Posy Earring Holder

Yay, I'm finally getting back into the swing of normal life!  I actually got some work done on my patterns today, and even managed to finish one.  I forgot how satisfying that feeling is.  The pattern I finished is the earring holder I told you about yesterday, the one I made for my MIL. 

Posy Earring Holder Pattern, $4 on Etsy

I love how delicate this pattern is, so very feminine.  Ironically, the colors and design matched my MIL's wallpaper perfectly, despite the fact that I forgot she even had that wallpaper.  I guess my subconscious is smarter than I am.

I'm going to start working on some spring patterns soon.  I don't know about you, but I'm just about tired of winter already, despite the fact that winter officially started only a week ago, lol! 

Happy Belated Christmas!

Happy Tuesday, everyone!  I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, full of magic and good cheer.  Mine was hectic and stressful, but nevertheless still wonderful.  I am grateful that it's over though!  Now I can get back to some kind of normal. 

I don't have a tip today, but I wanted to just say hello to you all and let you know that I'll be back to designing soon!  Actually, I'm going to spend this morning working on a graph for my latest project, a pretty earring holder I made for my MIL.

I had to wait until after Christmas to finish this design, because it was my present to her!  She regularly checks my store, and I didn't want to ruin the surprise.  For a lady with unpierced ears, she sure has a lot of earrings!  She filled this thing right up, and had 15 pairs left over.  I should have made it bigger. 

Here's hoping you all had a great holiday.  Next is New Year!  Do you have plans to go out and party, or stay in and have a relaxing night?  Hubs and I have a tradition; we stay in, watch a goofball movie (like anything from Mel Brooks), and eat nachos! 

Free Friday: Candy Cane Ornament

Whoa you guys, there's only 9 days left until Christmas!  Are you freaking out yet?  Have you gotten everything done you need?  I think I'm just about done now.  I just have one more project to finish, and that should be more fun than anything. 

This week's pattern is for those last minute gifts you're thinking about.  Something small but thoughtful to give to your friend at work or to put in Aunt Erma's stocking.  It's simple but pretty and should let the receiver know how you feel about them.  Or you could keep it all for yourself! 

Candy Cane Ornament

Skill Level:

Beginner

Materials:

• 7-count plastic canvas
• Red Heart Holiday yarn
• Small red pompoms
• Hot glue
• #16 plastic canvas needle

Instructions:

1. Cut and stitch plastic canvas according to graphs.
2. Overcast outside edge of candy canes with White yarn. Overcast outside edge of holly leaves with Green yarn.
3. Using photo above, glue the candy canes together to form a heart, then attach the holly leaves and pompoms.
4. To hang the ornament, cut a 6-inch piece of Green yarn and glue the two ends to the back of the ornament at the top of the heart to form a loop. Happy holidays! ♥

Click the image above to see it larger.  You may share this pattern however you please as long as you don't alter it or claim it as your own.  You may sell items made from this pattern.  However, you may not sell this pattern.

Sorry I haven't been blogging so much lately, guys.  This is my first Christmas when as a designer/blogger and I'm finding it hard to balance my responsibilities as a homemaker and all the stuff I want to be doing for my business and my blog.  And especially with this wicked snow we've been getting!  I swear this is the most we've ever gotten this early.  It's not even officially winter yet and we have three feet of snow in the yard!!

Anyway, I just wanted to let you all know that my blog will probably be taking a back seat for the rest of the holiday season, but I do promise to keep blogging when I can and I'm going to try very hard to get a new pattern up every week.  And then once January starts, I'll be diving right back into all this fun stuff! 

Snowpocalypse!

Remember on Friday when I said a storm was coming, and I didn't think we'd get more than 8 inches?  Here's a picture of my mom's back yard.

That's a table.  A three foot wide table.  With TWO FEET OF SNOW ON TOP!

I had to walk through my own back yard tonight to dump my compost (sometimes I really regret putting my pile way in the back of the yard!), and my knee boots were getting snow in them!  What a storm! 

We're used to getting a lot of snow, but that was a lot of snow in a really short time (just two days).  Plus, it's only December so the ground is still very warm, which means the snow is very wet and heavy.  It's like shoveling two feet of wet sand :(  I feel worst for my 68 year old MIL who shovels her entire 100 foot driveway all by herself.  She won't let us help!  And she hates snow blowers.  Thankfully she's talking about hiring someone to plow. 

So that was my weekend.  I hope you all had a better one than I did.  Now I'm off to get some relaxing in before the weekend is over.

