A Knitted Wrap and A Brown Jewelry Set

Hi everyone and happy Sunday.  I have been so excited to share an easy knitted wrap I made in record time. 

I used size 17 knitting needles and Vanna's choice yarn in woods print.  It took 2 1/2 skeins.  I cast on 36 stitches and knit every row.  I love projects like this because I can knit while watching tv.  It has no difficult sequences to remember.  I have been watching scary movies every evening with my husband leading up to Halloween so a project like this is perfect!  I went to my local Kohl's and purchased a long sleeved tshirt in black and I was all set.  I thought this would make a great gift too. 

 I also wanted to show you a jewelry set I made.  I found the brown shell-like beads in my local craft store and decided to pair them with little white cube beads and light and dark brown crystal beads.  I wear a lot of brown so I considered keeping this set but I think I will give it away as a gift or sell it.  I just don't have room to keep all of my creations! 

I hope you all have a happy Halloween and a great week ahead.  Take care.  Nancy

A Puzzle Bag for a New Big Sister, Fall Donuts and Pearls

Hi everyone and happy Sunday.  I am pretty happy I have tomorrow off.  I have a new crochet project I have been itching to start and I think I will start it tomorrow-that is if I don't start my sewing project I have been meaning to do for a while! 

I made an I Spy puzzle bag for the big sister of the baby I made the safari hat rack for.  I have made quite a few of these.  They are such fun to think up personalized things to put in.  I got the instructions from Brittany's Best and the steps are easy to follow and they are fairly quick to make.  They only look difficult because of the vinyl window but that makes them all the more impressive to give as a gift.  I embroidered her name on a tag on the back but guess what-I forgot to give her the list of what is in the bag.  I promised her mom I would email the list to her so she will know what she is looking for. 

We made some delicious baked apple cider donuts .  They turned out so good and they are reasonably healthy because they are baked and not fried in oil.  Nothing says Fall like apple cider donuts.  I am especially fond of the nutmeg in the frosting.  Yum! 

Lastly, I wanted to share one of my favorite jewelry projects so far.  I am a pearl girl for sure.  I love the classic elegance of pearls and I love that they look good with denim too-not just dressy clothes.  After making the colorful bracelet and earrings last week, I applied the same idea to these beautiful teardrop pearls.  I was very pleased with the end product.  I have kept these for myself and have already worn them. 

I hope everyone has a great week ahead.  I am hoping to get a lot of crafty things done so I can move on to even more crafty things!  Take care.  Nancy 

Halloween's Coming-I Want to be Ready!

Hi everyone and happy Sunday.  It is rainy and a bit cooler here today.  I had a very nice birthday last week and a nice little getaway with the hubs.  Now it is back to reality! 

I painted these swell candy corn shoes for all my school Halloween festivities.  I am more into Halloween than some kids!  I have several Halloween shirts and jewelry just for the spooky season.  Now I have shoes too!  I got the idea from Allison at Dream a little Bigger .  I have mentioned before how awesome she is and her blog has so many clever ideas.  I thought these shoes were so cute, I just had to paint them.  In her blog, Allison gives the idea to get a pair of white shoes like these off of ebay for ten bucks postage included.  That is what I did.  I bought the fabric paints at my local Michaels and I was especially thrilled that the yellow paint had a bit of the glitz with glitter in it.  I thought that was particularly appropriate for Halloween.  They were easy and I can't wait to wear them.  I am ready! 

I also wanted to share the birthday cake my husband made me.  It is a raspberry cake and it was delicious!  He did a great job.  Just take a box of white cake mix, a box of raspberry Jello, 4 eggs,  1/2 cup of canola oil, and 1/4 cup of hot water and beat it for 2 minutes.  Add a 10 oz. package of sweetened frozen raspberries(thawed) and fold in.  Pour into a greased 13x9 pan and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.  Cool completely and frost with a thawed 12 oz. Cool Whip mixed with another package of raspberries(10oz. sweetened thawed).  That frosting is to die for!  With the addition of vanilla ice cream-it was a birthday cake after all-it was a fantastic dessert.  My hunny is the cat's meow! 

Last, but not least, I wanted to share my latest jewelry project.  I thought this bracelet and earrings set turned out pretty colorful.  I had these long oval beads that were almost cat's eye in appearance so I paired them with similar colored seed beads and made dangles which I added to a chain for a bracelet.  I counted links so they would be visually balanced .  I then made a pair of matching earrings.  I thought these would even be something a teen would like.  I am dragging my heels trying to figure out how I should begin to try to start selling my jewelry.  I am open to any suggestions.  I have been having so much fun making things, I need to do something with a lot of the excess I have! 

I hope everyone has a great week ahead.  I have a lot of projects I want to do.  I just have to get hopping!    Take care.   Nancy