WIP

Back when I was still blogging with Floral Showers, I started crocheting granny squares for a someday afghan/blanket. I was using yarn I already had on hand and thought I had enough to make a checked pattern baby blanket. Oh how little I knew about making a blanket from granny squares...

Fast forward to over a year later and I'm still not finished (part of that might be due to the fact that I stopped working on it for months and months). Oh, and I ran out of the pinkish color of yarn that is no longer sold (yeah... it had been in my yarn stash for a looong time before I started making my squares). My solution: change my desired pattern and buy more yarn. Here is basically where I'm at now:

It's progress. Plus, all the squares look really pretty in a basket.

Twiggy Inspiration

Being poor and unemployed, I have been trying to come up with completely free craft/decor projects. It isn't that easy for me but I have come across a few ideas that I love. It seems they all have one thing in common (besides being freeeee): sticks.

The first idea came from V and Co. She doesn't have a tutorial or anything for this bundle of sticks (that I know of) but I think it is adorable. I lurve it. But I also love pretty much everything about this photo.

Shortly after the bundle of sticks idea (very technical term, I know) I came across this Starburst Twig Wreath from The Painted Hive. Such a fun idea for the fall. Good thing I've already got some twine in my stash.

And then today, what popped up in my greader? This amazing Spooky Tree from Delia Creates. Seriously, how awesome is this? I can't wait for Halloween!!

So now that I have some free ideas up my sleeve, I just need to go collect some twigs in the wooded area down from my complex. That might take longer than expected, though. The last time we walked near there we discovered the domicile of a vagrant and now I'm too freaked out to go by myself and my hubby is busy studying for his first ever medical school exam... maybe over the weekend? :)

Give Me the Bird

Last night I was looking in my hall closet (I don't even remember why) and saw a random board from an old abandoned project and some cork I bought a few weeks ago. As my eyes went from one to the other, I had the sudden urge to put them together and make myself a cork board. So I did.

First I painted the edges of my board a pretty blue (I mixed North Sea blue with some white to get the color I wanted). It took 2 coats.

(This is not what the blue actually looks like... but you get the idea)

Then I grabbed some brown craft paper, drew a bird and cut it out.

I used some spray adhesive on the back of the paper to stick it to my cork.

(I decided to flip my image)

Then I grabbed my stencil foam brush and dabbed on my white paint.

I should have let the paint dry a little first before I peeled off my paper, but I didn't. Fortunately the paint didn't smudge much.

Once everything was dry, I pulled out my rotary board and ruler and an exacto knife (NOT my rotary cutter, I didn't want to ruin it by cutting cork) and carefully (and slowly) cut my cork to my desired size.

Then I used my glue gun and glued on my cork (I hear wood glue would also work well for this part). I worked from one side to the other so the glue wouldn't cool before I was able to attach the cork.

And ta-da! Here is my adorable new cork board.

To finish it off, you can always add some cute button push pins like I did.

Also linking to:Making the World Cuter, C.R.A.F.T., and Keeping It Simple