Sparkle Tape Easter Eggs!

First off-- Happy Holi to all those who celebrate! We aren't doing much today, but might over the weekend.

Today, I have a quick tip for those of you madly stuffing Easter eggs in the next few days. My son's school was having an egg hunt this morning, so I found myself stuffing eggs during my daughter's nap yesterday.

I thought they needed a little something extra and I remembered that Serendipity and Spice had used washi tape on her eggs.  This sparkle tape came from Consumer Crafts. It's basically glitter without all the mess. The rolls are individually packed so it's fairly inexpensive for a small project.

So easy to use- simply peel off the backing and add a little bling to just about everything. One thing I especially like is that the sparkles hide any wrinkles in the tape-- totally Palak-proof! (You all know how bad I am at paper crafting!

 And all done! I have a bunch of tape left over-- I wonder what I'll glitter next?

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! I'll be back on Monday with a sneak peek of that sewing project I mentioned on facebook. I'd also love to know if anyone has any special Holi traditions that they do with their family? I am looking for ways to celebrate with my little ones!

Consumer Crafts Pin It To Win It Sweepstakes

I'm back with something exciting this Monday! Consumer Crafts is having a fun contest this month involving every crafter's favorite site-- Pinterest!

You remember consumer crafts-- that's where I got the yarn to make most of last week's newborn hats. 

I'm not big on contest and such-- but the prize for this one is $500 in crafting supplies, which I think makes it worth sharing. In addition to traditional paper crafts, they also sell jewelry, kids toys, and organizational supplies; so it will be easy to spend your money!  So lets, Pin It to Win It!

#spon: I'm required to disclose a relationship between our site and Blueprint Social. This could include the Blueprint Social providing me w/content, product, access or other forms of payment.

Here's how to enter:

Pin the top 10 items on your craft wish list for a chance to win up to $500 in craft supplies from ConsumerCrafts!

Here’s how you enter:

1.       Follow ConsumerCrafts on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/consumercrafts/

2.       Follow Make It Handmade on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/MakeitHandmade/

3.       Create a Pinterest board called “Craft Wish List”

4.       Go to ConsumerCrafts.com and pin 10 craft supplies you’d like to win

5.       Enter the link to your Craft Wish list board and complete your entry here: http://pages.email.consumercrafts.com/pin-it-to-win-it/

Hurry, Entries must be received by March 31st!

I'll be working on my board during the kid's nap today-- I'll post about it on the facebook page when I'm done!

Spring Has Sprung!

I hope everyone enjoyed the good weather over the weekend!

I'll see you back here next Monday! 

Newborn Hatstravaganza Wrap Up

I hope you all had as much fun as I did this week with these hats. If you did end up making a hat, I'd love to see a picture (and feature it on the site, if you like).

Just to do a quick wrap up, here are the patterns we did this week.

The world's quickest  newborn hat-- the Bubble Gum Hat.

 The Pixie Hat-- which has an option to be made with just the knit stitch. No purls or decreases required.

The Bliss Hat-- I have to admit, I think this is my favorite.

 And... the Everything Hat... perfect for little boys, and those of us who don't like to follow patterns :) I love how this pattern is extra thick around the ears.

 I did get a request for a tutorial on making these flowers, which I'll try to share in the next few weeks. After a bit of fiddling, I think I've found an easy, simple way to make them and still have nice, rounded petals. :)

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! I'll be taking the week off next week (um, to recover), and I"ll see you back here for the last week of March.

The Everything Hat-- Free Pattern

I didn't forget about the boys!!! Today we have something a bit different.-- the everything hat is less of a pattern and more of a recipe. It's a little bit of crochet and a little bit of knit. The fun part of this hat is that after the top portion of the hat is knitted, you can choose whatever crochet stitch pattern you like to make the bottom of the hat.

 I used a combination of single crochets, half crochets, and mini puff stitches, and I really like the texture of the brim. I think it would be perfect for a little boy!

