2014 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 780 times in 2014. If it were a cable car, it would take about 13 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

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Ghostly Ghoulish Lollipops

To make these Ghostly Ghoulish Lollipops you will need:
Lollipops
Tissue paper
Ribbon
Scissors
Googly eyes (optional and adorable)
Glue (to attach googly eyes)

This super easy craft comes together in minutes and makes a spooky good treat!

Cut your tissue paper into quarters and then into circles. Place your lollipop head into the center of the circle and bring the tissue paper down around the lollipop twisting onto the stem. Tie a ribbon to secure. You could finish here or go ahead and glue on some googly eyes to make them super cute!

You could hand them out this way or create a display like mine for kids to grab one for themselves. I just used the foam packing from my new printer as a base and cut it so it would stand evenly. I blew up and printed out clip art of a hunter house and placed it under a layer of tissue paper then wrapped it like a present. I then stuck the ghost lollipops all around the picture and had myself a spooky display.

I used this at the Halloween party I threw at my resort and it was a big hit! Let me know if you try this out in the comments below.

Have a spooktacular crafty day!

Child’s Infinity Scarf

As you know I’ve been working on a baby blanket for the majority of this year (taking the entire summer off because I couldn’t bare to pick up a wooly little blanket in the blazing heat). Well, this little baby boy has a big sister who is turning 5 this week and I thought it would be nice to send something for her when I mail the blanket. So this was my project, a one skein infinity scarf for an adorable little girl, made with a veriegated Loops & Threads Impeccable yarn of pink, brown and cream. I modified this adult infinity scarf pattern I found on Pinterest to create this snugly little piece. I used a 6.5mm K hook and made 20 stitches to start and proceeded to double crochet 68 rows, basically until I was almost out of yarn. I left enough yarn to attach the two ends together to become an infinity scarf and wallah, there you have it!

I think it will look much cuter on a sweet little five year old. On me it looks miniature but I think it will look cozy and full on her.

I’m just glad I got to FINISH a project. The baby blanket is coming along quite nicely so keep checking back for more pictures!

Keep it crafty!

Craftin’ Down the Highway

Jeff and I went to a wedding in South Carolina this weekend and since it was only about a 7 hour drive we decided to make it a road trip. We saw five (that’s right FIVE) national parks along the way to and from Orlando. One of them, the Castillo de San Marcos, we actually saw twice because I liked it so much on the way up we decided to go by St. Augustine again and spend a little more time there. (So you can even count that as six stops, but still just five parks). The wedding was a wonderful time to see some great friends from college and Jeff and I got to have an adventure together.
So in between hopping out of the car for mini hikes, tours of Spanish, French and English forts and stuffing our faces with pulled pork and fried chicken I got to work on something crafty and very special. One of my best friends I’ve know since I was a kid told me last year that she and her husband were trying to have a second child. They have an absolutely adorable almost five hear old girl who just won’t stop growing and they decided it was time to give her a sibling while they could still play together. Well in January I just got a feeling that she was going to have a baby boy and before she was even pregnant I started crocheting a blue baby blanket. Well, sure enough a few months later she called and told me she was pregnant and a few months after that she told me it was a boy. (Am I clairvoyant, or what?)This was a great project for me while I was still living up north and taking my mom into Manhattan for chemo each week. It gave me something to do while my mom fell asleep during her treatments and also kept me warm in the chilly hospital. The more I crocheted, the more it covered, the warmer I became. Anyway, my mom finished that round of treatment and I got a new job and moved to Florida and became really busy and REALLY hot. I did not want to go anywhere near yarn all summer, especially a blanket made of it. The weather is finally starting to cool off a bit now and this road trip provided the perfect excuse to pick it up again. Good thing too, because this baby is due in December.

What is your favorite craft to take on the road? Leave your answer below to let me know.

Thank you for your interest. I will be posting the details on how to make one for yourself once I complete it. (Tip: I used a single crochet stitch for almost the entire blanket to keep a close weave so little baby fingers won’t get caught.)

I hope you had a happy, safe and crafty holiday weekend! And keep craftin’ on the highway, just make sure you have a designated driver!

Quick Birthday Banner and Free Printables

This week was my employee Brian’s birthday. I like to make a big deal about this kind of thing because we are like a little family here in Paradise. I love free printables and of course Pinterest has a wealth of ideas, inspiration and sites with free materials perfect for any occasion. The color printer in my office died so I am just left with black and white but the chalkboard look is so chic and Brian is all about chic! You can find these cute banner letters at www.shanty-2-chic.com
You can find the Happy Birthday printable sign and many others from www.iheartnaptime.net
Get this adorable card and other free printables from www.caravanshoppe.com

Turn any occasion into a celebration with just a little crafty decoration.

Happy crafting!

Jute Wrapped Monogram Wreath

I am pretty happy with how this turned out considering it started out all wrong. Like, I picked this out to make for my best friend’s wedding and got the wrong letter. I was operating on three hours of sleep and had just started my new job and was totally flaking in the present department. I got this great idea from Pinterest, ran to JoAnn Fabrics and grabbed this ‘G’ without even thinking. It only occurred to me while I was in already the middle of hot glueing the twine around the center of said ‘G’ that I completely failed. So anyway, I said what the heck, let me finish it anyway and I’ll find someone who will appreciate this ‘G’ for its beauty and alphabetical presence.
I have found such a person and would like to wish her a happy belated birthday and Merry Christmas in August!

Materials you will need:
A cardboard letter of your choosing
Twine/Jute string
Tons of hot glue
Ribbon
Felt

The fun thing about it is that you can decorate it however you would like. I chose to stay minimal but feel free to get as creative as you want!

I will warn you that the hot gluing will take a while if you want to be really thorough. It took me about two hours. Also, you will burn your fingers, like, several times. But if you are an avid crafter like me you will get used to it.

I like I how it turned out so much I might have to make this a go-to gift. I just need to make sure I get enough sleep and grab the right letter next time.

It’s the thought that counts, right?

Stay crafty my friends.

Watermelon Cake

This is a super cute and delicious cake without all the calories, not that I really care about that sort if thing. The hardest part was cutting the watermelon into the shape of a cake. I started with a giant watermelon, cut off each end, then cut the rind off creating a circular shape. I also was making this for Jeff to take to a potluck at work and had to be able to fit it in my cake carrier so I had to cut off a lot if the height. Once you cut your watermelon make sure to pat it dry with some paper towels so your whipped cream will stick. I beat 2 1/2 cups of heavy whipping cream with a hand mixer until it started to thicken then added 1/4 cup of sugar a little at a time along with a bit of vanilla extract while still beating the whipped cream. The whole process took about five minutes and tastes delicious. I just started slathering it all over the watermelon like I would ice a cake. I had some blueberries and raspberries on hand and made a little design on top. Next I individually hand placed each slivered almond on the side of the cake. OMG that took so long. Half way through I just took a handful and tried to throw them on the side but then they were sticking out all jagged and in one spot so I went back to placing them by hand. A few weeks later on a plane ride from Orlando to Charlotte I met a lady from Haifa, Israel who told me there is some sort of bakers tool to help with this if I try it again in the future. Oh well. It turned out so pretty and I had the day off anyway. You could really decorate it however you’d like.

I love summer treats that are refreshing and surprising. This was a huge hit at Jeff’s work and I came out looking like some Susie Homemaker, which is always fun. I do wear a lot of aprons. I think I get that from my mom.

Anyway, let me know if you’ve attempted to make a cake out of fruit or some other surprise! Post your creations in the comments!

Stay crafty my friends.