Free Friday: Maple Leaf Coasters

Happy Friday, everyone!  How did your week go?  Mine has been kind of rough.  First I was sick, then my hubs was sick, so it's been hard getting anything done around here.  That's why there wasn't a Tuesday Tip this week, in case you were wondering.  I hope to have one up next week!

So the free pattern this week is the for the coasters to my new Maple Leaf Kitchen Set:

Maple Leaf Kitchen Set

I really like this pattern.  Actually, I like it so much that I kept it for my own kitchen!  That's all my tea and coffee and stevia in the caddies, lol.  The coasters are a really nice addition to this set, but they look nice all by themselves too! 

Maple Leaf Coasters

Skill Level:

Beginner

Size:

3 ½ x 3 ½ inches

Materials:

• 1 sheet 7-count plastic canvas
• Red Heart yarn in colors listed in key
• #16 plastic canvas needle
• White Craft Felt
• Craft Glue

Instructions:

1. Cut and stitch plastic canvas according to graphs.
2. Overcast the outside edges with Cafe Latte.
3. Using coasters as a template, cut out four squares of white craft felt. Trim off 1/8 of an inch on all pieces. Attach to backs of coasters using craft glue. ♥

Click the image above to see it larger.  You may share this pattern however you please as long as you don't alter it or claim it as your own.  You may sell items made from this pattern.  However, you may not sell this pattern.

If you like these coasters, I would be so grateful if you purchased the whole pattern from my Etsy shop.  

Well, I hope you have a good weekend!  Are you going shopping?  Or maybe getting some baking or wrapping done?  Hubs and I are staying in this weekend.  There's a pretty big snow storm coming this way with predictions of 2 feet of snow in the snow belt areas (we'll probably see about 8 inches, but that's still a good amount!).  I plan on staying all bundled up on the couch all weekend!  

Maple Leaf Kitchen Set

Good Monday everyone!  How is your day so far?  I love Monday; I'm probably the only one in America who does though, lol.  I just love the fresh start Mondays bring, and the chance to try a little harder and do a little better.

Well, I finally got a new pattern up on Etsy today.  Woo!  After being sick last week and missing out on getting some work done, it's nice to be able to show you all something new.  It's a cool kitchen set, with holders for all your morning brew needs.

Pattern is available on Etsy for $4

There's a tea holder, a k-cup holder, and a sweetener caddy.  I'm totally stealing this set for my own kitchen! 

Keep an eye on my blog if you like this set.  I'm going to post the pattern for the coasters on Friday! 

Free Friday: Charming Christmas Tag

It's officially December now!  I hope you're all getting into the holiday season!  Get out fuzzy sweaters, turn on the twinkling lights, set the cheery music, and snuggle down with a steaming cup of cocoa.

So to kick off this lovely month, I decided this week's pattern should be something holiday related that will definitely come in handy.  If you're anything like me, you love to make your Christmas packages a beautiful piece of holiday art that makes the receiver feel extra special.  I usually go all out on curly ribbon and color coordinated bows, and sometimes I add extras like a small handmade ornament or a pretty candy cane.

Something I never thought too much about was the tag.  Usually I just stick a little sticker on the wrapping paper and call it a day, or sometimes I'll make one out of a small piece of folded card stock.  But then it hit me; wouldn't a handmade tag really finish the package and make is super special?  Just that little extra to make everyone smile.  And the great thing about these tags is that they're reusable!

Charming Christmas Tag

Skill Level:

Beginner

Size: 

2 x 3 ½ inches

Materials:

• 7-count plastic canvas
• Red Heart Holiday yarn in colors listed in key
• White card stock
• #16 plastic canvas needle

Instructions:

1. Cut and stitch plastic canvas according to graphs.
2. On front piece, overcast large inside edge with White yarn. Holding front and back piece together, whipstitch the string hole with White.
3. Starting at one corner and working up to the pointed part and back down to the other corner, whipstitch the outside edges together with an alternating whipstitch of Red and Green. Use an alternating overcast stitch to finish each side of the bottom edge (when you're done, you should be able to open the bottom).
4. Cut out a 1 ⅜ x 2 ½ inch rectangle from the white card stock. Round the corners slightly to make inserting it easier. Write your message onto the card stock, then carefully slide it into the tag from the bottom. Put a string through the hole in the top and attach it to your package. Merry Christmas! ♥

Click the image above to see it larger.  You may share this pattern however you please as long as you don't alter it or claim it as your own.  You may sell items made from this pattern.  However, you may not sell this pattern.

I feel like I still have so much Christmas stuff to do, even though if I really think about it, I'm just about done for the season!  Do you ever feel like that?   Does it drive you crazy too?  Hope you all have a great weekend!