Materials:

Vanna's choice Yarn
Size H crochet hook
Size 8 circular knitting needle
Yarn needle for finishing/weaving in ends

Gauge: 

2 inches = 8 stitches knit

  

Directions:

• Cast on 50 stitches.
• From this point forward, we will be working in a continuous round. Work in stockinette (all knit stitches) until work measures 3 inches
•  Decrease Row 1 : place marker. *knit 8 stitches, k2tog* 5 times (45 stitches remain)
• Decrease Row 2 : place marker. *knit 7 stitches, k2tog* 5 times (40 stitches remain)
• Decrease Row 3 : place marker. *knit 6 stitches, k2tog* 5 times (35 stitches remain)
• Decrease Row 4 : place marker. *knit 5 stitches, k2tog* 5 times (30 stitches remain)
• Decrease Row 5 : place marker. *knit 4 stitches, k2tog* 5 times (25 stitches remain)
• Decrease Row 6 : place marker. *knit 3 stitches, k2tog* 5 times (20 stitches remain)
• Decrease Row 6 : place marker. *knit 2 stitches, k2tog* 5 times (15 stitches remain) 
• Decrease Row 6 : place marker. *knit 1 stitches, k2tog* 5 times (10 stitches remain) 
• Using a yarn needle, pull yarn through stitches to close top of hat. 
• Now for the fun part! Using your crochet hook, half double crochet around. You should have 50 stitches. 
• Now choose any stitch or stitch pattern and continue crocheting around the hat until the crochet portion of the hat measures an addition 2.5 inches. I ended up using half double crochets with a mini puff stitch border. (I also through in a row of single crochet here and there.

Finishing:

• To finish this hat, simply weave in the ends and enjoy!

I hope you all enjoy this pattern-- if anyone needs any help/ has questions please let me know. I am so in love with this little hat and would love to know if any of ya'll try it. If you do-- please leave a comment or contact me!

This post is part of our Newborn Hatstravagnaza Series! Check out the other posts in the series:

• The Perfect Pom Pom Tutorial
• Yarn Dyeing... With A Toddler Tutorial
• The Bubble Gum Hat-- Free Pattern!!!
• The Pixie Stix Hat-- Free Pattern!!!
• The Bliss Hat-- Free Pattern!!!
• The Everything Hat--Free Pattern!!!

While you are here, you can also look at my knitting posts, tutorials and free patterns!

Tomorrow we are going to have our series wrap up. If you liked this pattern, please consider Subscribing (using RSS), Signing up for Emails, or Following using Blogger.

The Bliss Hat-- Free Crochet Pattern

Now that we've warmed up with some simple crochet and knit hats, let's try our hand at something a bit more complicated! This hat made from a variation on the blanket stitch. The blanket stitch is most often used for making (you guessed it!) blankets, so its normally worked flat and back and forth. We are going to mix it up today by working the blanket stitch in the round.

It makes a neat slanting pattern that's a bit lacy, but still would be plenty warm. I went a bit crazy with this, and made bunch of hats in quite a few sizes (that light pink one is for me!)

Although all the colors I've used here are traditionally feminine, I think this stitch would work for either a girl or a boy.

I love the way the brim looks when It's folded up. I couldn't find a name for this stitch pattern worked in the round, so I'll just call it Bliss!

The yarn I've used here is Caron Simply Soft from my Consumer Crafts box last month. I fell hard for this yarn-- it's extremely soft and comes in bright colors that are sometimes hard to find in wool. It's also washable, which is a big plus for baby gifts. I do find that it's splitty when knitting with it, so I stick with using it for crochet.

The Pixy Newborn Hat -- Free Pattern!

