Boy Sock Monkey Hat

I've been friends with April since 6th grade. We met in drama class, and we just clicked. We've been friends ever since. She is due with her second child in April, and she is having a boy. I made this hat for him, and I'm sure he will look so cute in it. I can't wait to see pictures of a baby underneath that hat instead of a lamp.

I used the same pattern as the girl sock monkey hat that I made another friend's daughter. I used red yarn for the boy hat instead of pink, and I replaced the flower bow with a pom-pom on top of the hat.

Source for pattern: Sock Monkey Kook

Vintage Jewelry Magnets

I made these magnets for a special friend for Christmas this past year. We went to Anthropologie and saw some adorable magnets that had an un-adorable (if that's not a word, it is now) price. It looked like they took vintage jewelry and glued a magnet on the back.

So that's exactly what I did! I bought some vintage clip-on earrings and used pliers to carefully take the earring back off. Etsy and the thrift store... or even your grandmother's jewelry pile are great places to look for earrings, brooches, necklaces, etc.

Once I took off the back of the earrings, I glued a round magnet to the flat surface with a hot glue gun. I think they turned out really cute, and I almost didn't want to give them away. I'll surely be making more of these in the future. They make great gifts, and they look so pretty on the fridge.

Bear Earflap Hat

My friend from high school is having a baby girl, and I made this hat for her. I made it a little bigger than a newborn size, but it will be perfect for next winter and maybe the one after that, too!

I wasn't able to go to her baby shower, so I mailed the gift to her. I started the hat one day last week after work, and I stayed up until 2AM finishing it. There's nothing like being a procrastinator. I should have known better than starting it the day before I had to mail it.


I know Melissa's baby girl will look precious in this hat, and I think it will keep her head and ears warm.

If you want to crochet this hat, you can get the pattern from this etsy shop.

Sweet N' Spicy Brown Sugar Scrub

I made several of these sugar scrubs for Christmas gifts. I tried some out as I was making it, and it left my hands feeling so soft. It smells delicious, too! It reminds me of those scrubs at Bath and Body Works, and most of the ingredients are probably already in your pantry. The only thing I may try differently next time is using something other than almond oil. I had a hard time finding it in the grocery store, and it was almost $7 for an 8.45-ounce bottle. I may try peanut oil unless anyone has any other suggestions.

Want to make one of these for yourself? You'll need the following:

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated white sugar
3/4 cup almond oil (or more)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 (16-ounce) glass container with lid (I got mine at World Market)
1 Cinnamon stick

In a medium-sized bowl, combine all ingredients until thoroughly blended. Be sure to break up any lumps from the brown sugar or from the spices. Spoon into the glass container and secure with lid. Scoop a teaspoon or two of the scrub on your hands and gently massage in circular motions onto your skin. Leave on for 3 to 4 minutes before thoroughly rinsing. The scrub will tighten on your skin.

Source: Domino Sugar

Girly Sock Monkey Hat

Meet Maggie! She is the precious daughter of a dear friend of mine (hi, Alison). Her birthday was in November, and had this hat in mind for her. In order to get a picture of her, I had to bribe her with juice.

I bought the pattern from the Sock Monkey Kook store on etsy. It came together pretty quickly, and I was so happy with the finished hat.

Above is a picture of miss. sock monkey about to be wrapped up for the birthday girl.

Mr. Monkey loved the hat!

Headband

I sent this headband to go along with the shoes I made for my cousin's baby girl. I love the way the flowers curl up and look like they have petals.

I couldn't find any baby headbands, so I bought an adult one and re-sized it. I just cut a chunk out of it and sewed it together.


There are so many possibilities of crafts (besides headbands) using these flowers. You can use them to embellish pillows, sweaters, lamp shades, and purses. You can also use a large bead or rhinestone for the center instead of seed beads.

You'll be surprised at how easy these are to make. The only tools you need is a hot glue gun and a pair of scissors.
If you want to make these, you can find the tutorial at Make It and Love It.

Auburn Baby Shoes

I actually made these little shoes a while back ago, and I had plans to post them right when college football was first starting. Procrastination gets the best of me sometimes. I made these for my cousin's baby girl. My cousin and his wife met each other while attending college at Auburn University. Needless to say, they are huge Auburn fans.

I wanted to make something fun for their daughter when football season rolled around, but it was painful for me to use these colors.
See, I'm a University of Alabama fan. Auburn is our biggest rival. But I set my color pride aside and brought out the orange and the blue. It wasn't so bad, and I think they turned out quite cute.


I love the felt buttons. It's almost like they were made just for these shoes. I was at the store looking for regular plastic buttons, and I came across these.

Stay tuned for more Auburn attire.

Baby Boy Blanket

A friend of mine had a baby boy yesterday, and I made this blanket as a gift. This was my first "big" crochet project and it took me about 5 nights to finish it. I travel for work sometimes, so it's nice to have a project so I don't get too bored.

