Monday, February 28, 2011

Doily - Second Attempt

It's been far too quiet around here, sorry!

We're slowly getting caught up again with life. Hubby is lots better, my mouth is slowly healing, and I'm able to eat a bit more each day. Today, we just got back from the doctor's office for poor little sick guy. =( It turns out that it's nothing major, but it's good that they checked him with all those symptoms going on.

While he finished lunch and rested, I figured that I would process pictures of what I've done over the week.

First up: Another doily completed! This one turned out much better than the last one, but I was still pretty tentative about messing up another one, so I was quite timid and slow about finishing it.

This is actually supposed to be another "trial" doily so that I could do the "real" one in another color as a gift. ...I'm running out of time.

Glor's amazing and careful instructions of this 93 year old pattern are wonderful!! There are helpful pictures along the way, too.
So now, I just need to starch it. She says that it can be blocked by starching or ironing/spray starch. I've never done either way, so if any of you have pointers, let me know!

I'm off to read some books before naptime. I'll check back in shortly.

Friday, February 25, 2011

Wild Olive Hoodie

Have you ever checked out Wild Olive Tees? They have great shirts to "get your verse on." It's an amazing company run by some amazing women supporting their families.
Wild Olive Tees

They are currently having a giveaway for 5 hoodies! Go check it out to find out how you can enter.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Another feature!

Wow! I feel like I'm just barely starting to get caught up on everything again, and I was featured at House of Hepworths! Check out Allison's blog--she has amazing home renovation projects going on and great ideas galore!
IhookedupwithHoHlamespice 

I've gotten such fun comments on my Pirate Hat, and it was just a fun attempt at silliness. 
Thanks, everyone!

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Amigurumi Featured!

My Amigurumi Android was featured over at Krafty Kat's blog!


Hop over to her blog to see some other amazing projects from this week's link up.
WWFB

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Bloodshot Eyeballs, aka Oreo Truffles

By request, here's my take on the popular Oreo Truffle recipe.

Start with a package of sandwich cookies, any flavor. Wouldn't peanut butter ones be yummy? I think I'm going to try the mint ones next time I make them.
You'll need 35 cookies.
One 8 oz. brick of cream cheese, room temperature for easy combining
Almond bark or baking chocolate
Holiday appropriate sprinkles or colored sugar

Place cookies in food processor in about 3 batches; crumble completely. You can always put them in a Ziploc bag to bash them, but I didn't want to spend the time or make the noise. The food processor gave me even crumb texture, too. Everyone who knows me knows that I'm an Even-Crumb-Texture Snob. OK, that's not true. I don't think I've ever been accused of that. But it sounds like a fun thing to be!

Let's get back to the recipe.
Mix the crumbs with the cream cheese until they are all incorporated. I'm not sure, but I might try using my mixer next time for this step. It was making my hands extremely sore using a fork since it takes quite a while to get all the crumbs incorporated.

Roll the mixture into small balls. I liked them being small enough to be bite-sized, but do whatever size you like. They are pretty rich.

Place the tray in the refrigerator to stay firm before dipping in melted chocolate.

Melt the chocolate over a double-boiler or in the microwave. The double-boiler method has always been the easiest for me since it stays soft no matter how long the dipping takes.
Dip cookie ball into chocolate and place on waxed paper.
Decorate immediately with holiday sprinkles (if desired) and return to fridge to set.
Ta da! Enjoy!

ps--I was told that I fooled the baker in the crowd because she was convinced that there was no way these were made out of Oreos because they weren't grainy. Rachel told her they were cookies, but the baker was convinced they were cake. Don't you love food that surprises you (in a good way)?

Monday, February 21, 2011

My first doily

Ever since I bought some thread for crocheting with beads, I've been curious to try to make a doily. With all due respect, doilies have a certain stigma about them, am I right? I understand they take a LOT of work and patience, but sometimes they are just a bit too cheesy and cheap-looking. I blame it on mass production, of course. I still wanted to try one.

