First Radishes

I have to congratulate myself.  I bought radishes for the first time in my life ever!  I've eaten them before, just never actually bought any on my own.  I'll admit that I bought them with painting in mind, but I did end up eating some in a salad and...... they weren't as bad as I remembered :)

They're cool to paint too........

Crochet Flower Necklace Tutorial

Ready to make some more crochet jewelry?  Here's a simple tutorial to help you make your own Crochet Flower Necklaces.... just in time for spring!

Materials:
Caron Simple Soft Yarn (you can try other kinds of yarn too, this is just what I used)
Crochet Hooks, size E/ 3.50 MM for necklace and size B/2.25 MM for the flowers
Scissors
Yarn Needle

Step 1:  Using your E hook, Chain 80.

Step 2:  Slip stitch into beginning chain to join ends together, making sure to not get your long chain twisted.

Step 3:  Chain 1, single crochet in each chain around.  Slip Stitch in beginning single crochet and fasten off. Leave a long tail on the end for attaching the flowers in the following steps.   Now the necklace base is completed!

Step 4:  With your B hook, crochet 8 small daisy flowers.  You can use my  free Seven Petal Daisy Pattern to make them, or you can try other types of crochet flowers of your choice.

Step 5:  Thread the long tail at the end of the necklace through your yarn needle.  Stitch the flowers to the outside of the necklace in a row, squishing each flower close to the next.

Step 6:  Once all the flowers are attached in a row on the same side of the necklace, fasten off the end of your string and weave in any loose ends.  All done!

Photos of the Week

Happy Monday!  I hope it's starting to look more like spring wherever you are!

The husband and I went on a gloriously long walk yesterday.  Sometimes those are the best dates of all.  It feels amazing to get outside and just enjoy nature after a long cold winter.  My little guy is visiting his grandparents this week, so I will be going on many more walks this week.  I can't wait!

A Look at my Sketchbook

Some sketches and doodles, old and new.....................

It's fun to break away from the normal pencils or pens and play with markers and crayons once in a while!  New mediums inspire new designs.  That's why I like to experiment!

Crochet Hook Case

All you crocheters out there, where do you keep your crochet hooks?  For the longest time I was storing mine in an empty pirouline cookie tin left over from a Christmas long ago.  It was bulky and awkward... not to mention noisy...lol! 

Well I've finally graduated to a real crochet hook case.  One that I sewed all on my own! 

To make this, I followed a free tutorial posted at Little Birdie Secrets.  Awesome tutorial!

I opted out of the rounded top flap and left mine square. It works perfectly!  Mine does have a few little flaws too- I really need more sewing experience. My little needle pocket is a weird shape, but oh well. I'm happy with it!   It feels good to be organized!

Artist Spotlight: K.I.M. Art

I got these lovely paintings in the mail this week... courtesy of kimartist and I just knew I had to do a little spotlight.  This stuff is cool!

So there is a back story here.  Last week I accidentally listed one of my paintings in my shop for $3 instead of $30... aaaah!  And I didn't notice until someone bought it! That's not the best mistake to make, but this story has a happy ending.  The person who bought it happened to also be an artist and offered to do a little trade.  sweet!  I was happy to do that! 

So that's how I ended up with these sweet little paintings by kimartist!  They're gorgeous really and I've never seen anything like them.  They are so unique.  The materials listed for these are jacquard, pinata, ink, yupo, and polypropylene paper- stuff I've never heard of.  I definitely need to look that up! I'm fascinated with all kinds of art processes and mediums and this style has so much life to it.

So if you get a chance, check out her SHOP!  It's awesome!

Easy Crochet Cuffs

Here's a super easy and fast crochet project...... crochet cuffs!

You can make these up in about five minutes.... sometimes it's nice to get some instant gratification :)

I used this free crochet headband pattern to make these. (update 10/24/20: the creator of this pattern has discontinued the pattern and it is not available anywhere online anymore.  I recommend checking out this youtube video by Rebecca Dickenson instead.  She demonstrates a similar pattern in her video!) 

Photos of the Week: Valentine's

Happy Valentine's Week!

Keeping with tradition, I went through the contents of my art room and kitchen to create some unique heart photos for Valentine's Day!  It was fun actually!  I get really excited for this holiday every year and not just because of flowers and chocolates.  It's a chance to do something different, something fun..... like eating pink pancakes and leaving mushy notes around the house! It couldn't be better!

A Painting Frenzy

 Sometimes I go into a painting frenzy......... like this time........

I painted all of these in one afternoon! Crazy!!! These hormone treatments have really affected my moods.  Some days I don't feel like doing anything at all and other days I feel like I want to do everything.  It's been interesting, but as long as I still feel like painting some days I know I am not totally off my rocker  :)

These were so much fun to paint! Some of them were total experiments.... I didn't care so much about the end result or if they would be sell-able paintings.  I just went with the flow.

You can see the ones that are for sale HERE at my SHOP.