Home Sweet Handmade

Hey? So what’s new with you?

Dec 072013

I know I said wayyyyy back in May that I probably wouldn’t be blogging much over the summer because I got a new job and things were kind of crazy, but I was secretly hoping that wouldn’t be the case and I’d still sneak a project in here and there. Unfortunately for me, life had completely different plans for me this summer. Jam packed with family emergencies and all. This fall really was not much better. I over-zealously took on six classes. (Yup, you read that right SIX.) Anyway, I am happy to announce that we all survived. Everyone in our family is happy and healthy during this holiday season. I have one more final on Monday, and so far I have five A’s. Fingers crossed for number six.

I considered taking down the blog. When it came time to renew I just didn’t think is was worth it, considering how little time I’ve been able to put towards it. Then I logged on one day and realized I was still getting viewers even without me posting. That is so awesome! To top it off, I was re-blogged by Disney!!!! I’m not even kidding. They blogged about my shell pot. Check it out here. So I’m keeping the blog, and I’ll just do the best I can to post as much as possible. I have some ideas in the works, but first I really need to get my Christmas decorations up. In the meantime though I think it would be fun if you followed me on Pinterest. I’m kind of excited because this baby’s first christmas ball has over a hundred repins!

Home is the where the heart is tote

No Responses » Tagged with: bag, heart, home state, tote

May 112013

Oh look, I told a little lie. However, I don’t think its such a bad thing. So I said I didn’t have any time for projects (I don’t), but I managed to squeeze this one in. I’m sure you’ve seen those pillows/bags/tees on Pinterest where they have the outline of a state with a teeny heart right were you grew up. Well, my friend from Texas mentioned in passing that she liked them. So I found a tote back in AC Moore for $1.99 and made one. This is a crazy fast project and really cheap. The pictures aren’t great, but it better than nothing.

Here’s what you need.

Plain canvas tote bag (Michael’s/AC Moore or other craft store)
Sharpie Paint Pen, Black, oil based, medium tip
Friendship bracelet string or other thin yarn
Hot glue

Here’s what you’re gonna do:

Print out the outline of the state as big as you can on an 8.5″ x 11″ sheet of paper.

Flip the paper over and color the outline with a pencil (you can also use carbon paper, but watch the smudging).

Flip the sheet back over and center it on your back, trace the outline. Once you remove the paper you should have a nice line to trace.

Trace over the outline with the paint pen.

Now you’re going to add the heart. The first time I did this I used a red paint pen. I was not happy with the results. For some reason the red bled through the fabric more and it just didn’t look neat.

So instead I got some old string I used to use to make friendship bracelets, remember that stuff?

So I crocheted a heart using an ‘F’ hook. (Pattern below). Once I was done I glued it on with some hot glue.

For the heart I followed this pattern from Salt for the Spirit using the friendship string and an ‘F’ hook with one modification. I did each stitch one down. So instead of triple crochet, I did double. Here are the steps:

Magic Ring. Chain 3.
Inside the ring make 2 double crochet, 3 half double crochet, chain 1, double crochet, chain 1, 2 half double crochet, 2 double crochet, chain 2.
Pull the magic ring tight.
Slip stitch to the center of the circle. Pull the thread through and tie off and then push the thread back through to the back of the heart.

After many tries. This gave me the perfect size heart.

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May 072013

I honestly don’t know where the days go. And things are about to get even crazier. I imagine my posts will be rare for the next couple months. I’m sorry. I just got an awesome internship and with school I have no time to do very many projects let alone post about them.

I do have my eye on this tote bag pattern that I REALLY want to make but I’m not sure it will happen. I might have to just bite the bullet and buy myself one. We’ll see, but if any of you are inspired try it out. Free patter from Fabric.com

I will be in touch soon!!!

Grain-free Granola Recipe

No Responses » Tagged with: cacao, grain-free, granola, nuts, raw

Apr 232013

Ingredients:

1/2 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup raw pecans
1/2 cup raw walnuts
3/4 cup dried cranberries (or other dried fruit)
1/3 cup raw cacao nibs
3 tbsp honey
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla

Method:

Roughly chop nuts.
Combine nuts, cranberries, and cacao nibs in a bowl.
Heat honey and oil on low for just a few minutes. You don’t want to it be hot, just warm so that the oil melts and mixes with the honey, and its easy to pour.
Add lemon juice and vanilla.
Pour honey mixture over nuts and mix until nuts are well coated.
Spread out on parchment paper to dry or dry in a food dehydrator.

(NOTE: You can also dry this in the oven on the lowest temperature with the door cracked, however, I’m not sure it would still be considered “raw”. I consulted my friend at Sprout & Blossom Wellness and she said that 109 degF is really as hot as you can go stay raw.)

