I've known about Ravelry for some time now, but never joined. Why didn't you twist my arm and make me join? Now I'm super addicted, what a great community. I'm neesypea over there too, so add me ok?

One of the things I've been working is a crochet rag rug....





It's for my downstairs bathroom, which the is painted a deep sky blue (the people who lived here before us, painted it that color), and I added apple green as an accent color.
I keep running out of fabric though. It took a lot more fabric strips than expected, but I'm determined to only use what I have, so we'll see how it turns out!


I'm working on a rag-rug crochet pattern and video on how to prepare your fabric strips, to share with all y'all as well! Stay tuned!!

♥

I came across a cute little vintage pattern from a 1970s craft book I collected from a thrift store. I tweaked the pattern slightly and came up with these, it would fit a 12-18 month old. I tried to model it on my 11 month old son, but he wouldn't have it! lol...they are both reversible.





I thought that maybe I would like to make one of these in a "big" girl size for me, kinda like an apron, and I found this awesome crafty mama's pinafore tutorial here, so I may have to give this a go too!!

♥

I just had an awesome coupon day today. I won't bore you with all the details but one of the highlights was that I got two tubs of Breyers Natural Ice Cream for $0.76!

Also if you shop at CVS and have one of their store cards they are having a good deal this week...

Excedrin is on sale for $1.99, print these $2 off coupons and you get it for free!

Also if you use Skintimate shave cream it's on sale for $3.49, and CVS gives you a $3.49 coupon to use later, so it's basically free.

I bought 2 Excedrin and 2 Skintimate, paid $7.75, but got $6.98 back in the CVS Extra Care Bucks(coupons) :D

SOLD!


2 black metal jewelry display racks.

One for earring display and one for necklace display.

Nice and sturdy. I used them a handful of times at craft shows.

I no longer make jewelry so I am no longer in need of these.

They both measure 14 inches tall and 10 inches at the widest part.

The earring rack has top and middle bars, that are removable, so you can display bracelets or other jewelry trinkets on them as well.

These are perfect for displaying your work at craft shows!

Etsy Listing - $15 for both:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=23037421

Thank you! ♥

Hey!

A while back I took a spinning class to learn how to make my own yarn, and I never really did anymore with it outside of the class. I still have these supplies that I would like to sell them!

I'm asking $65 for all, that includes shipping, PayPal only please.

Ashford Hand Cards, 72 point for wool or cotton - Used once - Retails new $60

Ashford Regular Niddy Noddy, Unfinished, Makes an approximately 5 foot skein - Never used - Retails new $15

Ashford Drop Spindle, Top Whorl, Small, - Used once - Retails new $22

All it Perfect Condition!
SOLD! :)

Etsy Listing -
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=22821960

Thank you

♥

Well I started sowing seeds, I bought a smallBurpee Green House kit from Lowes. We will see what happens...I've never had a garden before!

I just signed up to test a new type of cloth diaper, they are still looking for more testers!

http://www.purelynurtured.com/blog/

Below is some more info that I was emailed...

The diapers are expected to be ready to ship in 2-3 weeks. The diaper and the shipping are both provided free of charge.

Please be prepared to provide feedback on the fit, whether the diaper functions properly and the overall satisfaction with the product. This diaper is meant to be economical and easy-to-use. It is a new style and should provide a few unique and convenient features you may not have seen in other brands.

It is one-size and meant for babies up to 35 lbs or so. For this reason we would like to get as many different babies to test as we can. Please feel free to let anyone you know that would like to test a diaper at no cost that we are still accepting testers. They can see the info at www.purelynurtured.com/blog or they can email me! The more feedback we get the better the product will be.

These diapers and inserts are made in the USA . There is a big emphasis on quality with this product and building a design that is truly going to last you several years and multiple babies

We will send simple washing instructions and more information on the diaper at the time the testers are shipping. We will also provide more info on our blog so you can always check there.

All testers will be emailed a code to use for credit in our store at www.purelynurtured.com so you will be receiving this diaper for free and a credit toward the purchase of any products in our store.

It was nice, I only got practical stuff...


I didn't explore the whole place, I'll go back one weekend with the hub for that. I went straight to the marketplace area and picked up some things I looked at from their website. I bought the salad spinner for $4.99! Who was I talking to recently about a salad spinner? Carryboo? Anyway, I made a pit stop and drooled over the fabric a little as well. I know once we get our tax refund we'll be buying some bigger furniture pieces for the house. H looooved it there, I thought it might be sensory overload for him, (it kinda was for me) he liked all the colors and everything hanging from the ceiling. We walked into the part where they had all the light fixtures and he kept pointing and saying ahhhhh. It was so cute. I set a budget for my self, $60. My bill came to $63 and some change, so I did good. Plus they gave me one of their big blue bags for free, since it was still part of their grand opening :)

I think having an Ikea 13 miles from my house may be dangerous!

Note to self...plant daffodil bulbs next year!