I was really pleased with the end result. I've never worked with yarn so soft before. You can almost see the softness in the picture below. Since this is for a baby, I used an organic blend. Organic blend yarns are more expensive, but the results are worth the price.


I love the color combination in this blanket. It's perfect for a baby boy, but the color combinations are endless. My mom suggested a white and linen color to throw on her couch.

If you'd like to make this blanket, you can find the pattern on the Lion Brand website. It's free!

Black Birdcage Veil

Many of you know that I turned 30 at the end of August. While I was excited to celebrate another birthday, I have to admit that I was not happy about leaving another decade behind me. My sweet friend, Meredith made this veil for me so I could celebrate in style. :) She glued some barrettes on the back of the flower so I could clip it to my hair.
Now that I'm 30, it's not really that bad. People keep telling me that 30 is the new 20. I'm just thankful to be alive and healthy enough to celebrate a 30th birthday!

Crochet Flower Beanie

Today is Bella's 4th birthday, and I made this beanie just for her. Bella is the daughter of a good friend of mine from high school. I wish I had a picture of Bella to put on my blog so you could see how darling she is.


Even though it's like an inferno outside now, I hope this hat will come in handy over the winter months. Winter isn't too far away.


I love the addition of the flower to the hat. It makes it extra "girly."
Happy Birthday, Bella!!! You are such a big girl now!

Bitty Booties

My cousin and his wife had a baby girl back in February, and I made these little shoes for her. I've been enjoying hand embroidery lately, so I wanted to incorporate some of that in these shoes. I found a picture of a mama and baby bird online, so I embroidered them onto the felt. Drawing the mirror image for the matching shoe was a bit tricky, but I got the hang of it.
Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the link to the Heather Bailey's website where you can get the pattern for these shoes.


First, I traced the patterns onto the felt. I also flipped these patterns over so there would be a left and right shoe.

Then I stitched a blanket stitch along the center of the top of the shoes and hand embroidered the bird patterns onto the front of the shoes.

The shoe was really starting to come together after I stitched the back together.

Attaching the bottom of the shoe to the top part was a little tricky, but once I finished pinning it together it was easy to stitch.


...And here is the shoe almost finished, turned inside-out. I know my stitching looks horrible from the inside.


So, here is the finished shoe... oh, wait! It needs something else...

A tiny bow on the back.

For a tutorial, visit Heather Bailey's website here.

Crochet Newsboy Hat

I've been on a crochet binge here lately. I made 3 hats last weekend, one hat this week, a flower, and I'm working on a pair of baby booties. It's very addicting. I made this particular hat for my cousin's baby that was born in November (I'm a little late on that one). I bought this pattern from adrienneengar's shop at etsy. I was really surprised at how fast this came together. I think it's because of the hook size and the thickness of the yarn.

I found myself dreaming about crochet a couple of nights ago. I woke up in the middle of the night for some reason and started dreaming of crochet stitches as I drifted back to sleep. It wasn't one of those frustrating dreams like you are taking a test and you can't figure out the answers to the questions to save your life (I still have those, too!). It was a dream that my head was lying on a pillow of soft yarn that I was making into crochet stitches.
I know I'm weird. You don't have to tell me. :)

Earflap Hat

I've been practicing my crocheting, and this is one of the projects I've been working on. I love the little earflaps on this hat. They sure will serve a good purpose keeping little ears warm in this cold weather.
I really learned a lot while working on this hat. I learned how important it is to count stitches. My first attempt was pitiful. It looked like a frisbee of some sort.... nothing like a hat. It killed me to have to unravel it, but who wants to wear a frisbee on their head!?!

I'm going to give this hat to my little nephew. I think it will be really cute on him. Hopefully I'll update this post with a picture of him wearing it. He doesn't live in the same city, but maybe I can get his parents to email me a picture. :)

Happy Valentine's Day

My hubby gave me a dozen of these beautiful lipstick pink roses. I've been enjoying the scent of them every time I walk by.

I've also been working on another tutu, so I played around and dressed my doggy up like a bride. I laughed so hard because I felt like a 2 year old torturing my male dog by playing dress-up. I'm so sorry, Charlie! I'll never do it again. :)



Look at those eyes begging me to take off the veil.

Fabric Flower

Last time I visited my family in Birmingham, my friend Meredith showed me how to make these precious little flowers. I was so excited when I learned how to make these because of the endless possibilities of colors combinations (or solids). There are also endless possibilities of things to attach them them to.... like this headband (although it wasn't really attached in this picture).


I actually sewed this flower to a barrette and wore it in my hair last night at a Mardi Gras ball. It was really cute with my ivory dress with black straps and sash. I didn't get a picture of it in my hair since we were rushing out the door to meet friends.
These flowers would be great for embellishing clothes, purses/bags, baby shoes (on a smaller scale).... you name it! I'm already thinking of more possibilities.