So I was very happy to come across Glor's blog, Crochet Galore. She has some beautiful, delicate, elegant, and fancy doily patterns available on her blog.

On Saturday, I decided to make one as a gift. Since it would be my first one, I figured I should make a trial one first. I'm so glad I did!

I used Glor's November Doily pattern for a simple start, though I didn't have the size of hook that she recommended. I thought it would be OK as my first trial, and I would simply get the right hook with my thread for the gift. Everything began just fine, but toward the last rounds, everything was obviously warping and ruffling.



What have I done wrong? Will this be fixed with the right hook? (ooh, sounds like I'm about to punch someone...oh the things we crafters say and accept as normal!) I haven't attempted to starch it yet, although I don't think that will help, either. Did my stitches get too tight? Too loose?

Thanks for any help or advice! I always know I can count on you.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Celebrate Friday!

Thank you all for the well-wishes on my recovery! Y'all are the sweetest.

Things were not looking good yesterday, and apparently it was not clotting in a normal fashion. The doctor's office was closed yesterday, but I was able to get in right away this morning. He was able to take care of all of it, and it appears that no damage was done. Pain is minimal, and things are looking up!

In other good news, I've now found another practical use for this project:
This will work perfectly to cover up that gorgeous blue chin I'm sportin'!

I'm hoping to catch up on all your blogs today!

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Survived it

I have lived to tell the tale.

(Melodramatic much?)

My mouth surgery is over, and they were right (so far) that it wasn't as bad as pulling teeth. My chin hurts, and I feel as though I'm going to swell to Leno proportions, but it's done. Deep. Sigh.

What should I do while I "take it slow" and let it heal?

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Crocheted Headband - Black with red flower

Here's a headband I made a couple weeks ago. I knew I had to take a quick picture before I gave it away just in case. I've been hoping to grab a picture of her wearing it, but it's actually gotten a little warmer around here lately. This will have to do for now.

This looked really cute on her! I often wonder why I make these things since I can never seem to pull it off. ;-) But then I saw how natural it looked on her, and it made me quite happy!

Monday, February 14, 2011

ArtFire Shop Featured

Tara from Undeserving Grace is featuring three ArtFire or Etsy Shops on her blog this month. PF Creations is one of them! Go check it out (and the other two) for some great discounts being offered!


Or just check it out because she has a great site...

Sunday, February 13, 2011

My pirate hat

I made this hat a while ago, and I'm just getting around to posting it.

This is part of my Pirate Night costume:

Just call me Scurvy Dog!

I was told that no one could decipher my facial expressions, so I wanted to tell you that I was smiling really big here, but I don't think you'd believe me. ;-)

Friday, February 11, 2011

What I've been doing today

When I woke up this morning, I decided I was going to make a loaf of bread. I'm willing to admit and embrace the fact that what I am about to say makes me unfit to be called a woman. It was nice knowing you, just the same. I hope you come back to visit me sometime.

I love to use my breadmaker. *gasp!* One of our favorite recipes is Honey Oatmeal bread.

Check! Yum.

On Wednesday, I started soaking some kidney beans to make chili on Thursday. We didn't expect for sickness to sweep through, so I didn't have that extra can of tomato sauce I needed. Oh well. I decided to mostly cook them anyway, then run out to the store for medicine and tomato sauce. Started that up this morning to hang out in the Crock Pot all day.
Check! Also, very delicious.

After lunch, it was time to start putting together my Oreo Truffles for a Bridal Shower tomorrow.
Here's after the final step just before supper:
Hmmm. Not quite as pretty as I hoped. That doesn't scream "love," it screams, "Why is she feeding us bloodshot eyeballs?" Good heavens, everyone else's cutesy things end up looking so much cuter than mine! Oh well, I'll take them anyway. At this point, I'm assuming they'll be yummy, but I have to make sure I have enough before tasting one. Although, what woman in her right mind would take something to feed other people that she's never tasted herself? (Yep, that would be me...)

