.

This hat is perfect for people who are beginners with knowledge of the basic three stitches. It's simple, but looks fantastic. I recommend you give it a try!

xo Link

DIY: Ribbon Roses!

 

Since I'm getting married in April, I'm going to need bouquets. But I didn't want to go with real flowers because that stuff is expensive. Ain't nobody got cash for that! Plus, I didn't want to go for fake flowers because they're kind of corny looking, and I wanted my bouquets to look unique. I don't want them to look like everyone else's.

I don't want to say it, but I might be a hipster.

Anyway, I got the idea to make fabric bouquets from a friend who had made ribbon roses for her wedding. I loooved the idea! After a few tries, I was addicted! They're so classy, and super cute. Once you get the hang of it, it's really easy to make these and can be turned into a necklace, a hair clip or other hair accessory, or you can use them like I am and put them in a bouquet. They look like the real thing and they last forever.

Materials:

• 1 roll of 1 1/2 inch ribbon

• Scissors

• A lighter

• Hot glue gun

 Step 1

Cut a strip of ribbon 20-30 inches long, depending on what size rose you want. For me, 25 inches was just the right size. Burn the ends with your lighter, so it doesn't fray.

 

 

Step 2

Fold just the end in half and line it with hot glue.

Step 3

Roll up into the hot glue loosely. Be very gentle with it, so it doesn't come out too tight. Try it without glue a few times until you get the results you like.

Step 4

Fold the long piece under and tack it loosely with some glue on the lower part of your flower. Tacking it loosely will create the illusion of full petals in bloom. Continue doing this for the whole length of ribbon.

Step 5

Once you get 2-3 inches away from the end, fold it in half and tack it with hot glue. Then fold it backwards again to create one last petal. Glue the end on or near the middle of the bottom.

Tack up any loose petals and you're finished! Congrats! You have made a ribbon rose!

What are you going to use this tutorial for? Necklaces, headbands, bouquets? Show me your creative ideas and finished roses in the comments! I will feature my favorites in a Feature Friday post. Or if you have any questions or requests, feel free to leave those in a comment as well, or send them to my Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or E-mail, which you can find all of on my sidebar!

xo Link

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