Monday, December 23, 2013

Infinity Scarves

 This is easy to read crochet directions for people who do not understand crochet speak. This is just about the easiest scarf to make without just doing chains the entire time. 

To start pick your yarn and your hook. I chose this cozy wool because it is extra soft and warm in my opinion. My hook is a large because my yarn is double stranded and I wanted there to be space in my scarf as seen above. Any yarn and hook size will work just as it will with all patterns. The larger the hook the looser the scarf.

 Make a slip not which is just a knot around the hook. Leave a short end of yarn a couple inches or so. the yarn that you will be pulling from is your working yarn.

 Next you are going to wrap your pulling yarn around the hook as seen below and  pull the strand through the loop on the hook. Repeat and Repeat. 
 

This is your chain and will continue to grow as you  repeat the pattern. I usually make my chain a little shorter than arms length for the size scarf seen above in the first picture. 

 Make sure that you have a comfortable way of holding the yarn. I like run the yarn between my pinky and ring finger then I keep my index finger up while crocheting. You will figure out what is most comfortable to you as you progress. 
 When you have done your final chain you will turn around and go back through. You can see the whole to enter through because I tried to make it more prominent in the picture and am touching it with my middle finger. You just go through that opening. 
 

You will now have two rows of yarn on your hook. What you are going to do is wrap the yarn and pull it through only one of the links. Then you wrap the yarn and go through the two that are on there. 

Wrap and pull through one then wrap and pull through two.  
 

 This is what it should look like if you are doing it correctly. Then you repeat going into the next link all the way down the scarf. I have included a few examples of what it should look like along the way. 



 Once you have gotten to the end there is something different you need to do. Do not turn around just yet. You need to do one extra single chain which is what we did at the beginning. Then you turn around and go back down. 
 Your ends should be clean and look like this but if they aren't just yet it doesn't exactly matter because we are going to connect the ends later but these get easier as they go. 
 On your last row instead of doing the pattern of pull through one pull trough two we are just going to do a single go through the link and wrap around the working yarn and pull it all the way through. Repeat this until the end. This will make both ends match each other. The picture below is what your last row should look like. 
 Fold the two ends of the scarf together.
 

You are going to push through both sides of the scarf and repeat the single stitch crochet with going through both ends once wrapping around and pulling all the way through. You should have three sets to pull though because you have the yarn on the hook and the two layers of the folded scarf. When you get to end you will be on the side with your link your hook is through and both sets of yarn strands. 
 pull the beginning leftover yarn through the look and tie it up with the working yarn. Tie this knot tight because this is what holds your scarf together. 

 Your connection piece should look like below which is the inside of the scarf. 

Now after all that work you have an extremely adorable scarf that all of your friends will want to learn to make or be careful, have you make.  Repeat this in every color and you will have a scarf with every outfit!! 


Sunday, December 22, 2013

Christmas Decorating


When it comes to decorating for Christmas try not to make it look like Christmas threw up in your house. There are a few simple things that make decoration more decor than destruction. 

~Think about keep a a consistent theme. My theme is snowmen but that doesn't mean I only have snowmen just the bulk of my decorations are snowmen. 


~Placement is everything! Try to give your decorations some dynamic levels. Get creative here but don't get crazy nothing on your ceiling fan is a good idea. 


~Homemade decorations are not just for the kids. Get on pinterest or your favorite blogs and craft some of those cheap ideas. Filling a picture frame with seasonal words is always a cheap and adorable addition to holiday decor. 

~If you don't love it don't put it out! No one else will either! The only time to be tacky is at a tacky sweater party.  



Wedding Invitation Ornament

If you are anything like me then your wedding day was the most wonderful day of your life. I have so many left over invitation though and I can't bring myself to throw them all away. I keep having this thought that maybe my future children will want to see them. 

I started thinking about how I could craft with them and I came up with the best idea!! Make them into Christmas ornaments. I love putting my ornaments on my Christmas tree and thinking about all the memories I have when getting them, so I thought what better place to put my wedding invitation. 

These are super easy to make so there are no real directions except cut up your invitation and put them in the ornament. I had a purple covering for my invitations so it added a much needed color aspect to the ornament. Even the ribbon was used on my invitations. Another great thing is mother's love these so they are a great Christmas gift for both your moms! 


Cork board upgrade



As a future teacher I am always looking for ways to update some of the ugly classroom essentials. These cloth covered cork boards can add a pop to any classroom, office, or pretty much anywhere you place them. The best part about them is that you can always find cloth to match your personality so it is easy to personalize these. 

To start get all your of your materials
  1. Mini cork boards 
  2. Scissors 
  3. Your favorite cloth 
  4. Hot glue gun with glue stick

To begin take your cloth and measures out leaving about an inch of space on each side.
Then cut the cloth out.

 Next being my gluing the cloth to the board.


 To make neat corners tuck them in then glue them down.  Take your time to make your corners look great because it will add to making this project a success! 


 The only thing left to do is to glue your sides down which is an easy step.  Then find a spot for your corkboard. I will be putting mine in my classroom but for now I have a business card that I don't want to forget from a local photographer; Chelsie Gordon Photography. She is actually the photographer from my wedding. She can be found on her facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ChelsieGordonPhotography




Repeat as many times as you can because these are such a cute and easy way to spruce up a plain cork board. 


Monday, March 11, 2013

Paper Flowers



Paper flowers are great for tons of different craft ideas; cards, wreaths, décor. Mine will be going onto a bridal shower. This is a cheap way to add a unique touch to your crafts. 

To start, make sure that your paper is two sided and pick the colors that you love.


Cut a spiral scalloped circle. You don’t really want any less than ½ inch between each because the flower will be too tightly bound.  That was simple enough.





Next you want to start folding from the outside in. I like to hold mine between my index finger and thumb then wrap it all around. Keep the wrap tight but do not worry if it is a little loose because we will release it later.


Once you have it tightly rolled you can start to release it SLOWLY until your flower looks the way that you want it too.


To hold it together I use hot glue. Glue the center of the flower to bottom and hold it in place until the glue dries. Now you can apply it to whatever craft you are attempting! Great work! 


Monday, March 4, 2013

Welcome to Comfy Crafty!

My goal here is submit cute ideas that will make for a comfy home while at the same time keeping a low price tag. This merge of cute, comfy and crafty is something that everyone should try to obtain. I can't wait to post my first ideas for everyone!