New Projects

No Responses » Tagged with: nutrition blog

Apr 172013

So school has been kicking my butt lately! I have nothing cool to share with you. I haven’t had time for any projects. Other than doing homework I’ve been helping my classmates get a blog going for our Student Nutrition Association. Click the picture about to check it out. It’s brand new, but I think we’ll have some cool stuff coming up soon.

Other than that my last project was a knit bunny hat for my niece. It was my first try with knitting. I’m not very good at it yet.

Another Trick of the Day

No Responses » Tagged with: cleaning, natural, trick of the day

Mar 272013

So, I had a disaster with my couch. It had rained, I took the dogs out that day. Later that night I found little paw prints on my armrest. Ugh! Soooo, I took the slip cover off and washed it. Well, after I laid it out to dry I was putting the cover back on when I noticed this little red spot. I thought it was a fuzz, so I brushed it away. It smeared! Oh gosh! It was blood. Yup, that’s right, I split open a very old cut on my hand and bled on my newly cleaned cream colored couch! Double ugh!

So again, desperate times call for desperate measures. I turned to the hard stuff. Shout, Oxyclean, Tide stick, you name it. Nothing was working. I really didn’t want to have to wash the whole cover again. So for some reason, in a last ditch effort I reached for the peroxide. Holy cow, it’s like magic.

So there were three spots. Two of them I had already treated with stain fighters. One of them I found later. Peroxide worked best on the stain that had not been treated already with the chemicals. I sprayed it on, let it foam, left it a few minutes, dabbed it dry and repeat a couple times. It was completely gone. The other two took a little extra work I guess because the fabric had already been saturated with water and other things. For those I made a paste of cornstarch and peroxide and left it for 20 minutes or so, wiped it clean, and repeated. They are pretty much gone.

So in the case of blood, skip the stain fighters and go straight for peroxide.

Crocheted Baby Hat Pattern

No Responses » Tagged with: crochet baby beanie

Mar 142013

As I mentioned, a friend of mine is expecting a baby. I’m also, on a crochet kick. So it seemed logical that I make a baby hat. Among other things. I made my niece this puppy toy. And my little cousin a Penguin hat. And now the baby hat.

I modified other patterns to get this one. So I had help, but it’s kind of my own. Bear with me, this is my first pattern. If you notice any problems let me know.

Here’s what I learned.

The magic ring will change your life.
Baby heads are some where between 11″ and 13″ inches at birth.
Hats need to be about 12″ and stretch or about 15″ in circumference. And 5-5.5″ in long.

Materials:

Bernat Satin Yarn in Lavender, Sea Shell, and Aqua
Size U.S. H/8 or 5.5mm crochet hook
1 button

Hat: (I did a modified version from DearBabyG)

Using Lavender yarn. Start with a magic ring.
Round 1: 12 Double Crochets (DC) in ring, slip stitch (sl st) in top of beginning chain ~ 12 DC
Round 2: Ch 3, two DC in each DC around, sl st in top of beg ch ~ 24 DC
Round 3: Ch 3, (2DC in next DC, 1 DC in next DC) continue around, sl st in top of beg ch ~ 36 DC
Round 4: Ch 3, DC in each DC around, sl st in top of beg ch ~ 36 DC
Round 5: Ch 3, (2DC in next DC, 1 DC in next 3 DC), sl st in top of beg chain ~ 45 DC
Round 6-9: Ch 3, DC in each DC around, sl st in top of beg ch: 45 DC
Round 10: Join in Sea Shell yarn. Ch 2, SC in each DC around, fasten off at the end of the round, weave ends in.

Flower: (I used this pattern from Very Berry Handmade as a starting point)

Using Sea Shell yarn. Start with a magic circle and make 3 SC in the circle and close the circle ~ 3 SC
Round 1: 2 SC in each SC round, join last SC to top of 1st SC with a slip stitch (ss) ~ 6 SC
Round 2: Ch 2 then 1 sl st in next SC, Ch 2. Repeat all round then join round with sl st ~ 6 stitches
Round 3: In each chain space make 1 SS, Ch 1, 2 DC, Ch 1, 1 SS. Complete the round with sl st into 1st sl st. (6 petals created)
Round 4: Holding flower facing you, take your hook to the back of the work & insert it round the 1st chain made in Round 2. Make sl st round the chain, ch3, sl st round the 1st chain underneath the next petal then repeat 5 times & complete the round with sl st into 1st sl st (6 chain spaces).
Round 5: Join in Aqua yarn. Into each ch sp make 1 sl st, 1 SC, Ch 1, 3 DC, Ch 1, 1 SC, 1 sl st. Complete round with sl st into 1st sl st. (6 petals created).

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