My Mother bought me a Dutch oven as an early birthday gift. I christened it by making some No Knead Crusty Bread. It’s cooling right now! I can’t wait to devour it!

If one was in the market to buy a color laser printer, what printer should one buy?

I had to bring this back...


I'm watching the ignauguration on IMDb right now!

It's snowing today in Charlotte, NC! So I had to make Snow Cream!




It tastes great, like a lighter version of vanilla ice cream, I bet it would be good with chocolate chips also! :D

from sarahcoyne

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you.

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
- What I create will be just for you.
- It'll be done this year. (might be a little while)
- You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a story. It may be poetry. I may draw or paint something. I may bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!
- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you have to repost. We can all make stuff!!

Fred Flare is having a little charity Valentine thingy. I kinda wanted to make a limited edition Valentine version of my I Luv Your Guts Monster, but I dunno it might be too much. So I made this quilted Valentine instead...it's about 6x8 inches



It still needs to be pressed, the backside has little folds to tuck in a paper note, I'm going to make a matching envelope too!

supersnackcake I thought of you when I watched this. It's an animation short and it has a spider in it, but it's not a scary spider, just a cartoon spider. It's reeaaaly funny and has a nice moral too it (wink wink nudge nudge) ;)

http://www.cartoonbrew.com/shorts/story-from-north-america.html


Story from North America (FULL VERSION!) from Kirsten Lepore on Vimeo.

I like being frugal and I try hard to come up with ways to be more economical as well as saving money. I recently was introduced to the process of making your own laundry detergent. I received a sample and was hooked. I had to try to out for myself, and boy is it easy and cleans just as good as the commercial stuff.



There are loads (no pun intended) of "recipes" out on the net for making your own laundry detergent, just Google it and you'll see what I mean.

The three basic ingredients for making home use laundry detergent are Borax, Arm & Hammer Super WASHING soda and a bar of soap. Now the Borax is super easy to find, it's usually in a box by the rest of the household cleaners at any major supermarket or big discount store. The Washing Soda is a little harder to find, your best bet is to call around before trying to find it or order some from the Internet, and no baking soda is not the same.

The bar soap varies on personal preference, really you can use anything, though most recipes call for a laundry bar soap. There is Fels Naptha, Octagon, and Zote (dollar stores) which are all high contenders in the homemade laundry detergent set.

I used Kirks Castile, which is a natural soap made with coconut oil and has a nice clean scent. I have read that the other bar soaps that will work for your soapy endeavors include Pure & Natural (3 bars for a buck at Walmart), and Ivory. You can even try even nice scented soaps like Toms of Maine or Mrs. Meyers, the possibilities are endless. I've even read that you can also use a little essential oil to boost your linens in to high scented gear, if you so desire.

If you can't find any of the basic soap making ingredients at your local grocery, try buying from this site, Soaps Gone Buy

Below is the soap I made in dry form. You always want be careful when making your own soap, do not inhale or ingest any of this and be careful around kids and pets.

1 Cup of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
1 Cup Borax (Any brand will do)
1 Bar Kirks Castile Soap, grated



The hardest part, and really it's not hard at all, is grating up the bar soap. I had a hand grater that worked perfectly. You can also use a regular cheese grater or even your food processor if you wish, just make sure to thoroughly clean all your components before using them again on food. Once the bar soap is fully grated, combine together with the borax and soda. I poured my soap into a ball jar and am now ready to start washing. That's it, your done, that took maybe 15 minutes! I still have enough borax and soda to make about three more batches, and all it would cost me is the price of another bar of soap. Easy peasy.

Now, I know what your thinking, how well does it work? It works great my friend, great! You only need one tablespoon for a normal load, maybe two if you have some really dirty duds. This soap dosen't suds up like regular commercial brands (which is great if you have an HE machine) so I was a bit skeptical at first. But everything came out nice and crisp with a slight clean scent. You can even add 1/4 cup of white vinegar to your rinse cycle to make you clothes super soft!

You can make your own laundry soap in liquid form too. Here is a link from the Simple Dollar on how to do so and here is a great video that shows the process amazingly well!

If you don't think you are brave enough to make your own laundry detergent, I recommend buying from this site Simply Clean Ok. I've tried this soap and it's quite lovely if I do say so myself!

Enjoy and go make some soap! Next up, felted wool dryer balls :)

♥

For 2009, in no particular order

Learn how to make tamales
Learn how to make lumpia
Make a quilt
Make my own laundry soap(check)
Make my own dryer balls
Grow my own foods ie: tomatoes, cukes, zucchini, summer squash, peppers, butternut squash, eggplant and herbs
Can my own foods
Make pickles
Make more homemade bread
Make homemade pasta
Make own crackers, fries, chips, sauces, and soups
Eat more whole foods in general and stay away from processed foods
Eat less sugar
Paint

"This plush is Art for Art's sake, not intended as a toy."

I changed things up a bit with one of my best selling plush TOYS.

I hope we can change things!

Save Handmade, please.