Today's hat is another super simple hat-- but this time it's knit! The Pixy Hat (made with the bulky weight yarn I hand dyed with my toddlers) is a simple cylinder that sewn across the top to make a cute pointy eared hat. The hat below has ribbing, but the pattern includes an option for a rolled brim-- meaning that you could make the entire hat using the only knit stitch. No purling or decreases! I've added tassels, but you could easily use pom poms or leave plain.

Materials:

1 skein bulky weight yarn
Size 8 needles, or size needed to obtain guage
Yarn needle for finishing/weaving in ends

Gauge: 

8 stitches = 2 inches
8 rows = 2 inches

 

Directions:

• Cast on 40 stitches
• Rolled Brim Option: Knit every stitch for 5 rows.
• Ribbed Brim Option: Work in knit 2 purl 2 ribbing for 5 rows.
• Rows 5-35: Knit every stitch!
• Once you've finished 35 rows, use a 3 needle bind off to  close the top of the hat with right sides together. Weave in ends and turn right side out. You are finished!

Finishing:

I used a crochet hook to chain 10 at each corner and added tassels to the end of those chains. These would look great plain or with pom poms as well.

This post is part of our Newborn Hatstravagnaza Series! Check out the other posts in the series:

• The Perfect Pom Pom Tutorial
• Yarn Dyeing... With A Toddler Tutorial
• The Bubble Gum Hat-- Free Pattern!!!
• The Pixie Stix Hat-- Free Pattern!!!
• The Bliss Hat-- Free Pattern!!!
• The Everything Hat--Free Pattern!!!

While you are here, you can also look at my knitting posts, tutorials and free patterns!

I'll see you back here tomorrow for the rest of the Newborn Hatstravaganza series! To make sure you don't miss a thing-- consider Subscribing (using RSS), Signing up for Emails, or Following using Blogger.  

The Bubble Gum Newborn Hat -- Free Pattern

Yay! We are starting our week of newborn hat patterns this week! I've decided to start off with the world's simplest crochet hat. Since we use a bulky yarn, it's incredibly  quick to make-- only 12 rows. If you are primarily a knitter-- give this hat a shot. It's wonderful to be able to make something in just one sitting! Introducing the Bubble Gum Hat:

This is an extremely simple pattern and is great for a first crochet project. Since this pattern is aimed at beginners, the pattern is written out in plain English-- no confusing abbreviations!

Yarn Dyeing... With a Toddler (or Two!)

Check out my Newborn Hatstravaganza starting on March 11th for free patterns for the newborn hats you see in this post. New here? Subscribe (using RSS), Sign up for Emails, or Follow using Blogger to make sure you don't miss a thing! 

 I'm so excited to bring you guys this tutorial. Although there are a million billion kool aid yarn dying tutorials out there, I want to share how we tweaked it to involve my two little toddlers. These photos were taken last October when my kiddos were 3, and 1.5, so even the littlest of kiddos will enjoy seeing the transformation. If you don't happen to knit or crochet, I still think it's a worthwhile thing to do with your kids. The resulting yarn could be used for pom poms, wrapping gifts, or just general crafting. As a bonus-- you can dye a small item (like a newborn hat) if you are in a pinch and don't know a baby's gender yet.

This tutorial will cover how to make a variegated yarn as well as a few tips on safely dyeing with small kids around. (and yes, you can still follow all the steps if you don't have a toddler.)

Newborn Hatstravaganza!

Maureen posted last week wondering about those newborn hats pattern that I hinted at earlier. Oops!

When I was going through all the hats I wanted to share-- I thought to myself-- why not make it a week of fun!

Starting March 11th I'll be sharing a knit or crochet hat pattern each day. Newborn hats are the perfect projects for learning (or brushing up on old skills) to knit or crochet. Although I won't be going into any in depth knitting tutorials, all the hats are very straightforward and I'll be providing links to tutorials that will help you through if you are new to either knitting or crochet.

Even if you don't have a baby in mind, you can always save your hat for that next gift, or donate it to your local hospital or charity.

Grab your yarn and needles, and we'll get started next week!