So that's what I've been up to today amidst valiant efforts to get hubby back to health. =( Blech.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Latest Amigurumi

Look what I made!

 Hubby found the pattern here, and he was literally begging me to make it. =) This little guy makes me laugh.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Bead Crochet Bracelet

A couple weeks ago, I decided to use some extra beads from a Christmas project to make a Bead Crochet Bracelet.


This is done with a 5-color repetition rather than my standard 6-color, and I'm really happy with the slightly thinner bracelet. It is 8.5" long with a toggle clasp.

It will go into our ArtFire Shop soon, but remember to check my tutorial if you are interested in trying to make one yourself!

Monday, February 7, 2011

HWLWG Winner!!!

The Handmade with Love Winter Giveaway ended last night!

 
And the winner is.... #11:

♥Yaya's Mommy ♥

I sent you an email, please reply and we will get you your prize!

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Blizzard 2011 Photos

If you're looking for the Handmade with Love Winter Giveaway, scroll down two posts or click here. If you didn't win the Bead Crochet Giveaway last week, you might find another style you like in our ArtFire Shop. Pop over to that post and leave a comment to enter!

Back to other blog business. I've been a little quiet the last couple days. It's not for lack of projects to show you!! I feel like it will take me a while to catch up with everything I've been making! But I have a couple of boys that desperately wanted to enjoy their snow day yesterday, so here are a few pictures for you to see what it was like around our house post-blizzard.
Major drifts--this is a chunk of walkway carved out between the sidewalk and the street.

 Vehicles up and down the street were snowed on, around, and under.

 A neighbor trying to shovel out a walkway. The snow is drifted right up under that awning over a window.

 Four trucks/jeeps in a row. The passenger sides and backs of the trucks were packed with solid snow. You can sort of see how high it is compared to the vehicles in this picture.

 Another walkway carved out.

 A little height perspective.

 Garage door. Nothing is coming out of there for a while.

Ooh! Pretty! Crazy shapes.

Trudge across the yard... look how close this drift is to the top of the fence and...
 ...over the top of that gate instead of through...
...for a waving, happy photo op before heading inside. The wind was still pretty brutal at this point in the morning keeping playtime short and sweet. That also meant naptime was pretty restful!

Today's feature

If you're looking for the Handmade with Love Winter Giveaway, scroll down to the next post or click here.

I'm being featured today over at Mandipidy for her "My Readers Are Crafty" week. Check it out and look around her blog while you're there!

Photobucket

I'll be posting pictures of our post-blizzard neck of the woods soon...

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Handmade with Love Winter Giveaway

If you're a new visitor, welcome to In the Loop and the Handmade with Love Winter Giveaway. 
If you're a regular visitor, here's the scoop. Hundreds of blogs are participating in the Handmade with Love Winter Giveaway Hop! Each one is offering a themed giveaway - all the prizes are handmade treasures or gift certificates to shops that sell handmade items (there is a linky at the end of this post).  After you've entered here, hop on over to the next blog on the list and keep going as long as you'd like!  The more you enter, the more likely you are to win.  Good luck!
The Prize:
$25 Gift Certificate toward any item(s) in our ArtFire Shop. We have a wide selection of bead jewelry, crocheted items, and vinyl wall decorations, with custom designs available for many items.

Main Entry:
Take a look at our ArtFire Shop and tell us your favorite item or something you'd like to see. 
Bonus Entries:
  1. Follow me through Google Friend Connect on the right sidebar.
  2. Blog about this giveaway.
Open to US only.
Leave one comment (with your email address) for each entry. Giveaway ends February 6, 2011 at 11:59PM EST. There will be one winner chosen. The winner will be selected by random.org and notified by email to the email address provided in the winning comments. The winners must respond within 48 hours of the notification email, or another winner will be chosen.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Bead Crochet Giveaway Winner!

The winner of the Metallic Bead Crochet Necklace giveaway is...

gill!

Congratulations!

(ps--if you didn't win, don't worry, there's another giveaway coming very soon!)